I'm ashamed to admit it but it's been a little while since I've cooked. However, I was checking up on the Chocolate and Zucchini blog the other day and saw a simple recipe for a chocolate and vanilla marble cake.Well here is my try at the recipe. It's a very pretty cake but mine turned out a bit dry. I think my pan was sitting too low in the oven but I'll definitely give this another try.
It's a nice cake to have with tea so thank goodness they drink lots of tea in this country.
As I mentioned in a previous post, I've become very interested in underground / pop-up restaurants that is a new and growing trend in the gastronomic world. An underground restaurant is hosted by a cook, typically not a professional, in a non-traditional space such as their home for a small group of people. Think of it as a really nice dinner party where you pay a suggested donation. Word gets around through emails, discussion boards, and blogs. It's a nice way to experience a good meal and meet new people. A pop-up restaurant is more of a formal event where an unusual space will be used to host a temporary or pop-up restaurant with a professional chef and waitstaff.
Going back to my experience at Rachel Khoo's underground restaurant event, not only did I meet blogger Cassie but quite a few other people with culinary interests / backgrounds. Among my fellow diners was the Belgian Francoise (there was also a French Francoise) who is a fine tableware consultant. She mentioned that the Weston family (the owners of Selfridges) had hired Chef Pierre Koffman to open a pop-up restaurant on the roof at Selfridges (high-end department store similar to Neiman Marcus). Francoise had one space available at her table and invited me to join. This was a very special invitiation since the pop-up restaurant is closing October 31st and all tables are fully booked.
One warm weekend in June last year Mags, Bernice, and I were hiding away in a magnificent suite in Calistoga for Bernice's annual birthday trip. Being the techies/workaholics that we are, we were lounging on the sofas taking advantage of the free wireless network. At the time Mags was trying out on-line dating and mentioned that there was a profile she wanted us to look at. In case you didn't already know, female dating decisions are quite often made by committee. I looked at the profile and found it very witty and interesting particularly one line that I'll never forget, "I have some baggage but rest assured it's safely stowed". Mags was hesitating about contacting the guy in the profile because she didn't fully match the description that he listed. I kept on telling her that there was nothing to lose by contacting him so she finally emailed him when we returned from our weekend away. Two weeks later they started dating and from the picture you can see how the story ended.
I couldn't be happier for them both although I'm still amazed at their story.
I feel as though I blinked and this summer completely disappeared. My belief is that Europeans know how to enjoy summer the most with the annual festivals, cafe culture, and general laissez-faire attitude when the weather gets warm. It doesn't hurt that they get anywhere from 20 to 40 days off during the summer to vacation as well. Perhaps this is why I tried so hard to make the most of this summer and packed way too much in. Between my trip to South Africa and now I have only had one weekend in London. I've mostly been away to visit friends but the last month has included plenty of work travel as well. I was really trying to take advantage of having two months off from school. During the past two weeks alone I managed to go from Istanbul to Cork (Ireland) to San Francisco to Munich to Milan back to London for 1 night then to Paris and finally to Nice/Monaco. I'm just trying to recover now and catch up with schoolwork that I'm sorely delinquent on.
I hope to blog more soon but I'll leave you with some pictures from Istanbul, Nice/Monaco, and our welcome back to school party for now.
A large surprise package arrived at the office for me today containing a massive supply of ooey gooey goodness all the way from San Francisco, also known as s'mores from Charles Chocolates. A good friend back home is certainly smiling down on me today! It's strange the things you miss when you move away from home and s'mores is definitely high on that list for me. For the uninitiated, s'mores are the ultimate campfire treat comprised of a graham cracker base, a chocolate square (typically Hershey's), and a gooey marshmallow expertly roasted over an open fire. Perhaps it's just the nostalgia remembering cool nights camping out at Yosemite after spending the day hiking up Half Dome but s'mores are one of the greatest comfort foods for me.
Although the s'mores from Charles Chocolates are a bit more grown-up since they're made with organic ingredients and artisanal chocolate, Chuck has really managed to recreate the experience. If they're so simple, why can't I just make them here? First you should realize that camping in the UK means spending more time in the tent hiding out from the imminent rain than sitting in front of an open fire. Also, graham crackers and Hershey's chocolate don't really exist in the UK. I guess digestive biscuits and Cadbury chocolate could be used instead but surely by then you've lost the point. It would be like replacing the peanut butter and jelly for cheese in your pb&j sandwich.
I've got a ton of s'mores to get through so excuse me if you see me walking around with chocolate and gooey marshmallow all over my face the next few days.
This year was meant to be a quiet birthday but thanks to some really great friends the celebrations seemed to never end. Grant and Natasja were so thoughtful to try and surprise with these goodies as soon as they came back from a weekend away. Unfortunately I was out when they were hoping to come over but this picture will definitely suffice.
Here's hoping that you're all out there celebrating something wonderful!
Awhile ago I got involved in a Pay it Forward gesture through a blog titled Angie's Write. Angie and I trained for the Nike Women's Marathon together some years ago and this blog used to be a journal of her training efforts. Angie is now using the blog to track the novel she is currently writing.
A short while ago this arrived in the mail from Angie:
The lovely package included a pen, handmade necklace, Scharffenberger chocolate, and a Pride and Prejudice (my favorite book!) themed notebook. Now the idea is that I should pay forward the gesture to three other bloggers. I've got two bloggers so far so let me know if you'd like to be the third. You just need to commit to paying forward the gesture to three other bloggers and writing about it on your own blog. I am willing to ship anywhere in the world. Leave a comment if you'd like to participate and I'll get in touch.
Term 2 of the MBA proved to be an extremely challenging term. Perhaps it was because we hadn't really had a break since January or because I didn't enjoy the courses as much this term. Either way I'm just glad it's all over for now and we get a bit of break for real this time. I will miss my classmates and especially my study group though.
Lessons learnt from term 2:
