Away from home, I’m an early riser: 4:00am to be exact, Monday through Friday.  While everyone else is sleeping, I get a lot of work done at this opportune hour when everything is calm and quiet around me.

Monday and Tuesday, before committing to our on-the-line station duties, we were shown how to make Coconut Water Kefir.

Making Coconut Water Kefir

In a sterilized glass jar, add live kefir grains to coconut water, stir well using a non-metallic utensil, put a lid on the jar, then let the mixture ferment at room temperature for up to 36 hours.  When ready, strain the kefir grains (you can rinse and recycle them for later use when making another batch).  If you desire, you can use the kefir as a culture for making lassi, yogurt, or cheese, or you can flavor your kefir drink with mostly any kind of fresh fruit juice for a refreshing “soda” with just the right amount of fizz. We flavored ours with pineapple.  Yummy, yummy!  To read more about kefir grains, click here.

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Monday was also the start of my run of the Dessert Station with Kelly Dennis, who since 105degrees‘ launch she has managed to create some fabulous treats.  For the next three weeks I’ll be working with her in pastry prep and plating.  Fortunately, I’ll get to use some of the techniques I acquired while at the French Culinary Institute’s Pastry Program.  To name a few, these are the desserts on the 105degrees current Winter Menu:

Dark Chocolate Budino, Liquid Cacao Truffle, Espresso Gelato	White Chocolate-Grapefruit Bavarois, Ginger Almond
Raspberries, Vanilla Cream, Chocolate Tart	Pear Frangipane with Bittersweet Chocolate Glaze
Warm Pecan Tart with Vanilla Ice Cream	S'mores
Strawberries with Fondue	Brownie
Ice Cream Sampler with Snickerdoodle	Citrus Quattro
Pomegranate Red Velvet Cake with Lemon Frosting	Banana-Cacao Pudding Tart with Caramel
Apple Cider Beignets	Gianduja Tasting

Lucky for me, I’ve either sampled, prepped or plated each of these desserts.  Needless to say they’re all FABulous, though if I were forced to choose my personal favorite, it would have to be the Apple Cider Beignets.  Before I ever tasted these though, my favorite was the Pomegranate Red Velvet Cake.  So, now you know when you’re in town and if they’re ever out of one, you can try the other.  Needless to say, all of these desserts are FABulous!

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As part of another Level II project, we’ve been assigned to help create the Cafe’s Spring Menu.  From a list of titles, I chose to work on “Kyoto Noche”.  I came up with something that I’ll have to show you later when the dish is finalized.  In the meantime, what I can divulge is that the dish is made, in part, with shiso leaves.  Shiso, also known as “perilla” and “beefsteak plant”, is a perennial herb in the mint family that is widely used in Japanese cuisine, especially as a natural colorant in umeboshi.

Chef Helen Castillo with Shiso Leaves

Above photo by Alissa

Towards the middle of the week, Russell James of the UK (who’s in town for several months) showed us the equipment he uses for photographing food.  By the way, Russell and I first met at Karen Knowler‘s home in England a couple of years ago, when I flew in from New York City to take one of her courses.  Small world, isn’t it?  Here I am (back then) with Russell, Karen, and her assistant Katie Foster.

This week ended on a high note working at the pastry station until closing with Kelly.