RSS Feeds. » La Tartine Gourmande

La Tartine Gourmande (10 unread)

Lunch for Two with a Rice Noodle Soup — Déjeuner à deux avec une soupe aux nouilles de riz

Posted: Jul 31st, 2008, 7:03am MST by Béa
Noodle Soup with Sugar Snap Peas, Pork and Tofu
The smell of small Italian eggplants simmering with ripe vine tomatoes, garlic and onions, gave a wonderful summery feeling to the entire house.The back door was open and let a nice breathe in. It was still cool at that time of the day; I knew that the heat would hit later on, something I was not looking forward to.

I thought of my mum as I dreamily stirred the vegetables, back and forth: she taught me about the provençal dish I was preparing for my next contribution to the Boston Globe’s Seasons column.

I looked at the clock. I actually stared at it then. Was it already 10:20 am? How could I have not noticed the time? I only had two minutes to get ready before hopping in the car and drive to my acupuncture appointment across town. Hopefully, I would still be on time, traffic allowing. I switched off the stove, closed the back door and turned off the fan. I would tidy the mess when I returned.

I did not yet know that I was going to bump into my friend L. either.

“Oh I just left you a voicemail,” she told me when she saw me come out of the room where I had had my treatment. “What are you doing now?”

“I am going home. But why don’t you come at home when you are done, and have lunch with me?”

It was quite lovely and spontaneous to imagine that we were going to have a girl’s lunch.

I made a quick stop at the store to pick a few things for my afternoon photo shoot, and then I started to plan lunch. Easy, we would eat pasta with the pistachio pesto I had prepared in the morning, the eggplant dish I was planning to finish, and an arugula salad.

“Oh that’s funny,” L. said when she walked to the stove and saw the eggplant dish . “It very much looks like something we eat in Russia too.”

How interesting indeed to see that some dishes are prepared in many different countries, with tiny variations, but often bearing a different name.

We sat down and enjoyed the food, while chatting away. The heat outside made us feel lazy.

“It’s yummy.” L. said when she was done with her serving. “But what about your noodle soup? When are you going to post it?”

“What noodle soup?”

“The rice noodle soup with coconut milk you showed me the other day.”

Oh yes, I remembered then. She was inquiring about the soup I had prepared a few weeks before, with fresh large rice noodles I had been so happy to find.

“I promise, I will post it soon.”

Fresh Large Rice Noodles — Déjeuner à deux
Have you eaten Drunken Noodles before? I am personally a big fan of the fried noodle Thai dish. So much so that, well determined to prepare the dish at home, I once again set myself to go on a food quest to my nearby Asian store — I feel blessed to have it — but this time to buy large rice noodles used in the recipe. There, I’ve learned that you buy this type of noodles fresh and not dry, like the thinner ones used for Pad Thai. I even asked K., my Vietnamese friend, for a recipe on how to make them. So perhaps one day if I feel ambitious and courageous, I will start on that project.

It is really P. who is the one who made drunken noodles for us the first time. He insisted and I was more than happy to let him do it. His first attempt made a delightful meal for us. The second time, I made the dish: we ate it with friends on the back patio on a hot Friday night. We are both still trying to perfect the recipe — anyone with a recipe you love, send it along! — and while this happens, I’ve kept returning to the Asian store to buy many more bags of rice noodles. In fact, I’ve pretty much become addicted to them.

I am a real amatrice of Asian food. One day, I know I will visit Vietnam, Japan, Cambodia, Malaysia, Laos and Thailand, to discover its many mysteries, meet its people and wander its markets in search of inspiration for all the senses. I am keen to discover new scents and flavors, and to understand how to cook the food better. One day, I know it will happen. But in the meantime, while not an expert of Asian food by any means, I am just curious to try and experiment their cuisine in my own kitchen — oh yes, spring rolls are high on the list too!

Spring Rolls
One dish that I particularly love to make is Rice Noodle Soup. Simple, tasty, refreshing and easy to accommodate with what you like: I never tire of this type of soup.

Since I’ve been left with many rice noodle leftovers from my frequent visits to the Asian store, I’ve recently made many batches of this delicious soup: ideal for lunch, enjoyed alone or with a friend, always eaten with chopsticks, and a side salad.

If you make the soup like I did, use thinly sliced pork, soft tofu, sugar snap peas and Thai basil. However, for easy substitutions, and just as delicious, I would suggest to replace the meat with shrimps, add a few bunches of baby bok choy and bean sprouts too, and even some fresh corn kernels — why not? In all cases, this soup is a winner for its simplicity to toss together, and the wonderful aromas it leaves dans la bouche (in your mouth).

And to make a completely lovely lunch, think about using the beautiful summer fruit we have plenty of these days, like fresh apricots and red currants, and make a seasonal open tart, like I did — I used a crust made with almond butter and olive oil, really lovely. Not Asian, alors pas du tout, but eh, I am French or what?

