Pick of the Week: Sobralia orchids San Francisco Chronicle Take a look at an interesting article we found.
Legendary maneating New Zealand bird 'did exist' The Telegraph Take a look at an interesting article we found.
New Zealand wines: A racy white, a bright red MSNBC Take a look at an interesting article we found.
What can you say about the Cheeseburger that gets its very own day today? Probably never enough.
September 19, 2009
I've gone to my farm in Kentucky for the weekend. It's a great place to relax, do a little hard physical labor, and forget about the rest of the world. If you don't have such a place, I highly suggest you get one.
In the meantime, here's a little something that I found for you that may be vanilla but that doesn't mean it's exactly "vanilla."
See you on Monday.
J. Peterman
From: The New Zealand Herald
Types of Orchids greennature.com Take a look at an interesting article we found.
Vanilla Recipes epicurean.com Take a look at an interesting article we found.
A Short History of Vanilla arizonavanilla.com Take a look at an interesting article we found.
still thinking about today...
The wonderfuly strange and sexy world of orchids was recently covered in the National Geographic Magazine. Among mentioning that all men love orchids for the same reason as O'Keefe, the author posited that if Darwin would have released his Orchids book first, his Origin of the Species would have been more widely accepted.
The vanilla bean is a mystical bean
When you bake with its essence you'll know what I mean
With the sweetness of kisses, the kick of caffeine
Helping cooks make their magic, the vanilla bean...
Another "Not Exactly" ..............
Vanilla is an aphrodisiac. Orchids are elegant and sexy. Mix both scents for someting alluring and original that will remind you of your first crush. The sense of smell is very powerful. Rumor has it, ladies are more persuasive when they rub a little vanilla and pumpkin scents on their wrists. Cucumber is the scent that usually helps a man win an arguement with a woman. I don't know what would happen if you combine cucumber with vanilla. Any boys on the debating team ready to expirament?
Flecks of vanilla beans imbedded in the curled spooned shavings carefully scraped from the top of drift of white ice cream....... or the whisper of the scent of Madagascar vanilla in the air.... so inviting.... surrender....
‘nuff said from this country today.
Enjoy your days....
I'm really thinking my dopamine circuits are either degraded or have been co-opted (don't ask!). I once bought vanilla beans after reading about them in glowing terms. They turned out to be a big 'ho-hum'. Since others find them incredibly fantastic, the problem is obviously my relationship with vanilla beans.... :-(
As for aphrodisiacs, I prefer 'Opium', 'Chanel #5', 'Allure', etc. over vanilla beans.... I suspect this may be due to past experiences. None of my 'hot dates' ever rubbed vanilla extract on themselves, I suspect.
Georgia O'Keefe quote... Does anyone know if she really said this or not? "I hate flowers. I paint them because they're cheaper than models and they don't move."
Having vanilla yogurt as I read these comments....
BERT- HA! I just finished a carton of stoneyfield vanilla yogurt. I wanted something light since I will be going out for lunch. My mother said my grandmother would always put a dab of vanilla behind each ear when she was baking. Whenever I finish using a bottle of vanilla I leave it open on the windowsill until the scent has gone- a little freebie. DOC- try slicing open a vanilla bean & put it into a container of sugar- regular or powdered & after a few weeks it will be subtly perfumed. Plus when I roll my russian teacakes in powdered sugar it gives them a whisper of extra vanilla. I always pretty much triple the amount of vanilla a recipe calls for- it's like onions- you can never have too many(or much). I believe that ALLURE hasa strong presence of vanilla- at least that was my impression when I smelled it. On the other hand the proliferation of cheap, nasty smelling vanilla bath & body products have probably given vanilla a black eye in some quaters. PETER L.-madagascar vanilla is sooooooooo good- I love to bake & my brother always gets me a big bottle at Christmas. mmmmmmmmmmmmm...... It's a lovely, gray, rainy day- I may go to see HALLOWEEN II after lunch- I love a matinee on a rainy day. Have a wonderful Saturday all.
I was looking for mistakes & accidentally hit the send button- it should be quarters.
you could never put enough imitation vanilla in a recipe to give it the same flavor as the natural stuff.
Sometimes it's worth the price to use the real thing.
You know, butter, Helman's mayo, real cream cheese, vanilla.
Tonight at 9 pm et/pt, Lifetime is having a movie about the life of Georgia O'Keeffe.
