Petite Madeleine
Petite Madeleine, or simply madeleine, is a cake traditionally made in Commercy, a commune located in the Meuse département in north-eastern France. A madeleine cake is very small and shaped like a sea-shell. A Petite Madeleine has a buttery taste with a strong note of lemon. The recipe includes eggs, butter, flour, sugar, finely ground nuts, and vanilla. Almond is the most commonly used nut, but it is possible to use other nuts as well.
If you want to make you own madeleines, you will need a special madeleine pan with shell-shaped depressions. This type of pan can usually be found in stores specialising in kitchen equipment, especially in France where the madeleine cake is very popular.
According to the New Oxford American Dictionary, the Petite Madeleine was named after Madeleine Paulmier, a pastry cook active during the 1800s. In other sources, she cooked for Stanisław I Leszczyński, the King of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, in the 1700s. Leszczyński’s son-in-law was Louis XV of France, who allegedly named the cakes after her.
On Europe Day in 2006, the madeleine cake represented France in the Café Europe initiative. The madeleine cake is also famous for being a vital part of Marcel Proust’s “À la recherche du temps perdu”.
Add comment July 23, 2008 intheheadofsven
Being a wizard
Being a wizard might sound difficult, but the profession certainly has its perks. What about eternal life without any possibility of death? If that sounds appealing, it’s time for you to find the closest wizard school or work shop in your area and sign up. After all, why become an orthodontist when you can live forever?
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Vanilla vine and flowers
Just like all the other members of the genus Vanilla, Vanilla planifolia is a vine that needs a supporting structure to cling on. In the wild, it is typically found clinging onto trees in the forest. If provided with a tall enough structure, Vanilla vines can reach a length of over 35 meters.
Vanilla flowers appear in clusters. It is possible for a single cluster to contain over 100 flowers, but 10-20 flowers are much more common. The clusters are comparatively big; a single cluster can reach a length of over 15 centimetres. The flowers are creamy, white, greenish or even green.
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Goa
Goa is a popular tourist destination for Indians as well as foreigners, partly thanks to its wonderful beaches and myriad of water actives. Goa is the smallest state in India in terms of area but well known all over the world and the standard of living is comparatively high. Panaji is the state’s capital, but the largest city is Vasco da Gama (commonly known as Vasco).
Goa has taken advantage of its excellent location next to the Arabian Sea and is now welcoming hundreds of thousands of international and domestic tourists each year which contribute greatly to the local economy. If you feel like doing something else than basking in the sun, you can visit numerous temples and several examples of world heritage architecture during a vacation in Goa. Goa is also an important destination for eco-tourism and safaris. Being a part of the Western Ghats range, Goa offers remarkable biodiversity. The Western Ghats range has actually been classified as a biodiversity hotspot; a biogeographic region with a significant reservoir of biodiversity that is threatened with destruction.
The climate in Goa is warm and humid and highly affected by the monsoon season. The monsoon season commences in early June and heavy rains can be expected between June and late September. The warmest month of the year is May when the day temperature often exceeds 35 °C (95 °F). If you want to visit Goa when it is comparatively cool and without any monsoon rains, arrive in mid-December and stay until February. During this period of the year, the night temperatures can drop down to 20 °C (68 °F) or even lower. During the days, you can expect the temperature to stay around 29 °C (84 °F).
Add comment July 23, 2008 intheheadofsven
