Tag: food

GODIVA, CHOCOLATE HEAVEN.

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My favorite chocolate brand is Godiva. I call it the chocolate heaven.

The famous story of Lady Godiva is the inspiration behind the Godiva Chocolatier name. In the 11th century, Lady Godiva and her husband Lord Leofric lived in Coventry, England. Lord Leofric was a powerful ruler who was unsympathetic to the citizens of his kingdom. Lady Godiva, however, was a woman of great generosity who had dedicated her life to the impoverished and stricken.

When Lord Leofric imposed a heavy burden of taxation upon his subjects, Lady Godiva protested. In response, Lord Leofric set forth this challenge: If his wife rode naked through the streets, the taxation would be lifted. Lady Godiva was a modest woman, but she immediately agreed to this challenge to help her fellow townspeople.

Centuries later in 1926, Godiva founder and master chocolatier Joseph Draps created a new line of Belgian chocolates with extraordinary richness, premium quality, and iconic style. He sought a name for his company that embodied timeless values balanced with modern boldness – much like our lady of legend. The choice became clear to Draps: He named his company GODIVA.

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Cotton Candy

kirbyfullyloaded1 Comment

So…Target is the best store ever right now.

A couple of weeks ago I bought a cotton candy maker there, on clearance, for $33.

It was absolutely bomb.

To a sugar-freak, cotton candy is actually the greatest food ever.

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Lee Vining: DAY 1

backinphilly3 Comments

The OVS football team traveled to Lee Vining for the team’s first football game of the season. For those that are completely unaware of how far Lee Vining actually is from Ojai, the team needed to camp out overnight before reaching Lee Vining. Tinnemaha Creek was the stop for the team the first night, which was Thursday. We pulled in at about 10 PM and unpacked for the night. We relaxed and slept before we set off on Friday morning for Lee Vining.

Before leaving, we did a walkthrough of our plays for the game at Tinnemaha Creek. We got our work done and packed back up. We got on the road and moved on to our final destination.

Lee Vining is a very small town, but we aren’t here to sight-see. We came to do some business, and we plan on doing just that. With another practice session in the afternoon, we go into our game confident that we will be at our best. The game is tomorrow (Saturday) at 1 PM.

On to more miscellaneous things!!!

Let’s talk about the trip up here. There was music blasting and tons of inside jokes that I’m sure we are never going to forget. At our campsite, food is never an issue. Not only do we have a lot to eat, but we have a lot of guys that LOVE to eat. What do you expect from a bunch of crazed football players?

As I write this update, we are cooking a rather large pre-game dinner.

How could you say no to a meal like this?

At the campsites, we are finding ways to stay occupied. When we aren’t exploring or practicing, we are having a good ol’ time with the boys. Some can be seen off in the distance learning how to throw a ball properly, others are off wandering in to the great never ending creek, building wooden fishing rods with hooks (most likely infected with tetanus), or building makeshift fish traps. With so much to explore and so many unruly teenage boys always expect the unexpected.

The end of this story ends with two of the coolest guys around sitting at a gas station/restaurant/convenience store/bar writing a blog using internet off of an iPhone’s hotspot while Mr. Floyd and Mr. Wick just sit and watch us type away to entertain all of you readers, no matter where you may be.

John “The Honey Badger” Olivo and Keaton “That Guy” Shiffman signing off on night one in Lee Vining. Check for more blog posts to see if mama and baby bear left us alone tonight.

Lives are at stake here. Please send help (just kidding).

Food Art

kirbyfullyloaded1 Comment

Food art.

I believe the media lacks focus on food art.

I’m sure I’m not alone when I say I used to take potato chips and try to figure out which one of my classmates the chip resembled.

Yeah.  You know you’ve tried this.

I like food art because it combines my two favorite things:

Food

and weird stuff.  Or cool stuff.  Take your pick.

Apple art was a new thing to me.  But I enjoy it immensely.

Seriously, is that not way too cool?

I wish I had the patience and skill to make food art.

But, unfortunately for me, I have no -or possibly negative- talent in art.

In fact, every time I get an “artsy” assignment in school,  my grade goes down.  Sometimes dramatically.

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Mother’s Day

yrreskrap1 Comment

Today is the second Sunday of May.
We all know what that means.
It’s a day filled with flowers and cards and breakfasts in bed and hugs and kisses and long-distance phone calls.


I don’t know what to say except that I love my mom very much.

Of course, like any other teenager, I have had my ups and downs with her, and I still go through phases of conflict with her today.
But it is in these moments of conflict, where I have learned to put down my pride and learn humility and obedience. She teaches me even when I am at my worst.

My mother is a beautiful woman. Without her, I wouldn’t be here on this Earth. She has given me a gift that no other person could have given to me. Her distinct set of chromosomes combined to make a unique me.
Thank you mom.

