In My Kitchen: November 2023

Welcome to my kitchen this month fellow IMKers! October has been a progressively better month for me, I finally started to climb out of the dark hole that was August - it was a kind of grief in saying goodbye to my old life and starting life again in France. One of the hardest things has been people saying things like "oh it's so exciting that you get to live in France" or "Paris is the most beautiful city in the world". I just didn't know what to say to those people, who were well-intentioned but their comments struck at a time when I was so low and I felt all alone in feeling like I was having a hard time. Anyway, this is IMK and not In My Life so let's get on with the kitchen... 

Things I baked this month... 

I don't remember if I mentioned it previously, but my sourdough son Barney has been (sympathetically?)  depressed since the move to France. Whatever I tried, he was giving awful flat loaves that were making me even more depressed. I finally decided to try and fix him this month... Starting with twice daily feeding and rehoming in the fruit bowl to try and pick up some of the local yeast.. 

Improving... not quite there, but he did make some pretty good bagels 

A loaf definitely on the improve...

A cinnamon cranberry babka I made for music! My friend was visiting from Toronto and we headed off to S' friend's place to play piano quartets - the Brahms in C minor and the Faure. The texture of this babka was still not quite right, but I was just glad and so happy to be baking something to share with others! And of course to be playing music in a big group again. 

A cranberry sourdough loaf with the rest of the cranberries.. on the improve again!

And finally an excellent loaf! I was so glad when Barney came back to life. I haven't been this excited about baking bread for a few years. 

This was a challah symbolising unity that I made last week. 

Followed by sourdough pitas in solidarity with all the people in the zone who are unable to access bakeries due to the war. We ate them with some falafels and a homemade tahini sauce for lunch one day. 

Other things in my kitchen... 

We had a classic Mont Blanc from Angelina when my dad was here visiting, it's a chestnut creme on top of a heart of meringue and cream. Rich and decadent!

With my depression I haven't been cooking much but finally the craving for cabbage rolls got me looking through my Manga Monday cookbook again 

Here is a Pain Aux Raisins from one of my favourite boulangerie-patisseries in Paris

Some walnut flavoured cheese from our excellent local fromagerie

We chanced by this giant pumpkin in a random hall in a tiny village, the farmer said he wasn't sure how much it weighed but was definitely more than 20kg (here you see an apple for comparison!) He sold us what seemed a tiny sliver for 1 euro, which weighed 1.7kg when we got home! 

The curveball this month is from the sea from Villerville, one of the closest beaches to Paris. We woke up one Sunday morning and decided to go to the sea. I felt this kind of calling to be near the water. 

It was like a Mastercard ad: 

Last minute car rental - $An arm and $A leg 

Petrol - 60 euros (it was a giant luxury SUV, all that was left available for rent!) 

Tolls - 20 euros (crazy expensive tollway!) 

Standing by the sea, listening to the waves roll in - Priceless 

I'm sending this to Sherry who hosts the monthly IMK events, thanks for hosting Sherry! 

In My Kitchen: October 2023

September has flown right past, another crazy whirlwind month for S and I! We started our month in Paris, then went to Italy for a week where we had the big Italian wedding (we actually got married in Canada in March, but this was the big reception). 

Some beautiful produce from this month... 

I have become utterly addicted to the incredibly flavourful heirloom tomatoes 

Datterini tomatoes we had in Italy 

Fresh walnuts - I never knew they were white before they dried! 

On the baking front... 

It was one of my rare days when I had enough energy to make this wholewheat challah, I've never made it with 100% wholemeal flour before and the rise was not particularly good...

My friend sent me a picture of a "Purebread cat" so I had to reproduce it... unfortunately my sourdough starter Barney has been struggling in between the new French flours that he doesn't seem to like and my lack of attention, so this was not a very well risen cat... we ate him anyway for lunch. 

The last thing I baked was these Shanghainese style mooncakes stuffed with fresh pork. It's become a bit of a tradition the last few years, it's quite fiddly but well worth the effort! 

Random meals from September... 

We had S' friend over for a make your own rice paper roll party, it was a hit! 

Our friend from Toronto dropped by and stayed with us for a night. I love ordering shakshuka in cafes but this was my first time making it, and it was really delicious. 

Here I made a vegan mushroom broth with shiitake mushrooms, ginger and spring onions, which we ate with more vegetables and edamame on top of fresh rice noodles. A delicious dinner for us!

