Brenda Farrell | Luxury & Lifestyle Travel

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Happy Thanksgiving

It’s that time of year again.  As a child in Britain, I always looked forward to “Harvest Festival” as we would call Thanksgiving.  Each child would take one food item – either directly from or made with food from the land – to school for later donation to a local charity.  Our school stage was a colourful array of food of the land:  huge loaves of bread shaped like sheaths of wheat, fresh vegetables, and fruits all combining to form a beautiful backdrop to our school service and harvest hymns.  I particularly loved the hymn that started “We plough the fields and scatter, the good seed on the land ….” and just thinking of the tune takes me back to those special services in my primary school and the warm feeling they elicited in me.

In Canada, Thanksgiving is a celebration of harvest.  Most often associated with this celebration is a roast dinner that includes Turkey and a pie that is made of Pumpkin.  Personally, I prefer cake to pie, so I would like to thank you for visiting my site today and to give you a recipe that I have made each Thanksgiving since I first came to Canada in 1982.  I hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

Pumpkin Cake with Cream Cheese Icing

• 2 cups sugar
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup oil, apple sauce or natural yogurt
• 2 cups canned pumpkin (unsweetened, organic)
• 2 cups any flour (I use 100% wholewheat)
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• Half a teaspoon of salt
• Walnut halves for topping if no icing is added.
• Icing
• Half a cup of butter, softened
• 1 pkg or 8oz of cream- ricotta- or mascarpone cheese)
• Icing sugar to taste
• 1 teaspoon vanilla essence

Combine all cake ingredients and blend thoroughly.  Pour into pan and add walnut halves if you prefer to leave out the icing.  Bake at 350 degrees for 40-50 minutes or until tests done (insert a skewer in the middle.)  Cool.  Prepare icing by combining ingredients and mixing until smooth.  Spread on cooled cake.  Enjoy!

It’s Sunday and I thought I would share another recipe from my travels.

My friend Isabel, a busy and successful Architect in Madeira, Portugal, made a delicious dessert for our farewell dinner in August.  She called it Chocolate Brownie.  You might call it Molten Chocolate Cake.  I call it scrumptious.  So, obrigada Isabel, obrigada Skype Chat for the recipe, reproduced here exactly as received.  Sorry, there are no pictures – we were too busy enjoying to think about finding a camera!

Chocolate Brownie Cake – courtesy of Isabel Correia Mendes

• 250gr dark chocolate
• 200gr butter
• 100gr flour
• 150gr sugar
• 8 egg yolks
• 5 egg whites

Melt chocolate with butter in a double boiler.  Stir the yolks with the sugar until a white dough. Stir the egg whites until stiff.  Join the butter dough with the chocolate dough. Involve egg whites gently. Mix together flour. Reserve in refrigerator. Bake for 7 minutes at 180 degrees in buttered ramekins.  This amount serves about 8 people.

Isabelle makes a batch to keep in her freezer so that she always has dessert on hand.  I made it to take to friends on Friday night and it was a huge success, so I hope you will enjoy it.  Tip:  don’t think about the calories or if you do, cut out sugar for a week afterwards.  I promise – this dessert experience will be worth the sacrifice!

As a Turkey Specialist, I have studied the country for the past six years and now have a keen understanding of which locations to match with my clients’ interests.  But when it comes to which experiences I plan, much depends on their individual lifestyles.

My first visit to Turkey in 2005 had been near the top of my wish list for many years.  I didn’t take a laptop with me then, but I did keep a journal of that first trip, where all my senses were piqued and my mind like a sponge.

Since then, I have worked in the travel industry and made it my business to visit Turkey once, usually twice a year.  Mostly, I escort a group and love to share with them the knowledge I have gained over the year, including  requests where one can find the best/organic/cheapest/handwoven towels, turkish delight, silk scarves, jewellery etc.

This time last year, I had the privilege of escorting a wonderful group of women.  We had a wonderful time and harmony and laughter were the prevalent themes.  It was a busy time for me because at the same time, I had another 13 clients in Turkey, some couples as well as another group of women, so I needed to stay on top of several itineraries, all unique and designed to accommodate different interests.

Simit: a Turkish bagel of sorts

I loved Turkey from my very first visit and continue to regard it as one of my favourite countries.  There is so much history to learn and to ponder. People are friendly and kind, the food is delicious and personally, I am fascinated by the culture and lifestyles.  In May this year, I spent a week visiting two new hotels, including The Edition, and restaurants, checking location, rooms, food and service.  After all, how can I recommend somewhere if I don’t know it?  And now that other world-class hotels are moving into Turkey (Shangri La, Aman Resorts and Raffles) there will be more competition for Four Seasons, whose Sultanahmet location in a former prison remains my all-time favourite.

My association with Virtuoso helps me to orchestrate dreams for my clients.  Through my world-wide network of partners, I am currently working on an itinerary for a party of four that includes Turkey, Jordan and Israel, where they will see, experience and taste the best of each location; away from the crowds and according to their interests.

Friendly people

Please, let me know if I can orchestrate your dream tour of Turkey.  If you need to know more, please click here

Memory of a Lifetime

The Story

During my initial consultation with clients in California, and while reviewing details later that day, I noted that one of their daughters would be turning 16 during their private tour of Greece and Turkey.

Remembering the thrill of clients for whom I had organized a surprise birthday party at the top of a mountain in Turkey (complete with almond cake, candles and fairy lights in the garden of their lovely hotel) I organized a surprise for Katherine – not only upon landing from her hot air balloon ride but also when she arrived back at her hotel for breakfast.  That was a day of cakes and surprises and, judging by this note I received by mail, her sixteenth birthday will always hold special memories for her and her family.

This is why I love my work!  There is nothing more rewarding that orchestrating dreams and with my global network of Virtuoso partners, the options are endless.

Please, let me orchestrate your dreams.