halloween recipes: Temmuz 2012

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Bonjour!

It finally happened!
ParisPastry.blogspot.com is now ParisLovesPastry.com

I've thought long and hard about the new domain and name.
Why choose a different name you might wonder...

Well, ParisPastry.com is taken by a Californian bakery.
Plus, pastry-legend David Leibovitz has a new book out named 'Paris Pastry'
(which might mean that he paid a visit to my blog once..?!), so that might end up
for confusion. Especially since he has the name 'Paris Pastry' taken on Twitter.
And, I don't want to confuse anyone with this blog and the great
ParisBreakfasts.blogspot.com blog.

So voilÃ¡!

Still staying true to the catchy 'Paris Pastry' phrase, I decided to go for
Paris Loves Pastry. Because I do. I love Paris and I LOVE pastry.

And what's a celebration without a gift?
A very special gift I might add.

I spotted this book when I stayed in Paris last Summer.
At the time, there was only the French version. But I immediately knew I wanted to
give one of my readers a copy of this book when the English version would come out.

How To Enter:
(everyone across the world may join)

1. Leave a comment here with your email address.
If you have a Blogger account and your email is on there, that's fine too.

2. For a second entry, become or be a public follower of Paris Pastry on Blogger.
I hate to be prissy about this, but I do actually check if you are.

3. For a third entry, Like Paris Loves Pastry on Facebook.

4. For a fourth entry, follow Paris Loves Pastry on Twitter.

The green links will direct you to Facebook and Twitter.
But, they are on the top of the sidebar as well.

Giveaway closes on July 10th. Bonne Chance!

LadurÃ©e SucrÃ©

Images: 1, 2, 3, 4

Provence: C'est si Bon!

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Bonjour!

I am interrupting the baking-posts and giveaways to blog from
the country to which this blog is dedicated to: France.

I'm in Bagnols-sur-Ceze which is an (traffic-free) hour and a half
drive to Saint-Tropez, two hours to Cannes.

I'm staying here with loads of family and friends and we've rented
this house, named C'est si Bon:

Provence House

The house looks even more beautiful on the inside than it does on
the outside, though that'd be hard to imagine!

I'm showing you pictures of the interior in the next posts as the internet
connection is running slow here.

And frankly, I don't mind. Days here are filled with care-free activities,
delicious meals, thoughtful conversations and simple pleasures.

Provence House

The best sort of vacation is, where one does not know the time and doesn't need to.
No appointments, no cares. One of the few clocks in (outside) the house.

The house is pretty secluded in the countryside.
All we hear is ourselves, splashes of water and crickets.

Provence House

Tonight I'm baking a rustic apple tart with my cousin and her friend.
It is one of my favorite fruit dessert!

Au Revoir!

Ani's Raw Food Essentials Book Giveaway!

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This Giveaway has ended. Please click here to see who won.

Thanks to all who entered.

Scroll down to see an awesome recipe from Ani's Raw Food Essentials:)

Hi everyone! I am back with the details of my first blog giveaway!

I am so happy to be able to give one of you* a chance to win the awesome new book Raw Food Essentials by the lovely raw food chef, Ani Phyo.

Check out my post from yesterday to see all the incredible recipes I have made so far from Ani's Raw Food Essentials, and my review of the book.

*This contest is open to residents of the United States only, as stipulated by the sponsor. Sincere thanks to the lovely Lindsey Triebel of Perseus Books Group for arranging this giveaway!

Now, here is how to enter:

Entry number one:
1.) Please check out my post from yesterday, then come back here and tell me which one of the recipes I made from Ani's Raw Food Essentials you are most interested in trying. Also, I would love to know if you have a favorite recipe from raw Chef Ani Phyo. If you haven't tried one yet, visit her incredible website and tell me which recipe you would most like to try. Leave your comment on this post for one entry.

Entry number two:
2.) For another chance to win, leave me a second comment on this post and tell me what you like to see most in an un-cookbook. Are you someone who loves raw sweets and desserts, looking for quick everyday recipes, or meals for the whole family, etc. Are you interested in all kinds of raw info, or just the recipes? Please mention if you do buy un-cookbooks, and if you prefer e-books, or printed books in your comment.

Entry number three:
3.) For a third chance to win, mention this giveaway on your own blog, Facebook, or Twitter with a link to this post. If you don't blog, Facebook, or tweet, be a subscriber or follower of the happy raw kitchen blog:) Just tell me which one you did for this additional entry. You only need to do one mention for this, but anything extra is appreciated:)

Bonus:
4.) For a fourth and final chance to win, stand on your head while facing west, put on some hot pink lipstick, and whistle the Happy Birthd....HAHAHA! Forgive me :) Just having some fun!

Please have your entries posted by 12 midnight EST Sunday, June 6, 2010. Winner will be announced on, or shortly after Monday, June 7.

