January 11, 2012
Beet Hummus
Who says winter food has to be colorless and drab?
I first put together this beet hummus just before the holidays, on a day we'd been invited to dinner by one of my dearest friends (I've told you about her before), who was days away from delivering her first child.
When I offered to contribute to the dinner, I was entrusted with the mission of bringing something to nibble on for the apéro, to go with our pre-dinner drinks.
I find that dips a...
March 9, 2011
Hummus
I realize the world has not been holding its breath waiting for me to share my recipe for hummus.
But it does seem like the world, or at least a portion of its inhabitants, could use a friendly reminder about homemade hummus: how good it is, how easy, and how cheap, too.
Just out of curiosity, I've calculated the approximate cost of my hummus, which I make from dried chickpeas, and with organic ingredients, and I've worked out that it costs m...
November 15, 2009
Simple Tahini Sauce
Ever since I received an electric steamer for my birthday last summer, I have been steaming vegetables with abandon.
Before that, I used a set of those bamboo baskets that you nest in a wok if you have one (I don't) or place on a saucepan that's never quite the correct size for optimal steam circulation. That thing sputtered and leaked and drove me a little crazier every time I used it, so this new appliance was a considerable upgrade. It is a...
"Simple Tahini Sauce" continues »
September 8, 2009
Roasted Eggplant and Goat's Milk Yogurt Dip
A favorite from the archives, this post was originally published on September 22, 2008.
When I recovered my kitchen after seven weeks (seven! weeks!) of renovation chaos -- and this was just to redo the bathroom, mind you -- the very first thing I made was a yogurt cake, to fortify us through our next mission: the meticulous cleaning of, well, the entire contents of our apartment, which we had ill-protected from the dust storm. (Never again wi...
"Roasted Eggplant and Goat's Milk Yogurt Dip" continues »
May 12, 2009
Radish Leaf Pesto
Radish season is in full swing, and I have been buying a bunch a week since they first appeared a month ago. I very much like radis roses, the pink, elongated ones with a white bottom that look like so many pink mice, but I don't turn my nose at the red globes, and certainly not at the multicolored bouquets.
In fact, it is not so much the color or shape of the bulbs I pay attention to when I shop, but the color and vigor of their leaves*: firs...
"Radish Leaf Pesto" continues »
March 10, 2009
Peacamole
[Green Pea Cilantro Spread]
If you've been invited to dinner at my house lately, the odds are high that you've been greeted with a glass of chilled white wine and a platter of multigrain crackers topped with this bright green spread. "Guacamole?" you may have asked. "No, peacamole!" I'll have responded, or rather, if you and I speak French together: poicamole*.
I have made and served countless batches of this spread over the past couple of mo...
November 25, 2008
Cashew Cheese
Although I am as omnivorous as they come, I have a vivid interest in the diet of those who decide to -- or must -- walk an alternate path, be it vegetarian, vegan, raw, or allergen-free.
The reason why I'm so interested is that cooking and eating under constraints such as these encourages those who do to think out of the box, seek out new ingredients or look at old ones in a different light, and invent techniques, recipes, and dishes that come...
December 5, 2007
Muhammara
[Bell Pepper Spread with Walnuts and Cashews]
Sometimes, when I have a minute, I sit back and think about the world of food, how vast it is, and how many rivers, hills, and valleys remain uncharted to me: I know so little, and have so much yet to learn. I don't find the prospect overwhelming, far from it. I find it encouraging, I find it promising, I find it comforting: as long as I can read books and move around a kitchen, my life will see no...
February 5, 2007
Crème de Feta à la Tomate
[Tomato Feta Dip]
Every once in a while I get the sudden impulse to hop on a stool and spring-clean my pantry. The urge strikes with no warning, often at the most inconvenient moment, and I get pulled into the task like those cartoon characters who slip a finger into a spinning cogwheel.
I will be looking for an item that time has pushed to the hinterlands of the cabinet, and I will encounter all sorts of forgotten jars and neglected cans alo...
