de Cuisson en France

For some strange reason I have had a serious urge to bake for the last week. Maybe becuase I overdosed on Red Velvet cake when I was home and I am going through withdrawls... I really have no idea, especially because I am NOT a baker. Not even a little bit. I love cooking always have , but that is mostly becuase when cooking there is the freedom to mix and match and sprinkle a little of this and a little of that. Baking on the other hand is precise and scary and revolves a bit too much around Math for my liking. Anyone who knows me, knows that Math and I DO NOT MIX - we are sort of like oil and water (funny enough those are also two things commonly found in baking recipes, I am sooooooooo hysterical sometimes I can't even stand it). Back to the baking... after finding an amazing osunding recipe for Red Velvet Cheesecake Brownies I was ready and determined to make this happen. It has been quite the process. First I realised I didn't even have a pan to bake in - quick trip to Monoprix to find something that would work. Then after searching around for all of the ingredients, I came to the next realisation which put a huge damper on this whole potential project - I have NO IDEA what on earth the ingredients are translated into French. Seriously I was ok when it came to flour (farine), butter (beurre) and eggs (oeuf), heck I can even find a large egg (gros oeuf) but then came the difficult things... for example Baking Powder - I had no idea where to even start... so I stood in front of the baking aisle in Monoprox after work one evening and pulled up my trusty buddy - Google Translate on my even more trusted buddy, my iPhone, and started searching away. The worst part was once I found something that could have been it I couldn't remember if i needed baking soda or baking powder and what on earth the difference was in general, after my 25 minuites of translating then realising I still had no clue which one I needed, I began wishing for Mommy. So "why not just buy both" I thought... then came the search for baking cocoa - this is when I really started wishing for my Ma. Does baking coca have sugar or not and why on earth are there so many choices?!?!?! After making my best judgement about what resembled that box of Hershey's baking coca powder stuff, the biggest road block came into play - red food coloring, pretty much impossible to find in this lovely country and a serious neccesity for Red Velvet anything... at this point, after spending aover an hour and a half in Monoprix, my patience were gone, I was starving and I wasn't even halfway through the ingredient list. I won't lie - I plopped my basket of random selections that resembled baking goods down in the baking aisle and marched myself home, picked up some yummy China chow at the place across the street from ma maison, cracked open a bottle of wine and re-evaluated my mission to make a tasty treat. After some research I think I discovered what most of the baking supplies were that I needed when the next problem came into play. The measurement system in France is 100% absolutley not the same as the one in the US - meaning that my recipe now required some serious conversion... I don't know if you have ever tried to convert cups of flour into grams (especially when you aren't a mathematician) but as mentioned before baking is a science somehting that needs to be handled with care - or else you could end up with an explosion in your oven, hockey puck type treats or even worse a gooey mess in a pan that never turns into anything... needless to say, I have been working on this potential project for a week now and nothing delicious has come out of it. I have researched, purchsed the correct baking supplies and even found a recipe that sounds tasty and is in French (ingredients and measurments - now we just have to hope my French reading level is as good as I assume it is)!! Now the mission is to get my butt back to the store, buy all of the supplies I need and make it happen. Who knows, maybe baking will become my new past time and I can be the next Betty Crocker - if that happens I think I will bring awesome aprons into style...

Mmmmm... chocolate (insert Homer Simpson voice here)

** Disclaimer, I have been a little lazy in uploading my camera so the following post may seem a bit out of order seeing as I have been back in Paris for almost two weeks now. But as far as I am concerned better late than never.

