Saturday’s alright by me

by //

aut_0908.JPG

Saturday and Sunday morning breakfasts are our time for relaxing on the front porch over a leisurely game of Upwords and some delicious morning fare.

Saturday’s breakfast usually ends up being a home made latte and scrambled eggs with toast or some sort of pastry. The pastry is either home made or from our friend Romina at Les Madeleines bakery. We’ve been lucky enough to eat her creations for several years and recently she was named best pastry chef in Salt Lake City by Salt Lake Magazine. Congratulations Romina!

We love her Kouign-Aman… we are addicted to her Kouign-Aman. In fact, we had to stop ourselves from going there EVERY Saturday morning because our clothes were ceasing to cover our very happily expanding bellies. I don’t know that it’s necessarily a “bad” thing to be such a regular that you feel the need to call your baker and let her know you won’t be coming on a particular Saturday- but we have and honestly we blushed at the prospect.

Sunday mornings Rick usually makes whole grain waffles with oatmeal in them.  They are fabulous! He makes extra and then we have them later in the week, toasted and topped with Brown Cow cherry vanilla yogurt. Ooh! On Sunday we cover them with organic maple syrup and have a natural uncured bacon or sausage on the side. Of course Rick makes delectable lattes once again with his “Rube Goldberg device” espresso machine.

We’re still duking it out for the title of Upwords Champ but I swear-Rick gets all the good letters and he only lets me get away with a few of the words I make up on my own.

This entry was posted in faves.

Missing Julia Child

by //

juliachild1.jpg

Julia Child has always been one of my idols. I loved her enthusiasm and the way she brought something of herself to everything she did. I consider it a great boon  that I can still go back and see her on tape or read her words in a cookbook. I planted a Julia Child rose in my garden in her memory. It is a glorious blowsy yellow thing- full of life and scent, classy and unabashed at the same time. Just the way I like to remember her.
I am currently listening to the Books on Tape version of My Life in France by Julia Child with Alex Prud’homme, narrated by Kimberly Farr.

I am greatly enjoying this recollection of Julia and Paul Child’s years in France and the genesis of her career as a force majeure in la belle cuisine. There is a sense of anticipation as she moves from newly married wife in post-war France towards the iconic explorer that lead us into new gastronomic realms.

As a person who grew up with her as a fixture on public television it is also enlightening for me to see the research, hard work and stamina that went into Mastering the Art of French Cooking.

My Life in France was written in the last years of her life- largely from correspondence kept by family members and with her recollection under the loving attention of Alex Prud’homme. It seems to illustrate the genuine humanity and humor of a person who lived life with great enthusiasm and gusto. Bravo Julia! You are missed!!!

Kimberly Farr does an excellent job of navigating through the pronunciations of epic numbers of French dishes as well as switching to German for the Childs’ stint in Bonn. She gives a voice to Julia’s narrative which complements rather than competes with my memories.

I’m finishing it up tomorrow. I’ll let you know if something changes, but I give it a 5-spoon rating so far.

Fava beans and a nice Chianti

by //

Well, ok, it was actually Fava beans and a very drinkable Piesporter recently made by Rick (my sweet) -but I liked the movie line better.

I ‘ve had Favas on my mind since I read a post showing a beautiful Fava Bean and Cherry salad made by Danielle over at Habeas Brulee . I find the photos and recipes posted there to be very inspirational.  AND Danielle was kind enough to point me (a complete stranger but a huge admirer) in a good direction when I was thinking of starting this blog….so MANY THANKS, you are incredibly generous!!!!

On to dinner… I bought some Favas and had fun separating the beans from their fuzzy pods and removing the bean’s outer covering -which reminded me of a scuba diver’s wetsuit for some reason.

After I released the tender inner green beans I decided to sauté them with some minced shallots, leeks and garlic. I was thinking Beurre Blanc type flavors so I threw in some Sherry vinegar and lemon juice and sautéed everything together for a few minutes to reduce the liquid before adding some Life in Provence traditional French churned butter with sea salt crystals that I snagged a couple of days ago at my local gourmet market. I added a bit of the above mentioned Piesporter wine and when everything was steamy and aromatic I added a pound of shelled and deveined 20-25 count raw shrimp. They cooked quickly, turning pink in the hot sauce.  The picture above was taken at this point in the process.

Then I added about a 1/2 Cup of heavy cream and about 2 Tablespoons of some Spinach/Toasted Walnut Pesto that I had made earlier. I served it over Occhi di Lupo pasta with some freshly grated parmigiana reggiano and lots of freshly ground black pepper.  We added a nice butter lettuce salad with a simple vinaigrette (Sherry vinegar, Dijon, shallots, EVO salt and pepper) and pine nuts.  A a nice large glass of the chilled and refreshing Piesporter rounded the meal out nicely.

All together it made a fabulous dinner on the porch tonight. Ooh-la-la!

« Older posts
Newer posts »