november markets of réalmont

there was a brief and lovely period where i worked on a chateau 

in lautrec, france. 

some mornings, over breakfast of tea, hot bread and cream honey,

my host, paul,  would ask us

if we wanted to go to the market with him that day.

of course, the answer was always yes and i got to see 

some lovely markets in the local villages.

 one afternoon, he brings us to réalmont:

paul does his shopping, picking up various vegetables and the like.

i explore the market with molly, the other volunteer from the chateau.

we pop into some shops, sift through the market stalls.

buy some trinkets, maybe a croissant

or a bit of bread.

christmas decorations are beginning

 to creep out. i see little wooden toys, trains and tops.

there are stunning displays of charcuterie, cheeses, 

seasonal vegetables...
i buy a bouquet of ail rose, a blushing, fragrant
garlic that comes directly from lautrec. 
the long stems are braided together, 
and i know it will make a good gift for lisa 
when i return to montpellier. 
(way better than ham chips)
there are stalls hawking clothes, of course. mostly cheap,
flimsy things, with garish swirls and odd colour combinations...
watches, random housewares....and then more food.

after we look around, we meet paul for a coffee.

we sit outside, listening to teenage buskers on the guitar,

friends greeting each other, talking, laughing.

everybody knows eachother.
i sip my coffee, eat my croissant, wrap my scarf a bit tighter.
the air crackles with early november. smoky and crisp.
this, i think, might be the life for me. 
a small community, fresh food, old buildings,
and a dramatic autumn. 

plus...look at the size and colour of those mushrooms.

i'm back...and i brought cupcakes!

so it's been three months. no biggie. i really am going to try and post more in the next 5 weeks or so. this is my favourite time of year for cooking...


anyway, here is a nice treat. coffee walnut cupcakes! 

okay, and i'll be honest. i piped like, three of these before getting lazy and just frosting them with a spatula.
these are inspired by a trip to edinburgh, scotland. 

my friend georgia and i were lucky enough to go during the festival fringe and stay with floss, a wonderful friend of georgia's! we spent a large chunk of time seeing plays and being typical festival goers, but floss knew the in and outs of edinburgh and brought us to lots of great local places...a concert at an underground pub, a polish vodka bar...(had cherry almond vodka...fantastic)
floss worked at the queen anne restaurant at the edinburgh castle and one morning, we made plans to visit her there. such a good decision. the castle grounds are dramatic and haunting, and the view is spectacular! 

we walked around for a bit, then spotted floss' restaurant and went off to get lunch! georgia ordered fish pie, and i ordered:

...can you guess? haha, it's haggis! look how cute it is! the other layers are turnips and potatoes, which in scotland are referred to as neeps and tatties.
okay, this was my first haggis experience and i loved it. i have to admit, i was a little nervous on the walk over there...but it's deep,  savory, and a little spicy. and with the creamy root veggies to mix it with...it's good. and warming. and considering how startlingly cold edinburgh was in august, i'm sure it fares quite well once this time of year rolls in.
by the way: for those of you who are vegetarians and still want to try this scottish classic upon visiting, you will very easily be able to find a vegetarian version with nuts and beans, which i've heard is really good. perhaps if i make it up there again, i will try it...
anyway, after our meal we decided to order a pot of tea and some cakes. i ordered coffee walnut cake, which apparently is quite popular in the united kingdom, but i had never heard of it!

 (check out our "reserved" sign. so vip.)
so the other day, i made coffee walnut cupcakes! nigella lawson had a recipe in nigella kitchen and i just switched it into cupcakes. 
this is a snap to make, and you may even already have all these ingredients on hand. 
as a five year old girl in my art class says, it's "easy peasy lemon squeezy."

 coffee walnut cupcakes 

adapted from nigella kitchen

Ingredients

For the cake:

1/2 cup walnut pieces

1 cup plus 2 tsp superfine sugar

1 cup unsalted butter, softened

1 1/3 cups flour

4 tsp instant espresso powder, or about 2 tsp instant coffee mixed with 1 tbsp boiling water

2 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

4 eggs

1-2 tbsp milk

For the frosting:

3 1/4 cups powdered sugar

2/4 cup unsalted butter, softened

2 1/2 tsp instant coffee dissolved in 1 tbsp boiling water

Preparation

 Heat oven to 350 F. Line 2 cupcake tins with cupcake liners, or grease and powder well.

Put walnuts and sugar in the food processor and combine to a sandy powder. Add the butter, flour, coffee, baking powder and soda, eggs and combine until smooth. Add milk, little by little, until the batter has loosened up a bit- you don't need to use all of it. 

