Did you watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade yesterday?  Confess, confess!  You love the parade, don’t you?!  I adore this annual Turkey Day tradition.  I love it so much that, on two prior Thanksgiving holidays, I convinced my family to forgo the traditional Thanksgiving feast and join the Macy’s masses in New York City.

The first year I attended the parade, it was remarkably cold.  Mind you, this statement is coming from a Vermonter who is familiar with suffering the effects of cold weather.  It was so freezing that, throughout the course of the parade, I regularly popped in and out of  a restaurant where I immodestly hovered over the hot buffet table just so I could defrost myself and absorb a portion of the heat.  I’ve since learned there is a hot little invention you can actually slip into your glove, which will keep your hand warm while preventing you from embarrassingly hanging your face over a hot tray of General Tsao’s Chicken.  The second year I attended the parade, it was both freezing and raining.  This time, I was lucky enough to watch the parade from the dry comfort of an office space normally inhabited by my brother’s friend’s mother’s dog’s trainer’s husband’s brother.  Or something like that. I stood 11 stories high above Broadway, found an inch of open window space and witnessed the tops of the balloons bounce on by.  Don’t be jealous but, yes, I also saw the top of Hannah Montana’s head as she floated down the parade route. Celebrity sightings from 11 stories away.  Could life be any more exciting?!

Now that I’ve watched the parade from the ground and from high above the pavement, there’s only one perspective left for me and the Macy’s parade.  I’m ready to be in the parade.  I could be a good member of the parade entourage, right? I’m not picky as to my role.  I’ll do whatever the Macy’s people need.  I could be one of the costumed characters.  I could hold the balloon strings.  I could even clean up after the horses.  My only stumbling block is figuring out how I will physically get myself in that parade.  On one occasion, I actually phoned up the Macy’s Public Relations office and asked what it would take for me to march in the parade. I was told, quite frankly, that I needed to be an employee of Macy’s.  Since that hasn’t happened yet, I need to consider my alternatives. I’ve since come up with the following list of options and respective drawbacks:

1) I win American Idol and sing on a float.  Downside?  My singing rivals that of William Hung.

2) I become Santa Claus’ personal assistant and help bring up the caboose of the parade.  Downside?  I don’t have a work visa for the North Pole.

3) I learn to play an instrument, re-enroll in high school and ensure my marching band is lucky enough to be invited to perform in the parade.  Downside?  I’d probably have to take Algebra again and stress about finding a prom date.

After reading through options 1 – 3, I’ve determined these solutions are inoperable.  I still need a definitive plan.  What I’ve decided, when I return to New York City on Thanksgiving, is to simply ease my way into the parade.  No one will notice, right? I’ll just have to move from the barricaded sidewalks and subtly slip myself into the festivities.  I’ll even bring some leftover Halloween candy and toss it to kids along the parade route so I can make myself useful.  The Parade Police can’t kick me out if I’m making the kiddies happy, right?!

We’ll just have to wait and see…..

Since I am inordinately busy with urgent translations and by the end of the day lack the stamina to pen some new entry to this blog, here is one more text I found ready-made on that childhood of mine the reporting of which some friends were kind enough to say they were sorry had ended. It seems I wrote it in early 2002.

Pépé – le père de mon père – m’a élevé jusqu’à l’âge de 7-8 ans, quand sa compagne, notre Tatafonsine (Tante Alphonsine), est morte et mon petit frère et moi sommes allés vivre pour notre douleur chez son fils, à Toulouse.

Je n’ai pas souvenir que Pépé ait jamais levé la main sur moi, sur nous, sauf une fois.

J’avais cinq ans sans doute et j’allais à l’école maternelle du village. Sur le chemin de l’école, avant l’église et la mairie qui se boudaient sur la grand-place, il y avait une épicerie, et dans la vitrine de l’épicerie il y avait un tambour, et moi il me faisait envie ce tambour. Et les bonbons dans les bocaux aussi.

Dans le tiroir de la commode de la cuisine où Pépé et Tatafonsine rangeaient de menus riens, il y avait des bouts de ficelle, un tire-bouchon, des reçus.

Un jour, j’y ai trouvé un billet de cinq cents francs tout neuf.

Un matin en partant à l’école, j’ai pris le billet et je suis allé acheter le tambour dont j’avais envie et, pour faire bonne mesure puisque le fabuleux billet le permettait, plusieurs paquets de bonbons.

J’ai enfoui le tout dans mon pupitre et, tandis que l’institutrice discourait, je me suis mis bien sûr à distribuer aux copains les bonbons, qui étaient enrobés de papillotes tortillées aux deux bouts. Il n’a pas fallu longtemps pour que, dans un craquètement de bonbons dépiautés, l’institutrice en vienne de proche en proche à remonter à la source de la manne.

Par quelle oreille je me suis trouvé traîné à la maison, je ne me souviens plus. Toujours est-il que je me suis retrouvé dans la cuisine devant Pépé.

Il n’a rien dit mais m’a allongé une gifle qui m’a soulevé du sol et fait heurter de la tête la commode d’où sortait le billet.

Je n’ai jamais autant aimé mon grand-père que depuis ce jour-là.

Aequare Chocolate Truffles (L to R): Mocha, Salted Caramel, Blackberry Cobbler, Ecuador, Le Citron

Most often I taste and rate chocolate bars in the morning before I’ve had anything to eat or drink besides water.  This way, I start off fresh with a clean pallet.  But this time, it just didn’t seem right to be eating such luxurious little works of art so early in the morning.  It would be like whipping out a bottle of vintage port and pouring a healthy glass at 7:30 AM.  So, I asked my wife to join me on a Friday night and we went through a six-piece assortment of fine filled chocolates together.  Even thought these are closer to European sized truffles (smaller than the gargantuan American standard – usually called bonbons), they were still big enough to cut in half and share.   I’m not providing a numerical rating for these chocolates since they can’t be compared to plain bars, but we did vote for our favorites – and our pick for number one was unanimous.

