July 31, 2009
August 2009 Desktop Calendar
At the beginning of every month in 2009, I am offering C&Z readers a new desktop calendar, i.e. a wallpaper to apply on the desktop of your computer, with a food-related picture and a calendar of the current month.
Our desktop calendar for August is a picture of homemade rose-raspberry cupcakes -- a vanilla cake base, a rose-flavored buttercream frosting, and a fresh raspberry on top.
The recipe for these easy cupcakes will be included in the...
"August 2009 Desktop Calendar" continues »
July 28, 2009
Cherry Hazelnut Loaf Cake
[Cake Cerise Noisette]
I had lunch with my friends Pascale and Caroline a couple of weeks ago, and afterward we followed Caroline back to her apartment so she could share samples of a quirky ingredient she'd just laid her hands on: hazelnut flour.
I had initially thought she was referring to finely ground hazelnuts (hazelnut meal or poudre de noisettes), but no: this is made by grinding hazelnuts finely, yes, but also removing the oil they co...
"Cherry Hazelnut Loaf Cake" continues »
July 24, 2009
[Edible Idiom] Retomber comme un soufflé
This is part of a series on French idiomatic expressions that relate to food. Browse the list of idioms featured so far.
This week's idiom is, "Retomber comme un soufflé."
Literally translated as, "Falling back like a soufflé," it is a colloquial expression that means running out of steam in a quick and sudden way: after an initial phase of enthusiasm, an idea, an initiative, or a phenomenon (but not a person) loses momentum, as the interest ...
"[Edible Idiom] Retomber comme un soufflé" continues »
July 21, 2009
Herbed Couscous Salad
[Salade de semoule aux herbes]
My sister and I went through a pretty intense couscous* phase when we were teenagers: my mother kept a kitchen cabinet stocked with little pre-portioned pouches of semoule that barely needed a minute and a half of boiling before we could snip them open, pour their contents into a bowl, add a bit of salt and butter, and call it lunch. We loved the stuff.
I remember suggesting this very menu to Maxence once, early...
"Herbed Couscous Salad" continues »
July 15, 2009
Lemon Verbena Sorbet
Fresh lemon verbena is a recent newcomer to my herb repertoire. I was familiar with plain dried verbena, a popular constituent of French tisanes, but only this spring did I come across long stalks of verveine citronnelle, bushy with feather-shaped leaves, faintly sticky and powerfully fragrant. Stroke one with your thumb and it will knock you over with a floral and citrusy scent that does bear resemblance to lemongrass, as the French name point...
"Lemon Verbena Sorbet" continues »
July 10, 2009
[Edible Idiom] Avoir/Prendre de la bouteille
This is part of a series on French idiomatic expressions that relate to food and wine. Browse the list of idioms featured so far.
This week's idiom is, "Avoir/Prendre de la bouteille."
Literally translated as, "Having/Gaining some bottle," it is a colloquial expression that illustrates the fact that a thing or a person gains value, experience, or wisdom with age.
Example: "L'entretien s'est bien passé, mais ils ont préféré embaucher un comme...
"[Edible Idiom] Avoir/Prendre de la bouteille" continues »
July 7, 2009
Natural Starter Bread
[Pain au levain naturel]
If you keep an eye on my Twitter feed or subscribe to the C&Z newsletter, you already know that I've been trying my hand at natural starter bread for the past two months.
A natural starter, also called a sourdough starter, is a culture of wild yeasts and friendly bacteria that the baker keeps alive and thriving by feeding it water and flour on a regular basis. When mixed with a larger quantity of water, flour, and sal...
"Natural Starter Bread" continues »
July 1, 2009
July 2009 Desktop Calendar
At the beginning of every month in 2009, I am offering C&Z readers a new desktop calendar, i.e. a wallpaper to apply on the desktop of your computer, with a food-related picture and a calendar of the current month.
Our desktop calendar for July is a picture of a fish taco made from scratch (including the tortilla but excluding the umbrella) by our friends Braden and Laura, of Hidden Kitchen.
Instructions to get your calendar are below....
"July 2009 Desktop Calendar" continues »