So if you go searching through the old posts on this blog you will find one in particular that has to do with a day of chocolate tasting at a little place known as, The Chocolate Bar. As far as I am concerned this delightful, little location at the Langham Hotel in Boston is one of the best creations, EVER, in the history of the world. Seriously - what is wrong with a resto that serves nothing but the most amazingly delectable chocolate treats of every size, shape and type possible?? NOTHING , ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!! And what makes it even better?? Going with someone who loves you and your fatness from the bottom of their heart, and I love her and her chocolate loving appetite right back!!! Ok back to the chocolaty goodness... this was my second trip to the Chocolate Bar with my bestie, Miss. Ashlee, we made the trek right before I moved to Paris two years ago (on that note, I seriously cannot believe I have lived in Paris for almost 2 full years! Yikes!) and promised to try and go back once a year. Although we didn't make it last year - an ocean separating us makes it a bit difficult, I made it a point to reserve my last Saturday back home (after spending an awesome week with my friends and family a few weeks ago) before I returned to Paris so we could carry on this tradition. I am so happy we did. This year's theme (each year there is a different one) is Degrees of Chocolate and they did a great job covering every single type of chocolate out there. When we walked in to the restaurant the sweet, sweet smell was overwhelming - it is exactly how I would imagine a piece of Willy Wonka's world, the only thing missing was the Oompa Loompas!! The stations went from lightest types of chocolate to the darkest most intense. It was unreal. Simply amazing and being in a chocolate coma right before a flight back to Paris was just what I needed to have a sweet end to my trip home...

*Warning licking the computer when viewing the below images may cause electric shock or serious damage to your screen...

I wanted to inject that cream cheese frosting from that cupcake directly into my veins

I am still not exactly sure what we were supposed to do with the chocolate powder on the spoon but we tried it anyway!

Bacon in a dessert = genius
Chocolate and Gruyere in a dessert = even more genius
Chase both with a chocolate shot and life is goooooood

These were absolutely one of my favorites, oops, just drooled on my computer a little

Parisian Carnival Craziness

Here they are.. the promised photos. Unfortunately as this was not a planned adventure, I only had my small digital camera with me and not my beastly but beautiful favorite camera. So the pictures came out ok but really don't give the colors or the atmosphere justice... Anyhoooooooo, please put on your party pants, any crazy head dress you may have laying around, turn on some Samba music and enjoy :)

This girl had on the creepiest mask. I don't know if any of you remember that Six Flags dancing geezer but this was even worse!!!

Close cousins of the one eyed, one horned, flying, purple people eater...

If I saw these guys in the Captain seat on my flight, I would take a shot with them, then quickly get the eff off of the plane!

How the heck did he steal this from my closet????

Crazy Carnival

So apparently it is the time of year for Carnival – well at least in Brazil. I’ll be honest, up until about 10 minutes ago, I really had no idea what the Carnival tradition was or why it is so important in Brazil and how important it is to their culture. Please… read on and get educated about the history of Carnival in Brazil. Apparently this tradition has been occurring since the time of the ancient Greeks. It originated as a Spring festival to honor the God of Wine (as soon as I read this I knew it could only get better, I mean a God of WINE – HELL YEAH!!) It went through a couple of tweeks and changes as time went on, the Romans adopted it and used it as a time to honor their Wine God and then the Roman Catholic Church got a hold of it and it turned into a last festival before Ash Wednesday. I am pretty sure this is still more or less the present meaning/purpose of Carnival now. Anyway, it has essentially turned into a massive celebration of indulgences (and everyone loves indulgences!)- sort of like a last fling of sex, alcohol and food before Lent begins. I am not sure that a week filled with pretty much every “sin” possible is exactly what the Catholics had in mind before starting the 40 days of sin purging. The carnival that takes place in Rio de Janeiro is one of the world’s most lavish and most famous carnivals. There are drumming groups, parties, drinking, eating and parades with singers and Samba dancers! These parades are filled with elaborate costumes, crazy colourful floats and sometimes even a few naked people (as Carnival comes from a latin term meaning Farewell to the Flesh – I think prancing around naked helps put this into perspective)…  So of course as with everything Paris had to have its own version of this crazy little festival.  Sunday afternoon I bundled up and hopped on the back of my friend and escorts scooter and we cruised the streets of Paris looking for people dancing in sequined costumes, drumming and singing. It took a little bit but after a few wrong turns we found it. An entire section of the Parisian streets blocked off and just crowded with crazy drunken Parisians celebrating their very own version of Carnival. I will be honest, there were a few points when these dancing fools marched by that I wanted to just join in and march down the streets with them… Although I am positive that this little gathering pales in comparison to the elaborate celebrations in Brazil and especially in Rio, it was quite the sight to see and I am happy I was able to take this in. Plus I got to ride around the city on the back of a scooter again and as I have mentioned many times before, this for me is one of the most amazing and best ways to take in the city. Nothing at all beats holding on while you weave in and out of cars and taking in the scenery from an entirely new point of view.

