The Chocolate Festival, Southbank 12/12/09

This Saturday past I went to the Chocolate Festival, an outdoor thing with people selling chocolate and chocolate-related products.  It was a bit smaller than I expected, or perhaps hoping (oh, for a chocolate bacchanalia!), but it was still nice to do something on a chilly Saturday morning that was certainly out of the ordinary, especially when one is accustomed to classes and work and pubs.

This particular Chocolate Festival consisted of various workshops and was held on Friday, Saturday and Sunday from the 11th through the 13th.  I chose to go on Saturday, since I have class Fridays and work Sundays.  I got there around noon, and there was a modest crowd of enthused chocolate fans and some little choco-lovers as well.  There were a variety of chocolate vendors selling their boutique chocolate packages.  One of the interesting vendors had a basil-flavoured chocolate candy, which tasted different from the similar basil chocolate candy I had in Seattle at Theo Chocolate this summer.  The maker of this particular chocolate eschewed cream and butter in favour of water in order to let the flavours of the chocolate and basil to be more prominent.  It was interesting.

At the festival, I puttered around, bought some fudge and hot chocolate, and had a look at many of the chocolate offerings for sale at the vendors.  I was hoping for more free samples, because I’m that much of a greedy bastard, but it was still a nice time, and nothing gets me more excited than the smell of chocolate in the air.

oh, i want a hippopotamus for christmas

So, yes, it’s that holiday season where people stress about what to get their loved ones, and later are subsequently disappointed when they realise that no one bought what they wanted for them.

Granted, I want a Nintendo Wii like everyone else who doesn’t already have one, and a MacBook and an iPod Touch, but really, I don’t think I could handle someone, even my parents, dropping that much money on something for me.

So, this list of what I want for Christmas/Kwanzaa/Hannukah/Boxing Day is a list of items I would really appreciate, each $50 or under.  We are in a recession, after all, and I don’t really care to have someone charge his or her credit card to present me a token of esteem and camaraderie, although I admit I’m doing such a thing myself.

Anyway, these are things I could really use, or would really enjoy.

Books
Okay, I do sort of need a bookshelf (or two) before I get any more books.  And my mother seems to think I actually need to get rid of my books (never!).  But I really want some books, especially some for what will hopefully be my years of graduate-level study beginning next year.  NPR is such an enabler when it comes to books and music.  I was reading their Best Graphic Novels of 2008 article, and am now completely crushing over a few selections: Skyscrapers of the Midwest by Joshua W Cotter, Yoshihiro Tastumi’s Good-Bye, and Local by Brian Wood and Ryan Kelly (no need for the deluxe version).  

Another nice book to have would be Seonna Hong’s Animus.

Also, for my planned studies as a graduate student next year (providing that I get accepted… providing that I hurry up and apply!), there are a few books I would like to obtain.  A History of Japanese Religion, edited by Kazuo Kasahara, would be very helpful in continuing my Japanese studies, as would these titles by Emiko Ohnuki-Tierney: Culture Through Time: Anthropological Approaches; Kamikaze, Cherry Blossoms, and Nationalisms, Rice as Self: Japanese Identities Through Time.  I would also appreciate copies of A Dictionary of Japanese Food by Richard Hosking, Modern Japanese Cuisine: Food, Power and National Identity from Katarzyna J Cwiertka, Michael Krondl’s The Taste of Conquest, Food: The History of Taste by Paul Freedman, Food is Culture by Massimo Montanari, Revolution in Eating by James McWilliams and The Essence of Japanese Cuisine: An Essay on Food and Culture by Michael Ashkenazi and Jeanne Jacob.  With academic titles, and many other books, I’m perfectly fine with used copies.  AbeBooks is a good used book vendor, and Barnes & Noble’s website often has used  book vendors the corporate giant partners with as well.

True, I do work at the local library, and I could check all these titles out, but some things you just would like to own, as the titles would be easier to later share with someone else.  With books for study, I really would like to have them on-hand for any future papers and dissertations I may write.

