I realized too late last week that I had forgotten about the "French Word A Week"…again. You’ll have to excuse me, it’s a full, packed and pretty awesome summer. One busy making good use of all the produce around me too. Peach jam especially. Let’s remedy my short term memory lately with this week’s French Words: confiture de peche (click on the words to hear the pronunciation).
Beside working, I must take time to enjoy and make the most of the produce around me and nothing could be quite as perfect right now as South Carolina peaches. Actually, the scent of peach jam in the making while editing pictures or writing is quite distracting. But the wait is oh so worth it!
Making jam always puts me in a great mood. It reminds me so much of the steps my mother and grandmother took each summer to capture the best of what the markets had to offer. I remember afternoons spent dicing apricots, cutting strawberries, peeling oranges. Mounds after mounds of sugar. Hours of stirring and cooking down the fruits.
Everyone has their favorite recipe for jams and preserves, ours was pretty standard. Fruit, sugar, cook until caramelized almost then can. I have ventured out in other methods but I always go back to the same one. Nothing says home to me like the heady aroma of fruits caramelizing on the stove. So far I have turned a 25 pound box of Southern peaches into jars of Peach-Vanilla, Peach-Ginger and Peach-Grand Marnier jams.
Nothing made me happier to give a couple to Caitlin from Engineer Baker and her fiance who came for a quick visit this weekend. As a present, I offered to photograph their wedding this coming November and since they recently moved to North Carolina, I welcomed them to come down one weekend so we could do some informal engagement shots and we have been having a blast so far and the weekend is not over yet!
Have a wonderful weekend! Peach Vanilla Jam:
Makes about 8 cups
3 pounds peaches, peeled, cored and roughly chopped
1.5 pounds sugar
1-2 vanilla bean, cut lengthwise
juice of one lemon
In a large stockpot or Dutch oven, place the peaches, sugar and vanilla bean. Add the lemon juice and bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce to heat and simmer 1-2 hours until the fruit has taken on a dark orange color and is almost caramelized. Make sure to stir every so often to prevent the bottom from burning. Can.
If you add liquor, add as much as you like up to 1/2 cup right before turning the jam off.
Summer….easy living, easy going. When the casual becomes upscale and the impromptu becomes routine. I love that. Summer evenings around here are something to be savored, never rushed. In that regard, I have retained a great deal of my home country in the way friends and family gather around our dinner table. Long evenings with simple, fresh and seasonal dishes, something cold to sip on and a light summer dessert to end.
Growing up, summer desserts rarely consisted of cakes or pastries and chocolate was pretty much forgotten until the Fall. Not always but often. Instead we would always have some fruit, either raw or slightly grilled, a drizzle of lavender honey and maybe a dollop of fresh cheese. Sometimes it was ice cream. Sometimes it was sorbet. Sometimes it was just a plate of cherries and some cheese.
This week French Word feature is all about l’ete (summer), les cerises (cherries) and les vacances (vacation) (lucky you!)
Taking advantage of the bounty of summer. Letting your senses get their fill of fragrant peaches, apricots, lavender, your taste buds get tickled with tart raspberries and red currant while your eyes can’t get enough of all the colors around. Red. Yellow. Green. Orange. I can easily get lost in everything that the season brings forth. Hurricanes and heat waves included.
After a busy workday, I find myself craving simplicity. A lot. Summer is perfect for that. The South is prefect for that too. I love bumping into neighbors and settling on their or our front steps, talking for hours. Often times, I make a quick run to the house and bring back some ice cream, some cones and some bowls and we just sit there in the magic hour of the sunset and laughing life away.
I am dipping (pun intended) into the archives today to bring you a recipe I’ve made about every other month since I first posted it: Cherry Rose and Coconut Ice Cream. It’s got all my favorite in one nice scoop: coconut flavor, cherry bits, and a hint of rose. Sometimes I skip the latter but this is by far the most requested ice cream flavor I get from my friends and I am far from complaining. Hehehe!
