Showing posts with label I love FOOD. Show all posts
Showing posts with label I love FOOD. Show all posts
Friday, December 16, 2011
tastes like mango flavored irony here
Take a look at these beauties. Gorgeous, heavily scented, ripening mangoes. Who wouldn't be temped by them?
It has taken me one taste (half a mango added to a smoothie that I shared with Luc, to be exact!) to put me back in my place.
On Wednesday, I picked a huge bunch of mangoes from our tree who is still heavily loaded. I didn't notice until later that some of the sap must have dripped onto my arm, (it was just beginning to rain) and it burned - BURNED!!- my skin. Also, since I had the smoothie, I've been super itchy around my neck, ears, eyes, and the crooks of my arms (what do you call that anyways? the inside of my elbow? no, it can't be that.)
I love me some mangoes, but this is too much. If anyone knows of anything I could do to have my mangoes and eat them too, please, help a girl out!
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
3 great things: today on the internet 07/12/11
ALL of these were too good not to share with you all! :)
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| chocomint cookies with milk chocolate middles |
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| santa hat brownies |
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| how to make felt baby shoes |
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
thanksgiving looked like this...
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| nothing says thanksgiving like...eggplant parmesan? |
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| gone in less than 48 hours |
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
food politics in our house
I like making dinner every night. I like cooking healthy things for my family. But lately it's gotten hard to do. Keeping the balance between what I consider healthy and what Alex considers tasty is a fine line to walk.
My mom used to get frustrated at my picky eating habits as a child and used to say to me out of exasperation; "I hope you have a daughter who is as picky as you!" Which in turn I would reply, "well that'd be great because then she'd agree with me!" Of course my habits changed over the years from a no-squash policy to a vegetarian who eventually ate fish, who then sometimes added in chicken, and finally who dropped the ball completely when living in Madagascar. (due to culture, not food availability) And in that time I studied enough about nutrition to become pretty passionate about the subject.
These days, I haven't quite gotten over the whole meat thing. Maybe it's because I never learned how to cook it well enough, but I don't serve it every night and try to get a variety. Or, as much variety as possible with a husband who doesn't like fish or chicken. (I serve it anyways)
So it's funny now, (or annoying, depends on the day) to try to cook for my husband who would be happy eating beef every single night and where I don't want more than once a week. He was also raised in a culture where food is viewed in a completely different light. I could go on about the differences between American and French food culture, but really, I just want us to both like what we're eating. And I think the way to do that is if I get my little hands on this:
and this:
I love cookbooks, have several in french already, but they don't really give more than just a recipe, whereas these 2 will give the background info necessary to "kick it up a notch!" or whatever annoying nonsense Emeril used to say. Right now, my cooking depends on the quality of the recipe. But I want to stop following so many recipes and just concentrate on the technique.
Do any of you have one or both of these books in kitchen?
If so, give me your opinion!
Thanks!
My mom used to get frustrated at my picky eating habits as a child and used to say to me out of exasperation; "I hope you have a daughter who is as picky as you!" Which in turn I would reply, "well that'd be great because then she'd agree with me!" Of course my habits changed over the years from a no-squash policy to a vegetarian who eventually ate fish, who then sometimes added in chicken, and finally who dropped the ball completely when living in Madagascar. (due to culture, not food availability) And in that time I studied enough about nutrition to become pretty passionate about the subject.
These days, I haven't quite gotten over the whole meat thing. Maybe it's because I never learned how to cook it well enough, but I don't serve it every night and try to get a variety. Or, as much variety as possible with a husband who doesn't like fish or chicken. (I serve it anyways)
So it's funny now, (or annoying, depends on the day) to try to cook for my husband who would be happy eating beef every single night and where I don't want more than once a week. He was also raised in a culture where food is viewed in a completely different light. I could go on about the differences between American and French food culture, but really, I just want us to both like what we're eating. And I think the way to do that is if I get my little hands on this:
and this:
I love cookbooks, have several in french already, but they don't really give more than just a recipe, whereas these 2 will give the background info necessary to "kick it up a notch!" or whatever annoying nonsense Emeril used to say. Right now, my cooking depends on the quality of the recipe. But I want to stop following so many recipes and just concentrate on the technique.
Do any of you have one or both of these books in kitchen?
If so, give me your opinion!
Thanks!
