May 21, 2012
The Bun and the Oven
Maxence and I are extraordinarily happy to announce that we are now the proud parents of a little boy named Milan, born in Paris a week ago.
Everything went smoothly, the three of us are doing splendidly, and so far Milan is proving to be a very sweet, easy baby: a good sleeper, a good eater, and an all-around adorable little person if you ask us.
Still, things will likely be a bit more quiet around here as we get the rest we need, adjust to this new chapter of our lives, and I learn to type with just one hand.
In the meantime, be well, eat well, and I'll talk to you soon!
May 8, 2012
Patte de Loup (Wolf's Paw Apple)
Patte de loup -- literally, wolf's paw -- is the name of an heirloom variety of apple that is chiefly grown in the Northwest of France, and is mentioned in horticultural documents as early as the Middle Age.
Small and oddly shapen, with a rugged, brownish yellow skin that often cracks and scars as if a wolf had clawed it, it is typically the kind of apple that did not stand a chance in the modern battle for glossy and perfectly calibrated specimens.
And yet the patte de loup is very close to apple perfection in my book: sweet and tart, with a firm flesh that is juicy but not too crisp, it does equally well eaten au couteau, i.e. sliced with a knife and munched on out of hand, or baked into a tarte tatin or an apple cake.
"Patte de Loup (Wolf's Paw Apple)" continues »
April 25, 2012
Scone Tops
We were expecting friends for brunch on Saturday morning, and I decided to bake scones. Not the triangular wedges stuffed with various ingredients often sold in the US, but the classic, round, plain, British kind.
For three years, almost to the day, I'd been sitting on a recipe that my dear friend Chika had shared with me, and which she'd drawn from Anton Edelmann's out-of-print book, Taking Tea at the Savoy. She had mentioned that this was her go-to scone recipe, and it was the one I intended to try, for a change from my usual yogurt scones.
The dough was quick and easy to assemble -- a definite plus for a brunch item -- and I rolled it out, according to the instructions, to a thickness of 1.5 cm (2/3 inch). Had I been more fully awake, I would probably have realized that this was a bit thin, and that there was little chance that these would puff up to the kind of height one expects from a scone.
Into the oven they went, with a touch of salt and sugar sprinkled across the top, and indeed, while the smell was heavenly and the baking time just right, my scones didn't quite look like scones.
Of course I served them anyway, with strawberries from Carpentras (hulled and halved an hour or two in advance and macerated with just a little sugar to bring out their juices and concentrate their flavor) and raw milk crème fraîche from the cheese shop -- a sort of strawberry shortcake* if you will.
And my not-quite-scones were delicious, flaky and tender and not too sweet, but I refrained from calling them anything, not wanting to linger on the fact that this wasn't quite the format I'd had in mind.
It's only a few hours later, after a good nap, that the following lightbulb went on in my brain: just like people make muffin tops using special pans, I had simply baked scone tops, which had the bonus advantage of fitting into the toaster easily for reheating, without slicing them in two and in so doing shedding crumbs at the bottom of the toaster.
Suddenly, I felt a lot better about the whole experience.
So, I'll let you decide to what thickness you choose to roll out the dough for these -- I'm giving you two suggestions in the recipe below -- but I hope you'll give them a try one way or the other: it really is a wonderfully simple and good recipe.
Do you have a go-to scone recipe of your own? And have you ever had a similar conundrum with some concoction of yours, which didn't quite feel like a success until you found just the right name for it?
* Did you know that the French version of that character is called Charlotte aux fraises?
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April 17, 2012
Where to buy organic foods in Paris
I've recently received requests from a couple of readers who were about to move to (or spend a little while in) Paris, and were wondering about natural and organic foods, and where to find them.
Agriculture biologique is French for organic farming, and organic goods are referred to as produits bio. Organic produce, grains, dairy, and meat are increasingly popular with French consumers, and although they still come at a higher price than conventionally grown goods, they are now more widely available than ever.
