Lemoncurd

When my husband goes grocery shopping (yeah, yeah, he goes and even offers to go), I am sure that he'll use his "power of the shopper" to bring something back that I was not expecting (list or no list, it does not matter). A bunch of Swiss chards is expected (have you seen all the recipes with Swiss chard in this blog?). Avocados are expected. Two pounds of tiny potatoes are expected. A full bag of Meyer lemons is not, (well not as much as the potatoes.) So whenever I see something unexpected, either there is a strong statement: "I thought that we could have x" (read: he would most likely make the dish UNLESS it's one my "specialties" (read: he is too lazy does not want to try to learn how to make it (and somehow, I have a lot of "specialties".)))
Or there is this subtle hint along the line of... "could-we-please-have-something-sweet-for-a-change?" (read:  I have been out of the baking territory for too long but he does not intend to bake himself. ) It's subtle and it's one of the annoying wonderful things about marriage: being able to get your spouse's language subtleties! Depending on my mood willingness to really understand the hint, I act upon it. Or not.  And if I do, well, then, I am using my "power of the baker" and make what I feel like making, not necessarily what my husband would have liked me to bake.
The other day, donc, my husband went grocery shopping. And he brought back Meyer lemons. He fell in love with Meyer lemons a few years ago and has been purchasing some everytime he sees them (hence the somewhat expected when in season; they make great Lemonade!) Well, the other day, he confessed, that he was really looking for Key limes because he wanted to have a Key Lime Pie (why? don't ask!). Because he failed to find some, his choice fell back on Meyer Lemons. Key Lime Pie, he would have baked himself. Meyer Lemons dessert, it was up to me! (why? don't ask!)  I had few ideas but decided to make lemon curd. This recipe by Tartelette is nothing like the store-bought jar of lemon curd you could purchase. It's more like a crème au citron (lemon custard) and I like it even better for that (but maybe the store-bought-jars are nothing like real lemon curd!!) To the point that I could just spoon it out and eat it comme ca. Very unlike me! My kids are big fans of lemons too (why? don't ask!), so lemon curd is something they also enjoy (not as much as the petits pots de crème though). My husband was expecting something else with the Meyer lemons (maybe a Meyer Lemons Pie??) but he overcame his disappointment and ate the lemon curd as well. He did say that "it would be perfect with a cake au citron" (Read: one of my "specialties"!) Bon Appétit!

Ingredients 
(recipe by Tartelette)
- ½ cup (125 ml) lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon (4gr) lemon zest
- 1/2 cup (100gr) sugar
- 3 eggs
- 2 tablespoon (28gr) butter

• In a saucepan over medium heat, combine the lemon juice, zest and sugar and bring to a simmer. Stir occasionally to make sure the sugar is dissolved. 
• In the meantime, whisk the eggs in a medium bowl just until combined. 
• Once the lemon mixture is hot, slowly pour it over the eggs to temper, continuously whisking to prevent the eggs from scrambling. 
• Return the mixture to the pan set over medium low heat and cook until thick. Do not let it come to a full boil or it might separate. 
• Remove from the heat, stir in the butter and whisk until it is fully melted. 
• Cover the surface with plastic wrap to prevent a skin from forming and let cool to room temperature.

My Personal Comments:

• It is indeed really good with a Cake au Citron or scones.
• Even though the eggs are fully cooked, I would not keep it for more than 2 days in the fridge.

Chicken with Pineapple - Poulet a l'ananas

We love fruits in our family. My children request their piece of fruit at the end of each meal and if I hide berries, kiwis or  banana in their yogurt, somehow this does not count as "fruits" to them. I try to diversify what fruits we purchase depending on what's in season, what's available, and what's affordable. Living in the US where fruits are grown year-long in Florida and California or where international agreements with countries like Mexico, Chile, and Costa Rica, we are spoiled. We have access to more "exotic" fruits at a more competitive price than in France. And I feel lucky but I always double check the place where fruits & vegetables are grown! I can't purchase tomatoes grown in Canada, sorry. I'd rather eat tomatoes grown at latitudes more South (OK, not too South, do they grow tomatoes in Patagonia?)
A few months ago, I was talking with a friend who lived in Ireland for a few years. He was on his way to Florida and made stop-over in Philadelphia to visit us. We were talking about where he'd like to live after Ireland. Being European, he had a lot of options (Europeans can work in most European countries without a work visa) but one thing he said struck with me. He said that "he'd rather live in a country where fruits and vegetables grow mature on trees/plants with natural sun before they reach their markets" He was tired of eating beautifully-shaped-green-house-grown-and-tasteless tomatoes from Holland while in Ireland! That's when I realized that I would have a hard time living in a country where cold weather or natural location make it difficult to eat fresh fruits and vegetables all year long! In other words, I'd have a hard time to live in Sweden but would not mind living in Italy!!

