July 28, 2011
43 Things To Do With Fresh Shiso
When Maxence and I went to Japan last year, one of the items I was determined to hunt down and bring back was a bag of shiso seeds to grow my own.
Shiso (pronounced "she-so") is the Japanese name for an annual herb called Perilla, which belongs to the mint family. Other aliases include beefsteak plant (which makes little sense, if you ask me) or Japanese basil. It is used in quite a few Asian cuisines, but I've mostly encountered it in Japanes...
"43 Things To Do With Fresh Shiso" continues »
July 19, 2011
Dates, Hazelnuts, and Thoughts on Food Gifts
At a C&Z anniversary party three years ago I met David, a reader from L.A. who was spending a few months in France. We've been in touch on and off since then, and when David came back to Paris for a vacation in late spring, he very generously brought me a gift.
What he brought was a bag of honey dates grown in Indio, California by Dates by Davall*, and a pound of dry roasted hazelnuts from the Freddy Guys orchard in the Willamette** valley in ...
"Dates, Hazelnuts, and Thoughts on Food Gifts" continues »
July 5, 2011
Welcome Back, Eggplant!
Spaghetti with eggplants, new carrots, and shallots.
After weeks of skipping my Saturday morning market run due to the chaotic nature of my living situation and work schedule, I was finally able to go back to the marché des Batignolles this weekend.
It was the perfect morning for a comeback. I'd awoken (relatively) early, it was mild and sunny, and as I rode my bicycle down the boulevard in my shower-wet hair, I was seized by that swelling fee...
"Welcome Back, Eggplant!" continues »
April 19, 2011
50 Things To Do With Fresh Sorrel
Garden sorrel (Rumex acetosa) is commonly cultivated in French vegetable patches, and the season is just beginning. It is a sturdy, easy-to-grow leafy plant that comes back year after year, and belongs to the same botanical family as rhubarb and buckwheat, which is always fun to know.
I think of it as being halfway between a green and an herb: its flavor is notably tangy and sour, and it can be eaten raw or gently cooked, but in both cases it ...
"50 Things To Do With Fresh Sorrel" continues »
May 20, 2010
45 Things To Do With Fresh Sage
I recently remarked to a sympathetic friend how difficult it is to buy fresh sage around here. Sage isn't used intensively in French cuisine, so it's not part of the classic range of fresh herbs sold at produce shops or at the green market. But I enjoy its flavor very much, so I decided I would try and find seeds to grow my own.
Only days later, I walked past the sidewalk display of Etablissements Lion on my way home, and noticed that they sol...
"45 Things To Do With Fresh Sage" continues »
May 20, 2008
Tahiti Vanilla
Long-time readers of this blog (and those who sift through the archives while pretending to work) may remember me mentioning that my source of choice for vanilla was a small family-run company based in Mayotte.
Alas, when my sizeable stash dwindled and I decided to place a new order late last year, I found that the online shop had been dormant for months. My email enquiry was left unanswered and, a few weeks later, the website had evaporated....
December 17, 2007
Figue + Chocolat
[Fig + Chocolate]
Perhaps you remember the fig ice cream I wrote about earlier in the fall. Wanting to bolster the spirit of my fresh figs -- the last of the season -- I set out to buy dried figs, only to be told that my organic shop was all out, and still waiting for the new crop to be delivered. Aha! This made complete sense -- fresh figs need a little time to dry, yes? -- but the seasonality of dried fruits wasn't a matter I'd ever given mu...
"Figue + Chocolat" continues »
October 4, 2007
Goji Berries
The first time goji berries popped up on my radar was last winter, at London's Borough Market: amidst the fudge makers and the pie ministers was a natural foods stand that sold all manner of esoteric goods. Dried goji berries were prominently featured, with various health promises attached.
I tend to take these clamorous claims -- a better eyesight! improved marital activity! eternal life! -- with so many grains of salt I could salt-crust a c...