Aequare Fine Chocolates was created by classically-trained American Chef Jeffrey Stern who is now living and making fine chocolates in Quito, Ecuador.  Aequare makes single origin bars and ganache-filled confections in small batches using ingredients sourced almost entirely in Ecuador.  Aequare also follows a fair trade model that provides fair wages for cacao farmers.   Jeff has developed personal relationships with his growers and frequently visits the farms in Los Rios province that produce the beans.  I’ll write more about Aequare’s story when I taste and rate their single origin bars in a later post.

Aequare six piece assorted chocolates

What:  Aequare Fine Chocolates Six Piece Assortment.  Filled single origin chocolate confections from Ecuador.  66g (2.4oz).  Price – about $14.

These were our impressions, in order of tasting.  Next to each name is the description provided by Aequare in the mini-booklet included with each assortment to help you identify each piece.  I took more notes on my own comments than Genevieve’s, so her comments here are more terse.

Ecuador –  Pure 70% single origin ganache with Tahitian vanilla, enrobed in dark chocolate.

Genevieve: Apricot jam notes, rich buttery ganache.

Me: A light buttery fudge texture on the inside, hints of whipped crème.  The chocolate is not as intense as I thought it might be, probably because there is more filling than “shell.”

Mocha – The finest Ecuadorian coffee in a milk chocolate ganache, covered in dark chocolate.

Genevieve: “Oh that’s good.”  Velvety smoothness.  The coffee is not very intense.

Me: The coffee flavor rises up fast and early but is not overwhelming. Very creamy.  Mocha on a buttery, milky backdrop.

Amazon – Dark chocolate ganache with Ishpingo, a unique flavor from the Amazon, and a hint of cinnamon.

Genevieve: Nutmeg, cardamom, cinnamon, brown sugar.  Not overpowering, silky, round, and luscious.  These flavors were more exotic and Genevieve is real good at picking these things out – she caught the nutmeg notes before I did.  It’s hard to find familar comparisons to  Ishpingo, but the nutmeg and cardamom comes pretty close.

Me: A very interesting flavor combination.  Ishpingo came through as aromatic nutmeg notes that really paired well with the dark Chocolate.

Salted Carmel – The finest caramel ganache with specks of French fleur d’sel.

Genevieve: If just lick the ganache, you can taste more salt, but if you chew the whole thing, the flavors mix into a fine balance.

Me: A very satisfying combination.  Again, subtle use of salt provides a nice complement to the chocolate. Do you see a trend here?

Blackberry Cobbler – Pure blackberry puree, almond praline, and semi-sweet chocolate enrobed in 70% single origin chocolate.

Genevieve (just enjoying herself despite my seriousness): Wow! What is this?

Me: The acid of the berries was a nice, clean contrast to the chocolate.  The flavoring in the filling was definitely more pronounced in this case, but if you’re expecting blackberries, you want them to come through.  These were made from the real thing as evidenced by the tiny bits of blackberry seeds.

Le Citroen – Meyer Lemon infused semi-sweet chocolate ganache, enrobed in dark chocolate.

Genevieve: Not my favorite combination.  Maybe at this point in the tasting we were blown away by the rest of the chocolates, so whichever one we tasted last was doomed to be judged in the shadow of the previous five.

Me: Not my favorite either.  Something doesn’t work well for me, but the citrus is a nice clean note against the chocolate.  This is a matter of taste, of course, and you may totally love this one.  Enjoyable yes, but it comes in at #6 for both of us.

Overall Impressions:

Me: It seems that Chef Sterm is not at all heavy handed with the flavorings.  Rather, he achieves this subtle balance necessary to let this special single-origin chocolate shine through like a conductor that draws out the flutes and the French horns at just the right volume while making sure the rest of the orchestra doesn’t drown them out.  I think this is critical if you are going to call something “fine” chocolates – you can’t be clumsy with the flavorings or use them to mask inferior chocolate.  Clearly Chef Stern gets this and has only the highest respect for the Arriba chocolate that is the basis for all these confections.

Genevieve: “That’s really *&%^in’ good chocolate!”  The kids are asleep; she can use whatever colorful descriptors she wants!

Here’s our vote for top three:

Genevieve: #1 Amazon, #2 Salted Carmel, #3 Blackberry Cobbler

Me: #1 Amazon,  #2 Blackberry Cobbler, #3 Salted Carmel

Want to try some yourself?  Aequare Chocolate Truffles are available online at NewLeaf Chocolates.

Disclosures:  I paid for these chocolates myself.

Vertical Limit...

]]> http://bonbonsforbreakfast.wordpress.com/2009/11/20/a-very-special-thanksgiving-episode/ Fri, 20 Nov 2009 13:43:15 +0000 Sara http://bonbonsforbreakfast.wordpress.com/2009/11/20/a-very-special-thanksgiving-episode/

Once upon a time, in a universe where Friends was still producing new episodes and Brad Pitt was still married to Jennifer Aniston, the television community anxiously awaited a very special Thanksgiving milestone.  Brad Pitt was slotted to guest star on an episode of Friends! If you watched TV for even a second in November of 2001 then it was impossible to miss the promotional blitz underway to share the monumental Hollywood heartthrob news.  The episode was scheduled to air on Thanksgiving night during the tryptophanic post-turkey hours.

I was excited to watch Brad Pitt debut his comedy chops but my first responsibility in line for the evening was to survive the ensuing food feast.  Food and Friends.  Not a bad evening at all.  Before breaking bread, my family decided to go around the table and have each individual recite what they were most thankful for in life.  There were beautiful tributes and monologues: “I’m grateful for my wife/husband/mother/father/daughter/son/dog/hairdresser/butcher.”  My turn to make a “what am I thankful for” speech was fast approaching and, unfortunately, stage fright started to invade my being.  I could have said something as simple as “I’m thankful for health, wealth, family and friends.”  The wealth part would have been a slight stretch of the truth but, regardless, this task wasn’t rocket science.  It should have been easy but, for some reason, my improvisational skills decided to take the day off.  My mind was a blank slate.  I couldn’t muster up any deep thoughts of thanks.  All I could see, continuously flashing through my head, were the NBC promotional ads for Brad Pitt on Friends.  When I eventually took to the dinner table podium, the following words erupted from my mouth:

“Tonight, I am thankful that Brad Pitt will be guest starring on a very special Thanksgiving episode of Friends.”

