I’m not the sort of female to torment a respectable man…but I must get to el Bulli, before they close.

Waiting to complete the final chapter of my book on the ultimate culinary experiences – a delicious journey of places, people, and ingredients that is all a culmination of satiating a Foodies need for great food. These experiences range from simple fare to complex Michelin star dishes.

Like anyone looking for the ultimate thrill and satisfaction in all experiences, I’m looking to reach the ultimate O in the culinary experiences I’ve had to complete the G-spot which is to land on shelves Sept 9, 2011. This has to be and evening, leading to a late night all around a 6 to 9 course meal at El Bulli.

Here’s hoping Senor Adria will see me to the finish. And, before he takes his hiatus from El Bulli while he further studies and refines “molecular cuisine”.

French Antique Monogram Bed LinensThere are three things I love to do in bed; sleep, eat, and smile. All three involves a plush existence on top, in between and all-round something French, refined, rich and yes I will admit, old.

I collect a few things; old English china, cuff-links (which includes a stunning sterling one from the 70’s that was owned by Hugh Hefner), and vintage French textiles.

My passion for vintage linens comes from the sheer beauty in the softness and texture of the fabric and the intriguing shades of beautifully aged patina in good vintage linen. Exceptional quality French linen ages like no other. My heart races at the mention of French linens which are my favourite, followed by Belgian linens.

Like wine and cheese, good linen grows better with age. The fabric becomes softer and more refined with age, it feels like what could be 2000 thread count or more…and in this finess I love to sprawl nibbling on…some decadent treat, or even my simple bowl of frosted flakes. Amongst the cool French sheets its heaven.

There is nothing quite the feel of cool linen. In any season it brings a sense of luxury, especially mixing different textures. Mixing delicate light linen voile….with a damask, creates a luxurious, and tranquil romantic feel.

The natural texture of linen lends itself to faded pattern and soft colour and with age the look and feel is simply stunning.

My job includes a lot of travelling. A lot of traveling equals; many hotels, and many continental breakfasts; free with stay. And of course being a Foodie, I have my standards.

At every hotel, the norm of; white bread, make-it-yourself waffles, aging cereal, ect, was served. They also had a suspicious greyish paste in a crock pot with a picture of a smiling Quaker man in front. A meagre attempt at oatmeal I believe. And of course the standard O.J. and apple juice. Then there were the hotel’s offering more than just the glue croissants, they included; cinnamon buns, scones, scrambled eggs, pre-heated crispy bacon, French toast. The food is made good enough to have minimal complaints to management but nothing to ohh and ahh about.

The ohhh and ahhhs comes not from the fake eggs, and processed fare provided. It does not necessarily have to come from molecular cuisine. However the use of just good plain food as Mother Nature intended would have more than sufficed. Fresh eggs, oatmeal not sitting in a pot for hours(or from the day before) whole wheat bread, would be a good start. All it takes is to keep it fresh and real.

Happy New Year.

As we embark on a New Year, I only have a few goals:

laugh, play, eat well, make time to connect with people.

I wish you a happy, safe and indulgent New Year.

“Bis vivit qui bene vivit.” He lives twice who lives,well. (and eats, well)

Today I finally ventured into one of my favourite places the Royal Ontario Museum (favourite now that they’ve hired my daughter, alleviating some of my financial burden by giving her employment).

My daughter is an Executive Finance Minister (the shorter title for her line of work is Cashier) at the Food Studio. Craving some quality time with my baby and needing lunch I decided to manage both in one.

There’s an intoxicating scent of fast food when one is starved, it all smells so good. Despite the lure of the perfectly shaped pizza with cheese, I choose the butternut squash soup one of my favourites.

Sadly it was a disappointment. How could anyone go wrong with butternut squash soup it’s one of the easiest to make? Especially an establishment that charges $2 for an apple? The soup was water thin, tasteless and had no texture. Had they not heard of chicken stock?

As I left the museum I finally found my daughter who directed me to her manager who apologized for the tasteless soup and remedied the matter by offering me replacement macaroni and cheese, which was surprisingly very delicious, which anything would be after the tasteless soup.

The most important part of the trip though was to spend quality time with my daughter. Done.

She can’t clean her room but she goes to work everyday half an hour early to make minimum wage.

I love everything about Christmas morning! So much in fact that Christmas morning for me starts the night before. Whether I’m making my pastry for my incredible Stilton Quiche that I only bake on Christmas morning, or getting pure cocoa from Jamaica prepped for Coco Tea (made from the actual cocoa bean in raw form).

This Christmas breakfast I added side bacon to the Stilton quiche and made home made scones. They were so good!
What made them priceless was that they were home made. Not from-a-box home made, from-scratch home made. As with all hand made products it’s the flaws that make it endearing. I used heavy cream and tripled the required butter (a slight mistake from misreading the line on the butter marker), however the result was heaven. They were little dollops of heaven. Steaming from the oven, we devoured them with double English cream and raspberry plum jam.