.jpg)
|
|---|
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Being a native Californian, I'm no stranger to earthquakes. When talking to a student last night about earthquakes, he asked if I had ever felt an earthquake before.... My immediate answer was, "Yes, of course... Since I was a kid." Nothing as big as the one in American Samoa, though! I cannot even begin to imagine an earthquake of that strength and force... I read somewhere on line that the quake lasted 3 minutes... I cannot imagine that, either!
The quake was centered about 120 miles south of the islands of Samoa, which has about 220,000 people, and American Samoa, a U.S. territory of 65,000.Another strong underwater earthquake rocked western Indonesia on Wednesday, less than 24 hours after the Samoan quake, briefly triggering a tsunami alert for countries along the Indian Ocean. The 7.6-magnitude quake toppled buildings, cut power and triggered a landslide on Sumatra island, and at least 75 people were reported killed. Experts said the seismic events were not related.
It's very sad that the forces of nature take the lives of people around the world... My thoughts and prayers are with the survivors and their families....
* Picture taken from internet.
When I got this announcement from Angelina, all I could think of was the gazillion knives and forks I've used gobbling up their divine hot chocolate..ahem
More knives and forks AND a beautiful buche de noel with a silver bow on it!
Honestly does anyone do bows better than the French?
And now they have designer Alexis Mabille doing bows up the whazoo right and left and everyone is eating them up!
What's not to love about a French bow...
Stradegically placed in just the right spot to gently draw attention...
YUM! or rather miam 
Macaron Bow, original art, 5.5" x 7.5"
Tiffany Bow, original art, 5.5" x 7.5"
Eiffel Bow, original art, 9" x 11"
But none of mine are edible like these adorable bisquits, Mabille designed for Laduree. Don't you love the way only the French seem to tie together pastry and fashion? They even have seasonal pastry collections!
Next Monday I'll be able to walze over to musee Laduree and gaze longingly at these potential bows...yayTuesday, September 29, 2009
Brought back by popular request the recipe for the La Maison du Chocolat ganache!
L'Art de la Ganache, original art, 9" x 11"
Photo by Evert-Jan De Kort
You can mailorder bars from La Maison 500 mi (2 cups + 2 thsp) single cream
Kitchen Utensils: whisk, Mixing bowl, saucepan
For the Directions:1. Finely chop the dark chocolate and set aside in a mixing bowl. Take the vanilla pod (bean), split the pod length-wise and remove the seeds. In a saucepan, bring the cream to a boil, remove from the heat: add half the vanilla bean and seeds, and leave to infuse for 10 minutes..
Return to heat until just before boiling. Remove vanilla pod and pour infused cream over the shaved chocolate. 
2-Leave the chocolate to melt for 2 minutes, then whisk lightly in a circular motion, starting from the center. 
3-You can enjoy this ganache warm or pour it over ice cream, cakes, or fresh strawberries.
At La Maison du Chocolat, we like to pour it into a stainless steel frame set on a marble slab. We leave it to solidify for 24 hours before covering it with a layer of dark or milk couverture chocolate.
You can find this recipe and many more of master pastry chef Gilles Marchal in the brand new LMDC book just out on Amazon - very lush indeed. 
I used the apple cake batter in the cake pans I bought in Vienna and in Strasbourg... Both turned out great!!!
SOOOOO moist and yummy!!!
350 oven, 1 hr to 1 hr + 15 mins.
4-5 sliced apples, tossed with cinnamon and brown sugar
Mix together:
2 1/2 cups flour
3 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup oil
3/4 cup orange juice
3 eggs
Grease and flour tube pan. Pour a little more than half of the batter into the pan, spread about half of the apples, and then cover with the rest of the batter. Use the remaining apples for the top. (I sprinkle a little more cinn. on top before baking.)
Bake at 350 F for 1 hour. Be sure to bake so it’s not soggy, but don’t over bake!
who LOVESSSSSSSSSSS ice cream!! Cheers, Mira!!!
LinkWithin
