. . . Rubyandwheaky!
Congratulations! I’ve already contacted the winner and passed the contact information on to Brie. Enjoy your sample of Sonoma Scent Studio Cocoa Sandalwood and your tea sampler!
A big thank you to Brie for her generosity, her wonderful post, and her fantastic replies to your comments.
And thank you to everyone who commented!
Photo by Brie’s daughter Brittany. The adorable owl is Brie’s own 🙂
Last chance for one lucky commenter to enter for the chance to win a 1ml sample of Sonoma Scent Studio Cocoa Sandalwood, accompanied by a sampler of aromatic teas, courtesy of Brie. This is a random draw open to only residents of the US due to tightened shipping restrictions on perfume.
The draw will end this Sunday, March 3, at 11:59pm.
The winner will be announced here and via twitter.
To be eligible, leave us a comment either below or on the original post!
A note from Daisy: This post is a first for me and this blog: I have never had a guest writer before and am pleased to present one today. You may know Brie from her comments here and on other perfume blogs. When she isn’t working with autistic children as a speech pathologist, she is busy studying aromatherapy. She also makes essential oil blends for her friends and family in the Hudson River Valley where she lives with her husband and three children. This post marks a new foray into perfume for this blog too, the first of many more to come.
By Brie
Many years ago, I worked with an eccentric woman who — aside from claiming to be psychic and descended from gypsies — was well-versed in the healing properties of essential oils. She insisted that sandalwood was “my oil” and gifted me a full ounce of pure Mysore sandalwood encased in an Egyptian-style bottle with a gold stopper.
For those of you who might not know, Mysore sandalwood is like liquid gold: extremely rare and increasingly hard to come by! At the time, I was an eau de toilette-spraying sillage monster. The idea of dabbing sacred oil on my “third eye” was preposterous! After two years of collecting dust on my desk, I finally threw out the bottle.
Ironically, she was right.
Flash forward twenty years later . . .
For the past six years, I have shared an office with a “perfume despising” co-worker. No matter how judiciously I apply, she makes comments like, “Your perfume reeks of old lady!” and “Open the windows NOW!” To add insult to injury, my husband bans perfume in our house every spring and fall, when my conventional perfumes exacerbate his allergies.
In my attempt to inoffensively wear perfume on a daily basis, I began exploring essential oils. Nowadays, one of my favorite scents is New Caledonian sandalwood — which I wear straight up without any complaints from my co-worker or my husband.
One day, I had another epiphany: what better way to further scent my environment on a daily basis than with aromatic teas? They offer up a dual sensory delight in taste and smell and are unobjectionable to those who have a problem with perfume.
To me, drinking rooibos tea is like drinking sandalwood: it is a creamy, woody, caramel delight.
Zhena’s Gypsy Chocolate Chai Rooibos Tea is blended with spices and dark chocolate. It is the perfect match for Sonoma Scent Studio’s latest release: Cocoa Sandalwood.
Sonoma Scent Studio is an artisanal perfume company located in California. It is owned and operated by Laurie Erickson, the mastermind responsible for these high quality and affordable liquid masterpieces. I also especially love supporting Laurie. She is a kind and generous soul who makes an effort to stay very connected to her customers. She also maintains a terrific blog that you can check out here.
Cocoa Sandalwood perfume contains generous amounts of New Caledonian sandalwood, natural peach lactones, spices and a deep, dark chocolate note. It is the quintessential grown-up gourmand scent and is truly a delicious olfactory delight.
As it is all natural, it sits close to the skin. It also plays well with the “perfume-averse” crowd. In fact this is the only perfume that my husband allows me to wear to bed. One tiny drop on my wrist is all that I need for happy sniffing into a land of slumber.
During these cold dreary days in the Northeast I wear my SSS Cocoa Sandalwood and drink my Gypsy Chocolate Chai Rooibos Tea whilst thinking about that zany woman twenty years ago. Eerily enough, many of the predictions she made about my future life did indeed come true.
Giveaway: We would like to offer one lucky commenter the chance to win a 1ml sample of Sonoma Scent Studio Cocoa Sandalwood, accompanied by a sampler of aromatic teas, courtesy of Brie. This is a random draw open to only residents of the US due to tightened shipping restrictions on perfume.
