Archive for crêpes

a journal of the cha(ca)os (and fig) year

Posted in Books, Kids, Mountains, pictures, Travel, Wines with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on October 1, 2025 by xi'an

 Read the last part of The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet by David Mitchell, which still  takes place in the early 1800’s at the Dutch East India Company trading post Dejima in Nagasaki, as the historical aspects—like the attempt by a British ship to take over the outpost—beat the weakest features of the story. The end does feel rushed.

I made my first attempt at a chocolate tablet by mixing the cocoa—cacao in French—paste (kako in Créole) I brought back from Guadeloupe—made from the cocoa seeds I had bought at the market, roasting and crushing them—with crushed biscuits and a tiny bit of butter. The result was keeping with the bitter chocolate flavour I enjoy in 100% cocoa tablets, if presumably richer in fat and sugar, and more on the chocolate biscuit side! As the fig tree is now delivering at full speed, I am making compotes and office deliveries on most days, along with picking great tomatoes (which survived the heat waves) and the second chili pepper that grew from the chili tree this summer—sadly so low on the Scoville scale that it didn’t much differ from the peppers that also grew there—. In a bountiful year, the only failure was the buckwheat attempt, since no single flower came to deliver. Expert advice is thus sought for next year! This did not prevent me from resuming cooking whey (from skyr) and buckwheat, rye, or chestnut crêpes (on the Amazon iron griddle that no longer sticks!).

Watched and enjoyed the series Dept. Q, a gritty, depressing, and engrossing detective story that mixes cold cases, domestic violence, PTSD, sexism, several levels of guilt, and a variety of Scottish accents, from Edinburgh to the Western Isles. Despite the captivity thread in the scenario that I always dislike as a weak option in this kind of story, albeit making more sense as the episodes unfold. The grey areas surrounding most characters keeps the series at quite an acceptable level of engagement, as does the range of personalities thus displayed. This includes most victims that could have fallen into the poor-dear trap, but remain ambiguous and equally guilty to maintain the balance. Looking forward new seasons (not in the Scottish sense, where most days usually cover all four of them!). Also watched the second season of Wednesday, enjoyable enough if on the light and repetitive side. With Jenna Ortega still running the show, along with a stronger presence of Catherine Zeta-Jones. Just missing the Cramps moment of Season 1!

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a journal of the sargaço year

Posted in Books, Kids, Mountains, pictures, Travel, Wines with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on September 5, 2025 by xi'an

Read my pile of vacation books before the vacations were over! Apart from Choice, reviewed in a separate post, they were quite a disapointment. A Day of Fallen Night by Samantha Shannon (also bought in Seattle last year) is a sequel to the Priory of the Orange Tree that I read by Lac Saint-Jean, Québec (that I enjoyed enough to buy this one). A very poor sequel then, where I could find but little appeal in the story. There are too many similarities with the literature, plus inspiration from Earth cultures like the Vikings’ and Japan. The actions and reasonings of the main characters are at times disputable, incl. what they consider as their duties to the Realm or to their religion (eg. duty pregnancies). The hugely predictable romantic developments are taking for ever, while the overall scenario is weak and unrealistic (even conditional on the local universe). As in other poor fantasy novels, the characters travel huge distances at times of upheavals of a cosmic scale, can indulge in fancy meals while the society is collapsing, uncover super-powers at times of need, and meet at the perfect moment to save the day (of fallen night!). In addition, the cosmogony of the local universe is poorly constructed, with different creeds conflicting. A single redeeming if idiosyncratic factor is the skills of Dumai in ice climbing and mountaineering, where she lost a few fingers… The second book was a trilogy, La Dame de Reykjavik (the Hulda series) by Ragnar Jonasson, that I bought because of high praises, a fascination for Iceland and a well-made book. Quite disappointing, with a poor and unrealistic scenario, and unbelievable attitude of a senior inspector. The hints are heavy, the flashbacks unceasing, and the constant whining of the main character unbearable. No to mention the heavy infodumps about Iceland’s landscape and history. Another novel surfing (or attempting to) the Icelandic noir fad. The second and third novels are even worse, recycling the same story by moving backward and further backward in time. Hard to believe they received so many awards! The last one is Petites boîtes by Ogawa Yoko (小箱) whose earlier work I also enjoyed, but this one is a surrealist non-story about an alternative Japan where all kids died and parents honour them by maintaining memory boxes à la Joseph Cornell (who also inspired a character within Gibbson’s Neuromancer). The short book consists of the description of the fantastic life of the narrator’s small town, with no plot whatsoever. And no lasting impression.

Made a purée from one breadfruit, which grows extensively in Guadeloupe. A nice taste close to potatoes with a nuttier flavour. Also made lots of (local) tuna ceviche, ideal for cold meals, and mango purées, taking advantage of the mango tree in the garden of my daughter’s rental. Even brought back a frozen jar of the purée (along with the massive avocados that grow on the island and a few of the local bananas). Tasted a fantastic cassava crêpe, much crunchier than the buckwheat and tef galettes I am used to. (Meanwhile my attempt at growing buckwheat at home failed for the second time, despite constant irrigation…) And a bokit, a local taco with fried bread that is definitely not to be tried more than once for its fat and salt contents, if predictably enjoyable for the same reasons! And many versions of accras.

