Home » Archive for August, 2006

Do you see this little icon on the top corner right?
And do you remember these financiers?
Well, yesterday, I felt touched and happy, and I need to explain.
I recently participated in the July edition of Does My Blog Look Good Event, held every month. Helen (Grab Your Fork) hosted it and Matt (MattBites), Jocelyn (Kudaoire), Melissa [...]

Me: And, how would you like your soufflé to be served? Dans le ramequin ? Sur assiette ? Avec ou sans coulis ? (In the ramekin? On a plate? With or without sauce?)
P: Je peux avoir les 3 ? (Can I have the 3?)
Me: Gourmand ! (Greedy!)
The Best Soufflé Therapy
If there is one dish that [...]

Ratatouille Vegetables

You Must Eat Ratatouille at Least Once in your Lifetime!
At this time of year, farmer’s markets are full of delicious summer vegetables. It is interesting to see how we actually change our cooking habits with the seasons. In summer of course, I think that we want lighter meals, cooler in many ways, although I [...]

The Dilemna of an Empty Fridge
I sometimes get up in the morning and despite a real desire to cook or bake something, the last thing that I want to do is to go grocery shopping. Too much hassle. Too many people. I just want to stay away from crowds and traffic. Yet the baking craving [...]

Wilson Farms, Lexington MA

C’est le temps des tomates rengorgées de soleil.
Time for Homegrown Tomatoes Full of Sun
When summer started, I remember the day when I caught a glimpse of the first locally grown Heirloom tomatoes. Big, red, round tomatoes full of sun! I could not resist and came home with a basket full. I [...]

My mum makes an excellent couscous. And by couscous, I actually do not only mean the grain, but the whole dish, with many different types of meat — lamb, beef, chicken, rabbit, merguez — and vegetables cooked in a broth. Not to forget the harissa, of course. But as a little girl, no matter [...]

My friend Rekha came for dinner a while ago, telling me she had a surprise for me. Une surprise ? Chouette, j’adore les surprises ! She walked into the house carrying a nicely wrapped box. Mmmm, ça sent le dessert tout cela ! (I can smell dessert in this!)
“J’ai une surprise pour toi. J’ai [...]

Can you Show me the Way to the Garden, Please?
This time of year offers some of the nicest months in New England. I am fond of it. Summer is usually no longer scorching hot, and humid days are scarce. I like to notice that things become quieter too. Have you noticed how loud summer can [...]

Beet Tabouli
She is in Wellington, New Zealand and I am in Boston, US. Winter there, summer here. But we are connected by one same dish.
We did not even talk about it.
I found funny to see that both Emma and I made the same tabouli. I discovered hers on the exact day when I made [...]

This is the way I like summer lunches to be.
Recipe to follow. Have a good weekend!

On dit muffins (mu- like in déjà vu) pour “muffins” (We Say Muffins for Muffins)
I do not know if I remember the first time I ate a muffin. But there is one thing I remember: the first time Genevière, my sister-in-law, pronounced the word “muffin”.
Geneviève : Béa, tu aimes les muuuuuffins ?
Moi : Les [...]

Stuffed Round Zucchinis with Red Rice and Vegetables
Last week, Helen from Beyond Salmon — everything you need to know about fish, she knows — and her husband came over for dinner. The simple scenario of two couples sharing a meal could simply mean a common evening, nothing that will be matter for discussion. Such [...]

Nectarine and Raspberry with Vanilla Custard Birthday Cake
Because I like to take food photos and try things I have not done before, I thought it would be fun to enter this photo contest organized by Slashfood on Flickr where every participant was to enter the picture of a birthday cake.
Slashfood is indeed celebrating its [...]

Is answering such a question ever going to be possible ?
It all originated as Melissa’s idea, on her wonderful Traveler’s Lunchbox blog. And it was passed to me by Ximena from Lobstersquad, another of my favorite food blogs. I only wish I could draw like her!
The rules are simple. This joint project is asking [...]

Impossible Not to Love une tartine de confiture (A slice of Bread with Jam)
After fruit macerates in sugar:

You can make this:

Magical!

Saturday morning.
P: Tu vas où ?
Moi : Au marché. A plus tard !

P.: Where are you going?
Me: To the market, see you later!
There were about ten or twelve white tents easily visible from the traffic light where I stopped. I could see them more clearly as I drove closer, and I was eager to park [...]

Purple + purple = purple.
J’ai toujours été forte en maths! (I have always been good at maths!)
Couleur ? Du violet — Color? Some Purple
I often find myself left with puff pastry leftovers. When I make a batch of dough, I know that I will usually have for more than only one tart. Since I [...]

Roasted Tomatoes, Red Onions and Arugula Tart
My brother called me last week because I mentioned that I sent him a package. What I should actually have told him was that the package was for Geneviève, his wife, since he would find a woman’s jacket inside. He picked up the phone and said:
Benoit : Ah [...]

Jamais deux sans trois
(Never two times without a third one)
This French saying does not make sense in English, does it?
When you think it is over, you actually get more. It seems that my stories involving tarts en tous genres keep coming. I like savory tarts of course, but have a strong inclination for sweet [...]