Survived Week One

Ballymaloe is a serious cooking school -- a little more serious than I expected, but perhaps I just didn't face up to it.  Thursday was a day for lectures.  We learned about a lot of different cheeses, including a lecture with tasting from a man who imports giant blocks of Parmigiana-Reggiano from Italy.  Absolutely delicious.  We also started lessons on wines (yea!), including a ridiculously hideous VHS (yes, out of date as well) on wine etiquette.  Safety and hygiene were covered in the afternoon.  As part of a session from a local fire responder, I got to use a fire extinguisher to put out flames on a gas stove.  Fun!  We finished with some info on hazards planning as applied to restaurants and other culinary establishments.  Too specific to Irish requirements for me, but I am in Ireland after all.

Thursday night I spent hours with my "Order of Work," because on Friday I had to redo the bread from Wednesday, as well as a complicated chocolate-hazelnut tart and a Penne with mushrooms and marjoram.  Let me first explain that most of the students are used to using weights for dry ingredients like flour and sugar, and volumes for liquids in liquid ounces, while in America we use volumes in cups/volume ounces for both (an imperial pint is 18 not 16 ounces,  but that's a whole other complication).  Well, the bread recipe called for 14 oz (weight) or 3-1/2 cups of wholemeal flour and, when I weighed the 3-1/2 cups like I used on Wednesday, it weighed between 18 and 19 ounces.  Aha!  I had been the victim of an error in conversions!  Well, Mamie was somewhat understanding, but I had to redo the bread anyway, which I proceeded to screw up royally by forgetting white flour (I'm guessing by how it came out).  The tart was just as complicated as it read in the recipe and occupied most of my attention.  I worked on the Penne while I was waiting on the tart at different stages.  I let it cook too long while I was finishing the tart.  And then, while my attention was on trying to save the Penne, the tart was left in the oven 2-3 minutes too long.  Arrrggghhh!  Oh, and while in the middle of all my trials, I reached into soapy water and cut my finger (only small cut, thank goodness) on a chopping knife that another student had left in the soapy water (an absolute no-no) and had to take time out to have it bandaged.

I sulked over lunch.  I ate my own Penne, which my instructor had said had too much lemon but I think was too salty.  I noted how my tart was darker than all the others, so I didn't even eat any myself (I'd already tasted it).  During the demonstrations that afternoon, I listened while Darina critiqued someones (no names used) Penne as being too soggy and not al dante and I thought "that's the least of my problems."  Later, her assistant brought out a very dark tart and set it on the counter.  It sure looked a lot like mine and I anticipated the embarrassment that was about to come as she pointed out the over baking.  After it sat there for several minutes with me growing increasingly fidgety, she picked up the tart and proceeded to comment on the lovely golden brown color and how delicious it looked!  Whew!  She also said that the filling might be a little dry and it may not have been my tart, but I felt a giant weight come off of my shoulders.  After that I thought to myself:  "You're here to learn how to cook and to have fun.  Chill out!"

So, believe it or not, I had a wonderfully relaxing Saturday.  Drove to Midleton (the nearest town with shopping centers) in a gusty rainstorm.  Walked around Midleton in a gusty rainstorm.  But I got the SIM card I needed for the unlocked cell phone that I had brought with me, and it works!  Talked to Charlene for half an hour and it was great.  I did my wash later in the afternoon and evening ( the cycles on the washer are interminable) and had pizza in the cottage with some of the girls -- I mean women (the oldest is only 2 years older than my daughter Emily).  I mentioned rain and, yes, it has rained every day this week; but its supposed to be "partially cloudy" tomorrow (Sunday).  To be honest, the rain hasn't really bothered me.  I've done my power walking 5 times and didn't get rained on during any of them; although I have stepped in quite a few puddles.

I've learned that two of my weaknesses will almost certainly make things difficult for me throughout the course - I get nervous and rush when under pressure and I am forgetful, which amplifies the nervousness and vice versa.  Since I am in this for the experience, I have the option of just completing the course without getting a certificate, but until I make a firm decision, I'm trying to keep up with the others.  I've been fighting off a virus all week and today it is starting to get the upper hand. If we are sick, we can't go in the kitchens, which means you start to get behind.  Can I overcome?  Stay tuned.

Now it is Sunday with the anticipated blue skies.  I promised some photos and here are a few.  This is our cottage from the rear.  My bedroom is upstairs on the right.

The next is what we see of the Ballymaloe gardens from our back yard.

Next is a picture of some of the gardens.  Absolutely beautiful, especially considering that we are in the middle of winter.

Some of the gardens are more formal, with herbs growing in the patches surrounded by hedges.  Imagine how wonderful this is when the wisteria are in blume on the structure over the seating area.

The school itself is a structure that fits in quite nicely with the other buildings in the area.  This is where I spend most of the day in the kitchens and demo room.

The cottages on the cookery grounds are marvelously quaint.  I'm glad I'm not staying in them because they are dominated by young people and they haven't been updated for some time, although they are well maintained.

The last picture is taken from the north (more inland) of the school.  The school is among the trees on the left of the road that runs through the shot.  You can see the ocean on the left, with an island.  Then there are the cows in the foreground.  What an incredible pastoral setting!

On to week two!