Some hae meat and canna eat,
And some wad eat that want it;
But we hae meat, and we can eat,
Sae let the Lord be thankit.
The Selkirk Grace
attributed to Robert Burns
It was Robert Burn’s Day, a couple of weeks ago.
Robert Burns (25 January 1759 – 21 July 1796) (also known as Robbie Burns, Rabbie Burns, Scotland’s favourite son, the Ploughman Poet, Robden of Solway Firth, the Bard of Ayrshire and in Scotland as The Bard) was a Scottish poet and lyricist. [Read more…]
I have just returned from an all too short but wonderful trip to New York City.
A few months ago, I was whining to my oldest, dearest friend from childhood – we have known each other since Grade One – that I would “give my back teeth to see Cherry Jones in the Glass Menagerie”.
While my back teeth are not very impressive, and would not actually be of value to anyone outside of my head, I did feel it was a grand thing to say, as it would involve a painful extraction on my part. [Read more…]
A few weeks ago, I had a great time with my panel of two teenaged tea aficionados, tasting black, green and herbal teas with dark, milk and white chocolates. We were surprised and delighted to discover how well the flavours of some of the teas blended with or accentuated the aromas and flavours of some of the chocolate … and some definitely did not.
Clearly, I have not had enough of the tea and chocolate experience because this week I picked up a half dozen tea infused chocolate bars and am making batches of tea infused truffles using some of the flavours which seemed to go so well together. [Read more…]
Tea and Chocolate: These are a pair of my favorite things.
There is nothing like a vibrant cup of well brewed tea in my favorite translucent-but-strong mug, my fingers laced around its warmth, feet slung over the arm of a chair, nose in a book, to calm me down and make me feel everything is going to be okay.
I feel the same way about a square of really good chocolate. Holding a piece strategically, between tongue and hard palate, just sorta letting it melt inconspicuously, no one ever need know I am not paying attention to what they are saying. [Read more…]
I love Seattle. Two hours away from my lovely Vancouver, crossing that border into the United States accentuates the “we’re on a holiday” feeling, as I nudge my little red car onto the I-5, and carefully check the smaller inside dial on my accelerator. We are now travelling in miles per hour and I don’t want to get this mini break off on the wrong foot with a speeding ticket.
Younger Son, my intrepid companion on this trip, laughs aloud when I express my concern over this. [Read more…]