Oodles and Noodles.

Color us curious. I ran across a blood scented perfume on the internet today which I have signed up for information where to find it. http://www.bloodconcept.com/EN/fragrances.php . Henri wondered how close it would come,. It comes in 4 scents A, B . AB and O . All of them are marked unisex.

It took 2 full seasons of True Blood to find out what the alleged blood substitute cost and I heard 2 different prices, $35 and $47 depending on venue. Personally , I think its exploitation. You would think if the Humans in the series were worried about bloodlust that the mark up would not be so high. HBO did manufacture/had manufactured some True Blood to sell- and online, it was about $7.00 per bottle for tangerine flavored soda . As neither of us drink...soda pop , we never tasted it. It didn't appeal.We won't be carrying it at the cafe.

If you have been following this blog, you know that I think Sheriff Eric is hot. Add actress Julie Bentz , formerly of Angel and Dexter , and I am really happy.  Alexander Johan Hjalmar Skarsgård plays a suicidal drag queen (and he is a big guy totally dwarfing tiny Julie Bentz) in Kill your Darlings, a rather strange cult like film. I look forward to seeing more of his work.

Henri came up with a very decent sauce to go over cooked spaghetti consisting of hamburger, onions, green beans,black beans, corn and a mild Chipolte sauce. With all of the rainy cold weather that we have experianced , its good comfort food and very filling. It goes on the lunch menu next week. He has a few other ideas to try next weekend. When you sign on with a chef , it's love ,honor, respect and "Honey, try this..." Definately not for the unadventurous soul.

Talking about strange, Jean Paul has picked out a program for us to listen on Tuesday night, if we are not busy with customers. There is a lifestyle vampire , Corvius Nocturum going to be on internet radio . The information did not include time zone, maybe Eastern , more probably Central . I thought that I would pass this on in case anyone else might like a little something different. 
Vampire 101 with Corvis Nocturnum.
Location: www.para-x.com/live.html
Time: 8:00PM Tuesday, April 19th .     Mr Nocturnum is the published author of Embracing the Darkness:Understanding Dark Subcultures and Allure of the Vampire, our sexual attraction to the Undead. (Perversely , I wonder if its too early in the year for Blood Oranges.)

So I will retreat to my Christine Feehan book - that's our Sunday this week.
Bon Soir et bon apetit ,
Arina Copain
Office Manager

Horrible Weather - Gee Its Nice to be Inside Watching Horror Movies

The Cape has been hit , early this year, with a series of storms that blew in from the ocean. It was prematurely warm the day before yesterday , before the day was out, thunderheads covered the sky . We closed early , no sane person would go out in such weather. Well, there was Mr. Volkey who came in just before we shut down, but he teaches at the high school. He is used to adverse conditions. We kept our power but I understand that 7,500 residents in neighboring towns did not. We do have a generator but then most long time people do here.
Henri had found a couple of new forms of entertainment , one of which are the short episodes of  something called Blood and Bone China. Its an astonishing good use of the Victorian model of vampire lit. The episodes are free and short (less than 10 mins each) . BloodandBoneChina.com.
He also got a movie called The Resident. I teased Chef that I knew it was a horror movie because Hillary Swank's kitchen in it was a mess, which wouldn't last with him. Its a Hammer film featuring Hillary Swank, Sir Christopher Lee and Jeffrey Dean Morgan.It is  majorly creepy and not exploitive, something that I would like to see more, hopefully , that is the new trend.
 Forget what you know about the old (pre bankruptcy) Hammer films that gave Sir Christopher Lee, Oliver Reed, Donald Sutherland , Joan Collins their start. This is a class act . Its got 3 more , that we have learned out there . Let Me In , which is a remake of Let the right one in. The latter is Swedish and wonderful, I had been hesitant to see the former. I think I will take a chance on it. The other 2 are Wake Wood and The Woman in Black. http://www.hammerfilms.com/  They have bought up the old archive library from their predecessor and are offering informational videos on the costuming as well as cd's of the legacy(archive) soundtracks.
About the cafe, Katy came up with a wonderful idea, Pizza boats which are all of your favorite toppings ( and the cheese, I love cheese) in a hard roll. Henri has agreed that we can do samples next week to test it. Come by on Thursday or Friday to get a free sample
Bon Soir et Bon Apetit,
Arina Copain ,
Office Manager