March 30, 2007
Le Kumquat Corse
[Kumquat from Corsica]
I wrote a little ode to the Corsican clementine last winter, but it turns out one shouldn't flatter a citrus too much, lest it rest on its laurels and the following year's crop be a disappointment.
All was not lost, however, on the citrus front: the maltaise orange from Tunisia was honey sweet and remarkably juicy, and a recent visit to the organic market turned up this novelty, at least to me: kumquats from Corsica, br...
"Le Kumquat Corse" continues »
December 15, 2006
Favorites of the Moment
Barbie dolls didn't do much for me when I was little, but I had a passion for plush animals. Each of them had a name and a set of personality traits (often refined by my father, who would improvise bedtime shows for my sister and me, with voices and everything), and they felt more alive than I think grownups can really remember. A direct consequence of this was that, even though I had preferences, naturally -- I remember a black crow I'd won at...
"Favorites of the Moment" continues »
March 2, 2006
Chocolate & Quinoa
You know how sometimes, you introduce two of your friends, and later find out they've clicked so well that they call and see each other without you? Now, as I understand (and this I gather from reading women's magazines, so take it with a grain of Maldon salt), some people hate that: it makes them feel left out, or perhaps sligthly cheated. But I've never been of a jealous nature, and on the contrary such situations make me glow visibly (a bit ...
"Chocolate & Quinoa" continues »
February 27, 2006
Le Sirop de Rose de Pierre Hermé
[Pierre Hermé's Rose Syrup]
I attended the two-day Omnivore Food Festival in Le Havre last week, during which a number of renowned chefs gave cooking demonstrations.
Among them was Pierre Hermé: he didn't actually pipe the ganache himself, but rather commented on his pastries as his sous-chef expertly assembled them onstage. The main focus of the presentation was the Ispahan -- his signature pairing of rose, litchi and raspberry -- and the w...
"Le Sirop de Rose de Pierre Hermé" continues »
February 19, 2006
Grocery Store Staples
I don't really mind waiting in line at the grocery store. Don't get me wrong, I don't choose the slowest cashier on purpose: that usually happens without any special effort on my part. But I do enjoy this idle time, during which I can study the latest chewing-gum innovations (they seem to come up with new ones every other week), mentally review my shopping list (and make the occasional frantic dash for that one capital item I forgot), and more ...
"Grocery Store Staples" continues »
December 9, 2005
Clémentine Corse
Hold the fruit lightly in your left hand. With the edge of your right thumb nail, cut a slit through the thin skin, close to the stem. Pull the skin up and away carefully, trying to pluck most of the white strands from the little nostril. Keep tearing at the thin peel, working your way down and around, until the clementine is completely naked. If it is still clutching a few scraps of pith out of modesty, remove those too. Pull the fruit gently ...
"Clémentine Corse" continues »
November 23, 2005
Madeleines au Miel de Châtaigner des Cévennes
One bite in these unassuming madeleines and the hair in your nape will stand to attention, as you suddenly register the intensity of the chestnut honey aroma, and the smooth, moist, melting texture of the crumb dissolving in your mouth. You will taste it again to make sure it wasn't just a fluke or a tastebud hallucination, and to your amazement it will get even better with each bite, until the madeleine is entirely consumed. You will lick the ...
"Madeleines au Miel de Châtaigner des Cévennes" continues »
November 14, 2005
Jambon de la Vallée des Aldudes
[Ham from the Aldudes Valley]
In the galaxy of first-class hams, this one most definitely deserves its place. It is made by 60 producers in the beautiful valley of Les Aldudes in the Pays Basque, from a specific breed of pig called le porc basque.
This pig, which sports a pretty pink and black outfit, almost didn't make it through the twentieth century: from 140,000 individuals in 1929, the headcount had dwindled down to a dramatic twenty by ...
