CHOCOLATE AND MORE CHOCOLATE IN PARIS
Now wasn’t that wonderful?
Now wasn’t that wonderful?
Now wasn’t that wonderful?
LONG BEANS
“Long Beans”: have you ever heard of these?
They were new to me at the farmer’s market last Saturday.
I know, they look sort of worm-like…
yuk: they DO look like worms!
cut up and drained
steamed:
and served with cherry tomatoes
I added those great little cubes from Trader Joe’s, both the garlic and basil. They have become a staple in my freezer!
Check out here for more information on “yard long beans”.
P.S. They were delicious!
SORREL SOUP
To make sorrel soup first you go to the farmer’s market.
In my case, this is in Carrboro, North Carolina. The last few weeks I’ve bought some amazing lettuce, arugula and watercress. But yesterday I hit the jackpot! Sorrel.
then you take the sorrel home and give it a good wash
add these
and this is what you get!
And, here is the complete recipe. Make note of this, as there are NOT many recipes out there for Cream of Sorrel Soup!
1 1/2 lbs.sorrel (12 cups, packed)
3 1/2 cups chicken broth
4 egg yolks
2 cups heavy cream
Wash the sorrel and discard the stems. Cook in a covered pot, in the water clinging to the leaves, until wilted. Drain and puree in food processor.
In a large saucepan, heat the stock to simmering. Stir together the egg yolks and cream and add a little of the hot stock. Pour this mixture into the rest of the stock and cook, stirring, over medium high heat for 10-15 minutes, or until slightly thickened.
Remove from heat, cool, and whisk in the sorrel puree. Serve chilled. (Chives are a nice addition!)
If you have another great recipe, please do share! Would love to see it….
WHAT I DID THIS WEEKEND
Luckily, the weekend spanned several days…
Just like everyone else, I had many plans for the holiday weekend. But I’m betting my plans were of a different kind than almost everyone else. At the very heart of my weekend was…MOVING. Yes, I am moving out of my downtown studio/office space. I have to be out by the 15th of July and, thank goodness…., I got started early. It has been so much more time consuming, and I have SO MUCH MORE STUFF, than I had imagined, or accounted for! We go down there every evening to pack some more, throw out some more STUFF, begin to mark CAREFULLY all the USB ports on the computer and modem, take down the shelves with their endless screws, give away some of the furniture….you get the idea.
Here it is torn apart:
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Cleaning out a drawer, I came upon ALL these old credit cards! It felt good to CUT them up…
I’ve been working on a post “of place”: I wanted to show you the above office (before) and all the gadgets and everyday items I use. I’ll post those tomorrow!
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That was on Friday. Skip ahead to Saturday morning and I was out in the garden cutting some flowers to bring inside. Delphinium, Lavender, Bee Balm, Daisies and Lythrum. […]
COLD SOUP FOR THE SUMMER
It’s almost…. July 4th weekend!
That means it just might be very warm where you are, and it means you just might be entertaining and want a very simple recipe that is sure to please (almost) everyone. I love cold soups. I’ve made them for years. I have my favorites.
But here is one I just discovered in a cookbook I have had for years: “Cold Cuisine” by Helen Hecht. If you link to the title you will see it is still available in the original hardcover edition, for as little as $.01!! Now that is a bargain. It is a fabulous cookbook: I have a first edition, from 1981, and I can’t tell you how many times I have used it. It’s one of those rare gems of a book: not well known but full of sophisticated and ‘charming’ recipes.
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ZUCCHINI-BASIL SOUP
2 lbs. small zucchini 1 c sour cream
1/4 c chopped scallions 1 tbl lemon juice
1 tbls. olive oil 1 c chicken stock
1/2 c minced fresh basil
1 c half and half Salt, pepper
Wash and dry zucchini, slice crosswise, and saute with the scallions in the olive oil over low heat for a few minutes. Do not allow it to brown. Cook very gently, partially covered, until tender. Puree the zucchini […]
MORE BUTTER BUTTER!
As you will remember, I had been on the hunt for just the right butter dish…yes, I know, sounds trivial and really kind of dorky, right? But you would be surprised at how many people understood exactly my predicament!
Having found this gorgeous dish a week ago, I then had to find just the right handle, or ring, or ….something… to lift up the lid.
Off I went to said bead show, thinking maybe, just maybe I’ll find a bead, or whatever, to use as a handle. My friend and I searched (well, I searched; she was there to seriously buy beads for jewelry..). After walking many aisles (no, no this was not a hardship!) I spied these “roses” in a box:
Dumb me: I thought they would cut the string of beads and you could buy just one…No, you get all six beads. For $20? Not bad; I’ll find some use for the others. What I liked was the fairly flat surface on the bottom: all the better to glue down. But which color? Black with the red? Orange? No, the turquoise was per….fect!
Here is the glue I used: thanks to everyone for your suggestions. This is what we had in the house, and it worked!