Pineapple (or ananas en français) is a fruit I enjoy only if cooked. If I eat too much of it fresh, I get minor aphtous ulcers which are definitively not pleasant. So I don't resist the temptation and eat it fresh just cook it! I cook it with brown sugar as dessert or, like in this recipe, I cook it as a vegetable. I personally love it and so do my children. It's always a new and fun experience when I serve them "un fruit comme un légume": apples (like apples in the Rôti de Porc aux Pruneaux et aux Pommes), mango, figues (why are they sooo expensive??), quinces, coconut, grape... we pretty much cook all of them as vegetables  in sucré-salé dishes. It's delicious, it's original (unless you eat a lot of Asian food already) and a great add-on to make your easy-to-cook dinner look fancier and healthier! It's also a great way to feed young children fruits before they can digest them raw!  Bon Appétit!

Ingredients:
- Chicken breast, cut into small pieces
- 1 onion minced
- 1 small pineapple, diced
- Green beans
- Cashew nuts (optional; not recommended if you are feeding a young child)
- Olive oil, salt and black pepper to taste
- Cayenne Pepper (optional)

• Pre-heat oven to 400F (200C).
• Put the pineapple dices on a baking dish and bake in the oven for 20-30 minutes (until cooked)
• Cook the green beans (boil them, steam them, cook them in the microwave...)
• In s pan, over medium heat, saute the onion and chicken in olive oil.
• Once the chicken is cooked, add the pineapple dices, the green beans and cashew nuts and saute for another 5 minutes. Add salt and pepper, and Cayenne Pepper to taste.

My Personal Comments:

• If you want, you could use Soy sauce to season this recipe
• You could serve it with Basmati Rice but with green beans and pineapple, I find that's enough for us.

Mes Baguettes au Levain (with Sourdough Starter)

Bread is important to us. CRITICALLY important, I should say. We eat bread at every meal and one of our pleasures back in France was to be able to get excellent breads at really affordable prices. In the tiny village where we spent most of July, there is a very good boulangerie for the 400+ inhabitants!! (yeah, I know!!) French people don't realize how lucky they are to have such an offering of good breads until they travel overseas. And taste the difference! I never thought I would bake bread myself even though I think that everyone should be able to make bread.

Then, as I already talked about in my last post on bread, I thought that among all the different breads, baguettes were to be off-limits to me. Until I read articles on home-made baguettes with sourdough starter and thought that I should give it a try. I have been making my own baguettes for a few months now using a sourdough starter we nicknamed "Bubulle". Bubulle can be quite active as long as we keep feeding it. My children love to watch Bubulle overflow the way-too-small glass jar it has to double/triple in size. Making bread is now part of our cooking experiences and my daughter makes sure that I never forget the salt (it happened a few times and unsalted bread is really not good!) The results? Ma foi, pas mal (who, in my family's own terms means quite good!!) It's not me who says it but my husband and my children or other French people who have tasted it at our place... or the friends I give some when the baguettes are just out-of-the-oven and taste best!
Sure, making baguettes requires more planning and timing than the boules I otherwise make... but once you have done it a few times, you know your baguettes will be good enough for you to stop purchasing OK-bread at $$$$.
I don't have my own recipe, I pretty much follow Clotilde's or Flo Makanai's (in French) and played with the recipes to reach something I like. I am always amazed that the only things I need are : flour, water, salt, and some sourdough starter! That's it! Incroyable!
I don't have enough time these days to read more about sourdough starter breads to improve the quality of my baguettes (I'd love the baguettes to be lighter but maybe it's just the sourdough starter?) but it's on my "to-do" list for the coming weeks. Until then, I'll keep improvising a little bit just to see whether this or that have a positive impact! Bon Appetit!