I plan on watching it even if I have to go to another room since I have guests who may want to watch something else.
http://www.mylifetime.com/on-tv/movies/georgia-okeeffe
KORTHAL- you are completely correct- some things just demand the extra cost for the real thing.
I like vanilla envelopes for sending things in the mail.
'Nilla wafers anyone?............................................................ the only cookie that probably gets worse when you dunk it
I read somewhere that the vanilla farmer has to tickle the pistols (sp?) or maybe it is the stamens but, no wonder some say the vanilla sent is sexy. Orchids are addictive. I started with one and ended up with so many that I bagan to feel guilty as I wasn't taking care of them properly. One day, I .... welll off to the compost heap. It felt as if i had kiled my child or children as the cse may be. I have to resist buying new ones... Should the be an AA something for orchid growers?
To me, the best incarnation of the taste of vanilla is in Breyer's vanilla ice cream. It has a slight bitterness to it that I really crave.
I love vanilla. I think my favorite use of it is Victoria's Secret Vanilla Lace lotion.
John, dear, thank you for the all-important "Madagascar." Pure vanilla with that name on its label is indeed a bit more expensive, but, oh! how worth it in anything you cook. And you use less. As the parallel reading says, at all costs avoid "vanilla flavoring" or its ilk. Same's true of almond, another flavor I use in abundance (perhaps even in excess) in cooking. Took me years to find, finally, pure almond extract. Bless Fresh Market, whatever its foibles, for that. (Oddly, the same fine vanilla costs, at Williams-Sonoma, I just discovered, about half what it does at Fresh Market. You just never know.)
What mystery resides in our fascination with its scent? A writer friend who naturally observes every detail asked me after a flight here to do a reading, "Have you observed an increasing amount of vanilla scent on women? I was drawn to it when first I encountered it, but in the plane I started to feel I couldn't breathe: Every female passenger and flight attendant, it seemed to my imagination, was drenched in it." I was glad I wore one of JP's "E.M." scents to meet his plane.
Reference our longago discourse on scent, women, men: Many of our (all lovely, I'm sure) EYE-males stressed the importance of "less is more," or, as I THINK DPR (don't hold me to it) said, scent is wonderful when very close, say, on the neck. Not wafting behind us as we pass him....
And all this time I read into Georgia O'Keeffe's work what most do...think I'll stick with it, for it's infinitely more intriguing.
Vanilla sex is pretty good, but sometimes I like Rocky Road...
Artificial vanilla, with the ingredients listed as 'vanillin' actually has more of the compound that flavors vanilla than the real thing. Cooks Illustrated did a taste comparison and found that artificial vanilla was preferred. More vanilla.
That said, I still buy the real thing.
Olivia ~don't forget White House Cherry.
DOC NOLAN: She really said that ....... but it was a sarcastic answer to an Interviewer ... O'Keefe's fascination with Flowers/Plants began when she was made aware, by some member of The Beat Generation, of the similarity in shape/appearance of some Flowers to various parts of the Female Anatomy ... Evidently Maynard G. Krebs' grandaddy was sitting in a Coffee House she went into smoking something in a rolled-up page from the Kama Sutra ... and the train left from there .......
KIM: P I S T I L S
Vanilla behind your ears and on your wrists :)
I do keep a container of sugar with split vanilla beans in it -- it's wonderful sprinkled on top of coffee cakes and cookies before they're baked.
Jalopkin. Thanks...biology was a looong time ago.
Poor, poor vanilla the adjective....... I believe, nay, I am certain that it is the victim of a bad rap, of being totally misunderstood and unfortunately under-utilized.
It dreamily stands alone like the ‘wallflower', but only when ‘wallflower' is used as an adjective of course. Like me and many others wallflowers, it's so called bland, unremarkable, featurelessness causes many to just pass by without so much as a glance because it seems that only whistles and bells can attract the attention of others; often to the point of worship.
Vanilla software/operating systems, stationary, cake and cupcakes; why even vanilla sex and ice cream suffer from the disillusion that they have no potential because there is no place for it to hide. ...... Whatcha sees is whatctha gets and that's just plain ol' short-sightedness.
Vanilla in all its forms and functions is a blank canvas eagerly awaiting the first paint stroke of inspiration. It's a tabula raza just itching to be cloaked in great words, phrases, and innovative ideas. Vanilla is cakes, cupcakes, ice cream and great sex; all trembling in anticipation of what they will become with the addition of just the right amount of imagination, delectable ingredients and perhaps a well timed and even better placed whisper.