There was a combination of silence and nervous laughter following my tribute sentence to Mr. Pitt.  Then my ears started wringing, indicating that my body was settling into a self-preservation post-humiliation safety zone.  I recall someone asking if I was grateful for anything other than Brad Pitt and prime time TV but, alas, my cognitive skills were no longer functioning in a serviceable manner.  I was just going to stop talking and stick with my turkey toast to Brad Pitt.

Whereas I failed to win the “I’m thankful” award that year, I did win ownership of the remote control for the evening.  It was clear to the other partygoers that, if nothing else, I was deeply committed to watching Friends.  Had Brad Pitt guest starred in a football game that evening then, despite my undeniable lack of pigskin knowledge, I may have considered appeasing my brother by watching a game instead.  Maybe another time.  We can only hope.

I’m hoping this year, on Thanksgiving, Brad Pitt will bring my story full circle.  Instead of saying he’s grateful for having guest starred on Friends many years ago, which I’m sure he always brings up at Thanksgiving dinner, I’m curious if he will return the gesture and say how thankful he is for me.  Here’s hoping!  In the meanwhile, and until I inevitably appear in Mr. Pitt’s prayers next Thursday, I plan on spending the next six days coming up with a 2009 “I’m thankful” redemption speech.

If you have any suggestions for “Sara’s Speech of Thanks,” please don’t be shy.  Then again, if I were to freeze up a second time around, it would certainly make for a good blog post someday….wouldn’t it?!

...et Babybel dans mon frigo.

]]> http://kailalama.wordpress.com/2009/11/16/der-schwarze-rabe/ Mon, 16 Nov 2009 20:51:38 +0000 Kai Peter Jasny http://kailalama.wordpress.com/2009/11/16/der-schwarze-rabe/

Die Kinder spielen ausgelassen im Hof, ihre Stimmen höre ich durchs geschlossene Fenster. Ihr Tagesmotto ist es, Spaß zu haben. Sie lachen albern herum und sind glücklich, die Kinder.

Doch bald schon kommt der schwarze Rabe angeflogen und die große Angst macht sich breit. Der schwarze Rabe ist aus kaltem Metall. Seine Fluggeräusche hört man von weitem durch die Häuserfronten und in den engen Gassen.

Dann lässt der Rabe sie los, die Bombe fällt. Ihr Fluggeräusch erschreckt die Kinder und sie flüchten in alle möglichen Himmelsrichtungen. ‘Kawumm’ und ‘rumms’ - die Bombe ist im Hof eingeschlagen. In tausend kleine Teile zerprasselt sie. Es regnet plötzlich Bonbons. Minuten später sind überall Süßigkeiten im Hof verteilt. Die Kinder spicken vorsichtig aus ihren Verstecken heraus.

Sie können es gar nicht fassen, glauben. Welch Pracht. Berge von Süßigkeiten, Wege voller Bonbons.

Die Angst ist verflogen und die Kinder lachen, sammeln und naschen. Sie schieben die Süßigkeiten zusammen zu einem großen Berg. Jetzt strecken sie sich ihre Hände entgegen. Zusammen verbunden an den Händen tanzen sie um den süßen Berg. Lieder werden gesungen und es wird laut gelacht.

Der schwarze Rabe.

Welch Segen.

Heitersheim, den 16.November 2009 - (Kai Peter Jasny)

Deeply deeply privileged to be part of this beautiful day with a beautiful couple.. love you both and thanks for letting me be part of it in the biggest of ways..

Bonbons for guests: cupcakes and design by me and in boxes supplied by One Wedding Wish (thanks Joanie!)

Blue labeled box with brown striped ribbon - Chocolate cupcakes with strawberry icing and little love hearts

Pink labeled box with polka-dot ribbon - Lemon cupcakes with lemon icing and little red flower and silver cachous

Love the flowers on the table.. and also received some great comments from all, in fact might be doing a wedding next year in April if all goes well!

-

Comme je l’avais signalé il y a quelques mois dans cet article, la barre mousquetaire qui n’était plus disponible de par chez nous, reviens par le biais de carambar. Je suis tombé dessus par hasard en faisant des courses, l’emballage est différent, mais le contenu est identique. Le fabricant mise sur son nom, pour faire apprécier ce bonbon, ce qui curieux car le goût et la texture du carambar classique, sont plus plus fort (je m’en suis groinfré à m’en décoller les plombages) que ceux du curly. Toujours est-il que après avoir testé les deux, c’est bien du “mousquetaires”.

-

-

Ils sont vendu par pack de 5 au prix de 1,99€ ce qui d’un côté est meilleur marché car 60 curly wurly acheté chez les rosbifs me coûtaient 33€ et 60 curly wurly carambar me reviennent à 23,88€.  Si le produit se vends bien et redevient un classique, je n’aurais plus besoin de me fournir chez les rosbifs (ça leur apprendra, avec leur sterlings).

-

-

J’ai trouvé les miens dans un géant casino, je pense que les autres enseignes vont s’y coller sous peu (si ce n’est pas déjà le cas), alors cap sur le rayon sucreries de votre supermarché et faîtes le plein.

This week, I crossed the threshold into year 29.  I’m now one step closer to saying sayonara to another decade.

