I love to cook.  Adam loves to bake.  We both like to eat!

This weekend Adam made cinnamon rolls and chocolate filed croissants from scratch!  Uff dah, that man has patience.  Violet could hardly wait to sample Daddy’s hard work.

The recipes for these homemade pastries can be found in Nancy Silverton’s Pastries from the La Brea Bakery.

My son’s birthday party (over a week ago) took a while to recover from. The clean up. The post-party sick boy. The doctor appointment. The prep for his birthday celebration at school, which he missed and will be rescheduled for a date in the future (I think).

For his Birthday Walk (that’s Montessori jargon), Vm requested croissants and jam to be served to his class. I was super late getting the dough made because I was still working on cleaning up from the party. I should have started Monday for Tuesday afternoon croissants but instead, I started very early Tuesday morning.

And realized that I had just a smidge of yeast in the fridge. A smidge wasn’t going to do it. Not that late in the game. There would be no time to run to the store. I was making four recipes of dough so there would be enough for the 20 something kids in my boy’s class.

So I just went ahead with the smidge, warmed up my oven to 200 for some serious dough proofing and crossed my fingers. All of them. After kneading out the dough, I offed the oven, covered the bowl of dough with a towel and put it in the warm oven, hoping the micro-organisms would be spurred to life and get all hungry, eating their way to a sizable carbon dioxide output.

About an hour later I checked in on my dough and would have given those yeast cells a pat on the back if such a thing was possible. The dough had risen. Not obscenely, by any means, but I could tell that the yeast were active and I would not have to pardon my French over dead dough.

And then my son woke up and it was clear he would not be going to school that day for his Birthday Walk. The dough was wrapped in the fridge for a slow rise and I got on with my day of tending to my little coughing patient.

Usually after 20 minutes of dough rising, I roll the butter into the dough and refrigerate a few hours, laminate, refrigerate, repeat. But this time, it was an hour rising outside the fridge, in the warm oven and then many hours in the fridge before I even made the introduction between dough and butter.

And what great results. It seems that all bread dough does better with as little yeast as possible and ample resting time. Without lots of yeast and a fast rise, the flavor of the bread develops depth and subtleness that is absent from the wham, bam, thank you ma’am taste of a big spoonful of yeast. In this case, size does matter. Smaller amounts of yeast compensate for their slower rise by allowing a romance of flavors to develop.

croissant dough: little bit of yeast, lots of bubbles!

I so liked this batch of dough.

I made a quadruple recipe of dough, but used hardly any butter. I was just tired and lazy and figured I would add more after the first go at laminating the dough.

Butter wrapped up tightly.

Rolled, wrapped and ready to go in the fridge.

Cheater's croissants. I only rolled these out twice. I know I can do better than that. And use more butter while I'm at it.

Simply good.

I ended up making a small, lazy batch of croissants for my family, at my son’s request. He really loves them. I only rolled the dough out two times, so, needless to say, the croissants could have been flakier with more laminating (and butter!).

Despite lots of clean up and sick boy and family croissants, the people in this family cannot live on pastry alone. Since we were going away for Thanksgiving, I wanted to use whatever was in the house, without any desire for pre-planning or special shopping. Pasta, tomatoes, eggplant, some cheese and pignolis (a present from my sweet neighbor friend) made a quick and delicious enough meal for us.

I roasted the eggplant in the oven on 500 for about 20 minutes with nothing but salt mixed in with them. When they came out of the oven, I drizzled some olive oil on top, threw a sprinkle of thyme and mozzarella on top, added sliced tomatoes and put the dish in the cooling oven to melt. Simple, light and delicious.

Light and roasty: eggplant drizzled with olive oil and topped with mozzarella and grape tomatoes.

(Re-posted from September 20)

My time spent in Jerusalem over the weekend was just lovely. Always much fun, much comfort, much laughter. And excellent food. My good friend and usual J-lem hostess, the Queen, is an exceptionally good cook. Three kinds of chicken, a ridiculous lot of veggie dishes, and a very special very fresh spinach and shitake mushroom soup that had some gorgeous little slices of Jerusalem artichoke in it.

As we drank and laughed and smoked into the night, someone came up with the phrase, “the year of being brave…” How right a motivation is that. How right. Instead of focusing on overcoming fears and getting through the tough days, how much better would it be to concentrate on being brave. Everything from the huge stack of dirty dishes, to the next huge career move, to confronting my family, to forging forward into the industry of love (that be “dating”…something that just popped into my head). Even though getting through or getting by are difficult enough, if I can see it from the perspective of tasks that require immense bravery, why, that would be something to be proud of!