I am really thankful that my friend L. reminded me of the soup. I think I really had to share its complete goodness with you.

I also know what to prepare next time she comes over for lunch.

Apricot and Red Currant Open Tart, Almond and Olive Oil Crust
Rice Noodle Soup, with Pork, Snap Sugar Peas and Tofu
(For 2 people, fairly large servings)

You need:
- 10.5 oz large fresh rice noodles
- 5.5 oz pork, sliced thinly
- 1 lemongrass stick, sliced
- 2 garlic cloves, peeled and grated finely
- 3.5 oz soft tofu, diced
- 2 cups chicken stock
- 1 + 3/4 cups coconut milk
- Juice of 1/2 lime
- 1 Tbsp fish sauce
- Thai basil, loosely cut
- 1 spring onion, sliced
- 1.5 cups snap sugar peas
Steps:
- In a large pot, combine the chicken stock, coconut milk and add the lemongrass and garlic. Bring to a gentle boil and simmer for about 5 minutes.
- Add the lime juice and fish sauce, and continue to simmer for 1 to 2 minutes — at this point, you can decide to filter the soup if you prefer to remove the lemongrass slices.
- Add the noodles and pork and cook until the meat is fork tender — only a few minutes.
- Finish with adding the sugar snap peas. Cook for 2 minutes — I like to keep the vegetables crunchy, so you might want to adjust the cooking time accordingly to your taste.
- Add the tofu and spring onion. Season to taste, if necessary, and serve in large bowls. Top with Thai basil and eat with chop sticks, of course!
Le coin français Soupe aux nouilles de riz, porc, pois gourmands et tofu
(Pour 2 personnes, d’assez grandes portions)

Ingrédients:
- 300 g de nouilles de riz larges
- 150 g de porc, émincé
- 1 bâton de citronnelle, coupé en rondelles
- 2 gousses d’ail, pelées et râpées finement
- 100 g de tofu, coupé en gros cubes
- 500 ml de bouillon de poule
- 400 ml de lait de coco non sucré
- Jus d’1/2 citron vert
- 1 càs de sauce nuoc mam
- Basilic Thaï, ciselé
- 1 oignon tige, émincé
- 125 g de pois gourmands
Étapes :
- Dans une cocotte, mélangez le bouillon de poule avec le lait de coco. Ajoutez la citronnelle et l’ail. Amenez à ébullition et faites mijotez pendant 5 minutes.
- Ajoutez ensuite le jus de citron vert et la sauce nuoc mam, et poursuivez la cuisson pendant 1 à 2 minutes — aàce stade, vous pouvez filtrer la soupe pour retirer la citronnelle si elle vous gêne.
- Ajoutez les nouilles de riz et la viande et faites cuire pendant quelques minutes, jusqu’à ce que la viande soit tendre.
- Ajoutez enfin les pois gourmands. Cuisez pendant 2 à 3 minutes — j’aime garder les légumes croquants, donc ajustez la cuisson comme vous préfèrez.
- Ajoutez le tofu et l’oignon tige. Rectifiez l’assaisonnement si nécessaire, et versez la soupe dans de grands bols. Garnissez avec du basilic thaï et mangez avec des baguettes, bien sûr !
Sunday Laziness, and Popsicles — Paresse du dimanche et sucettes glacées

Posted: Jul 28th, 2008, 4:26am MST by Béa
Lemon Yogurt and Berry Popsicles
It was hot and humid once again when we woke up on Sunday morning. Where is all this rain coming from: frankly, I have no clue. The hurricanes down South? But I like the fact that it keeps our grass and parks green, and our river beds full.

Thank God it was Sunday too because both P. and I felt somewhat lazy. There was not going to be much activity in the house today.

Besides cooking, resting, and eating.

“Where are you already going?” P. said when he saw me put my shoes on while he was finishing a bowl of cereals.

“To buy baby artichokes.”

“Ugh?”

He did not know it yet but I had been planning a few dishes for our day. Lunch would be easy: there would be a salade niçoise à ma façon, with the lovely bunch of haricots verts fins (string-like French beans) I bought the day before, organic fingerling potatoes, eggs, cherry tomatoes, anchovies and tuna marinated in olive oil.

And for dinner, I was planning to cook a squid and artichoke risotto.

The thing is that I really wanted to show you this risotto recipe. Because in fact, it was quite scrumptious. But I did not have the time, or the energy, to take pictures so late in the evening. Besides, P. and I ate the whole thing. Of course, I am already thinking about making another one soon since I still have leftovers of my vegetable broth — I confess, I’ve had a thing with risotto lately since we ate another one on Saturday night, made with bay scallops, spinach and saffron. Perhaps I will be good and take pictures then, and even write down my recipe.

But for now, let me talk to you about popsicles instead.

