In My Kitchen: August 2024

Someone once told me that once you have a baby, time just flies - I confirm this is true!!

In France...

We started July in Paris where we were madly eating the remnants of our fridge before our big trip...

A maple shaped pancake with maple syrup to celebrate Canada day 

Lunch with the mums - burrata with tomatoes, couscous, tabouli and roast chicken (still in the kitchen at time of photo), olive bread, a giant potato and edamame salad from my fridge and banana cake. My mums group knows how to eat... 

A super delicious quick meal from our favourite frozen supermarket Picard - simply defrosted this makes a super more-ish salad with wild rice and quinoa, red lentils, smoked salmon, broad beans, cucumber and soft cheese. I know it sounds weird to defrost a salad but it's delicious!

A beer left over from before I was pregnant.. I didn't even know there was much French beer!

A giant pot of Korean style rice cake with tofu and veggies 

 

In Australia...

There's a bit of a gap in my photos for July where we were flying from Paris to Sydney (29 hours door to door... of which G was sleeping for a grand total of 3 hours) and then battling jetlag & hysterical baby. It was a quick stopover in Sydney and we came up to Darwin. We all got some pretty bad respiratory infection on the plane. Oh it was not fun. It was only after 3 days on the Australian continent that the hysterics started to calm... the tropical balmy weather helped too. 

Our first Saturday in Darwin we headed down to Parap markets for my weekly ritual of getting a laksa. I've forever been debating between Yati's and Mary's - this one was from Yati's... 

And the following week had this one from Mary's - can confirm Mary's is still the winner for me! Broth so much more flavoursome and more generous with the toppings as well. 

Also been stuffing in all the Asian food possible - here, kaya toast with eggs from the excellent Kopi Stop in town 

My regular papaya salad lady from Rapid Creek markets on Sundays is still thriving, when I told her she looked exactly the same as in 2018 she said I looked the same too! 

I made the Cyril Lignac invisible apple cake for my birthday, and decorated the outside with purple dragonfruit from the market. 

S went to Vietnam for 10 days and stopped by Singapore on the way back, bringing me these special Singaporean treats. I haven't opened it yet but maybe I will take it back to France!

I'm back at work and on a particularly depressing day I raided the cupboard for emergency chocolates..

The curveballs...

I have to have two curveballs this month because I just can't decide. We are in Australia for the European summer - I decided to come back to work so I can keep my Australian medical registration for now.. who knows it might come in handy if we decide to move back one day! Anyhow I love Darwin - it's my recurrent go-to place, also how this blog started in 2011. The top picture is from Berry Springs - what a lush tropical paradise, a warm 29 degree crystal clear spring to swim in.  And the bottom is little G, now 7 months old, having his first taste of sand on Lee Point beach at sunset. 

I'm sending this to Sherry of Sherry's Pickings who hosts the monthly IMK series. Thanks for hosting Sherry and have a great month everyone! 

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! 

In My Kitchen: June 2024

Buckle in everyone for the monthly review, there's a lot going on this month! 

Spring is here in Paris and lots of fresh produce are tempting us from the markets. It's a wonderful time of the year, except that the weather seems confused and it has been on and off grey & drizzly...  

Beautiful things in my kitchen...

We are in France, hence one must eat gorgeous heirloom tomatoes... 

Here in a caprese salad, with fancy organic buffalo mozzarella from our local fromagerie. 

The basil came from a pot at our local greengrocer. It was so alluring with its large perfect leaves, I have repotted it on the balcony hoping it will give us some more basil.. 

Patrick Roger is one of the master chocolatiers in Paris, all the chocolate is handmade and delicious. This block "Ecuador" is 70% and comes with a romantic description Floral, notes de jasmin, légèrement fermenté, rond, assez amer. (Floral, notes of jasmine, lightly fermented, round and quite bitter)

S came back from the market one day with these strange morel mushrooms, they are so bizarre they look like they would come from a fairy tale book!

Wontons - these were made on my grandma's birthday, she passed away 2 years ago at the age of 100. I remember her teaching me how to fold them when I was very small, she was a kind and loving soul. I made them while G sat in the bouncer watching me intently, it felt like the cycle of life...

Another day, another fancy patisserie from Cyril Lignac, this was a seasonal special of entremet abricot

 

An afternoon tea with my friend visiting from Sydney - strawberry tart, raspberry tart and a chocolate praline dessert. Yes, we should buy shares in Cyril Lignac's bakery...

The Asparagus Project...

Well we knew it was the end of asparagus season we had to make the most of it - 

here the asparagus was roasted, with a risotto of the morel mushrooms 

White asparagus and corn fritters

White asparagus and chèvre tart - this was absolutely delicious!