Ingredients:
- 200 gr (7 oz) mature Sourdough Starter (100%)
- 400 gr (14 oz) filtered water
- 600 gr (21 oz) All purpose flour
- 15 gr (0.5 oz) salt
- Flour to dust (all purpose, brown rice or rye)

• Day 1 - Morning
• Feed starter to have 200gr (+leftover to keep your starter alive) of mature starter to use
• Day 1 - Afternoon
• Mix in 200 gr of starter with water for 1 minute on medium speed (the mix will become fluffy)
• Add flour and mix again on lowest speed just to "moist" the flour.
• Leave on the kitchen counter for one hour (Autolysis)
• After one hour, add salt and knead for 7-10 minutes on lowest speed. The dough should be very smooth. Transfer into a lightly oiled bowl.
• Leave on the kitchen counter for 2- 3 hours. The dough will rise.
• Day 1- Evening
• Cover with plastic wrap and put in the fridge for 8-15 hours
• Day 2 - 2/1.5 hours before baking
• Take the bowl out of the fridge and leave it on the kitchen counter for at least one hour. The objective is for the dough to get back to room temperature.
• Day 2- 1 hour before baking
• Take the dough out of the bowl and dump it on a floured baking sheet/cloth/silpat. Cut the dough in 4 pieces. Roughly shape the pieces into logs.
• Take a cloth and add flour to it : take one log, shape it into a baguette (you want to make sure that they can fit into your oven!!). Place it on the cloth and make a "wave" with the cloth near the baguette so that the baguette keeps it shape. Take the other logs and repeat. At the end, you'll have four baguettes laying on the cloth with some cloth "wave" separating them.
• Put a baking stone on the middle rack of the oven.
• Put a cast-iron skillet (or any deep metal baking dish) on the lower rack of the oven.
• Pre-heat the oven to 500F (250 C).
• Bring some water to a boil.
• Day 2 - Baking
• Just before putting the baguettes in the oven, slash them with a sharp knife.
• When the oven is hot, place the baguettes on the baking stone.
• With great caution (and long sleeves or cooking gloves) pour the boiling water in the skillet. Close the door immediately. It will create a steam bath for the baguettes.
• Bake for 30 minutes at 450F (225C)
• After 30min, check the color of the baguettes, they should be golden brown. Take them out of the oven with great caution and put them on a cooling rack.
• Cool them completely before eating them.

 
My Personal Comments: 

• I generally leave the baguettes an extra 10 minutes in my oven because I like them really crusty.
• I used Flo Makanai 1.2.3 recipe so if you could make it with less/more starter and adjust the quantities for water and flour. Salt is 2% of flour weight (I add a little bit more because my husband likes it saltier!https://sites.google.com/site/wayfyktdrecipes/home/mes-baguettes-au-levain-with-sourdough-starter)
• This recipe might not be the most professional one because I am just starting to make baguettes... but it has worked for me. I like the way it works out for my timing. I can start in one afternoon and make the baguette anytime really the next day. If you want to see a professional version, go on to this video.

Greek-Style thick Yogurt

As I already wrote, we eat yogurt everyday in our family,  twice a day sometimes. Les yaourts (and dairy-based desserts) are a big part of the French diet. Whenever I go back to France, I love going to the dairy section of any supermarkets. I love looking at the new offerings, the new packaging and generally go back home with more yogurts that I can have! It's just heaven to me!

I am lucky that we can find good yogurts in Philadelphia. We mostly purchase plain yogurt in large containers since we eat it all very quickly... or I make my own yogurts!  A big lover of thicker yogurt (that resembles what we call Fromage Blanc in France), I was happy to try the so-called Greek style yogurts when they came out. Unfortunately, Greek yogurt is not cheap; I therefore don't purchase it often.

On March 17th, Mark Bittman talked about making your own Greek yogurt at home in his weekly column. I had thought about some before but it took his column for me to experiment. I purchased our regular 2-pound-container of Organic Plain yogurt and a milk/nut bag from the Nature Store next to us. I poured the yogurt in the sack, put the sack in a colander, put the colander over a large bowl and put everything in the fridge for 4 hours. So much water came out in that lapse-time. I was really amazed....  Sure enough, the end-result is thick! And delicious! Very close to Fromage Blanc so we all loved it and ate it all with Muscovado sugar. Un vrai régal!

