It’s been a blistering hot Summer here. At times I have trouble focusing, my head feels a daze as I watch the heat shrivel out the remaining life of our cucumber plants. Day after day the temperatures soared past 100 even 105! How is that even legal? It’s even unbearable to walk around barefoot anymore; the once soft plushy grass is now replaced with a crunchy yellow patch. My feet strive for relief.
I can hardly ...
Our European honeymoon has been a great success — Wells and I have bounced around Europe: Brussels, Amsterdam, Cologne, Munich, Basel, Gimmelwald, Milan and Florence. We’re finally winding down towards the end of our trip and finishing it off with the Amalfi Coast and Rome. Just because I’m half-way around the world, you didn’t think I’d be able to stay away too long did you? Good thing I have beautifully talented friends to cover for ...
I looked at my calendar in panic as the seemingly endless list of to-dos smothered the entire month of April – as each week inched closer to the date of our departure the busier my days seemed to get. Breathe in breathe out. One day at a time, I told myself – only a few more days and you’ll be there: in the full glory of everything Europe surrounded by deeply rooted cultures, magnificent architecture, ...
Growing up, my relationship with my mother was far from harmonious. We seemed to clash about everything: anything from curfew, clothes to taking summer school, piano – and oh yes, food. From a young age I’d remember my mother telling me “You cannot eat candy or potato chips, they are bad for you and make you fat.” So what would I do? That’s right. Eat candy and potato chips behind her back.
She was always nervous ...
There are many things to love about winter: extra blankets on the bed, sweatshirts, fuzzy slippers and boots, scarves and mittens, oh my! There are also many things to despise about winter: shorter days, dry skin, the blistering cold, and oh yes, getting sick. Being prone to respiratory infections, I always panic when I feel the symptoms coming on. Stuffy nose, tender and swollen throat, head congestion—I’ll rush to chug packets of Emergen-C and chug ...
The very first cups of hot chocolate was drank by the Mayans over 2000 years ago. They ground cocoa seeds into a paste and mixed it with water, cornmeal, chile peppers and other ingredients. The drink was also said to have magical healing powers and was heavily popular amongst the Oltecs, Mayans and Aztecs*.
For this recipe, I used the a fine quality cocoa powder called Valrhona –this cocoa powder is among the richest, darkest “dutched” ...
