America's Best Pancakes and Cupcakes

     


At a time of the year when I want to take the stress off of moving, I turn to the best pancake and cupcake blogs. 


http://coleensrecipes.blogspot.com/2011/06/best-pancakes-ever.html- This writer has a great peanut butter cake recipe and the biggest pancakes I've ever seen.


http://www.jimspancakes.com/ a blog on the art of making great pancakes.


http://thefrostedcupcakes.blogspot.com/ great cupcake blog, also has an easy recipe for making great frosting for Georgetown Cupcakes Salted Caramel Cupcakes.

      

Downtown Minneapolis  

Short Story

Short Story on the Woman State Trooper   

"Please make it, please make it!" I said.

"Damn, Damn, Damn you f-ing car."  I hit it, hoping that it would move but it did not.

It never did.

It was the first time the car had died on the highway though, and it was the first time that I got a woman state trooper.

"Excuse me, Excuse me" said the Trooper taping on the window. "What are you doing?"

"Well I'm just waiting for someone to help."  I said, opening the door.

She stepped back in alarm, seeing that I did not open the window like I should have.

"Well, you can't wait here" she said blocking my steps towards her.  Her hand brushed the side of the yellow pistol in her holder.  

"Well, my husband is coming to get me." I said frantically.

"Well your husband can't stop here either,"  she stated in loud exasperation.  The hair from her bun tilted gently as she gave me a closer look. 

I didn't look much the part of a professional driver.  I still had my yoga pants on from the gym which were squeezed inside a furry pair of brown camisole boots and I had on a black sundress tucked under a Sean John overcoat.  She must have felt I was a batty because she began barking something into her walkie: codes that were unrecognizable.

223 on I-94 to route 394.

"Triple A can come and get me." I managed to say gaining some confidence after I noticed her paying more attention to the cars merging around mine.  

(will continue)

pic 14

      

When Workout is Never Enough

     


Four hours a day from 6am to 10, a South Korean couple in their seventies make their way to the gym from Saint Paul to New Hope to start their workout.  They begin with early morning swimming and an hour later they might move to walking on the treadmill.  Then its weight lifting for an hour.  Then a dance  class. 
"There are no arguments with your partner when they do opposite sports," the Korean woman says.  Only on occasion will this couple do an aerobics class together throughout their four hour workout.   They also own a  beauty supply shop in St. Paul making their day brimming with activity.

      

The Show Must Go On:Zumba 101

      
This post is thanks to another day at Dance Zumba class.  We danced to more Hindi songs and got our groove on.  Our instructor asked if we want to change from our routine Tuesdays at 9:30am to Tuesday 1:30, for which we all explained "No!"
  Do you know how hard it is to get the gym at 1:30 in the afternoon? When your day has already been done and started by then.


Zumba-my club team-Indian Music

Dum Dum Dum mast hai: The bollywood Class of Myoga Master Krish 
Dance dhamaka for DOOKUDU Poovai Poovai song at Dinaz Somajiguda  Dance dhamaka for DOOKUDU Poovai Poovai song at Dinaz somajiguda

When I have Problems I join the fantasy World

These are some of my favorite lines from the script, The Killing, a TV show series starring Sarah Linden (Mireille Enos) and Stephen Holder (Joel Kinnaman).
I'll miss you show.....I finished the series.


1. Come here
I Need to give a  scrilla some jib jab, need to have a private pow wow
You need to learn to talk English




2.Let's go.
Ugly-a##   bi9^CDS, you get out of here! There's nothing on ViCAP or CODIS for Pastor Mike Sheehan.

3. It's a coward's refuge.
Opiate of the masses.
I thought you liked opiate of the masses.

4.blah, blah.
You know I been clean for almost two years now? Good for you.
That's great.
Not everyone finds their salvation in some stank-a&% basement with a bunch of old booze hounds.




5.Both laugh ] You sure I shouldn't be teaching you how to holla at the shorties, punk? Whatever.
I mean, you can be as smooth as Velveeta, but at the end of the day, you got to take care of your girl.
Protect her, you know? Keep her safe.
This ain't no kind of crib.
You be safe, Bullet.




