eat. live. travel. write. — My creative refuge from academia

California Road Trip 2010: Yosemite National Park

August 13, 2010

Moving on from Joshua Tree and Death Valley, we headed to Yosemite National Park. I have to say that, whilst the Joshua trees fascinated me with their oddness and Death Valley took my breath away with its weird and other-worldly nature, Yosemite stunned me with its beauty. The weather was (literally) a breath of fresh [...]

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California Road Trip 2010: Death Valley

August 11, 2010

After visiting Joshua Tree National Park, I didn’t think there could be a landscape more otherworldly. Well I was mistaken because some 6 hours later, pulling into Death Valley National Park (to the strains of The Police’s “Walking on the Moon” – Neil always has a soundtrack to match the occasion!), it was obvious that [...]

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California Road Trip 2010: Joshua Tree

August 9, 2010

Once we had successfully fed ourselves and negotiated our way out of LA, our first stop was Joshua Tree National Park. I am a bit embarrassed to admit this but I had never actually seen a picture of a Joshua tree until we came upon them in the park. They’re totally fascinating and strange and [...]

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Mactweets August: South Pacific macarons

August 7, 2010

This month’s Mactweets were a success on a couple of levels but on a couple of others, a bit of a #FAIL. Firstly, whilst they have turned into tropical, South Pacific-themed macs, they did not start their life as such. I had emailed Jamie to ask about the theme in advance since I knew I [...]

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Bon Appétit RSVP Redux August: Toffee Pecan and Peach Crisp

August 5, 2010

Now, you wouldn’t normally think of a crisp as being a summer dessert but as I write this from something like 6800 feet just outside Yosemite National Park, it sure feels like the perfect weather for it! This month for RSVP Redux (where bloggers recreate the dishes people have written to Bon Appétit magazine requesting [...]

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Summer’s heating up! A Canadian-only giveaway!

August 3, 2010

As we meander through the blistering heat of Death Valley today en route to Yosemite, I thought it was a fitting day to launch a sizzling hot summer giveaway – my first ever Canadian-only contest (sorry folks in other countries). You all know how much we love President’s Choice at ELTW, right? Well today I [...]

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A flying visit to Los Angeles

August 1, 2010

(photo courtesy of the Virgin America website) As you read this, Neil, my mum, dad and I are heading to Death Valley after spending some time in Joshua Tree. (NB: posts will come soon about the actual road trip!) We planned this ages ago as a way to meet up with my parents and whilst [...]

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Nadège Patisserie (Toronto)

July 30, 2010

Like the look of those? How about these? If you’re interested in seeing more and reading about a fourth generation French pastry chef who has worked with Pierre Hermé’s right hand man, head on over to Spotlight Toronto to read my profile of Nadège the café/bakery and the person. I spent a lovely afternoon chatting [...]

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