Maybe it had something to do with the candy/brownie/cupcake-induced birthday sugar coma but, on my magical day, I was visited by three ghosts.  These spirits showed me visions of how I spent birthdays past, present and what I have in store for next year.  OK, fine, I’m lying about the ghost visions but, remember, it’s my birthday week and this means I’m Queen Bee for a few days!  Plus, we need some ghostly action because today is Friday the 13th.  So humor me, people, and play along! Now, back to the “ghosts.”  Let’s take a look at what they saw……

PAST
Last year, I went to see a movie on my birthday.  The problem was that is wasn’t just any old movie.  I willingly saw….wait for it…. High School Musical 3: Senior Year.  This would have been somewhat acceptable had I been turning eleven but, unfortunately, that wasn’t the case.  I had no excuse for my infantile movie choice other than wanting to complete the HSM movie trio which, by making this information public, digs me even deeper into a pit of failed juvenile justification.

Thankfully, as I came to notice on my subsequent birthday just this week, I redeemed myself by selecting a more age-appropriate birthday film.

PRESENT
This year, on my special day, I made another attempt at moviegoing.  This time, there was no Disney movie in store for me.  In fact, in an attempt to become a pseudo-intellectual, I actually saw An Education. An Independent movie.  Gasp! To top that off, it was even a British Independent film.  I was proud of my foreign selection and felt, at least for a fleeting moment, that my mind matched my age.  Granted, I ate popcorn and candy for dinner but I suppose it takes baby steps to become a semi-mature 29-year-old.  You can’t really expect me to make the correct movie and dinner choices, can you?!

But wait.  I had one more birthday vision and it appears as though, in my future, I’m in store for a maturity-regression.

FUTURE
Next year, I will be celebrating my birthday with some A-list celebrity friends who happen to share my November 10th birthday.  They actually run more in the High School Musical crowd than the British Indy film sect but, regardless, they’re the coolest cats in the neighborhood.  Don’t you want to know who I’m talking about?!  Ready yourselves because, on my next birthday, I will have a joint party with the cast from Sesame Street.  Yes, I share my birthday with Elmo, Big Bird and, my favorite, Oscar the Grouch.  Maybe Count von Count will even help me tally all the way to my upcoming milestone birthday: the number 30.  “One. Mwa, ha, ha, ha.  Two.  Mwa, ha, ha, ha.”  I’ll stop at two because I don’t want to show off all my counting skills quite yet and certainly not until I have fully perfected the art of counting like a vampire.  On top of this, I’m also envisioning that next year, Google will spotlight me on their homepage just as they did for Sesame Street’s 40th birthday.

Based on my “ghostly” visions, all I need to do now is make sure that my friends at Sesame Street and Google are aware of my plans for next year.  For some odd reason, I don’t think they read BonBons for Breakfast at Sesame Street or Google!  In fact, I better stop typing and get going.  After all, I have birthday plans to tend to and only have 362 days left to take care of business!  

Guten Tag, meine Lieben!

An einem der letzten Wochenenden feierte meine Freundin Gertrud aus Bad Salzuflen ihren Geburtstag bei mir in Gumtow. Es war der 31. Oktober, also Reformationstag – auf neudeutsch Halloween. An diesem Abend ziehen auch in Gumtow verkleidete Kinder durch die Straßen, klingeln, sagen „Gib uns Süßes, sonst gibt´s Saures“ (sehr geistreich) und bekommen Süßigkeiten. Ich hatte mir eine Tüte voller Bonbons zurechtgelegt und ging hinaus, wenn es klingelte. Dabei hatte ich im Dunkeln nicht gesehen, dass Stella mit hinaus-, aber nicht wieder mit hineingekommen war. Plötzlich ging das Telefon: “Renate, dein Hund sitzt vor dem Tor!“ Da saß sie tatsächlich und grämte sich, sie bellt ja nicht wie andere Hunde, um sich bemerkbar zu machen. Sie schmiss sich in ihren Korb und sah mich vorwurfsvoll an – wie konnte ich sie vor dem Tor vergessen! Das Telefon ging nochmal: „Dein Hund ist draußen, hoffentlich läuft er nicht vor ein Auto!“  “Danke, sehr lieb”, entgegnete ich, “ist schon erledigt.” Bei der Lautstärke im Haus – wegen der Feierei – hörte ich manchmal das Klingeln nicht, aber als ich wieder hinausmusste, fragten die Kinder: “Ist Stella wieder da?“

Ihr seht, man hat ein Auge auf mich (bzw. auf meinen Hund), das ist sehr beruhigend, finde ich.

Ich hoffe, dass es auch in eurem Leben Menschen gibt, die auf euch achten – macht´s gut, eure Renate

Honk if you’re a fan of Costco!  I like to call it my vacation home.  The house with all the extra supplies.  The super-pantry.  Heaven.

Where else can you buy the world’s largest tub of hummus and then, on the other end of the food spectrum, turn around and eat a $1.50 hot dog/soda combo?!  For your reference, I suggest investing in the hot dog deal prior to shopping because you’ll need some ketchup-coated mystery meat energy in order to properly shop.

Having been a Costco convert since the 1800s, I’ve adopted a few lessons along the way that I’d like to share:

1. Drive Safely: Beware of rogue children colliding with your shopping cart.  Kids are fast, especially when horizontally diving in front of you.  Also note that a shopping cart, when rammed into the back of an ankle, still hurts.  On a side note, Kara, my apologies if your ankles are still in pain.  Please do not punish me for my poor shopping cart maneuvers.  I truly meant no harm.
2. Dress the Part: Bring a hat, sunglasses or an entire change of wardrobe.  This way, you need not be embarrassed for returning to the sample booths for a second go around.  Or a third.  A change in appearance will be particularly helpful when trying to prevent the sample lady from glaring at you upon your imminent return to sample, by chance, your third taste of tiramisu.  Good ol’ tiramisu.
3. Avoid Buyer’s Remorse: Bulk buying is no time for experimentation.  If you don’t like something beforehand then buying it in a giant container will not make it taste any better.  After a regrettable purchase, you’ll simply find yourself surrounded by scorned products, $13 in the hole and nowhere to run.  Remind me, why did I buy an enormous container of tic tacs when I, in fact, despise them?  I’m convinced all the multi-colored 1 1/2 calorie mints temporarily hypnotized me into a tic tac trance.  I previously tried to pawn them off to some friends, for the reduced (and greedy) price of 25¢ per container, upon which I received the following replies: You wish/Get lost/In your dreams.
   