The draw will end this Sunday, March 3, at 11:59pm.
To enter, leave a comment for us below!
Cocoa Sandalwood Eau de Parfum is available directly from the Sonoma Scent Studio website in 4 sizes: 3ml ($15), 5ml ($25), 17ml ($64), and 34ml ($125).
Zhena’s Gypsy Tea Chocolate Chai is available to purchase for $6.99 from their website. It can also be found at other outlets like Safeway, Whole Foods, and Central Market.
The first time that I ever had beef heart was at St. John’s Bread and Wine in London. It was two summers ago and I was wandering around Spitalfields on a single-origin chocolate bar search. Suddenly, the skies opened up and down came the deluge. Soaked and woefully unprepared, I ducked into the empty restaurant right in the middle of the family meal.
Although I’m sure that the last thing the staff wanted to deal with was another guest, they were extraordinarily gracious as they served me a late-afternoon snack of oysters, Sauternes, grilled beef heart and celeriac slaw.
Sauternes and oysters, you say? Yes, the server was intrigued as well. I had ordered them together because I had just read an article about how the original pairing for oysters was Sauternes, not Champagne.
In any case, I assure you that the combination is divine.
So was the beef heart. Flavorful and surprising tender, it had a robust beefiness and was the perfect antidote to the grey, oily weather outside. As I enjoyed the last dregs of my wine, I remembered that I had a copy of Fergus Henderson’s Nose to Tail Eating: A Kind of British Cooking collecting dust at home.
When my CSA (shares are still available, by the way) began offering beef heart, I decided that I was going to bite the bullet and try to recreate that terrific snack.
The recipe is such that no actual measurements are necessary. Follow your instinct and taste as you go along. You will be fine.
(and a very belated thank you to the staff at St. John’s for making sure that I didn’t go back out in the storm without a large umbrella)
Happy Valentine’s Day!
Ingredients:
1 beef or calf’s heart
Coarse salt
Freshly ground pepper
Balsamic Vinegar
Olive oil
Thyme sprigs
1 celery root
Crème fraîche
Dijon mustard
How to prepare:
1. The first thing you will need to do is trim the heart. You basically want to remove all the fat, the membranes, and any and all vessels including the aorta. It may be a little disheartening (no pun intended) to have to discard all those trimmings, but you really only want the tasty bits. For this, you will need a very sharp knife.
When you finish, you should be left with a pile of very lean beef slices that no longer resemble a heart at all. For an instructional video, I refer you to Michael Ruhlman here.
2. In a dish large enough to fit all the beef slices comfortably, drizzle them with olive oil. Add a healthy slug of balsamic vinegar. Sprinkle it generously with coarse salt and freshly ground pepper. Add a few sprigs of fresh thyme. Toss, cover, and let marinate in the fridge for 8-24 hours.
3. Before grilling the beef heart slices, set up the celeriac slaw. The first thing you will need to do is trim the root. You could use a vegetable peeler . . . if you want to have an accident! Or you could use a very sharp knife and be safer. You will have a lot of trimmings to discard as well, but trust me: you don’t want these trimmings either. If you must, you can put them in a bag and toss them in your freezer to use for stock.
First, slice off the top of the root and level off its bottom. This will ensure that it won’t rock around while you are trimming it. Holding your knife perpendicular to the root, shave or slice off the outer gnarled surface. You should be left with a clean, peeled root.
For another helpful video, I refer you to Gourmet Magazine.
Now you need to julienne the celery root. This can be accomplished most effectively by using a mandoline. If you don’t have one, or do have one but are too lazy to look for it like me, you can use a sharp knife again for the job. To julienne the celery root, cut very thin slices of it, stack the slices up and cut them into matchsticks.
Melissa Clark demos this here.
For the dressing, gently stir together 4 tablespoons of crème fraîche for every one tablespoon of Dijon mustard. That’s the ratio that I used, but you can increase the amount of mustard if you want your dressing to have more of a kick. Adjust the seasoning if necessary.
Using your hands, toss the julienned slices of celery root with the dressing.