The process is not difficult. The time it takes to make it is fine : you can make it during the week-end and have plenty for the week. However, I was wondering whether it's really worth it. You see, you lose between 50 and 60% of the initial weight depending on how long you let the water drain. If you purchase a plain Organic yogurt container at $3.50 (for 2 pounds or 907 gr), then, assuming that you only lose 50% of the initial weight, your home-made Greek yogurt ends up costing you $7/lb (but cheaper than the Greek yogurts available around, no?).  Then, since you don't have cream added to the end-result yogurt, it still healthier (calorie-speaking) than commercial "Greek yogurt" that use both milk and cream (I know, that's why it tastes so good!). My only advice is for you to find a really good plain yogurt (or low fat) and then try it once. If you like the end-result of your home-made thick Greek-like yogurt, then make some when you have a few minutes to invest in your diet! And keep the commercially available Greek yogurts for special occasions. Bon Appétit!

Spinash - Feta Quiche

July 4th week-end is coming up, meaning that school is around the corner for us. I don't stress about school: I am actually looking forward to my children going to school even if it means that I'll have to go back to the workforce. After 3 months off, I just realized that I am out of practice when it comes to packing la lunchbox. And this year, I'll have to pack two!

As I was going through the list of things I packed last year beyond the obvious home-made sandwich (with homemade baguettes, s'il-vous-plait!) and other leftovers, I remembered that quiches (a.k.a. as tartes salées) were a big hit.  As I already wrote, we are big lovers of quiches in our house. I make one at least once a month, sometimes twice if we don't eat pizza.  I am always trying to make different quiches (quiche Lorraine, Swiss Chard quiche, Leeks,Ricotta and Bacon, etc.) so that we don't get tired of them. But how could you get tired of tartes salées? Really? It's a nice I-don't-know-what-to-make evening dinner (think a great alternative to pizza), a great dish to bring to a picnic (think July 4th week-end), a perfect brunch option (think having some adults friends over while kids play outside)... but really, as long as it's not too mushy, a perfect lunchbox meal!  Since my daughter wanted her quiche sliced, I would pack it in foil/a flat container and pre-cut it so that she would only have to eat it with her fingers fork. If any left, my husband would take his slice for lunch as well. So, it seems that this year, I'll make larger quiches to make my lunchbox-chore easier. In the meantime, we are having quiche tonight because yes, I don't know what else to make and don't feel like cooking much today !! I'll think of something else to put in the lunchboxes on Tuesday! Bon Appétit!

Ingredients:
For the dough:
- 5.64 oz (160g) of All Purpose Flour
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 2.47 oz butter (70gr), cold and diced
- 1.5 Fl Oz (45 ml) ice cold water (more if necessary)

• Mix in the flour and the salt
• Add the butter and use a fork or a pastry cutter to make small pea-size pieces
• Pour half the water and mix in
• Pour the remaining of water, one tablespoon at a time
• Use your hand to make a ball with the dough, being careful not to work the dough too much
• Refrigerate for 30 minutes
• Butter and flour a 9-inch pie mold
  
• Roll the dough onto a floured surface and work it by hand from the center to make a 10-inch circle
• Lay the dough on the mold
• Refrigerate while you prepare the filling
  

 For the Filling:
- 2 bunches of fresh spinach (frozen are fine too)
- 3 eggs, slightly beaten
- 8.4 Fl oz  (250ml) milk
- Feta cheese
- 2.82 oz (80g) shredded Swiss cheese (optional)
- Olive oil, salt and black pepper

• Pre-heat oven to 350F (180C)
  
• In a skillet, saute the spinach in olive oil. Drain on a colander.
• In a bowl, whisk eggs, milk, salt and pepper together
• Lay the spinach on the dough.
• Spread Feta cheese on the spinach
• Pour the batter
• Cover with shredded cheese (optional)
• Cook in the oven for 40 minutes. 

My Personal Comments:

• You can use Feta crumbles if you have some. Use as much Feta as you think you like. 
• Using Swiss cheese on top will give the quiche an additional crunch.