In Paris, here are the sources you can choose from:
~ Greenmarkets
There are three all-organic open-air greenmarkets in Paris: Batignolles (Saturday mornings on boulevard des Batignolles outside the Rome métro station in the 17th -- my favorite), Raspail (Sunday mornings on boulevard Raspail, between rue du Cherche-Midi and rue de Rennes in the 6th), and Brancusi (Saturday mornings on Place Constantin in the 14th).
At these you will find produce, meat, fish, cheese, bread, and various specialty stalls that may be devoted to dried fruits and nuts, rôtisserie poultry, baked goods, potted herbs, flavored salts, herbal remedies, etc.
These are not, strictly speaking, farmers markets, as they welcome both growers and retailers (and growers who complement their own offerings with produce purchased from elsewhere), so it's worth asking for clarification if you'd rather buy your produce directly from the grower.
Prices also vary widely from stall to stall and can reach ridiculous heights, so it's good to take a full walk around the market and compare prices, and to have about you a general sense of how much you're willing to pay for your multicolored radishes and your goat cheese faisselle.
Beyond the organic nature of the produce, the secondary benefit of these markets is that they're great places to discover unusual varieties of herbs, fruits, and vegetables that you would never find in conventional stores.
Note that other, conventional greenmarkets (see full list) are likely to have one or two vendors selling organic produce.
~ Organic grocery stores
Several chains of organic grocery stores are represented in Paris, with locations sprinkled throughout the city: Naturalia (owned by the Monoprix group), Biocoop (my favorite, I just wish there was a location closer to me), Bio c' Bon (a newish and promising chain despite the ridiculous name), Les Nouveaux Robinsons (who recently opened their first Paris location and acquired the Bio Génération chain), and La Vie Claire.
In them you will find everything from fresh and packaged foods, to cleaning supplies, to beauty products. They will be your best shot if you're trying to find alternative flours and sweeteners, unrefined sugars, whole grains, legumes, nuts, oils, non-dairy milks, soy products, gluten-free ingredients, and anything remotely granola.
"Where to buy organic foods in Paris" continues »
April 12, 2012
Candied Orange Slices
Drouant is a century-old Paris restaurant with a majestic Art Déco interior and private dining rooms where the jury for the Prix Goncourt, the most prestigious book award in France, convenes each fall to deliberate.
Beyond that literary glamour, Drouant also serves an excellent cuisine, and one of the features that have turned us into regulars is the poulet-frites that is offered for lunch on Sundays: a farm-raised roasted chicken served with a green salad and thick house-made fries that echo the typical family meal that is enjoyed at exactly that time of week all over the country.
And at the end of the meal, if you order coffee, it comes with a small saucer bearing a homemade truffle for each guest, and the same number of candied orange slices.
I'm not one to turn my nose at a truffle, but these orange slices truly are something special: rather than the more usual sticks of candied orange rind, these are thin, half-moon wedges that still include some of the flesh, so that the distinctive bitter notes of the chewy rind is refreshed by the soft and juicy pulp.
I've experimented in my own kitchen, trying to reproduce these delicious confections, and I am delighted with the result: these orange slices can be served alongside truffles or squares of good bittersweet chocolate, or you could dip them by half in chocolate, orangette-style. They make a lovely gift, too (pack them in layers of parchment paper as they're quite sticky), or you can use them in your baking.
Depending on where you live, it may be the tail end of orange season, so hurry up and make these with the very last of the juicy specimens!
"Candied Orange Slices" continues »
April 3, 2012
Crystalline Iceplant (Ficoïde Glaciale)
Meet one of my favorite greens, the crystalline iceplant, known as Mesembryanthemum cristallinum in Latin and ficoïde glaciale in French.
It's a succulent, leafy plant that originated in South Africa and belongs to the same family as tetragon, another unusual green I'm very fond of.
The leaves of the iceplant are thick and fleshy, with a frosted look, as if they were covered with tiny dew droplets. Depending on the variety, they may be flat and large, about the size of a hand (as shown above), or smaller and sold attached to the stem. Full-size leaves I will slice into short ribbons; small ones I'll keep whole, trimming the thicker parts of the stem.
"Crystalline Iceplant (Ficoïde Glaciale)" continues »
