Tiramisu used to scare me.

I used to live in fear. Fear of failure. Fear of the unknown. Fear of feeling out of place. I was scared of so many things that I contained myself in a room and focused on school, because it was a task that I knew that I could accomplish. I was great at that. I knew that as long as I studied and completed my homework, I would do well. Failure wasn't possible.

When I first started dealing with my phobia of "fear." It was difficult. I found myself rationalizing why I shouldn't do something, because I might mess up. It was hard going against it, but I'm glad I did. There are so many things to try and obstacles to overcome.

Tiramisu, Version 1.0

Tiramisu used to be part of the problem. I was scared of wasting ingredients. I finally decided to tackle the fearsome cake that needed expensive mascarpone cheese. Everything was going well until I encountered the filling. Oh my...I royally messed up the cheese. It became grainy.  

Lesson of the day: Don't beat mascarpone, it will destroy the creamy texture.

Other than that, the tiramisu's flavor profile was superb. Next time, I will dominate the CHEESE FILLING!!!

 

 Close up of the poorly made mascarpone filling.

Stories and Breakfast

I used to write stories when I was in high school. Long teenage drama filled love stories about your typical plain Jane that attracts the wannabe bad boy. Oops, I meant to say that I used to write long philosophical novels...

What makes me laugh is that my stories actually had a dedicated following of readers. I mean seriously, REAL people actually wanted to read my crap? When I read my stories now, they literally make me laugh-out-loud, because they're sooooo bad. Bad plot. Bad writing. Bad character development. Bad everything, but they're too funny to throw away.

Similar to my writing days, I am 100% confident that in a couple of years, I'm going to look back at my photography and think, "Wow, I've improved drastically." So it begins, the best photo from my breakfast "photo shoot":

Strawberry whipped yogurt, bananas,

and cocoa powder.

Rice Pudding, How come you taste funny?

Since I've started blogging, I've become more open minded when it comes to trying new food. I suppose it feels hypocritical to call myself a "food blogger" when I don't want to expose my taste buds to new flavors and textures. Some things I've tried and enjoyed since starting this blog, include foie gras, raw oysters, and moonshine from Africa.

I can't say I regret trying new food, but there are some that leave a lasting impression. For instance, my attempt at rice pudding. I've heard great things about rice pudding so I was eager to try making some. I followed the recipe accordingly and didn't deviate from the directions. My finished rice pudding had a nice creamy texture.

 

Ohhh la la. Aren't you pretty?

However, as soon as I sampled my creation, my face contorted into a "wtf" face. Creamy sweet rice with flavorful raisins was not appealing to my taste buds. Despite not enjoying the dish, I will probably give it one more chance before I officially put it on my "I-will-never-try-it-again" list.

For those that are curious, I used this recipe.

 

Why do you taste bad? =(

Don't want to spend money on a pastry brush? Try this!

 

Fresh Buns!

I'm sure these buns look familiar. I talked about them in my last post. However, I wanted to share something new with my readers (if I even have any) hahaha. I guess, in reality, all this writing is for me.

What I wanted to share was that you don't need a pastry/food brush to paint the egg wash on the buns. You won't believe the tool. I guarantee that every single person has this in their home. You ready?

It's...paper napkins! (or paper towels if your napkins aren't heavy duty)

Dip the napkin in the egg wash and brush it over 

the bun like a normal brush.

Spread a thin layer all over the top.

And ta-da! You've accomplished the task without having to buy a new tool.