So, this year, I will continue to be brave. Every day. My immediate goals? Not to stress out over work and money, while still acting and chugging along responsibly in those areas. And the biggie – I need quite desperately, to enjoy myself. And with my last-minute, crazy brained trip to France this coming Friday, I have the perfect opportunity. My instinct will be to fret about all the work I’m not doing, and how much money is going down the drain. Sure, I’ll have a decent time overall, but the act of releasing tension, of sitting back and doing nothing and allowing that to be not only OK, but the complete goal of it, is the absolute key.

I’m imagining myself dressing up and looking absolutely fabulous, in some svelte outfit, with a bright colored scarf, wearing my sunglasses, and just sitting at an outdoor cafe in a medieval square. Yes. I’m sitting, basking in the autumn sun, sipping a strong coffee (or something far stronger), nibbling a croissant, and merely in that act, becoming the goddess of French courtyard cafes the world over. I must pull out my black leather fuck me Nazi boots. I always feel like a goddess in those. Yes. France will be divine. Wine, cheese, croissants, sun, high heeled boots, a scarf, and sunglasses. Life is beautiful. Indeed it can be. All it takes is some gumption. And butter.

Pier in Koh Yao Yai

Koh Yao Yai

Heute morgen und kurz nach 5:30 Uhr klingelte umbarmherzig der Wecker. Zeit, mein kleines Paradies der Ruhe und Entspannung zu verlassen.

Koh Yao Yai ich komme wieder mit oder ohne Ehemann oder Couple… Was auch immer. Meine Thaiboys waren so reizend zu mir. Paddelten mich durch Mangrovenwälder, fuhren mit mir zum Büffelrodeo und liesen mich in der Hängematte ruhen ohne permanent nach einem Drink zu fragen. Nicht zu letzt der tägliches Essenstipp von Nop, der fast perfekt Englisch sprach, sich aber über meine Aufenthalte im Internet wunderte.

Zeit mein kleines Paradies zu verlassen – sehr traurig, aber es riefen noch Railey, Sukhothai und Chang Mai.

Nach einem oppulenten Frühstück mit zwei Croissants (was haben Croissants in Thailand verloren?) gings zum Pier. Wie schon bei meiner Ankunft war ich der einzige Tourist. Das Boot nach Krabi war schon voll, aber da noch die Hälfte der Passagiere, die den sonntäglichen Ausflug nach Krabi machen wollte, noch nicht an Board war, kam wenige Minuten noch ein weiteres Boot.  Wieder ein Holzboot – aber es schwamm bestens im Wasser. Nach 1 Stunde 15 Minuten waren wir dann auch in Krabi angekommen. Irgendwo wieder in the middle of nowhere.

Ein Minivan (wir saßen gequetscht zu mindestens 30 in dem offenen Gefährt) sollte die Rettung gen Krabi Town sein. Schuljungs, Mütter, mit ihren Kindern, sogar eine ganze Familie waren unterwegs und eine weitere Touristin. Und weil hier der überwiegende Teil der Bevölkerung Muslime sind, tragen natürlich alle Frauen Kopftuch. Ich auch, aber mehr um die Haare zu bändigen, als irgendwelche Glaubensvorstellungen offen kund zu tun.

Nach 30 Minuten kamen wir dann auch am Busbahnhof von Krabi an. Und ich immer noch ohne einen blassen Schimmer, wo ich die Nacht verbingen sollte. Aber – und das ist das gute an Busbahnhöfen. Es gibt irgendwie immer ein Reisebüro um die Ecke. Ein Holländer und seine Thai-Ehefrau betrieben ein solches. Meine Rettung quasi. Vor Aufregung hatte ich vollkommen vergessen meine Schuhe auszuziehen.

Light flakey croissants with a oozing warm chocolate centre = Heaven.

You Will Need

2 sheets of Puff Pastry

50g of Dark Cooking Chocolate

1 Egg

1 tbl of Milk

Method

Pre-heat you oven to 200*c. Simply cut your puff pastry sheets in half, length ways. For each half, cut on a diaganal from one corner to the other, so you end up with a triangle. Repeat on all sheets.

Break you dark cooking chocolate into small peices. Place one peice of the cocolate in the center, at the bottom of your triangle. Roll the pastry from the bottom of your triangle up towards the tip, making sure the chocolate is well sealed. Pinch both ends of the croissant together to seal and place on a baking try.

Whisk you egg and milk together to make a egg wash. Lightly paint  the egg wash all over the croissants with a pastry brush. Place in the oven for aprox 10min or until golden brown.

Servve warm.