Pictures to come!!!

Joyeuse Saint Valentin

So it is the 14th of February again in Paris... I wish I had some exciting, romantic, dripping with cheese evening plans to share with you but unfortunately this chicken noodle is celebrating the day of love alone. I won't lie I may treat myself to a glass of nice wine and a delish dinner this evening (courtesy of Picard of course!! Hehe). Anyway, I got to thinking this morning as I lay awake at 4:30 am (have I ever told you how much I love jet lag?) about how different this happy little holiday is in America and France. In the states, I am pretty sure decorations and hearts and flowers and giant stuffed bears start showing up in stores pretty much right after Christmas, why would we let any significant time pass between holidays where money could be made, that would be silly!? Whereas here in Paris, there were very few decorations or even references to Valentine's until the start of this week. Here (and this is my little opinion) this holiday is really still about the love of someone and making that person feel special, instead of cramming into an over booked resto, with a price fixed menu, cheesy red roses and that box of chocolates with the (mostly disgusting) random fillings*. People aren't dressed in red and pink today and there aren't cupids hanging over the entrance to the Metro - although that would be funny to see! So all this thinking really got me interested to see what I could dig up about the history of St. Valentin in France... here is a taste of what I found...

Valentines Day Traditions in France  courtesy of Lost in France

"No one really knows how Valentines day originally came about or even who St Valentine really was - the Catholic church has three different St Valentines and in ancient Rome the 14th of February was marked as a holiday to honour the god Juno. Custom has it that in France and England Valentines day originally came to be held in mid February because this was the time of year that birds and animals started pairing off and mating. Eventually it became popular to exchange small tokens and love letters and so the day was born.

An old Valentines day custom in France and now officially banned was called the "une loterie d'amour" or "drawing for love". This entailed single people of all ages entering houses that faced opposite each other and calling out through the windows till eventually they paired off with each other. The male suitor if not particularly attracted to his partner would leave her and the women left single would build a large bonfire and ceremoniously burn images of the men that had deserted them whilst simultaneously hurling abuse and curses at the ungrateful men. Though this was probably very therapeutic for the rejected women inevitably it was a practice that soon became out of hand and was eventually banned by the French government. < I am going to add my two sense here because I find this super interesting... seriously... why ban this it sounds like a good freaking time, well I guess as long as you are chosen but if you aren't just make sure you have a bad of marshmallows handy and a good roasting stick (don't forget a cold beer or glass -actually bottle- of wine and make it a party!! >

In France Valentines cards are called cartes d'amities, the first recorded Valentines greeting was supposed to have been sent by the Duke of Orleans, a Frenchman who was held prisoner in the Tower of London after his capture at the Battle of Agincourt in 1415. During his imprisonment the young duke is said to have sent poems & love letters to his wife in France."

So to close out this little lesson on VDay in France - let me share with you a few awesome les petites phrases de la drague (pick up lines) to help you and yours celebrate this day of hearts, kisses and love (en Francais bien sure!)

Est-ce que ton père a été un voleur ? Parce qu'il a volé les étoiles du ciel pour les mettre dans tes yeux.
(Was your father a thief? Because he stole the stars from the sky to put them in your eyes)

Tu as dû avoir très mal quand tu es tombée du ciel... 
(It must've hurt when you fell from heaven...)

Tu dois être fatiguée parce que tu as trotté dans ma tête toute la journée.
(You must be tired, because you've been running through my head all day)

Je viens d'arriver dans ta ville. Est-ce que tu pourrais m'indiquer le chemin jusqu'à ton appartement ?
(I just arrived in this city. Could you tell me the way to your apartment?)

*Don't get me wrong, even though that sounded a bit bitter,  I love all that stupid crap too so if anyone wants to send flowers, chocolates or jewelry - it will be accepted with open arms!! Any chance to make a person feel special today or any other day of the year should be fully taken advantage of.

