The Perpetual Souvenir

When traveling, I find that cooking classes are a great way to get to know a piece of a culture and have something to take back with you that can be shared over and over again.

Now there are full blown cooking schools and then there are simple ½ day classes as well as variations in between. All are beneficial and fun, it just depends on how much of your travel time you want to devote to this one aspect of the travel experience.

Some popular cuisines for cookery schools are French, Tuscan and Thai, but really any where you go has something unique to offer.


All four of the following are excellent schools offered by Orient Express hotels.

Tuscany -
http://www.villasanmichele.com/web/ovil/cookery_courses.jsp

England -
http://www.orient-express.com/web/olem/olem_c5a_introduction.jsp

San Miguel -
http://www.sazon.com/web/osaz/osaz_a2a_home.jsp

Venice -
http://www.hotelcipriani.com/web/ocip/ocip_c7d_cookery_classes.jsp

Each of these schools offer both shorter and longer, more involved classes. There really is something for everyone – including children.

I also love the classes offered at the Mandarin Oriental in Chiang Mai: http://www.mandarinoriental.com/chiangmai/leisure/culinary/ .

It is a fairy tale hotel beyond description and the classes are fantastic.

Local restaurants will also typically provide ½ day courses. Want to learn how to make the best BBQ in St. Louis or the best bread in Provence? Every destination has a culinary gift to offer. Restaurant based classes are great too because you will usually walk to the local market with the chef, learn about the local ingredients while shopping, then return to the restaurant to prepare a meal. And then of course, the best part, you get to eat!

Wherever your travels take you, consider a cooking class as a part of your experience. It is a souvenir that you can share with your friends and family over and over again.

Bon Appetite!

Zoe

My Office Mate Zoe

I recently moved my office from Preston Center to my home. The transition has been good in many ways and I am thankful to not be driving so much. If you know my driving record at all, you would understand.

Anyway, I have a new office mate - and she is great!

Zoe is her name and she is a joy to have around.



She has her corner of the office, I have mine. It works out well for both of us I suppose. She is usually really encouraging and playful and fun, but sometimes she gets a little demanding. I of course oblige her demands.


What a joy to have a beautiful view doing the perfect job with such a delightful office mate!

Order?

I traversed this intersection in India on foot and lived to tell about it.

For someone who loves order and systems and things that all work together, India challenged every fiber of me. The funny thing is that there really is order to this seemingly chaotic mess.

Pedestrians yield to bicycles,
bicycles yield to motorcycles,
motorcycles yield to cars...then the size of car matters too,
cars yield to trucks.
Everyone yields to cows and the oxcart just takes its place somewhere in all this.

For some reason what appears to us to be chaotic here actually does have order. This can be true in any situation – what may appear as chaotic or dis-orderly, really may have order…I just can’t see it.

India is a good reminder to me to look beyond what is in front of me and patiently try to understand. It is also a reminder to pray and trust in God's protection and direction through any intersection in life.

My Boys Do Love Baseball!!

Baseball IS just so very American isn’t it! Keith & Michael have really enjoyed going to some of the historic parks of baseball and cheering on their favorite teams. They aren’t necessarily favorites for the team that they are today, rather for the legends that come out of the parks.



Yankee Stadium for the Subway Series – how cool is that! My boys hold that experience high on their list of favorites. The iconic stadium, the iconic teams, and the iconic series, all perfect ingredients for a ‘pinch me’ moment for any baseball fan!

Probably as famous as Yankee Stadium is Fenway Park in the heart of Boston. The Boston fans generate an iconic baseball experience – no matter who they are playing! The atmosphere at a Red Sox game just makes you love baseball all the more. The music, the chanting, the energy is just really not describable. You have to go to know what it is to be a Red Sox fan!

We plan on hopping up to Wrigley Field this summer and add another great baseball experience to our list. Chicago’s not such a bad place to visit either!

A great way to share in an American experience together as a family and create memories that last a lifetime.

Otro dia, otra aventura!

Another day, another adventure!

I am now embarking on the adventure of 2 high schoolers! The challenges are different than I expected as are the rewards. I am so proud of my kids I just ooze delight. I know you don't want to hear the droning of a proud parent, so I will stop there.

Yesterday was the first fabulous day of school - Michael's Senior year, Rachael's Freshman. Both had a fantastic start to what looks to be an adventurous year!

Adrenoline Deficiency...

If I could drop everything right now to do anything....

I would find the biggest baddest river I could...and take it on!



This one is pretty tame, but its the best picture I have....

OR, I would like to learn extreme kayaking! I can manage smaller craft on the rivers, but have never gone solo in a kayak...that would be awesome. I am feeling a bit of an adrenoline deficiency right now and the need to run a river....

The Floating Rock

I just had the most delicious egg rolls ever! We have a new neighbor – a single man – who rang our bell this evening and delivered a packet of freshly made Cambodian egg rolls. Amazing! His family is visiting for the holiday weekend and his mother has been in the kitchen cooking up a storm. What a treat.

Those egg rolls reminded me of a gem of a restaurant outside the Boston airport in Revere, MA - The Floating Rock.

Last summer when we spent our holiday in Maine and Boston, our first stop was for lunch at this family operation owned by Mouy Kim and managed by her son, Johnny Chook, whose wife and sister also help run the business. (All pictured here with grandma as well.)

It's not a place frequented by many Americans; probably 80 percent of the customers are Cambodian, another 10 percent are different extractions of Southeast Asian, and the remainder is everyone else. It is really easy to get to from Logan, and close, so it is really worth the effort.

As in other Asian cultures, rice and fish are staples of the traditional Cambodian diet, and beef, pork, and chicken dishes also are common. Hot peppers, lemongrass, ginger, and mint are prevalent seasonings, as is prahoc, a spicy fish paste. In many ways, Cambodian food is a blend of Thai, Chinese, and Vietnamese cooking.

Much of the menu will be unfamiliar to Americans, but just go for it! We had the Tiger Tears appetizer (pictured here) and it was full of flavors that perfectly worked together...it was a cold dish that had a slight crunch to it. For our main course, we ordered a fish – whole – delicious as well with a lot of lemongrass, vegetables and other spices. The fish reminded me a bit of some of the better Thai restaurants – crispy on the outside and flavorful on the inside. My mouth is watering just thinking about it.

If you are in Boston be sure to make this a part of your schedule. If you need help finding it, let me know.