"Crème de Feta à la Tomate" continues »
September 20, 2006
Faisselle de Chèvre à la Ciboulette
[Goat's Milk Faisselle with Chives]
Originally, a faisselle (feh-sell) is a container pierced with tiny holes, in which fresh cheese is placed so the whey will drain out. But then metonymy came into play (or perhaps came in to play) and the word now also designates an unsalted soft curd cheese sold in such a container, itself nested in a larger, bucket-shaped tub. This clever contraption allows the whey to flow freely around the cheese, keepin...
"Faisselle de Chèvre à la Ciboulette" continues »
June 8, 2006
Pesto Fraise Basilic
[Strawberry Basil Pesto]
What do you do when your deepest desire is a little homemade pesto in your sandwich, but you discover with a sinking heart that you have but a handful of basil? Sure, you could go out and buy more, certainly, yes, that would be the sensible thing to do. But what if you can't go out for some reason, say, because you've just painted your toenails, or because you're expecting a delivery, or perhaps both? Well, you open th...
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July 18, 2005
Dip Fromage Frais et Coriandre
[Fresh Cheese and Cilantro Dip]
Last Saturday we organized a little impromptu dinner party at our place with our dear neighbor-friends Stéphan and Patricia, and our new neighbor-friends Ligiana and Peter. Ah yes! Didn't I tell you? We have new neighbors! They moved in a few weeks ago and now occupy the apartment just to the left of ours. A little welcome note slipped under their door, an invitation to join us for drinks and nibbles, and voilà!...
"Dip Fromage Frais et Coriandre" continues »
May 17, 2005
Anchoïade
Anchoïade, a garlic and anchovy dip, is a specialty from Provence and the city of Collioure in particular, famous for its anchois. It is typically served with an assortment of raw vegetables, or spread on little toasts. When I was in Lourmarin for Easter, my aunt served a delicious anchoïade for lunch the first day, and it had the consistency of a thin mayonnaise. I have also seen anchoïades that were thicker and chunkier, a bit like tapenade, ...
April 15, 2005
Petites Moutardes
I'm sure this happens to you all the time, too.
You set out to buy a gift for someone, say, a hostess gift. You happen to be on the Place de la Madeleine, or any other place where razzle-dazzle food stores abound -- La Madeleine is home to Fauchon, Hediard, Petrossian and La Maison du Chocolat among others.
And you think: a food gift! Now, that's a novel idea.
On one corner of the square, you step into the Maille boutique, where the black ...
"Petites Moutardes" continues »
April 4, 2005
Miel de Lourmarin
Yet another edible souvenir I brought back from my stay in Lourmarin over the Easter week-end: this large jar of thick and gloriously amber-colored honey.
I happen to have somewhat childish tastes in honey, and I am often put off by honeys that taste too much like sap, sharp and woodsy to the point of bitterness. This probably makes me a dilettante honey lover -- just like real hardcore coffee lovers are supposed to appreciate strong hardcore ...
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March 18, 2005
The Saddest Thing Since The Invention Of Jam
...is an empty jar of jam.
Particularly if it is Christine Ferber's Confiture de Framboise à la Violette (raspberry and violet jam). I held on to that one for months after buying it, not opening it until the heart of winter so it could act as my cheerful companion on those bleak mornings when you wake up and it's still dark, you get ready and it's still dark, you leave for work and it's still dark.
I guess it's only fitting I should get the ...
"The Saddest Thing Since The Invention Of Jam" continues »
December 9, 2004
Gelée de Pomerol
[Pomerol Wine Jelly]
I am a religious reader of a handful of carefully selected cooking and women's magazines. Some I subscribe to, some I buy at the marchand de journaux (self-respecting magazines are not sold at the grocery store in France). New issues are welcomed with a tiny whoop of joy, carrying the promise of relaxing entertainment and a new set of colorful nuggets -- the latest fashion, gossip, book, trend, store or recipe.
In women's...
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November 3, 2004
Moutarde du Pêcheur
My parents took a short vacation to Brittany a few weeks ago, to Carnac-Of-The-Many-Happy-Childhood-Memories, and to Belle-Île, a breathtakingly beautiful island (or so I'm told) a few miles off the Atlantic coast, where a dear friend of theirs now lives.
Brittany, as I've mentioned
http://chocolateandzucchini.com/archives/2003/10/like_caramels_au_beurre_sale_only_spreadable.php
">before, is home to dozens of yummilicious food specialties, a...