New on the Menu

There is something that will sound different about to appear on the lunch menu . It was a recipe that Chef found on the internet , and  being rarely satisfied, tweaks everything. Its called bacon cheeseburger pasta. With the popularity of fried pickles  growing, it even has pickles in it. ( Yeah , there was a moment of gross out factor for me as well but , with my involvement with Henri , came the responsibilities of test subject. ) It has everything in it that you would find in a bacon cheeseburger. The pickles are not fried but they are hot. He experimented with about four brands of pickles , and surprise, the ones that held up best were Breckenridge Farms Hamburger Chips- Bigger shock, these are the least expensive ones that I buy for home use at my local dollar store. They seem to hold up better under the heat,staying crisp.  He upped the cheese from cheddar to sharp cheddar as well. It is amazing and good. 
The men with the notebooks are back. We thought that they might be critics or from the health department but that does not seem to be the case. They are very secretive about the notes that they are taking. It might be nothing but they act like students cheating on a test, they are trying so hard not to be noticed that ,of course, they command our attention when at the cafe. We did speak with the Sheriff in case we are being set up for a robbery. They just don't feel right. 
This being Sunday , Henri and I spent some time on our own. We watched the last four episodes of  True Blood (Season One ) while we drank our coffee this afternoon. Can't this poor girl find herself a Human boyfriend? Even her boss is s shape shifter... I like the Vampire sheriff- he's hot. And as for Bill's Fledgling? The eposode whould have been titled "When Good Christian Girls Go Wild." I don't think much of Bill as a training master. But he does have it bad for Sookey. 
Bon Soir et Bon Apetit ,
Arina Copain,Office Manager

Another Sunday but not so sleepy

As I mentioned before , I love Sundays, the only day that the cafe is closed. I get to cook. I made my famous ( in my family) unstuffed cabbage .(Henri claims that its unstuffed because its easier to chop the cabbage up and add it rather than spend the time making the little tiny meatloaves wrapped in cabbage leaves. I'll never tell.)

We listened to Cole Porter, Glen Miller, and Scott Joplin. There was an article online , I think  that it was alternet.org which spoke about the appeal of evil, which we read . My comment to Chef was that the concept of Evil is subjective . The article was based on Christian values. We don't embrace those as we were both raised more generic pagan.  The author of the article was bemoaning the fact that evil is appealing- Henri wanted to know what degree of evil the author was discussing. Is it as Evil to not want to do without in the name of the common good when the people that will benefit have nothing in common with the doer? And what if your survival depends on it?

 I believe that some acts are intrinsically evil, molesting children for one, but to call lack of thrift and maybe good judgement because you bought a Dior ( I haven't) evil just does not measure up. I am sorry if there are children starving in the Third World. I don't understand my responsiblity in their support - I certainly do not want to see anyone hungry,

Is it more evil to let a dictator kill his own people than it is to send US troops to fight the said dictator, knowing that you may cause nine children(one family)  from our neighborhood  to lose their father after serving three tours in Iraq and is currently serving his second in Afghanistan? We know these nine children, we have met their parents. Though there are many things that their mom and I  do not share in common- what of the privation that their children would suffer at his loss? It was probably preventable if anything happens to him. Losing a parent is hard no matter who you are.

The author also claimed that evil was lazy and good industrious. If a universal definition of good and evil cannot be agreed upon, how can one determine the quantity or quality of the work involved in one's life? If two people each wrote a business plan and one required five hours of labor like some executives, and others like Henri , put in sometimes twelve or fourteen hour days due to the nature of the labor, is one more evil than the other? What if the man who works five hours a day puts hundreds out of work due to the nature of his labor? Is he evil? He does not know the people who will suffer at his hand. But they will suffer all the same.I don't view either of us as evil, but I am sure despite the long days at work and lack of involvment publically with charity towards others , there may be some who would consider us to be evil.

I am reading Night Rising by Chris Marie Green as my bus book . Like the writing, hate the vampires that I have encountered . They aren't human , have tails and lack intelligence.

We are looking forward to the premiere of Atlas Shrugged Part 1, due out in April. We have heard good things about it and seen the trailer.

Chef is thinking about some kind of special relating to the movie that week so do watch for it.

Bon Soir et bon apetit,
Arina Copain , office manager

Arrgh! Its Monday again- with an hour less sleep.

I love Spring, except for the allergies. Everything is so fresh , and the produce that Henri uses is local . We will be posting a new menu soon which will reflect changes in the season.

There have been some men in suits visiting us recently. We know most of the locals and they don't act like tourists. Has anyone else seen them ? They come in , write in notebooks , and hardly speak. Not even to Katie. Everyone loves Katie and she usually can get customers to open up. There are no conventions in town. Wonder who they are.

