In My Kitchen: April 2022

S was visiting Australia for most of March, and so it flew by even faster than February! I have just 10 weeks left in Australia before I move to Toronto in June to pursue my life/career change - I have been working in Intensive Care for 12 years and the sea change will be to palliative care... 

In my garden...

The chillies are going crazy! We have been eating chillies almost every meal.

This pink oyster mushroom kit was a Christmas present, which I didn't open for ages - even though it was past its "best grow" date they sprouted quickly in the recent warm humid weather. I cooked them in a light braise with silken tofu flavoured with ginger and shallots. 

The second compost pumpkin I've grown, a Queensland blue. Last year's one was 4.2kg and this bubba was even bigger at 5.9kg! We had a quarter of him as a giant pumpkin soup with lovely fresh sourdough straight out of the oven, and another quarter turned into a pumpkin chickpea curry.

Only because S is Italian, the pumpkin was christened Alfonso... this strawberry couple was kinda creepy, a funny gag present from S. 

Some fresh tomatoes and basil from the garden for a simple pasta sauce. 

In the kitchen.. 

We went to Melbourne for a quick overnight trip when S was invited to give a lecture at the University of Melbourne. I had no idea he was such a superstar mathematician. Meanwhile I headed to Lune for one of their amazing croissants, here the almond croissant is like a work of art - all the gently toasted almonds fixed by almond paste to form the porcupine shape. 

This stir fry was made from a few things from my dad's garden - snake beans, capsicums and bitter melon. Together with carrot and tofu, it's really a wonderful combination 

We've been having a lot of "healthy meals"! Here it was soba, a stir fry of carrot, tofu and wombok (and a lot of chilli!), with the greens blanched separately. 

We also went up to the Gold Coast for a long weekend, staying at my friend's place while she was overseas. We utilised her gorgeous Moroccan plate to showcase this simple but delicious roast sweet potato and chickpea salad. Sometimes the simplest things in life are the best. 

The curveball... 

The picture on the left was when S just arrived - how extraordinarily pale his foot was coming from the Parisian winter! 3 weeks later he'd developed a nice tan but unfortunately  was also having the true Australian experience of sunburn from the beach! 

I'm sending this to Sherry of Sherry's Pickings who hosts the monthly In My Kitchen series. Thanks Sherry for the monthly opportunity to write and review my photos! 

In My Kitchen: March 2022

February felt like a quick one! 

We had our own little celebration before I left Paris, it wasn't quite Valentine's day but the Patisserie Cyril Lignac had already started doing their St Valentin special - a light vanilla bourbon flavoured cream in the shape of a heart with a heart of salted caramel and crispy biscuit base of speculoos.  And yes - it was as delicious as the description sounds! 

Our last dinner together in Paris - whole roasted fish, brussel sprouts, some random navet - red bean curry with rice. 

I arrived home to Newcastle and found this beautiful Indigenous art design cake plate from my friend. It had arrived a couple of weeks earlier and was waiting for me on my back porch (thanks Oz post for keeping it safe). Here it is with the last little briochette from our local Eric Kayser that I picked up on my way to the airport. 

While I was in France, the pumpkin plant had gone wild in my backyard, and it was trying to break into my house by attaching itself to the screen door! 

My first job at work was to clear out the office - I was the supervisor of training for the trainees the past 3 years but in preparation for the move to Canada, I had to hand over and move out! Here are all the bottles of wine that were hiding in my office, mostly from previous trainees. (I can never bring myself to drink them... it's like they mark certain achievements!) 

I felt very fatigued with rather a poor appetite after I got back from Paris. So I had many "ploughman's" lunch plates like this with just some sourdough that I made (even my starter was sluggish in February), some salad veggies and cheese. Here I had it with my own lettuce and cucumber. 

I got lots of cherry tomatoes from my dad 

And a lot of chives - these turned into dumplings that were absolutely delicious.  

For Valentine's day I made this Slovenian style bread - I found it on Google when I googled "heart shaped bread" - it's a brioche dough that's braided like a challah, and then formed into a heart shape. Isn't it adorable? 

It was really nice to see the cellist in my quartet again - we had a simple dinner of roast veggie salad and some sourdough I made. Our string quartet has disbanded - the violist has moved to the UK and the other violinist is dealing with covid-related paranoia. So it's just me and the cellist now! Still, we played some Bach 2-part inventions (for the violin/cello we just read the left/right hand parts) and the Beethoven string duets which are transcribed from an original work for clarinet & bassoon.   

Finally towards the end of February I started to get my mojo back. These were some delicious sourdough hot cross buns... 

And la piece de resistance - the galette des rois that I saw everywhere in Paris! I recreated it at home from store bought puff pastry and a simple frangipane filling. The patterns can be really elaborate in Paris, I think mine wasn't bad for a first attempt! It's always made with a treasure and I put inside the little cow that I brought back from Paris, which has now gone home to live with my friend who was lucky enough to eat the piece with him in it!

I'm sending this to Sherry of Sherry's Kitchens who hosts the monthly In My Kitchen event. Thanks Sherry!

In My Kitchen: February 2022

Can it really be February already? I'm in Paris visiting S and I'm happy to spend Chinese New Year here - happy Year of the Tiger everyone!

Just a couple of things from Australia...

A sourdough matcha scroll I made during my self imposed isolation - for 2 weeks I did not go out at all except to work, because I didn't want to test positive before my flight. 