You don’t mind, do you?

Quick to make, refreshing, no fuss — I still don’t know how I managed to take pictures! I initially did not think I would even bother to write a recipe because there was no recipe to start with. I had Greek yogurt handy, some raspberry coulis from another dessert I made the day before, red currants, lemon and sugar. I let my imagination wander and simply tossed the ingredients together, preparing them to taste. The recipe below is only guidelines.

The popsicles came quite handy to finish our simple lunch.

Perfect for a lazy Sunday full of quiet times, cooking and eating delicious food.

It really was actually!
For another similar idea, last year, I made those popsicles, do you remember?
Easy Lemon, Berry and Yogurt Popsicles
For 6 popsicles
You need:
- Juice of 1/2 lemon
- 1/4 cup blond cane sugar
- 1 + 1/3 cups Greek yogurt
- Raspberry coulis
- Red currants
Steps:
- Fill the plastic containers 1/4 full with raspberry coulis — keep some for the yogurt.
- In a large bowl, mix the yogurt with the lemon juice and sugar.
- Add the fresh red currants and the rest of coulis. Mix gently.
- At this stage, you can use an ice-cream machine to churn the yogurt cold, or place this preparation directly in the plastic containers.
- Place in the freezer for a few hours. Make sure to insert a wood stick in each popsicle before it is set. To remove from the container, simply run them under hot water for 10 seconds. Enjoy!
Le coin français Sucettes glacées faciles au yaourt citronné et aux fruits rouges
(Pour 6 sucettes glacées)
Ingrédients :
- Jus d’1 demi-citron
- 50 g de sucre de canne blond
- Environ 350 à 400 g de yaourt à la grecque
- Coulis de framboises
- Groseilles rouges
Etapes :
- Remplissez vos moules 1/4 plein avec le coulis de framboises — mettez du coulis de côté pour le yaourt.
- Dans une jatte, mélangez le yaourt, le jus de citron, le sucre.
- Ajoutez les groseilles rouges et le reste de coulis. Mélangez légèrement.
- A ce stade, utilisez une sorbetière pour faire prendre la préparation au yaourt, ou versez directement dans les moules.
- Placez au congélateur pendant quelques heures — enfoncez un bâtonnet dans chaque sucette avant que le yaourt ne soit trop pris. Pour démouler, passez les moules sous un filet d’eau chaude pendant 10 secondes. Régalez-vous !
Baking Cookies in the Rain — Des cookies sous la pluie

Posted: Jul 24th, 2008, 10:49am MST by Béa
Dark Chocolate Chip and Nut Cookies
What a relief when the rain finally came. And it really came down heavily at times. So much so that it woke me up last night. But I liked the smell that it left on the concrete and grass outside, the sound it made when it hit and banged against the windows and roof. I liked the feeling that we could almost be in a different season, perhaps at the end of summer, or in another country.

“Seriously, I feel as if we were in a tropical country,” P. told me as large droplets kept coming down rhythmically in heavy downpours.

I agreed.

We could not ignore the pleasant music the rain created outside. The temperatures cooled down too and we were finally able to wear pants, and even a light jacket. Delight!

I had not made big plans for the day and as I looked outside the dining-room window, contemplating the unceasing lightning in the sky and hear the thunder grumble in the near distance, I suddenly felt a strong urge to bake.

In fact, to bake cookies.

P. often complains that I never bake cookies. And he is right. Perhaps I would have needed to be born American to have this spontaneous baking talent in me. Clafoutis, crème brûlée, île flottante or oeufs à la neige, sabayon, mousse, charlotte, petits pots de crème or tartelettes aux fruits would never be an issue: there is always one or the other around in the house, visiting my kitchen almost daily. But cookies? I simply don’t think enough about them. We never baked cookies at home. C’est pas dans ma culture. So when the desire seized me, you can trust me, I did not hesitate. I grabbed it and pulled out the ingredients I needed.

I’ve always had a strong inclination for natural healthy eating and cooking. At home, I was taught to eat and cook this way. So in my pantry, I always make sure to have a wide selection of different baked products available. Flours? I have many many types, so for my cookies, I liked the idea of using quinoa, brown rice, millet and amaranth flours and combining them to quinoa flakes. But there is also another reason which you may have been curious about. Let me say a few words about it, if you will, and explain to you why I’ve recently stopped eating wheat, and gluten generally speaking.

Am I celiac?

No.

So why cutting down on wheat, and gluten you may wonder?

To cut my long story short, let’s say that a genetic test — yes yes, a real DNA test — showed that I had a predisposition to gluten intolerance (both my parents gave me one gene). And at the time I was tested, I was reacting to gluten. It came around about a year ago, more or less, after our trip to Peru — during which I was once pretty sick because of the food. My body did not like it. I did not like it. I became an active researcher of the root of my problems, trying to rid myself of unpleasant symptoms, keen to find out what to do — think as if your immune system is always in reactive mode.