4. Share the Wealth: Have you ever brought a first-timer along with you to Costco?  If not, give it a whirl.  From my experience, two possible scenarios will occur:  Option A) They will collapse into an overwhelmed state of fear, confusion and disorientation.  They will leave the store with only a handful of completely unnecessary items, such as a lifetime supply of beef jerky, dental floss and hydrogen peroxide.  If this doesn’t occur, then they will fall into the category of…..Option B) They will buy everything that can possibly fit into their shopping cart, including the newest edition of Rock Band, a waffle maker, a treadmill, new eyeglasses and, of course, toilet paper.  Somehow, during their shopping binge, they’ll also manage to get their car tires rotated in the automobile section.
5. Watch and Listen: Make sure to get in a good round of people watching.  I guarantee you’ll witness at least one good show during your expedition.  For example, during my last cruise around Costco, I took notice of an elementary school-aged boy shopping with his mom.  After they purchased their goods, she told him to sit at a nearby table and guard their two purchases while she ran off to the restroom.  What two items did they buy?  Candy, of course!  In fact, they bought two jumbo containers of king-sized candy bars.  The patient son sat there, staring intently at the candy as if he could magically will the wrappers off of the chocolate and start indulging.  Can you imagine being in his shoes?  An unaccompanied minor with two giant boxes of candy in his possession is pure danger but, alas, his willpower defeated his desire to rip apart the chocolate boxes.  In case you’re wondering, yes, I tried to report his mother for child candy torture but I couldn’t locate the contact information for the Costco Candy Police.

There ends your words of wisdom from an unofficial Costco consultant.  By chance you make an unexpected journey to the mecca of bulk shopping, you might want to print out his blog post and carry it with you at all times.  Better safe than sorry, right?

Fenghuang signifie « phénix » en chinois. C’est un animal fabuleux qui est beaucoup utilisé dans la mythologie chinoise et c’est aussi le nom d’un petit village du Hunan en Chine. La Chine est un pays immense, elle a différentes cultures dans chaque région.

Fenghuang se situe au bord de la rivière Tuo Jiang , elle est de culture Miao qui est une des 56 ethnies chinoises. La signification de Miao est « Riz cru », c’est donc en rapport avec la culture agricole. Pendant les vacances, je suis allée à Fenghuang avec mes amis pour découvrir une autre vision de la Chine. Fenghuang est un peu loin de la ville principale du Hunan (Changsha). De Changsha à Fenghuang, il y a cinq heures de bus.

Quand nous sommes arrivés, nous étions étonnés par les paysages : c’était vraiment joli! Après nous être installés dans une auberge de jeunesse, nous sommes sortis pour faire une petite promenade. Nous avons vu des maisons en pierre près de la rivière Tuojiang. Elles étaient dans le style architectural traditionnel. Ce qui m’a le plus surprise, ce sont les petits marchepieds de pierre qui permettent de traverser la rivière comme si on marchait sur le mur d’un barrage avec un bruit étourdissant. 

Autour de ce petit village, il y a des montagnes qui produisent toujours un peu de brouillard, l’ambiance me semble très poétique et me donne l’impression irréelle d’être dans une peinture chinoise. Dans les ruelles, il y a de petites boutiques sympathiques qui vendent des vêtements, des bijoux et des bonbons : celle-ci fabrique notamment des bonbons au gingembre. Le sucre est chauffé puis étiré, comme dans beaucoup de bonbons français mais le goût du gingembre piquant domine. Ce sont tous des produits artisanaux.

Nous avons ensuite visité l’ancienne demeure de Shen Congwen qui est un écrivain chinois contemporain très connu. Il était très intéressant de découvrir sa vie. Après cette visite, nous sommes arrivés à Tuo Jiang (le nom de la rivière qui traverse ce petit village) où nous avons fait un tour de bateau. C’était très agréable. Fenghuang se situe dans une région où les gens mangent très épicé. La nourriture était très différente de celle la région de Canton (qui est ma région d’origine) mais c’était bon malgré la robustesse des épices. 

Quand la nuit tombe, le village s’anime. Il est illuminé de partout. C’est un paradis pour les jeunes. Il y a beaucoup de bars qui sont ouverts toute la nuit. Les marchands ambulants installent leurs stands pour vendre des repas légers devant la rue de l’auberge de jeunesse. On peut donc acheter à manger toute la nuit.

Fenghuang était un village très calme avant. Maintenant, il est en train de perdre ses origines et devient plus en plus commercial. Je pense que c’est un lieu très intéressant qu’il faut aller voir au moins une fois dans sa vie. Ce voyage fut très instructif pour moi et je vous invite à aller le découvrir pour vous baigner dans une autre culture.

Ting Ting ZHANG, étudiante chinoise, 3° année design

Il y a un an, au soir d’Halloween bin j’étais allée voir Acid Flavor en concert avec Mélo~

C’était tellement le concert le plus intime que j’ai vécu (hors mis ceux des mes amis 8D). Il y avait une très bonne ambiance, on devait être  200 ou 300 environ. Je ne connaissais aucune des chanson ni même le style et encore moins les noms des membres! (en fait je connaissais juste le nom du groupe!) Comment ce fait-il que j’ai assisté à leur show? la réponse est Mélo!! LA veinarde qui gagne à tous les concours \o/ a gagné deux places pour ce soir là . Ce fut une très bonne surprise! et j’ai fini par beaucoup aimé et beaucoup apprécié le guitariste-leader du groupe : Ryo Fujimura ♥. Petit coup de coeur également pour Shigeru (à droite sur la photo) chanteur du groupe! Ce soir là il était tout joyeux et rigolo, bien aimable et communicatif avec le plublic ~ et son sourire 8B oulala vraiment très beau!

Cette année, pour le soir du 31 oct. je n’ai strictement rien fait à part tailler une pomme par manque de citrouille..