Makes 8

]]> http://schnellsls.wordpress.com/2009/11/22/trieste-italy/ Sun, 22 Nov 2009 19:52:39 +0000 schnellsls http://schnellsls.wordpress.com/2009/11/22/trieste-italy/

I arrived in Trieste a bit confused. The map in my book made me think that Trieste was in Slovenia and not Italy. I wandered around trying to find a suitable spot for me to swim. I asked a passerby in broken Spanish where the beach was, thankfully she understood and pointed me in the direction of the swimming area.

Greek warship

I got to a small organized area with changing rooms, lounge chairs and such. It was 3.50 Euro to get in and use their facility. Having taken a train all the way from Venice I wasn’t going to let 3.50 Euro get in my way of taking a dip.

After I changed, I realized that the area wasn’t a beach or even a shore line. It was a series of concrete docks and patios. There were various areas to jump off of and into the roped off swimming area. There were tons of excited children jumping off the docks, and I of course joined them. I love jumping off things!

I swam around for a bit and discovered two diving boards. Both were already elevated high above the water because of their relative position on the high docks. On top of that one was also a high dive with a nice big fall in store for whoever decided to climb up the slippery steps. Figuring that I better jump off the high one I ran up the steps and had an exhilarating time plunging into the sea.

After a great time of swimming and diving I laid out on the upper patio and probably fell asleep for a while. Taking a cold shower without soap, I considered myself “clean” and changed into my street clothes and headed out toward the train station looking for a grocery store.

The town was beautiful! There were hardly any tourists present as I strolled through. I certainly felt like I was off the beaten path a bit, which I enjoy.

I found a grocery store and got myself a bag of croissants, a can of tuna fish (in water), a package of cheese, and a box of wine which I had to get because it was only 0.89 Euro! I headed toward the train station and got my schedule for my journey to Rome and then headed back outside onto a park bench. I have become more and more accustomed to dining on a park bench.

Today I was in a beautiful park in Italy and certainly not alone. There were several other clearly either homeless and or mentally unstable joining me in the park. Some of them eyed me with curiosity and stared while others accepted me as “one of their own” and let me be. Due to my lack of personal hygiene over the past several days, the added spunk of salt water in my hair and my ever growing aptly named “homeless guy- beard” I was not bothered.

Because I had not eaten much over the last few days my box of 0.89 Euro wine started to kick in rather early. I staggered back to the train station chuckling at myself along the way, trying not to lean against the walls too much. I headed for the convenience store inside the train station and although I knew it was a bad idea at the time I still decided to buy a gigantic bag of potato chips, and 500 grams, roughly  a quarter of a gallon, of gelato.

Giant bag of potato chips

I picked a seat among others waiting for the train and started eating my chips, wine and cherry swirl ice cream. I ate the entire thing in about 20 minutes. When I was almost done I really realized that it was a terrible idea for me to eat the entire thing. Once I finished it I swore off buying 500g containers of ice cream… for a while.

Before I got on the train, I made sure to brush my teeth in the bathroom and try to “freshen up” a bit. It is at this point in Italy that I realized that my Italian journey was going to be absolutely insane. I had no couch surfers for my stay in Italy except my last night. Most all of the Italians on couch surfing were male and had only requested to have female visitors, of the small percentage that I could stay with, many were either busy or on vacation themselves. Being cheap, I knew I wasn’t going to spring for a hostel or hotel or anything like that, so I tried to plan my journeys at night and far enough away that I could sleep on the train ride.

Over the next few days in Italy I had a very hectic schedule of taking a train from one town to another to another to connect to a train to get to someplace else. Most of the time I didn’t really know where I was, I had to take pictures of the town I was heading toward on the schedule sheets so I could remember. I found myself in all sorts of places over the next few days.

From noon till seven at night, some of the ladies were busy at work cooking up a storm for Thanksgiving dinner. Thanks to modern science time-saving, much of it was NOT as difficult as we anticipated (though the turkey, named Jerome, was a bit more work than the instructions promised).

Pumpkin muffins:

Pumpkin pie in the oven…

…voila!

I LOVE green bean casserole, especially the crispy onions.

Roll-out dough for the win – though, opening the tubes was a LOT trickier than any of us expected. Apparently you have to smack it a couple times against the side of the table? Surprisingly violent for carbohydrates…

Not pictured: the turkey (Jerome is camera shy), the stuffing, and the two chocolate fudge pies Melissa made. Or the burritos we made ourselves for lunch.