So what to do?

Simply remove gluten.

And in my case, it worked. It really quietened things down.

Of course, I wondered too: is it a permanent thing?

The good news was that in my case, it was not. Because our bodies keep going through cycles and changes, and that reactions like this one can come and go. My body simply needed some time to heal. I gave it this time.

At first, removing gluten was a challenge. But I truly grew into loving the challenge, and learned a ton from it, boosting more creativity than I expected. I even think that I became a better and more experimental cook and baker, a more creative one for sure. I found my gluten-free baked goods always lighter, often tastier too — notice that flours like amaranth, teff, quinoa are full of nutrients and vitamins that also give a lovely taste to your finished products. In fact, many of my friends who tasted my gluten-free dishes could never guess — I did not tell them beforehand. And they really enjoyed them even more.

Needless to say that for someone like me who likes to bake so much, that was plenty to make me happy.

Don’t be surprised then if I decided to bake these cookies gluten-free — you can always decide to substitute the flours, if you found them hard to find, or did not feel like using them. In such case, I would suggest to substitute the brown rice flour with whole wheat flour, or all-purpose flour. I personally have grown extremely fond of rice, amaranth, teff and quinoa flours in particular.

The cookies turned out light, deliciously nutty and chocolaty, but not overly so either, with un petit goût de reviens-y (with a taste of come back to them).

And since I can never eat one only, I ate two. And a third one later in the day when the sun was already back, clearing the sky from the dark-looking clouds, loaded with more rain I am sure.

Cookies need to be eaten par deux ou plus, non ?

PS: Merci Fred for the lovely green cups. I love them, as you can tell!

Chocolate Chip and Nut Cookies Dark Chocolate Chip and Nut Cookies
You need:
- 1 cup brown rice flour
- 1/3 cup quinoa flour
- 1/3 cup quinoa flakes
- 1/3 cup millet flour
- 1/3 cup amaranth flour
- 1 cup blond cane sugar
- 2 eggs, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup butter, at room temperature
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp maple extract (or pure vanilla)
- 3/4 cup coarsely chopped chocolate 64 or 70% cocoa (100 g)
- 1/3 cup slivered almonds (40 g), toasted
- 1/2 cup pecans (50 g), toasted
Steps:
- Preheat the oven at 350 F. Line your baking sheet (or two) with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the different flours, quinoa flakes, baking soda, baking powder, and salt; set aside.
- In a large bowl, or the bowl of your stand mixer equipped with the paddle, beat the butter until light, then beat in the sugar.
- Stir in the maple or vanilla extract.
- Mix for a few minutes and then add the eggs, making sure the first one is well incorporated before adding the second — scrape down the sides of the bowl a few times.
- Add the flour mixture slowly, mixing until just homogeneous.
- Then add the chocolate and nuts.
- Place 1 large Tbsp of dough for each cookie onto the baking sheet, making sure to keep them about 2 inches apart.
- Bake the cookies for about 12 minutes, until the edges start to be golden in color — they will harden as they cool. Let them cool on racks, and eat right away, or whenever you feel like it.
Le coin français Cookies aux noix et éclats de chocolat
Ingrédients :
- 150 g de farine de riz complet
- 40 g de farine de quinoa
- 25 g de flocons de quinoa
- 60 g de farine de millet
- 40 g de farine d’amaranth
- 200 g de sucre de canne blond
- 2 oeufs, à température ambiante
- 113 g de beurre, à température ambiante
- 1/2 càc de poudre à lever
- 1/2 càc de bicarbonate de soude
- 1/2 càc de sel
- 1 càc d’extrait pur d’érable (ou de vanille)
- 100 g de chocolat noir haché grossièrement, de 64 à 70% de cacao
- 40 g d’amandes émincées, grillées à sec
- 50 g de pécanes, grillées à sec
Étapes :
- Préchauffez le four à 180 C. Couvrez une plaque de cuisson (ou deux) avec du papier sulfurisé.
- Dans une jatte, mélangez les farines, les flocons de quinoa, la poudre à lever, la bicarbonate de soude et le sel; mettez de côté.
- Dans un grand bol, ou le bol de votre mixeur à pied (équipé de la spatule), travaillez le beurre en pommade. Ajoutez le sucre et mélangez pendant quelques minutes jusqu’à ce que la consistance soit légère.
- Ajoutez l’extrait d’érable ou de vanille.
- Mélangez puis ajoutez les oeufs, un à un, en attendant que le premier soit bien incorporé avant d’ajouter le second — raclez les bords du bol plusieurs quand vous travaillez cette pâte.
- Ajoutez alors doucement la farine, et mélangez (pas de trop) jusqu’à ce que le tout soit homogène.
- Ajoutez ensuite le chocolat et les noix.
- Placez 1 grosse cuiller à soupe de pâte pour chaque cookie sur la plaque de cuisson. Espacez-les de 5 cm.
- Faites cuire pendant environ 12 minutes, jusqu’à ce qu’ils commencent à dorer sur les côtés — ils se raffermissent en refroidissant. Laissez-les refroidir sur une grille, et dégustez de suite, ou quand cela vous prend.
Picnic Time — Le temps du pique-nique

Posted: Jul 17th, 2008, 8:10pm MST by Béa
“Let’s go there later in the day,” P. told me when I mentioned I wanted to have a picnic at the beach on Sunday. “It’s going to be hot before then, I can tell.”