5. Prepare the grill. Brush it with oil and get it nice and hot. Cook the beef heart slices until they are medium. Henderson says about 3 minutes per side, but mine cooked faster than that. I would say to just watch them and pull them off the grill when they are ready.
To serve, plate a few slices with a nice mound of celery root slaw.
Wishing you all a wonderful and prosperous Chinese New Year’s Day!
This is the Year of the Snake and this year’s animal is a water snake, specifically a female black water snake.
I’m not exactly sure what that means, but water always implies energy flowing outwards and money (hopefully) flowing towards you! Black is a sign of instability and changeability, so take caution this year and think carefully about your decisions before you make them.
The snake is also a good omen because it is a sign that your family will not starve this year. Very important.
So Gung hei fat choi, everyone! May today be a day full of good food and time with family and friends!
Not starving starts now 🙂
I tour The Art of Scent exhibition at the Museum of Art and Design with curator Chandler Burr for Bois de Jasmin.
Click here to read.
I cannot take credit for this meal; that distinction belongs to the amazing Hannah over at Inherit the Spoon. For about a year now (or maybe it has been longer — I’m getting forgetful), I have been following this her adventures in life and in the kitchen. I have admired her commitment to eating local, and providing a nutritious and delicious table for her family.
Recently, she published recipes for roasted Savoy cabbage and mustard-butter chicken. The minute I read them, I knew that I had to make them soon.
The meal was incredible and incredibly easy. If I wasn’t smitten with Hannah’s blog before, I definitely am now!
As I cannot write better than Hannah herself, I will direct you to her post here for step-by-step instructions on how to prepare both the cabbage and the chicken. I agree with Hannah that you should take your time and let the cabbage get dark and crispy; it really is best that way.
Thank you, Hannah!
This is a recipe that was passed along to me as part of a French assignment created for my friend Ipek last summer. I held onto it for months and months, waiting for the perfect moment and time. Then, darling Siobhan from Garden Correspondent rolled through New York, bringing with her good cheer, high spirits, and a liter of delicious Turkish olive oil!
Which, of course, helped to push Ipek’s recipe to the top of the list of things to make.
Unfortunately, everything on that list languished while other parts of life took priority over blogging. However, following the overindulgence of the holidays, I thought something simple, healthful, and delicious was in order.
This recipe is so simple that I wondered if it would even be tasty. After forming the lentils and bulgur wheat-mixture into torpedo-shapes and balls,* I had additional doubts as to whether I would be able to finish eating them all. Then, something curious happened: each time I passed my fridge, I would dip into the quickly diminishing pile for a little fix of Turkish yumminess. Although initially dismissed as bland, I found myself craving the wholesome nuttiness of lentils gently accented with mild spice.
Ipek’s recipe states that you should serve Mercimek köftesi with lettuce. At first I was a little unsure what that meant. Was the lettuce mandatory garnish? Or were you supposed to wrap the köftesi in the lettuce?
My hunch was right: you are supposed to roll the köftesi in the lettuce and eat them like you would Vietnamese spring rolls. Without the fish sauce dipping sauce, of course.
Strangely, many recipes say to serve them on top of the lettuce with no mention of eating them together either.
So I suppose it is up to you!
Incidentally, Ipek tells me that there is an alternative version called Çiğ köfte. A peek at different recipes shows that it is fairly similar if not identical to Mercimek köftesi with the exception being that raw meat is used in place of red lentils. The meat is usually massaged by hand into the bulgur until the mixture is smooth enough to be shaped. Again, the lettuce appears to somewhat ornamental, especially in the case of this restaurant where the staff seems to have just stuck the leaves upright into a giant mound of raw meat and bulgur and called it a day.
For my money and food safety reasons, I will stick to the lentils!
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups of red lentils, rinsed and drained
2 1/4 cups of water
1 1/2 cups of bulgur wheat
1 onion, finely chopped
1 tablespoon of tomato paste
1 teaspoon of ground cumin
1 teaspoon of Aleppo pepper flakes or red chili pepper flakes
4 tablespoons of olive oil
The juice of one lemon
1/3 of a cup of fresh parsley, chopped
Lettuce leaves
How to prepare:
1. In a large casserole or sauté pan, combine the rinsed lentils with 2 1/4 cups of water. Bring the lentils to a boil before lowering the heat to a simmer. Season the lentils while they cook.