The wedding... 

We had the reception in S' family mansion in Montagnana where his parents, his aunt and older sister were all married. It belonged to his grandparents but is not used now except for special events. The caterers did an incredible job setting up tables in the backyard and stringing up beautiful fairy lights. Some of his family came from Naples (a 8 hour drive) and I was so grateful for my friends who came from all over!

The canapes table 

The pasta course was a risotto with wild chamomile and mountain herbs - the aroma of the risotto was incredible and it had the most amazing creamy texture! 

They did an outstanding job with our cake, which was filled with a pistachio creme. 

This was our lunch the day after the party, featuring focaccia and fresh prosciutto - the speciality of the region where S comes from

Special baking gifts from my friends who came over from Vienna 

These food gifts were also super special - Taiwanese taro puffs that travelled with friends from Toronto, and mooncakes that came with my friends from Sydney 

Finally, the curveball this month is a tranquil scene from the forest near the meditation centre Dhamma Mahi where I spent three days at a meditation retreat. I wrote last month that I have been struggling to adjust to the enormity of the life changes we are going through, and I was very grateful for the opportunity to retreat into nature and spend some time with my thoughts. I really loved walking in the forest, and there were the most incredible enormous orange slugs there (up to 10cm!) They lounged around like they owned the forest. 

I'm sending this to Sherry who hosts the monthly In My Kitchen series, thanks Sherry and happy October fellow IMKers! 

In My Kitchen: September 2023

It's funny how time passes and every month when I look back on my food photos it feels like an eternity ago, but it was all within the last month! 

Bretagne

We start August with four days in the countryside where we stayed in a small rural town called Saint-Lyphard, it has a church, a brasserie, a couple of boulangeries (one old and one modern) and strangely a huge supermarket. 

These buckwheat chips are just about the most delicious and addictive snack on the planet. I could eat the entire packet on its own! 

We were near the salt marshes of Guérande and picked up some cooking salt, salt with thyme and these pickled plants from the marshes. We could have gone to any one of dozens of shops but we ended up getting it from a shack on the side of the road. 

The food we had by the sea was just incredible. Here we had mussels and chips, a classic

A whole fresh crab to share with some excellent dijon mayonnaise

This was the best meal we had on the trip, from a Michelin recommended (not starred) restaurant. Monkfish with small shells from the sea and charred vegetables, in a delicious creamy sauce tasting of the sea. 

Back in Paris... 

We are finally settling into our "real" life. There's been plenty of ups and downs for me, and often when I'm feeling down S goes out to get a special treat for me. He's a sweet man (what a pun!) I'm a little embarrassed to review how many of treats I needed in August, but this one from Pierre Hermé was super amazing. 

 

The shell is made from white chocolate and the inside is all citrus flavours with a strawberry rhubarb compote set in the middle. 

Growing a few herbs on the window planter for some peace and green 

I discovered Boursin at the recommendation of a Canadian friend and it is really delicious!

One day when I had energy, we made these dumplings for dinner. It was to mark the Asian grocery delivery day!

Most days we have a simple lunch like this, a baguette from downstairs (often still warm), some vegetables and things to pick at.. 

Figs are very good in August and here I'm having it with a piece of cheese on my own bread. I haven't been baking much since bread is so good in France, but I hope to get back to it in full swing soon.. 

This teaset was a wedding gift from one of S' friends who ordered it from the Imperial Palace giftshop in Beijing. The cups are tiny (one mouthful!) but pouring out the tea is soothing. 

I know this is not technically my kitchen but a picnic we had in Giverny where we visited Monet's house and garden, one of the most incredible gardens I have ever seen. Giverny was a beautiful little town that is completely overrun by tourists and the restaurant prices were pretty eyewatering, but we brought our own picnic and bought an excellent 1.20 euro baguette from the local boulangerie. No matter where, they still have to serve the baguettes!

Amsterdam...

I went to Amsterdam for a few days to visit my friend from Darwin at the end of August. We met while working at the hospital together in 2011 and kept in touch through all the years of us living in different countries. I was really grateful to see a familiar face in Europe.

So much cheese! After stuffing myself full of samples, I went back to France with a big chunk of classic Dutch gouda. 

When in the Netherlands, apple pie is a must. Look at how much apple is in this pie! I love the soft sweet smells of cinnamon. 

