This week at my producers market my seafood guy had some mussels that looked nice. So I took home a sac (1kg) and cooked them in the traditional french method. It’s actually quick and easy. If you have never tried them at home before, then give this a shot sometime. I didn’t have any shallots, so I used a few small leeks and it was just fine. Continue reading
This week I went to a little 1hr workshop organized by Cuisine Évènements, Stephanie Ginoux, given by Chef Saucier Philippe Houy from Restaurant Christian Etienne a 1* Michelin restaurant in Avignon. It took place in a little organic produce market called Terre et Bio in St. Remy, about 15 minutes North of our house. We made one simple dessert, using citrus fruits. I have never really worked with gelatin paper or whipped cream canisters, so this was a fun lesson. Now I have an excuse to buy the professional whip cream canister, which in french is called a ‘siphon’. We did this recipe very quickly, even though it should have had a lot more time to chill before putting it all together. We also had all of this going at once, but I wrote out the recipes separately so that you could follow more easily. Continue reading
Recently I spent a lovely saturday at Dalmeran winery not far from the house. They have a beautiful kitchen where cooking classes are easily presented. Chef Mathieu Desmarest, Meilleur Apprenti de France, from Restaurant Paul Bocuse, led the course. There were 7 of us and the class was about 3 hours long. Our host Stéphanie Ginoux, from Cuisine Evenements, organizes lots of cooking classes in the area, and since I have found her, I just can’t stop following her:)
I have never really taken the leap and attempted to cook scallops (Noix de St. Jacques), on my own. So this class was a great way to get over that fear. They aren’t as daunting when you have a professional chef on hand to show you just how to handle them. Taking off the coral wasn’t obvious. There is a piece of milky white skin just opposite of the coral tail. You must delicately remove the skin, which will pull some thin skin from the side, which is attached to the coral. If done well, this all comes off together and your scallop is ready to be prepared. Continue reading
I love quinoa as well. This looks like a great recipe!
So as you know I love Meatless Mondays and an All Vegetarian meal whenever I can….??!!
I especially love Quinoa, for me it’s the best substitution to heavy carbs and it marries so well with vegetables (really anything, in this case I am focusing on vegetables 😉 ), I love the fact that it really will just blend with whatever flavors it is paired up with.
It’s been winters and although I love salads it’s been pretty hard to just have a salad when outside it’s snowing or just plain cold. So, what I resort to is basically roasted, steamed or lightly sauteed vegetables. On this particular day I hadn’t gone to the store in a while it was snowing outside and I just was going to use whatever I had in the fridge. I always have a large variety of veggies so I figured that I would make vegetables…
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Potatoes are basically my favorite comfort food. I make lots of soups and use potatoes to make them creamier…in addition to all of the other dishes I make where the potato is the star. This recipe is quite different with a quasi béchamel in the mix. I think I will give it a try.
I know winter is almost over and soon it will be time to put hearty soups on hold until next fall. However, this soup is so good that you need to fit it into your meal planning before the weather gets too warm! This creamy soup is very filling and makes enough that you’ll have delicious leftovers for another day. If you’re a meat-eater I would highly suggest adding some bacon to this soup. It’s not often that I really miss being able to add some meat to a dish, but when I was eating this soup I couldn’t help but think how a little bacon would really take this soup over the top. Of course I had the soup without the bacon and it was still fantastic, you really can’t go wrong!
When I re-heated the soup it was a little on the thick side so I added a…
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This weekend was low-key in the kitchen. We made some green juice: apples, chard, spinach, lemon, orange, carrots. I have to make room for the new fruits I will buy at the producers market on Monday.
It is still winter and I am still making mostly soup for dinner. My friend Pat introduced me to the dehydrated bits of soy protein this week. I also found black beans, which I have not seen before in France. I thought chili seemed like the natural route to take with these new found ingredients. Allons-y!
This looks like a winner. Not having to roll AND it’s portable. Love it!
I want to introduce a new feature on the blog: the Jar Lunch! It’s like a bag lunch or a bento lunch, but the next big thing is lunch packed in a good ol’ mason jar. I have to microwave my lunch at work, so metal containers won’t work and heating up plastic has me worried. We often simply fill mason jars with leftovers, but sometimes it is fun to come up with a clever jar lunch and make a big batch. Lunch for the whole family is already packed.
I am pleased to introduce the first jar lunch; it was so much fun to make. Meet deconstructed sushi in a jar:
Might as well take advantage of the mason jar’s glass with some colorful layers. Levi is currently obsessed with all things Japan. He has been considering taking Japanese in addition to German. We sometimes splurge on the…
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My Kitchen in Provence 