2. Once the lentils are very soft, turn off the heat and add the raw, dry bulgur wheat. Stir very quickly to incorporate it into the lentils. Cover the mixture and let it sit for about 30 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, sauté the chopped onions in about a tablespoon of olive oil until they are golden.
4. After the bulgur wheat and the lentils have finished steaming, add the onions, the tomato paste, the remaining 3 tablespoons of olive oil, and the spices. Stir to combine well. Add the chopped parsley and the lemon juice to the mixture.
5. At this point, the lentil mixture should be cool enough to handle. Using your hands, form either small balls, or small torpedo-shaped logs. Let these rest in the refrigerator until cold.
Serve on top of lettuce leaves with lemon wedges on the side.
For my first post of the new year, I am going to wrap up the remainder of business from the last: my Miso Awesome Cookies!
Come to think of it, this post should actually be called:
Dr. Daisy or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Cookie 🙂
(any Kubrick fans out there? anyone?)
When I entered the Brooklyn Cookie Takedown last month, my first thought was to make a truly trashy cookie packed with milk chocolate chips and Fritos. Doesn’t that sound awesome? Then Dave C. suggested the combination of dark chocolate and nori. Suddenly, the vision of an Asian cookie coalesced in my mind. I was unable to get the idea of an umami-amped chocolate chip cookie out of my head.
I went to the Japanese market that weekend and got shredded nori and white miso. I added them to a chocolate chip cookie recipe for which I swapped out the walnuts for soy sauce-roasted almonds. Et voilà!
I made inedible choco-chip seaweed hockey pucks 😦
That was my first attempt at baking cookies for the Brooklyn Cookie Takedown, one of nine.
Yes, dear Readers, it took me nine test batches to get the hang of this whole cookie business because I am really not a very good baker or cookie maker 😦
Actually, before the Takedown, I always took a pass on baking cookies because I was so bad at it! Once, I made a delicious double-chocolate chip cookie by accident. Unfortunately, in my excitement, I didn’t take notes on what I did. That experience will sadly never be replicated.
These are some of the reasons why almost all my cookie efforts prior to the Takedown did not work out:
• I never let the butter soften. That meant that whenever I tried to properly cream it, I would end up with butter blobs on the wall, on my glasses, in my hair, and sugar all over the floor.
• I never sifted the dry ingredients together because I was too lazy. I also never learned how to properly measure flour.
• I chronically overbaked because I could never shake the feeling that cookies had to be nice and golden on top. It works for chicken, why not cookies?!
• I would just use one cookie sheet, which meant that I was baking forever. Furthermore, I never let the sheet cool down before I plunked more cookie dough on top of it.
How did I improve?
After test batch #5, I decided to finally do it right. I started by hitting the cookbooks.
Here’s what I learned:
• Suck it up and sift 🙂 You don’t need to buy a fancy sifter, just a mesh strainer and a sheet of wax paper will do. You would never think it makes much of a difference, but it does.
• Instead of measuring flour by volume, weigh it. According to Cook’s Illustrated, one cup of all-purpose flour should weigh about 5 ounces.
• Cut cold, hard butter into small cubes. The butter will soften faster that way.
• Don’t overwork the butter. The longer you cream the butter and sugars together, the more air you beat into the fat. The more air that you have in your fat, the more your cookies will spread out while baking.
• Eggs blend better when they are at room temperature.
• Ideally, you should let your dough rest overnight in the refrigerator. Barring that, at least let the dough chill completely, about 3 hours. Properly chilled dough also helps ensure that your cookies don’t spread out too much.
• Do not overwork the flour. The longer you take combining the wet and the dry ingredients together, the tougher your cookies will be.
• Never arrange cookie dough on hot cookie sheets. The cookies will begin cooking on contact. Not. Good.
• Work with a minimum of 2 cookie sheets, that way you can have one cooling down while the other one is in the oven. To have four sheets is ideal because you can have two sheets cooling while two are baking in the oven.
