In My Kitchen: July 2024

Every month at IMK time I think: 

1. Where has the month gone? 

2. Wow I ate a lot of things!

3. How will I pick which photos to share? 

4. How can the baby have grown so much in one month???

Trip to Bordeaux...

This month started with almost a week in Bordeaux where S was invited to give a lecture at the university. I went along to explore and we spent the weekend in Biscarosse near the sea - it was so glorious to be near the ocean again! 

Bordeaux is the home of canelé, here one made with pure vanilla (about 3x the price of the normal one which is made with vanilla essence!) 

The very cool wine bar on top of Cité du Vin (the wine museum) where you get a free glass of wine from an extensive selection

An incredible fruit & veg shop I found by chance in Biscarosse

Just look at those strawberries...

The boulangerie in Biscarosse did a raging business in the morning, I think the whole town was there. Everything I tried from there was as good as what one would get from the "fancy shops" in Paris - I was so impressed. This pain aux raisins was spectacular - absolutely stuffed with plump delicious raisins, so fresh the pastry was still crispy and shatter-y, often not the case because the creme in pain aux raisins makes the pastry soggy quickly. 

Back in Paris.. 

My sourdough starter son Barney turned 7 this week so we had a little challah to celebrate. He's lived with me in Darwin, Sydney, Newcastle, Toronto and now Paris. He's about to travel with me back to Australia again! 

I'm thoroughly enjoying this cherry jam from the "less sugar" series, it's a jar of chunky cherry pieces that goes perfectly on toast with butter or peanut butter.  

This black sesame Paris-Brest was to celebrate one year of living in France, from the famous Mori Yoshida patisserie which I walk past a lot but rarely enter (it's too fancy!)

It feels like I have been living in Paris a long time now, what a journey it has been with so many ups and downs... 

A random gorgeous raspberry I picked from a vine in the park

Little food presents S brought from Germany - the muesli is so good in Germany, and the peanut butter too

A hot chocolate from Angelina, perfect with a croissant. It's basically a cup of melted chocolate in which you mix as much whipped cream as you like. So indulgent!

Sourdough Hong Kong style red bean buns I made for a Sunday picnic in the park  

We finally got some new plates - aren't they gorgeous showcasing these Algerian sweets? S' PhD student gave his defence last week and as per tradition brought a feast

We are trying to get back into tortilla Thursday after I found the tortilla flour in Paris. Our new plates also match the colouring of our platter.

I'm in love with our local Les Saisonniers shop, a chain which aims to source food from <100km radius of Paris. According to the resident Italian S, this buffalo mozzarella was as good as it gets! 

This week during the heatwave I couldn't bring myself to cook so we had a couple of dinners of rice noodle salad (loosely from Recipetineats), here with a mountain of salad and smoked salmon. Fresh light and tasty, easy to throw together too.

The curveball this month is a double rainbow we saw from our window one evening, so rare in polluted and grey Paris. Just to remind us that one should look up often because life is special and precious. 

Sending this to Sherry who hosts the monthly IMK series. Thanks Sherry and have a great month everyone!