Divide the mixture between all the cups, slide into the oven and cook for 15-20 minutes. 

Once cooked, remove from oven and cool on a wire rack. Meanwhile, make the buttercream! Combine the butter and sugar, and then add the hot strong coffee. Mix until a smooth, creamy consistency.

Once the cupcakes are completely cool, frost. And feel free to garnish with walnuts! It was my favourite part!

a weekend in new york city

Guys. If you knew how many posts I began and then never got around to finishing...

So, I have been incredibly busy planning... I'm leaving Boston in four months (from tomorrow!)  and then the country in five...and I don't know when I'll be back! I just (FINALLY) got my Australian visa granted, the first leg of my flight out there is booked, and I'm just halfway to my financial goal so the ball is really rolling now...

It's so exciting, but I feel like all I do is work, look at flights, stress about money and...

go on random weekend trips!
taaaa daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa:

A weekend in New York City!

Taco truck in Astoria.  We had this quesadilla type thing that BLEW MY MIND. The dough was made with corn, and it was thick and fluffy and both sweet and savory.  Inside was queso fresco, carne asado, salsa verde and vegetables. 

(Bottom row, second to right)

It was one of the best things i've ever eaten. It was so spicy that my nose was running.

Smorgasburg in Brooklyn.

Fantastic food market held on weekends in Williamsburg. 

It's a part of Brooklyn Flea, which is also great fun.

We ate:

Teriyaki balls!

Apparently, this is a take of Japanese street food.

Essentially, it's a pancake-type batter cooked in a cast-iron skillet with 

lots of holes in it (sort of like a big metal egg carton.)

The batter is poured in, and then filled with a bit of meat.

Once cooked, they're topped with 

almonds, mayo, panko and teriyaki sauce.

Sounds like a bit of an odd combo, and I guess it was, but it was

so good.

I didn't want it to be over. 

Brown butter and bacon ice cream sandwiched between two cookies?

Only in New York. Which is probably for the best, for my sake.

Chelsea market.

I'd never been before!

I love bakeries.

More soon. It's hard to post recipes when all I eat these days is bread

and cheese, or tomatoes, corn and avocado mixed together.

But I have some ideas. A recipe soon.

reassurance.

 

December in London. Rustling trees, sweeping gray skies.

Warm golden light spilling from the windows around me.

The wind was strong, cutting through my coat.

My leggings had holes in the knees.

Leaves scuttled past me and the sky darkened as time slunk into early evening.

And I was feeling pensive, uncertain. It happens.

And suddenly, I looked up, and there this was. 

I can't help but find signs in things, whether it's a playing card pressed into the sidewalk,

seeing an animal out of context, or, well, an entire building telling me

not to worry.

Thank you, Tate Modern.

Everything is going to be alright. 

greek lamb with grilled tomato and halloumi cheese

I wake up from my nap, and I'm in Greece.

What a strange feeling.

After 6 months in Israel, Lisa came to meet me and after a couple weeks of travel,

we flew to Kos. The plan is to hop around some of the Dodecanese islands for 10 days

or so, and then fly back to Montpellier. We spent last night at the Ben Gurion 

airport in Tel Aviv and arrived in Kos bedraggled, struggly messes.

It's also raining. Didn't expect that. 

It took us at least an hour to find our hostel. Once arrived, we immediately

collapsed onto our beds and, now, a few hours later,

we're awake and ready to explore Kos.

The air is damp and cool from the rain and it gives Kos Town a

 raw, clean beauty.

Still, I hope the sun shines brighter tomorrow.

 We wander a bit, following our noses until we find a little restaurant

on some random side street. I order lamb, Lisa has moussaka and we

split a plate of dolmades in an egg lemon sauce.

We order tap water but the waiter says we'd better not, 

and gives us bottled water on the house.
The lamb comes with fries, creamy tzakiki and rice.

I am not exaggerating when I say that I have never tasted lamb like this.

It's...sweet. But savory. Tender and nuanced with flavor.

I am positively bowled over.

So is Lisa:

Now THAT is a happy face.

Yeah. I like Greece.

Greek lamb with tomatoes, cheese and tzaziki

Halloumi cheese is hard to find, and a bit expensive, but it

is entirely worth it. It's a cheese from Cyprus that has a uniquely

firm texture, which lends it to grilling, frying, baking, etc. I also love

the flavor- salty,  but not as strong as feta. I suppose

you could use mozzarella, but it just wouldn't be the same!