Hope you have a wonderful weekend!
Cherry, Rose and Coconut Ice Cream:
Makes a little less than a quart.
Notes: don’t just go use any dried rose for this! Make sure to get food grade, organic and non treated rose petals or rose buds. Most can be food at health food store in the bulk spices and tea section and are quite cheap. I got about 1 cup for $1.50.
For the rose infused cherries:
1 cups (145gr) pitted and halved cherries
1/4cup (60ml) water
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 cup (100gr) sugar
6-8 food gradedried rose buds (more or less depending on your own liking)
For the ice cream:
1 cups (250ml) heavy cream
1 cup (250ml) whole milk
1 cup (250ml) whole coconut milk
1 cup (200gr) granulated sugar
Prepare the cherries:
Place all the ingredients in a heavy saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Turn the heat off and let steep one hour (longer for an even intense rose flavor). Remove the rose buds and refrigerate until ready to use.
Prepare the ice cream:
In a large saucepan set over medium low heat, bring the cream, milk, coconut milk and sugar to a simmer, stirring occasionally until the sugar is dissolved. Remove from the heat and let it cool to room temperature. Refrigerate, preferably overnight.
Process the mixture into your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s intructions.
Once the ice cream has reached soft serve consistency, pour into a freezable container. With a spatula, swirl in the cherries and a few tablespoons of their liquid. Freeze a couple of hours.
No ice cream maker? No problem, but really it is worth the $50 investment. Pour the cream into a freeze proof container and freeze for a couple of hours. Take it out and whip it with an electric mixer or immersion blender, freeze it again, whip it again….do that four or five times. The mixture won’t be quite the same but pretty darn close.
It could have seemed as if I had forgotten the French Word A Week feature lately, right? I have not. Trust me. I did not think as many people cared about it until my inbox started filling up with messages to have it again soon. One of you even sent a "Missing! – French Word A Week. Bring It Back" which made me giggled like crazy. It does not take much to make me giggle as you know but I also did not realize the feature was as much fun for you as it was therapeutic for me. Thank you for that…
In that regard and to make up for lost time, I am giving you not one but four (4) illustrated words this week (just click on the words to get the pronunciation). More summer homework…darn! I remember summer homework….mine was filled with maths problems. Did it help? Noooooo….but we won’t tell the kids right?! So….
If you ever find yourself in France one day and you are wanting to start the day on the right foot, might was well start with breakfast – "petit dejeuner". Do not think about resisting a good "pain au chocolat". But if a "baguette" is more your thing in the morning, find yourself some good "confiture" to spread on it.
I am extremely lucky to be in possession of olallieberry preserve thanks to my dear friend Anita from Dessert First who handed me a jar during the Food and Light Workshop in Colorado. We don’t have such berries here so I have been using it judiciously in a couple of different desserts I’ll share with you next week.
I have a friend. Her name is Lorna. She writes The Cookbook Chronicles. She is drop dead gorgeous. Kindness and intelligence dance with every word she says. She is generous and humble. Humor and good disposition seem to like her. I have no idea if she is high or low maintenance but if she is the latter, I want to know how she does it. She’s got taste and she’s got gumption. And she wrote a book. A quirky, funky, well written, beautifully photographed cookbook, The Newlywed Kitchen. No wonder Henri asked her out and then asked for her hand in marriage. Smart man.
Lorna and Henri are newlyweds. They both love food. This is not a loose statement. They met on a food forum. In Lorna’s words "Our relationship was founded on our mutual love of food and our desire to nourish one another’s stomachs as well as our spirits." It could sound superficial and barely enough to hold a couple together but as she chronicled the making and writing of the book, you could tell that they were like the vast majority of couples. They love to share with others, spend time learning and give back what they know. Lorna did it with "The Newlywed Kitchen".
