Why do we want to grow up so fast - 2AM Ramble

Hi Guys! It's almost 2 AM and I have to get up early in the morning. I've really gotten into the Beverly Hills show (not the new one - the good old 90's one!) and I've been procrastinating by watching it for over a week now. Even though I had a 12 - hours - long work day, I cannot fall asleep. It's a bad habit of mine - whenever I bring the laptop into my bed, watch movies or something until late at night / early in the morning, I realize afterwards, that I stayed up and got over - tired. Which means, it's so late past my bedtime, that my body already thinks it's another day, alarmes all of the systems and gets ready to go through at least another 12 hours. God I wish sometimes this happened at 6 AM instead of 2 AM! But it doesn't. Oh well.

Since I've not been sleeping, my stomach has started to claim its pray at about over an hour ago. I can't just go to the kitchen and fix myself a snack - that would wake up the whole house plus they would think I'm crazy. That is why I wish right now I was living all by myself. Because if I were, I would get up, switch on the lights, make myself a cup of coffee, some eggs and toasts, watch TV, clean up my desk, vacuum...I could get so many things done!

It's funny how we change our desires and needs throughout our life. When I was younger and had to ask my parents for permission to eat candy or to buy a sweater, I felt so dependent. I didn't realize I had all it took (plus I didn't own a computer, so I couldn't watch the TV late at night and than not fall asleep!!). Back than, the ONLY reason I wanted to grow up was that I could buy myself as much candy and chocolate as I wanted. Only when the time had arrived and I could buy myself those treats, I'd realize, that not only I have to work in order to gain some money, but that by eating three bars of chocolate in a row would make me sick. Something my mom always used to say, but I would never believe her.

Living with parents, growing up - you wish you wouldn't have to tell them about every step you take, right? Especially, if the step is headed towards a club or a bar. Now that I have this freedom, I realize there are other responsibilities that come with it and that it's not that simple. Since I live outside the city (and not only here in Toulouse, but also in Bordeaux and in Prague), I have to drive home. And I cannot drive if I drink. So, it's not the parents, there are other circumstances that make the difficulty level always the same, no matter what.

But tonight, I really wish I lived all by myself, so I could fry myself those eggs and drink maybe a little bit of orange juice with it. God, please, let it be morning already. (But then, I know what I'll be saying in four hours...)

Adelka

Rainy Days & Bus Strikes

Hi everybody! I hope you all are doing great in this brand new year of 2013! I sure am! Well, if we don't count the oh-so-famous french strikes. Last Thursday the taxis were on strike, so I thought it would be okay to get to school by bus. But boy was I wrong. Me and my new friend waited almost an hour at the bus stop, but in vain. At least we took my car and drove around where we live, visited few small shops and had a nice walk at the countryside. It would be a very nice day if it wasn't raining...I took a few pictures I thought I could share them with you! So here we go :-)

[Think also about us and slow down sign]

[This is how most villages look like around here]

[The town hall]

Adelka

Macarons

Hi guys! Since I love french macarons (and since they are VERY expensive!) I wanted to learn how to bake them on my own. This was my first try! But I have to say - I'm proud of myself, yay! At first, I thought they wouldn't turn out as good, but then I modified my oven and here's what I came up with! Definitely a success, given it's my first time ever doing such a thing!

This is the recipe I followed:

1st  bowl: 140 g of eggwhites

2nd bowl: 190 g of almond flour + 190 g of powdered sugar

3rd bowl: 60 g of sugar + 140 g of powdered sugar

Whip the eggwhites almost meringue - like, but not all the way! I actually was scared to overdo it and stopped too soon! Add bowl number 3 into the mixture and whip until the batter starts to climb up the whip tool!

Now is the time to add bowl number 2. Gently mix it all together, you can add food colorant if you'd like to. Definitely don't over mix the batter!

Preheat the oven on 150 °C, put a cookie sheet over the baking pan and put your mixture into a pastry bag. Draw small circles with your batter onto the cookie sheet. Those will be your macarons.

Tap the baking pan or smack it - this way the air bubbles get out and leave the macarons smooth. Some recipes suggest to leave the macarons on air for about 45 minutes. 

Now, in the recipe I found was suggested to bake the macarons for 8 - 10 mins at 125°C, but this wasn't enough for me. I finally baked them for 30 minutes at 150°C. Keep in mind that every oven is very different!

After you take your macarons out of the oven, let them cool of, turn the sides and fill them with whatever filling/topping you want. I chose peach jam (very sweet, but my mom liked it) and nutella (I liked those macarons better...).

[With peach jam!]

[With nutella]

[I couldn't find almond flour - so I just used shreded almonds - that's why the top of my macarons isn't so smooth. Next time I'll put them into food processor with the powdered sugar before mixing with the rest of the ingredients.]

Good luck! And be patient :-)

Adelka

Pumpkin Pie

Hi Guys! Not that long ago me and my best friend - we decided to bake a pumpkin pie! I've never done it before - no, I've never even eaten it before! - so it was a must. And how did it turn out? Let's see! To prepare the pie, we've followed this recipe.

[Preparing our pastry shell]

[Eggs, brown sugar, flour, salt, pumpkin puree, spices and milk]

[Pre - baking the crust]

[Et voila! The pie CANNOT be served without whipped cream!]

I liked it a lot, althought this pie has a very special taste to it and I can see why somebody would describe it as "dull" pie. It is definitely a fall-ish pie and I can't wait to bake it again next year around Thanksgiving!

**Have a very happy new year everybody!**

Adelka