Friday, January 28, 2011
more rhum please
we had an empty jar.
we had some plain rum.
and we had fruit from our trees outside.
we had some plain rum.
and we had fruit from our trees outside.
the finished product is banana-combava.combava has a lime flavor and smell, but they're not exactly the same fruit.
Monday, December 27, 2010
Christmas 2010
Our Christmas was filled with goodies for all this year!
Buddies*
I love this dog!*
BEST SORBET EVER!! It tasted EXACTLY like the fruit.
I felt like I was eating mango/goyavier and litchi/passionfruit frozen fruit.
I can't get over it.
Buddies*
I love this dog!*
BEST SORBET EVER!! It tasted EXACTLY like the fruit.I felt like I was eating mango/goyavier and litchi/passionfruit frozen fruit.
I can't get over it.
We spent the 24th at a friend's place here in St Denis, whose family was part Malagasy, which meant we enjoyed some traditional Malagasy cuisine (the best romazava I've ever had!) among lots of other foods. And dessert. And wine. And champagne. (Eeepp!)
The next morning our heads were a little achy, but we nursed ourselves back with coffee and presents. We were invited back to the same house to help finish off the leftovers for lunch. Mmmmm. As an added bonus, I didn't have to cook while hungover! All three of us were ready for siestas after that. *(the sweet dog pictured above belongs to these friends).
The next morning our heads were a little achy, but we nursed ourselves back with coffee and presents. We were invited back to the same house to help finish off the leftovers for lunch. Mmmmm. As an added bonus, I didn't have to cook while hungover! All three of us were ready for siestas after that. *(the sweet dog pictured above belongs to these friends).
On the night of the 25th, we had another couple join us in a tapas-type meal complete with very basic sangria and two vuvuzelas. oh yes. You read that correctly, my husband bought himself (and one for our friend) one of those incredibly loud horns like the ones from World Cup SA. The kids in our apartment go crazy for it. Their parents however.....probably not so much. When we move 2 weeks from now, I'm sure they'll be happy not to hear it anymore.
More on moving and such later.
Hope you all had a very merry christmas too!
More on moving and such later.
Hope you all had a very merry christmas too!
Thursday, December 9, 2010
mangoes on the brain
I've been brainstorming a lot, about mangoes, and about the house. That and painting. Or, really, doing the prep in order to paint. Alex and I make a good team for this sort of thing because I'm very detail oriented, and he just wants to get the details over with and paint the huge wall already.
Today we punched a big hole in our house. On purpose, don't worry. You see, the last pictures I posted here don't show it, but our house is a little bizarre in that two bedrooms are situated without access to natural light and fresh air. It's the result of two major additions in the past 30 years. But, with help from a friend in construction, we found a way to solve that problem for at least one of the rooms, and now, we have lots of ciment covering the ground in front of our garage. No wood or anything like that, this house was built to withstand cyclones, and it's walls are pretty solid! (Which in decorating terms, makes it annoying to try to hang stuff because you have to break out the drill everytime you want to make a hole. It's a minor thing yes, but still!)
So anyways....back to the original purpose of today's post. MANGOES! Get excited because I'm about to list all the different ways I hope to use up every last one of those mangoes on the tree in the picture above. I can hear you now, "yes! a list....about mangoes!"
You're welcome.
mango rum
mango jam
mango chutney
mango salsa
mango pie
mango muffins
mango bread
mango upside-down cake
mango crisp
mango cobbler
green mango salad
mango, eggplant, bell pepper masala
chicken with mango
curry rice with mango
and as an hommage to Madagascar....sakay
yum!
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
yummy thanksgiving recipes
(both images from NY Times)
I stumbled upon this collection of super-delicious looking recipes yesterday on the NY Times site. I had meant to post it here then, but somehow that didn't happen. Hope it's not to late for some of you who need an extra recipe idea for turkey day tomorrow. You will notice that all the recipes are vegetarian, and some are vegan. For me, it's the other dishes that I love the most on Thanksgiving. Look! Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms! Roasted Vegetable Galette! Squash, Onion and Pine Nut Pizza! Zucchini Cakes! Even if I'm not a vegetarian anymore, I still like eating mostly vegetables. I might even one day go back to vegetarianism one day, but I'd like to convince my meat-loving husband first. These yummy recipes might be the way!
