mendiants

for christmas i made chocolates for everyone and wrapped them up as little gifts.
these chocolates pictured above are called mendiants(beggars in french), and are an important part of the provencal tradition of 13 desserts on christmas. these little disks of chocolate are traditionally topped with fruits and nuts that represent the colors of the four mendicant monastic orders. i decided to have fun and create my own flavor combinations!

white chocolate
- toasted macadamia nut, coconut flake, and meyer's rum soaked pineapple.

dark chocolate
- black mission fig, walnut, and fleur de sel
- candied ginger, toasted sesame seeds, and wasabi powder

milk chocolate
- tart cherry, roasted almond, and cacao nibs
- booker's bourbon soaked raisin and toasted pecan


and as you can see in my only photo, i also made candied orange peels dipped in chocolate!

i'm pretty upset that i didn't document these properly with real photographs.
next time i won't make over a hundred chocolates on the morning of christmas eve!
i wish i would have made half the amount and spent the rest of the time photographing.

2008

wow, i have totally forgotten about this blog.

i'm going to do my best to keep up with it in 2008.

so far in the new year...

-i've started a new job at a wonderful restaurant right on the hudson river in ny. (more on that in a future blog)
-i'm saving up for a trip to europe in may. pj and i will making an excursion to hungary, germany, and the uk.
-pj left for a short tour of smaller cities across the us. he was going to be gone for only a month, and now it looks like he'll be home on march 1st. pretty bummed on that. but i am so happy for him, the band is getting so many adds to radio!
-i've decided i want to go back to greece in august. hopefully i can make that happen, and stop in italy on the way home.
-pj is an uncle
-i've started learning french.


i plan to do a more thorough job of recording all the recipes i've been cooking up lately. i'll be taking photos of everything and posting them regularly!

Another Photo Blog

AUSTIN (and San Antonio for a sec)


Quick trip to the Alamo


The weather was a bit unpredictable


Amy's Ice Cream and Zen. As seen from
another Austin staple, Jo's Coffee.


We made a friend


Peek at the Caves


Lake Travis Rainbow


Capital Lawn Love


Mount Bonnell


Climbed that shit


Bad ass


Zilker Botanical Gardens


Mima has a kitchen in Wimberley!


Sweet Silhouette Brah


Love bird


These deer love to nap on Cat Mountain lawns
There were 2 more behind the tree


Wyndham What


4th of July at the Capital building


Hanging with the many Governors of Texas


That includes our lovely President Bush
Haaaa

Party

So my parents 25th was a big surprise! Here are some pics from The Stony Hill Inn.


One of the many dining rooms


The Herb Room, where we had our private dinner


The married folks


The mom(party planner) and the bride


The expecting father


The boy in the pink tie


The crazy toile bathroom

Red Headed Stranger

Today was a bit stressful. I spent a good 2 hours at the mall looking for the cd pictured...
And did I find it?
No.
If I was in Austin, it'd be everywhere. Another reason why I should be there.



Besides that ordeal, I had to tell my parents the big lie. I told them I plan on taking everyone to Stony Hill for father's day dinner. I actually pulled it off really well and my dad got really excited and cute and said he didn't want to know where I was taking him. Then of course at dinner my mom made some remark about how everyone has had big 25th anniversary parties and no one has even mentioned their anniversay, which is on Tuesday. It made me feel really sad, and I wanted to tell her everything right there, but obviously could not. So she'll have a big laugh tomorrow about that.

Oh and Austin, can't waaaaaiiiiiit for Austin. I want to live here immediately. Tarrytown is my favorite.

Long time reader. First time blogger.

Today was a pretty average day. By average I mean I walked 3 miles in the city and tried on clothes for an hour and a half. I did buy some things this time though. And I did work my ass off at the gallery packing books for the big move to the new space, so I think it was well deserved. When I got home PJ was not there yet. This is a rarity. He normally beats me by a good 15 minutes at least. When he arrived we(and by we I mean I) made some pasta and watched 3.5 hours of Lost Season 1, in preparation for the 4th season which I must wait about as long as it took Claire to give birth to her fucking baby.

Tomorrrow I must lie to my parents about the happenings of Sunday night. I'm a bad liar and afraid that I'm goign to ruin their surprise 25th anniversary party.

I'll be sure to update on the outcome.