"Jambon de la Vallée des Aldudes" continues »
November 9, 2005
Piment d'Espelette
Leaving Bayonne, we drove down the Atlantic coast to see Biarritz and Saint-Jean-de-Luz. We stayed in this fair beach city for the night and had a really nice dinner at a modern-Basque restaurant called Olatua -- an excellent cod with txorizo and a mighty fine gâteau basque.
In the morning we left and crossed the Spanish border to visit San Sebastián, in the Spanish Basque country. The road to get there was magnificent, offering heart-...
"Piment d'Espelette" continues »
September 23, 2005
Pimentón de la Vera
Pimentón de la Vera is a paprika-like powder made of smoked and ground chili peppers, produced in Extremadura, one of the seventeen autonomous communities of Spain. Extremadura is in the South-West of Spain, close to Portugal, and it is in fact where the first chili peppers were introduced as they were brought back from the New World.
Pimentón is made from pimientos that are grown locally, and then slowly dried over an oakwood fi...
"Pimentón de la Vera" continues »
August 14, 2005
Sweets from Sweden
It was Andrew's idea to replicate Nic's Blogging by Mail event for us European food bloggers. The rules are most simple: you put together a little care package, send it to someone, and receive another package from someone else. Nothing beats the thrill of having surprise goodies land on my doormat so I had to sign up.
As Andrew's round-up can attest, all of us were graced with thoughtfully selected and/or homemade treats and Anne's package, fl...
"Sweets from Sweden" continues »
June 13, 2005
Premières Groseilles
Red currants hold a special place in my heart as the perfect companion to peaches and nectarines and a dash of whipping cream in my mother's summer fruit salads -- preferably enjoyed in the cool shade of the garden, on a table with a cherry-patterned tablecloth secured by pretty star-shaped weight clips, should a little breeze pick up.
I also like that they are not your ordinary easy-to-like, easy-to-please berry. No. La groseille is startling...
"Premières Groseilles" continues »
May 6, 2005
And today, I bought salt.
...but not just any salt: Maldon sea salt, after so many sources conspired (and most recently the much-linked Slate article and its tempting dandruff analogy) to make me cave in and buy salt at 17.80€ a kilo (4.45€ for the 250g box).
Yesterday was a holiday in France ("l'Ascension", which marks the day on which Jesus returned to God: we sure have a lot of religious holidays for a laic country, not that I'm complaining or anything) an...
"And today, I bought salt." continues »
April 22, 2005
Paris-Grown Meyer Lemon
About a year ago, I posted a recipe for one of my favorite cakes, a flourless orange and ginger cake. In the course of the comment conversation, I mentioned that the recipe could also be made with other citruses, and Meyer lemons in particular. Meyer lemons are a variety of lemon, believed to stem from the love affair between an orange (or maybe a mandarin) and a lemon. They are said to be sweeter and less acidic than regular lemons, and their ...
"Paris-Grown Meyer Lemon" continues »
March 23, 2005
Première Fraise
[First Strawberry]
I am normally not one to buy fresh fruit out of season -- the waiting game only heightens the pleasure of eating them at their peak -- but I had to buy strawberries last week for a project I'm working on. I wrinkled my nose at the notion of buying March strawberries and fully expected these bright red babies to be tasteless little rocks with an excellent colorist, but I have to say I was most pleasantly surprised: these were...
February 25, 2005
Le Chou-Rave
Le chou-rave -- in English kohlrabi or cabbage turnip -- is my greatest vegetable discovery for this winter. Although its name would indicate that it is a root vegetable ("rave" means "root", as in betterave [beetroot] or celeri-rave [celeryroot]) it is in fact a surface vegetable that belongs to the cabbage family. It is also exceptionally rich in vitamins and nutrients.
I first spotted it in the display of my favorite produce stall at the ma...
