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Needs, Wants, Work and Sleep...

23/11/2012

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I never liked coffee (except the aroma) but I started having a cup in the evenings to keep me awake till late at night. I began with dollops of sugar, cocoa powder and some chocolate, but now I just enjoy it plain. My dad even taught me how to make a cappuccino! ^
I just need to bake...
I've been thinking about it all week and I'm having one of those burning desires to create something beautiful. I don't want to bake cupcakes, or muffins... same old, sugary, regular.
I want to make something stunning. Something modest, yet different from what I've made before.

This year I cannot escape the fact that I have heaps and heaps of work. From fairs to performances, presentations to tests, reports to assignments to everything, I just feel swamped by my school life.
I wake up and work, I do a bit of yoga and go to school and work, I come home and eat and work, I do a few minutes of pilates and allow some time for showering, dinner and masterchef ;), I sit in my room and work till late at night, and I wake up again and work, continuing into the 'weekend'. 
I do have some free time, it just doesn't always feel like it. Today I'm taking advantage of it being a Friday, despite having loads of things to do for Monday and I'm enjoying the Popcorn Day, surfing the internet and blogging... trying not to think about the next 2, 5, 7, 210 days to come.

Something that upsets me to no end is the lack of appreciation that Art Students get. Most people in my class put down art as a subject, thinking it's just colouring or painting a picture- no work or skills or time required.
I told my friend the other day that I had so much work to do, and when the main component was art, she just said "Oh... that's ok" in a manner that meant 'Oh, art-- that's easy-- it doesn't even count compared to real work.'
I dare anyone who undermines art to spend a day with one of the art students: working for hours on end, pouring over 2 square inches of a piece until it's perfect, writing, researching, falling asleep, finally finishing a piece and then having to start all over again on the next piece.
If they still don't appreciate it, I dare them to take Art Coursework and get an A*, like my fellow art students and I are striving to achieve.

Sometimes I just feel like screaming. I want to get away from it all. Away from my planner that fills up each day with all the things I have to do. Away from my alarm clock that wakes me up so early after a short night. Away from my art that I love so much that I won't let it go until it's perfect. Away from the carefreeness of some people. Away from the chaos of the world and the pressure of every day.

Cooking is art. I'm still a perfectionist with it, but I can do it whenever I want, however much I want (well, as much as time allows me) and I have no rules, no expectations, no due date, no test on it later. Just the gratification of a masterpiece and the pleasure of eating it with people I love.

Cooking feels so therapeutic to me. It draws me in, like an oasis. Rid of all the problems of the world, I can just work with different materials and build things of every size, shape, colour, texture, sound, aroma and flavour. Cooking is the most personal of arts and the things it creates are multi-dimensional-- provoking each and every sense. 

But I can't say my life is bad. Although it probably hasn't sounded this way, I just love it.
I laugh long and hard with the two other art students in my class and our lovely teacher. We share our ideas and passions and creativity. I've been so lucky with the girls in my class-- you won't see a more tightly-knit grade, especially when teenage girls tend to be the most clique-y and superficial. I'm addicted to the feeling you get when you exchange a smile or a quick conversation with one of the many people you've gotten to know throughout the school this year. Despite the misery they put me through, I'm so thankful for my teachers.
This mad, mad city is growing on me each day as I discover its beauty, its people, its culture of art, food, music, theatre, sports, history and its depth.
And I don't know how I would survive without my family. Through all the ups and downs, they're there. No matter what mood I'm in, or what mood they're in-- good or bad-- I know they'll be by my side. They drive me around, stay up helping me study for a test or helping with my art, they make me delicious food and take me out shopping, to the movies, to restaurants and cafes, to concerts. They hug me when I cry because I just can't take it anymore... and they tell me those 3 words-- that are so empty, yet when coming from the right people seem so believable:

It''ll be okay.
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Chocolate Peanut Butter Oatmeal

17/11/2012

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First of all, there's not going to be any picture because a brown lump isn't exactly photogenic...
Second disclaimer: I made this for lunch. Yup. I love breakfast food and I can eat it at any time of day.
I've got a thing for chocolatey food and I've read loads of blog posts about people making dessert-like oatmeal. I didn't feel like using a recipe, and I thought of trying to make a slightly more natural version: ground peanuts & dark chocolate...
I ended up adding a spoon each of peanut butter and nutella, and a bit of honey and maple syrup (why choose?)
I think it could have been sweeter, but I did use the 'growing oatmeal bowl trick' and that turned out well. Essentially you cook the oatmeal with a large amount of liquid-- about a cup each of milk and water for 1/2 cup of oatmeal and you cook it slightly longer. The end result is a huge bowl of oatmeal... I'm not complaining.
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Hummus

10/11/2012

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Mmmmmmm...

I know the subheading is a little random, but that's the first thing that popped into my head as I typed 'Hummus' (mmmmm...)
I realise this isn't some revolutionary recipe, but I've actually never made hummus before. I made a batch with my grandma and so here's a list of hummus-making tips I learnt from her and my mum:
1. Let the chickpeas soak for ages... at least overnight
2. Boil the chickpeas for a long time so they're super soft
3. Don't add too much olive oil. Keep tasting and once you can taste the oil, don't add more or you'll overpower the chickpeas. If it needs more liquid, add water
4. Start with a little bit of garlic and add more as you taste, if necessary
5. Some chili flakes or Italian seasoning tastes nice 
6. A couple of spoons of cumin powder is the perfect addition
7. You can use a coarse or a smooth food processor- whatever type of hummus you prefer
8. Chop or snip some fresh coriander over the top and gently stir it in
9. Do. not. add. too. much. salt. Salty hummus is just not yum...

I swear, I can just eat spoonfuls of hummus plain... What's your favourite way to have hummus?
Leave a comment here or on the Chocolate Tulip facebook page.
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Superbowl

8/11/2012

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Last week I was horrendously snowed under with work and things like our CAS fete and exams, so I never managed to cook something. But whenever that happens I make sure to make up for it the next week, so I have to cook 2 things this week.. a.k.a. today and tomorrow since I'm going away on Saturday. 
This first dish is a creation I came up with the other day. I like trying to come up with a dish that has a good balance of food, simple ingredients, loads of nutrients and nothing processed. I had planned to make the base with baguette, but my mum and sister had made a bunch of cheese pretzels (with grated cheese in the batter, not the runny filling) for the fete and my dad had made some croutons with them the other day which tasted great, so I used those instead. I discovered my love for sauteed aubergine when I made the aubergine and feta muffins and I kept eating aubergine out of the pan... 
This was super easy and I'm pretty please with how it came out. My intention was to sprinkle some lentils over the top, but I ended up buying a packet of sprouts, which were really not to my taste. My mum didn't mind them, but I had to take mine out, so  I leave it up to you.
By the way, this is flexible recipe: swap the vegetables for mushrooms, zucchini, kale, broccoli, anything you like. But I like the taste of these ones and they sauté quickly and deliciously. You can also change the cheese to any other crumbly one like ricotta or feta and use baguette or country bread for the bottom. Even regular bread would work, come to think of it.
See? It's endless :)

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