Press Release for Michael's work in Australlia!

This is the link to the Press Release for my husband's most recent Klingon Translation project with Jenolan Caves in NSW Australlia! With pictures!

http://bit.ly/a3GbrI

Michael was contacted by Jenolan Caves to translate the script for their most popular cave tour to be translated into Klingon for their Acoustiguide audio tour. He completed the translation a few months ago, and then they invited him and another linguist out to Australlia for an all expenses paid business trip to tour the caves and record the audio! He just got back on Friday. It was a successful trip, and we are very blessed!

Thank you all for your support!

- Dalyn

-- Sent from my Palm Pre

Things not going as well

Things are not going as well as I'd like them to be at this point. As usual, I feel the most mean and miserable when my basic human needs are not met: sleep, eat, breathe, go to the bathroom, live free from assault or injury.... 

. . . I feel wretched when I get so fed up with the constant abuse from my children that I want to run away, and not be a parent anymore. Do all parents feel this way sometimes?

*sigh*

I just need a break from the unrelenting waves of attack. That was why giving birth was so painful: the intense pain I could handle once or twice, but the throws of pain one right after the other without pause or recovery is overwhelming and too much to endure... That is what it's like for me to be home alone with the kids all the time.

Any helpful advice?  :-/

-- Sent from my Palm Pre

"Breathe" Demo - Dalyn K. Roney (audio only)

If that attachment doesn't work, here is my youtube link!

http://youtu.be/MQkbon7erJA

Please listen to my latest song! (audio only) Comments and feedback please!

I often find that I forget to breathe, particularly when I'm emotional. I wrote this song while going through Therapy as an explanation that "I'm in transition in my life, right now is about me not you, and if you want to help you can remind me to just keep breathing."

Go ahead and take a breath. Take a few big deep breaths. Feel better? See! I know, right?

I wrote this last month, but I hadn't posted it because it's so raw and not "perfect". But after deliberation, I decided that it really does capture everything I'm going through (including kids screaming in background) perfectly. Disclaimer noted? Thank you.

Keep breathing.

-- Sent from my Palm Pre

Baking Science & Theory wk8

Custards

            This was my absolute favorite week to date!  We were able to make “Banana Walnut Bread Pudding with a Butter Rum Sauce”, “Pot De Creme”, “Creme Brulee”, and “Creme Caramel”, also known as Flan.  I had the joyous task of working primarily on the flan.

The Flan base called for the use of a vanilla bean, which was my first time to be privileged to work with that expensive ingredient.  Having been raised on Imitation Vanilla Extract for all of my baking needs, the real thing took my pallet to an entirely new realm completely.  I eagerly look forward to working with this diverse pod again in the future. 

            I was most excited to finally begin working with sugar to make the caramel top for the flan. 

 

 Since the first time I sat down to a show of Food Network Challenge six years ago, it has been my dream to learn how to make sugar sculptures, and work in that limitless, delicate, edible genre of artistic expression! 

 

It was something of a disappointment, therefore, when my first batch of caramel burnt. 

 

The second batch came out perfectly. I kept  wanting to take the sugar mixture off the burner too soon, for fear of burning it again.  But my instructor was so kind as to help me with it tremendously. 

 

I learned that we wanted it to darken a bit further than that of Clover Honey, which I have some familiarity with. 

            Our products were critiqued well, which made me very happy. Our instructor complimented our products as a whole, and said they look nice. 

 

He said nice job on the Flan; it has good flavor and texture. He went on to explain that the main difference between that and the other custards is the caramel. It has a bit of a different texture from the extra protein from the additional egg whites.  Also, this product tends to need care to not get too rubbery.  This dialogue made me concerned that our flan came out poorly. But, when asked to clarify he said our flan was quite good!  I was so pleased, I did a little dance after he left.

           

 

The Crème Brulee was pronounced to look nice, and was really good.  The only thing was that it was served still warm, due to time constraints. 

 

We were advised that it would set up more as it cools, but that you want it to be creamy and to not set up.

 

 Likewise to the flan, the crème brulee should not be rubbery. 

 

We should not concern ourselves too much with that, however, since our final product was graded as having been done perfectly.

 

 

The Banana Bread Pudding was also called good. 

 

However, the banana pieces seemed a little large, and should be mashed more.

 

Also, the nuts should have been chopped a bit more.

 

But, he still said it tastes good, and we did a good job.

            Finally, the Chocolate Pot De Crème tasted good, but was a little runny, and needed to cook longer.

Part of the reason was the cup which was used to bake it in due to the lack of ramekins available in the kitchen. 

In that case, we should have not filled the cup so much, which would allow the product to cook faster and to set up more. 

That is very valuable insight that will continue to be valuable in the future.

            Overall, he said “Good Job, Guys”, and I couldn't agree more. Yay!

Baking Science & Theory wk7

Enriched Yeast Doughs

      This week we had the opportunity to make Jumbo Cinnamon Buns, Pecan Sticky Buns, and Cream Scones.  

 

          I was most excited about making the scones, and they were my favorite product by the end of class. 

 

          Beforehand, the instructor said they should be lightly sweetened, and have an almost biscuit like texture like a quick bread.  We were also advised to use a variety of mix-ins to create different scones, such as fruit, nuts, and chocolate chips. 

 

         Our team chose to add fresh blueberries and dried cranberries to our scones. They were critiqued to be very nicely done; they have a nice texture and flavor without being overly sweet.  They were the clear favorite.

          The cinnamon rolls were quite unlike the cinnamon rolls I have made in the past. This recipe called for double the number of ingredients than I'm used to;

 

with ho hum results. 

 

          True to their name, these rolls were quite large, and seemed to almost grow out of our sheet pan.  This made the product less appealing to me, since it was more difficult to eat. Also, to apply the filling, we were instructed to use melted butter in the filling.  In the future, I will continue to use softened butter, which will give the rest of the filling something to hold on to as the dough is rolled together and cut into sections.

 

          Despite my harsh  review, our finished product was critiqued to smell good, and to have a very good flavor and texture.  Our first batch of dough was a team effort, and was combined in a stand mixer.  It did not come together very well. We set the first batch aside, and helped to complete the dough for the sticky buns. After which, I elected to remake the cinnamon roll dough by hand.

 

          I very carefully combined and sifted all of the wet and dry ingredients together, and kneaded the dough together by hand, taking great care to not over mix it.  I  believe this was the best course of action, and produced superior results.

 Unfortunately, the sticky buns did not turn out as favorably. 

          I did elect to mix the dough by hand for this as well, which gave it the desired texture, but some oversight by some or all of our team did result in the dough being far too salty for consumption. 

         This also led to a problem with the dough's ability to rise properly. 

If that was not bad enough, I broke my nails trying to scrape clean the topping off our sheet pan!

I do not imagine I shall ever desire to give another attempt to this particular recipe...