December: I'm Dreaming of...

It‘s taken me a while to write this post as I‘ve had a number of things on my mind.  A lot of self reflection actually. Maybe this is the last post of this kind for the year and it‘s the time to reflect... or maybe when I became a mom, I see myself differently.  Becoming a parent tests your character, beliefs, and stamina.  It makes you think about the person you are as you wonder who s/he becomes...

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I recently made this very sweet, decadent, loaded with dark chocolate and butter loaf cake and it was just...well...okay.  Something between a cake and brownie.  The recipe itself might be good and maybe it was just me...I haven't been baking as much as I'd like and when I do, the results are not too great.  Practice and focus are key, but dedicated time and focus is what I lack right now.  

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Steeping tea is not a hard thing to do, but I also seem to be very poor at it recently.  Sometimes I pour too early (short steep) making it too light and sometimes I forget about it till it's quite strong and over-brewed.  In some ways, I think it's a reflection of who I am and where I'm at in life.

Too early a pour :: I'm too eager for results that I rush things and produce something with little substance...
Too late of a pour :: I'm not focused, juggling too many things I want to do that I don't pay enough attention to it...and thus forget what's important.

Ahhh, tea and metaphors for life, I'm sure I‘m not the first to say the above.

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But, I can still dream (because we all need to dream), so this December I'm dreaming of...

light and fluffy cakes (and some simple cookies) made more than once

- a simple chiffon cake, maybe topped with a light as snow whipped cream frosting
- gingerbread cookies...warm spices to warm up these cold days
- a Swiss roll cake  decorated Junko style (I have yet to try a recipe from her book)!  Just because it's sooo cute...this may be my over eager self talking again, but like I said, I can dream...
- watching my favourite movie with a warm tea and the oven on...and not caring if snow is falling heavily or not

Oh, yes...and finish the book The Untold History of Ramen....a very interesting read so far, review to come soon!  

Enjoy the rest of 2014!