It was a tiring Saturday afternoon/evening, but a cozy communal venture into Thanksgiving tradition and general girl bonding! A great kick-off to a season of reflecting especially on all the things for which I give thanks.

this has absolutely nothing to do with artwork at all…but i can’t resist sharing our new favorite breakfast item…the boys went crazy for them and they’re oh-so-elegant (and oh-so-right out of the box…) Trader Joe’s chocolate croissants. they come in the freezer section and you just leave them to proof (let rise) overnight on a lightly buttered baking pan, then in the morning just pop them in the oven for 20 minutes. perfection! light…fluffy with a yummy warm center of dark chocolate. perfect for a delicious breakfast with family or a more glamorous brunch…love them..look for them in the freezer aisle…

Yummies is a small takeaway outlet located close to Rizvi College and is a favourite hangout of the college kids and passers-by. Mainly a Chinese eatery, it serves both veg and non-veg. I have been here a few times and tried out a couple of puffs, croissants and rice. Their rice items come in either half or full plate. The full rice plate is enough to satiate 2 gargantum tummies (tummies, yummies get it?) like mine. Though if one is only looking to eat something irrespective of the taste and other things, yummies is a good choice for its cheap takeaways. This is not the say the food is not good. But it is far more simpler and lacks the complex mixture of ingredients found elsewhere.

In my opinion, the rice/noodle items are one of the better ones here. One can try the items kept in the shelf but the problem with such food is that it stays in the shelf for a considerable duration. There isn’t anything else that I would prefer here if I was hungry except for the rice (Since I am not a big noodles fan).

Address: 36 A Rajan Apts, Nr Rizvi Complex, Off Carter Rd, Bandra West, Mumbai – 400050

Ph: +(91)-9833908045 | +(91)-(22)-26002467, 26040040

(The do home delivery in Bandra)

I guess this filmmaker’s Ma never told him not to play with his food.

As we honor veterans this week,  this provocative and thought-provoking animated film tells the story of war through the signature cuisine of the countries in conflict.

Cheat sheet: the hamburgers are the US, the matzo Israel and the croissants are—well you get it.

Go here for a full food fight breakdown.

“Reflection”  Romance Series

• Oil on Canvas
• 48″ x 48″
• In a private collection

Intimacy, companionship and romance are conveyed using fabric and food. This was an early painting in the romance series. Looking at this painting is like looking at a favorite quilt. All the fabrics hold memories for me. Corn and croissant were often used in my still lifes from this period. Oranges remain a favorite, as does coffee.

I’d hoped to post this a week ago, but making Croissants is about as difficult as putting together a great Halloween costume in under 24 hours, which is another challenge I seek out every year. 

Holly Golightly

So this Halloween as in most previous Halloweens I waited till the last minute to figure out a costume.  I have some rather ridged rules about how I get a costume.  I prefer to put it together and/ or sew it rather than just buy it.  With that said I hate haphazard -can-barely-figure-it-out-only-if-I-explain it to you costumes.  I know thats picky, but evermore is the challenge to put together my costume in one whole day. Last year I managed to sew a whole jumpsuit and got a friend to sew me in hair extensions all within a day. I’m sure you’ve seen the Opps I did it again Britney on Flickr.com

With that said, even if I think my costume is spot on (as in I watched the movie over and over while I put it together just to make sure everything was right) sometimes still…Not everybody gets it.  

Its not totally obvious in this photo–and thankfully there was another Holly Golightly (Audrey Hepburn’s character in Breakfast at Tiffany’s) in the room because I had my eye glasses on most of the night, out of necessity, which caused at least half the room to think I was…Sarah Palin. Election day was just around the corner, even if Mrs. Palin has stepped out of politics.  All that effort chasing around costume jewelry and opera length gloves, not to mention a dress, when I could have just wore a pants suit  from my closet.   That second Audrey helped set the record straight a little. Alaaaaskaaaa. 

So Breakfast at Tiffany’s begins with an interesting “walk of shame” if you will.  That somewhat awkward walk home early in the morning still wearing lasts nights party dress…Ms. Golightly stops in front a famous jewelry store sipping her coffee and snacking on a breakfast treat.  So les croissants is what I set my mind to. If you didn’t have respect for those hard working pastry arts students before, try this recipe and see how you feel.  This is why people study the culinary arts.  Try this for your next Sunday brunch, just make sure you stay home on Saturday night.

I first attempted what seemed to be an easy recipe, but figured out quickly, when my dough didn’t rise, that the recipe was lacking and I was lacking– lots of information.  Then I did some serious research comparing recipes and videos on Pastry making.  The recipe below comes from epicurious.com.  

The most important thing to know about Crosissants is that they are time and temperature sensitve.   Prepare the dough the night before you want to have them. Also plan to stay close by as you will need to roll, refridgerate, roll and refridgerate several times in your preparation.  