“Yeah, I guess you are right,” I responded, feeling somewhat a tad disappointed since my plan had been to leave early in the morning. “It will be better, we will avoid the crowd and the heat. But eh, what about having dinner at the beach then?”

“Deal!”

This idea was already making me feel better. And completely excited. We never think often enough to have dinner at the beach. Yet, how nice to look at the sun set on the ocean while eating with our feet dug into the sand. Franchement pas mal !

We checked the weather forecast to make sure that there weren’t any thunderstorms in the making that we were not aware of. On ne sait jamais (you never know) with New England weather. Chance was on our side. Thus our plan was made and the rest followed naturally.

The last few days had been really hot and humid. We’d had weather to make you sweat at even a lift of an eyebrow, or each breath of air inhaled. Even my almost daily visits to the nearby pool — quite conveniently located, I must say — were not enough to ease it up.

The thought of the beach and a dinner picnic?

Frankly, it was the perspective of a great time.

I love picnics. I love to pack picnic baskets too.

Perhaps because I like picnics so much — I am honestly as fond of picnic utensils, baskets and dinnerware as of picnic foods — ideas kept coming to my head, with too many choices and options from which to choose from. Would I bake something? Make sandwiches? Or rather prepare a few salads?

“Tu préfères des sandwichs ou des tartetettes aux légumes ?” (do you prefer sandwiches or vegetable tartlets?) I said quite busy writing down a short shopping list to prepare for the picnic.

I don’t know why I even bothered to ask.

“Des tartelettes !” P. exclaimed. No hesitation involved.

Lime Poppyseed Cakes (recipe found again!)
I spent Sunday morning preparing all sorts of easy-to-pack foods. I did not choose one option, I wanted them all. Leftovers of the lunch we’d enjoyed the day before came in handy: cooked red quinoa and chickpeas were combined into a salad, with fresh herbs, diced scallions and pink radishes, and I also decided to complete this piece of our meal with our salade de carottes rituelle – française oblige ! Then I started working on the tartlets.

It is really my mum’s delicious tarte au thon, the very one she used to prepare every now and then when she was looking for a quick dinner idea, that inspired my recipe. When she prepared hers, my mum would brush la pâte (the pie crust) with moutarde forte de Dijon (strong Dijon mustard) and top it with chunks of tuna marinated in olive oil, fresh slices of tomatoes and grated cheese. For dinner, we always enjoyed the tart eaten warm, accompanied by a large green salad seasoned with a vinaigrette she was the only one to have the secret of, and if there was any leftovers, we would snack on them at odd times of the day.

My recipe used her basis but I also customized it. Starting with the crust, I knew I wanted to use olive oil instead of butter and like my mum, I used tuna for the topping. My mum is the one in our family who taught me how to recycle leftovers. I remember that we used to tease her about it, even finding her a nickname when we jokingly called her Madame Tupperware. Years later, I was far from imagining that, while I was still living with parents, my dad would also find me a nickname: la Miss des petits pots au frigo.

It surely comes handy today.

For the crust, I used three types of flours: brown rice, quinoa and millet — all wonderful in flavor. I also added poppyseeds for a nice color touch and crunchiness. As to the topping, in addition to tuna and tomatoes, I also marinated zucchini slices in olive oil and thyme, and added slices of red onions and crumbled fresh goat cheese.

“What time are we leaving again?” I asked P. as I was busy taking the tartlets out of the oven. They only needed twenty-five minutes to bake.

“Three,” he said. “Mmm, ca a l’air super bon ça,”

“Don’t touch! It is our dinner!” P. always likes to steal bits and pieces of food when I cook.

“I am going to make something sweet too,” I added.

I knew well that this would please him.

Quinoa Cakes with Rhubarb, Strawberry and Pistachios
Refreshing slices of melon, watermelon, or ripe peaches are always a nice touch to a picnic basket but this time, I preferred to bring a bowl of deliciously crunchy Rainier cherries picked at the market. My spontaneous purchase of red rhubarb and local strawberries, for which I had had no baking plan beside making sure to enjoy them while they are in season, inspired me to improvise a few light fruit cakes baked in small ramekins. They also used quinoa flour, and my favorite Sicilian green pistachios.

