Kew Gardens and Jack the Ripper
I just realized that if I don't do this now, I probably won't do it, so here I am, when I *should* be packing for France, happily typing away in the library that I spend an inordinate amount of time in--"Man, Charisse, you own this library. This is your library." *shrugs* I see no problem with that.
(To be honest, I'm in here because I keep my computer in here, and so I sit here all day letting people think I'm doing homework when really I'm doing...well, not homework O:) It's fun.)
So Friday morning we went to Kew Gardens, which are absolutely lovely. The only part that I found somewhat, ah... hmm... what's the word... not quite disappointing, but... well, when I tell you that the thing I found [insert adjective here] was that the garden was filled with the glassworks of one Dale Chihuly... you may get an idea of what I mean. The last time I went to a garden/greenhouse complex was in Ohio. Columbus, to be exact. And what were they displaying amidst the greenery and flowers?
Chihuly. It's like they know I'm coming and think it's funny to see me rant about how I can't escape it, no matter where I am.
It's not that I really have anything against the guy, and the floating glass in the pool was kind of cool, and a few of them worked in the desert display, but... I just don't like his stuff. I'm sorry, I just don't. And Andrew and I both have a bit of a bone to pick with the fact that he doesn't actually personally make his stuff--granted, he only has one eye, and a lack of depth perception isn't good when glass blowing, but still...why should he get all the credit for the stuff when all he makes are his crazy squiggle drawings?
But enough of that. On to the food. Since, obviously, the people who run the gardens have an obsession with plants, they had an exhibit that's all about people and plants, showing how peoples around the world use different plants for different purposes. I obviously focused on the food. I learned such things (that I perhaps should have known) as that the scientific name for cocoa is theobroma cacao and theobroma literally means "food of the gods." (So I'm sorry Ki, as good as apricots are...)
And, as we may or may not know from watching the deliciously wonderful (and deliciously Johnny Depp) movie Chocolat (not to be confused with the crazy French-African one with the ants...blasted fourmis...) chocolate was drunk by the Aztecs in a bitter/spicy mixture that included chilies...
So, naturally, when I found in the gift shop a bar of chocolate called "xocolatl" described as "dark chocolate, chilies & nibs" (with a cacao content of 74%...bam), I just had to buy it in spite of the fact that it was about $8 for a bar. And, actually, when I saw another one titled "chai" described as "milk chocolate, crystallized giner and spices," well... I had to get it too.
I would just like you to know that it was totally worth it. (Though I was also happy to discover a much cheaper way to come by them--go to www.dagobachocolates.com and you can order them for $3 a bar.) I tried the chilies one first, on the tube because I just couldn't wait any longer, and it is definitely an experience. It just tasted like dark chocolate at first--and you can keep it tasting that way if you leave it on the tip of your tongue--but then the taste of chilies started surfacing (as it does especially when you move it to the back of your mouth). I must say, spicy chocolate was a totally new experience for me. Not unpleasant though. I highly recommend it, just so you can say you have. And if you like spicy foods, you'll probably love it. I'm not that fond of spicy stuff, but I still enjoy it.
Well, in moderation, anyway.
It wasn't until later that day--after dinner, actually--that I snuck upstairs and opened the chai. My mouth started watering just smelling it. I could smell the spices in it--soft and sweet and reminding me of home and fall and Christmas all at once.
It is officially my favorite
chocolate
ever.
It's an absolutely heartbreakingly lovely combination of "milke chocolate, crystallized ginger, ginger, cinnamon, clove, cardamom, anise, nutmeg, black pepper and of course, love."
*mouth waters at memory of it...*
*wishes I hadn't already eaten it all...*
*will really really really have to get more...*
And I've also decided that I'm going definitely going to have to do some spice and flavoring experimentation with my infamous chocolate cake...and I'm getting some delicious ideas for drinking chocolate...
I might just have to make powder a thing of the past, my friends.
As the chocolate bar wrappers say:
"You can deprive the body,
but the soul needs chocolate."
I wholeheartedly concur.
And with such chocolatey thoughts shall I end, and hereby request (in true Ki-ish fashion...dude, that's two references you got today!) for a week's leave to go to France.
Of course, I'm going anyway. But, as we learn from Henry V, if you're going to be an autocrat and still want people to love you, make sure to make them think they still have power.
*grins*
Je retournerai apres La Belle France!
Oh! Time out. I completely forgot about Jack the Ripper, didn't I?
And we simply cannot have that.
...
Ok, well, actually, we are going to have that, because I'm going to go now. But fear not, my friends, I shall--since the Jack the Ripper experience will be repeated in future--explicate at a later time.