Ingredients:

1 1/2c whole milk heated to warm 105-110 degrres F (I Used 2%)

1/4 c package light brown sugar

1 Tb + 1/4 tsp dry active yeast.  (this is about one standard packet.)

3 3/4- 4 1/2 c unbleached all purpose flour

1 Tb Kosher Salt

3 sticks cold unsalted butter

Tools: rolling pin, counter top mixer with dough hook, pastry cutting wheel (or a pizza cutter), garbage bags, parchment paper, pastry brush, spray bottle, large plastic resealable bag, tall drinking glass

Combine milk, sugar and yeast into the bowl of an counter top electric mixer.  You will use your dough hook attachment to mix.  If you don’t have one you can stir and then use your hands to kneed this.  

Its important your milk is warm, as this allows the yeast to foam.  Let the mixture stand for 5 minutes.  If your yeast doesn’t foam, its no good and you’ll need to start over. 

Add Flour and salt and mix on low speed till a stick dough forms (7 minutes).  Now hand knead on a clean floured surface for about two minutes.  Form into a ball shape or thick square shape and wrap with plastic wrap.  Refridgerate for an hour.

Meanwhile, place 3 sticks of butter in large zipperlocking bag next to each other. Leave the bag unsealed so it doesn’t pop.  Now whale on them with any aggression or stress you may be holding in using a rolling pin.  haha! Once you give them a few thwacks, you can actually roll the butter out like dough.  a 5×8 rectangle is suggested as the ideal size.  Place in refridgerator.  Its import your butter be cold, otherwise it will be impossible to work with.

After your dough is chilled roll it out to a 16×10 rectangle.  Place butter inside so the the longside of the butter is parallel with the short side of the dough.  

Fold like a letter: the top third on to the butter the bottom third on top of the dough.  Now roll into a 15x 10 square.  Fold into thirds again roll again.  Fold for hte third time and roll.  Wrap in plastic and refridgerate for an hour.  You can expedite the process by using the freezer to chill the dough.  Only 20 minutes needed to chill.  You will repeat this process 3 times.  

So by folding you are distributing layers of butter between the dough.  When it cooks the butter melts, creating steam which causes little bubbles to form in the dough.  It puffs creating a thin flaky layers of pastry.

After completing the last fold wrap dough again and place in the refridgerator for at least 8 hours, but no more than 18 hours.  (Are you sick of this yet?)  Roll out into two large cirlces (dough should be about 1/4 of an inch thick) slice into wedges– the way you’d cut a pizza.  Roll starting with the wide end of the dough. 

Now you can, if you want to get fancy add chocolate and go for a pain au chocolat pastry.  Most people recommend bittersweet, but semisweet, or milk chocolate work well too.  Add chips a few morsels to the wide end of the cut, and roll.  

Place all croissants on parchment lined baking sheets.  make sure the pointed end of the croissant is underneath the pastry else the dough will unwind in the oven.  Place baking sheets in garbage bags.  Use a tall drinking glass to prop plastic , and keep it from touching the croissants.  Tuck bag’s ends under tray.  Croissant will rise.  Let stand for 2- 2 1/2 hours.  

Preheat oven to 425. Spray inside of the oven, now remove croissants from bags and place in the oven.  Spray again. Close door.  Reduce heat to 400 and bake for 10 minutes.  Rotate racks and reduce heat to 375.  Croissants are done when they are a golden brown.

WOW thats a lot of work!!!  Here are some links if you want to take on this project:

Croissant Dough
Chocolate Croissants
How to Make Croissants Video This is great for learning how to fold the dough

It is amazing how many times you see the same place but never get a chance to check it out! With Croissants, it was a long wait. Always knew it existed but never tasted! So took a friend along to try the many croissants available here.

First up we had the Chicken Reshmi Sheekh Croissant followed by the Bhuna Ghost croissants and then the Chicken Barbeque Croissant and another variation of a Croissant which was double the size of the Barbeque croissants but was priced at only INR 10 extra. Man that was a lot of croissants, ‘literally’ speaking!

Best dish of the day was the Sheekh variant which has a reshmi sheekh kebab running through the middle of the croissant! The rest though had paste filled inside the soft bread. That was such a let down as I was really hoping for chunks of chicken and not a paste that in one instance (Barbeque Chicken) tasted like Pav Bhaji!

Most of the non-veg croissants are priced between INR 35-45 while the vegetarian versions are for INR 30 and above. Croissants also keeps cakes and according to my friend that is their real specialty. Since we both intend to cut down on some weight (by simultaneously hogging on 3 croissants each!) we decided to skip the pastries for a later date!

