Inspiration

So it's definitely been a while since I've written anything down...but after reading my sister's blog just now about what she's up to it's given me inspiration to sit and write.

I just have one thing on my mind - which is a contradictory statement as this is me and I never have just one thing on my mind - nevertheless...my day at work today was not one of my best. I was in a mood all day. My work place is actually quite a light environment, we all have a laugh and joke together, acting the fool when a good karaoke song comes along on the radio - well rather just me and my boss. But not today. I was making all sorts of excuses in my head that it was everyone else's fault and they were what was bothering me. But I couldn't fool myself for long. Ultimately is was just me.

So a question I have - mainly just for myself, as I'm sure no one will actually answer me - when having a bad day at work and you know its you and your own problems what ever they may be, how do you leave them at the door, or in your car, or even at home? Because a work place is a work place, not a place to bring your problems to the table. You do that with friends, family or the odd stranger - if you're that way inclined.

Then the thing is, you realize that if you can leave your problems behind while you're at work, maybe they aren't all that big in the first place. But then that's not good, because we all like to focus on our problems, and tell everyone about them - especially strangers. Do we just embrace the old attitude of 'Build a Bridge and Get Over It'?

Ultimately, after all my frustration at work, then the need just to see a friend and have a great hug failed everything goes away, for the time being. The end of the day comes, you look back and think, what was that all about?

Bread & Patisserie

Nearly a year ago, I filled out all the 'official' forms and was given the title 'Baker's Apprentice'. It's a three year course, which pretty much means, I learn while I work, and I have homework at the end of the day. Or when ever I actually choose to do my homework.

With working in just a little bakery at the moment, I've learnt a great range of things from making and baking bread and pastries, to playing with decorating the odd cake now and then.

As a requirement of passing my first, second and third year of my apprenticeship I have to partake, and pass, a ten day block course. One for each year.For the last two weeks, I experienced my first year block course down in Palmerston North (near the bottom of the North Island). For one whole week, we focused on making and baking about 18 different varieties of bread and during the second week we made and produced about 10 different types of pastries.

There was a fair amount of paper work that we had to do while there, but we managed to deal with that well enough. But other than that, the whole ten days was constant baking. As we all came from different bakery styles, each of us had had different experiences and were skilled more in the field we worked regularly in, naturally. Some from supermarket bakeries, to big factory bakeries. So it was great to learn how to make things, we may never get the chance to make - at least for a while.

The whole two weeks was awesome,. To be able to learn how to make things you never really get to make in a day to day family kitchen, is something special.

Many people say that working with food is an art, many people also say that it's not art, it's just food. Well, to me, baking is my art. For me, there is so much more than putting together a few ingredients and making something. It takes care. Care for the product you're working with, because without the proper care, you'll ruin what ever is in front of you. Putting it all together, isn't just a slap happy job, it's time consuming - at least it is when you're first learning it all. I'm not so sure on how to convey how baking is art. But nevertheless, it's art to me. What I produce, is my art. There is nothing that brings us all together like food, well produced food brings another element to that bringing together. I love being apart of those that can give well produced food - although I'm the first to admit, with this area, I'm very much a beginner.

Vienna Loaf, White Cobb (round one), Baguette (french sticks)

Pane di Casa (left), Ciabatta (front), Naan (back), Fancy White Dough Plait

Stollen (very left), Salzburger Roggen Brot (back left), Black Brot (back right), White Dough Dinner Rolls (centre), Irish Soda Bread (front right) - Lots of German Bread

Sour Dough Bread (far left, far back, far right), Grain Bread (in between two sour doughs on left and centre), Brioche (up front)

Palmier (on the left), Vol-e-vont - sweet ones - (on the right) both made with French Style Puff Pastry (who knew that the French, English and Scottish all had their own methods of Puff Pastry)

Cornish Pasties (on the left), Nutty Tart (on right) - We had to make a sweet pastry, to make use of the pastry we could fill it with what ever product we wanted. Some made Banoffee Pie, Lemon Meringue, I found this nutty mixture, added a bit of my own to it, and got these. Also made a Mississippi Mud Cake but pictures didn't turn out to good.

Pork Pies (left) made with a Boiled Pastry, apparently quite an English traditional pie - according to one of my work mates who incidentally is English and started getting excited when I told her I had made them. Croissant and Linzer Torte (right) - the Torte (Tart) I was told, was a Dutch tart, but going google it sounds like its Austrian, Hungarian.

These pictures are a majority of the products we made, but there's still a fair bit more, just thought I'd share the bits I could.

xx

Happiness??

You know those people we have in our lives that we struggle with? Friends who may not really be in your 'heart circle'. Friends, or in some cases family members, or even work colleges, you're put with and you wonder why you even tolerate their presence. Oh how they grind you the wrong way, hit every hurtful bubble you have, make you become the angry monster you swore you'd never let out ever again. How ever it may be. 

I've been taught, that no matter what, they're just as much a person as you. They to hurt, they to have been scarred, they to have walls - and mechanisms to keep those walls as rock solid as humanly possible. Sometimes we're so blinded by our own thoughts of who they are to us, and how they affect us that we may never see their 'not-so-hidden' exterior.

But, sometimes, when we let someone who is bigger than us and our situation, take control of the feelings inside of us, our eyes are opened. For however long, they are opened. We see for an instant the vulnerability behind each hurtful word. We see every injustice act against them with every wrong grind. We see their cry for love and acceptance with every spiteful action they take. For however long our eyes are opened, we see their loneliness. 

As human beings we have responsibilities. Those to the earth we have been graciously given as our home, to other created beings living together here with us, and to each other. To other human beings. We have a responsibility to care, respect and love. I am the first to say that I fail with this...every day.

Just a thought.