What does Puff and Choux mean?

I've received a lot of questions about the name of this blog, ranging from asking whether I'm a smoker (Get it? Puffing cigs and Chewing tobacco...) to "is that English?" So, to clarify the origin of this blog's name, I will explain.

When I decided to launch this blog, I was struggling to come up with a name. Everything I thought of was either already taken or sounded like something every grandmother in the world would deem as "cute." Being adorable was not my goal.

I immediately consulted two of my closest friends, Jessy and Allison for help. They have been known to be excellent wordsmiths in their time, coming up with nicknames such as Retodd and Mandrew for boys I have dated to a business name I have already forgotten that incorporated the ideas of napping, snuggling puppies and eating cupcakes.

For some reason, my trusty pals were even struggling. The only suggestion was Pastry Thighs, and although I love that name, I didn't want to focus on the fact that my own thighs are getting fatter from all the desserts I eat. Feeling at a loss, Allison sent me the Wikipedia page for Pastry for some inspiration.

This is where I encountered the definitions for puff and choux, two out of the six main types of pastry dough commonly used:

Puff pastry: The puff pastry has many layers that causes it to expand or “puff” when being baked. Pastries are made using flour, butter, salt, and water. It rises up due to the combination and reaction of the four ingredients and also from the good amount of air that gets between the layers. Puff pastries come out of the oven light, flaky, and tender.

Choux pastry: The choux pastry is a very light pastry that is filled with cream. The pastry is filled with various flavors of cream and is often topped with chocolate. Choux pastries can also be filled with things like cheese, tuna, or chicken to be used as appetizers.

Considering that at some several points in my life, I have been described as both a flake (puff) and full of it (choux), the blog name seems pointently accurate.

And for the record, "Choux" is pronounced more like "Shoo", not "Chew". Good day!