In Monet's Garden

As summer slides into autumn, I find myself thinking wistful thoughts about our lovely trip to France. One of the early and many high points of the trip was our visit to Monet's home and garden in Giverny, a destination we had been hankering after since the girls were very little. From a young age, the girls enjoyed reading about Linnea and her Giverny expedition. Plus we are regulars at the Impressionist galleries at the Art Institute of Chicago.

Color is clearly the dominant theme of the artist's homestead. The sunken living room with its tall windows and expansive wall space for paintings was very evocative. However, we loved the yellow room and the blue kitchen most of all. Using architectural means, these spaces bring Monet's feeling for color inside. Even the more sedate rooms have windows that look out over the garden. Edged with wood, each one frames the view like a picture. A wild contrast to the closely cropped landscapes we are accustomed to in Japan, Monet's property was an overgrown, exuberant outburst of growth. Laced with paths, the garden has some small lawns but it is the flowers that draw the eye. The management explains that this profusion may not have existed during Monet's time yet the slightly untamed nature of his property is probably pretty true to form.

Monet's famous foot bridge looked just as it does in his paintings but it did not really seem Japanese to us. Also, today the pond is separated from the rest of the garden by a road that was not extant during Monet's time. A tasteful underground passage connects the two halves but this is certainly not the way the artist experienced his domain.

After exploring the tiny town, we got back on the train and went to Rouen per a good friend's suggestion. What a charming spot with its half-timber buildings and medieval clock tower. We bought a small bag of caramel pearls at one of the local confectioners. Truly the best chocolates I have ever eaten in my life. Bar none. Hollow chocolate balls filled with creamy caramel inside and dusted with crunchy sugar granules on the outside. Regrettably, we did not discover their goodness until a day or two later when we were already back in Paris and those luscious taste treats were miles away. We did investigate the possibility of ordering but have yet to confirm whether they ship internationally. Sadly I do not even have a picture to show you. But I can take you on a tour of flowers from Monet's garden.

Ita Choco

Sadly, this past weekend was our last in Minakami. We had some fun times there but we just weren't using the house enough to warrant holding onto it. I will miss a number of things about those weekends, including those jaunts to Besia -- they were a real cultural experience. We rarely bought anything besides groceries. Yet each time I unearthed something weird or interesting to look at. Consequently, this last visit was kind of bittersweet for me.



My find-of-the-day on Saturday was Ita Choco, the latest from the folks over at Morinaga. I absolutely love the package graphics (especially the bold color scheme and the retro font) and the architectural metaphor (ita = board or plank) did not go unnoticed either. Pronounced "eat-a-choco," this name was surely someone's idea of bilingual fun.



As you can see, the concept is a bar of chocolate divided into hollow "boards." Instead of loading these compartments with caramel or nougat, each one is filled with vanilla-ish ice cream.



Regrettably, we mistakenly put the bar in the fridge when we got home. As a result, the ice cream was a bit runny and difficult to eat round robin style as we are wont to do but I am sure you get the picture.

Chocolate Covered Chips

If you appreciate a good, chocolate-covered pretzel, then you will relate to chocolate-covered potato chips. Same pairing of sweet & salty, crispy & creamy. But a bit greasy. While we do not indulge in the tuber treat often, we looked twice and purchased once when Ame Pote appeared on the shelves of the local grocer, Food Magazine. What first caught my eye was the product's curious name, a combination of the first syllables of "American" and "Potato". In typical Japanese style, the author simply lopped off the rest of the word. Adding graphic intrigue, "Ame" is written in Roman letters and "Pote" is written in Katagana, the Japanese syllabary designated for words of foreign origin and other aberrations. The plus sign? Your guess is as good as mine.

Then there is the packaging. I like the uber realistic, up close image of Ame Pote in a bowl. In addition to the row of stars framing the box edges, the snippet of Old Glory in one corner acknowledges the Oregon origin of the product's raw material, the "whiteround" potato. Maybe this is one of those heritage strains. Or maybe this is another example of creative English. There is even a little map on the side of the box locating Oregon within the lower 48.





The chips' appearance -- the chocolate napped ridges and the contrasting blond and brown surfaces -- is a feast for the eye. But the taste of Ame Pote was a disappointment: the potatoes were a touch too salty and the chocolate a tad too waxy. Below is a picture of Ame Pote's sister snack food: sweet potato sticks coated with white confectionery product (aka white chocolate). Since sweet potato sweets do not speak to us, we will admire the box from afar and leave the ingestion to someone else.

Tot & Bit

Last night, while cruising around AM/PM, I had the good fortune to discover Tot and Bit, two tiny confections geared towards the limited quantity chocolate consumer. Manufactured by competing confectioners, Lotte and Bourbon respectively, the two products undoubtedly target two different palettes.



Contained in a small, red packet, Tots are little nubbins of the brand's best-selling Ghana chocolate. Though petite, their shape is reminiscent of your basic chip crossed with the swirly stars of my youth (the kind that came in the cardboard box with the little cellophane window). Tots' presentation had more eye appeal than I expected. And their ridged shape added a certain sensory dimension. But, as is often the case with this kind of mass-produced candy, the chocolate was long on sweet but short on bona fide cocoa flavor.



By contrast, Bit is a small hunk of chocolate and will appeal to those who like biting into something meaty. In short, it is a small bar with a big bar persona. Composed of twin rectangular blocks, the square's increased depth compensates for its lacking length and width. In terms of taste, Bit was kind of cloying. Again, the chocolate flavor was sub par. Plus the center had an off putting, creamy consistency. Was the chocolatier simply trying too hard? Special for winter, Bourbon's little bar is bound to have a short shelf life. Let's hope the spring version is a bit better.