Three years already? I am still amazed when I think about it.

Three years ago, on Nov 28th 2005, I started to blog. And in three years, needless to say that much has happened. I am aware that I am quite lucky: I met great people, virtually or in real life; I learned a ton; I started a new carrier; I am able to do, every day, something I continue to love just the same way, even more; and I am able to share pieces of it with you.

I want to dedicate this post to all of you without whom this blog would simply not be what it is today. Your constant encouragements and notes always bring me warmth. And make me smile and happy.

And yes, I am thankful!

Merci !

I designed this chocolate cake a few weeks ago, and made it already twice — it is light and deliciously chocolaty. The first one I made was for my friend L.’s baby shower, and the second one was for our Thanksgiving dinner, only yesterday. Irene, my friend Ron’s mum who is an amazing 97-year old woman, once also a modern dancer who lived and danced in Argentina and Europe, kept asking who baked the cake — her memory is leaving her, but she remembers tiny details of her life like no one else. “Did you bake the cake?” she asked P.

“Not me, Bea did,” he said pointing at me. She looked back, stared at me and said assertidly: “It’s really delicious. Can I have another slice?”

That was the best compliment.

You will get to know about it more soon — I will have to tell you something else then too!

“You’re like a squirrel,” P. told me when he saw that I was putting a plump orange winter squash into the large vegetable basket I keep in the kitchen, which already contained at least three or four nice looking ones.

“I know!” I replied, feeling a bit silly to have bought yet another red kuri squash. “I am just too scared that I won’t be able to find any like this one again.”

Especially as I always make sure to buy organic ones, so that I can leave the skin on while cooking, if I decide to.

On Saturday, I made a soufflé au potimarron (Hokkaido squash soufflé). It was beautifully puffed and golden, and we almost ate the whole dish between the two of us, although my recipe actually accommodates four people. “It feels like we are eating flavored snow,” I said, laughing and helping me to some more. “I cannot believe that we managed to finish the whole dish up.”

“It’s bébé who took his or her share!” P. said in a joking tone.

I know already that I have to make another one again soon, and take pictures this time, if I am quick, to show you.

“Perhaps I could make one for your parents, when they come for Thanksgiving, non?”I asked P. “Do you think that they would like a soufflé?”

“Who doesn’t like soufflé?”

Then there was this Hokkaido Squash tart that I baked one evening last week when I knew that P. and I would not be back home until late in the evening.

“It will reheat quite well,” I said in the car as we we were driving to our birth class. Preparing for the arrival of bébé is of course conducive to making sure that we are all well fed — not that we actually need an excuse, really.

And the season for winter squashes is far from being over, Thank God. Especially with the holiday season approaching à grands pas. Are you already preparing foods? I have a dish of red kuri lasagna to make for dinner tomorrow, a cake and an appetizer to prepare for our festive dinner on Thursday. Frankly, I cannot wait to get started. In the meantime, though, we still need to feed us on nourishing foods, to keep us going. N’est-ce pas ?

This vegetable tart is a good example of how to enjoy comfortable, light autumnal meals. Easy to prepare; bursting with flavor. Quite ideal before the numerous foods awaiting us in a few days, for those of us who live on this side of the Atlantic, and celebrate Thanksgiving.

My family in France always wonders what this holiday is like. “Vous mangerez quoi ?” (What will you eat?) I can hear my mum and sister-in-law ask with evident curiosity. Our phone conversations are always filled with food matters. It runs in the family.

“A lot of winter squash, for sure.”

I am not complaining. I love it, in fact!

Next time, I really have to bake a pumpkin pie for them. They *must* try it!

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone, if we do not speak before then!

Read the rest…

Because weekends are meant for us to relax, and prepare for happy times.

There needs to be baking time set aside. Try it, you will like this soothing moment, especially as the smell of your baked goods diffuses in the entire house.

Intense.

Rewarding.

