Hi! So, what is there to know about me? Let's see: I am a US/French dual citizen currently living in Switzerland as an au pair to become fluent in French and to figure out my future! I will freely admit that I have no idea what I'm doing or where I'm heading in life, which although often gives way to anxiety sometimes leads to unexpected adventure :) Oh, and my favorite color is grey.

Warum ich bei Couchsurfing bin

I love meeting new people from different backgrounds and learning about others' lives, interests, and cultures. I believe that if we as people just take the time to get to know each other we will realize that we share more similarities than differences, and that knowledge can serve to unite us as a global community. And what better way of getting to know someone than by welcoming others into our homes and sharing a meal or conversation?

Interessen

Reading, Traveling, Cooking, Nature, Hiking, Sculpting, Environmental Activism, Philosophy, English Literature, Fine Art, Good movies, Early Child Development, Vegetarian/Vegan Food, Psychology, Herbalism, Exploring, Essential Oils, Languages, Marginalia, Foggy days, Sketching, Walking, Meditation.....

• arts
• literature
• design
• sketching
• coloring
• dining
• cooking
• baking
• vegetarian
• vegan
• meditation
• walking
• movies
• reading
• traveling
• hiking
• languages
• psychology
• au-pair

Musik, Filme und Bücher

I have such a wide range of tastes that it is hard to pick favorites! Recently I've been in the mood for classical piano and cello music, action movies featuring cunning villains and nice cars, and juvenile/young adult science-fiction/steampunk novels.

Books I love: Uglies trilogy by Scott Westerfield, Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, The Tempest by William Shakespeare, The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery, The Hobbit by JRR Tolkein, Naughts and Crosses by Malorie Blackman, The Snow Queen by Hans Christian Andersen, The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood, The Chronicle of Narnia by C.S. Lewis, Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse, A Little History of the World by Ernst Gombrich, The Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan...

Some favorite movies: Ever After, Source Code, Princess Bride, Cloud Atlas, While You Were Sleeping, anything starring Meg Ryan or Tom Hanks, Labyrinth, Eagle Eye, Ella Enchanted, anything starring Cary Grant, Phantom of the Opera, Prince of Persia...

Music interests: Indies, Alternative, Bon Iver, Folk/Americana, Regina Spektor, Classical, Mika, Electro-Swing, Golden Oldies/Crooners, Pop Anthems, Country, French Folk, A Fine Frenzy, Canadian Singer-Songwriters, Elvis, Film Scores, ABBA...

Eine tolle Erfahrung, die ich gemacht habe

I don't know if I've done anything in my life that's truly remarkable, but my best friend and I have been friends since the age of two, and that I think is pretty neat!

Lehren, lernen, teilen

I love cooking, baking, and experimenting in the kitchen. One winter as I was making the traditional gingersnap cookies ('meh' - not my favorite) I decided to add curry spice to the batter to kick things up a notch. The resulting cookies were promising, and over time I developed a sweet, aromatic spiced cookie recipe reminiscent of Christmases passed.

Kymberli’s Sweet Curry Cookies & Spiced Honey Glaze
Cookies:
½ c unsalted butter, room temp.
¼ c 50% fat margarine
¼ c shortening
2 c light brown sugar, packed
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
3 c all purpose flour
1 ½ tsp baking powder
2 ¾ tsp curry seasoning*
¾ tsp ground cinnamon
Glaze:
2 c powdered sugar
¼ tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp coriander**
¼ tsp ginger
2 Tbsp honey
3 Tbsp + 1 tsp milk
Yield: 5 dozen 2-bite cookies / 75cal /cookie

Cookies:
Preheat oven to 350℉
Combine fats, sugar, eggs, & vanilla in large mixing bowl. Cream lightly - lumps are okay.
Toast curry & cinnamon over medium heat on stove until aromatic (approx. 2 mins).
In medium mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder, & spices.
Add dry ingredients to wet & stir until well mixed. Dough should form a ball & be easily molded; it should not be sticky.
Roll dough into Tbsp sized balls. Drop balls onto ungreased cookie sheets, leaving approx. 2 inches between cookies. Score cookie tops with a 3 pointed star design (Y).
Bake for 10 minutes (almost under-baked. edges should be ever so slightly firm). Let stand for 2 minutes, before transferring cookies onto a wire rack to cool.

Glaze:
While baking, prepare glaze by toasting cinnamon, coriander, & ginger until aromatic.
Whisk sugar, spices, & honey in a small bowl. Gradually stir in milk until the glaze is the consistency of thin honey, adding more milk if needed.
When cookies are cool, dip tops in glaze & shake off excess. Let cookies dry on wire rack. Store cookies in an air-tight container

*As all curry seasoning blends are different, make sure the curry you use does not contain onion or garlic.
** If you do not have coriander, increase cinnamon by ¼ tsp cinnamon.

Was ich mit Gastgebern teilen kann

Besides my company there is not much I can offer, however I will willingly cook a meal for my host!

Länder, die ich besucht habe

Czech Republic, France, Germany, Poland, Scotland, Spain, Switzerland

Länder, in denen ich gelebt habe

Switzerland, United States