The cakes turned out so delicious that despite trying not to, we ate the first two before leaving. But since my recipe called for four, I packed the other two for our dinner picnic. I sensed that eaten by the spoon, they would really finish our meal nicely.

When we arrived at the beach, the heat had almost completely vanished. Most people had already left too, to our delight. We walked for a while to reach a completely secluded place and then, we sat down. The blanket I spread on the sand was large enough for four people to lie on it. Quite comfortable for the two of us, and our picnic.

It was quite windy. After a short dip in the water, still cold at this time of year despite the outside temperature, we took a long nap. Then, when we started to feel hungry, we arranged the food on our improvised outdoors table: we had plastic plates, forks, napkins, homemade limeade and glasses. We passed the food between the two of us without feeling any need to talk. Instead, we simply enjoying the quietness. The scenery.

A couple walked by us as they were leaving the beach. They looked beaten by the wind and hot afternoon sun.

“Mmmm, this looks good,” the tall skinny tanned man said with a large friendly smile.

“Thanks!” I said, returning his smile.

We dug our feet into the sand which felt cold and cooling as it covered our skin.

The sun was starting to set too, casting a warm light all around us. We smiled, feeling content as we listened to the noise made by the waves breaking on the sand.

“Shall we do it again next week?” P. said.

I smiled.

He didn’t need to ask me twice.

Mustard-Flavored Tuna and Vegetable Tartlets Mustard-Flavored Tuna and Vegetable Tartlets
(For 4 tartlets)

For the olive oil crust:
- 3/4 cup brown rice flour*
- 1/2 cup quinoa flour*
- 1/2 cup millet flour*
- Pinch of salt
- 1 egg
- 4 Tbsp olive oil
- 4 Tbsp cold water
- 1 Tbsp poppyseeds
Note: * you can always substitute with all-purpose flour
Steps:
- In a bowl (or the bowl of the mixer), place the different flours, salt and poppyseeds . Add the egg and mix in. Then incorporate the oil slowly before finishing with the water, adding 1 Tbsp at a time. Add more water if need be.
- Shape the dough into a ball, and wrap it in plastic wrap. Note that if you do the gluten free version, the crust will be crumblier, harder to work with. You can always add 1 tsp of xantham gum to help the texture, I prefer not to.
- Let the dough rest for one hour in the fridge.
For the topping:
- 1 to 2 small zucchinis, according to size
- 4 oz fresh goat cheese (Petit Billy)
- Dijon mustard
- 4 to 6 Tbsp tuna in a can, marinated in olive oil
- 1 tsp chopped fresh thyme
- 1 red onion, sliced thinly
- Olive oil
- About 8 cherry tomatoes, sliced
Steps:
- Using a sharp knife, or a mandoline, slice the zucchinis lengthwise.
- Place them in a bowl and add the thyme and about 1 to 2 Tbsp olive oil. Season with salt and pepper and mix well. Place in the fridge for 30 minutes.
- In the meantime, roll the dough and place it in your four tartlet molds. Make little holes with a fork and brush the bottom with mustard.
- Add 1 Tbsp (or a little more) of tuna on top, and then add the cheese.
- Alternate the slices of zucchinis , red onions and tomatoes. Add a splash of olive oil, season with salt and pepper and bake (oven preheated at 400 F) for about 25 minutes. These tartlets are delicious hot or eaten at room temperature. Perfect for your beach picnic.
A Favorite Summer Dish for the Boston Globe

Posted: Jul 16th, 2008, 6:50am MST by Béa
Petits Farcis, courgettes rondes farcies au veau
When I arrived at my local farmer’s market last week, I was on a really important mission: finding round zucchini, my favorites by far. They are simply too lovely to resist, always looking pretty on your dinner table.

Delight! I was successful. One farmer tucked in a corner had some.

Upon my return home, I set myself to work immediately and prepared des petits farcis, a favorite summer dish in my kitchen.

I wrote this summer Squash recipe for this week’s Seasons column of the Boston Globe’s Food section, and prepared the dish a few times. The first time I tested the recipe, I used regular long yellow summer squashes and green zucchini, the second time I used my newly purchased round zucchini beauties from the market.

So perhaps if you are as hooked as I am, you will go back to the market every week to buy a batch of round zucchini — making sure to arrive there first to put all chances on your side — and you will indulge in these delicious vegetables as long as their season lasts! Frankly, I am always sad to see the end of it.

But until this happens, I will make a point of preparing petits farcis (small stuffed vegetables) as often as I can, sometimes as a vegetarian dish with all types of rice or quinoa, and at other times prepared with ground meat.

And in all cases, simply too cute and too good to resist.