TADAAAAA le résultat est censé faire peur!! (¤A¤) Est-ce réussi? Bref! Il nous reste 3 paquets de bonbons même pas ouvert par manque d’enfants.. Mais où sont passé tous les enfants de mon voisinage?? C’est très simple, il y a 3 possibilités. Un, tout comme moi ils ont grandit  et ne font plus la chasse aux bonbons. Deux, ils ont déménagé pour aller vivre dans un secteur meilleur. Trois, les enfants d’aujourd’hui sont tous des wesh délinquants qui n’ont rien à branler de cette fête débile et qui préfèrent se taper un foot. C’est bien dommage.. Je l’aime cette fête moi ¨^¨ . Je ne la fête plus que toute seule chez moi en mangeant des bonbons et en lisant quelques histoires qui font frissonner (car je n’ai plus le courage de frapper aux portes). Dire que ce soir là je les attendais patiemment sur mon clic-clac … fuuuu. U_U. L’an prochain je n’achèterai plus qu’un paquet, ça fera l’affaire!

mood : disappointed
music : Still I like you – AciD FLavoR

BonBon friends, let me introduce you to Gus.  Wait.  Scratch that and rewind.  Let’s start over and bring some formality to this story.  May I present, ladies and gentlemen, Ladybug Gus, Pumpkin Gus, Alien Gus and Tiger Gus.

This costume-tolerant woman’s best friend is my partner in crime come Halloween.  Just look at him.  Doesn’t he ooze intimidation?!  My older brother thinks that, by dressing Gus up in various Halloween costumes, I’m emasculating our family dog.  I assure you, dear brother and other naysayers, Gus likes his annual dress up day.  Can’t you see it in his face?  He’s worn all of these costumes in years past but his favorite is the ladybug getup….and rightly so.  A few years ago, while in full ladybug attire, Gus had a Halloween showdown with one of those foul-odored, four-legged, black and white striped creatures.  At that moment, Gus learned that the ladybug costume holds magical powers to prevent skunk spray.

I saw the whole ordeal go down.  Gus, the ladybug, was tied up in front of the house.  It was still early for trick-or-treaters, so he was practicing his Halloween game face.  I happened to be standing nearby, witnessing Gus in all his costume glory, when a skunk waddled directly up to my dear ladybug.  I was frozen and speechless.  All of a sudden, the skunk and the ladybug were face to face.  Skunk themed thoughts were blasting through my head.  Great!  This skunk is going to ruin our Halloween!  Gus is going to spend the evening getting a canned tomato stink-reduction bath and our glorious Halloween candy is going to have a coat of skunk odor. As it turned out, my suspicions were wrong.

You’ve heard of the miracle of Christmas, right?  Well, what occurred on this night was the miracle of Halloween.  The skunk and the ladybug had a silent-only-to-human-ears conversation.  Then the skunk waddled away…..without spraying anyone!  Although the conversation was muted to my kind, I have a suspicion of what transpired….

Skunk: Get ready to be skunked, dog.
Gus: Hi! I’m Gus.  I’m a dog but, today, I’m pretending to be a ladybug.
Skunk: Don’t care. Get ready, get set…..
Gus: You have a great costume.  Are you a dog under the skunk outfit?
Skunk: I AM a skunk.
Gus: Riiiiiiight.  And I’m a “ladybug.”
Skunk: You know what?  I’m going to take pity on you today.  Your owner over there deserves to be skunked just for dressing you up like this.  I’ll get her on a later date, when she least expects it. You, Ladybug Dog, can consider yourself lucky.  Today, I have opted out of spraying you.  So long.
Gus: What a weird dog.

After the skunk made his way across the street, Gus looked back at me with slight confusion.  I was still standing there in utter shock.  I hurriedly brought my little ladybug back inside the skunk-free safety of our house.  Sweet relief!  No canned tomato bath!  The candy was still edible!  Halloween was saved!

I, on the other hand, am still awaiting my impending revenge from Pepé Le Pew.  Rest assured, I’ll be sure to blog about it when the time comes.  In the meanwhile, have a happy and skunk-free Halloween!

Ben jij een choco-addict? Goed nieuws! Amsterdam heeft namelijk een nieuw festival, het Choca festival! Dit twee weken durende festival begint op zaterdag 7 november.

Gedurende deze twee weken kunnen echte choco-addicts hun hart ophalen in Amsterdam. Zeventig organisaties en ondernemers doen mee. Chocolaterieën geven workshops bonbons maken en restaurants stellen speciale choco-menu’s samen, alles gebaseers op cacao. Fiets- en wandeltochten geven de geschiedenis van Amsterdam en cacoa weer en schilders/beeldhouwers maken hun kunst geheel in chocola.

Het festival vindt plaats op verschillende locaties in Amsterdam. Voor meer informatie over dit heerlijke festival, neem je een kijkje op de website van Choca!

In recent years, nearly everyone has become equipped with a cell phone. I’m fairly certain even newborn babies are gifted with phones upon their worldly debut. Despite the fact of this mass mobile possession, I’ve recently experienced a couple circumstances upon which complete strangers have requested to borrow my phone. I must somehow have a face that invites cell phone usage. Come hither, my children, my phone is your phone. Seeing as my cell phone rivals Dakota Fanning in age, I’m still slightly shocked that anyone would dare to be seen in public with my antiquated source of communication. They obviously must have been desperate but why assume when I can let you judge for yourself?! Here’s what went down…….

Cell Phone Request #1

This occurred, following work, while I was waiting on the arrival of my commuter bus. I was sitting on a bench next to a very pregnant woman. My nose was buried in a book when, all of a sudden, a questionable character stood before me and the mama-to-be, and asked to use one of our phones. My pregnant friend quickly declined. I thought for a moment. Be a good samaritan, Sara. Let the stranger use your phone. I agreed to let the dude use my phone. I dialed the number for him, just to be sure he wasn’t ringing up another universe, and handed over the phone. I imagined his call would go something like the following: “Hey, Bobby, I’m stuck at the bus station. I’m borrowing some lady’s phone. Come pick me up. OK. Thanks. Bye.” The call didn’t proceed exactly as I imagined. Actually, it didn’t happen anything like that at all. He spent the entire one minute and 39 seconds screaming into the phone. Yes, he asked to borrow my cell phone and proceeded to get into a verbal fight. My fellow commuters watched as he paced back and forth, swearing loudly into my dear little phone. I sat there, with my head cocked to the side like a confused puppy, and pondered the bizarre circumstance.

