And to think, just a few months ago I was vegan...

Wow, it has kind of been a crazy couple of days... I'll just start with yesterday first since there is less to tell. So yesterday I had the brilliant idea to go to a couple of museums. Anyone who knows me knows that, if I could, I would actually live in the MET. It's amazing! I decided that I would go to there first since it's my favorite and a fair amount cheaper. Then I thought that I would go to the MOMA (museum of modern art) since I had not been to that one yet. Mother Nature had other plans for me... I got out of the subway into Manhattan and it was pouring rain and I still had at least five blocks until I was at the MET. So I started walking and, thankfully, had my umbrella but it didn't turn out so well. I was soaked from the knees down, and my shoes and socks were soggy. I was kind of dispirited and decided that after going to the first museum that I would go back home. The MET was still as wonderful as always and even though it was my third time there, almost all of the art that I looked at I had not seen on my two previous trips. I think that I could probably spend a week there and still not see everything. The above picture is part of the Egyptian exhibit that they have and it is awesome! I think that's about it for Friday, onto today!

* note - that is a shadow on the bag, not a stain... lol.

I started school today and was really nervous (imagine that) so I did not sleep very well last night. Since I was so nervous I wasn't very excited for class. I just kept thinking about how I wasn't going to know anyone and wondered if everyone else was going to be better/smarter at this than me. Well, I am happy to report that my fears were unfounded and I felt right at home in the kitchen. In fact, it was AMAZING! Since I got here this past Monday I kept having thoughts wondering if I had made some sort of horrible mistake, or if everyone would think that I'm crazy if I left and went back to Lake Orion; but today reminded me that it isn't a mistake and that this is what I really want to do with my life. I even made it to class without getting lost ;-) ANYWAYS, it started out with an orientation and we went over the student handbook, etc. Basically like the first day of any college class that I've ever taken. Then after we finished that we met our chef/instructor and started discussing ingredients/flavors and talking about the very basic foundations of baking. I'm also sad to report that this involved a little math... I also learned that we get to take home EVERYTHING that we make, which seems a little crazy and other classes will bring food that they've made into your classroom for you to try, which is how I tried a rosemary and red bell pepper focaccia today. They also set out baguettes for your class when you first come in so that you can have a snack... hahaha. Shortly thereafter, I realized that I'm not in over my head. My teacher started asking us questions and I was the only one answering for a while. She started asking us about prominent restaurants/pastry chefs in NYC and I was the only one that answered. Which by the way, I am one of two people out of a class of 13 that is not from the city... But no one else even had a clue about any restaurants in the city or pastry chefs. My teacher actually said, "ok, anyone besides Kayla know of one?" At which point a girl said "The Cheesecake factory?" and I could tell that the teacher was trying not to laugh. We then got lectured that we should know more about this since this is the profession that we are trying to go into; we were also given a homework assignment to research these types of places... Ok, enough bragging about how amazing I am. (I hope that the sarcasm comes across, but I doubt that it does...) For anyone that knows me, you know that I am a picky eater. Well, I decided that I am going to try anything and everything that I am given the opportunity to so that I can have the full experience of culinary school - I'm really hoping that mushrooms do not enter into this. Which leads me into the dairy portion of the day. I am not a fan of dairy, in fact for over six months last year I didn't eat any dairy at all. (or eggs, or meat, or - the list keeps going) Our chef started talking about dairy and its different forms and its many applications in baking. So we talked about creams, cheeses, butters, etc. This also came with tasting... Today I tasted: clotted cream, Crème fraiche  (which by the way is delicious!), mascarpone, Gruyère cheese (which was surprisingly good), and fresh mozzarella. Just a word about clotted cream - don't eat it, it's pretty gross. Ok, I think that's enough for today. Tomorrow I get to bake chocolate chip walnut cookies! And at some point soon I will be learning to make ice cream!

Lots of love,

Kayla

* I also wanted to apologize by how poorly written this post is - I'm going on about 4 hours of sleep and am crazily excited!

Also, I just wanted to say that we're actually encouraged to bring camera's to take pictures of our creations - so expect lots of pictures!

I forgot a couple of things:

1.) After seeing a room from a Frank Lloyd Wright home in the MET, I've now come to the realization that I must live in one.
2.) After seeing an old piece of furniture called a "tete-a-tete," I've realized that the afformentioned house will be incomplete without it.
and 3.) I found a Trader Joe's right by my school! I almost wept at the sight of it. (slight exaggeration - but I was very excited)

edit again: here's a picture of the Frank Lloyd Wright room in the MET ...sigh... I love it. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/1972.60.1