Other stuffed summer squash recipes can be found here:
Stuffed Summer Squashes
Les fruits rouges

Posted: Jul 14th, 2008, 2:44pm MST by Béa

Summer beauties
If I had any talent for poetry, I think I would be thrilled to be able to write elogious words about my love and fascination for les fruits rouges. At this time of year, I become excited like a child when I arrive at the market, and find all sorts of beauties like these ones: Rainier cherries, groseilles rouges (red currants), Bing cherries, raspberries and strawberries. Wouldn’t you too?

I cannot decide which ones I like best.

Although these days, I don’t know if you are like me, but I think I will turn into a large cherry in view of the consumption I make of Rainier cherries. I walk around with noyaux (pits) in my mouth all day.

I really do.

Oh, and guess what, some of you were so right! I’ve found the cake recipe again, in a pile of papers that, Thank God, I did not get rid of.

Le désordre (mess) has some good, even if my papa would fully disagree with me. But he and I have a different concept of it .

Bon 14 juillet à tous ! I will come back with recipes next!
Lost Recipe — Recette égarée

Posted: Jul 10th, 2008, 6:06am MST by Béa

I cannot believe that I lost my recipe.

This is what happens when you have too many pieces of paper lying around everywhere in the house, amongst other things. One day, you get tired of the pieces of paper everywhere — and the other things too — and that same day, you decide to change this and you start collecting all the pieces that you plan to toss in a bin. It will make you feel lighter.

Less clutter, more air to breathe.

But a few days later, you realize that you cannot locate the recipe you had jotted down quickly while baking. So you start panicking a little.

Then you realize that the recipe must have been written on one of the many culprit pieces of paper that were lying everywhere in the house, only a few days before.

So you sigh and think for a minute. You remember that you used yogurt, lime juice, berries, poppy seeds and canola oil instead of butter. Thank God, parts of your brain are still functioning normally.

Yes, right.

You have to bake the cakes yet another time.

So that you can share it with your readers. And its full story too.

N’est-ce pas ?
Petits Pots de Crème, the French Way

Posted: Jul 7th, 2008, 10:30am MST by Béa
Les petits pots de crème, vanille et chocolat
Where was I again? Oh yes, desserts, I promised you one.

Its story is simple. Neither fuss nor complication, but a delicious outcome that I am never becoming tired of.

I was a young carefree girl growing up in the eastern part of France. Most days after school or during the grandes vacances, my brother and I used to ride our bikes to the place du village to meet our friends under the tall majestic marronniers (chestnut trees) that seemed to have been there for ever. They provided a lot of shade for us to hide from the sun during summer, and in the fall, their leaves scattered on the ground made a colorful bed for us to play on. We loved these trees; they had become our secret meeting place if we needed to have one.

Once or twice a week, on the way back home, I would stop to get fresh milk at Monsieur S.’s, one of the few farmers in the village. I was quite delighted that my brother did not care for it, hence I did not have to take turns with him.

I was proud to be the one in the family to fetch the milk.

I liked the short walk home carrying my bidon (pail) full of milk in one hand, pushing my bike with the other. The milk felt warm when it brushed my leg, and I imagined all the good things my mother was going to prepare with it. A bol de chocolat chaud was the first thing I was looking forward to.

“Tu vas faire des crèmes vanille chocolat en dessert ?” (Will you make vanilla and chocolate creams for dessert) I often asked my mum once I was back home.

She would look back and smile. She knew it was one of my weaknesses. Hence it is perhaps the first dessert that she taught me to make: simple and comforting. Since then, I have not grown tired of it.

On the contrary.

“What is the most distinctive thing you notice in a French supermarket, that tells you that you are in France?” I asked P. one of the many days when I was pondering and reflecting on cultural differences. I imagined that he was going to tell me “the cheese section“, or perhaps the “boucherie display ” but instead, he exclaimed “les crèmes desserts et les yaourts !”

Indeed, dairy products stand out as different, as I am reminded every single time I go back.

The French really love their dairy products, yogurts and crèmes desserts, including petits pots de crèmes. And they know how to market them well too. Walk into any French supermarket and visit the refrigerated dairy section, and you will understand what I mean. Lines of dairy products — fruit yogurts with beautiful flavors like rhubarb , lemon or apple (a few of my favorites), flans of all kinds, silky fromage blanc, creamy petit suisse, flavored mousses, delicious soy products too — are nicely packaged, cleverly marketed for easy ~~customers~~ victims, like me. Some look modern and new while others have an old-fashioned (à l’ancienne) flavor, as if they had been made in the old days. How could I resist yogurts made by companies like La laitière or La Fermière coming in glass or pottery jars? Every time I return from a trip to France, my collection of glass jars keeps increasing.

So naturally, I make petits pots de crème often since I am somewhat frustrated with the selection of yogurts and crèmes desserts I find in American supermarkets.

In this recipe, I use what I’ve been taught when I started to prepare this dessert as a child, but I also add a twist, varying the quantities and ingredients. And since I could not decide between chocolate and vanilla, I made both in the same batch, solving my common indecisiveness issue.

