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22
Oct
2009
Learning, loving, living
OK, so they’re not flowers I would have chosen. But look how full & round my table arrangement is! We have to make these table arrangements over & over in school apparently, this is my second go & I’m pretty proud of it. My first one was all ragamuffin & patchy.
To anyone considering a career in floristry please know first, it’s hard! Do you know how many kinds of flowers there are? Well there’s heaps, like thousands & you have to learn them all by 2 names, botanical & common. You have tonnes of homework, you stab your fingers with wire & you have to use ugly orange chrysanthemums. BUT to me it’s all worth it. Maybe I am a little weird but I have always enjoyed work this hands on. I always loved working in organics for the same reasons I think I’m going to love floristry.
The ladies at work picked up on the fact I am somewhat of a creative genius (ha!) & one asked me to make her hat for the Melbourne Cup. What an honour, I really feel awesome that someone would place that much trust in me. She gave me the base, some scraps of fabric from her custom made suit, a hot glue gun, some dried flowers & free creative licence.
I know I am proud as punch & Jenni is wrapped with her hat (it looks gorgeous with her outfit) What do you think of my handiwork?
14
Oct
2009
Back to school
My sunny little friends
I am officially a student again, with a pencil case & everything!
Last night was my first in 28 weeks of floral design school. I have a feeling it is going to be a steep learning curve, there’s text books, homework, prac work, assignments…in short a lot of non fun stuff, but I’m pretty sure it is going to be worth it in the end. There’s only 2 students in my class (including me!) so getting the most out of each lesson is going to be quite easy I expect.
Some light reading
Last night we covered preparation of flowers including stripping foliage, additives for water, refrigeration ect & some basic workplace health & safety stuff. We also learned how to wire flowers, we did a couple of gerberas & took them home! I was so exited taking flowers home now I know what to put in the water & that I have to cut them on an angle..OK so I already knew that bit, but it felt so much more important! I also learned that having nice nails is a thing of the past as they’re going to end up covered in hot glue, wire puncture marks & dirt…glamorous I know.
I now have some sunny little friends in my living area brightening up my life.
Those little kinks are called elbows..it gives the flowers room to grow, yes these ones still grow after being cut!
Oops! her little wire is poking out!
5
Oct
2009
Ditch the supermarket. It’s market time!
Like most people I have a pretty busy schedule that doesn’t allow as much ”me” time as I would like. Between working full time, cooking, working out, trying to maintain some kind of social life, cleaning, shopping & this blog it’s a wonder I’ve got a full head of hair!
I have managed to find a little zen amongst all the noise though by ditching my local supermarket for the organic farmers market. You can’t even imagine how big an improvement this has made on my life. The feeling of community is wonderful, talking to the growers, seeing the same friendly faces every week, children playing, touching & tasting. It gives me a feeling like “this is how life is meant to be”
Clockwise from top left: The markets, "my banana man", yummy lady finger bananas, Relish Organics stall
Shopping at the market allows me to eat fresh, seasonal organic produce quite affordably. This weeks purchases included: curly kale, broad beans, zuchhinis, navel oranges & beetroot from the “big veggie tent”. Dark chocolate & rolled quinoa (which I used in a super healthy banana cake I am posting tomorrow) from the Relish Organics stall.
Yuuuuum. The smell when I took the lid off was amazing!
Not convinced yet? here’s my top 5 reasons to swap to farmers markets:
- No enormous ques! Yes you still have to line up sometimes but not for nearly as long & if you only have one or two items they usually let you jump the line.
- You spend less money. I have almost eradicated the impulse purchase from my shopping bill. We’re all guilty of grabbing a candy bar or a magazine while we’re out shopping. Do you need it? No! I once worked out I was spending over $700 a year on impulse purchases.
- It’s less stressful. Sure you have to get up early on a Sunday to do it, but that’s a part of the beauty. Your weekend seems to go forever because you got up at 6:30am on Sunday morning to “get the good stuff” You call breeze around & pick what you like at your own leisure. It’s less crowded, you’re outdoors enjoying the sunshine, you can bring the kids & let them play outside.
- It’s better produce. It’s completely fresh, you know where it comes from & that never includes cold storage. I find it lasts longer too.
- You meet people. Can you honestly ever remember making a friend at the grocery store? I make new friends every week at the farmers market.
Greens are good
The markets are a constant source of inspiration for me. I never decide what I am going to make that week until I have been to market. Those pumpkins look nice huh? I wonder if I could make a cake out of them?
Take a little time for you ladies, it will make you happy…. promise!
1
Oct
2009
Kitchen heros, October 2009
I thought it might be fun to have a monthly segment on my favorite things in the kitchen each month. Utensils, ingredients & so on. So here we go. Right now I am loving:
Delights from the East
Middle Eastern Ingredients:
Pictured above. Pistachios, Persian fairly floss, rosewater, pomegranate molasses & Iranian figs. I would have loved to get some Seville oranges in this shot too but I forgot to get some from the market this week. I adore middle eastern food especially the sweets. I also love bringing a middle eastern twist to traditional baking, such as chocolate cake with toasted pistachios & rosewater cream.
I'm thinking of giving my new spoon a name...any suggestions?
Pretty Candies for decorating & my new handy rubber spatula/spoon
I bought this spoon on the weekend & it is officially my new bff. It is both a spoon & a spatula, it is made of sexy smooth rubbery stuff & it is totally impervious to heat. It is the best thing since the spork, It stirs, it scrapes, it scoops & looks soooo cute! I am also obsessed with buying any pretty candy in sight for decorating cupcakes at the moment. Look how pretty the colours are on those sugared almonds, they look like pastel coloured eggs. I could just imagine a little robin laying them.
If your local organic store doesn't supply this, pester them until they do
Organic Coconut Palm Sugar
I discovered this stuff about 2 months ago at the organic markets & did some research. It has a really low Glycemic Index of 35 (anything under 55 is brilliant) so it’s probably the healthiest sweetener you can get. It is also ecologically sustainable as the tree is not cut down to obtain the sap. The best part is it tastes gorgeous! I have been using it wherever recipes call for brown sugar as it imparts a lovely rich caramel flavour to baking. It is also used in Asian & Indian cooking such as curries & sauces.
I was making sponge cakes on the weekend & it takes a lot of eggs
Organic Free Range Eggs
A kitchen staple. I love working with eggs, it is never lost on me that these are the beginning of life. I love separating them with my hands & rolling the yolk across my fingers, I love the way they take on air when whipped, I love how organic eggs often contain double even triple yolks! I love the crunch of their gorgeous brown shells being crunched in between my hands. Glorious little things…I even love the cartons they come in, all grey & lumpy. There is no doubt free range eggs taste better, you can taste the happy. Do your family a favor & switch to free range right away.
Those are my faves for the month. What are your favorite things in the kitchen?
6
Sep
2009
Well hello there world, lookin’ good
My name is Shannon, welcome to my blog.
Let me introduce myself. I am a 20 something Australian floral design student with a flair for baked goods. I have a dream, a dream that a patisserie & a florist can co exist under the 1 roof…bake & bloom.
Flowers & baking go hand in hand for me, the simple luxury. It just feels natural.
I’m sure it will be difficult, I’m certain there will be tears, flat cakes & broken stems. I’m sure I’m going to love every minute of it! Hopefully dear reader, you will too.