February 17, 2005
Gomasio à la Spiruline
[Spirulina Gomasio]
I'm always happy to try new and intriguing food. It's a hit-or-miss kind of habit and I have on occasion bought things that turned out to be nasty (in that ugh-nasty-nasty-bleh-spit-spit kind of way), but it's all in the name of science and research, yes?
My organic grocery store in particular seems very much aware of that penchant of mine, and regularly puts out displays to subtly direct my attention towards this or that...
"Gomasio à la Spiruline" continues »
February 9, 2005
Tomme Affinée au Marc de Raisin
However uncanny the resemblance is, this is not a slice of blueberry streusel cheesecake. This is a Tomme Affinée au Marc de Raisin, sometimes referred to as "Who-the-hell-put-grime-on-my Cheese".
Tomme de Savoie is a cow's milk cheese à pâte pressée non cuite (pressed, unheated cheese *), and this one has been aged under a thick blanket of grape marc, the residue that's left after pressing the fruit to make wine.
Tomme is not normally a very...
"Tomme Affinée au Marc de Raisin" continues »
February 4, 2005
La Pomme et le Clochard
[Lady Apple and the Tramp]
This apple you see here is one of my very favorite varieties. Oh sure, it doesn't look like much from the outside: round with slightly flattened top and bottom, its yellow uneven skin is matte with brownish freckles. Quite far from the glossy prom queens of the apple family -- Gala, Granny Smith or Golden.
But slice it (I have personally been using the exact same technique since time immemorial -- cutting the apple ...
"La Pomme et le Clochard" continues »
January 27, 2005
Bergamotes
[Bergamot Oranges]
I bought these two from a basket at the Batignolles market the other day, intrigued as I was by their label and shape (notice the cute nipples).
Alternative citruses have been getting more and more attention these past few years, with yuzus, combavas, kumquats and cedrats coming out of the shadows, infusing dishes with unusual flavors, and perking up restaurant menus ("Um, what is yuzu again?", the rookie diner asks).
The ...
January 14, 2005
Carnet de Vins
As someone who adores notebooks of any shape or form, as someone who wants to teach herself about wine and is convinced that keeping wine tasting notes is the only way to go, you can imagine my joy at finding this darling little notebook at Lavinia, the wine super-store close to La Madeleine.
Small enough to be slipped in your purse or shirt pocket, it has a slim spiral for easier jotting, and a nice cover design for easier boasting. Each page...
October 6, 2004
Pâtes de Fruit
Today is my father's birthday. And as has been the tradition for as long as I can remember (and probably long before that), one of his gifts will be his favorite treat, a big assortment of pâtes de fruits from Hédiard.
Pâtes de fruit, literally "fruit pastes", are firm pieces of sweet fruit purée, a bit like jam made solid, rolled in sugar and cut into various shapes, generally squares or rectangles. The quality is highly variable -- I remembe...
August 30, 2004
Basket of Treats from Italy
The really cool thing when you have an obvious and widely known passion such as mine (and that would be food, I wish you'd pay attention) is that your friends and family know precisely what gifts will send you through the roof in fits of bubbling joy.
Latest example? Laurence and Marie-Laure, two of my closest friends, whom I've known respectively for eleven and seventeen years, took a trip to Rome for a few days in late July. Late July? You m...
"Basket of Treats from Italy" continues »
August 28, 2004
Oeufs de Caille
Quail eggs : one of nature's smallest wonders!
The beautiful thing with these teeny tiny eggs, is that they all look different, each of them with a unique half-inch of personality, random patterns of little smudges and freckles, some brown, some black, some blue.
You half expect them to crack open any minute, letting out a very small gawky dinosaur, or some other thumb-sized critter out of a fantasy.
Maxence bought a tray of them at our fa...
August 23, 2004
Basket of Treats from Germany
I am sure you remember about Christoph and Susanne, our German friends, who are both research scientists in Paris and serious food enthusiasts. In fact, I think of Christoph as the German twin of Alton Brown (for the scientific approach) and Jeffrey Steingarten (for the thorough, border-line obsessive experimentations), which is bound to make him a valuable friend.