Ingredients

For the lamb:

4 lamb shoulder blade chops

2 fat cloves of garlic

1/2 lemon

Olive oil

A handful of fresh oregano, chopped

A sprig of rosemary, stripped

A bit of salt and pepper, to taste.

For the cheese and tomatoes:

1 ripe tomato, sliced thickly

1 block of halloumi cheese, sliced thickly

Olive oil

Fresh oregano to garnish

For the tzaziki:

1 cup Greek yogourt

A handful of dill, chopped

One smallish cucumber, chopped 

Fresh mint, optional 

Preparation

First, deal with the lamb. Combine all ingredients in a large container and rub all over the chops with your hands. If there are any little openings, be sure to get some garlic in there! Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour.

On a big piece of aluminum foil, arrange your cheese and tomato slices. Drizzle over some nice olive oil, sprinkle with salt, pepper and fresh oregano. 

 Then, make a parcel with the edges of the foil. It should look a bit like a longish tent.

Fire up your grill! I would add the cheese and tomato parcel first. Cook the lamb chops about 4 minutes on each side, or however you like it. 

While everything is grilling, combine your tzaziki ingredients. It's really about taste, so take a nibble and see if you want more dill, or some salt.

Such an easy meal and it's so pleasing. Be sure to serve with lots of lemon wedges.

I used to eat lamb shoulder steak ALL THE TIME in college because it was so cheap and delicious! This was when I was dreaming of/planning to go to France and I always made them in my little apartment kitchen with walnut oil, rosemary and garlic. 

And for some reason, I always tend to eat this with zucchini.

Καλή όρεξη! 

bastille day in montpellier

morning: a giant macaron, tarte citron and caramel ice cream cake

for another big day on july 14th; lisa's birthday!

also: those little yellow things are NOT tomatoes. they are actually

tiny apricots. we bought a big sack of them without actually

asking, tasting, or looking for a sign telling us what they were

because, well, they looked like tomatoes. 

nope. apricots. tart, squishy, actually quite addictive apricots.

 

you can never have too many flags...

 potluck picnic on the esplanade just outside of the place de la comédie

our landlords, french "parents", and dear friends jean-marie and claire

with anna and me. they made a gorgeous birthday dinner for lisa!

olives, champagne, cauliflower soup (pictured below), a

fruit and salmon salad with indian spices, and a cake that

absolutely took my breath away...

the birthday girl with her cake of ladyfingers, peaches and cream. ♥

happy birthday to my dear friend lisa, and happy bastille day to

all of my lovely french friends! (and francophiles everywhere...)

bonne fête!

strawberry rhubarb shortcake

This July 4th, I went to my friend Anna's lakehouse in Maine.

It's a good place. 

I went fishing for the first time! It was fun. I did not

catch anything, but as you can see, Anna certainly did.

July Fourth cocktails: Watermelon, strawberry, blackberry, pineapple

juice, ice, vodka and Malibu.

 The best lobster I've ever had...

And, a surprise visit with my other friend, Dora! 

It's so funny. I met Anna in Israel, and I met Dora in Italy.

And here they both are now in Maine, living a half hour

from each other.

I love when faraway worlds collide.  

Fireworks over the lake...

There are dozens of pink rhubarb plants in the 

lush wooded area by the lakehouse.

I picked some and brought them home with me.

Anna also bestowed me with loads of bags filled

with frozen blueberries and chopped rhubard.

It's fantastic, and perfect for baking. So...

expect quite a few rhubarb or

blueberry filled baked goods in the near

future...

Strawberry Rhubarb Shortcake

I think I will always eat this instead of strawberry shortcake from now on. 

I love rhubarb... 

The recipe for the biscuits comes from the best cookbook ever; The Gourmet Cookbook. 

You may notice that the biscuit recipe has no butter in it. This actually

means that it is technically NOT shortcake, since the "short" implies 

that it's made with butter. However, these cream biscuits are 

absolutely delightful, a breeze to make, and still produces

a great "shortcake" so I have no problem with that. I mean,

when has Ruth Reichl ever led me astray? 

Ingredients

For the cream biscuits:

2 cups flour

1 tbsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/4 cups heavy cream 

And the rest... 

6 stalks of rhubarb, chopped

1/4 cup sugar, plus a pinch or two more

1/2 of a lemon

10 strawberries, hulled and quartered

About a cup or so of heavy cream

A splash of vanilla extract, or, even better, the scrapings of one vanilla bean...mmm

Preparation

First, begin the biscuits. Preheat your oven to 425f/220c.  Butter a baking sheet.

Sift your flour, baking powder and salt together into a large bowl.  Slowly add your cream and gently work together just until you've formed  soft dough. The trick with these biscuits is to work the dough as little as possible, otherwise the texture will be completely off and you'll be disappointed. 