Australia feels about a million miles away right now (well, it is approximately 17,000km from Paris to Sydney). I can barely remember what life is like back home - what's happened to my plants? will I still remember how to see patients? Here is a bitter melon and a cucumber - melon brothers that I brought to Paris.

And now the baked goods...

Poilane has to be one of my favourite bakeries in Paris - it is a tiny little sourdough shop that is also famous for these apple tarts (also available in the apple turnover form). I adore how they use sourdough in the tart crust which gives it a real rich and steady flavour. The ladies in this shop are sooooo nice, it is absolutely the opposite of what people imagine the French stereotype is

Look at the layers in this croissant, just amazing. This one was from Pascal & Anthony, an ordinary neighbourhood boulangerie-patisserie. 

I absolutely adore the Pain aux raisins here in France because it is absolutely the best textural contrast between the crispy layers, luscious vanilla patisserie cream and the plump & juicy raisins. 

 

My favourite boulangerie in Paris is near Raspail, called Boulangerie M'Seddi- it is run by a Tunisian father & son combo and they became famous after the son won the best baguette in Paris competition in 2018. This is the best bread from there, a dark sourdough that has just the most extraordinary flavour. If I could eat this everyday, I would.. 

We have baguettes most days. Though there are a million and one boulangeries, most French people buy it from somewhere near their house. We have a few good boulangeries nearby, but one of my favourite baguettes is actually this multi-grain one from Eric Kayser. Though Eric Kayser is one of the most ubiquitous chains (it even has international branches), the quality of the stuff there is quite good. This baguette has a perfect crust, aromatic with toasty seeds, and the inside is just lusciously soft.

 

The pièce de resistance this month has to be this pistachio and chocolate scroll from Du pain et des idées - this boulangerie is in a really old building with the most beautiful ceilings and decor. The queues were crazy, but well worth the wait. The crispiness and lamination on this scroll was just incredible.  

Other things in the kitchen...

We did eat some things other than baked goods!

The poissonerie (fish shop) near S is excellent, and we got this line caught bar fish to roast one day, stuffed with lemon, ginger and parsley. It was the first time I've ever roasted a fish since I'm a home vegetarian since age 20 and I very very rarely cook non-veg dishes at home. 

When S' mother came to visit from Italy we had this wonderful calamari which was extra-ordinarily tender. The fish shop man cleans it and it's a cinch to cook. She made it with a splash of red wine, some eschallots and a sprinkling of parsley. Absolutely delicious! 

We also continued our indulgence in forest mushrooms. They are extremely pricy but the quality is excellent, especially from the local market. 

And here are a couple of cheeses from the fromagier at our local market, on the left is a stinky oozing l'époisses from the Bourgogne region and on the left the strongest gorgonzola they had - the fridge stinks, needly to say!

Finally for Chinese New Year we made our own dumplings (beef, chinese cabbage and capsicum), a whole fish and the Chinese style Yee Sang salad which I tried to make into a tiger shape.  

And for the curveball, our local Monoprix supermarket had these crazy decorations of pandas and tigers for the Chinese New Year - but most of the products were not Chinese! For example there was Japanese soy sauce, sushi kits, coconut milk, instant noodles, curry pastes.. none of them traditional Chinese food, and it was hilarious to see!

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

In My Kitchen: January 2022

2022 is here! I hope with all my heart that it is going to be a different year to the last... and whatever the pandemic brings, I hope that we will face it with love, openness and the ability to find joy in the little things of everyday. 

In my garden... 

The last of the carrots were pulled out of the ground... my dad visited me with his puppy and he was also super interested in the carrots! Of course he got one for being a very good boy... 

These last ones were for my dad's Christmas present 

The purple beans are coming along nicely. I love their vibrant colour, though they do turn green as soon as they are cooked. 

In the kitchen... 

I love carrot greens pesto! It's simply the tops, blanched quickly to wilt them a bit, then blitzed together with olive oil, cashews and sometimes a bit of parmesan. I can't get enough of this mixed through pasta or just on a piece of bread. 

I brought back so much chocolate from France and I've really enjoyed sharing them with family and friends. 

I love the presentation of our Christmas hotpot lunch - you see it is 3/4 vegetarian which I love. Some of my favourite things are baby king oyster mushrooms, enoki mushrooms, rice cakes (top left), lots of Chinese veggies, and tofu skins, fresh tofu and black fungus (bottom right). 

This was our dinner the next day on Christmas day. Fresh pan fried pork & chive dumplings made with Barney my sourdough starter who has also been living at my dad's for the last 3 years or so. 

Some Christmas baking... 

This was the first star I made, stuffed with kaya (coconut jam) and coconut flakes. I took this to my Malaysian friends' Christmas dinner, we managed to get together just before the cases were really on the up in NSW. 

This was the second star stuffed with blueberry jam, which I shared at my high school friend's gathering

My good old sourdough, Christmas scoring

I tried to score a Christmas tree, but it looks like a popsicle! 

The curveball 

The curveball this month is this pastry brush I brought back from Paris, which has beautifully soft and fine bristles. This stray carrot had arms so I thought they had to have a little hug. Because we all need some love in these crazy times. 

Love to everyone in the world and especially the IMK community. Thanks also to Sherry for hosting the In My Kitchen series every month. It is really a wonderful way to revisit all the photos I take of food, and to have a visual memory of what is happening in my life.  

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!