After realizing that maybe I should have kept my phone to myself, I looked blankly over to the pregnant lady. She decided to practice the mothering lessons a little prematurely and, suddenly, she was lecturing me. “I can’t believe you let him use your phone. Do you know that whoever he just called has your number now? He could have been calling a foreign country for all you know! Or he could have run off with your phone! He could have all your contact numbers and could ruin you. You’re too nice. You should have said no. You’re crazy. You’ll need to disinfect your phone now.”

I guess she was right, in certain ways, but my mind was processing things a little differently. I wasn’t worried about drug lords in foreign countries having my unimportant Vermont-based cell phone number. I was only mildly concerned about inheriting swine flu a la cell phone. I only had one primary thought running through my head. If this guy runs off with my phone, what will I use for an alarm clock? Alas, as it turns out, the cell phone stranger returned my phone and jumped on his bus.

Cell Phone Request #2

You’d think I would have learned my lesson about lending out my phone. Nope! Not the case. I was tested again a few days later. The second request happened while I waited for a train at Boston’s South Station. My train was scheduled to depart in 24 minutes and I was patiently waiting for my boarding announcement. The next thing I knew, a desperate-looking female 20-something approached me. She was scheduled to travel on my train and was feeling cut off at the knees because she had accidentally misplaced her cell phone in her friend’s car. Now, let’s see if I can get this who story straight. First, she wanted to call her fiancé. He was then supposed to call her roommate. Said roommate would then call the guy who drove her to the train station. He would then return with the missing cell phone and balloons and cake would fall from the sky in celebration. Or something like that. I thought about her request. Too complicated! Where’s my pregnant lady friend to lecture me, now? Too late. I had already agreed and the phone tree was set into action with my phone in the top-tier.

I suddenly found myself shuffling out pens, paper and my Vermont digits so this gal could get her phone back. Meanwhile, my train was departing in 11 minutes and my new acquaintance was waiting on bated breath for her driver friend to call my phone so they could reunite in the train station before our shared train was ready to set sail. I told myself that I would wait no more than 5 minutes until the train was scheduled to depart. I wanted to be a hospitable citizen but I wasn’t going to sacrifice my travel plans in an attempt to be gracious.

Ring, ring. Finally! The driver with the missing cell phone called my phone at last. Unfortunately I was already in transit and about 15 minutes outside of Boston, sitting warmly in the cafe car. Missing cell phone girl, on the other hand, was sitting abandoned at the train station. Despite my attempts to help, she wasn’t too psyched when my cell phone and I jointly deserted her. Without. Her. Cell. Phone. She decided not to thank me for my failed attempt to help. I’m not holding out hope for a wedding invite.

I’m still undecided as to what I’ll do if a future stranger should ask to borrow my phone. On the one hand, I know how to share. Conversely, I’m not supposed to talk with strangers. These kindergarten lessons conflict with each other in the case of mobile mayhem. One decision is certain. If I vote to help abandoned cell phone individuals, in the future, I’ll be sure to interview them first. You want to use my phone? OK, first you have to pass my test. First question. Are you going to make a scene by swearing and screaming into my innocent little phone? No? Good answer. Second question. Are you going to say thank you? Yes? Even if your fiancé, roommate and taxi driver friend don’t come to your rescue? OK. Here you go. Please just don’t dial an alternate universe.

Too many questions. Maybe I’ll just retire the Dakota Fanning cell phone, get a real alarm clock and remember the choice words of the pregnant lady: You’re crazy!

For all the chocolate and fig lovers!

10 nice dried figs

1 pound pure chocolate (at least 54% cacao)

10 walnuts and/or almonds

1/2 tablespoon butter

200 milliliters fig liquor

Place the figs in a little bowl and cover them with fig liquor. Let them stay like this for one night so they can get soft and soak up some of the liquid.

Melt pure chocolate with a little butter ‘au bain marie’. Take the figs out of the liquid and put them in the melted chocolate. Push them around. put them on a stick and hang them over a bowl so they keep their nice and round shape, put them in the fridge so the chocolate can get hard; another method is: transfer them to a baking sheet and then put them into the fridge.

When the chocolate has dried, repeat the process so you get another layer of chocolate on them. You can repeat this until you think the chocolate is thick enough or until you’re out of melted chocolate. I made three layers of chocolate because I am crazy for pure chocolate but you can do less (or more) if you like. Push a nut on the last layer of chocolate and put in the fridge until the chocolate is entirely dry and hard.

It’s no secret that I love a bargain.

In the same realm, I’m a fan of those frequent buyer cards that say some version of “buy 9 and the 10th is on us.”  Look in your wallet. I’m sure you have a few grubby ones from 1987. These cards are doubly fun because they are both a bargain and a challenge wrapped into one.  Oh, you don’t think I can buy nine crepes?  Just watch me.  I’ll show you!

My wallet is filled with these little gems and I use them every chance I get.  Yes, I’m that person. Wait, crepe chef, I know it’s lunchtime and I see that there are 20 scary-looking, BlackBerrying, suited workaholics giving me the stink eye, but I’m sure I have this punch card in here somewhere. I either eventually find the card, admit defeat or get a brand new card in hopes of someday consolidating the masses.

Well, folks, I have huge news to report.  My big freebie moment finally occurred this week.  I had nine star-shaped stamps on my Crepeaway card, to use at the nearby skinny pancake mecca, and I was ready for my costless tenth crepe.  Filled with anticipation, I walked to Crepeaway and readied myself for the momentousness occasion.

I presented the voucher to the crepe master.
I received my freebie.
I ate the complementary crepe.