6.Father of the Year 2013, failed to rehabilitate poor little fu%^d-up me.
That was his mantra.
Hard work and discipline will lead to strength in character.
Apparently, a sh^*-ton of money.
- You seen that house? - You did.
 

pic4

Meet the Jamaican Dance Enthusiast

More Zumba today, today we danced to some Jamaican songs to give you some idea of what that is like I attached some examples of clips.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4BVILPs7ZOg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3YxoCj_hfiY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cxBlUwH2uIM

Wing Rider

Short Story

As I arrived

I wasn't exactly early

not exactly late

they were still passing drinks

Green Goblets of laden filled alcohol

I passed

I had the tolerance of a chubby toddler.

I smiled at the host.

Steery Sparn, Farnard

Who gleamed at me from underneath his bifocals

Solid eyes that told stories of 

late nights and heavy book reading

He came to congratulate me on my recent success. 

France's Secret Culinary Tour

   

I'm reviewing some of the top French food critic blogs today. 

www.alexanderlobrano.com Alexander Lobrano, the food criticgives the restaurants he visits,School Grade reviews, on each his blog posts. First he'll give the overall look of the restaurant with his blog pictures,then the food, then the people so you can feel like your sitting next to Lobrano as he's ready to enjoy a great night of food.  Then he slaps the restaurant a fantastic or NOT-so-fantastic restaurant review.  

I love the title of one of Lobano's posts and more importantly the end of the post Unesco's big mistake.  GARNIER–My Favorite Plateau de Fruits de Mer, A-; LE BISTRAL, B+, Very Good Cuisine du Marche; and UNESCO’s Big Mistake 

You could totally tell that the restaurant was great but they could not surpass the final grade of the this food critic.

http://www.ediblegeography.com/proustian-greengrocers/  Here's another blog by food critic Nicola Twilley in France who suggests that in Bristol there is a reconstructed 1950s street where residents, many of whom suffer from Alzheimer’s or dementia, can mail letters in a George VI Post Box.  He's obviously making fun of the street but at the same time it entices an American, like myself, to want to go there.

A Great Powder Day:Life is Good

   
A Story called The Ugly Sweater Contest Brought No Warmth or Cheer.


The ugly sweater contest brought no warmth or cheer.  In fact it brought bigger uglies in even bigger ugly sweaters. 

"Why you wear that sweater man?" 

It said, I can't breath all over it, a red turtleneck sweater sinching at the neck.  Too tight for his breathing tube so Tommy Tucker shot a spit ball straight through it, bought the guy some breathing time while Cindy Lou was putting up the Christmas tree.  
"Hand me that skirt, would ya?"  

Why they call it a skirt anyway? Jonathon thinks. Do trees need skirts too?  Are they masquerading for some late night tree fella to take them to the ball; maybe abominable snowman-Would he be wearing a skirt too?  Or maybe he'd be wearing a kilt, a Monsters Inc sorta fella-ready to carry the tree skirt lady away.  But what would they do together late at night?  The bristles of the tree coming in for a late night smooch and the abominable snowman gets pissed.  Tells the tree, he's had it.  His five o'clock shadow was one thing but to be kissed by an overgrown tree was another. 

Messy Kitchen

      

 

What makes a messy kitchen?  Well,  Culinary Arts College helped me find out.  Listed on this webssite are great Parisian Food Blogs.

 

 

www.doriegreenspan.com  Dorie writes a great Gingerbread baby recipe.This blog obviously explores the Parisian kitchen.  You begin to wander what makes a parisian kitchen, brass cooking pans for one, as is suggested on her cover page. 

 

 

www.bakeinparis.blogspot.com Kris writes a blog all about Parisian food and he has layered cakes as well as lemon cheese cake with caramelized cumquats, and orange tian, (of course french Tiramisu), chocolate and passion fruit lamingtons, caramel cake with caramelized butter frosting and Dobos Torta.There's something about layered cakes that I love. I don't care what's in between the layers as long as it isn't a surprise like some cakes that hide the flavoring right in the middle so that you don't know what your getting into by the time you get there.  Like a big gush of blueberry in the middle of a cake, no thanks!