I am not a newlywed and yet I, we, thoroughly enjoyed the book. It does not pretend to be the "essential guide to cooking as a couple", instead it focuses on clean, simple recipes that can be at the foundation of any new couple repertoire. Narratives of other well known couples are dispersed throughout the book and add a charming and quaint little thing to it. I caught myself chuckling along as I was reading with that familiar feeling of "been there done that" of kitchen mishaps and victories. Pictures of newlyweds throughout the book are a little too quaint at times but they’re here to illustrate a point: there is plenty in this book to bring people together in many different ways.
Some of the recipes are kicked up classics like the "Four Cheese Mac-and-Cheese", the "Chicken Pot Pie with Cheddar Thyme Crust". Some are best saved for your first dinner cooking for the in-laws, "Holiday Rib Roast Wtih Thyme Gravy", "Chicken Piccata with Mushrooms and Leeks". Others are made for lazy Sunday mornings in newlywed Bliss like the "Topsy Turvy Apple French Toast", the "Smoked Salmon Frittata". And who would not want to cozy up with their better half with some "Chocolate Mudslide Cookies", "Nutella Doughnuts" or some "Lemon Sour Cream Pound Cake"?
I just made myself hungry…
My better half does not cook. He barely boils water. We have shared custody of the grill. I don’t even know if he’s any good at it, he’s just not interested. And as he says "I married a chef, why would I even consider crossing the line? You don’t come in the garage and bleed the break of the MG now do you?". Touche. So you might wonder how this cookbook fared with us…
It did exactly what it was intended to do for a couple like us regarding food: I’d hold the book in one hand, pencil in the other and ask him whether "Grandma’s Italian Meatballs" sounded good for dinner or would he rather have the "Fall Apart Pot Roast"? Should I take the "Red Velvet Cake" or the "Strawberry Rhubarb Pie" to a dinner party with friends? My man may not cook or enjoy cooking but he loves to eat and knows his food, making it a pleasure and never a chore for me to cook everyday.
Finding a recipe to illustrate this review was a no brainer (I picked two actually and will write about the other one next week – with a little surprise you guys reading). The "Parmesan Roasted Asparagus, Tomatoes and Eggs" is exactly the kind of dish I like to fix us for lunch on Saturdays when we come back from the market or on Sundays when we set out to "not have a schedule". It’s simple, it’s fresh, it comes together fast and needs nothing but maybe a glass of wine and a piece of bread.
It’s the kind of meal we enjoy as a couple. It fits us and it felt even more special when we sat down to ingredients we had just picked up at the market from people who loved food as much as we do.
Let’s make lunch this week "French Word A Week" feature: "dejeuner". One of our favorite activity and time of the day. (click on the word to hear the pronunciation).
Parmesan Roasted Asparagus, Tomatoes and Eggs, courtesy and copyright Lorna Yee for "The Newlywed Kitchen"
Serves 2
1 pound asparagus
1 cup grape or cherry tomatoes
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1/4 cup grated Parmesan or pecorino (I used shredded)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly grounded black pepper
2 large eggs
3 spoonfuls pesto (optional)
Preheat the oven to 425F.
Wash the asparagus. Break the bottom stems off and discard. Toss the asparagus spears and tomatoes in 2 tablespoons of the olive oil, then place them on a parchment paper or Silpat lined baking sheet. Sprinkle with the Parmesan, salt and pepper. Roast the vegetables for 12=14 minutes, or until tender and cooked through..
Meanwhile, fry the two eggs in the remaining oil, seasoning them with salt and pepper to taste. Place an egg in each portion of the cooked vegetable and top with a dab of pesto if desired.
Disclosure: I received a free copy from The Newlywed Kitchen from Sasquatch Books.
B. jokes that every four years, he loses me to the World Cup. I smile and add "and the rugby Six Nations Championship, the Tour de France and the Formula One races throughout the year. Let’s not forget the 24 hours of Le Mans". That’s the environment I was raised in. I grew up with Platini, Maradona, Sella, Camberabero, Prost, Schumacher, Fittipaldi, Bernard Hinault, Laurent Fignon. All year long. All these years.
