Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Seasonality





Low sky days and the comfort of a croquet à la cannelle with tea. I used to hear people speak with incomprehension about how Americans put cinnamon in EVERYTHING, but I've been seeing it around more often. Even cinnamon and spice tea is considered more palatable here if it is called Thé des amants, lover's tea....

5 comments:

  1. Years ago, when I first came to America as a visitor cinnamon's use was very marked - even in toothpaste, which seemed so bizarre to me. I remember remarking to a friend that it seemed to be the American spice, so popular was it. We Brits, as I was then, used cinnamon but mostly as warm background in spice mixtures for fruit cakes and plum puddings. Nutmeg was and remains, in in my mind at least, the English spice. Nowadays, I find it mildly depressing to find such a thing as cinnamon ice-cream on a menu. I don't actively dislike the spice, but I find most of its uses crude and overpowering.

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  2. It can be terribly overpowering!
    Here where cinnamon is not such a common spice, it is a warm reminder of days past in Grandmother‘s kitchen. In cold weather, I love a steaming cup of spicy tea to make the season what I'd like it to be. It is a not so subtle, but sincere substitute for lime blossom tea to dunk my madeleine.

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  3. Not being an expat (except if one counts being held hostage in Kansas vs Oklahoma), I adore cinnamon, particularly the Vietnamese style which has a bit more sweet and a whole lotta' heat. Sorry Blue does not have affection for cinnamon. I have to tell you: hot apple pie with cinnamon ice cream is not an undelightful way to spend some calories. Which, by the way le style, do you celebrate Thanksgiving in Paris?

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  4. i might be too american,
    even for my own comfort zone.
    i LOVE cinnamon.

    xxxx

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  5. HbD: The Vietnamese way sounds interesting. It's used nicely in Lebanese cuisine too. In my family, we do have a Franco-American Thanksgiving. Of course, it isn't a holiday here which makes preparing the meal more difficult. I have trained my husband to like cinnamon but it took a good number of years. Cinnamon tea is still not his cup of ... no matter if my brand calls it lover's tea!

    Renée: That's why I'm nostalgic about it!

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