P. and I both love snacks combining dark chocolate and nuts. They are a favorite during the days we are lucky to spend at home, when we are hiking and traveling — perfect for any on-the-go occasion, really. Being pregnant has not changed this habit in me whatsoever — quite on the contrary, I should admit.

I remember that when I first moved to Boston, we used to buy a sweet treat called temptations bars. Whole Foods sold them. They were simple but deliciously good: a shortbread base, caramel, pecans and chocolate were combined to make an irresistible treat.

They were the first thing that caught my attention in my friend baker and food blogger Anita Chu’s new cookbook, Field Guide to Cookies, which she kindly asked me to review, along with eight other avid and talented food blogger/bakers (which list is easily found by following this link).

[...] This book will help you identify many of the most popular cookies around the world, discover what makes each one special, and recreate them in your home kitchen [...]

Field Guide to Cookies, or How to Identify and Bake Virtually Every Cookie Imaginable, is a small compact cookbook designed to cover the basics of many popular cookies, some of which I am sure you know, and some which you will be delighted to discover. The book itself is divided in four clear sections covering 100 illustrated recipes: Drop Cookies, Bar Cookies, Molded Cookies and to finish, Rolled Cookies — enough to bring you in a comfortable sugar coma. Each recipe is introduced with a general description followed by a short history, which is a nice way to become better educated about cookies. And, since the book holds easily in one hand too, it can conveniently be packed for a trip, should you feel the need to bake while you are away. A nice gift to make to anyone with a sweet tooth, really.

Who could not be tempted by a homemade cookie?

I asked Anita a few questions about the making of the book, to hear more about her recent experience.

Anita’s Turtle Bar recipe is straightforward. It requires basic ingredients easily available for any baker. I did not have any issue with the recipe beside finding out along the way that the measurements of the pan used to make the base of the cookie were inaccurate. Unsure at first, I asked Anita, of course. She agreed that the measurements of the pan were indeed wrong. Nothing serious, and I was glad to have had the intuition.

The cookie has three layers: a shortbread base on top of which pecans, caramel and dark chocolate are combined. I first made the recipe as it was, then decided to adapt it, preparing a variant using gluten free flours (quinoa, white rice flours, along with quinoa flakes) and less caramel. Both were a great treat.

Lots of luck for the launch of Anita’s new cookbook, and a big thank for including me in the bunch of happy testers!

Read the rest…

I need to run after time so that I can finish the zillion of things before bébé arrives. And surely this new life stage is coming faster than we can imagine. I am sure that it might well be the case for you too, even if there isn’t any bébé in the making and planning — but I know that there is for some of you who kindly left notes in this space before!

Then, there is Thanksgiving arriving so fast! You agree, don’t you? This year, my friend R. asked that I were in charge of preparing dessert and the appetizer for the dinner he is hosting. I am excited: R. is a great cook and loves to entertain. Yesterday, we tested my dessert idea and I must say, we all really liked it. Perhaps not a traditional Thanksgiving dessert. Not at all in fact but then, I think I will be forgiven as the dessert has chocolate in it, and it feels tout tout léger (very light). Si, si, believe me! I will show you and you can tell me what you think.

But after this chocolate coma though, I thought that it could be nice to go for a change and enjoy something fruity.

You know that P. loves rice pudding, don’t you? The whole Irish family does. Preferably eaten warm, as P.’s mum likes to add.

I do too.

So I started a rice pudding recipe. It used lemon zest and lemon extract. But in the end, I turned the dessert into fruit sushi: a simple, fresh, and pleasing way to finish our meal. We ate it lukewarm, because we prefer it this way.

“What are you doing?” my mother-in-law asked when I called her at noon to wish her a happy birthday.

“Rice pudding,” I said.

“Oh, so tempting! she exclaimed enthusiastically. I knew that she was going to like the idea.

A few hours later, as I was driving P. and I back from a class, he decided to call her to wish her a happy birthday too. We stopped at the red light and I heard a pause in their conversation. Then, P. looked at me and smiled: “she is making rice pudding!”

This kind of dessert is always a winner in their family.

Read the rest…