Chocolate Letter Research continued

 I have been ‘down for the count’ this week with a hacking cough, sniffles & classic cold symptoms. No Covid fortunately 🙏

I forgot to eat my daily full-proof winter elixir - pomegranate seeds. 

On the roads of Samarkand, l’Institute du Monde Arabe

 

On Tuesday I finally went to see On The Roads to Samarkand at Institute du Monde Arabe

Which is exactly a 5-minute walk from my house.

First Day in Paris

What would you do on your first day in Paris?

I'll be there next Monday! Normally I'm not a plan-ahead kind of person, but it does seem only right to start off the day with some macarons.

I'll stock up on pomegranates too. I don't want to catch any Parisien colds over there!
Plus a carton or two of Tropicana Gazpacho
to counter act all the macarons.
A bouquet of flowers seems like a good idea too.

I've rented a studio in the Marais, and not very far from the apartment is

my favorite lunch at L'As du Falafel,

I've mapped out the route Don't you love Google?

After lunch, I'll get a Parisien haircut natch.
This time I know where to go.
I better call today for an appointment.

A stop at any cafe is de rigeur...

One thing I don't plan on having in Paris is jet lag.
Getting up crazy early in New York has some advantages.

I plan on ending my first day with a tarte au citron.

If it's from Pierre Herme's.
That would be heaven.

Any other first day suggestions are welcome!

The Pomegranates have arrived!

The POMEGRANATES have arrived

Heavens!

It's only September for Gawd's sake

Usually they show up in time for Thankgiving tabletop decorations...

I fell in love with pomegranates in Venice about 4 years ago...
So romantic no?
But you don't have to go to Venice to get a pomie.
You can go to your unexciting Key Foods market!
They were mad for pomegranates in the 17th century too.
And they didn't even know about flavanoids and antioxideants.

I saw this gorgeous painting by Saraceni at the 2003 Natura Morta exhibit in Florence.
These pomies are by Cristoforo Munari.
They are sitting beside quinces, which I have yet to try...
In the good old days pomegranetes were symbols of fertility and richness.
This relief is by da Firenze. I don't know why we had to wait 500+ years to wake up to the power of pomegranates?
I woke up 4 years ago and now I never get a winter cold,
as long as I down a few seeds (arils) daily.
My family used to say a blessing over the first fruit of spring.
Well I'm saying a blessing over Fall's first pomegranates.
While my co-workers are sniffling and snuffling, I will be cold-free thanks to the all-mighty Pom.

There's always pomegranate tea if you can't bear the thought of those seeds. Hmmm...I would love to know

why are there NO POMEGRANATE MACARONS?
Please get a pomegranate and try one!

Pomegranates 101

I was surprised to see pomegranates show up so early in my local market this year. Growing up, my mother tempted my sister and I with exotic fruits. Persimmons, litchi nuts, qumquats and pomegranates. We rejected her offerings with distain - tongues sticking out. No way!

I ate Campbell's Manhattan Clam Chowder for lunch every day religiously. 

Venice brought pomegranates back into my life. In October '02 I noticed poms in the Bologna street markets. I was surprised - it seemed early in the season for pomegranates. Later in Venice , I found boxes of pomegranates in the Rialto market. They were yellowy-red, not the candy-apple 🍎 red you see in the US and much smaller. Size isn't an issue over there. I bought one to paint back in my room and it sat over my bed for a week. I never got around to painting it. It's picture hangs on my kitchen cabinet as a reminder of Venice.Remember the power of the complimentary colors RED + GREEN and their subliminal effect at Cafe de Flore?  Anyway my local greengrocer on 31st street puts his red pommies next to the green grapes and pears.I found a Moroccan pom in Paris before I went to Arts in Provence to paint pink villages. Every morning I would get up and paint that pomegranate sitting on my window sill - more fun than the pink villages.

This post is a HEALTH REPORT. These days pomegranates are supposed to cure cancer, Alzheimer's, old age and stop terrorism in it's tracks. I can't say about that, but I have another theory and this one I've put into practice. Since my Venice encounter with the pomegranate 4 years ago, I noticed that if I eat them all winter long I don't catch colds or flue. This is the honest truth!

Ask my sneezing, sniffling co-workers or any NYC strap-hangers I encountered last year. For whatever reason pomegranates do protect against winter cold germs. But soon as I stop eating the magic seeds my protection is lost. Last year I went to Chinatown and loaded up. I put the seeds in freezer bags - almost as an experiment. But it worked! Just a few tablespoons of seeds a day will do. AND DON'T CHEW! It's 4 years I've been on this regime. BTW I just eat the seeds plain. No fancy stuff. Drinking the juice doesn't work for me. It was years before I tried my mother's pomegranates, but now every winter morning I eat them religiously. The Campbell's Clam Chowder is long gone from my menu. Thanks Mom