And yet no one in my family actually played a sport past 16 years old! That is unless you consider four or five- hour long dinners a sport, which my husband happens to do, especially after many a Sunday dinners shared back home. Competitive longest meals followed by competitive moonshine. My uncle Jacques is still reigning supreme in the "moonshine so strong it will bleach your coffee cup" department.
I have mentioned Sundays in passing with my grandmother’s apricot tart but they were much more than that. They usually started with a trip to the market behind our house where my grandmother would get tiny grey shrimp and peppery radishes. Getting flowers, setting up the table, cutting saucisson for the aperitif. Waiting for everyone to finally start lunch around 12.30pm and linger all afternoon in between the TV room and the dessert plates. Coffee, petits fours, chocolates. Heaven.
Desserts were most often kept very simple with a big bowl of fruit salad. Some cookies. Some ice cream. Came summer, the table was graced with an abundance of deep dark cherries and juicy peaches. Two of my favorite summer fruits.
Perfect French Word A Week opportunity if you ask me. And that’s two words to boot.
If you ever travel to the South of France, they will quickly become crucial to know as they are everywhere in those parts. Perfectly kissed by the Provencal sun.
Click on the words Peche (click on word for the pronunciation).
When sports start to tie up the little bit of free time I have, especially in the summer time, I’d better have something quick and easy ready for us, whether we dine alone or get together with friends. I have a strong affinity for ice cream paired with fresh fruits when warmer and sunnier days roll around and things happen a lot more in a impromptu manner.
If they are perfectly juicy, ripe and a bit tangy, then I am in heaven. Sometimes, dessert needs to remain this easy. Sometimes, it needs a little pimping out and it gets even better. Over the years, I have become completely addicted to grilling stone fruits and serving them with fresh yogurt, fresh cheese or ice cream. The combo is just brilliant. When it comes to cherries, B. is not a big fan unless I poach them with honey until soft and tender.
Such a simple combination and so easy to put together with friends around the barbecue one summer evening. Homemade vanilla bean ice cream, grilled peaches and warm juicy poached cherries. Next time I think I’ll pair lavender ice cream and grilled apricot. Non?
When I combined the two the other day, it got me a two-day free pass to not have to walk the dogs during a World Cup game. I took it. Right now, it’s better than a free laundry pass to me, eheheh!
So…what is your secret culinary weapon to earn yourself some "house points"?
Before I forget: Thank you Mom for the pretty plates from Asya at www.gleena.com for my birthday! They arrived still warm from the kiln. Kidding. Just about.
Grilled Peaches, Poached Cherries and Vanilla Bean Ice Cream:
Serves 6-8
Notes: once the ice cream is set, everything else comes together in less than 20-30 minutes. You can also start with the cherries and let them cool while you prepare the peaches.
For the ice cream:
4 egg yolks
1 cup (100gr) + 2 tablespoons (25gr) sugar
1 cup (250ml) whole milk
1 cup (250ml) heavy cream
1 vanilla bean, split open and seeded
In a large bowl, whisk the egg yolks and one cup of sugar until pale and thick. In a saucepan set over medium heat, bring the milk, cream and vanilla bean to a simmer, without letting it come to a full boil. Slowly pour the hot cream over the egg yolks mixture while whisking to temper the egg yolks. Pour the whole mixture back into the saucepan and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until the cream coats the back of spoon. It should register 170F on a candy thermometer. At this point you have made a custard sauce, also known as "creme anglaise". Let cool completely, strain and refrigerate until cold.
Once the custard is cold, process it according to your ice cream maker manufacturer’s instructions and freeze for 2 hours or more.
For the fruits:
4 peaches (preferably not completely ripe so they don’t disintegrate)
1 to 1/2 cups cherries
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup orange juice
Prepare the peaches:
Wash them thoroughly but do not peel them. Cut them in half and remove the pit. Preheat the grill to medium-high heat and lightly oil the grill grate. Place the peaches cut side down on the prepared grate, and grill for about 5 minute. Remove and set aside.