Jean Paul will be making an Irish Stew with Guiness for St Patrick's Day. He made me culcannon which is mashed potatoes , cabbage and onions the other night. Sadly, we can't offer Guiness as a beverage. No liquor license. He will be giving samples this afternoon after 4:30 if you want to stop in and try it.

Bon soir et bon apetit,
Arina Copain,
Office Manager

Sunday , Sweet Sunday

I really love Sundays . The cafe is closed. Its quietand today, it has rained all day. Its a day that Henri and I get to reconnect for the week . Doesn't mean that we don't work- I certainly have enough to do. He does weekly specials based on available seasonals. His father calls us perfect two year olds- we play nicely by ourselves together.But then its really about the balance between work and personal lives.
We have a large order of  fruit coming in this week- I love the way that they smell when they are fresh . I found a recipe to surprise him with this week. He's pretty sharp so I have to work to put something past him . I normally think of cider for fall but can't think of any reason why it would not be just as nice in the spring.
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Country Witch Eggnog 1 cup apple cider 3 cups milk 2 eggs, beaten 1/2 cup whipping cream 1/2 cup sugar 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg 2 tablespoons brandy Combine all of the ingredients in a large cauldron or pot and cook over medium heat for 13 minutes. Pour the hot eggnog into mugs and top each serving with fresh whipped cream (if desired). Country-Witch Eggnog is the perfect drink to serve your Wiccan friends and family members at Yuletide (Winter Solstice) and Ostara (Spring Equinox) Sabbats. (This recipe yields two quarts.) ~Gerina Dunwich -The Wicca Spellbook~ Its much too soggy to go out today . Plus the dogwood is just starting to bloom , and I am allergic. (Betcha thought I was going to say garlic .) I challenged Chef to sit still long enough to watch Las Vegas season 4 disc 4 this morning. He countered with True Blood season 1 disc 2. I hope that it was intended as a comedy because we both found it funny.   I did finish Blood Prophecy. Liked the writing, hated the rats . Plus I dislike vampires not staying true to their nature. But I suppose that its mostly humans who buy the books so what ever makes them comfortable.   I am currently reading a book on designer Edith Head. For those too young to remember her- think Edna in the Incredibles- the character was based on her.   Bon soir et Bon Apetit, Arina Copain Office manager

Did Anybody Think to Ask?

We are very fortunate that Sothwold CommunityParanormal and Science Fiction Book Club has chosen the Cafe as their meeting place on the third Wednesday of the month. As I am such a avid reader. Henri suggested that I participate.

The book for March is ,Blood Prophecy  by Stefan Petrucha. I picked it up at the library yesterday . The writing flows well but I have a problem with it. The protagonist is a vampire named Jeremiah Falls ,who, like Stephanie Meyer's Cullens feeds only from animals. I am tired of vegetarian vampires, they are so politically correct. When he won't eat whatever glop they have thrown together for him as a ship's prisoner, he feeds off the rats of the ship. Ugh! Public service has its limits! When he has the opportunity to have a decent meal in the form of a character named Saint-Hilaire, a government official under Napoleon, Jeremiah stops and asks the date because he is worried about the end of the world.

Now let's be practical about this. The average man has 10-12 pints of blood in his body and the average woman 8-10 pints. I wasn't able to find out how much blood the average rat hold but given the comparative body size, I would bet that it would take a heck of a lot of rats to make up the difference . In which case, the ship had, I believe, bigger problems than one vampire on board. Besides, I hate rats and would not want them for my dinner. There are much nicer things to have than rats. Like, say, chocolate ice cream?

Henri and I recently went to a food show in Nashville, TN . One of the vendors that exhibited was a local named Mike's Soda Fountain and Coffee Shop. Henri tried the Red Velvet Cake Ice Cream while I ate the Chocolate Overload. I wish that they would go national because the texture, the temperature, and blend of flavors was just perfect. Pricewise, they would be competitive with Haagen Das or Ben and Jerry's but are so much better . They have a store just a few blocks from the world famous Tootsie's bar on Broadway. Their shop is located at 208 Broadway in Nashville. Phone is 615-742-6453.

I like chocolate ice cream. No one ever feeds their vampires chocolate ice cream. Just an entree of rodents that the Human population didn't want anyway. Now, I ask you , is that polite? I mean no one even asks if the vampires would like some chocolate ice cream. Probably it wouldn't be high on their list but given the alternatives that most Humans offer most vampires in the printed and media world, its got to be up there.