In My Kitchen: December 2021

I'm in Paris! The Australian government finally opened the international border on Nov 1 for NSW residents and I can't believe I really am in Paris, reunited with my partner after 2 years... 

First, a few things from Australia 

I made this vegan black forest cake for my friend B's birthday. She inspires a lot of vegan baking and this was a real fun project. I tried the whipping the cream from the top of a can of coconut cream method. It seemed to thicken initially but didn't stay a good texture for piping so I slathered it on.. nevertheless, it was delicious! 

These colourful carrots from my garden took so long to grow, maybe like 5 months? It was worth the wait though, they were utterly delicious, so full of carrot flavour, and the tops were great in a pesto! 

Paris.. all the baked goodies...

Now I have about a million and one pictures of all the goodies I've eaten in Paris, but I'll stick to a few of my absolute favourites... 

Of all the croissants I've eaten, I think this one is the best. La Maison d'Isabelle won the best croissant award a few years ago and what an excellent croissant it is, perfectly crispy and flaky with a strong butter flavour. I could smell the butter from the platform of the metro! 

My French teacher recommended Boulangerie Utopie to me - it was a treasure trove of goodies. This is made with a laminated croissant dough, coloured with charcoal and stuffed with black sesame. Words do not do justice to the flavour and texture. 

A boule of khorasan sourdough I got from Les Freres Blavette. Khorasan is an ancient grain originating from Persian and this gave the bread a lovely nutty flavour. 

What else to eat in Paris but baguettes? There have been so many baguettes, I eat them almost everyday! It's amazing that there are 5 boulangeries within a 5 minute walk of our place, I'm really spoilt for choice. 

An amazing pain aux raisins from Maison Lendemaine - look at all the layers in that dough!

S lives right next to one of the many branches of La Patisserie by Cyril Lignac. What a dangerous location since I could eat something delicious from there everyday! This lemon tart was just amazing, the construction like an artwork with a hazelnut biscuit base, cloudlike lemon cream, lemon gel between the dollops, topped with a white chocolate layer with little bubbles of vanilla. 

Another delectable treat from Cyril Lignac - a noisette, consisting of a biscuit base, hazelnut cream layer, sponge and coffee chantilly cream. The whole thing is covered with an impossibly thin layer of milk chocolate and studded with hazelnuts, then covered in this beautifully piped coffee cream.

Other discoveries...

So. Much. Cheese

I was super amused to find bouquet garni cubes in the supermarket. I bought it to go with French puy lentils, which are cheap and delicious here. 

Some random vegetable purchases from the supermarket. Endive I realised later is actually pretty popular in Australia, but I'd never had it before; black radish (only the skin is black and the inside is white); spaghetti squash (when roasted, the flesh becomes stringy) and topinambour (aka Jerusalem artichoke) 

The mushrooms... how amazing are the mushrooms in France! The normal varieties are very affordable, and these forest mushrooms are so special and full of flavour. I was stoked to find them even in the supermarket! These chanterelles we found at the market at Place Monge - they were so earthy and rich, naturally high on umami. 

Some coffee from our favourite cafe in Paris. 

The curveball.. 

I haven't written much about my personal life on the blog (it's pretty much turned into an IMK only space!) but for the curveball this month, I wanted to revisit how special this trip to Paris is. 

S and I have not seen each other for two years and we have been through a lot - the prolonged closure of the international border, the repeated travel exemption rejections, the turbulence and uncertainty about the future of the relationship - these have been the roughest times in our lives. Words cannot describe how glad I am to finally be here. On my first day we bought this hand poured soy candle adorned with flowers from a tiny florist nearby, and we have been enjoying it every night with our dinner. Life is short, and we can enjoy the little things that mean a lot to us. 

I'm sending this to Sherry who hosts the monthly In My Kitchen series - thanks Sherry!