Israel: Ilana Goor museum

The ilana Goor museum was a delight--and one of the most unusual art museums I have ever visited.
Pure joy. 

Postcard from Israel

These photos are from the market in Jerusalem where I needed more time to shop, to take photographs, to eat, to sit and have coffee....to absorb it all.

Promis Juré!

Chocolate shops are everywhere in Brussels. The standbys are still found in the Grand Sablon, but if you stroll the city, you'll find plenty more--including the likes of chocolatiers like Laurent Gerbaud's on Rue Ravenstein. Asian influences are showcased not only in the ingredients he uses in his chocolates, but also as part of his logo: the word "chocolate" in Chinese is stamped on the red seal packaging all his beautiful products.  The shop is a combination tea shop (delicious hot chocolate served here) but also a place where you can schedule a chocolate tasting or take a workshop on how to mold and  put together those precious wafers studded with pistachio, almonds, dried fruits and more. Laurent also dips Dandoy's famous biscuits in his handmade chocolate. As his sign states, there's no additives or preservatives in his chocolate. It's pure, unadulterated pleasure--made with love, served with pride, and as I can attest--devoured with gusto. (I swear to God!)

Joyeuses Fêtes: memories of chocolat chaud

It's a grey day out--the color of Paris at Christmas time in a way--and I am missing the streets and the City of Light when it dazzles the most. Yes, even though often grey outside in December, Paris is somehow filled with a glow always. Here's what I am missing the most today:
A visit to La Charlotte de l'isle on the Ille St. Louis--a tiny spot for late afternoon hot chocolate or tea--and a slice of lemon tart drizzled with dark chocolate. I was thinking about this after re-reading my story in AAA Home & Away magazine this month (the cover story--hurray!) A French Twist on the Holidays: Parisian Noel  If you cannot access it without a zip code, type in 55417 (:
For several years, my best friend Angie and I went to Paris in early December--it is a lovely time to visit and I am thinking it's time in 2012 to start up the tradition again.  For today, I only wish there was a place like La Charlotte de L'isle to go to in Minneapolis or St. Paul. A small shop, where everyone is crushed together--and there is even a piano squeezed in against one wall. (If you're lucky you might hear a piano recital.) The best part--the hot chocolate was served in real cups and arrived on a tray with a carafe of water because the chocolate was so sweet and heavy.

Happy Pie Day!

 

"OK, here's the Thanksgiving menu so far: apple pie, pumpkin pie, blueberry tart, and ice cream roll. What am I missing? CAKE! We need cake."
Debra Messing as Grace Adler on Will & Grace

I love Wayne Thiebaud's paintings. I really wanted to post a copy of one of his pies and cakes for this blog post--but I didn't want to infringe on anybody's copyright. So I'm doing almost the next best thing: posting a photo I took in Traverse City this summer at the Grand Traverse Pie Company. Yum to their pie. Cake too. Don't know if they had the ice cream roll. Happy Thanksgiving!
PS I'm seriously thinking about making pumpkin bars tomorrow with cream cheese frosting. No. I AM making them tomorrow. (Just to get myself in the thankful holiday spirit.)

Belgian Chocolates

I am just back from Belgium--Brussels and Brugge--with a suitcase entirely filled with boxes and tins and bags of chocolates. (You think I am kidding; I'm not.) I can only say that there is a reason Belgian chocolates are the best. Actually, there are many reasons. I believe it was Elizabeth Barrett Browning who put it so poetically ...How do I love thee Belgian chocolate...let me count the ways....(or something to that effect..)

Plaisirs sucrés

Why don't restaurants in the U.S. serve espresso with complimentary truffles? It's such a civilized way to end a meal. (This was in Honfleur, France. A rainy day--but who cared?)

In our first hotel, they were selling local honey at the desk. Mmmmmm. With a baguette, honey. S'il vous plaît.