voila!

I am part of the competition team for my culinary class at school. This weekend we have a culinary competition in Portland where we will compete with different schools around the state. We have to prepare a starter, an entree including a starch and vegetable, and a dessert. I'm in charge of the dessert.

The pictures are from my endeavors in class today. The dessert consists of wafers of melted, and then hardened, dark chocolate cut-outs, layers of whipped cream and chocolate mousse, and a garnish of raspberry coulis. I have been working to perfect it for a few weeks now.

Our starter is Pacific crab-stuffed mushrooms. Our entree is a pork roulade filled with sun-dried tomatoes, wilted spinach, and feta cheese, accompanied by red potatoes, carmelized cepolline onions, and string beans. Pretty delicious all around.

We're going to be judged in several different categories at the competition including: Safety & Sanitation, Presentation, Taste, Mise en Place, and probably a few that I'm forgetting. We also have to demonstrate several knife cuts in front of judges.

I'm excited for the competition, but a little nervous too. I have to be very professional, which means no goofing off in a kitchen like I usually do. Also, my dessert takes a long time to make, and we don't have a long time to cook. I'll be wearing a full chef's outfit too, complete with the tall hat, coat, and apron. I'm sure I'll put some pictures up of it later.

On Saturday if you get bored, you should come watch me cook! I'll be at the Portland Expo Center for the day. I believe my team is cooking at about 11 a.m. Even if you can't make it, you should think of me... (maybe say a prayer that I don't catch anything on fire.) Good luck calls are always appreciated too. :)

new couch = love.

Here it is: the new couch. It is heavenly.

this week.

I'm sorry I haven't been writing this week. I have been loving the support from all of you who received an email from me though. You guys are great. But don't be shy about leaving comments for me. I love to read them.

Valentine's Day came and passed and I had a pretty good time. I survived, but I thought it was going to be a close one with the chocolate intake... I hope you all had a fabulous Day of Love as well.

My house is currently being torn apart very noisily. We are putting new wood floor down and getting both the living room and the family room ready for new furniture. It's a wreck right now, but should be looking pretty good in a week or so.

Tomorrow we're getting our new couch delivered! I can't wait. This couch and I have some history together. We bonded in the furniture store for one glorious half-hour after one of my soccer games a few weeks back. Sadly, I haven't been able to get its chocolatey-brown leather skin out of my head since then. Anyways, tomorrow we shall reunite and pick up where we left off.

Last night I watched "Fight Club" with Becca and Sam. That was quite the experience. If you haven't seen it yet, you probably should. Unless you have a strong aversion to people beating each other up. Or if there are little kids around. I enjoyed it because it was different than the average movie. I don't want to give anything away, but Brad Pitt is very attractive and Helena Bonham Carter is the creeper she always has been. I think I might even read the book now.

(Photo Credit: Google Images, mymoviebanners.com/fightclub.html )

the bra tree.

I spent the weekend with my family at Mt. Bachelor in Bend, Oregon. We love to downhill ski and picked a good weekend to go, even if the mountain was a little scant on fresh snow. The weather was great: sunny, clear, and cold. It was really beautiful up there, as it always is.

I have been skiing since I could walk, and maybe even a little before then. I love to go as fast as I can down the slopes, speeding past all the other people. If my eyes are watering, that usually means I'm going fast enough to satisfy myself. I like to race my sister too, but she always ends up beating me in the end.

Bachelor is one of my favorite places to ski. It's got a lot of great runs. My favorite run is off the Northwest Express chair lift. The main reason I like it is because it is perfect for bulleting down at mach 10. It's called Atkeson's Zoom, in case you ever want to try it out. But if you're going to try it, you have to go fast. Otherwise, it just won't be the same.

Northwest Express is a really long chair lift. It takes a long time to get from the bottom to the top, which can be a good or a bad thing. It gives you time to rest in between runs, but I also tend to get pretty cold when I'm sitting on lifts. Anyways, there is always time to kill when riding Northwest. Which I believe is the reason for the bra tree.

What's the bra tree? It is a very special tree. In years past, it has been covered with the bras of many many women, along with mardi gras beads, other forms of lingerie, and numerous other...tasteful items. I don't think it's been around that long because I can't remember it when I was younger.

Pretty much women just take off their bras while they're bored, and sometimes a little tipsy from lodge beer, and toss them on the tree. It was looking a little feeble this time, only six or seven bras total. I really wish I could have gotten a photo of the tree to show you because it's hilarious. However, I forgot my camera at home and missed out on numerous photo opportunities throughout the whole weekend.

I felt like I needed to pass on the knowledge of the bra tree to anyone who has never experienced it. Next time you go to Bachelor you should keep a lookout for it.

(Photo Credit: 97439weathernerd, "Majestic Mt. Bachelor" )

I'm an addict.

This morning, I explored the extent of my caffeine addiction. It was not pleasant.

I had the worst headache and I could not, for the life of me, figure out why. I suffered with it for a few hours, as I'm prone to do. I don't really like to take pain killers unless I need to. Then, I realized it was because I hadn't had any caffeine yet today. So I promptly made myself a cup of tea to relieve my pain.

Three sips into my glorious cup of life, my headache was gone.

Every morning, I drink a mug of hot tea while I drive to school and during my first period class. Usually it's Irish or English Breakfast Tea with half-and-half and brown sugar. Occasionally, I branch out and have some Chai (I'm a real daredevil, I know).

One time, I was running a little late and didn't get to drink my tea until about 8:30 a.m. I only delayed my caffeine intake by half an hour and I already had a headache.

I think the reason my addiction is so bad because I have caffeine at the same time every day. I should probably break the cycle. It's pathetic that I have to have caffeine every morning to function properly. But it's painful to break the cycle. I get physical withdrawal symptoms just like a drug addict. And I like coffee and tea.

I used to be addicted to coffee, but I switched to tea because I felt like it was healthier. Tea has less caffeine than coffee, I think. It also has natural anti-oxidants and doesn't make me so buzzed as coffee does.

So if you have any tips for quitting, you should tell me. Or maybe we could make a caffeine addict rehab. group! That could be fun...

(Photo credit: adalau, "Irish Breakfast - Tea")