• If you check the cookies and think that maybe you should leave them in a little longer, override your instinct and pull them out of the oven! They will continue to cook on their sheets for a few minutes more. (Thanks for the tip, Tomoko!)
• Like pancakes, be prepared to ruin the first batch as you adjust your baking times for your cookie size, cookie sheet material (light versus dark sheets), and oven (mine runs a little hot).
How I finally came up with my cookie recipe:
Now all this might sound elementary to you Awesome Cookie Bakers, but it was a revelation to me. Once I figured out what I was doing wrong from a technical standpoint, I made another batch of chocolate chip-nori cookies. You know what? They were disgusting! Now I know why there are no chocolate and roasted seaweed cookie recipes out there: they’re gross!
Back to the drawing board. Standing in the Japanese market again, I was trying to think about what else could go in a cookie. Wasabi peas? Why not! As wasabi is actually not a particularly strong taste, I swapped out the dark chocolate for white chocolate.
From the chocolate chip-nori hockey puck recipe, I kept the tamari almonds and the white miso paste.
From now on, I may always drop a dollop of white miso paste into my cookies. It doesn’t seem to add any noticeable miso flavor, but it definitely makes the taste of everything else in the cookie pop.
Even though this is the recipe for my not-award-winning cookies, I still feel like I won because I learned so much. I overcame my fear of baking, and I came up with something crazy that was also delicious!
Ingredients:
3 cups of all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon of baking powder
1/4 teaspoon of baking soda
2 sticks of butter (16 tablespoons), cut into cubes and at room temperature
1 1/4 cups of white granulated sugar
2/3 cup of light brown sugar, packed
2 eggs at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract
4 tablespoons of white miso paste
4 teaspoons of wasabi paste
8 ounces of white chocolate chips
8 ounces of tamari almonds, roughly chopped
8-9 ounces of wasabi peas
How to prepare:
1. Sift together the dry ingredients.
2. In a large mixing bowl, cream the softened butter and the sugars together for no more than one minute.
3. Beat the eggs, one at a time, into the creamed butter-sugar mixture. Add the vanilla, the miso and wasabi pastes. Continue beating for another minute or two.
4. Using a stiff spatula, fold in the dry ingredients a little bit at a time.
5. Once all the dry ingredients have been incorporated, fold in the white chocolate chips, the chopped almonds, and the wasabi peas. Once the all the goodies are evenly distributed throughout the dough, cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Let it rest in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours, or overnight if you can.
6. If your heating element is on the bottom of your oven, move the oven racks to the top of it. Pre-heat the oven to 325°.
7. I used a melon baller to make smaller cookies for the competition, but if you want larger cookies, use a tablespoon or a small scoop. Drop the balls of dough about two inches apart on parchment paper-lined cookie sheets.
8. Bake the cookies for 4 minutes. Rotate the sheets 180°, moving the top cookie sheet to the lower rack, and the bottom cookie sheet to the upper rack. Bake the cookies for another 4 minutes. If your cookies are larger, you may need to bake them for a little longer. When the cookies are done, they should be just barely golden around the edges. The centers should be soft, but not raw. Take the cookies out of the oven and let them rest on the cookie sheet (they will continue to cook) for a minute or two before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Like many of you, I received an email from WordPress today with a statistical review of my past year blogging. In 2012, my most popular post was my rant reflection on the then recently-published book, The Manhattan Diet. In the running for almost-as-popular were my posts on how to cook juicy pork chops, how to choose a cutting board, and how to make crustless quiches.
Most visitors came from the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia. Absolutely no guests came from China. Not a single one.
This can only mean one of two things:
A) Either WordPress is blocked by Chinese censors for being a corruptive Western influence.
B) Or I have been shunned by the entire nation for being of Chinese descent and not knowing how to steam rice or use a wok.
Yeah. I bet it’s probably B too 😉
All these tallies have inspired me to do my own end-of-the-year wrap-up, especially given that 2012 was an eventful year for me.
First and foremost, I finally got my PhD after years of reading, writing, teaching, and kvetching. Finishing the dissertation marked the end of a seemingly endless road and the fulfillment of a long-held goal. This year, I don’t think that I have ever pushed myself harder. I also don’t recall being more miserable, scared, panicked, anxious, lonely, or queasy in my life.