Tortilla Espanola

Although I have not traveled to Spain much, I have come to enjoy Spanish food a lot both from the eating (well, to the short list of Spanish dishes I have been introduced to so far) and cooking standpoint.  I don't cook it much, mostly because I don't have direct access to Spanish products (and even though I am an avid online shopper, I don't dare to order food I don't know online). Whatever I make will never be as good as the same dishes made by my Spanish friends or by Diana from A Little Bit of Spain In Iowa (love her recipes!) but it's good enough for us (and the few people who have tasted it at our place.) At least, it brings a little bit of variety. And variety, when it comes to food, is really good (which new food did you try this week??)
My children don't call it "Tortilla Espanola", they call it "gâteau de pommes de terre" (or potatoes cake) and they love it. They are always intrigued to see me cry and cry some more when I am peeling onions. I had them try pealing onions themselves, so now they know that it's not because I am sad but because onions make you cry. I have always been a little bit jealous at the people who could peel and chop onions without dropping a tear. But, hey, I am crying when I peel shallots or leeks even. Yes, I tried wearing goggles, peeling under water but it did not work! I am used to it : I have a box of tissues handy, I don't answer the phone if it rings, and I make sure to invest in a good waterproof mascara. Otherwise, not only do I pleure comme une Madeleine, I have big read puffy eyes and black make-up all over the face: something to scare my children and husband!!
The best thing I like about this dish is that it tastes very good cold, which means that I can make it in advance. I generally serve it in the evening alongside a large green salad. But it would be perfect for brunch or a picnic (as long as you bring plates.) The only thing you want to make sure is that you peel more potatoes than you think you'll need. Otherwise, you'll end up with a 1/2-inch thick layer of potatoes. Nothing like a gâteau de pommes de terre. Bon Appétit!

Ingredients 
- Potatoes: I generally use two big potatoes per person and add an extra two for the dish. Peeled and sliced.
- 2 medium-size onions, sliced.
- 3 eggs, beaten
- Olive oil
- Salt, black pepper to taste

• In two large pans, saute the onions and potatoes in a lot of olive oil (a lot : you want about 125ml (4.2 fl oz) cup in each pan. You want to saute the potatoes until they are fully cooked and a little bit brown (but still soft on the outside). This can take 20 minutes. Add salt and pepper.
• Pre-heat oven to 350F (175 C)
• Stack the cooked potatoes and onions in a dish that goes into the oven (a cast-iron skillet is perfect!). The smaller the pan, the thicker the Tortilla.
• Pour the egg batter onto the potatoes and onions
• Cook in the oven for about 10-15 minutes until the eggs are fully cooked
• Serve warm or cold.

My Personal Comments:

• You could reduce/increase the quantity of onions
•  If you want to make it fancier, you could add red hot pepper, green onions, asparagus, etc. 
•  You could add more eggs to make it "stick together" a little bit better but I don't like it with too many eggs.
• I made individual ones for the blog but I generally make only one Tortilla in a pan. 

The Fridge is off-limits...

And so are the cupboards and the food left on the countertop in our kitchen if you are a child, a pre-teen or a teenager and don't ask for permission.  So don't even think about helping yourself, especially if I am not around, especially if you had been offered food less than three hours ago, especially if you are going to have lunch/dinner in less than one hour.  But, obviously, if you ask for permission, I'll give you something! Enfin peut-être, depending on your excuse!


As I have watched my children (and some of their friends!!) helping themselves in our kitchen, I have come to set strict rules about what acceptable and what's not for my children (and their friends), in our kitchen.  If they start opening the fridge, I ask them to close it and to ask me for permission to pick up something from it. If I think that it's OK for them to do it, I let them do it and remind them that they have to ask.  When I cook and they are in the kitchen, I ask them to take things out to help me. When my kids pull something out of the fridge, I can see that they are really proud of it, feeling like grown-ups : you see, grown-ups open the fridge a lot (have you ever tried to count?) Don't get me wrong, I put my bad cop hat, not because I don't want my children to be independent and happy when they fixed themselves something: I actually LOVE to watch them gain confidence when they butter and spread jam on their toasts in the morning. I just think that I am avoiding unnecessary snacking habits and teaching them what I consider basic règles de vie. I also hope that by being used to asking for food/drink politely (s'il-te/vous-plait, merci), they won't open the fridge at someone's else place either (what a dreadful thought!!)