In case you're wondering, we will actually be celebrating Thanksgiving this year, although hardly in a traditional way. We'll be meeting up with other english speaking friends at the beach on Saturday for a big lunchtime meal which will include all the basics; turkey, stuffing, green beans, pumpkin pie, and my first atempt at my mom's famous cranberry bread. Those things are impossible to get here. Very occasionally, you will see a sad little jar of them on the shelf, but they are super tiny and floating in a lot of liquid. I'm not sure how this will turn out, but I have to give it a shot.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
Thursday, November 11, 2010
the icing on the cake (cookie?)
I just watched a very disturbing video. It was about Sarah Palin (surprise!) and her latest idiotic speech. On Tuesday, she brought cookies to a PA school as a sort of protest of proposed government regulations over limiting sweets in schools. Her main point was that parents (only) and not government should make decisions on what kids eat.
I was practially yelling at the screen.
Has she not noticed that 2/3, I REPEAT 2/3 of the US population is overweight or obese?
Why NOT limit the sweets in schools (and it's a limit not complete removal) based solely on the above statistic?
Well, my friends, the whole food industry is a very corrupted place; with major companies sending their lobbyists to Washington to make sure things stay in their favor. (ex: anyone ever been confused by a food label? It's not accidental.) They have some major power, and that is scary. That said with lobbyists and whatnot, I wonder how much she was paid by certain companies to get up there and say that.
But now people are starting to realise the fact that their eating habits perhaps should be limited in some ways. People, especially kids, have a right to eat healthy food, and should not be subjected to the fatty, sugary, fast food crap that is served in public schools. Limiting sugar (while at the same time serving more fresh vegetables and fruits) will actually HELP our children in school, Sarah.
And while I agree that parents play a huge role in their kids nutrition, how is it possible for them to regulate what their kids eat while they are away from them? Good habits only go so far. If the kids are surrounded by sweets, what do you think they're going to eat? So, parents should make the decisions, ok, but what if they never learned to make healthy food choices for themselves? Where do the kids learn what foods to eat? Oh right! There's Coca-Cola or Pepsi, or Pizza Hut, or Subway, or various other companies that spread their propaganda all over schools in the form of posters, book covers, etc. The government should regulate that too.
In short, there's a lot of players in this game, (a fight really) to get healthy foods into schools, so it certainly doesn't rest all on one person. But Sarah, you are doing a disservice to the very Americans you claim you want to help.
There's so, so much more to be said on the topic of nutrition in general, but I think that's enough for now. It can be overwhelming, and Palin's speech is the icing on the cake that showcases her horrible politics for me.
I was practially yelling at the screen.
Has she not noticed that 2/3, I REPEAT 2/3 of the US population is overweight or obese?
Why NOT limit the sweets in schools (and it's a limit not complete removal) based solely on the above statistic?
Well, my friends, the whole food industry is a very corrupted place; with major companies sending their lobbyists to Washington to make sure things stay in their favor. (ex: anyone ever been confused by a food label? It's not accidental.) They have some major power, and that is scary. That said with lobbyists and whatnot, I wonder how much she was paid by certain companies to get up there and say that.
But now people are starting to realise the fact that their eating habits perhaps should be limited in some ways. People, especially kids, have a right to eat healthy food, and should not be subjected to the fatty, sugary, fast food crap that is served in public schools. Limiting sugar (while at the same time serving more fresh vegetables and fruits) will actually HELP our children in school, Sarah.
And while I agree that parents play a huge role in their kids nutrition, how is it possible for them to regulate what their kids eat while they are away from them? Good habits only go so far. If the kids are surrounded by sweets, what do you think they're going to eat? So, parents should make the decisions, ok, but what if they never learned to make healthy food choices for themselves? Where do the kids learn what foods to eat? Oh right! There's Coca-Cola or Pepsi, or Pizza Hut, or Subway, or various other companies that spread their propaganda all over schools in the form of posters, book covers, etc. The government should regulate that too.
In short, there's a lot of players in this game, (a fight really) to get healthy foods into schools, so it certainly doesn't rest all on one person. But Sarah, you are doing a disservice to the very Americans you claim you want to help.
There's so, so much more to be said on the topic of nutrition in general, but I think that's enough for now. It can be overwhelming, and Palin's speech is the icing on the cake that showcases her horrible politics for me.
Saturday, September 18, 2010
a resolve to eat MORE ice cream
As if I really need an excuse, but I do happen to have one. A bike accident yesterday morning has left me contemplating the amount of padding I have on my derrière.