Prepare the cherries:
Wash them thoroughly, cut them in half and remove the pits with the tip of a sharp knife. Place them in a large saucepan with the honey and orange juice over medium heat and cook for about 10 minutes until soft. Remove from the heat and let cool a bit. Too warm and it will melt the ice cream way too fast.
To assemble, simply layer the ice cream and the fruits in bowls, cups and ramekins.
I have to say that I am quite relieved not to have to record the French Word A Week this go around. I could not even if I desperately wanted to. I have absolutely no voice. Zip. Zero. Nada. There is a strange mix of air and shattering of vocal cords everytime I try to talk. So I don’t. Allergies have the talent of attacking my vocal cords. No runny nose, watery eyes or cough. Just zipping the wind from under my wings, my vocal cords. It’s always like that isn’t it? When you are swamped with work, your health gives you some lip. That’s ok.
So yes, I am very glad I did not have to record the word "Abricot" (click on hot link to hear)for you to pronounce or listen to this week. But I surely have enjoyed the first ones we have gotten from our friends. I love apricots. In financiers, tea cakes, cookies, panna cotta, just to name a few. I miss the apricot tree we had in Apt and the one we had in Calas (near Aix) two villages where I grew up.
It took every bit of me not to eat them all in one sitting and to free some time to bake with them. I made (and we devoured) my grandmother’s Tarte Aux Abricots. I promise to share it with you next week.
When I say "free some time", I am not kidding but it’s all good. Work is good. Work allows me to go play, ahaha! Carrie’s cookbook is in the final stages of lay out and editing before being sent to the printer and her publisher requested more pictures to make it spiffy gorgeous. I jumped out loud (in my head since I can’t speak) "oui oui! Right away". I love Carrie’s recipes so that was a no brainer and the feedback from reputable people in the know is already more than positive. I am nervous. And happy. And stoked. (Release date is September ya’ll – send the Xanax my way!).
Now if you excuse me, my "boss" (and soon to be co-author) needs a chocolate cookie picture and Bill said he’ll help carry them upstairs to the studio. How many will disappear between the kitchen and the work table?
Will there be any apricot recipe in our dessert cookbook? You can bet on it even if I have to tackle Carrie down. Well maybe not, she’s way taller than me, ahah!
I don’t know if you have noticed but I am not very good with routine. Monotony. Habits. I have my moments with continuity, stillness and straight lines. But as soon as Spring comes around, whoop-de-doo, I am like a butterfly. Especially when it comes to carbs as I found out while conversing with friends about our favorite carbohydrate.
I started with "Potatoes for sure!" only to recall a sudden love affair between my fork and a bowl of stir fried rice the week before. And let’s not forget the month I fixed myself a plate of spaghetti, sprinkle of basil, parmesan and olive oil everyday for lunch. Well, and beans. More so if they are surrounded with cassoulet. But deep down? I am a potato girl.
Wash them well and place in roasting pan.
So, you guessed it, the French Word A Week is "Potato" = Pomme de terre (click on word to hear the pronunciation).
I’m not "potatoes any way all day" though. Short of being able to cook them in the ashes of a good fire like we used to do back home, I’d rather have mine roasted than mashed. Come Spring and Summer and one of my favorite side dishes to make and eat is a simple bowl of warm roasted potatoes.
Drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper.
Every week at the farmers market, I load up on the tiniest white, red and purple potatoes I can find, wash them well, spread them out in a baking dish, sprinkle with salt and pepper, drizzle with olive oil and voila! A light accompaniment to a nice steak on the grill or a weeknight omelette. Add some chopped oregano, thyme or basil and you can pair this with almost anything you like.
Roast at 375F until the potatoes are cooked through.
