Week 3 - Like That One Scene in Balto
Monday morning I was on salad and herb duty which means you go down to the greenhouses before class to pick all of the herbs, lettuce and other leaves that will be used by the students that day. I continue to be impressed by the amount of knowledge everyone who works here can hold in their brains about plants.
In the kitchen on Monday I made a berry tart, roasted red pepper salad, and glazed carrot. My partner made a whole shoulder of lamb - girl power!
That evening I went to visit my guy John to have a swim and sauna. The sky was putting on an absolute show - look at those clouds! Fake!!
The next day I had my most hectic day in the kitchen yet and it was all my fault. I went in so cocky and added not one but two extra projects to my docket. Why did I think I would have the time?? Hubris, Icarus, etc. I ended up making moussaka, chickpea and eggplants salad, brown bread and tag teaming a chutney with my partner. It all ended up good but I wish I could accurately convey to you the sweat that was dripping down my back in the middle of this kitchen session.
As always, Wednesday was a lecture day and we had guest lecturers from a vineyard owner and a beekeeper. Everyone walked away at least slightly in love with the Austrian wine man. You can check out his wine here . He described the Pet Nat as a ‘breakfast wine’ because ‘it won’t get you fucked up. I’m not even traditionally a white wine lover but they honestly were all very yummy and I’m not just saying that in case Leonhard finds this and reads this and wants to propose to me. But if that happens, hi Leo <3
The beekeeper was also lovely but his Irish accent was so thick I wished there had been a way to turn on closed captioning.
ThursdayI filleted my first fish - a hake! It looked very scary and actually was very sharp and pokey but filleting wasn’t quite as hard as a feared and he tasted great! Although to be fair, any fish tastes good in a fish pie when there is enough mornay sauce and mashed potatoes on top. I also made buttered cucumber which is a crime against humanity as cucumber should never be served hot.
But Thursday night is where things got really insane - Northern Lights! Aurora Borealis!! Just like in that one scene in Balto! One of our classmates Sondre, an older gentleman from Norway who invests in wine for a living (?) is very passionate about the northern lights and let us all know they would be appearing over Ireland that night. I went down to the beach with a few classmates and there they were.
To be fair, they were not nearly as vibrant in person as they were through the lens of a camera phone but it was still SO COOL!! A real bucket list moment.
Friday I made white yeast bread, a Tuscan apple dessert, and worked on dissecting a chicken. All good and cool, but compared to the northern lights the night before, not quite as majestic. Mother nature you win again!!
