July 2004 Archive
Aprikose Berberitze MarmeladeBirthday Girl
Birthday Girl : The Day After
Bébé Financiers
Coffee Cake à l'Abricot
Confiture d'Abricot aux Amandes
Couscous at Le Dattier (IMBB6)
La Laiterie
La poire qui était toute petite
Le 14 juillet
Le Marché de Gérardmer
Les Abeilles
Les Niniches de Quiberon
New Toys by Flexipan
Pastelarias, Here I Come!
Tarte aux Myrtilles
Un Week-end à Marseille (Part I)
Un Week-end à Marseille (Part II)
July 30, 2004
Un Week-end à Marseille (Part II)
[Continued from Part I] Later in the afternoon, we accidently drove to Aix-en-Provence. Accidently? Um, yes. We were in fact headed someplace else, took the wrong highway, and found ourselves driving in the direction of the Capital of Calissons. Unfazed and quick to see the finger of Someone Above in this, we said okay, let's go! In Aix-en-Prove...
"Un Week-end à Marseille (Part II)" continues »
July 28, 2004
Birthday Girl : The Day After
Just like my brand new iPod Mini, I am pink with joy! Thanks to my beloved darling, I am now the proud owner of the petit-four of mp3 players! Many many thanks for all your birthday wishes, they made me smile and laugh, and they accompanied me throughout the day, making me feel special in an ever-so-pleasing way. So thank you, and here's a flut...
"Birthday Girl : The Day After" continues »
July 27, 2004
Birthday Girl
I turn 25 today, and as much as everyone has tried to scare me with tales of quarter-century milestones, the slowing down of cellular renewal and the ensuing downward path to old age, I am utterly, utterly delighted! I have always loved birthdays, with their procession of cakes, candles, presents and well wishes, and every year I spend my birth...
July 26, 2004
Un Week-end à Marseille (Part I)
I had long wanted to visit Marseille, so I was very happy for the occasion to spend a week-end there recently with Maxence. Marseille is a port city in Provence, and it is in fact the second biggest city in France. My grandmother lived there for a couple of years during World War II, and we have a few family pictures from that period. I remembe...
"Un Week-end à Marseille (Part I)" continues »
July 23, 2004
La poire qui était toute petite
[The pear that was really very small] I got this pear at the Gérardmer market -- a.k.a the magic market of the ceaseless wonders -- at the same produce stall where we got a crate of apricots to make jam. I'm always on the lookout for new and unusual fruits or vegetables, and those tiny ball-shaped pears did not escape my hawksight. "Oh, qu'est-...
"La poire qui était toute petite" continues »
July 22, 2004
Confiture d'Abricot aux Amandes
[Apricot and Almond Jam] When I spend time at my parents' house in the Vosges, my mother and I start out by making a mental list (we haven't reached the point of actually writing down that list - yet) of what we're going to cook, bake and eat. One of the items I mentioned this time was jam : over the years, I've often seen my mother make jam, I'...
"Confiture d'Abricot aux Amandes" continues »
July 20, 2004
Le Marché de Gérardmer
The house my parents own in the Vosges (a mountain range in the East of France, if you haven't been following this blog as closely as you should) is located outside a small town called La Bresse. When we're there on vacation, part of the food shopping is conducted in La Bresse itself -- at the grocery store for basics, and at a charcuterie and tw...
"Le Marché de Gérardmer" continues »
July 18, 2004
Couscous at Le Dattier (IMBB6)
My cooking resume, if I had one, would have to say "Grilling experience : little to none". Growing up in the city, in a non-grilling family at that, BBQ has never been part of my gastronomical landscape. In fact, I attended my first barbecue in the US, at the ripe old age of 21. I do love it though -- the smell and taste of grilled food, but al...
"Couscous at Le Dattier (IMBB6)" continues »
July 16, 2004
Tarte aux Myrtilles
[Blueberry Tart] Blueberries are by far my favorite berry, and this has been true for as long as I can remember. Something about their color (blue), their size (tiny), and their taste (tart and sweet) really appeals to me. As luck would have it, much like blackcurrant in Burgundy, blueberries are the emblematic berry in the Vosges, where they gr...
"Tarte aux Myrtilles" continues »
July 15, 2004
Coffee Cake à l'Abricot
[Apricot Coffee Cake] I am currently spending a few days with my family in the Vosges, a mountain range in the East of France where my parents have a vacation house. One of the great pleasures of being there, besides enjoying the garden, taking walks up the mountain, and sleeping soundly in the perfect quiet, is baking with my mother. This is so...
"Coffee Cake à l'Abricot" continues »
July 14, 2004
Le 14 juillet
What is referred to as Bastille Day in the US is simply called le 14 juillet in France. What our national holiday celebrates, in case you don't know, is the day in 1789 when the French revolutionaries seized the Bastille prison, which was seen as a symbol of the royal oppression (it turned out to hold but a disappointing handful of half-forgotten...
July 13, 2004
Pastelarias, Here I Come!
Last year, Maxence and I went on a little week-end getaway to Lisbon. A blissful, dazzling few days of walks along the narrow little streets, funicular rides up and down the hills, stunning views of the city, and sunny drives along the beautiful coast. But all of this wouldn't have been quite as magical without the stupendous Portuguese cuisine...
"Pastelarias, Here I Come!" continues »
July 12, 2004
La Laiterie
One of my projects at work has sent me to Lille for a few days at a time these past few weeks. I'd had the opportunity to travel out of town on business before, but this was my first time staying overnight, and it turned out to be a very pleasant, if tiring, experience. I enjoy being on my own from time to time, and find it thrilling in a very un...
July 9, 2004
Aprikose Berberitze Marmelade
Last Saturday, Maxence and I were invited to dinner by our German friends Christoph and Susanne. Christoph has been a faithful reader of Chocolate & Zucchini since the early days, we almost met at the Salon Saveurs last spring, and finally did meet at the first Paris Potluck about a month ago. He hosted the second one, but we couldn't be there (o...
"Aprikose Berberitze Marmelade" continues »
July 7, 2004
Les Abeilles
Les Abeilles is a tiny little store perched at the top of the Butte-aux-Cailles, in the 13th arrondissement, and incidently just a skip and a hop from my office (which has, in passing, been trying quite hard to keep me away from my regular blogging schedule, sending me this way and that, thus tragically depriving me of a decent Internet connectio...
July 6, 2004
Bébé Financiers
What is it with mini things that makes them so damn irresistible? I have always wanted to make mignardises, those sweet little bites that they serve with coffee in upscale restaurants. The name alone is enough to make you want them : "mignardise" comes from "mignard", an old-fashioned word which, as a noun, means a small child, and as an adject...
July 5, 2004
New Toys by Flexipan
Two weeks ago, I attended a home sale of Demarle Flexipan molds, hosted by my friend and fellow food-blogger Pascale. Demarle is the original inventor of those nonstick flexible baking molds, made of silicon and glass fiber. Originally sold to professionals only, they have been available to happy home bakers for a few years : most brands distribu...
"New Toys by Flexipan" continues »
July 3, 2004
Les Niniches de Quiberon
When I was a child, my family spent a week in Brittany every year during the spring break. The place where we went most often was Carnac, on the South coast of Brittany, a little town famous for its stunning prehistoric menhir alignments. It was always quite a gamble on the weather, as that time of year has equal chances of being brightly sunny, ...
"Les Niniches de Quiberon" continues »