Address: No. 5-6, Pluto, Perry Road, Bandra West, Mumbai 400050

When I was pregnant with my son, over 4 years ago, I put on a seriously unhealthy amount of weight.. I guess that as it was our first pregnancy, I overdid it on the ‘eating for two’ bit

I am glad to say that since April 2009, after a lot of reading and failed attempts, I took my first steps (literally) towards loosing the weight and trying to get back to my size “10” outfits. I first started walking round the block at 5am in the morning, since trying to make time for myself is a serious challenge. After a couple of weeks or so, I increased the pace and started climbing stairs after the walk. Later, when I felt my body needed a more serious push, I enrolled for aerobics classes at Mabrour – Salmiya. By gradually increasing my pace, I was able to stay with the program and not quit. So now after 6 months of diet and… Oh! I hate the word “DIET”, let’s say, after 6 months of implementing my lifestyle change initiatives (ha ha ) and my exercise program, I have lost 7 kilos and 2 dress sizes. Yipee!! Even though I am now a size 12 and not a size 10 yet, I am certainly getting there…few more steps to being a yummy mummy!! Ha Ha Ha!

I wanted to address post pregnancy weight loss in my blog coz I do feel that once we become mom’s, looking after ourselves takes the back seat…we always worry about our kids eating well and being healthy, but not ourselves.

It took me 4 years to really get to this point where I have done something about my weight. I hope that by making an entry about weight issues in my blog, a lot of moms, either new or “moms for quite some time” would be encouraged to do something about weight issues.

I do miss the breakfast croissants, doughnuts, cakes, stuffed crust pizza, lunch with the office gang almost on a daily basis, extra half hour of sleep in the mornings, but then it was worth it. It feels soooo good to be able to fit into good looking clothes again …yes! I am a shopaholic..but no regrets!!

Croissants, zeker als ze net vers uit de oven komen, zijn heerlijk. Zo ook de croissantjes van de Albert Heijn.

Verwarm de oven voor en rol van het deeg eenvoudigweg croissantjes. Je kunt ze vullen met bijvoorbeeld een blokje pure chocolade of wat pure hagelslag. Dit smelt binnenin en geeft de croissants net wat extra’s. Natuurlijk kun je er ook iets anders in stoppen.

De croissants heb je in verschillende groottes. Zo heb je mini-croissants (leuk voor op feestjes), de normale grootte en een supergrote versie.  Ze smaken allemaal lekker en luchtig. De prijs voor een blikje gewone croissants, waaruit je zes stuks haalt, bedraagt ongeveer 1,50 euro. Een goede deal, als je het mij vraagt.

~ Alex

It’s freeezing in Denmark… I went out the door this morning and instantly decided to go shopping for a warm winter jacket with room enough for a big belly.

All I really feel like these days are my warm bed, croissants and coffee.

I had to go grocery shopping tonight.  I am not a fan of grocery shopping.  I don’t feel like I get much from it as compared to shopping for makeup, shoes, even housewares.  I LOVE shopping for things to decorate my house, actually.  I love when you walk in after work and your house is spotless and sparkling and there are niec things to look at like my all-silver globe, or the framed silhouettes of Maya that I had done at Disneyland.  But I guess I should get back to the grocery story, huh?

On my way to the grocery store, I realized I was really hungry.  I hate that.  People shouldn’t be allowed to shop when they’re hungry.  Luckily for me, I was craving sandwiches all day.  So normally this would have been a dangerous shopping trip, it wasn’t.  I stocked up on so much yummy stuff.  Here is what I got!

• Chipotle Mustard
• Organic Dijon Mustard
• Honey Mustard Mayonnaise
• Garlic & Feta Spread
• Habanero Spread
• 2 Avocados
• Tropical Fruit Mix with Mango, Kiwi, Pineapple, & Grapes
• Swiss Cheese
• Spinach
• Chicken Lunch Meat
• 4 Croissants
• 6 Teleras (Mexican Flat Rolls)
• Fage (Fa-yeh) Non-Fat Greek Yogurt
• Minute Maid Pomegranate Blueberry Juice (to nourish my brain hehe)
• Sunny Delight Carrot Orange Drink (mmm, tasty!)
• 1 Loaf of Whole Grain Bread
• Chicken Breasts
• Naked Juice Protein Zone
• Simply Cookies (I think that’s the name. They have no High-Fructose Corn syrup along with other “bad for you” stuff)
• and a few soups

So I didn’t do too bad in the health department.  I didn’t buy anything too sugary, either.  I have been basically falling asleep any time I eat something sweet so I’m cutting back on the sugar a bit.  I have to admit though, I did buy Simply Cookies which aren’t healthy but they have no high fructose corn syrup, no trans fat, and no artificial flavors, colors, or preservatives.  Basically they are made with the same ingredients “you” use at home when you bake.  We’ll see how they turn out.  Sounds good to me though!