Plus I do think it's kind of funny to leave you guys hanging on this one.
Yay for playing in London. At night. With serial killers.
Yay indeed.
(To be honest, I'm in here because I keep my computer in here, and so I sit here all day letting people think I'm doing homework when really I'm doing...well, not homework O:) It's fun.)
So Friday morning we went to Kew Gardens, which are absolutely lovely. The only part that I found somewhat, ah... hmm... what's the word... not quite disappointing, but... well, when I tell you that the thing I found [insert adjective here] was that the garden was filled with the glassworks of one Dale Chihuly... you may get an idea of what I mean. The last time I went to a garden/greenhouse complex was in Ohio. Columbus, to be exact. And what were they displaying amidst the greenery and flowers?
Chihuly. It's like they know I'm coming and think it's funny to see me rant about how I can't escape it, no matter where I am.
It's not that I really have anything against the guy, and the floating glass in the pool was kind of cool, and a few of them worked in the desert display, but... I just don't like his stuff. I'm sorry, I just don't. And Andrew and I both have a bit of a bone to pick with the fact that he doesn't actually personally make his stuff--granted, he only has one eye, and a lack of depth perception isn't good when glass blowing, but still...why should he get all the credit for the stuff when all he makes are his crazy squiggle drawings?
But enough of that. On to the food. Since, obviously, the people who run the gardens have an obsession with plants, they had an exhibit that's all about people and plants, showing how peoples around the world use different plants for different purposes. I obviously focused on the food. I learned such things (that I perhaps should have known) as that the scientific name for cocoa is theobroma cacao and theobroma literally means "food of the gods." (So I'm sorry Ki, as good as apricots are...)
And, as we may or may not know from watching the deliciously wonderful (and deliciously Johnny Depp) movie Chocolat (not to be confused with the crazy French-African one with the ants...blasted fourmis...) chocolate was drunk by the Aztecs in a bitter/spicy mixture that included chilies...
So, naturally, when I found in the gift shop a bar of chocolate called "xocolatl" described as "dark chocolate, chilies & nibs" (with a cacao content of 74%...bam), I just had to buy it in spite of the fact that it was about $8 for a bar. And, actually, when I saw another one titled "chai" described as "milk chocolate, crystallized giner and spices," well... I had to get it too.
I would just like you to know that it was totally worth it. (Though I was also happy to discover a much cheaper way to come by them--go to www.dagobachocolates.com and you can order them for $3 a bar.) I tried the chilies one first, on the tube because I just couldn't wait any longer, and it is definitely an experience. It just tasted like dark chocolate at first--and you can keep it tasting that way if you leave it on the tip of your tongue--but then the taste of chilies started surfacing (as it does especially when you move it to the back of your mouth). I must say, spicy chocolate was a totally new experience for me. Not unpleasant though. I highly recommend it, just so you can say you have. And if you like spicy foods, you'll probably love it. I'm not that fond of spicy stuff, but I still enjoy it.
Well, in moderation, anyway.
It wasn't until later that day--after dinner, actually--that I snuck upstairs and opened the chai. My mouth started watering just smelling it. I could smell the spices in it--soft and sweet and reminding me of home and fall and Christmas all at once.
It is officially my favorite
chocolate
ever.
It's an absolutely heartbreakingly lovely combination of "milke chocolate, crystallized ginger, ginger, cinnamon, clove, cardamom, anise, nutmeg, black pepper and of course, love."
*mouth waters at memory of it...*
*wishes I hadn't already eaten it all...*
*will really really really have to get more...*
And I've also decided that I'm going definitely going to have to do some spice and flavoring experimentation with my infamous chocolate cake...and I'm getting some delicious ideas for drinking chocolate...
I might just have to make powder a thing of the past, my friends.
As the chocolate bar wrappers say:
"You can deprive the body,
but the soul needs chocolate."
I wholeheartedly concur.
And with such chocolatey thoughts shall I end, and hereby request (in true Ki-ish fashion...dude, that's two references you got today!) for a week's leave to go to France.
Of course, I'm going anyway. But, as we learn from Henry V, if you're going to be an autocrat and still want people to love you, make sure to make them think they still have power.
*grins*
Je retournerai apres La Belle France!
Oh! Time out. I completely forgot about Jack the Ripper, didn't I?
And we simply cannot have that.
...
Ok, well, actually, we are going to have that, because I'm going to go now. But fear not, my friends, I shall--since the Jack the Ripper experience will be repeated in future--explicate at a later time.
Plus I do think it's kind of funny to leave you guys hanging on this one.
Yay for playing in London. At night. With serial killers.
Yay indeed.