A Typical Day of Bliss

Finding things that make me truly happy is so exciting. Today as I embark into my new life in my new city, I've realized the simple things - and that is what makes me happy. My brother and I like to nerd out in conversations about food - and how much we are in love with cooking it! Now that we are back in the same city we have the opportunity to nerd out in person. And I just love the typical days in our house. Bliss.

Starting out with a simple beverage of fresh picked mint, lime juice and sparkling water. Divine and simple! We watch Frasier and roll out the fresh pasta dough into beautiful sheets, fit for vegetable lasagna. My brother was the master of the stove tonight and he cooks zucchini that he picked from his backyard garden. He arranges the array of pasta, sauces, cheese and vegetables into a baking dish. In a matter of time, the taste buds are ready to take off! It's that first bite of depth that gets you. The first time your taste buds experience that particular array of flavors. This is something I live for. And of course, what does our conversation entail? Food. What else? Our words are accompanied by the jazz music in the background - lovely. Brother and sister. Blood connected by family and hearts connected by food. Oh and the food tasted pretty darn good. Everything from scratch. Down to the vegetables growing footsteps away. That is my typical day. And I wouldn't trade it for anything. 

  

Fresh Bread

There's nothing like the smell of fresh bread wafting through the air of the kitchen. To me there's not many things I like more. I think there is a preface that says baking your own bread is something unimaginable and too hard. After all, you can just go to the store and buy some, right? Go ahead, buy some. But, you will never get the satisfaction and in my case the joy. This time around I made a basic sandwich bread that I found in Baking Illustrated. This book is incredible. It houses numerous recipes. The coolest thing about it is that they tested every which way that a recipe could go and found the best way possible. So the recipes you are getting are top notch. If you are interested enough, BUY IT. Or you could get it at the library. This bread is extremely easy and doesn't take more than a couple hours total to make. Most of that time is waiting for it to rise. See! Bread isn't difficult! And let me tell you, it tastes delicious and you get so much pride is saying that you made it.  

 

I Made Crepes!

Making crepes has always intimidated me. I like things to go perfect the first time I try them and I knew that crepes needed time to perfect. But, me loving French food, I had to conquer the crepe. My friend convinced me to make them for breakfast one day and I'm never going back! I really don't know what I was afraid of. The batter is extremely easy to make; almost every baking book and cooking website has a recipe. The trick is to be gentle and not afraid to throw away a crepe or two. You will mess up. The flipping might not go right, the crepe may be too thick or too thin, or a number of other things. That is okay! Be patient. The toppings are one of the best parts. I put Nutella, strawberries and bananas on mine. Other good ingredients would be lemon curd, jam, or even some savory things. 

Learn Your European Measurements

I made brioche for the first time. This eggy, buttery bread is found everywhere in France and there is a reason why. Ever since I made it I have gone back to it dozens of times just to smell it in all it's glory. The ingredients are simple and so is the technique, but in the process of making it, I ran into one curveball that I didn't research quite enough. 

Growing up in the US I have used cups in measuring dry ingredients and have never used anything else. But in using various cookbooks, weight measurement has come up a lot. Using a scale to measure dry ingredients is much more accurate and precise. I, however do not possess a scale and thought I knew the conversion when I made this brioche. I did not. After rising the dough for the first time, I realized it looked more like a batter than a dough and there was no way I could knead it properly. Apparently 16 oz of dry ingredients is the equivalent to about 4 cups. Don't make the same mistake I did and think that one cup is 8 oz! Thankfully this mistake was easily fixable and I just kneaded the extra cup of flour that I needed. Find a good recipe and try this bread, it's one of my favorites! Makes me feel like I'm in Paris again! 

Mocha Macaron Madness

The first time you do something is usually the time it doesn't always turn out the best. I have experienced this many times in the kitchen. My personality gets really frustrated when things don't turn out right the first time, but I have to push myself to keep going. Today I attempted the French beauty: the macaron. I found this cookbook by Michael Paul called Sweet Paris that I just love. Definitely a good place to start for me given that I have never made any kind of French dessert before. The actual recipe isn't hard, a few steps and not that many ingredients; but just like all French recipes its the technique that needs to be mastered. After making these I realized the taste is there, but the presentation maybe not so much. 

Looking at a picture in the book of these things and then looking at the ones I made made me a little sad, but it was the first time! If you ever attempt French macarons, pipe more of the mixture onto the baking sheet than you think should be. I made them too small and they ended up a little thin coming out of the oven. Find a recipe and try them! I made mocha macarons (of course with me there had to be coffee). 

I Love Paris

I sit here writing this and I dream. I dream about walking the streets of Paris taking it all in. Watching those crazy drivers and mopeds go by, hearing the European sirens, and smelling the cigarette smoke and fresh bread around the corner. This is what I dream about. There's something magical about it all for me. I can't quite put my finger on what exactly it is, but I can tell you one thing: I love Paris. 

I've been to Paris once (once is enough to fall in love). I think one of the most magical experiences I had was one evening after dinner. I went to a café for a late night cappuccino that had an amazing view of the Eiffel Tower. As it started to get dark, the tower started to illuminate. To me it wasn't a touristy event; it was an event that any Parisian could experience on any given day. I was sitting outside enjoying my favorite beverage and gazing at some of the most beautiful city lights I have ever seen. How could things get any better? It's the small moments that get me. Yes, I went up the tower on the trip, but for some reason even that couldn't measure up to the moment at the café. That is what Paris is to me. Not the places all the tourists go, but the moments that make Paris your own. 

Follow me this summer as I journey through cookbooks and memories of my favorite city in the world. 

Roasted Tomato Salsa

This salsa is a perfect match for chips, fish or anything that needs a fresh zing. So simple, so delicious!

• Half an onion, minced
• 1 package grape or cherry tomatoes
• 2 limes
• 1 jalepeno, minced
• Salt and pepper

Half the tomatoes and roast them with salt and pepper at 375 degrees for 15 min. Combine the onion and jalepeno with a the zest and juice of the limes. Add the tomatoes and salt/pepper to taste. It's that easy! Enjoy!