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October 8, 2004
Candied Seville Peel
And as if her company wasn't enough of a treat, Pim also brought me a gift from Sunny California. "It's from June Taylor", she said, "our local Christine Ferber".
In a pretty jar with square shoulders, strips of soft and chewy peel swimming in a velvety syrup. In a pretty jar that glows like an orange lightbulb, the false twins Sweetness and Bitterness, followed closely by their little sister, the tingly Zestiness.
Beautiful on my counter, de...
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June 7, 2004
Duo de Pesto : Pesto de Roquette et Pesto Rouge
[A Duet of Pesto : Rucola Pesto and Red Pesto]
On Saturday night, my dear friends Marie-Laure and Laurence and their respective (and dear, too) boyfriends Ludo and Jean-Christophe came over for dinner. This had been decided just the day before, so Saturday morning saw me sitting on the couch, surrounded by cookbooks, perusing them for inspiration. In passing, I have plans to create an exercice video which I will simply call "The Cookbook Worko...
"Duo de Pesto : Pesto de Roquette et Pesto Rouge" continues »
June 2, 2004
White Bean and Nut Butter Dip
Our neighbor-friends Stéphan and Patricia have been busy repainting their living-room these past few weeks. On Sunday they were finally done, so they rearranged the furniture, knocked on our kitchen window with the Ceremonial Wooden Spoon, and invited us over for a little newly-repainted-house-warming drink.
You just don't go to a house-warming party -- however improvized -- empty-handed, so we decided to prepare a few nibbles to accompany the...
"White Bean and Nut Butter Dip" continues »
May 5, 2004
Confiture de Fraises au Poivre Noir et à la Menthe Fraîche
[Strawberry Jam with Black Pepper and Fresh Mint]
This is another one of the jams I made last summer, during my jam-making spree.
The recipe comes from a great little book by Christine Ferber, the Jam Fairy, simply titled "Mes Confitures". After a section with tips and techniques, which is kept nice and short, Christine goes on to share over seventy of her recipes.
They are organized by season, and I find this clever and wonderfully suited :...
"Confiture de Fraises au Poivre Noir et à la Menthe Fraîche" continues »
April 28, 2004
Crème de Calisson
On a recent Saturday morning, Marie-Laure, Ludo and I embarked on a large-scale cooking-toy shopping expedition, ostensibly to get Laurence a birthday present. It was their first time experiencing the magic of E.Dehillerin, A.Simon and Mora, and we had a grand time, which culminated in a delicious lunch at Oliopanevino, a tiny Italian restaurant a stone's throw from Dehillerin.
Among the absolute must-sees of the area is, of course, G.Detou. I...
"Crème de Calisson" continues »
January 7, 2004
Confiture de l'An Neuf
[New Year Jam]
Just a couple of days ago, I happened to be around La Grande Epicerie de Paris, the quite huge gourmet food store attendant to the store Le Bon Marché. This kind of place works like a magnet on me, and although I was laden with different heavy items to carry, I still went in to browse around. This is really heaven for food lovers, but I didn't stay long : there is only so much cumbersome aisle space negociation even I can take, ...
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December 4, 2003
Sucre d'Erable
When my parents came over for lunch a few weeks ago, my mother, who knows me oh-so-well, brought me a cute little jar of maple sugar from Quebec. It is made by a company called Les Sucres du Quebec, which makes a variety of maple-based products.
I love, love, *love* maple syrup, and I'd never had maple sugar before, so I was very intrigued, and it's delicious! It's crystallized like muscovado sugar, but the crystals are more fragile and collap...
October 9, 2003
Like Caramels au Beurre Salé, only Spreadable
The other day, I was walking up the avenue d'Italie in the 13th arrondissement - I was coming back from the information meeting for a singing class I may take - and I noticed a bakery named "Le Grenier à Pain". It was very inviting, so I walked in. I didn't need or want to buy bread or pastries, you see, but I like to look anyway. I do the same thing with any food store or restaurant, looking at the menu, taking a look around, asking about hour...
"Like Caramels au Beurre Salé, only Spreadable" continues »