Letting children open the fridge without asking for permission is not something French people do a lot. I have never seen my friends' children or my nephews/nieces do it ;  I never open the fridge at my French friends' place unless I have been granted the authorization and it took a a while to feel comfortable opening my in-laws' fridge without asking for permission!! But then again, I don't want to generalize. And if I remember well, there were times, at my parents' place, when my brothers would dive for the chocolate mousse desserts without really asking my mother whether it was OK or not... but they were in their teen-age years and coming back from a long day at school or from playing sports. Not because they were bored or hungry because they had not eaten a proper lunch. It also happened that my mother was not home when we came home from school, which meant that we could fix ourselves our snack. And yes, back then, we'll have more than what my mother would have authorized had she been home. Normal, non?

I think that if you teach your children, early enough, that the fridge, the cupboards and any in-between-meals food is off-limits unless they ask for permission, they'll remember and develop better habits as they grow older. At least, that's what I hope. Time will tell for my own family. For the time being, I'll keep my bad cop hat handy!

Swiss Chard and Mushrooms Pasta

Back in Philadelphia... back to our routine, which, I should not call a routine because it's never the same (and fortunately because I don't like routine; it makes me feel old and out of creative thinking). So what's typical day in hot Philly these days?  Please Touch Museum, Smith Memorial Playground, Philadelphia Zoo, Narberth playground or a visit to friends in the morning; a local playground in the afternoon. Because the children are tired after a full morning outside, I have a limited time window to feed the children if I want to avoid any meltdowns, ie, my objective is to minimize time-to-table. I therefore don''t cook much for lunch. If I don't have leftovers, I make up a quick salad (tomatoes-mozzarella-basil is a favorite.) In the evening, well, it depends on how lazy motivated I have been during the day. On a good day, I prep dinner early in the afternoon while my children are getting all their toys out nap. On a average day, I postpone it until dinner time!  And what about those weekly menus? Well, when I am on vacation and if it's just "us", then I don't plan meals. When we were in France and had to feed anywhere between 12 and 25 people on a daily basis, we had to have menus!!! I'll resume the weekly menus when my children are back in school... for the time being, it's improvisation with whatever is in the fridge!
Among all the produces we purchased at the Farmers's market on Sunday (one of our weekly activities), I could not resist a nice-fresh-looking bunch of Swiss chard. And then I came home and thought: what I am going to do with them? It's not like I could just saute them and serve them as a sidedish to my children. This would be calling for disaster! Because let's be honest, my kids are good eaters but there are still limits to their (and my husband's, I am sure) willingness to chew on a sidedish of Swiss chard!!
Validated options in my répertoire:  Swiss chard tart or a cold Swiss chard soup? Then, I looked at the clock and since it was already 7pm and I had two hungry creatures invading the kitchen, I decided that I was still going to try to serve sauteed Swiss chard  but I was going to hide them among mushrooms and pasta. I used my little helpers to clean and cut the mushrooms while I was taking care of the Swiss chard and pasta. The results? "Comme une lettre à la Poste" : easy-breezy. So next time you go to the Farmers' market (because it's your routine or because you just happen to be passing by one), don't look down at the Swiss chard because you have young children (and a husband) to feed that evening! Bon Appétit!

Ingredients:
- 1 bunch of Swiss chard, thoroughly rinsed and chopped in small pieces
- 5-6 white mushrooms (but Cremini would be OK too)
- Pasta
- Creme Fraiche or light cream
- Olive oil, salt and pepper to taste

• Boil water for the pasta
• In a pan, saute the Swiss chard in olive oil
• Add the mushrooms and saute until the stem of Swiss chard is cooked. Reserve
• Cook the pasta
• Once cooked, mix in the vegetables. Add creme fraiche, salt and pepper to taste.
• Serve warm.

My Personal Comments:

• I have added Pine nuts for added crunchiness (but I am sort of addicted to Pine nuts so this is really optional)
• It does not reheat well so this is best eaten on the same day.
• Wholewheat pasta is a plus... but if you are already trying to make your children eat Swiss chard, keep the wholewheat pasta for another day!