 

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a journal of the perpetual chaos year

Posted in Books, Kids, Mountains, pictures, Travel, Wines with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on May 8, 2025 by xi'an

 Reading  Stormlight Archives, by (Mistborn author)  Brandon Sanderson, now (only) halfway, despite finishing the first two books, The Way of Kings and Words of Radiance! with 1264 pages of Oathbringer to go. The second volume is the best so far, except for the final pages that (alas!) announce a very different perspective for the next book. Keeping up with the Wheel of Time tradition (!), the storyline gets much longer and fragmented than necessary with second, third, and fourth level characters that are mostly proxy for infodumps. And repeated descriptions of banquets and meals. The devising of the local universe is interesting in its geography and climatology (with some aspects reminding me of Damasio’s Horde du Contrevent), while the cosmogony is (overly?) complex, but the overgrown role of a very few characters (another common feature in the fantasy literature) is annoying.

Collected the last chrosnes (Chinese artichokes) from my garden and panned them straight away, cleaning the spot for potatoes and tomatoes (and another attempt at growing chili peppers). Kept making roasted almond (before tariffs hit!, as they are already getting harder to find), cashew,  peanut, and black sesame butters, more whey buckwheat and chickpea galettes (with a new twist to produce thinner crêpes, if not yet dosas), finding by sheer coïncidence that they qualify as Auvergne (Central France) bourriols!, and non-stop radish salads (picado de rabano) from a recipe I brought back from New York. Did not have much of a culinary experience while visiting Avignon for a weekend, even though the main reason was to recover our 2000 Twingo that our daughter had used during her 18m internship in Marseilles’ hospitals, since she is heading back to the French West Indies for the next internship. Exploring the papal city and especially the papal palace (for the first time) was most pleasant, since they remain unscathed by wars and revolutions since their construction (besides the historical upgrades and downgrades along the centuries). The drive back to Paris in this 25yo car was smooth enough, except for the crash that happened just ahead of us,  due to a recklessly fast and tailgating car that ended up hitting another car. Everyone ended up safe, fortunately.

Watched the third season of The Wheel of Time, with some highs (in the Aiel waste and The Three Rivers) and many lows, like the demise of characters who had remained alive and central in the books. The role of the Forsaken is quite reduced when compared with these books. And the costumes are often ridiculous (witness Elaida’s dress!).

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a journal of the chaos⁺⁺⁺ year

Posted in Books, Kids, Mountains, pictures, Travel, Wines with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on February 25, 2025 by xi'an

Read a second volume of Caimh McDonnell’s first Dublin trilogy, The Day That Never Comes, which I found a huge disappointment, from mixing too many stories and situations to the slow pace of the scenario, to the annoying childishness of the main characters, to the tired jokes and idiosyncrasies, to the once again unrealistic conclusion. I am not contemplating going through the following tomes. I also read over a weekend the last volume of Pascale Quiviger’s Le Royaume de Pierre d’Angle, Courage, which concludes this (YA?) fantasy novel. A little disappointed by this very long volume, even more than little… Part of the story is very secondary, even useless, and we quickly get tired of the fights between Jacquard and Victoire, as well as of the mistreatment of the entire castle staff by both of them. The lack of realism of the Pierre d’Angle universe is even more glaring in this volume, because of its inability both to provide the resources of a court like Louis XIV’s and to hide rebel orders. The resolution of the Catastrophe is even more disappointing. Both simplistic and incomplete, with aspects remindful of Italo Calvino’s novels, but which don’t stick.

Cooked a huge cabbage curry for my week in Les Houches, with chickpeas whose water (aquafaba) I recycled into the base of a vegan chocolate mousse as earlier visitors had left a box of powdered cocoa in the flat. And cooked morning crêpes there  (with a vengeance!) when the local bakery did not accept credit card payments for a baguette! Also went to a farmers’ market near the workshop hotel to buy sourdough, only to find that the dozens of loaves in the hall were all reserved but for one. But came back with a wild thyme crêpe offered by the baker.

Watched The boy and the heron, a Miyazaki anime on a fantastic quest of an orphaned boy to find a place in his recompose family. The drawings are beautiful but I alas find the story rather simplistic, with the boy’s attitude difficult to analyse and no critical position on the ongoing war (despite the boy’s father’s factory producing domes for Zero fighters).

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ABC at sea and at war

Posted in Books, pictures, Statistics, Travel with tags , , , , , , , , , , , on July 18, 2017 by xi'an

While preparing crêpes at home yesterday night, I browsed through the  most recent issue of Significance and among many goodies, I spotted an article by McKay and co-authors discussing the simulation of a British vs. German naval battle from the First World War I had never heard of, the Battle of the Dogger Bank. The article was illustrated by a few historical pictures, but I quickly came across a more statistical description of the problem, which was not about creating wargames and alternate realities but rather inferring about the likelihood of the actual income, i.e., whether or not the naval battle outcome [which could be seen as a British victory, ending up with 0 to 1 sunk boat] was either a lucky strike or to be expected. And the method behind solving this question was indeed both Bayesian and ABC-esque! I did not read the longer paper by McKay et al. (hard to do while flipping crêpes!) but the description in Significance was clear enough to understand that the six summary statistics used in this ABC implementation were the number of shots, hits, and lost turrets for both sides. (The answer to the original question is that indeed the British fleet was lucky to keep all its boats afloat. But it is also unlikely another score would have changed the outcome of WWI.) [As I found in this other history paper, ABC seems quite popular in historical inference! And there is another completely unrelated arXived paper with main title The Fog of War…]

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