Of fish and chocolate.

[veek]

Today I went to the supermarket which will be the closest to my house once I move to Providence. It was pleasing to discover that I'd misremembered it completely; it's not at all dismal, and even the produce is quite good. So, hooray!

Salmon heads in the fish section caught my attention, and so fish soup night it was. Simple - fish, potatoes, carrots, spices, an onion, lots of parsley. It was smelling yummy already when we put in the tape of Chocolat.


About forty minutes into the film, the soup was done. It tasted a bit bland, so I adjusted the seasoning and let it sit for a while.

By the time the movie was done, the soup smelled pretty good. But somehow, it was... prosaic.

What, you thought this would be a movie review? Nah. It just reminded me of living sensually. Using all of the senses. Eating very small quantities of incredible chocolate. Cooking small amounts of fish - say, just one fish - with minute precision. Smelling the flowers. (This last one is, alas, more difficult this side of the Atlantic ocean.) Being floored by heavenly music made by artists I like. Turning my face up at the sun, and smiling at the droplets of rain hitting my closed eyelids. Driving carefully, but at high speeds. The springy texture of that large, pellet-like couscous they sell at the whole foods stores. Luscious strawberries. Shhht as my feet hit the ground. The sight of those beautiful broad shoulders I'm seeing for the first and likely last time.

I think I'd like to get a hold of some cacao beans and make chocolate from scratch. Wonder how that would feel.

Comments

[tablesaw]

It looks pretty difficult, unfortunately.

[veek.livejournal.com]

You know, of all the people I know you were the least likely person in my mind to act as a bucket of cold water.

For the record, and for anyone else who reads it: Yes. I know it's difficult. That is so incredibly not the point.

[tablesaw]

http://shop.store.yahoo.com/childsake/20407.html

[belochka.livejournal.com]

good to see you back

[kizlj.livejournal.com]

Mmm, yay good evening :)

I've tried soup without stock before, with little success. Either it's an acquired taste or I'm doing it wrong. I've taken to using chicken or veggie stock as the base for just about all my soups, even those that call for water instead.

[infinitehotel.livejournal.com]

I've looked into this myself, especially since I tried some of the flavors that Dolfin chocolates is starting to import to the States. Earl Grey Tea chocolate, chocolate with ginger, chocolate with peppercorns. It seems like a cool idea.
I talked with the resident tribal chocolatier (is there any surprise that there's a resident tribal chocolatier? I didn't think so...) and he's been interested for a long time, but is still investigating the possibilities of a conching machine so as to make a professional level product. If pro-quality is less important than the process of going from bean to bar, then his opinion was difficult, but hardly impossible. I say go for it and invite me over when you have something to taste. :)

[syarzhuk.livejournal.com]

Where in providence are you gonna live? I hopefully will move back there in September or October...

[veek.livejournal.com]

On Doyle Ave., not far from Hope High School - if you know where the local Y is, that's the corner of Doyle and Hope. I'll be a couple of blocks away from the Y.

Hey, you're from Minsk! I've relatives there, and was born in Kishinev. And haven't been able to find a What?Where?When? anywhere. :) (Then again, I don't have Russian TV. Sigh! That's one of the programs I miss most!)

[syarzhuk.livejournal.com]

Couple blocks - towards Morris or towards Camp? Camp street has a bad rap about it, you know. Although, my coworker lives on Carrington which is a block away from Camp (and Doyle) and he said it's better than people say it is.
As for W?W?W?, go to http://groups.yahoo.com/group/chgk-boston/
and sign up. We typically play once every two weeks. Summer was quiet, but we will resume it *very* soon.

[veek.livejournal.com]

Alas, I will not have time for a regular W?W?W? meeting. This next year is going to be busy, and I can't commit to a regular thing even once every two weeks. Sigh.

A couple of blocks... er, downhill from the Y, toward Hope. Before you get to the blinking yellow. Don't know what the cross street is - I'll be very close to the laundromat, pizza place and Chinese place. Having lived in Queens, NY, I tend to have my own ideas as to which areas are good to live in, and that one looks pretty nice.