Work Wallpaper

Late post: this was my desktop wallpaper for February 2019 for both work and home. I love puppies and this quote from John Lennon. Agreed: it is never wasted, if you enjoyed time 🙂

Love, Brioche and Savage Garden

Love doesn’t just sit there, like a stone; it has to be made, like bread, remade all the time, made new.

Ursula K. Le Guin

closeup: brioche à tête

xinageco: brioche à tête

3 years ago on this date (March 24), I tried my hand at baking brioche because the love of my life exBF mentioned not being able to find ones he liked anywhere since moving to Canada from France. If you’ve ever made brioche, you know how much butter they require (hint: a lot)!  Successful brioche requires a lot of love and labour because you need to keep folding, resting, checking and repeating these steps at least 3 times until the dough develops into a nice pastry ready for baking!

You’re looking at pictures of the first batch of brioche I’ve made with love. Someday, I’ll make brioche again for someone I love — ME — I just have to find the baking tins from storage, ha!

Brioche IS Love

You could draw parallels between making/baking brioche and maintaining/keeping the love in a long-term relationship. It’s on-going work. If you ignore a step, get lazy or don’t supervise the process of caring for the dough, it falls apart. Baking won’t save it. Once it’s ruined, you pretty much have to start over again and give it your full attention until it’s ready. Success derives from attention, affection and commitment.

I’m listening to Savage Garden (yes, still my fave) while writing this post. Darren Hayes wrote the song Affirmation (below) after his divorce from his wife/childhood sweetheart. The line I really relate to says “I believe I’m loved when I’m completely by myself alone.” I am so blessed because my friends and family continue to prove this to me. Also, because I’m with God/Universe, I have faith that everything is working out for the highest good of all concerned.

TBT: Kombucha BBT!

I wanted to treat my family to a yummy, home-made drink they’ve never had before which would be good for them because it’s healthy (full of probiotics) ~ that’s how I came up with making this drink. 

Instead of spending money on Boxing Day last year, I treated my family to a homemade Kombucha bubble tea. This involved taking my martini shaker, filling it halfway with ice cubes, pouring in some 2nd-ferment ginger-apple kombucha and shaking it like crazy, LOL! I then strained the drink into clear glass containers which had 1-2 tablespoons of the mix below.

Caramel Melange

Christmas night, I cooked some mini tapioca pearls and created a homemade caramel sauce in which to soak them with in our fridge overnight. This kept the tapioca pearls cool, chewy and ready-to-use the next day!

Ginger-Apple Kombucha

I sterilized an old pickle jar and took some kombucha from my continuous brew jar, combined it with fresh apple and ginger slices, and stored this concoction on our counter for a week! It was fun to watch the apple and ginger discolor which meant that the sugars were being consumed by my “little helpers.” The former are the beneficial bacteria and yeast who do the job of converting sugar molecules into ethanol and CO2.

The Result

They loved it! In fact, a week later at another dinner party, my mother was telling one of the guests about the awesome Kombucha bubble tea I served!

Drawings for Mom + Grandma

Growing up, I was the rational kid who loved writing stories whereas my sister was the artistic one in the family. I never drew any art to give to my parents (as kids often do). This year, I make-up for it giving my folks hand-drawn pieces to celebrate them! Below are drawings I did for my mom and grandma for Mother’s Day using a sharpie 🙂

For Grandma by xinageco

For Mom by xinageco

L’avenir d’un enfant est l’oeuvre de sa mere.

Napoleon Bonaparte

[The future of a child is the work of his mother.]

Tartiflette

When you combine potatoes, cheese, onions and lardons (fatty pork, like bacon) in the oven, you end up with a very yummy, one-pot dish that is very filling! This is what it looks like.

Raclette

Have you ever had raclette? If you’re in France, you should. Pouring warm, melted cheese on cured meat and potatoes is a simple and delish dinner option! I recommend it