Mar

Memorable Moments: Key Ingredients

by Your friends at OIC on March 26, 2018

Just some of the foods we flip for.
© iStock

One of the many delights of exploring new places and experiencing different cultures is exploring and experiencing new and different foods, or even well know foods in new and different ways! Whatever your reaction, there is no denying that the very act of tasting something for the first time is an “Oh, I see!” moment maker. So while we let our bloggers catch their breath and enjoy a home-cooked meal before they head out on their next batch of adventures, we thought it would be deliciously fun to stir up some of our favorite food posts from the past.

Today’s menu of posts explores some exotic, nutritious, and versatile eats that have hit the spot over the years. Whether this is your first taste, or you’re coming back for seconds as we are, get ready to feed your mind, and more. Bon appétit!

Kale . . . as far as the eye can see.
© Tom Brakefield/Stockbyte

The Kale Project

Kristen Beddard’s Kale Project brought the “forgotten vegetable” back to Paris proving that one person’s life-changing experiences CAN make a difference. This post also includes a free download of recipes! Go to the post.

Spread out on the floor, a pile of indigenous corn is ready for use in making corn tortillas, a food connected to Mexico's cultural heritage and traditions. (Image © Gabriela Díaz Cortez)

Ears of corn, soon to become tasty tortillas
© Gabriela Díaz Cortez

The Corn Tortilla: A Mexican Superhero

Corn tortillas play an invaluable role, like a food superhero, in Mexico’s cultural heritage and tradition. They enrich cuisine, community, history, homeland, and daily existence. Go to the post.

a single banana, representing cultural encounters and uses of bananas around the world (Photo © Meredith Mullins)

The multi-talented banana
© Meredith Mullins

Going Bananas: Uses for Bananas Around the World

Cultural encounters with bananas are frequent, since this fruit is one of the most consumed foods in the world and the uses of bananas are far reaching. Go to the post.

For more tasty treats, try entering “food” in the search bar to the left!. And to find a new “Oh, I see!” moment every week in your inbox, take this opportunity to subscribe.

Comment on this post below, or inspire insight with your own OIC Moment here.

Your friends at OIC Comments

The World's Chefs

Jan

Memorable Moments: Favorite Paris Pop-Ins

by Your friends at OIC on January 29, 2018

When is it not a good time to drop in on Paris?
© iStock

One of the things that truly marks an “Oh, I see!” moment is that it stays with you, long after the moment itself has passed. So while we give our bloggers a chance to repack their suitcases and chart the courses for their next set of experiences and adventures, we thought it would be fun to look back at some posts from the past that have really stuck with us.

In this set, we take a look back at a few of our favorite Paris haunts. Whether you’re experiencing them for the first time, or revisiting them as we are, the discoveries and insights abound. Enjoy!

Lighting of the candle at the Chambres des Notaires auction by the candle, a Paris cultural experience that mixes old with new.

Paris auction “by the candle”
© Meredith Mullins

A Paris Cultural Experience: Auctions by Candle

The “vente à la bougie” (sale by the candle) dates from the 15th century, where waiting for the candle to burn out after each bid was meant to give everyone a fair chance at thoughtful buying. Today, it remains a charming tradition . . . and adds a certain elegant (and humorous!) quality to the auction. Go to the post.

Boy in blue shirt patting cat: Living a Happier Life at the Cat Cafe in Paris (Photo © Meredith Mullins)

The Cat Café: A place to have a pet of your own for an afternoon (Meet Marguerite)
© Meredith Mullins

The Cat Café: A Purrfect Paris Place to Pause

Margaux Gandelon, the owner of Le Café des Chats, envisioned a place where people could come and relax with a range of cat personalities—where stroking your favorite cat or engaging in cat play or just having a lap cat for a few hours could add to your day. Go to the post.

Creative inspiration from Shakespeare and Company, a Paris bookstore

Shakespeare and Company Bookstore in Paris
© Meredith Mullins

Creative Inspiration in a Paris Bookstore

Opened in in 1951, Shakespeare and Company soon became a literary haven and creative inspiration for some of the best expat and visiting writers of the time, including Lawrence Durrell, Samuel Beckett, Allen Ginsberg, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, William Burroughs, Jack Kerouac, Gregory Corso, Anaïs Nin, Henry Miller, and James Baldwin. Go to the post.

To keep the Paris tidbits and treasures coming, try entering “Paris” in the search bar to the left! And to find a new “Oh, I see!” moment every week in your inbox, take this opportunity to subscribe.

Comment on this post below, or inspire insight with your own OIC Moment here.

Your friends at OIC 1 Comment

France (Paris)

Dec

Aha Moment Maker: Battle of the Bubbly

by Your friends at OIC on December 28, 2013

CHAMPAGNE, 1668—A Benedictine monk named Dom Pierre Pérignon arrived at the Abbey of Hautvillers near Épernay. His tenure as the cellar master for the abbey’s prized wines began with a challenging assignment.

It seems that unexpected cold snaps in the fall when the wine was bottled had temporarily halted the fermentation of the wine. When temperatures warmed in the spring, the vintage began to ferment for a second time, producing excess carbon dioxide and giving the liquid inside a fizzy quality.

Not only was fizzy wine considered poor winemaking, but bottles in the cellar kept exploding. Dom Pierre Pérignon’s assignment was to correct the situation.

Over time, however, affinity for the fizzy wine grew. By 1697, Dom Pérignon had reversed course and brought the bubbles back. He learned from the weather-induced mistake and employed a second fermentation to develop the “French Method,” which is still used today to make champagne. As a result, Dom Pérignon became known as the father of champagne.

His paternal status was challenged, however, by a British winemaker’s discovery in the 1990s of a paper presented by Gloucester doctor Christopher Merret in 1662 (six years before Dom Pérignon arrived at the Abbey). It detailed experiments to create a bubbly wine, and included a recipe that resembles modern-day champagne.

The result is an ongoing debate across the English channel, and it’s not likely to fizzle out anytime soon.

What’s the aha moment you see?

Your friends at OIC Comments

Your Own Aha Moments

World Views:

Topics

Author Archives: Your friends at OIC