On Thinking

"There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so." -William Shakespeare

Letters From Iceland

"Isn't it true however far we've wandered into our provinces of persecution, where our regrets accuse, we keep returning back to the common faith from which we've all dissented, back to the hands, the feet, the faces? Children are always there and take the hands, even when they are most terrified. Those in love cannot make up their minds to go or stay. Artist and doctor return most often. Only the mad will never, never come back. For doctors keep on worrying while away, in case their skill is suffering or deserted. Lovers have lived so long with giants and elves, they want belief again in their own size. And the artist prays ever so gently, let me find pure all that can happen... " -W.H. Auden & Louis MacNeice

internetblog.org.uk

20 Years From Now...

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” - Mark Twain

Foto del Dia

Boquete, Panama

Siesta a la sunbeam...

Happy Birthday Baby

for my paisano, partner in crime, my badass love...

to your self-discoveries, 

to your illumination, 

to the awakenings and quakings of

your dreams that stream

threads of gold

from your heart

your art 

to the world

your essence

the lessons yet untold

let it unfold

to the fullest

the boldest

rainbow

that beams among clouds.

your are the rainbow in the clouds.

happy birthday. feliz cumpleanos. bon anniversaire.

i love you.

     

Foto del Dia

Valle de Anton, Panama

Still I Rise by Maya Angelou

You may write me down in history

With your bitter, twisted lies,

You may trod me in the very dirt

But still, like dust, I'll rise.

Does my sassiness upset you?

Why are you beset with gloom?

'Cause I walk like I've got oil wells

Pumping in my living room.

Just like moons and like suns,

With the certainty of tides,

Just like hopes springing high,

Still I'll rise.

Did you want to see me broken?

Bowed head and lowered eyes?

Shoulders falling down like teardrops.

Weakened by my soulful cries.

Does my haughtiness offend you?

Don't you take it awful hard

'Cause I laugh like I've got gold mines

Diggin' in my own back yard.

You may shoot me with your words,

You may cut me with your eyes,

You may kill me with your hatefulness,

But still, like air, I'll rise.

Does my sexiness upset you?

Does it come as a surprise

That I dance like I've got diamonds

At the meeting of my thighs?

Out of the huts of history's shame

I rise

Up from a past that's rooted in pain

I rise

I'm a black ocean, leaping and wide,

Welling and swelling I bear in the tide.

Leaving behind nights of terror and fear

I rise

Into a daybreak that's wondrously clear

I rise

Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave,

I am the dream and the hope of the slave.

I rise

I rise

I rise. 

dr maya angelou

On the Go: Paquera - Puntarenas, Costa Rica

Ferry crossing - on our way to the Panama border @ Paso Canoas

On My Way

playa santa teresa, costa rica

gracias lee for capturing the moment...

Leftover Beef Bourguignon?

Leftovers are the greatest gift...especially if it's in beef bourguignon form made courtesy by a friend who made a huge pot for nye's dinner, (Challah and Latka Prince Bierman). Add in some leftover homemade puff pastry from some homemade galette de rois and stand back for one of those all time gild the lily moments...this one's a sure winner. Beef bourguignon empanadas!

oh.....yeahhh

I wish you could taste one chicos but for now I hope the pictures will do. Buen provecho.

plus some scallions, curry powder and some leftover nuoc cham

da perfect size

i like to make my food look purdy

reusing my sf voter's booklet I've been lugging around...

Foto del Dia

Santa Teresa, Costa Rica

Sunset @ Brisas del Mar

Hmong Generation Finds Its Voice

a wonderful article in the new york times...

"Now, here I am, adopted citizen,

Not rooted in this land, unable to taste

The spirit in its dust,

To sense its moods in the pollen.

How do I begin my song?"

Super Challah #2

More challah experiments (from the last post)...

rolling them thin is the secret to retaining the braid when baking

3 braid + 5 braid

indenting the 5 braid for the stacking

challah double decker

drum roll...

Galettes des Rois

When our friend Lee arrived in Costa Rica, he carried a special (and very heavy) package for me from the states...almond meal! It's hard to find if not impossible here, but I wanted it simply to make this special cake.

It's name...galette des rois. "King cake" is eaten in France and traditionally sold in January to celebrate Epiphany.

This is a favorite childhood memory when I grew up in France (that and tomato soup). The prize of the cake is a fève...usually a small porcelain trinket / figurine in the shape of animals...baby jesus. This is what every child is secretly after when they are given a slice of this heavenly almond cake...for who ever finds the fève gets to wear the golden paper crown that the cake comes with when bought at the local bakeries.

Yesterday, I decided to open my stash of almond meal. I made 2 cakes with homemade puff pastry (from homemade yeast)...everything was made from scratch. I gave one to Melaniaz, who takes care of the beach house where we're staying in Santa Teresa and another one for an intimate nye's dinner with friends. 

I am over the moon with how the cake came out. Even better than how I remembered...very moist, light and flavorful...enjoy the photos.

To celebrating 2012. 

Love, mb

*Recipe for Galette des Rois

from Chocolate & Zucchini

Champagne Wishes for 2012

To love, abundance and new discoveries...

last of the 2011 sunsets (playa st teresa, costa rica)