Luc and I frequently take rides together on our bike that we mounted a baby seat onto the back. As we were riding along, I saw a narrow corner coming up, so I slowed down in anticipation, and surprisingly tapped the front tire into a light post that, seriously, popped out of nowhere! And by tapped, really, it was a small tap. In fact I was half off the bike by the time I realized the balance was off and I didn't have the strength to keep the bike plus the weight of the seat and the cute monkey strapped into it from falling to the ground. When I realized it was going down, I screamed "SHIT!!" quite loudly in a very public area where a lot of french citizens were probably thinking "what ze hell?" (I can't imagine how ridiculous this all must've looked) Somewhere in there, I must have landed straight on my tailbone, but I didn't feel it until 10 minutes later when I calmed down and realized no bodily harm had come to Luc. I was so worried that he might've been hurt with a scratch, a bruise, or even a broken arm. But thankfully, he was fine, just a little scared. A kind older man rushed over to help us right away. Alex recommended I see a doctor, but I felt I had to finish my mission at the Prefecture for the day before I could be bothered with a doctor's visit. (By the way, it was the fourth visit there this month, they rejected my file the day before because they said I needed a copy of a document that THEY GAVE TO ME! So, in my stubborn way, I persisted with the appointment) After though, when I tried to get back on the bike to go back home, I felt sharp pains and quickly got off the bike. We were on the other side of the city, which would have been a long walk back for Luc. Alex was finally able to convince me to see the doctor (really, why do I have to be coerced?) and then give us a lift back at lunchtime. I have an x-ray appointment on Monday to see if my tailbone is really broken. In the meantime, I'm NOT sitting on my ass, but I am enjoying some extra ice cream.
Luc and I frequently take rides together on our bike that we mounted a baby seat onto the back. As we were riding along, I saw a narrow corner coming up, so I slowed down in anticipation, and surprisingly tapped the front tire into a light post that, seriously, popped out of nowhere! And by tapped, really, it was a small tap. In fact I was half off the bike by the time I realized the balance was off and I didn't have the strength to keep the bike plus the weight of the seat and the cute monkey strapped into it from falling to the ground. When I realized it was going down, I screamed "SHIT!!" quite loudly in a very public area where a lot of french citizens were probably thinking "what ze hell?" (I can't imagine how ridiculous this all must've looked) Somewhere in there, I must have landed straight on my tailbone, but I didn't feel it until 10 minutes later when I calmed down and realized no bodily harm had come to Luc. I was so worried that he might've been hurt with a scratch, a bruise, or even a broken arm. But thankfully, he was fine, just a little scared. A kind older man rushed over to help us right away. Alex recommended I see a doctor, but I felt I had to finish my mission at the Prefecture for the day before I could be bothered with a doctor's visit. (By the way, it was the fourth visit there this month, they rejected my file the day before because they said I needed a copy of a document that THEY GAVE TO ME! So, in my stubborn way, I persisted with the appointment) After though, when I tried to get back on the bike to go back home, I felt sharp pains and quickly got off the bike. We were on the other side of the city, which would have been a long walk back for Luc. Alex was finally able to convince me to see the doctor (really, why do I have to be coerced?) and then give us a lift back at lunchtime. I have an x-ray appointment on Monday to see if my tailbone is really broken. In the meantime, I'm NOT sitting on my ass, but I am enjoying some extra ice cream.
Monday, June 28, 2010
ten things
For the past week or so, I've been thinking I'd like to write a post of "25 random things" or some gibberish like that. All for the sake of, I just sometimes like to make lists. But 25 is too much, too daunting, and random is too open. And then, I was inspired by Soulemama to make a list of 10 things I'm enjoying in life right now. A much more focused list. Yes, that sounds good. Hopefully some of you out there will also be inspired to write or think about a list that describes the good in your life right now. Leave a comment if you're inclined to share!
1. these cute little radishes bought in the local market down the street, that have made their way into several salads in recent meals.
2. the fact that we no longer take the stroller out for trips to the market or semi-nearby shops. there is however, much more sheparding action going on. whether it's on his end or mine is not sure...
(see the previous post)
5. my biggest sewing project yet
6. quinoa croquettes
7. lavender that was smuggled here from Provence!
