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September 09, 2005
"Ode to une Gaufre"
The soft wind, accompanied by the cool rain on a summer day, gently guides the tantalizing molecules of yeast and sugar crystals in spirals around and around my head. Each step along the cobblestone pathway is headed in one direction, toward the yellow drooping awning and the shiny glass windows. My mind is consumed by the molecules that skip to every taste bud and dance into my nose. I draw closer and closer, the anticipation mounts until I reach the counter. “Juste Une Gaufre, s’il vous plait”*. In that instant, a baker’s creation composed of the finest sugar, flour, eggs, and a splash of milk from the pastures of the Belgian countryside sizzles upon the steaming iron. And I know I have consumed my vegetables, so this wrapped bundle, this present, covered with smooth wax paper is mine, only mine to enjoy, to savor, to experience. I merely glance up at the vendor, smile, hand him my precious Euros and say “Merci Monsieur”. My hand senses the warmth as the treat is placed in the middle. As I peel away the paper, this beautiful light brown waffle emerges. The waffle is consumed by the sugary pools filling each one of the small twelve compartments embedded down into the dense dough, surrounded by crusty walls. Piles of whipped cream that top the waffle are like clouds above the fertile earth. The rain begins to fall rapidly as my tongue wraps around every morsel, every inch of the magical dessert. I feel the waffle’s comfort as it enters my body and soothes my soul. Waffles should be ingested with the utmost care, making sure that each bite is just as flavorful as the next. As I end this period when teenager and food have united, the most pleasant thought is in the imagining of another. The feeling of trying a Belgian-Liege waffle cannot be measured, cannot be fully described. Once a gaufre has been tried, nothing else compares. *"Juste une gaufre s'il vous plait" means "just one waffle please."
Posted by lcisgancarz at September 9, 2005 06:08 PM
Comments
This is awesome. I went to Belgium and I remember eating the waffles there.. so good. Nothing else compares. Just one comment, you spelled peel "peal." I know you've had a long day, so have I. ;)
Posted by: Lauren Searls at September 10, 2005 10:12 AM
I loved this essay so much!! Your comments reminded me sooo much of when I went to Paris a few months ago. I love how you capture the culture around the food, and how you manage to describe sooo much while also describing soo little. Fabulous!!
Posted by: Brenna at September 10, 2005 10:13 PM
Hey
What caught my eye about this posting was the French in the title. I'm pretty into foreign languages so whenever I come across something that looks like it has a different language in it, I automatically check it out. It's very obvious from reading this that you're a good describer of things, but what I liked the most about this post (and I don't know if you meant to do this or not) was that you sort of set the mood with the French and the summer day in Belgium, and then you used the word "molecule" which, the second I read it, made me think about chemistry and science. It was cool because my mind was in a certain mode and then just like that the word molecule brought this completely different world of science to my attention. I just thought that was pretty clever and it gave the posting a twist...so good job with the word choice!
Posted by: Brenna S. at September 12, 2005 06:36 PM
Where can I get one????
Posted by: Ellen at September 15, 2005 02:30 PM