When I want to stick to the classic French recipe the way I’ve learned, I use milk. Some people will tell you that they also like to combine cream to milk but in my case, I prefer to keep the dessert on the lighter side, hence I only use milk.

In more recent years, I have also enjoyed using coconut milk combined to soy milk. Either way, the outcome is delicious and tastes as I fondly remember.

Petits pots de crème coco chocolat
Then, there is also the recipe for the chocolate coconut pots de crème I’ve made a few times, one that has become a favorite too. But we should start with the beginning, and talk about the first recipe first.

Shall we?

Chocolate and Vanilla Petits Pots de Crème
(for 6 ramekins or small jars, according to size)

You need:
- 2 eggs + 1 egg yolk
- 1/3 cup blond cane sugar
- 2 cups whole milk
- 1 vanilla bean, split open and seeds scraped out
- 50 g dark chocolate, 64 % cocoa
- 1 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder
Steps:
- In a pot, pour the milk and add the vanilla bean and seeds. Bring to a boil and then stop the heat, cover and let infuse for 30 minutes. Filter.
- In the meantime, melt the chocolate in a double-boiler and keep on the side.
- Preheat your oven at 320 F.
- In a bowl, beat the eggs and egg yolk with the sugar, then add the hot milk slowly while beating.
- Divide the cream in two equal halves, and add the melted chocolate and cocoa to one half.
- Pour the vanilla and chocolate creams in small ramekins or jars — make sure to remove the foam that might have formed on top — and place them in a dish filled with hot water, so that they are half immersed.
- Place in the oven and cook for about 30 minutes (for the chocolate creams) and 35 to 40 minutes for the vanilla creams. Check regularly after 30 minutes. The middle of the creams should still be moving a little — the creams will settle once they cool down. Take the jars or ramekins out and let them cool down. Place a plastic wrap on top and place them in the fridge to rest for a few hours before eating. Then, simply enjoy whenever you feel like it — that is often!
Le coin français Petits pots de crème au chocolat et à la vanille
(pour 6 petits pots, selon contenance)

Ingrédients :
- 2 oeufs + 1 jaune d’oeuf
- 1/3 cup (70 g) de sucre de canne blond
- 500 ml de lait demi-écrémé ou entier
- 1 gousse de vanille, fendue et grattée
- 50 g de chocolat noir
- 1 càc de cacao non sucré de qualité
Étapes :
- Faites bouillir le lait avec la vanille fendue et grattée. Arrêtez le feu et couvrez pour laisser infuser pendant 30 minutes. Filtrez.
- En attendant, faites fondre le chocolat au bain-marie et réservez.
- Préchauffez votre four à 160 C.
- Dans une jatte, battez les oeufs avec le sucre pendant 1 minute, puis sans cesser de battre, versez le lait chaud en filet sur cette préparation.
- Divisez la crème en deux et ajoutez le chocolat et le cacao à l’une.
- Versez les crèmes parfumées dans de petits ramequins, en prêtant attention à enlever l’écume formée à la surface, et placez-les dans un bain-marie (eau chaude à mi-hauteur).
- Cuisez au four pendant 30 minutes pour les crèmes au chocolat, et 35 à 40 minutes pour les crèmes vanille. Vérifiez vers 30 minutes de cuisson. Les crèmes restent tremblottantes quand vous les bougez deoucement — elles se solidifient en refroidissant. Sortez-les du four et laissez-les refroidir avant de les filmer, et de les mettre au frigidaire pendant quelques heures. Puis degustez à volonté, c’est à dire souvent.
Another Adventure with Cuisine Light Magazine and a Cover

Posted: Jul 6th, 2008, 9:10am MST by Béa

Cuisine Light Magazine July/August 2008 and a Cover
Not only was I delighted to be working for Cuisine Light Magazine once more for their July/August issue (numéro 5), but what a lovely surprise to find out that one of my pictures was chosen as the cover of the magazine.

Now this is a first and I have to say, that made my day!

Many thanks again to the team for including my work in the magazine. You will find recipes like veal roulades with sage, cherry tomatoes stuffed with red quinoa salad, fresh muesli with apple, spring rolls, a summer sandwich ideal for a picnic, a refreshing salad and many more goodies to keep you company during summer.

I hope that this makes you hungry.

Well, I am now. I’d better get some lunch before I become grumpy.

And oh yes, dessert is on its way.

Samples of the recipes I contributed
Dairy Products, etc — Les produits laitiers, etc

Posted: Jul 1st, 2008, 3:49pm MST by Béa

I have been so busy with my current photography project that I am afraid that I am neglecting you, and my blog too.
But eh, it will not last, will it? So I promise to come back soon with an easy dessert, one that talks a lot to me, at any time of the day.

Especially these days.

A bientôt, promis !