Get your dough into a ball. Again, use the lightest touch possible.

Lightly flour a work surface and knead the dough six times. Yes, six. 

Using your fingertips, spread the dough so it's about 1/2 inch thick. 

Lightly flour the rim on a glass and use that to cut rounds from the dough. When you've run out of space, gather the dough again and repeat. You should have about 8 biscuits. 

Brush the tops with some cream and pop into the oven for 15 to 20 minutes. 

Transfer to a cooling rack and move on to your topping!

In a medium saucepan, combine 1/4 cup sugar, rhubarb, and the juice from a wedge or two of lemon. Keep over medium/low heat, stirring occasionally, until liquidy and jamlike. Remove from heat and let cool.

In another bowl, crush your strawberries with a fork. Add a squeeze of lemon and a pinch of sugar. Then, stir in your rhubarb. Let sit for a bit.

Finally, in a large bowl, combine cream, a pinch of sugar, and vanilla. Get either an electric mixer (heaps easier) or a whisk, and whip it up! 

To serve, cut a biscuit in half, and top with your fruit and cream. Replace top like a sandwich. 

 

kibbutz watermelon cocktails

A hot Friday evening on kibbutz....

Tomorrow is our first day off in six days. Shabbat. Our

Friday evenings vary. Sometimes after the big communal

dinner, we simply melt back into our rooms and 

sit around, chatting, writing ideas for a 

scavenger hunt or volunteer game of "assassin".

Other nights, there's a driver, and we can go "out".

A member will drive a van to take volunteers

to one of the other kibbutzim, so we can go to their pub.

We don't have a pub on Fridays. Ours is Thursday and Saturday, but with

Saturday being our only morning off, we like to go to pub

on Fridays. On these nights, we congregate outside and

drink sweet, strong drinks of fruit nectar, and vodka that could remove your nail polish.

 At midnight, anyone who thinks they can make it out

(keep in mind, we've been awake since 6 am) goes to meet the kibbutz van.

On this particular night, we have not planned ahead. 

There will be a driver, and we have vodka, but no

juice to drink it with. Belinda, Dana and I lay around Belinda's

room, enjoying the air-conditioning, unsure what we'll do.

Jessie comes over and we learn that

one of the kibbutzim in the area is having a 

big party tonight- their pub is outdoors, and tonight is

the first night it's open.

All we have is a bottle of hair-raising vodka, a small watermelon, and 

some lemon. Fabulous. We work away, experimenting, tasting, making

a sticky mess, but we know it'll be worth it. 

We use knives  to mash the watermelon

into drinkable sized bits. We vigorously blend our

drink using a fork. Finally, when it tastes the way

we want, we rim our cups with sugar. 

"Que rico!", Dana breathes.

I take a sip. Heavenly.  We bring our drinks outside,

and soon enough, everybody wants watermelon cocktails.

We are more than happy to share. We sit in circles on the grass.

 Guitars and nargila come out, the stars turn, and we wait

for midnight.

 Watermelon Cocktails

This isn't really a recipe, of course. Just a drink idea for you to toy with this summer.

Ingredients

1 small watermelon

Sugar

2 lemons

Ice

Cold water

Vodka 

Preparation

Well, I am going to do this with a blender. But the story above proves that you certainly don't need a blender to make this drink. It will require you to hack away at the watermelon and use a fork to mix it and will take about six times as long as it would with a blender, but it works!

Anyway.

Halve, then quarter your watermelon and remove rinds. If you see any black seeds along your way, of course pop them out. Cut the pieces into chunks and throw into a blender with a handful of sugar. Blend.

Take one of your lemons and squeeze the entire thing in. Add a bit of cold water and mix.

Pour in your vodka. Give it a couple pulses, and taste. If it needs more of anything, add it! 

For the sugar rim:

Pour some sugar onto a small plate.
Cut the other lemon into wedges. Put a slit through the middle of each wedge and put one on the rim of a cup. Swirl it around the edge so the whole mouth of the glass is lemony, and then remove the wedge and turn the cup upside-down onto the sugar plate. Replace the wedge, and repeat with the rest.

Serve over ice.

Sit back, relax, and enjoy.

sandwich inspiration

amsterdam, december 2007.

an afternoon wandering found us in a perfect cafe with 

orange walls, window seats, sandwiches and soup.

 

pesto and mozerella toastie with tomato

 burger with roasted red peppers, probably cheese.

runny goat cheese with honey

by the way, these were all eaten with

tomato fennel soup.