Christoph and Susanne came to my birthday party, and as luck would have it, the...
"Basket of Treats from Germany" continues »
August 18, 2004
Ail Rose de Lautrec
[Pink Garlic from Lautrec]
Those of you who have been around for a little while have probably noticed a personal penchant for all things pink, and this is only confirmed by my two most recent shoe acquisitions. I certainly don't shy away from hefty doses of garlic either, so you can certainly imagine my glee at welcoming this beautiful bunch of pink garlic into my kitchen.
"Pink garlic?", you ask, your right eyebrow arched in curiosity. Well ...
"Ail Rose de Lautrec" 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-ce que c'est, ça?" I asked the stand-keeper. ("What are these?")
"Ce sont des poires Blanchet", he ...
"La poire qui était toute petite" continues »
June 18, 2004
Figues d'Iran
[Persian Figs]
These cute marble-size figs are called Persian figs, or Shirazi figs. They come from Iran, where they are produced on a small scale, in villages : they are picked from a type of fig-tree which grows scattered in the mountains, and they are then dried in the sun.
The path those little guys have taken to reach me is a little tortuous. My parents have a vacation house in the East of France, and when they're there, they go shopping...
June 15, 2004
Mushroom Salt
Just when you thought that some things, like salt, couldn't be improved upon, someone has to go out and invent mushroom salt!
This pretty grinder, which I bought at the Grande Epicerie de Paris, contains thick crystals of sea salt and chunks of dried mushrooms -- chanterelles, porcini and African caesar mushrooms -- so that the seasoning you grind out is a very pleasant blend of salted mushroom flavor. This is, as you would expect, particularl...
April 30, 2004
Maryland Delights, Act III : Old Bay Seasoning
And this is the third and last installment of the Tale of the Maryland Delights which Alicia sent me. The last item is a tin of Old Bay Seasoning, without which, I am told, no Southern kitchen is quite complete.
It is a mix of celery salt, mustard, red pepper, black pepper, bay leaves, cloves, allspice, ginger, mace, cardamom, cinnamon and paprika, very well balanced and somewhat spicy when you taste it as is. But if you look closely at the in...
"Maryland Delights, Act III : Old Bay Seasoning" continues »
April 20, 2004
Maryland Delights, Act II : Baking Mixes
Last week I told you about the Chocolate Cremes that Alicia had sent me in her Foods From Maryland parcel. This parcel, neatly packed up in a large box of chicken bakes, also contained three boxes of assorted baking mixes.
We do have baking mixes in France of course (yup, got 'em about the same time as electricity, early last year), but they are mostly for French specialties : crêpes, madeleines, gâteau au chocolat, entremets, crème renversée....
"Maryland Delights, Act II : Baking Mixes" continues »
March 29, 2004
Sweet and Swirly Rusk
Well you know, I'm sorry, but I feel like I wasn't given a fair chance. At all. I mean, really, who could resist?
On the package it reads : "delicious rusks with the delicately sweet taste of malted barley".
And the rusks have a swirl pattern on them.
And there is a little red banner proclaiming that it is new and nouveau, and nyhet! As well!
And the serving suggestion actually suggests you smear a little jam on it. I mean jam, who would'v...
"Sweet and Swirly Rusk" continues »
March 27, 2004
Galette Repas... ou pas!
This Galette Essene is a small loaf of sprouted cereals bread, which I found at my organic grocery store. I talked about a galette essénienne before, but this is a different animal : where my former galette was brittle and cracker-like, this one is a moist little thing.
The package, by calling it a "galette repas" proclaims it can be eaten as a whole meal. It came in different flavors, and I chose the white bean, tomato and basil. I brought it...