On a related readable note, Monocle, my favourite magazine of the moment, is offering 6-month subscriptions at £38, which is just over $50 at $55.82 with the current exchange rate.  I know it’s over the $50 money limit I stated in the beginning of this post, but… *ahem*

Music
Yes, I’d like music, and, like books, I’m low on room for new CDs, but I want some anyway.  Like books, my list is endless, but here is a little segment of what I would really enjoy receiving: CSS’s Donkey release, Volume One by She & Him, Fleet Foxes’s eponymous album, These New Puritans’ Beat Pyramid, the Sigur Rós album Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust, Flight of the Conchords’s full-length, Light & Magic by Ladytron, and At Mount Zoomer by Wolf Parade.  Park Ave CDs should have these in stock, maybe even some in the used bins.

Chocolate
Not just any chocolate, but extra-tasty chocolate!  Hard-to-find, but Dolfin’s Milk Chocolate Bar with Hot Masala goes beyond delicious.  Also very good is the Dark Chocolate Bar with Earl Grey Tea.  For something a bit easier to find, Dagoba Organic Chocolate can be found in places like Borders, Chamberlin’s and in the big Whole Foods off Turkey Lake.  Or, if you’re a web shopper like me, you can buy online.  I’m a huge fan of the Chai, and welcome trying out Xocolati, Hazelnut, Nibs and Superfruit.  

Also, while I was in Seattle, I was exposed to Theo Chocolate, and fell in love with their Coconut Curry Milk Chocolate, and their Chai Milk Chocolate, Nib Brittle Dark Chocolate, Coffee Dark Chocolate and Hazelnut Crunch Milk Chocolate all sounds equally delectable.  Do consider the 3400 Phinney “Fantasy Flavor Flight”.  Not a bad deal at $20.00.

Kitchen
Although the kitchen I share with Clark is pretty full, there are still a few things we could really use.  A box grater would be particularly useful in grating cheese for pasta dinners or chocolate for desserts.  I like the one made by Oxo GoodGrips, as it has a box underneath to catch what you grate, and the reviews on Amazon seem favourable.  It would also be nice to have a trifle bowl, so I can make trifle and banana pudding.  Clear, simple trifle bowls can be found on Amazon.com, and likely in stores such as Bed, Bath and Beyond.  If I may also ask for an easy-to-clean bread knife, like the one I used to have made by J A Henckels International, that would be lovely as well.

Nothing says the holidays like getting sharp, pointy things as gifts.

Food and drink
Foodstuffs to fill up my kitchen would be heavily appreciated as well.  Real maple syrup, not the fake corn syrup stuff coloured to look like maple syrup, is a prized commodity, in my opinion.  If it’s organic maple syrup, all the better.  Not only is it a great pancake topper, but I also drizzle a bit in my oatmeal to make it extra-tasty.

I love ginger products.  Crystallized ginger is something else I like to use when I can.  This is a key ingredient in making some rockin’ gingersnaps.  The Ginger People put out many different products from ginger, featuring a creepy Ginger Man who seems to delight in the prospect of being eaten.  I use the Baker’s Cut Crystallized Ginger Chips, and would also appreciate pickled ginger.  Over the course of many days, I ate a whole bag of pickled ginger on my very own, so yes, I quite enjoy it.  All of the products from The Ginger People sound good to try, so I’m pretty much game for any ginger gastronomical adventure.  You can buy many of these products and products like them at Williams & Sonoma and at Whole Foods, as well as the website.

Buy me tea!  I’ve been drinking mostly Rishi Tea, which I buy from Whole Foods, but Infusion has lots of good tea as well.  I could really use some green tea, especially genmaicha or “popcorn” tea, osthmanthus and Dragon Well.  If Infusion ever brought back its Blueberry Green tea, I would love some of that as well.  I prefer loose tea, not tea bags, as tea bags often have tea that’s been pulverised to a uniform shape, so you wind up with tea dust instead of whole leaves.  Another source for tea includes Numi Tea, featuring an Aged Earl Grey I would like to try (so far, Rishi Tea’s Earl Grey is my favourite), along with their Morning Rise Breakfast Blend and Monkey King green tea.  I can never have enough tea, considering I drink at least two cups a day, and often more than that.  

