Kittens, Sugar and NM tour

The kittens have been at Petco all week awaiting adoption, but we will have them around again for another week starting Saturday afternoon if no one falls for their cute faces!

My Chocolate and Sugar class started on Monday to keep me busy. This week was all about sugar. The first day the chef's anti-corn syrup stance led to a total flop for all but one student in making cashew brittle. The results were still tasty, but the sugar crystallized so it was rather granular. The next day she gave us a revised recipe with corn syrup and the results turned out beautifully. The brittle had a 1/2 tsp each of cinnamon and chili powder - surprisingly yummy! One student made a version with sesame seeds, cardamom and black pepper which I think I will make for Christmas. We also make the sugar garnishes shown here on day two. On Wednesday we worked on spun sugar and sugar ribbons which came out fine and attempted nougat, which for me and half the class was a dismal failure once again. We may have added the butter too quickly. The chef and one student were going to have another go at it yesterday and report back on what the results were. Next week is chocolate week! That's the real reason I'm taking this class ...

On Thursday afternoon we decided on the spur of the moment to drive down to Albuquerque to do a little research for the tour I'll be leading in July (call Adkins Arboretum in January to sign up!). We visited the Rio Grande Nature Center since I hadn't been there for a few years (see photo of the cottonwood trees along with invasive Tamarisk). They have replaced their herb garden with a native plant garden which I think will be lovely in July. We also stopped at the Hotel Albuquerque where I think we'll all stay the first 2 nights. It is just 3 blocks from Old Town Albuquerque's plaza and the major museums are close by as well. We had pasta for dinner at a nice Italian restaurant in the University area with Tom and Leah who recommended High Noon near the plaza for authentic Mexican/New Mexican food and atmosphere for the tour welcome dinner. In other tour planning news, the staff at the Santa Fe Botanic Garden are going to arrange for us to visit three private gardens in an old neighborhood of Albuquerque!