Steamed asparagus to top our buckwheat galettes, with a filling of mushrooms and the leftover goat cheese 

Boiled white asparagus in a picnic plate with bresaola, potatoes, tomatoes and an egg - we were actually copying our friend's lunch in Germany because she was also doing an asparagus project!

White asparagus soup - this was so creamy and velvety, superb texture and flavour

A quick trip to Italy...

We went to Italy for a week to attend S' sister's wedding, a magical event. She was like a princess and the reception was in the family mansion where we had our wedding last year. I didn't manage to take many photos of the food since my dress had no pockets (women's clothes problems), but I did manage to take a photo of this beautiful risotto...

My favourite place in Italy (I know it's a big call) is this pasta shop in Padova called Artusi where they have fresh pasta. Here we had cappellacci stuffed with wild asparagus and ricotta. It was so delicious that I have no words to describe it. Doesn't it look like giant wontons?

This pizza was excellent, I ordered it because I thought it was an interesting combination of ham, burrata and pistachio. The pistachio creme was just an additional touch of luxe.. 

A few things I brought back from Italy - porcini mushrooms, saffron and pistachio creme (I couldn't resist, I was thinking about it all the time after Sherry posted hers last month)

The curveball... 

G is growing up! He is 5 months today and I think he's pretty adorable. Here he is in Italy wide-eyed at his first gelato (coffee mascarpone with dark chocolate bits, and double salted pistachio), arm around his new friend the kangaroo which was S' toy from when he was a child 40 years ago... 

I'm sending this to Sherry of Sherry's Pickings who hosts the monthly IMK series. Have a great month everyone! 

In My Kitchen: May 2024

The time is just flying by now, where has April gone? We had some unusually warm days in Paris, followed by some cold days again.. let's take a peek into my kitchen for the last month.

We start with some lovely sparkling wine that we had for G's 100 days of life celebration (a traditional Chinese milestone), attended by our loved ones online. 

I made the rice paper rolls (at the back) for my mum's group, what an incredible spread we had for that brunch! We are a hodge podge group of expat mums who live in the local area, and I'm so glad they adopted me into their group. It takes a village to raise a child and most of us are far from our families, so we are lucky to have each other.

At home, S and I continue with our lunches of either salad or soup (reduces the mental load of thinking about what to eat). Here is a roast cauliflower salad with avocado and feta, and a smattering of candied oranges left over from hot cross buns

On an extremely hot day, I found this at my local supermarket! I joked with S that it was made with koala milk ;)

Another week, another meal prep. This doesn't look so pretty but the whack it in the oven RecipeTinEats recipe for ratatouille is a winner. Simple and the flavours are excellent - I've made it 3 times now, and each time it's been a hit! 

A beautiful raspberry tart to celebrate the spring 

One day I went to a pastry class and we made these choux à la crème (vanilla cream puffs) which turned out pretty well! I wasn't sure if it was the best idea to go with a baby, and at times it was challenging (he was in the carrier) but he was a good sport and we had a great time at the class. 

The unexpected surprise was that the pastry class was near a Latino supermarket. So I finally got the right flour to make our own corn tortillas again, and the right Mexican salsa. Back to tortilla Thursdays for us! 

Spring is upon us and the asparagus is incredible in France (expensive... but like no asparagus I've ever tasted)

My mother in law came to visit us for a week and on her last day she bought these treats from our local fancy patisserie Cyril Lignac - the two at the back are tarte citron (lemon tarts) - look at that delicate piping! 

The gorgeous one at the front is a seasonal special called Pistachio, even comes with a fancy description: crackling shell of white chocolate, smooth biscuit of pistachio and almond, vanilla cream with orange blossom essence, crisp praline and pistachio cream.  

30 years living in Australia and never made Anzac biccies. First Anzac day in France - had to give it a go. No golden syrup here but I replaced it with honey, seemed to work out great, and they are still crispy now a week later! I'm the only Australian mum in the mums group but they still went down a treat with cups of strong tea. 

An assortment of exceptional macarons from Patisserie Pinaud Pascal

My new favourite afternoon snack - of course in France the chips are flavoured with goat cheese!

A simple sourdough focaccia topped with cherry tomatoes for another brunch with the mums group

The curveball this month is this glorious cherry blossom tree. One Saturday, the three of us headed out to Parc de Sceaux, just outside Paris, where there is a big cherry blossom garden of over 150 trees. Understandably it was very crowded but we found a picturesque spot to picnic by the water. 

It was particularly nostalgic for me because a year ago we were in New York and I went to visit the blossoms in Central Park. I didn't know then that I was actually pregnant with G, and now a year later he is here! How much one's life can change in the space of one year! As time passes, I feel more and more gratitude for the life that we have and all the wonderful time that we are spending together watching him grow. 

I am sending this to Sherry of Sherry's Pickings who hosts the monthly In My Kitchen series - thanks Sherry and have a great month dear IMK friends!