I’ve long been intrigued by the lure of tonka beans, and given that they are off limits in the US thanks to the FDA its a clear cut case of desiring what you cannot have. I mean any spice described as tasting and smelling like a heady combination of vanilla, almonds, cinnamon and cloves...
Wandering around the Cancun airport, struggling to find a way to spend my last pesos on some worthy souvenir that would stretch the memories of my time with family in Isla Mujeures, I kept coming face to face with bottles of Mexican vanilla next to the sombreros and colorful rain sticks. While I did...
San Francisco has always generously spread the love when it came to the delightful discoveries developed within its boundaries; take sour dough bread, Mission style burritos, Rice-A-Roni (ok, that may be debated). But a few things its kept close to its chest. Things like oh, Playland at the Beach and It’s-Its. Never heard of...
I’ve never been to Syria, and I can’t say I’ve always wanted to visit. For years, I’ve heard of the political situation, and understood this was not a place for me . However recently, I’ve come to view Syria as a culinary Shangri-La. I’ll give you the three signs that caused me to revaluate...
One fortuitous discovery for me was that I learned I like dates. Wait!… make that I L-O-V-E dates! You see before sampling the fresh succulent varieties available to me in California, I associated dates with that desiccated stuff that ended up in my tapioca pudding and annoyingly clung to my teeth. It was sticky...
I had no plans to write about my experience at the Fancy Food Show that recently took place in San Francisco; I intended to incorporate what I discovered in future posts, but after receiving many requests to identify what I tried, I reconsidered. After all, is not food something of an ambassador of a...
Halloween is fast approaching. I know because I just spent a few days with my niece and I got the details on this much anticipated holiday from her costume (a garden fairy) to the fact that old people do not wear costumes (she’s four). She informed me of this sad fact when I asked...
These past few years my hubby and I have gone our separate ways on vacation, not for any specific reason, just a divergence in what appealed to each of us. My husband has been passionate about surfing for as long as I’ve known him, and I love that my hubby takes these surfing trips...
Altoids have been around forever, at least in candy years; more than 200 years now to be precise. Produced by Callard & Bower-Suchard in Great Britain, Altoids have a long and storied tradition. History In the late 1780′s, during the rule of King George III in England, a confectionary company called Smith & Company...
When I was in Singapore, I had a few encounters that reminded me why I love to travel, finding instances that were not typical for me in the US. One was finding a ban on chewing gum, coupled with the fact that the sidewalks were blessedly free of those ugly black, sticky spots that...
