We have already had two good frosts here in the DC area, which means the end of any sort of crops that are at all fleshy or otherwise delicate and full of water. I was able to get the last of the jalapenos and a handful of basil before the frost came and ruined it but was sad because of this harbinger of the coming winter. Winter was one of the two seasons we had in Massachusetts when I was there (the other being “bad skiing”) and one of the reasons I had to come back south, or closer to it. My people aren’t made to handle that kind of weather! At least here in northern Virginia the weather is not terrible most of the time and my years up north prepared me for how to deal with various inclemencies. Also, I have some of these peppers to pickle, which will put some fire in my belly throughout the winter and give me the feeling of warmth, if not the actual thing.
How is your garden faring in the weather where you are?
You know by now that I am a sucker for candy photography, if you will excuse the pun. Well, as you might guess, I am a big lover of candy as well. Especially coffee candy. I fell in love with coffee candy when I was in Thailand with my friend Phramaha Nattapong, the monk you have heard me mention before. It turns out that small candies like this are okay for monks to consume even during the times they are supposed to abstain from eating food – from noon until the next morning. Why? I don’t know.
But now I have a problem. You have likely read about the melamine problem in Chinese milk. Well, these coffee candies I bought not so long ago are made in Southeast Asia and very well could contain Chinese milk. How can I know for sure?
I have three bags and now face the dilemma of deciding whether to keep them and take the chance or else simply throw them out when I am done photographing them. In the meantime, I feel like I should curse American tastes and sensibilities. If these were more popular, American confectioners would make them with good, old-fashioned American milk.
Regardless, they will probably just go into the trash when I am thoroughly done photographing them. The sweet, dark, deliciousness of these delights is no match for my love of good health. So adieu, sweet delectable candy. Our paths may not converge again for a while.
It’s that time of year again – time for the little ghosts and goblins to come knocking at your door and time to start stocking up on candy in anticipation of that. The king of candy, of course, is candy corn. People love this treat so much that it caused a recent controversy related to what the top of the candy corn is – the yellow or the white part?
Anyway, take a photo of your candy stash waiting to be doled out to the kids in your neighborhood, post a photograph to your Flickr account and link here so we can all see what you are giving out this year. After all, we have to plan our routes and wouldn’t want to miss your house!
Do you trick-or-treat? Go to Halloween parties? Take the kids out for candy collection? Tell us what costumes have caught your fancy this year!
Shantae came by a little while ago to be part of my tattoo storytelling project. She has a heavy death motif in her body art. Listen as she talks about the individual pieces and get the story behind the ink.
You can see more of her tattoos here.
Keep an eye out for part 2, coming soon.
Well, I missed moon cake season again this year, but as luck would have it, I am surrounded by Asian-type markets here in Northern Virginia. The lunar celebrations these delicacies are famous for are all harvest celebrations, so I figure these are good for the Halloween season as well, even if it is a month past the official time to eat them.
The ones I bought are filled with durian paste, so I can’t wait to try them. For some reason, though, they are remarkably scent-free, unlike durians in the wild. At least I acted within the first few months and was able to get a couple of these cakes to photograph. They seem to last forever, like the Chinese version of fruitcake, so I suppose I can photograph these for quite a while before eating them.
Technorati Tags: moon cake, Northern Virginia, lunar celebrations, harvest celebrations, Halloween, durian, Chinese, fruitcake
I found this Ipod yesterday on the street in front of my office building and couldn’t help pick it up so I could show people my treasure. Sure, it’s busted beyond hope but I figured perhaps somebody I knew could do something with it. Surely the owner was long gone.
I flipped it over and saw a name printed on the back and did a quick Facebook search and found the rightful owner, who said she had been looking for it everywhere.
Carly, I am sorry I can’t give you better news, but at least you know you can stop looking now. I think it would take a whole team of techies to do anything useful with it, but if you want it back, just let me know.