Sounds remarkable, right?  Think again.  It was completely anticlimactic and, even though the crepe was delicious, I walked away feeling incomplete.  I pondered my empty feeling for a moment and realized that what I wanted, in addition to a bonus crepe, was some type of acknowledgement for my achievement.  After all, it took the purchase, and consumption, of nine crepes to get to that point.  Some type of grand gesture would have made the experience complete.  A speech, perhaps?

Here’s what I have in mind, for the next time around, once I’m stamped and ready to go.  I’ll hand in my card and the employee will ring a few bells, sing a song, gives me a high five and then hand the podium over to me.  I’ll turn to face the crowd of crepe eaters, who will put down their BlackBerrys for just a moment, and listen to some sweet Sara inspiration……

Dear Crepe nation,

I never dreamed this day would come.  Let me tell you, it wasn’t easy.  Back in August, when I was only three crepes in, I began to doubt myself.  It took perseverance, determination and the inhalation of six additional crepes.  Now look at me.  If only for today, I am the Queen of Crepeville.  I would first like to thank the inventor of Nutella.  Sans Nutella, the world would be a sad place and crepes would be naked of hazelnut-chocolately love.  Thank you to my employer.  Without a continued paycheck, you all would find me busking on the street for crepe funds.  I would also like to thank France because, without the République française, we would live in a dull and crepeless world.  What kind of world would that be?  It pains me to even ponder the thought.  Lastly, I leave you with words of inspiration.  To all you crepe eaters who are feeling fatigued or burned out, don’t give up.  Just envision yourself standing on this very podium while holding your magical tenth crepe before the entire crepe community.  It just might bring about world peace.

[Eruption of applause and resuming of audience BlackBerrying]

This scenario could, of course, apply to any foodstuff hub that supplies frequent buyer cards.  We’ll just have to wait and see what happens after I finish off the next nine crepes.  In the meanwhile, I’ll tighten up that speech and prepare for my future moment of crepe glory.  As for you folks, let me know when it’s your turn for that tenth freebie.  I don’t even own a BlackBerry so, when the time comes for your speech, you’ll have my complete attention!

Whether you’re angling for a parking spot or a seat on the subway, everyone can relate to commuting complications.  Personally, my commuting challenge consists of finding a seat on the metro and bus.  I don’t go around elbowing pregnant women or pushing elderly citizens out of the way but, if I can, I try to find a seat when one is available.  This brings me to the circumstance surrounding my commute just two days ago.

It was shortly after 5 pm and work had just let out.  The metro was packed with a combination of fall tourists and commuters.  The enormity of travelers meant I’d most likely be traveling on my feet rather than sitting on my behind.  After stepping onto the metro, in one last ditch effort, I scanned the train car in hopes of spotting an empty seat.  Ahoy, ship ahead!  It was like a mirage.  An empty seat meant just for me.  I walked excitedly up to the throne.  I didn’t ponder why there would be an empty spot on a crowded metro.  I simply convinced myself it was fate.  Karma.  The heavens were rewarding me for the times when I’ve sacrificed my seat for others. 

Or not.  As I readied myself to sit down, I quickly realized why this prime metro real estate was being avoided.  Puke.  Vomit.  Tossed Cookies.  A fight or flight message was sent to my brain: Abort ship!  Relieved that I didn’t intermingle with the mess, I walked to the opposite end of the car to avoid the sight and accompanying smell.  I eventually scored myself a seat facing the opposite direction of the metro messiness. 

A few minutes later, the train was stopped to onboard an influx of passengers.  Suddenly, as if they were a scattered chorus, I heard frantic yells.

“No!”
“Stop!”
“Wait!”
“Don’t!”

I didn’t turn around right away.  I already knew what had happened but the curiosity was killing me.  Who was the unlucky victim?  As it turns out, based on the fanny pack and sneaker combo worn by the injured party, they were clearly a tourist.  Male,  middle aged and from the looks of it, quickly approaching an adult temper tantrum.  I didn’t envy him but I couldn’t help but wonder how he would react.  What would he choose as his self-preservation mechanism?  Make a joke?  Cry?  Strip naked?  Alas, he went with swearing.  Loud curses.  Then he ran off the metro car.  I’m afraid the District of Columbia is minus one happy visitor.

Is there a lesson to be learned from witnessing this disaster?  Why, of course!  In fact, I think I just might crochet the following phrase onto a small pillow.  Behold, your life lesson for the day:  

If you see an empty seat on a crowded metro, yes, it is too good to be true.  PS: Beware of abandoned vomit.

I can’t believe how fast time has been flying lately…it’s a bit scary! Anyway, here is my second edition of Cyber Tuesday. I am having so much fun checking out other blogs to bring you some really great links! There are some neat things happening on the web these days.  Here is what I found:

1. Orange Honey Mustard Salad Dressing – This recipe looks amazing and I’m sure that you could use it for many food items other than salad – try marinating some meat or fish in it! I bet it’d be delicious!

2. Ginger Ice Cream Bonbons – Ok, I hardly ever eat dessert…I’m not sure why, I guess I just don’t have a huge sweet tooth. HOWEVER, I saw this recipe and the beautiful picture of the finished product and my mouth started watering.  Looks great and I’m sure they taste even better!

3. Waitress Pie – I LOVED the movie “Waitress” and I recommend it to anyone who has not seen it.  When I saw this pie I figured I had to include a link!  This is the “I Can’ Have No Affair Cause It’s Wrong and I Don’t Want Earl to Kill Me Pie.”

4. Indonesian Fried Rice – I remember the fried rice I had when I traveled to Bali, Indonesia as a teenager with my parents. It’s VERY good. I haven’t tried this recipe but it looks great!! It looks like it requires a few unique ingredients, but nothing that a trip to your local Asian market/grocery store couldn’t take care of.

5. How to Read Food Labels – I think that this article is super handy for us New in the Kitchen folks. It gives great information about what to look for and what to avoid when shopping for food and reading food labels.