Lotsa News!

Ho-kay! Updatings!

It's been a looong time since I've written anything, I've just been busy~ (gomenasai!)

Sante has started doing brunch on Sundays... it's been variably busy. Sometimes 20 people, sometimes close to 70. The food, as always, is INCREDIBLE. For the past two weeks for family meal I've had eggs benedict... mmmmmm.... and I took my family out to brunch two weeks ago so that they could try it, and had the beef tenderloin tips with a poached egg and home fries. *Collapse* the beef was buttery and tender and just (really really)^infinity good.

My dessert didn't get into the JWU Nat'l High School Chef of the Year competition finals, but one of my classmates did and he WON THE ENTIRE COMPETITION! Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaay!!!!!!! He's getting a full ride to any of the campuses, for 4 years. O_O. He totally deserves it though, his dessert kicks butt and he practiced a LOT.

I've gotten substantial scholarships from JWU myself, but there's still a bit to pay. I'll make it manage. I AM NOT living at home, I refuse. At least for the first year. I need my freedom, if only briefly. Depending on my financial situation over the next few years, I might be able to maintain living in a dorm or in the right-next-to-campus apartments which are actually cheaper than the dorms. The drawback is no meal plan if I do that, but I'll figure everything out when I arrange a meeting with my financial planner. The key is for ME to make the final decisions and not have my parents choose. It's time they let me make my own decisions about my money. I will research options and make the most logical and practical choice. That's just how I roll... my sushi... or tuile-cigars... riiiight.

At any rate, we're having another Gold Feathers at school to feature the culinary team/ advanced Culinary students. There's 7 or 8 of us, so if we can work it out so that we have two four-course meal options with everybody working on a dish, that'd be tops. Hopefully we can have Luis and Asha on desserts, as that's their forte. I would like to do a good beef dish. Or fish. If I can do Asian food, then I'll be very very happy. I have a stepped-up "spaghetti and meatballs" dish that would be really good if I could get the flavors right on the bean thread vermicelli.

Passover is approaching! We're having anywhere from 5 to 8 people total for Seder dinner, so mom and I will be making a substantial amount of food. I won a bet at work and won some fresh chicken stock, but mom won't let me use it. Alas. I'll have to use it for making sauces! On the Passover note though, my grandpa is visiting and he had bought the 5-pound box of matzo that Manischewitz is selling for their 120-year anniversary... we're getting 2 boxes. The only issue is that I bought a box this week. This means LOTS of matzo bry. Woohoo! I'll eat that for breakfast any day!

After that, I have the competition results on Wednesday from States. If we go to nationals that will KICK ASS! Let's hope I have a functional jaw by then. I would be devastated if I could not compete because I was getting my jaw fixed. Aaaah the waiting!