Feeling cross

I am feeling a bit cross today.

I am cross that there seem to be no options for me to teach art history so instead I end up teaching some watered down cross over stuff that I'm not really passionate about.

I'm cross that I didn't apply for some tecahing I actually wanted to do because I didn't want to get in someone else's way and was also worried I wouldn't get it because the person running the course might have something personally against me.

I'm cross that I work my arse off on too many things that I don't even get paid for.

I'm cross about being 30 and still in a state of perpetually being broke.

And now I am having a cry.

/rant

Farmer's Market

On Saturday morning I schlepped on down to the Farmer's market at the Abbotsford Convent, which I love and I wish it was on every weekend instead of once a month (though there is also one across the road at the Collingwood Children's Farm once a month too). I would quite like to take my proper camera down but I think it would get in the way of my shopping. Anyhoo these are just diary snaps really. It was cold and sunny and rainy all at once.

 My vegies, lots of green stuff. Cavolo Nero or Tuscan Cabbage or Kale or whatever you want to call it is one of new favourite vegetables. I use to eat it a lot in Italy but I had never cooked it before about a month ago. I put some of it in my cauliflower, potato and leek soup on Saturday. I feel a bit odd buying silverbeet as usually Mum has lots of it at her place but as she is off gallivanting around the UK I have to buy it myself (but at $2 for an enormous bunch I think I will cope).

Broccoli and secret vegetables (beetroot, mushrooms, swedes etc).

Getting coffee is one of the highlights of my visit, easily pleased. I buy them from one of the stalls who also sell coffee beans, I can't remember the name though... I also bought a chocolate croissant from the Convent Bakery and it was ok but not great for $4, very cold and sort of flat tasting. I have to admit that I am not really much of a fan of the convent bakery, they seem expensive but a bit average and it takes forever to get coffee and two out of the last three times I have been there they have forgotten my order. Anyhoo. About two seconds after I took this photo the heavens opened and I had to duck into a doorway, which had some fancy columns but I didn't take a photo. You will just have to imagine me in jeans and a pink cashmere jumper and a bright yellow woolen beret while scoffing a chocolate croissant and looking whimsical or maybe just cold.

xK

To remind me to watch this

I am just pasting this link to a 'soapbox' talk by Shane Maloney on libraries and the need for quiet. You can watch it too if you like.
http://wheelercentre.com/videos/video/shane-maloney-in-praise-of-shhhh/

Stuff what I has been bakin...

This afternoon I decided to bake a quince cake so I could say I had achieved something in my day beyond reading a lot of blogs and watching Grand Designs. I am waiting for it to bake at this moment, I could even live blog the cake *dashes to kitchen* *dashes back* it is rising nicely and slightly browned but needs a bit longer. Hmm. Anyway I have been baking quite a lot lately and taking photos with the idea of posting them here and making me look like an industrious weekend baker. Unfortunately I'm not a very industrious weekend blogger so I am just going to post lots of them now.

Crostata di Nutella or Nutella Tart

This was based on the type of tarts you get in Italy, I especially eat them in Rome. Often they have pinenuts on top but I used hazelnuts instead. I invented it and it is involves making shortcrust pastry, blind baking it, filling it with nutella and briefly baking it again and then covering with roasted hazelnuts. Good times. I also made some baby nutella biscuits with the leftover pastry.

Lemon Cake

This is one of my favouritest cakes. It is from The Cook's Companion and is called *runs to kitchen* 'Angie's Lemon Cake' it is very buttery and lightly lemony (p.s. the Quince Cake just came out, it smells delicious) I like to use the lemon's from my parents tree, which are those rounder less tart lemons with some What really makes it is the glaze, which is just lemon juice and caster sugar and it must be poured over the freshly cooked and still very hot cake after you have turned it out of the pan. This dissolves the sugar. I much prefer it to actually icing a cake.

Here it is posing with my enormous teacup to indicate how it will accompany my morning tea.

Chocolate Cake

I actually wasn't very pleased with this cake, it ended up a bit dry as though it had been overcooked but the middle didn't cook at all. Plus it fell out of the tin and broke. But the photos look nice so let's pretend it was gooey and chocolatey.

Quince Cake One and Two

I poached the quinces earlier this week and made this Quince butter cake from the Cook Almost Anything blog. It was delicious, but I had to take it over to someone's house and I only ate one slice so I decided to make it again. I made the first in a loaf tin and today's is round.

Mmmm Quinces. I haven't had them for ages but eating a few of these before I made the cake reminded me that Mum used to make Quince Crumble.

Cake One having its quinces tucked into it.

Cake One finished.

Cake two finished. The kitchen looks a bit ungracious with the empty bottle of white wine, but hey the cake is cooked and it smells delicious. Plus I need the wine now to help me think about rude things to say about masterchef. Byeeeee.

How to write like a...

I was googling something the other day that started with 'How to write..' I actually can't remember exactly what now as I was distracted by the hilarious suggestions that came up*.
The top one is 'shakespeare', I guess that is understandable, as are the other author based ones. It delights me that so many people want to write like Dr Seuss, but slightly worries me that so many are trying to write like Hemingway. The second one is funny. I could imagine 'How to draw like an architect'? But write? I guess they write, is it a special pretentious style with lots of black rimmed edges? Clearly a lot more people are having issues writing like a girl than a boy (or woman or man). I thought writing like a girl was easy, just add little smilies over the 'i's.
The funniest one has to be 'edward cullen' though. Seriously people googling it enough to make it in the Top Ten? He is a CHARACTER in a piece of writing that isn't even a very good piece of writing!! Anyway that is my musing for the day.

*I admit I was trying to work out how to write like a gangster, what'up hoes?