If you are planning a brunch or a picnic for Mother’s Day this weekend this salad would be particularly great to bring along. It requires very little actual making time, roasts itself up in 30 minutes and keeps well for hours at room temperature.
If you need more picnic ideas as the warm days roll in, you can find more options in this article I styled and photographed for Charleston Magazine. The print version with the full length article with more pictures and recipes will be available on news stands this week I hear. No one on the staff asked me to promote them but I do love when they hire me(obviously!) and I love that we have such high quality prints, artisans and creative minds here in town. Makes me proud. Thank you for indulging me.
Tada! Warm potato salad with oregano.
Props:
– wooden bowl: Star Provisions, Atlanta
– dark Ovenex roasting pans (8×8 and 9×13): ebay.com
– wooden cutlery: Sprout Home
– other flatware/serving sets: etsy.com
A few weeks ago, Tami and I stumbled upon a cool little place in town called Bin 152. A wine bar, situated at 152 King Street. But it’s more than a wine bar. It’s a cheese bar. A charcuterie and cured meat heaven. It’s also an art/antique gallery. It’s also lots more than that. It’s Fanny’s (the French half) and Patrick’s (the American half), the owners. It’s a place where we know we can pop in any time of the week, afternoon or after dinner and have good company, good libations and food. Seriously love those guys and hanging out there.
Fanny and Patrick in front of Bin 152
For this round of French Word A Week, I thought it’be nice to tag along a little interview I did with Fanny and Patrick. We met one very sunny day at their establishment and they patiently played the game of a few portrait shots as well as plating some charcuterie and cheese for a beauty shot. So yes, today you get to learn two more French words.
Spicy saucisson and Tomme at the bar.
If you ever travel to France, beside "glace a la vanille", you’d better know how to pronounce "Fromage" (cheese) and "saucisson"! (cured dry sausage) (click on the words to hear)
The fromage and charcuterie lists are Bin 152 are among the best I have seen around. I don’t do restaurant reviews here because my heart always beats too passionately when it comes to people and food but Fanny and Patrick’s concept is too good to keep secret (although they are such a gem that we are a handful of locals who are torn about singing their praises out loud or keeping them all to ourselves!).
Each month Bin 152 hosts a different exhibition, collection or artist.
The beverage list comprises wines from France, Italy, Spain, Australia, beers (drawing a blank here on the various ones), as well as some non-alcoholic options. Prices range from $7 to $16 for glasses and bottles start under $30. The food is not to be missed either. No matter what you order, every item is $7 from the creamy, hard, aged, stinky, cow or goat cheese to chorizo, duck mousse, saucisson, or cured bresaola (and that’s not the end of it!). Everything is served on wooden cutting boards with just a couple of knives and plenty of fresh baguette. Simple, non pretentious and easy going.
Alright, so clearly I love the place but I also love those guys. Fanny is from Nice originally and traveled to many countries before landing in the US and meeting Patrick who was born in New Jersey but grew up in Colorado. After opening the Charleston branch of a bakery in NYC, Patrick and Fanny decided to venture on their own and improve on the wine bar concept. Hope you enjoy the little interview!
From cozy Happy Hour hang out to slightly mysterious night spot.
Helene: How did you come up with the concept of Bin 152? How do you select the wines and the cheese/charcuterie that go on the menu? Fanny: Patrick had a wine bar in San Francisco of which we used the basic model, but then we expanded the cheese and charcuterie menu and included the antique furniture twist. So basically we improved upon an existing model that was and is still successful in SF.
Helene: What has been the most challenging part of opening Bin 152 so far? Fanny: The biggest challenge has been the long hours. Other than that it’s been fabulous.
Helene: Fanny, what’s your favorite word in the English language? Patrick, what is your favorite word in the French language? The toughest to pronounce (for each)? Fanny’s favorite: rhythm and toughest to pronounce: any word that ends in a "th" Patrick’s favorite: bisous (kisses)(!) and toughest to pronounce "emporter".