And I can’t forget the effort and care she put behind raising me. The nine months of carrying me and the 18 years of nurturing me. The schooling and teaching and feeding and holding. The bandaids on the scraps, the porridge when I was ill.

Maybe there weren’t times when she wasn’t at her best, but I know that if we could do it all over again, we would do it perfectly..but then again, you can’t rewrite your past.

I appreciate my mother so much. But I know I won’t be able to appreciate her fully until I become a mother myself.

To all the mothers out there, thank you. There is no other job like being a mother out there.

Combinations.

Yourcupatea1 Comment

Beans on toast

There are some combinations that just go naturally together: pancakes and syrup, cookies and milk, and of course the classic all time American snack, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

These are all American traditions, none of which I have adopted. In England we have our own that strangely many people in the foreign country do not know. These are all things that I am unwilling to let go and still today practice on a daily basis.

Here are just a few of my all time favorites: tea and biscuits (yes you’d call them cookies), beans and toast, chips (fries) and mayonnaise, and these are only a few.

Ok these may all seem a bit alien to you but so do many of the things that Americans eat I mean pancakes and sausages, really? But you never know how good they are until you try them. So mix it up try some different combinations.

Nasty Habits.

Yourcupatea1 Comment

Eating

We all have nasty habits that are tough to change. Either we are unwilling to give them up or it’s impossible to stop. When people comment, you commit to changing and begin to take steps to prevent future incident, but this mind set lasts maybe a day and then the common cycle kicks in and you revert back to your old ways.

Sometimes the words of others don’t mean anything and you don’t want to change. Sometimes you need something more like maybe an ultimatum. For me it was someone who owned the same bad habit that has made me stop. Well at least attempt to for good.

Tonight I hand prepared a meal of Spaghetti Bolognese for my family and I. I slaved over it and put all of my heart and soul into it, just for it to gobbled up in 2 minutes by my auntie. Finding this extremely disrespectful I realized I am very similar in my speedy habits, just not to the extreme.

Luckily for me I had this realization when she first arrived, a month ago making me slow down significantly. Tonight just emphasized the terrible habit I own, keeping me on track to successfully changing.

Looking at a mirror of your disgusting behaviors is extremely helpful but not everyone is as lucky as me to have this opportunity. So next times you commit the crime just think of someone doing the same habit in front of you. How do you feel?

Something New.

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Passover Plate

This weekend I experienced something new, my first Passover Seder.  Although I grew up with close Israeli family friends religion was never something that was shared between our two families. I had never experienced any part of the Jewish religion nor had any in-depth knowledge. So this experience was exciting for me.

I must admit I was a little nervous after being taunted all day about Passover proceedings. As I sat down at the table all nerves disappeared, after all it was a new experiences something exciting not something to be feared.

It was a more liberal affair that I expected with some breaded shrimp on the menu. The whole event was a lot of fun with a lot of great food. With some reading, eating and some silly dancing from drunken parents it was definitely a night to remember.

Trying something new was definitely fun and I look forward to more Jewish events in the future.

An Easter Basket for Bunny Day

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I think it’s pretty well known that I trip a lot.

I regularly get out of bed, trip, or simply fall on my face.

I was proud to say I did not fail after getting up this morning.

Then I opened my door and tried to walk out into the hall.

I tripped over this:

Which is a pretty freaking awesome thing to trip over I might add.
I got: yellow peeps, lemon heads, Reese’s, pop rocks, airheads, Laffy Taffy, sweet tarts, a chocolate bunny, fruit gummies, sour punch things, and a bunch of other sweet, amazing stuff.
I also got a “Happy Easter, Emmy!” card from my little sisters.
So I just wanna say thank you to my family for getting me this awesome tripping hazard and thanks to my sisters for the cute card.  I’d be happy to face plant every morning if this was waiting for me.
I love you guys.  Happy Easter!

Keeping Up Traditions.

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Love

It is always important to keep up certain traditions, family memoirs that mean something personal and connect you with those who have passed or those that are far away.

Today I cooked my Grandmas recipe for an Easter nest. In no way is the recipe extravagant or different but to me it really means something.

I was taught this recipe at the age of 3. With my pull up stool giving me a little height, but not enough for my eyes to meet the counter, I would help her as much as I could in the kitchen. When I would arrive at their house I would run into the secret cupboard retrieve the stool and run into the kitchen readily awaiting my grandma’s presence to bake our Easter nests together.

As I grew taller and could reach the counter on my own the stool grew dusty but never did the recipe in my mind of the famous Easter nest. Yearly we would bake this same recipe together; it was our tradition, until I moved away.

Last year I made the nest all the way in California but it was not the same without her there. This year I will do the same. Although in many ways it makes me sad, this ritual is a joyous motion that honors my grandmother in England and connects us through a single recipe, despite the distance. This is a recipe I will pass on to my children and one day make with my grandchildren to connect to my Grandmother wherever she may be, passing on the love that I feel for her to them through our Easter nests.