Other useful things
Printer ink in the form of the HP 56 black ink cartridge and the HP 57 Tri-color inkjet cartridge (or the two-pack) would be very helpful to have once the current ones I’m using run out of ink, which will likely be at the most inopportune moment possible.  I could also use small-storage boxes and containers from IKEA, like the FLYT or SKRIFT magazine files; lidded boxes like the LINGO, NOSTALGISK, or STRIKT; and SKUBB clothing and linen storage case for under the bed.  Anything similar from another store would be perfectly fine.

That’s all I’ve got so far that I want or could use for the moment.  For those of you who don’t know me, perhaps you may be able to find some gift ideas in this little post.  Cheers, and have a good holiday.

Damn you, tiny print!

So, I don’t have the best vision in the world.  I grew up as the girl with the thick glasses, which were passed around in class from kid to kid during free time.  The kid would put my glasses on, and inevitably exclaim something along the lines of “Whoa!  You’re really BLIND!!” as they struggle to make out the laughing face of the next kid who wanted to try the lenses on.

By the time I had gotten into high school, I had begged to get contacts, and, at 14, I started wearing them, thinking that ditching the glasses would mean a one-way ticket to Cool Town.  Well, it didn’t, but I still wear contacts for the most part, and most people wouldn’t have really considered me to have a glasses-wearing past unless I tell them, “Yeah, past a couple of inches beyond my face–can’t see a thing.”

And lately, I’ve been concerned my vision is taking a turn for the worst.  My main culprit for the decline in my vision is the fact I stare at a computer screen for two or more hours pretty much consecutively at a time for work.  While driving and looking for street names, my companion in the seat next to me seems to point out the signs before I do.  Unless it’s Clark without his glasses, and for a moment, I feel a bit better about myself, until I put it into perspective: He’s not wearing contacts, but I am.

*sigh*

Just now, in an effort to make a new recipe called “Chocolate Spice Cookies,” I was at a point where something didn’t seem right.  Sure enough, taking a squintier look at the book, I realise the minuscule fraction next to the “1″ and before the word “cups” was not, as I had thought, 1/2, but 1/4.

Damn it.

So, to fix, or at least lessen, my error, I added a bit more butter, more honey (though the recipe called for maple syrup–I cheated) and more cocoa.  The recipe says to “refrigerate until firm,” but I’m impatient.  Also, I’ve already not followed the directions, so I likely won’t be rolling the dough out, as it wants me to, onto floured plastic sheets or plastic wrap.  My parents are out of plastic wrap, by the way.

This whole event goes to show that: 1) I will likely need a stronger prescription for my next set of contacts; and, 2) I really oughtn’t bake in someone else’s kitchen, like my parents’ kitchen, unless I know I have everything I need, not just what’s on the list of ingredients.

I guess now it’s time to plop this dough on a sheet, bake it, and see what happens.

Peanut Butter Cuppage

Over the weekend I made these dead-easy peanut butter cups from a recipe out of my new copy of Everyday Food, a publication from Martha Stewart Omnimedia. Although “Martha Stewart Omnimedia” sounds creepy ominous, Everyday Food is a great little mag, and I’ve been a subscriber for a year now, and recipes like Easy Peanut Butter Cups really make it pay off. If you want to attempt the recipe, keep about four extra ounces of chocolate on hand; I had trouble with the chocolate sticking to the microwavable bowls I was using, and so I wound up nuking up more chocolate to melt in order to scoop ‘em over the peanut butter. Also, my cups wound up a little mottled, but I liked the look a bit better than that of the conventional Reese’s cup. I skipped the peanuts on top, too.