OH! I forgot to include a couple things in my list… I also picked up walnuts, pecans, and cranberries which I will use as salad toppers.  And I picked up cranberry sauce (not jelly, whole-berry sauce) to use as a spread on turkey sandwiches, possibly with habanero spread, Muenster cheese, spinach and pecans.  Maybe I make a weird sandwich but I always make a kick-ass sandwich.  Any ideas? Suggestions?

Chocolate souffle

I always keep a bottle of sparkling wine in the refrigerator. Nothing too fancy, mind you – that would defeat the purpose. Just something that makes small celebrations affordable, say, Veuve du Vernay Rosé or Antech Cremant de Limoux. And I mean small celebrations like harvesting a batch of potatoes from the backyard or your first handstand.

My favorite morning celebration calls for souffle and a glass or two of sparkling wine. Souffle requires a spouse who is fond of baking and pantry basics like flour, chocolate and eggs.

If you fall in the majority category whose spouse is not a baker, the souffle can be replaced with some fresh baked croissants – Milk Pail in Mountain View, an European style market in the middle of this Silicon Valley exurbia, has excellent frozen ones that can be proofed overnight. Trader Joe’s versions work in a pinch.

For a reliable chocolate souffle recipe that won’t let you down, you only have to reach out for your “Joy of Cooking”.

Night time celebration couldn’t be easier. Just pop open a pack of potato chips and enjoy with your sparkling wine ( a la Marilyn Monroe in “Seven Year Itch”). When you are in a mood to celebrate, it is easy to pretend that you are sitting with Marilyn sipping a bubbly and nibbling on potato chips. After a glass or two, it becomes easier still.

Oef, word ik daar even op mijn nummer gezet door de meneer van AH.

Geachte heer Koning,

Bedankt voor uw aanvullende reactie.

In uw eerdere correspondentie (zie hieronder) heeft u zichzelf Johan Konig genoemd. Met dat gegeven heb ik uw klacht behandeld. Ik heb verder niet uw achternaam gecontroleerd met uw emailadres. Hiervoor mijn excuses.

Met vriendelijke groet,

Albert Heijn Klantenservice
AG

Nu kan ik excuses gaan zoeken. Maar nee: ik heb – en het bewijs staat keurig geplakt onder het mailtje dat AG mij toestuurde – zelf gewoon een tikfout gemaakt. Inderdaad staat er Konig, in plaats van Koning. Dus G treft geen blaam. En omdat ik puur & eerlijk dien te zijn, bij deze: mea culpa.

Er is een reactie binnen van AH. En ik knip en plak LetterLuck:

Geachte heer Konig,

Bedankt voor uw email.

Wij hebben uw bevindingen over de spelling van dit product middels interne
rapportage doorgegeven aan de verantwoordelijke afdeling.

Met vriendelijke groet,
Albert Heijn Klantenservice

AG

Zoek de fout! Namen verkeerd schrijven is een journalistieke doodzonde, maar blijkbaar mag het PR-technisch wel

Coffee, espresso and cappuccinos are done well all around the Mediterranean and the Balkans, sit was no surprise to get this delicious combo in a spiffy coffee shop in the middle of the slightly seedy harbor district in Vlore.

Not seedy as in dangerous – in fact all of Albania felt as safe as could be – but seedy in the sense of scamming taxi drivers and vendors selling tickets for phantom boats at inflated prices. Our slight brush with this came as we carried our backpacks toward customs. A guy in an official-looking bright orange vest steered toward the maze and then gestured to us that we should put our packs down on a bench while the border guards examined our passports. He seemed to be suggesting that he would guard them for us while we dealt with the formalities, kind of like those guys on some tropical beaches who offer to watch your stuff while you swim, with the implication that they’ll steal it if you don’t hire them. Our man in Albania wanted a couple of Euro for his troubles.

Vlore is seedy in a good way, as all harbor towns should be, and it’sdefinitely a crossroads for Southeastern Europe. Our Italian-style cappuccino and croissant represented that intermingling of cultures. As a certified coffee freak, I love a country where most cafes offer both Italian-style espresso-based drinks and thick-brewed Turkish coffee.

Legend has it the famed pastry was invented by a baker in Budapest to commemorate a victory over Ottoman invaders — thus the crescent shape. Food historians say they can conclusively disprove this story based on painstaking research of historic recipes, but it’s a fun tale nonetheless.