At the same time, I never felt prouder, stronger, more independent, and confident.
Above all, I felt loved.
So as 2012 fades to black, in this post I would like to take this opportunity to extend a heartfelt thank you . . .
To my family.
Mom and Dad, even though 2012 has been a difficult year for you too, you never wavered in your support. Thank you for always believing in me. I love you both so much.
Grandpa, you were my rock. You saw me every Sunday for weekly dim sum. You kept me grounded and fed me dumplings. So many dumplings . . . You also gently reminded me that it’s not a given that a Baconbiscuit win her first Bacon Takedown. Thank you, Grandpa 🙂 I love you so much!
I am also thankful for my extended family of cousins, aunts, and uncles. You never failed to make me laugh at myself. For that, I am grateful. Much love to you all!
To my friends.
I reached my limit 36 hours before my dissertation defense. I was still writing. I was also delirious, going on about six weeks of minimal sleep and three weeks of no sleep. I was mentally, emotionally, and intellectually drained. I was hopped up on caffeine and nicotine too. Just when I was about to fall apart completely, Laura arrived at my door with this glorious pile of junk food.
She made me laugh out loud with this wacky assortment of things that must be part of a pregnant woman’s dream. I was so overwhelmed by the kindness and generosity of the gesture that I burst into tears. Thank you, dearest Laura. You are so treasured!
Sharon and Joseph, how amazing are you for surprising me on my birthday with cupcakes, Italian cookies, and sparkling water? I don’t know how you maneuvered all those candles up my building’s stairs without setting off the fire alarms. You two made me cry too!
Maritess, you always picked up the phone when I called, even when it was a 4 in the morning. I love and miss you, Babe. You are the best Bestie!
Thank you to Tina and Bob MacCheyne from High Point Farms for your friendship and loving support. Your kindness fed me both spiritually and physically.
Giant hugs to Astrid, Ben, Banki, Beth, Birgit, Brie, Niki, Dave F., Oliver, Carol, Ron, Kerri, Anne, Dan, Chantale, Chris, Deb, Clarissa, Ipek, Darya, Jason, Dave C., Joyce, Dave L., Jenn, Dave M., Donna, Emma, Ted, Emmy, Eri, Eryn, Eve, Gideon, Deena, Guillaume, Laura P., Helen, Heather H., Hilary, Jamie, Jas, Preeti, Jennie, Jessica, Peter, Jill, Jimmy and the crew at Jimmy’s 43, John B., John M., John T., Kalay, Katherine, Kelly, Kie, Maggie, Manya, Pär, Margaret, Matt, Megan, Melanie, Melissa, Michelle, Steve, Mike, Nicole, Sebastian, Siobhan, Spencer, Susan, Sylvie, Tanya, Tomoko, Victoria, Zach, and Heather M.
I feel so fortunate to have met you. I would never have made it through 2012 without your friendship. Much love to you all!
Of course, I could never overlook all the wonderful people that I have met through blogging. Thank you for inviting me into your lives and your kitchens. Your stories sustained me as I ate vicariously through your photos. You were my other lifeline when I was living like a hermit in the library basement. Some of you even came through New York and lured me out of my cave 🙂 Thank you for checking up on me and for keeping me sane!
Special blog shout-outs to Ruby and Wheaky, Emmy Cooks, Ugly Food Tastes Better, Sybaritica, Humble Feast, Cauldrons and Cupcakes, Expat Edna, Amy Glaze’s Pommes d’Amour, Unbrave Girl, Southern Food Scrounge, Gourmandistan, Live2EatEat2Live, Happiness Stan Lives Here, Susan Eats London, Garden Correspondent, Frugal Feeding, Cooking in Sens, Kolpona Cuisine, Bunny. Eats. Design., Paintbox Kitchen, Mon chat m’a ramené un chipmunk!, Belle Grove Plantation, Mixer Upper, Going Dutch, In Her Chucks, 17 Bites, Inherit the Spoon, Mama Miyuki Easy Pantsy, Rabbit Can Cook, The Hungry Egghead, testerfoodblog, and Back Road Journal.