 

 

 

 

Endangered Features:The Art of Baking from Scratch

After seeing the early emerging signs of the chocolate holiday ahead aka Valentine's day.  I wanted to do some research on the best chocolate blogs and see what makes chocolate blogs unique.

www.lakechamplainchocolates.com  I congratulate this business blog by Lake Champlain Chocolates and a post entitled spread chocolate cheer. 

Don't mind if I do..  I think, gazing out at their beautiful boxes of chocolate and an arrangement  of row upon row of chocolates I never seen before.  I'm like Forest Gump thinking life is like a box of chocolates you never know what your going to get.


http://www.chocablog.com This blog is unique in that it has exactly what I was looking for a chocolate tier dessert.  Now why am I looking for a tier dessert well after watching the movie The Departed there was a scene for which Matt Damon is eating a elegant tier dessert with his co-star Vera Farmiga and I was like I got to see more tier desserts.

 So here is one called chocolate-mille-feuille/ on this blog.  Here is another tier dessert called dalek-chocolate-cake wow very tall, its like the Eiffel tower version of a chocolate cake. 

If those blogs weren't enough for you William Curley has this business website called William Curley Pattisier Chocolatier and it has the most couture chocolates I've ever seen.  Chocolates with big chocolaty ribbons that loom over pastries like big waterfalls.

www.chocolateandzucchini.com This blog by Clotilde is absolutely amazing because it has all kinds of chocolates mixed with other food combinations that you never thought possible.  Coussin-de-lyon/ is a chocolate pillow dessert popular in France.

 It reminds me of desserts that I used to eat long ago at my Grandmother's house. I come from a long line of women who only eat desserts from scratch, (not box cakes and such) so I would love to come back to this blog and learn some more about the art of baking from scratch. 

 I like the fact this blog also has a vertical Paris garden wall.  I've never seen anything like it.  The writer also has a Chocolate-and-pistachio-surprise-cake-recipe

Convention Center, Downtown Minneapolis

H is hr How to enjoy Blog Searching #AtoZchallenge via @trincarl

After much writing online it can be enjoyable to just sit back and look for blogs that other people have written.  Something might catch your eye that reminded you of the most joyous occasion of traveling abroad.  For instance one of my most enjoyable moments in South Korea was when I was listening to a American Korean explain what we'd be doing while teaching overseas and I looked out the window and saw a hundred rooftops that I could clearly jump from one to the next and I felt like WoW! I'm in South Korea!
Applevalley, MN

Here are some more expat blogs that I found on 
matadornetwork.com/abroad


Best travel writing   

www.whiteindianhousewife.com Its just as the name suggests White American Indian Housewife writes about her life in India.

www.ieatmypigeon.com Italy very beautiful blog

http://hereishavana.com/

http://www.dannychoo.com/  I love this blog because it has anime dolls that are made in Japan and they are so unique.

  

Eat, Drink and be Merry:You May Diet

   

Veggies have made an appearance in my life but like most American dishes they are put as an aside veggies like corn, carrots and broccoli  which have been put on my plate just for the purpose of saying I ate a veggie.  Here are some great blogs that emphasize veggies versus just throwin' them on the plate

www.veggierunners.com has  a veggie feta cheese pizza.  Now I don't eat pork but would l would still like to jazz up my pizza without having to return to the boring plain cheese pizza. 

Europeans love vegetable stock and here's a great soup from Kate Ford's blog  www.thevegspace.wordpress.com called hot and sour mushroom soup .  She also has a recipe for  

Chana Masala.

www.theppk.com This is very approachable vegetarian blog by Chandra.  It has recipe called rice paper roll with red curry peanut sauce- I'm in love with peanuts more than ever after making a peanut and veggie rice dish. Chandra also has a chana-masala   recipe.  Now ever since I've been shopping at the indian market on Central in Minneapolis, I've fallen in love with any form of orange masala and I will get to the bottom of replicating the to-go dishes they have at this Indian market even if it kills me,lol. Here's one last kale recipe .

