November 30, 2010
Basic Granola Formula
Granola is my safety blanket snack. I keep a big jar of it on the counter at all times, and if I run out and don't have the time or the ingredients to bake a new batch within the next few days, I don't feel quite myself.
There are very many granola recipes out there, and over the years I've tried a number of them -- you can check the raw buckwheat granola I wrote about last summer -- but when it comes to oven-baked granola, I find that what on...
"Basic Granola Formula" continues »
November 23, 2010
Chunky Pumpkin Soup
After years of whizzing all of my soups to liquid velvet, I have recently and suddenly become a chunky soup convert.
This change of preference happened overnight, and I don't know what prompted it, but ever since the beginning of the fall and the first batches of the season, I can't think of a more desirable soup format than cubes, coins, and ribbons of vegetables intermingling in a broth. There's chew and slurp, and the combination of the two...
"Chunky Pumpkin Soup" continues »
November 19, 2010
[Edible Idiom] Ne pas digérer quelque chose
Digestive biscuit photographed by Qiao-Da-Ye.
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 expression is, "Ne pas digérer quelque chose."
Literally translated as, "not digesting something," it means holding a grudge about something, being unhappy about a past situation, and not being able to let it go.
Example: "Il n'a toujours pas digéré ce qu'il considè...
"[Edible Idiom] Ne pas digérer quelque chose" continues »
November 16, 2010
Walnut and Date Cookies
You may remember from my posts about the quince and almond cake and the quince jelly that I have a friend with a house in the country and a generous disposition.
On a Sunday night a couple of weeks ago, she was driving back to Paris after spending a weekend there, and she announced she had more quinces and also some walnuts for me. The bag is quite heavy, she said, did I want her to drop them off? That would be perfect, I replied, and we agree...
"Walnut and Date Cookies" continues »
November 9, 2010
Multigrain Starter Bread
There's nothing like an edible host(ess) gift, and I have found that bringing a loaf of freshly home-baked bread makes you a very popular guest indeed.
What I like to do then is schedule my weekly bread baking on the day that we're expected at a friend's house, and make bâtards, those plump, elongated loaves: I'll bake three at a time, save two for our own consumption, and bring the third one -- the one with the best looks, I am shallow that w...
"Multigrain Starter Bread" continues »
November 3, 2010
Quince Jelly
I haven't made much jam lately. I was very excited about the process when I was just learning about it some years ago, but I soon realized it was hardly a thrifty pursuit in my case: because I live in the city, I have no need to preserve a hypothetical glut from a garden or orchard, and the price of fresh organic fruit is such that I only buy what we'll consume in season.
I have occasionally helped my mother prepare batches of jam while on vac...
November 1, 2010
November 2010 Desktop Calendar
At the beginning of every month, I am offering C&Z readers a new wallpaper to apply on the desktop of your computer, with a food-related picture and a calendar of the current month.
Our calendar for November is a picture of a kouign amann, the butter-rich, flaky, irresistibly caramelized confection from Brittany, and this particular one comes from Véronique Mauclerc's excellent bakery near the Parc des Buttes-Chaumont (83 rue de Crimée in the ...
"November 2010 Desktop Calendar" continues »