I think that to be described as vanilla should be an honor. To say that you/it are/is the foundation of a vision that is ready, willing and able to be ignited and launched into greatness and worthy of being sought out, or at least asked to dance.
I'm thinking a banana split starting with plain ol'vanilla ice cream..... and then perhaps bananas, chocolate syrup, salty nuts, fresh strawberries and blueberries, and lots of whipped cream on top...... maybe some salted caramel too
See ya at the dinosaur show on the other side of town.....
PL,
Wait...I thought vanilla sex is ho-hum mediocre orthotopic routine everyday average quotidian monotonous monogamous sex.
karma s. s. - which is a very good starting point. You've got to go to Kansas before you can land in Oz. I hope that says what I think I mean.
Hows 'bout we ride the rails of thesepia train to a great Pancake House way up in the Rockies so we can watch the sun set from one side, and rise on the other and the Northern Lights in between.
this lady is very persuasive with vanilla bean and pumpkin in a pie....
Just found out that Lady Red invited over a friend of ours for a movie-fest tonight. Friend is bringing over Shoefly Pie. Time to break out the vanilla ice cream.
Maybe a dab on the ankles & a tiny dab in the small of the back...
Well, as a man I have problems putting any vanilla behind my ears.....but perhaps full synthetic motor oil, racing weight? We all have things that we identify with, even when we are no longer in the prime of our youth.
Korthal, take some notes on the movie, and summarize your thoughts tomorrow, ok? It's Saturday night, Indian Summer, and just down the street I am magnetized by the lure of live music.....
On my way to Temple, ... last thing I wanted to do is wish you all a Happy New Year !!!
All of God's Blessings Be Upon You All, Even Those We Haven't Heard From Inna While ...
L'Shana Tova Tikateivu ... May You Be Inscribed For A Good Year ...
Gamar Katimah Tova ... May You Be Inscribed For a Sweet Year ...
HAPPY NEW YEAR To All The Villagers of The Eye !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Ivan Jalopkin, The Original
Texas Jew-Boy
BERT- When my husband has motor oil on his hands I have to say it is alluring. JALOPKIN- happy new year to you to- may a fresh batch of matzoh ball soup always be in your pot.
Vanilla -- the essence of creme brulee, the secret ingredient in chocolate, the base note of Shalimar and DiorAddict, the best go-it-alone or go-with everything ice cream (please just milk, cream, sugar, and vanilla - no eggs) -- the ultimate comfort food flavor derived from the most exotic of flowers, the product of plant sex turned turned into aphrodisiac scent... What is not to love about vanilla? There is nothing plain about it. When other flavors and scents tire with their over-assertiveness and johnny-one-note quality, there is always vanilla: sublime and enigmatic despite familiarity.
Vanilla is like one's much-beloved spouse of 20+ years. Other flavors may seem so much more exciting, attractive, young, new, different, maybe a little dangerous and it's fun to flirt with them. But then one goes home to vanilla, to one's soul mate, to one's true love.
My to should have too-oops. ANNA K- beautiful & true sentiment!
IVAN:
Thanks you for your New Year's wishes.
May you and your family also enjoy a happy, sweet and good New Year.
Ivan - Right-back-atcha good sir.
anna k - So very well said. What a nice entrance you have made here. I look forward to future posts.
Ivan! I've been missing but not gone for good. It's Rosh Hashanah. I don't know the proper greeting. So I'll say I wish for you and yours a New Year filled with all good things and ten times more.
And thank you for your good wishes.
You are a most generous and kind friend.
There is NOTHING that beats home-made vanilla ice cream made with a hand-cranked ice cream machine. The recipe (ask and I will share mine) to start with is vital. The careful packing of the ice and salt (I love chemistry) and then cranking the handle - the labor of love that seems to always take more time than one intended! Best if done with friends and family taking turns. Then when finished you haggle over who will get to lick the beaters. Finally the anticipation as you wait for the mix to "set" and finally the heavenly delight of consumption. No toppings is necessary. My best experience was the 4th of July 1995. The
Gallaghers were visiting from Ireland - a double celebration! The children and adults feasted on the hot-weather treat. Second best? Making Champagne sherbet - indescribable....