When Home Feels like a Revolving Door

   


When home feels like a revolving door its nice to be able to explore food that can be made fast online. I like a few  food blogs in particular because their recipes can be made fast.  A lot of food recipes online will say that they are fast but then they require 20-30 ingredients.  I don't think that is fast.  Or they will say they are fast and then require you to use a food processor or blender which takes 15 minutes to clean.  These food blogs don't put you through that work.  Its my belief that when you can learn to cook easy and fast, you can learn to cook exquisite and great meals too.


www.iamafoodblog.com   Stephanie Le writer of this blog has a coconut almond rice krispie recipe and a 15 minute doughnut recipe. Also a two minute chocolate mug cake recipe.  isn't that the coolest thing ever! In two minutes you could be serving yourself a chocolate cake in a glass. These recipes are easy enough even for me!  

http://weelicious.com/ This is another great blog if your in the habit to search for the ingredients you have and work for their in order to throw together a great meal.

 

Big Fat Donut Purveyor

Its hard to find absolutely unique donut ideas because you have to know what your looking for. People don't usually blog about the donuts itself but the donut shops.

www.voodoodoughnut.com they have donuts like triple chocolate penetration donut, neopolitan and Miami vice doughnut.

www.kingarthurflour.com buy your baking merchandise here.  Also has pumpkin donut recipe and cinnamon spice donuts.

Shops in the United States like

Glam dolls (Minnesota)

Blue Star donuts

Donut Bar has crème Brulee donut

Dynamo Donut and Coffee

Donut Vault (Chicago)

Dough(Brooklyn NY)

Gour Doughs (has a big fat donut purveyor)

Housing Vs the Elements

      

Give Me a Bell, I'm Gormless

Shine a Light for Community-MN Artists

If you come South Minneapolis, you need to visit the Community-MN artists stall in the global market, off of Chicago and 27th.  This stall consists of artwork from at least 30 Minnesota artists. The show case items included things like postcards and jewelry made out of old, used wristwatches.  Also recycled materials that have literally been melted down from an artist's stove in order to make earrings.  Finally yarn weaved ornaments that resemble animals like cats and birds, dragons and frogs.

Bung Me my Bits and Bobs

Bees Knees, Belt up and Botch me

      

 

Italian Asian Pasta

Last week I selfishly went to Leeann Chin's restaurant and decided I needed to do a little Asian food research if I am to ever to become adequate in Asian food cooking.  These are the cooking blogs that I came across online in my research.

www.kyspeaks.com   I like this Malaysian cooking blog because its one of the most visited Asian blogs and also because it has some unique food recipes.  It also has pictures of Malaysia with the  writer Ky, on a motorcycle.  Ky has recipes like Sansai Okowa & Chestnut Steam Rice at Isetan KLCCand seafood I never tried for like prawns, snow crab, and fish head.

www.gourmeted.com Who says that Asians can't rock desserts on this blog is a fabulous German Sunken Apple Cake( AKA Versunkener Apfelkuchen) which I found so unique in appearance.  Its has your basic apple pie look with a weaved lattice pie-top crust but the apples inside are cored, peeled and  placed like an accordion making it look so fabulous.

 

www.steamykitchen.com  I like this blog because showcases a Korean food writer who is a TV chef and cookbook author.   She has a post called Food too Cute to Eat showcasing Sushi Pandas, polar bear in mushroom and cabbage hot tub and Sugar Kitty in a coffee.

www.indiansimmer.com  I found this blog interesting as it explores Indian food and some of the pictures just pop out at you.   Bright all blue kitchen shelves with bright blue cutlery. And fabulous food photography that gives new life to the typical ginger, cinnamon stick and turmeric typical in Indian dishes. ( I should know, I have to cook for a Pakistani individual daily and let me tell you  that cooking with Turmeric is not my favorite thing to do).