The dark, chocolate-filled croissants in Vlore didn’t have much of that classic crescent shape that symbolizes the near-eastern Orient (think Turkish flag), but they were so good that we bought a couple of extras to go for the long ferry ride, munching them on deck as we watched the forested mountains of Albania’s western shoreline fade into the hazy ocean mists.

Kirk and I just recently got back from our trip to Paris. It was so nice to let go of the stress of daily life (working, cooking, cleaning, etc…) and just have fun and explore a different place… a place drastically different from Chicago. We had a very full itinerary while we there, which included:

…Watching the sun rise over the city from Sacre Coeur, wandering the cemetery at Montmartre, eating wonderfully flaky croissants and baguettes (with delicious butter and jam) at a small cafe every morning, trying fois gras for the first time at Le Moulin de la Galette restaurant (and generally enjoying one of the best meals I’ve had in a LONG TIME), walking up the winding stairs to the top of the Arc de Triomphe, ambling down the Champs Elysees and taking in all of the beautiful boutiques (and people!), seeing Napoleon’s tomb at Les Invalides, eating TONS of crepes (ham, cheese, and tomato was a favorite, as was nutella and banana AND salted caramel… so tasty), finally seeing Nike of Samothrace (the Winged Victory) at the Louvre (and we also saw the Mona Lisa), walking through the Tuileries Gardens and sitting in reclining chairs next to the fountain/pond thing, seeing Monet’s Water Lilies at the Musee L’Orangerie, standing in La Concorde and admiring the Obelisque and taking a moment to stand at the location where Marie Antoinette lost her head, wandering the gardens at the Musee Rodin and seeing “The Thinker” and “The Gates of Hell”, dining at a restaurant at the Place du Tertre and being accosted by sketch artists and rose vendors, walking up to Sacre Coeur at night to see the city lights, visiting the Centre Pompidou and taking in a lot of  bad (in my opinion) feminist art (but also seeing some interesting classic pieces of the modern art movement), eating ice cream at Le Flore en L’Ile cafe on Ile Saint Louis, walking through Notre Dame as the afternoon sun shined through the stained glass, standing next to the Seine under an umbrella on Ile de la Cite – waiting for the rain to pass over us, walking down Boulevard St-Germain, waiting in an insanely long line to get to the top of the Eiffel Tower at Sunset (only to feel the effects of overcrowding and come back down within 5 minutes), and taking in the amazing collection of impressionist art at the Musee D’Orsay.

While doing all of these things, we definitely got our exercise by walking nearly everywhere, and we gained a good working knowledge of the Paris Metro and RER transportation system. We stayed at the Hotel Des Arts in Montmartre, so we ended up taking the train nearly everyday. The hardest day on the metro was the first morning when we arrived in Paris CDG (Charles de Gaulle Airport) at dawn – 6:30am is simply to early to be arriving ANYWHERE. Trying to figure out how to get to the RER station at Charles de Gaulle, and then getting confused about which train we needed to take to get to Gare du Nord (which is listed as Paris Nord on the RER maps) – as it turns out all of the train from Charles de Gualle Airport stop at Gare du Nord. And then… figuring out how to transfer from the RER B Train to the Metro to get to the Blanche stop in Montmartre… whew! Once in Montmartre, we then had some trouble figuring out which streets matched up to the ones on our map (as it turns out, street signs are affixed to the sides of buildings in Paris – not on traffic lights or seperate signs as we’re used to in North America). We eventually found our way to the Hotel… after walking up a crazy steep hill.

I loved Paris while we there. Maybe it was the fact that we were so cut off from our daily lives (no phone, no personal laptop) – - – it was just Kirk and me and all the time in the world to relax and explore (and eat). Part of me wonders whether I really loved Paris, or whether I just loved being on a REAL vacation (a vacation without pretenses or expectations of time and schedules). Either way, it was a beautiful city – one I wouldn’t mind going back to one day.

“Sunday Morning”

• Oil on Canvas
• 48″ x 48″
• Contact the artist.

“Sunday Morning” as it should be; lazy, loads of treats and lots of possibilities.

Hoe puur en eerlijk is dat puur&eerlijk van AH eigenlijk? Want als ik het naar de letters der taalwet lees, is alleen de roomboter biologisch. Nu weet ik dat er veel roomboter in de croissants zit, maar hoe zit het met de rest van de ingrediënten?

Voor de niet-taalkundigen onder ons: het moet ‘biologische roombotercroissants’ zijn. Ik snap dat dus niet hè. Geef je zoveel geld uit om een nieuw ‘merk’ te introduceren, schrijf je de producten verkeerd…