Super Bowl and then some...

Are you ready for some fooooootball? some Patriot packed football?!?!?!?!

Superbowl – well for other reasons as well, but if the Patriots hadn't made it I am not sure I would have had the same vigor to try and make it back to the homestead to watch this big game with my family. Although to be honest, I think as happy as my parents were to see me, I think they would have enjoyed watching the game with a bit more silence then they had. But seriously – I hadn't seen everyone in so long and my attention span isn't what it used to be! It was a night though – everyone in their Patriots gear, eating, drinking and laughing. An evening that will be cherished in my memory bank forever – minus the fact that the Pats lost but next year baby, next year (especially because the Vegas odds are already favouring them – thanks for the tid bit of info Pa, now I sound like I know what I am talking about!! Hehe) Aside from this game I was able to catch up with most of my family, all my besties, play with the two most adorable babies EVER, see a few people from the office and just all around enjoy my time at home. It was a bit jam packed and it went much too quickly, but I think it was just enough home to get me through the next few months, which will be full of who knows what, especially now that I am waiting (and waiting and waiting) to hear about the job I interviewed for a week or so ago (I hope you all have your fingers and eyes and legs and everything else crossed for me). I also stuffed my suitcase full of American delicacies including Velveeta and blue cheese salad dressing. One of the best things about this trip aside from seeing my loves, eating lots of (disgusting and not good for you) delightful American food was that I missed an incredibly cold streak here in Paris. Don't get me wrong I grew up in New England and can handle some pretty bitter temps but the cold here is a whole new ballgame. It is so humid and bitter it freezes you to your bones, actually it was so cold when I left last week the equipment that moves the planes on the tarmac was actually frozen in place and my flight left almost two hours late!! I am hoping that I brought some of the mild temperatures back with me...

Those tired eyes are from the jetlag not the beer I am drinking... I swear ... sort of...

And... just for fun... my favorite Super Bowl commercial this year:

The next scary step.

  "When you're young, your whole life is about the pursuit of fun. Then, you grow up and learn to be cautious. You could break a bone or a heart. You look before you leap and sometimes you don't leap at all because there's not always someone there to catch you. And in life, there's no safety net. When did it stop being fun and start being scary?"

So. I mentioned last week that I applied for a job back in Windsor with the same company that I think could be a serious step in my career. After two years of being challenged everyday I have discovered so much about myself (ok side note Girls Just Wanna Have fun is playing in the taxi as I ride home and I am trying so hard to not sing along... Side note finished back to business) and one of the things I have learned is that I am truly proud of my career this far in my life. Now most would say this is a normal reaction that anyone that has been working for some time would have. But honestly if you had asked me a few years ago what my goals career wise were  I would have probably looked you in the eyes and said "I have no idea, find me a rich man and I'll figure the rest out..." Yes, I realize how that sounds and maybe it's a bit exaggerated and although I should be embarassed to admit it - I'm not. Because for me I think about it and it makes how I feel now even more valid and important. Now I can't even breathe when I think about not working (that doesn't mean I want to be a crazy, work 80 hours a week, have no life kind of girl) I truly enjoy challenging myself and seeing what I can build my own expectations to. I won't lie and say I want to take over the entire organization (even though I'm pretty sure I'd be awesome at it, insert evil laugh here) but I want to see what's next and where that could lead me... I mean Paris isn't a bad pay out for working hard and taking lots of pride in what I do. So Thursday I'll have that first step to take my next challenge. That job that I applied for had now become the job interview I am preparing for. 

Yikes!! I'm nervous and excited and I'm 87%sure I'm ready to make this next move... Yes not 100% but 87%... The truth is the choice to move my life back to the US is scary. I miss so much about it but now I'll just have to miss my life here and can't deny it my life here is pretty awesome!! What if I get back and realize I'm supposed to be here? What if I don't go and realize that I should have? So many unknowns and so many what if's ... And none of those ???'s can be answered until I move in the direction that comes my way. So at this point only time and a phone interview can tell what direction that might be. So keep your fingers crossed and I'll keep you posted. 

Sent from my iPhone