To the kind bloggers who nominated me for awards.
When I first started blogging, Adele at Artistry by Adele nominated me for the The Versatile Blogger Award. I was flattered and very touched by the nomination. Unfortunately, the follow-up post to Adele’s languished in WordPress limbo (aka Draft Status). Why the paralysis? At the time, when faced with the prospect of nominating 15 bloggers in turn, I realized that I didn’t know 15 bloggers!
Since then, Tanya at Humble Feast has nominated me for the Liebster Award, Nicole at Cauldrons and Cupcakes and Mixer Upper have nominated me for the Sunshine Award, and Tahmina at Kolpona Cuisine has nominated me for the Versatile Blogger Award again! I got picked for the Versatile Blogger Award by John at Sybaritica and Cendriani for the third and fourth times. Mama Miyuki nominated me for the Family Bloggers Award, and Rabbit Can Cook reached out and awarded me with the Inspiring Blog Award.
All I can say is thank you from the bottom of my heart. I feel so honored and touched that you thought of me and my blog. Thank you so much!
Now, after two and a half years of blogging, I can certifiably say that I know more than 15 bloggers 🙂 However, I have to admit that being tasked with having to nominate bloggers in return is rather intimidating. I quite honestly don’t know where to begin; there are just too many deserving writers out there.
Therefore, I am going to deviate a little bit from the norm. If I gave you a shout out in this post, I am nominating and re-nominating ALL of you for ALL of these wonderful awards 🙂 If I have left anyone out, please know that it was not intentional.
Thank you for your support and congratulations to you all!
As per the rules of some of these awards, here are:
Seven things about me:
1. I learned how to carve wooden sculptures when I studied abroad in West Africa. You know the ones you see in stores or on the street? Of abstract men and women? I can make those.
2. I was a vegetarian for almost 12 years. I didn’t do it for ethical or moral reasons. It was a dare that got out of control.
3. One of my most prized possessions is an autographed photo of Mr. T. He was doing an event with Mary Lou Retton at Planet Hollywood. His brass knuckles spelled 1-800 CLCT. It took him three tries to get my name right.
4. My favorite flower? I love peonies. They are just beautiful. I love daisies too 🙂
5. My favorite book is Great Expectations by Charles Dickens. No, it is not French literature 🙂
6. My favorite words in the English language are dumpling and ampersand.
Ampersand is actually quite fascinating. Did you know it was once the 27th letter of the alphabet?!
7. All the countries I would most like to visit start with the letter “I”: Israel, Iceland, India, and Indonesia. It wasn’t intentional!
To my fellow perfume lovers.
As some of you may know, I have a bad perfume habit that rivals my bacon addiction. I have always loved perfume, but it wasn’t until this summer that I gave what I wore as much thought as what I ate and drank.
I knew in the lead-up to last summer that I wasn’t going to have a vacation this year. Traveling, preferably abroad, is one of the things that I look forward to the most each year. It was too sad to think that I would be spending my time squirreled away in the sub-basement of my university library instead.
So, I thought, if I couldn’t physically travel, maybe I could travel through perfume. I dug out all the decants and samples that I have accumulated over years and wore them all this summer. I went to fragrant India, filled with incense and spices. I traveled to jungles bursting with lush foliage, coconuts, and hot, sweaty tropical flowers. I even went to space with more abstract and futuristic scents.
In the process, I learned so much and met so many wonderful perfume bloggers along the way.
A special thanks goes to Birgit at Olfactoria’s Travels, Victoria at Bois de Jasmin, Undina at Undina’s Looking Glass, The Candy Perfume Boy, The Black Narcissus, Freddie at Smellythoughts, Lucas at Chemist in a Bottle, Lanier at Scents Memory, Portia at Australian Perfume Junkies, The Alembicated Genie, The Scented Hound, and Ari at Scents of Self.
Thank you all for writing so well that I couldn’t help but join the conversation 🙂
To everyone:
As I am spending the new year back home with my parents and brothers in Indiana, it is only fitting to send off 2012 with Straight No Chaser‘s version of Auld Lang Syne.
Here’s to new adventures in 2013!
coolcookstyle 