I spend a lot of time complaining, so I think I need to start this one out gratefully. In my next thirty years, I need to complain a whole lot less and just enjoy what's around me, because there's a lot of good and there's a lot of funny.
I'm thankful for my family- they're hilarious and interesting and will do anything for me. My dad came over at nine last night to deal with frozen hot water pipes in my "liberace" bathroom, Lau always has a different perspective on things and Ang is always a phone call away with a new fabulous story or video of her singing with the cutest person alive:
Emers!
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And of course, Ker and Miss are always there with a spare bedroom and a beverage in the sunshine.
I'm thankful that I have the opportunities I have and the friends and colleagues I've made along the way. Planning my pilot is intense, but I always have someone to bounce ideas off of, provide me suggestions or to read drafts.
I'm grateful for problems, the big and the little. The ponderous and the ridiculous. They're there to teach me something... though I don't always know what. I'm looking forward to attempting to learn how to deal with things with a little more grace and a lot fewer expletives in my next 30 years.
I think bottom line is that the fuss and the fight are so easy to get involved in... the politics of every institution, the awful weather, the little things that gnaw on us... but we forget about the good stuff: there are people who love us, there are people about in this world doing wonderful things, and no amount of hatred, greed or petty garbage is going to stop us from connecting as people and being who we are and aspiring to do better.
So, thank you for reading and onto:
Boston Cream Pie!
Recipe for filling and icing from joyofbaking.com
Sponge cake recipe from pieceofcake.blogspot.com (same as tres leches week).
The cake was straight forward- it's a sponge cake. The joyofbaking recipe seemed a little too wordy, so I went for what I knew from the pieceofcake recipe. I substituted in 1/2 cup flour for whole wheat on both of the cakes I made and baked one in a 10" springform and the other in an 8". The 10" went to work and the 8" went to my parents (my 9" bottom was still in the drying rack in the faculty room from the week before). Only comment on the 8" was there seemed to be far too much cake for the cake: filling: frosting ratio.
Pastry cream and the different chocolate ganache frosting were the two new parts of the equation and the stars of the show. I've had interesting luck with cooked custards (zabaglione and I aren't friends), so I was worried about this. It really was so simple.
Mix the sugar and yolks, sift in flour and corn starch (one modification- tastes a little too floury and for the love, 1/8 cup is 2 Tbs, let's use the easier measurement!). Heat milk to a foam, whisk milk into egg mix, return all to saucepan on medium heat and whisk, whisk until it thickens.
Assembly was delightful.
And the ganache was ridiculously good! I'm keeping this recipe and sharing it with you:
Chop 4 oz of semi-sweet chocolate (I used Baker's) and place in something heat proof.
Heat together 1/2 cup heavy cream and 1 tsp butter just to boiling.
Pour cream mixture over chocolate and let sit for 4ish minutes. Stir until smooth and then pour.
Look at that shine!
Once again, a little too much cake for the ratio, but I'm calling it a pass. Onto lemon cake this weekend.
Be well!
P.S. I mentioned some weeks back that I wanted to do a 100 days challenge. I was planning on walking, doing sit ups, push ups, etc every day for 100 days. I choked. So, Sunday, I started Couch to 5K (http://www.coolrunning.com/engine/2/2_3/181.shtml). Don't quote me as being original on this. I found out that Seems was doing this two weeks ago and finally realized that it was time.
I did my second session today- 30 degrees felt like a heat wave!
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