Helene: At home, do you guys share your cooking/baking time? Fanny: We do. But I mostly cook and Patrick bakes.
Helen: What would be your idea of the perfect feast? (name dishes, place, people, whatever comes to mind) Fanny: My grandmother’s cooking — cassoulet, paella, au feu de bois; and Patrick’s pizza with mushrooms, prosciutto, fresh mozzarella, truffle oil and his special crust. Patrick: I usually like the simple things done really well. I like roasted chicken with herbes de provence, a great pasta bolognese, any fresh fish cooked perfectly, I love fried zucchini flowers and anything my lovely wife cooks — she’s an awesome cook.
Mention food and feasts and we all start to sound poetic, don’t we?
Even the cheese has a "smiley" face…
Bin 152 is located 152 King St in Charleston, SC (Tel.843.577.7359). As Fanny mentioned, they do keep long hours and we are selfishly happy for that: they are open Monday through Friday from 4pm to 2am, Saturdays from 4pm to midnight and closed Sundays. Their website should be up in the next few weeks.
I meant to post this yesterday but time got a bit away from me. All 24 hours of it. It’s Spring. Spring in Charleston is something else. Everyone is everywhere, all at once, all together, all the time. Buzz, buzz, buzz! Let’s just say that I can’t wait to get a fill of colors and good people today at the farmers' market and grab a pain au chocolat for him and a cafe au lait, double milk, for me.
Yes, this week’s word is milk."Lait" (click on link for pronunciation) (and if you were in France in the 1990s, remember this?)
If you ever go or have been to France you will notice that we take our morning cup of coffee with milk rather seriously. We take the entire dairy world just as seriously actually. No kidding. The first picture in this post by David Lebovitz pretty much sums it up. Plain, fruity, creamy, chunky, organic, artisan… you name it – we have it.
When I feel my energy level dip or my brain getting more fogged up than usual, I know I need a little boost of milk. A tad more than the few drops I pour in my morning coffee. Which is why I love our farmers market, I can get fresh from the farm raw milk all throughout the summer the way we used to back home.
So…What do you do to get that extra jolt to make it through the week? Please share! Food related or not.
Have a great weekend! *Vintage enamel cup from ebay
**ceramic milk bottle (gift) from Alyssa Ettinger
I’m always fascinated to see how events, things and people come together sometimes. I remember when I was still working in a restaurant kitchen that I could spend one night plating nothing but fancy chocolate cake adorned with pretty caramel twirls and the next the only thing people wanted was two scoops of sorbet. What bug was whispering the same thing to their ears the whole time? How could a dozen people at once get the same fancy for chocolate cake or ice cream?
Ever wondered why in one day or one week a lot of the same thing surfaces over and over again?
Here it was ice cream this week. Lots of it. For us, for work, for fun. It made me realize that some of you might be visiting France in the summer and what better words to learn than "Vanilla Ice Cream"? You never know…
One evening my dear and lovely gave me his best smile (the one I can’t say not to) and asked "have you ever thought of making gluten free ice cream sandwiches?" "Hmmm…yes," I said "the thought occured to me. And your point is?". Once again, he gave me the grin and I acquiesced."Alright, alright….I give up. Ice cream sandwiches coming right up".
It really helps that I am up for any sort of sweet concocting and experimenting in the kitchen…Ahah!
The ice cream sandwiches in the picture above are from a feature with a retro theme I did this week. I was handed a plate of ice cream sandwiches made by one of the chefs on staff and they were good, or so I hear. I then proceeded to a gluten free version once home, down to the dotted look, (fooled B!) which I will post next week.
Have a great weekend!
P.S: Lots of you asked where I got the green cups in the previous post (Anthropologie – I also have the brown set which I love) which made think of posting my sources whenever I can remember (some are old – some are new -some are from antique stores – some are from home).
Flower bud vase: Wal-Mart
Mini cake stand : Sur La Table
Straw: Bake It Pretty