Strawberry Frozen Yogurt

We are back in Philadelphia. Yes back and sweating!. I had forgotten how hot and humid Summer months can be in this city... That's when we take a walk to the nearby playground to enjoy the water sprinklers!That's when we open our door to make a draft with the freezing cold air of our building long corridor. That's when I do what I consider irrational (it's Summer after all) and take my children to do indoor activities when it's too hot to even breath outside! That's when the only thing I want to cook are icecream and gazpacho (recipe to follow one day). However, yesterday was my daughter's birthday and as a main dish she requested ribs. Ribs that cook for 3 hours in the oven! I know, it was irrational for us to accept to make that dish under current temperatures. But how to say no, especially since it has become one of our favorite "American" meals? (recipe to follow another day).
For dessert, my husband had made a Pavlova  (recipe to follow another another day) but the children were too tired from jetlag (I did not appreciate the 4 am wake-up call from the children' bedroom) to have dessert. I know, this is irrational too, especially in our family where "un petit dessert" is always welcome. We kept the dessert for today, assuming that they would be able to be up a little bit later since they woke up at only 6 am this morning (it did not feel like a grasse matinée though)! There was plenty of icecream to serve on the Pavlova : I could see that my husband had been alone for a few weeks and had stocked on icecream while we were gone (better than on hard alcohol, non?). However, there was no frozen yogurt because my husband does not like frozen yogurt and never purchases it. I, on the other hand, enjoy a good frozen yogurt. Having made a lot of sorbet, icecream and frozen yogurt lately, I have become quite difficult to please when it comes to icecreams and the likes. This recipe passed my tastebuds test. And my children'. Don't be irrational and trust us on this one, once again.  Bon Appétit!

Ingredients
- 450gr (1 pound ) strawberries
- 130 gr (4.58 oz) sugar
- 250 gr (8.81oz or 1 cup) whole milk yogurt
- 5ml (0.17 Fl oz or 1 ts) lemon juice
- 10ml (0.34 Fl oz or 2 ts) kirsh/Crème de cassis (optional)

• Cut the strawberries in small pieces, add sugar (and alcohol) and let them "cook in their juice" for about 2 hours on the stove.
• Once "cooked", put them in a blender together with the yogurt and lemon juice. Blend until smooth.
• Chill for one hour in the fridge and transfer to your icecream maker.

 My Personal Comments:

• I used frozen strawberries; I used a sieve to get rid of the seeds before blending the coulis with the yogurt.
• The quality of yogurt is important: chose a good quality one.
• You could use goat cheese yogurt as well if you like its taste.

Duck Hachis Parmentier

I grew up eating à la cantine in France (ie, at school) and even though I was not a picky eater there were a few things I did not like and that would make me sick even before eating them.  Hachis Parmentier was one of them and it was dramatic (oui, oui, dramatique!!)  for me since it was on the menu at least once a month! Hachis Parmentier, a mix of ground meat (generally leftover) and potatoes puree, is a pillar of French traditional cuisine. Not the cuisine you'll be served in a top restaurant in France, but rather the one that you cook for your family or for a large group of people (like à la cantine).
It took me a long time to be able to eat Hachis Parmentier without gagging (too much school history)... and even longer to cook it myself. I still don't consider it "a real dish" but because it's so easy to make and generally popular among children, I have been cooking it more often. It 's the perfect dish when you ave 10 children age 1-to-12 driving you crazy running around you. I even think that it is a great alternative to the boring traditional pizza that people serve when five children pretend to come and sleep at your place!

The good thing about Hachis Parmentier is that you can make your own version depending on the meat leftover you have. In this case, we had Duck confit one evening and I had leftover so I used duck meat. You can also serve it with or without cheese on top (I prefer cheese) and with additional vegetables if you feel like it. What would prevent you from making it this week? Bon Appétit!

Ingredients (serves 6)
- 1 pound (500 gr) of ground meat, cooked
- 3 shallots, minced
- 1 clove of garlic, minced
- 2 Tb of tomato paste (two small tomatoes, diced)
- Olive oil, salt and black pepper
 - 2 pounds (or about 1kg) of potatoes
- Milk or/and light cream.
- Parmesan cheese

• Pre-heat oven to 360F (180C)
• In a large pan, saute the shallots and garlic in olive oil. 
• Add the meat and tomato paste and cook for 10 minutes under low heat.
• In the meantime, boil the potatoes. Once cooked, drain them.
• Mash the potatoes and add warm milk/cream until you reach desired consistency. Season with salt and pepper
• Place the meat in a large deep dish. Cover with mashed potatoes and cover with ground Parmesan cheese
• Cook in the oven for 20-30 minutes until cheese is fully grilled.

My Personal Comments:

• You could add a carrot or a few dices of celery to the meat for extra flavor/veggies or make a sweet potatoes/carrots puree instead of mashed potatoes.