One of the curiousities of France is that people don't eat peanut butter. But the Dutch love peanut butter and there was a huge section in the supermarket! So I got myself 1kg for the next little while.. 

Famed to be "best fries in Holland", I lined up for these fries with truffle mayo from Manneken Pis. Now it was pretty good, crispy exterior with a nice soft interior, but not sure it was worth the 20 minute queue! 

We had this "house special" at a Surinamese restaurant, a hodge-podge of rice, noodles, tempeh, vegetables and beef rendang (and a rice cracker). The spicy and savoury flavours were so refreshing, I forget sometimes how much of an Asian stomach I have. 

Finally the curveball this month is this beautiful jigsaw that I started doing (it's almost finished now). It's a watercolour of fruits and vegetables, and the bright colours really lift my day. 

For those IMK friends who follow regularly you will know that I recently relocated to France and I think in August the enormity of all the life changes has finally hit all at once. There's a lot to contend with in a big mid-life change like this. I think if I had been 20 or even 30 I would have been a bit oblivious, but it has been a lot harder than I imagined at 40. Some days I don't feel like eating or cooking, which is really a huge departure from normal for me. We are both trying to hang in there.. 

I'm sending this to Sherry of Sherry's Pickings, thank you Sherry for this little monthly ritual that brought me some joy today! 

In My Kitchen: August 2023

Where did July go? It's only when the first of each month rolls around and it's time for IMK that I realise time is just flying past.. We are back in Paris now after spending most of July in Bonn, Germany. Let's have a look at my food adventures for July... 

Sausage and potatoes. How much more German does German food get? 

Love the little rectangular slices of cake from the local Konditorei. This one was an apple cake, light and fluffy with a beautiful almond topping. The bakeries in Germany are quite different to those in France and I enjoyed trying all the different things on offer. 

When I found a wombok at the local supermarket we knew we had to make dumplings!

Spicy fried noodles from the Tibet Imbiss - it was crazy how many Tibetan places there were in Bonn. 

The gelato is excellent and cheap in Germany, average of 1.50 euros per scoop. I tried quite a lot of flavours and this was one of my favourites - blueberry kefir. 

While in Germany I became quite obsessed with ratatouille, no idea why. Here I made it with quite a lot of kohlrabi, which was plentiful and delicious in Germany!

I went to Vienna for a few days to visit my music friend and of course had to try all the Austrian delicacies like this käsekrainer, oozy with cheese and served with copious amounts of mustard and tomato sauce. 

Her partner is quite the cook, so here he whipped up a southern German dish of Dampfnüdeln, a kind of spongy bun not unlike the Chinese Bao but made with butter and milk. We ate it with a side of gooseberries and blueberries. 

Apple strudel! This was truly delicious served warm, the pastry flaking at the slightest touch and the rich cinnamon-y filling studded with plump juicy sultanas and bits of walnuts. 

Here is the "original" schnitzel from Figlmüller, which claims to be the "Home of the Schnitzel" since 1905. It was pounded extremely thin and you can see here it was bigger than the plate! 

Continuing with all the S- foods (sausage, strudel, schnitzel..) I finished off the food tour of Vienna at the Sacher cafe, where the Sachertorte was allegedly invented. It was a rare decadent treat!

I would have loved to stay in Austria longer but I came back to Bonn just for my birthday and it was a big milestone one! S picked up this slice of cake for us to enjoy on video chat with my dad in Australia, a delicious light cheesecake with a topping of beautiful ripe raspberries. He is a sweetheart. 

Our last night in Germany we spent with new music friends! We had met through the ACMP directory a professional violinist who organised for us to play the Brahms sextet no. 1 in mid July at her friends' place. They were a lovely couple that we met again just before we left to play Mozart's Dissonance quartet, Beethoven's Op 95 quartet (really, I think the best string quartet of Beethoven) and two movements of the Ravel. It was challenging but also very satisfying to play with such excellent players! After our music we had these little laugenbrot with herbed creamed butter.

The curveball this month is also food related! Did you know that gummi bears were an invention of Bonn? The name "Haribo" is actually an abbreviation formed from Hans Riegel Bonn. There was the most unimaginably enormous gummi bear store selling everything you could possibly imagine!

I'm sending this to Sherry of Sherry's Pickings who hosts the monthly IMK event, thanks Sherry and have a great month everyone!