Sunday smiles...

Per general request LOL!, I found this bit of info in English on Chocolateandzucchini. Not that I didn't want to describe the taste of the coussin to you, but well, English is my third language and sometimes word fail. Here is a nice description of it. Mind you, there is a very old history tradition and story behind the coussin, but once more, I can't venture into it in English, pout, pout...

Invented in 1960 and solely produced by the chocolate maker Voisin, this sweet confection is shaped like a plump little pillow, in reference to the historical silk manufactures of Lyon. When you bite into it your teeth first meet the slight resistance of a crusty marzipan casing, twinkling with tiny grains of candi sugar (sugar that's been melted into a syrup then slowly crystallized), before they delve into a tender heart of moussy chocolate ganache, subtly flavored with curaçao. I am normally adamantly opposed to liquor in my chocolate, but this one is not at all boozy, and the faint hint of alcohol brings aromatic depth to the overall sweetness.

All I'll add is that it tastes HEAVENLY!! I visited Voisin's webpage this week... oh my, he makes more specialties... Dare I ever mention to Ela the quenelle? I daren't! :) One day, I'd love to try it though. But then I could spend my life, day and night, in a French pâtisserie as well.

I am a food lover and a huge part of the fun when traveling is to discover local goodies. On that topic, local and original sometimes means very good. When I "met" H., he ate no cheese apart the regular yellow hard cheese found in Norway, not that I think it's not tasty, but... I was brought up in a French speaking country and bathed in the French culture since being 4 years old. I was used to the extensive range of cheese you find in francophone countries. During our first period together, H. used to ask "do we have to?..." each time I placed a piece of cheese in the shopping basket. The range of vegetables he ate was also limited... so was alcohol. Soon, he came to visit my family here in Poland and my brother in Switzerland. And stay after stay, he started loving good cheese. I still remember the first after-dinners at my brother's, when H. was sitting at the table with an uneasy look, his eyes begging me to help him avoid the cheese. Now, he surprises me with buying fancy cheese once in a while in Norway :) And then I'll mention a year ago, when I flew back from Geneva after a week's visit at my brother. I asked H. what he'd like me to bring, and he mentioned cheese and wine. So I prepared a little surprise.... I borrowed an extra suitcase from my brother and brought 14 kgs of different Swiss and French cheese. Yup, fourteen kilograms that was. I was only hoping for the best so the customs doesn't ask me to open the suitcase, because if you know these cheeses, you know they can smell outrageously, even though they taste sooooo good. Making H. eat vegetables more is a different story, because in Norway, they are so very expensive and often not of the best quality if you don't know where to buy them, plus he doesn't like a lot of what I like... but I have my victories here as well :)

Have I ever shown this pre-summer finish? I can't remember, but I found it yesterday and thought this should go to the framer in priority. I replaced the Mildred Larson word with H.'s abbreviated address. When I received this Blackbird Designs kit, I wasn't sure I like the color of the fabric, too mustard, I thought. But as it is the case with most BD charts, the thread colors play in an unusual way on the fabric... I love this finish.

As I intend to do more sorting in my stash and a lot of nothing still (Monday might bring its usuall toll of work), I'll leave you with this picture I like revisiting a lot. It is a spot at the end of a frequent doggie walk in Norway. I first walk till the train station, then a side path to a small lake, then a shadowed path in the woods... which ten ends where this picture shows, very close to the train line. Not sure why, but I love 'meeting' the train, which doesn't happen to often, since they circulate about twice an hour during daytime (the local tog, the fast one to Sweden, I am unsure of its timetable). It is also a spot where light plays beautifully on the nature around. Ah, I so miss Norway. Does it miss me?