Aussie Rules?

I'm writing this on my penultimate day of 'employment' as I start to clean up my bench, hand over my notebooks and start to get ready for my new life.

As I previously mentioned, I'm flying off to Australia to do a class in Sydney and then spend some time with my brother, sister-in-law and niece.  So things are pretty crazy!

If anyone has any ideas about stuff I should be doing in Sydney and Melbourne then please give me a shout out!

I'll be back, hopefully a little rested, having learned a topsy turvy cake, and having made a very important 3 year old's birthday cake!

Meanwhile, my thoughts go to the future.  Its pretty terrifying not knowing exactly what I'll be doing in 3 weeks time.  My college schedule is far from settled, so I cant make any definite plans.   This is very unusual and pretty scary for me, but I try to buoy myself with the messages and words of friends and strangers.   Everyone has been so supportive, and believing in me, I have to believe in myself.  Working for myself is going to be really strange, I can already tell I need to cut myself a little slack, but also learn from my mistakes!

I'm also thinking about this blog, and maybe hoping to invest a little more time in discussing opinions, and maybe not just food.  I'll probably move the cake stuff to another blog, where its all rainbows and happiness, and I can be a bit more gritty and honest here.  I had a little banter with the wonderful @beasofbloomsbury on twitter, I admire her so much for being so honest and up front and I'd like to see more of that here.  Check back and see if I actually have the balls to do it!

Oh and isnt this an awesome sign!  I saw it on UCSD campus on a little bike ride recently and had to stop and snap a picture!!

Dollar a dish

I just wanted to share a great program that will be going on for the month of August, many of our favorite restaurants in San Diego will be participating.  All you need to do is eat there, choose the participating dish, and a dollar will be donated to this fantastic program!  I'm salivating as I go down the list, there are some really delicious offerings!

The Food 4 Kids Backpack Program at the San Diego Food Bank provides weekend food to elementary school children who receive free school meals during the week, but are going hungry over the weekends when school meals are unavailable. Some of these children are returning to school on Monday having eaten little or nothing since Friday lunch. The program currently serves 800 children in 22 schools. With the continued support of the community we will serve 1050 children in 26 schools in the 2011-2012 school year.

 http://www.sandiegofoodbank.org/programs/food4kids/
Here are the restaurants participating!  Click on the link above for a more detailed descriptions of the dishes involved.
Chop Sooey choptruck
Devilicious
Corner Cupcakes
FlippinPizzaCA
Food Farm
Mangia Mangia
Ms. Patty Melt
Two for the Road
Blueprint Café
Burlap
Cowboy Star
Croce's Restaurant and Bar
Cucina Urbana
Flavor Del Mar
Flippin Pizza
Kensington Grill
NINE-TEN
Prep Kitchen
Rimel's
Ritual Tavern
Searsucker
Sprinkles
Terra
The Red Door
Wellington
Whisk n'Ladle

Zenbu

Opera Cafe

I just thought I'd do a little experiment and try that new fangled instagram for my iPhone.  You see I had this lovely lunch, and we brought back some delicious macarons, and I wanted to share my little snaps and my thoughts.

I had a ratatouille crepe with salad, and it was a little on the greasy side, but still delicious.  My companions both chose sandwiches which they had with Parmesan truffle fries, an extremely generous portion which was gobbled down with gusto!

We took some desserts and macarons back to the office but they didn't last long!  A dulce de leche opera slice was consumed before even checking email, and we all tried the macarons, which I thought were very good.   I found them to have a pleasing chew and not to be tooth-achingly sweet.  I managed to save my mini chocolate desserts until 3, but they were quickly eaten too.  Just a wonderful selection.

I'd say get yourself down there asap.  Get there a little early to get a nice seat before the lunch crowd shows up or try a Friday evening.  I cant imagine anything lovelier than a nice glass of pinot and some beautiful dessert to start my weekend off just perfectly!

Opera is in the Sorrento Valley area of San Diego