PS: I went onto MarthaStewart.com to look for the chocolate peanut butter cup recipe above, and the front page had this little feature on cupcakes… and the photo/decoration of the cupcakes make them look like breasts with nipples! Okay, the big red dot is a little off in colour, but I guess you can be the judge. In any case, I have a new idea for decorating cupcakes.

Vegan bakey-bakey

A recent Kitchen Window article from NPR entitled Vegan Valentine has a trio of delicious-looking recipes, with the Chocolate Cake with Chocolate “Butter Cream” looking especially fantastic. Along the same vein, I recently ordered a book through the library, The Joy of Vegan Baking, by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau, and I’m looking forward to receiving it. The website has a few sample recipes, including another chocolate cake with chocolate frosting. Really, you can’t have too much of a good thing.

In any case, I’m excited to get the book, although it might be a while, since I’m ordering it through the library and it could take as long as a month. At least I’ve found some people online who give it the thumbs-up; The Joy of Vegan Baking has been endorsed by Eat Air – A Vegan Food Log, and the photos they have up of their concoctions look yum, especially the cookies shaped like squirrels and acorns. I want squirrel-shaped cookie cutters. It would be even cooler to have squirrel and blue jay cookie cutters, then I can have the cookies fight each other, like I’ve seen them do in real life. Really, I think the two species have arboreal turf wars; I saw a blue jay chase a squirrel away outside my window before.

Anyway, I’m not vegan, but I’m interested in vegan baking because I’ve known a few vegans, and it seems to me that one of the hardest things about being vegan is dealing with baked goods: Does it have eggs? Does it have milk? Honey? Gelatin?

In the past, I’ve done my own vegan experimentations with some successes, like my Cinnamon Vegan Banana-Blueberry Cake, but also some misses. A batch of biscuits I made with vegan butter came out ghastly, which I suspect may have been due to the softness of the vegan spread in comparison to real butter in the same temperature–and the soy flour may have had something to do with it as well. Also, I can’t help but be annoyed with some vegan substitute products which, upon close inspection, hardly seem like suitable substitutes. I was using Tofutti’s Sour Supreme sour cream substitute in the “Cinna-gan-nana-berry Cake” until I read the ingredients, which included partially hydrogenated soybean oil. Apparently, the company now makes a non-hydrogenated version, but good luck finding it at Publix. My question is: Why don’t they just make the regular version non-hydrogenated? Should vegans really have to choose between dairy and trans-fats?

Orlando actually has a couple of vegan-friendly spots with baked goods. Earlier this evening I was at Dandelion, and there were vegan cupcakes in the display case. There is also Ethos, which I have yet to go to, but I’ve heard they have vegan baked goods as well, which their menu confirms.

If you want to try your hand at vegan bakey-bakey, there are quite a few online resources that put me to shame in how little I’ve buggered with egg- and dairy-free baking. The BBC has an article on New ways of baking with, guess what, a recipe for a chocolate cake, although this particular recipe is raising an eyebrow with its “2 tbsp tahini.” Tahini? Moving on, the Post Punk Kitchen has more vegan baking tips and recipes. Chocolate cake? Check. If you’re looking for recipes and baking tips, ChooseVeg.com has some, although one ought to be aware of the graphic photos of animal abuse on its home page (Aaah! The chicken has no eyes!), so if you want to go straight to the recipes, click here. Chocolate cake recipe? Hell, they have a video on making theirs.

Should you be too intimidated to bake from scratch, or if you really want convenience short of a drive to Ethos or Dandelion, Goodbaker and Black Sheep Bakery sell baking mixes on their respective websites, though I can’t attest for how good these are, having not tried them (thoughts, anyone?). You can go a step further and order vegan baked goods online for delivery. Go ahead and Google it or use the Kanye West search engine (I’m serious, it really exists), or go to Etsy and check out their vegan section in “Plants and Edibles.” Some of the Etsy photos for these foodstuffs are nothing short of sexy.

And on Valentine’s Day, who doesn’t want sexy food?