Tuesday, August 18, 2015

Jour 3 dans la boulangerie du Lac du Bois, deuxième moitié 2015

Jour 3 dans la boulangerie:
Brioche que j'aurais dû faire comme dernière étape
25 tresses à la cannelle, fait en trois tours
Ça a l'air pas beaucoup mais en fait c'était trop. Comme tout le monde me dit, "une leçon maitrisée." :-P

Jour 2 dans la boulangerie du Lac du Bois, deuxième moitié 2015

Mon deuxième jour dans la boulangerie:
*30 baguettes parfaites
*18 pains de siegle
*8 petits gâteaux à la basque, sans gluten
*2 pains sans gluten
*la continuation de "bread-tris" du placard dans le congélateur, une petite montagne de pains divers
*une journée assez longue mais bonne quand même

Jour 1 dans la boulangerie du Lac du Bois, deuxième moitié 2015

    Jour 1 dans la boulangerie:
    39 baguettes
    16 pains à l'avoine
    24 pains à la farine de blé complète
    un tout petit peu de fatigue

Friday, July 31, 2015

Jour 12 dans la boulangerie


C'est heureux que je prenne des vitamines supplémentaires car je suis à peine sortie de la cuisine aujourd'hui.  Hier, j'ai fait une crème anglaise parfaite. Aujourd'hui, j'ai fait la crème anglaise au moins 6 fois et j'ai eu au moins une fournée de pâte qui a été un échec incontestable. Ce projet était beaucoup moins facile à faire que j'avais imaginé hier. Et j'ai décidé de faire un dessert que je n'ai jamais fait avant pour 140 personnes pour le BANQUET...mais qu'est-ce que j'avais pensé, hein? J'aurais dû réfléchir encore plus... Je me suis rendu compte le matin que la crème anglaise n'est pas du tout simple à faire en grande quantité. Je suis entrée dans la cuisine avan 8h et je l'ai quittée au bout de 12 heures de travail, en tout, tout pour faire le dessert pour le banquet. Quelle folie! Je voulais prouver ma valeur, je voulais prouver au monde que je pourrais faire ce que la pâtissière sait faire. J'ai passé TOUTE la journée en faisant la crème anglaise, j'en ai marre. La pâtisserie au fourneau, la crème pâtissière, ce ne sont pas ce à quoi j'ai l'habitude de faire, cependant c'était bien d'en expérimenter aujourd'hui. J'ai su faire pocher des meringues, faire et refaire et refaire la crème anglaise, et j'ai eu l'occasion de voir comment la pâtisserie soit capricieuse! J'apprécie le travail que Becca​ fait comme pâtissière encore plus après cette journée-là. Grâce aux efforts de toute la cuisine, les îles flottantes ce soir ont été un succès. Merci à tout le monde et à demain, où je compte quitter la cuisine tôt dans l'après-midi ou je me rendrai folle.


This was me today. Thank you to everyone who helped me churn out those îles flottantes and made me smile and who reminded me that there are always people who are more than ready to lend a hand when you're in need, especially at CLV.

Saturday, June 6, 2015

Toilets from Around the World

I like to photograph the bathroom signs in other places because I want to show how different communities portray women and men, gender-wise.

Toilet signs in the Musée d'Orsay in Paris.

Toilet signs in the Paris métro.

Toilet signs at Disneyland in Marne-la-Vallée, France.

Toilet signs at the Musée Rodin in Paris.

Men's restroom sign in the public library in Bemidji, Minnesota. The word "ininiwag" is, if I'm not mistaken, the Chippewa word for "men."

Women's restroom sign in the public library in Bemidji, Minnesota. The word "ikwewag" is, if I'm not mistaken, the Chippewa word for "women."

 
Toilet signs at a café in Amsterdam. (Yes, they're Barbies.)
Toilet signs in the airport in Bergen, Norway.
Toilet for females in the Glasgow International Airport in Scotland.

Men's toilet in the Galeries Lafayette in Paris


Weird Things in the US, Coming Back from Europe

I returned to the US from Paris after four and a half months abroad, and couldn't be happier to return home. There are some things that I found odd, or maybe weird, or just generally different from Europe, being back home after so long:
  • Vending machines in the US have more chips and salty snacks, whereas I would say that vending machines in France had more candy in them
  • There are toilets available customers in stores in the US (grocery stores, department stores, etc) and it is possible to use these toilets free of charge
  • Free public water is available all over the place. I was so excited for water fountains all over the place in the US, and then was reminded that they don't always have great water pressure.
  • Cellular data works properly.
  • Americans wear sweatpants and shorts and t-shirts and flip-flops. Whenever, wherever. It is acceptable to wear athletic and casual clothing when out and about in public.
  • Less expensive bagels, peanut butter, Starbucks, and cookies are available in the US. Also, we have Goldfish and Pop-Tarts and cheap fake Mexican food and cheaper Thai, Chinese, Indian (etc.) takeout.
  • Kebabs are not fast food in the US. They are pieces of meat grilled on a stick. Burgers are fast food and fries are not to be put inside the bun.
  • TV commercials in the US are not standardized or regulated in the same way that French publicités are. They are also more frequent.
  • Europe has better chocolate and gummy candy. There are so many shapes and flavors of Haribo that Americans don't know about!
  • It was strange for me to say hello to and make eye contact with perfect strangers here after ignoring the people around me for so long in France. Why do we acknowledge each others' existence again?
  • I will never take a long shower again. Well, I will, but I won't use the water when lathering up with soap. I'll only use a few minutes' worth of water but stay in the shower for longer.
  • Public transportation in the US isn't as well organized or as accessible as it is in Europe, unfortunately. 
  • I will never leave things plugged in for long periods of time ever again. Convenience is too expensive and bad for the environment. (Meaning cell phone charger will not be plugged in when cell phone isn't charging.)
  • If a person has a foreign accent when speaking your language, you should respect them because they probably know and use more languages than you do.

Tuesday, May 5, 2015

Bucket List: Things to Do and See Before I get a Real Job


I call it the list of things I want to do before I get a real job as opposed to the list of things I want to do before I die because I think I might as well do as much as I can before possibly having to settle in one place for a very long time with a job that may not pay enough to let me do all these things.

To do and see:
  • Visit Minneapolis, Minnesota
  • Visit Chicago, Illinois
  • Go to a live taping of Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me!
  • Go to a live taping of A Prairie Home Companion
  • See a porcupine in the wild (DONE)
  • See the cliff of the Hardangerfjord
  • See the Aurora borealis, possibly by going camping (DONE)
  • Go kayaking at the Pont du Gard in Collias, France
  • Visit India
  • Visit Australia
  • Join a political action committee
  • Run a marathon
  • Learn how to make a milles-feuilles (DONE)
  • Visit Carnac, France
  • Visit Puerto Rico
  • Learn Arabic, Hindi, Norwegian, Portuguese, German
  • Pull a legendary prank
  • Go skinny dipping
  • Get another use out of my prom dress
  • Eat gourmet food from a food truck
  • Road trip, I guess... (SORT OF DONE)
  • Visit the Redwood Forest
  • Visit the real Lebanese Cedars
  • Learn to drive manual-transmission cars, and then actually drive one
  • Take part in a flash mob
  • Ride a tandem bike
  • Attend a Manchester United match