8. Did you know you can even bake with lavender? Here's an amazing lemon-lavender cookie recipe.
9. good surf
10.bubble baths
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Easter trimmings
Egg Dying: works so much better with a dye kit. And white eggs. I fully admit this after romantisicing the idea of using natural dyes. It sounded great in theory; tumeric for yellow, red cabbage for blue-violet, and beets for a reddish pink. I could make purple green and orange by using two dyes for one egg.
The only problem? No beets or red cabbage to be found here at this time of year. At least, not in the Petit Marché in the past week. So I made do with what I had. I suppose if I was really motivated I could have found some juices or powdered drink mixes to dye the eggs, but I ended up picking half a dozen of the lightest brown eggs I had, and hard boiling them with a spice we use in making a cari. Oh, and I had wanted to make stripes by tying string on, but realised that rubber bands are reccommended for good reason. That idea got ditched rather quickly.
Not a huge difference in their original color, but still a pretty, rich yellow hue.
Which I then decided was too boring on its own, so I busted out the sharpie markers.
Luc was fascinated by them, and for the first time, he was able to play with an egg without my fear of his breaking it and getting it everywhere.
I showed him how we peel off the shell,
and then he went to town.
Next up on decorations, I got a heart shaped oasis (those green foamy things used in flower arrangements) and cut some pink baby roses to fit it. Then I gathered some of the leaves and pinned them to the sides of the oasis. I really liked how it turned out!
Uncle Romain arrived on Saturday!
Easter morning with the beautiful sun coming up. Although it looked pretty, I think I'll leave the chocolate in the fridge next time. Mmmm, irish bread in the background....
In the previous week, I made seven of those little bunny finger puppets you see sitting atop the golden chocolate eggs. I found the tutorial at the Purl Bee, which is a fun, creative, and crafty little site that you should check out if you're into that kind of stuff.
And lastly, the cake. Oh, the cake. It was fun to make AND delicious. WIN! It's a 2 layer carrot cake with cream cheese frosting (a bit too runny, but I'll get the proportions right next time). I used gummi worms that I cut to look like carrots, and melted dark chocolate over some shredded coconut and formed a little birds nest with jelly bean eggs. And you know what's amazing? We actually got this cake a quarter of the way around the island, down a rocky path, to a secluded surf beach without messing it up at all. (An easter miracle?)
Luc is screaming in this picture. Translation: let's eat this cake NOW!
Happy Easter everyone!
The only problem? No beets or red cabbage to be found here at this time of year. At least, not in the Petit Marché in the past week. So I made do with what I had. I suppose if I was really motivated I could have found some juices or powdered drink mixes to dye the eggs, but I ended up picking half a dozen of the lightest brown eggs I had, and hard boiling them with a spice we use in making a cari. Oh, and I had wanted to make stripes by tying string on, but realised that rubber bands are reccommended for good reason. That idea got ditched rather quickly.
Not a huge difference in their original color, but still a pretty, rich yellow hue.
Which I then decided was too boring on its own, so I busted out the sharpie markers.
Luc was fascinated by them, and for the first time, he was able to play with an egg without my fear of his breaking it and getting it everywhere.
I showed him how we peel off the shell,
and then he went to town.
Next up on decorations, I got a heart shaped oasis (those green foamy things used in flower arrangements) and cut some pink baby roses to fit it. Then I gathered some of the leaves and pinned them to the sides of the oasis. I really liked how it turned out!
Uncle Romain arrived on Saturday!
Easter morning with the beautiful sun coming up. Although it looked pretty, I think I'll leave the chocolate in the fridge next time. Mmmm, irish bread in the background....
In the previous week, I made seven of those little bunny finger puppets you see sitting atop the golden chocolate eggs. I found the tutorial at the Purl Bee, which is a fun, creative, and crafty little site that you should check out if you're into that kind of stuff.
And lastly, the cake. Oh, the cake. It was fun to make AND delicious. WIN! It's a 2 layer carrot cake with cream cheese frosting (a bit too runny, but I'll get the proportions right next time). I used gummi worms that I cut to look like carrots, and melted dark chocolate over some shredded coconut and formed a little birds nest with jelly bean eggs. And you know what's amazing? We actually got this cake a quarter of the way around the island, down a rocky path, to a secluded surf beach without messing it up at all. (An easter miracle?)
Luc is screaming in this picture. Translation: let's eat this cake NOW!
Happy Easter everyone!