"Galette Repas... ou pas!" continues »
March 25, 2004
Ricottella de Poisat
This package of ricotta was given to me by a passionate and very kind cheese maker from Grenoble, whom I met at the Salon du Fromage - a parting gift after our long conversation, during which we tasted the whole array of his products (and not your teensy scanty samples either), discussed their respective flavors and textures, personalities and benefits, and swapped recipe ideas.
It is sweet with a mildly acidic edge, and its texture, slightly ...
"Ricottella de Poisat" continues »
March 19, 2004
The Gorilla Date
After reading the Amateur Gourmet's irrepressibly-giggle-inducing post on Medjool dates, I decided to chime in and add to the praise on that precious fruit.
But why is my date so angry, I wonder? Is it because it is all brown and wrinkled? Is it because we gobbled up all of its siblings in the clear plastic container and it is the only survivor? Is it because it cost an arm and a leg but didn't even get a commission on the transaction?
It is ...
"The Gorilla Date" continues »
March 17, 2004
Tourteau Fromagé
Le Tourteau Fromagé is a French cheesecake, one that I mentioned buying during a recent grocery store trip. "Fromagé" means "with cheese", and "tourteau" is a variation on the word "tourte", which means "pie". I happen to find the word "tourteau" very cute - it puts me in mind of a small cuddly animal for some reason.
It is a specialty from the Deux-Sèvres, a district in the Poitou (South-West of France), and its origins can be traced back to ...
"Tourteau Fromagé" continues »
February 21, 2004
Galette Essenienne
I bought this at Pousse-Pousse, the little boutique where I buy my sprouting seeds and where I collect my weekly Campanier baskets. It is a sort of thin flatbread, made with sprouted seeds that have been ground and dehydrated. There are different flavors, depending on the seeds that have been used, and I chose the leek one (well, of course). The galettes (or rather randomly broken pieces of it) are packaged up in little trays wrapped in plastic...
"Galette Essenienne" continues »
January 25, 2004
A Truckload of Shortbread Cookies
What could possibly beat a box of shortbread cookies?...
"A Truckload of Shortbread Cookies" continues »
December 15, 2003
Crème de Noix du Monastère
[Walnut Butter from the Monastery]
I take bus 67 to get home from work every day. This bus line isn't very crowded, and takes me from the South of the 13th to the 18th arrondissement along a very pleasant route. You can usually find me sitting by a window, reading, writing, or just gazing outside and observing. At one point, in the 4th, the bus drives up the rue du Pont Louis Philippe, a typical Marais street, lined with small and arty store w...
"Crème de Noix du Monastère" continues »
November 14, 2003
The Giant Pomelo
Another instance of blog synchronicity - there may be some pheromones at work here, who knows? Deb recently posted a picture that made me laugh, on which a pomelo looked huge, posing proudly next to a teeny tiny mini-grater. On the very same day, I had taken a somewhat similar picture of my first pomelo ever!
I enjoyed the taste very much, by the way, nice and tart, and I like tart. But I peeled it like an orange, and the skin of each section ...
"The Giant Pomelo" continues »
November 6, 2003
Le Thé Mariage Frères
I could not agree more with Amy. Tea from Mariage Frères is one of those things that just make life a whole lot better. The beauty of the tins it comes in does nothing to hamper my feelings, nor does the beauty of the boxes the tins themselves come in!
And the names, indeed, the names! If you can't make it out on the pic above, I have : "Thé sur le Nil" (fruity and lemony green tea), "Casablanca" (Morrocan mint and bergamot) and "Jasmin Mandar...
"Le Thé Mariage Frères" continues »
October 24, 2003
Luscious Persimmons
Persimmons are still a newly discovered continent to me. I experienced my first persimmon about two years ago, in California. Sofya, a coworker of mine from Russia (St-Petersburg to be precise), had a tree laden with them in her garden, so she brought some to work for sharing. I loved that about my workplace, there was always something in the kitchen that someone had brought in - especially at Halloween and Christmas time, when everybody was tr...
"Luscious Persimmons" continues »