It may have been dreary outside but watching it from the revolving rooftop restaurant,
La Ronde, made it a lot more tolerable. It's Day 2 of catch up week and recapping about
Tieless Tuesdays
Several of us bloggers (find recaps from the night from Linda, Teresa, Eva, and Cheryl) got together to sample the new menu, imbibe in 1/2 price wine bottles and listen to live Jazz music.
I am really behind in my posting so I want to catch up and I'm hoping to post everyday this week. (Here's trying!) I've been to many events the last several months and the
High School Culinary Challenge hosted at the
Shaw Conference Centre was one of them.
There are some people who know at a younger age what their passion in life is and are able to follow forward with it. I'm always amazed by those folks, envious too, wishing it was as clear for me as it is for them. Seeing shows like
Masterchef Junior, where young children are using their sharp knife skills and implementing complicated kitchen techniques, is very inspiring.
Attending the High School Culinary Challenge brought that inspiring feeling to the surface. The meal prepared was really well done and I wish I was able to have my chicken looking and tasting as beautiful as this one. Looking out among the crowd feeling the energy and seeing proud parents, family, friends and teachers, beaming with pride visibly shown on their faces, cheering on their children and schools, makes this a great celebration. There are no losers in this challenge because if you made it here, you are on the right path. Keep on and follow your passion. Congrats to all!
(Mulligatawny Soup, Stuffed Chicken Breasts, Apple Streudel, Awards Presentation)
"I don't think I can do it." I say to my hubby after reading an email aloud about doing a cooking segment for television.
"Sure you can!" he replies.
"But, I'm comfortable BEHIND the camera! Not in front of it!"
I have done several speaking presentations during my schooling as well as my various jobs. I was nervous but never really had too much of a problem but this was in front of a camera. I rather talk to 100 people than in front of a camera that is pointing right at me, with several people hovered around it staring at me to make sure every word is good. Especially having to repeat lines over and over again, while trying to sound natural, because they are shooting at different angles or because they just changed a lens.
I hummed. I hahhed. And then I decided to take the leap. I thought about what a fantastic experience it would be. Also, never, EVER, in my entire life thus far, would I have thought I would do anything like this! What the heck!
So, I said YES!
Telus Optik Local, for Edmonton region, has a new show called
Family Central and they were looking for a mom who could offer foods that kids would like and that were healthier and nutritious. Who knew that my 2-3 minutes of airtime would take several hours to tape. I was exhausted after the first segment. Kudos to those who work in front of the camera. Holy moly! Did I mention they taped my segment at my home! Talk about adding more stress! Clean up crew, STAT!
I'm not going to say it was easy because it was most definitely not. I would not say I'm a natural at it, as I was tremendously nervous, and I heard my voice waver more than once. If you know me personally, you might hear it too but I am proud of myself for doing something that I had fear and anxiety over! Plus, I learned a lot from it and in the upcoming episodes (will post when I get links), I definitely did better which makes me really, really happy. It was a really great and FUN experience! Thanks for the crew and Telus Optik for giving me the opportunity and cheering me on.
Here my segment for the show. You can see others featured in the same episode by following this
LINK.
Recipe after the jump!
...
Easy-peasy. That's what this is.
But, and there is always a but, you gotta wait for it. A couple of months but it's really, really worth it.
Grab a bunch of vanilla beans, make a slit lengthwise on the bean, and throw them in a bottle of vodka. That's the easy-peasy part I mentioned. Then, put the bottle in a cool, dry place and forget about it. That is the "but" part of this process... the waiting game. Go check on it once in a while, give it a shake and put it back. The longer you leave it, the more infused the vodka will get with vanilla and the richer the color will get.
When I get half way through the first bottle, I start another one and then I always have vanilla extract ready.
I think next time I will substitute the alcohol with rum or a whisky.
Tip: Don't throw those vanilla beans out! Scrape out the insides and use them to make a delicious dessert or
Vanilla Bean Ice Cream as they still have a lot of flavour.
Or allow the beans to air dry and pop them into a container with white sugar. Vanilla sugar is so heavenly scented and doing it yourself saves you plenty of pennies, since vanilla sugar can be somewhat costly at the grocery store.