Good Luck Everyone!!!

p.s. I am not able to post in the comments at this time, please feel free to email me with any questions regarding this giveaway, contact info on my profile here. Also, if you are having problems posting a comment, contact me.

Now, I do have something special for all of you! I was given permission to share a recipe from the book, and believe me, it is awesome!

MEDITERRANEAN WRAP WITH RED PEPPER
HUMMUS (BEAN-FREE)

Photo credit: Tyler Golden.

From the book Ani's Raw Food Essentials by Ani Phyo. Excerpted by arrangement with Da Capo Lifelong, a member of the Perseus Books Group. Copyright (c) 2010.

MAKES 4 WRAPS

This recipe uses collard leaves for wrapping up vegetables, such as spinach, zucchini, black olives, and avocado, with a delicious Red Pepper Hummus.

2 large collard leaves
2 cups spinach, washed well
½ recipe Red Pepper Hummus (page 184)
1 ripe avocado, pitted and sliced
½ cup zucchini, cut into long, thin spears
¼ cup pitted, chopped black olives

Cut the leaves away from the thick center stem of each collard leaf to make a total
of four flat pieces.

Top each collard section with spinach leaves. Then, spoon Red Pepper Hummus across the bottom edge of the shorter width of each leaf. Top with avocado, zucchini, and black olives. Roll up into a wrap and serve.

Will keep for up to a day at room temperature, or store for a day or two in the
fridge.

RED PEPPER HUMMUS (BEAN-FREE)

MAKES 2 CUPS

This hummus is made using tahini, as in traditional recipes, but instead of chickpeas, I use red bell pepper and a pinch of cumin for a richer flavor. Sesame powder helps absorb some of the excess liquid from the juicy bell pepper.

½ cup sesame seeds, ground into a powder
2 teaspoons chopped garlic
1 teaspoon sea salt
2 cups seeded and diced red bell pepper
1/3 cup tahini
¼ cup lemon juice
½ teaspoon ground cumin

In a food processor, process the sesame seeds, garlic, and salt into small pieces.
Add the remaining ingredients and process until smooth.

Will keep for 2 days in the fridge.

I have already made this yummy recipe, and it is fantastic!

Huge thanks to lovely raw Chef Ani Phyo for allowing me to share this amazing recipe, and for creating this incredible book.

Keepin' My Cool :)

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Welcome back everyone! Hope you are all staying cool. The Adirondack mountains have chilled out a bit lately, but it is still warm enough for one of my favorite raw treats, Popsicles!

They are so easy to create, and help keep you hydrated in the hot weather in a fun way.

The "recipe" is simple, just use your favorite liquid like fruit puree, juice, or smoothie (yup, even a green one). If you like fudgesicles, you can use your favorite avocado pudding, yum!

Even banana soft-serve is delish as a Popsicle. For the pops pictured, the white was 1 young Thai coconut, pureed with a splash of coconut water, a dash of coconut nectar, and a squeeze of lime. The yellow was sweet, juicy pineapple, and the red was dark, sweet cherries with a spoon of coconut nectar. Some flavors taste a bit less sweet to me when frozen, but you can omit all sweeteners if you prefer:)

My favorite flavors in this pop were the pineapple and cherry:)

Check out this very cool stainless steel ONYX Popsicle Mold from the tickle Trunk. I absolutely adore it!

The mold is so well made, I think it could become a family heirloom!

One great feature is that the pops can be made one at a time, the perfect thing to make with that little extra smoothie that won't fit in the glass. Frozen pops can be removed as soon as they are solid, and new treats can be made since you need to use a new stick each time. The company is actually working on re-usable bamboo sticks! In the meantime they do come with extra sticks, and you can find replacements if needed.

The tops have a colorful silicone seal around the stick, and they give you an extra set, too. I found it easier to insert the stick from the underside of the top, so the seal doesn't pop out.

I will be reusing the 'spent' sticks myself in a crafty trivet or something :)

I stored a few Popsicles (removed from molds) in the freezer, wrapped in parchment paper:

I even made some like my bloggie friend, bitt, who used sweetened tea. Mine were double strength mint tea, sweetened with coconut nectar. Yum!!! The orange pops are persimmon...absolutely fantastic! The nice ripe persimmons got a little smushed on the way home from the market this weekend, so into the Popsicle they went! I still have an older plastic mold, so I used that for this batch.

They were all so cool and refreshing, but the mint was especially nice.

If it is hot where you live, I would love to hear about your ways of staying cool!

For those interested, I should be back soon with a kombucha update since momma SCOBY has given birth haha!!!

I would also like to thank the lovely Pure2Raw twins, Michelle and Lori, for featuring a few of my socca pictures on their blog earlier this week in a feature called "Socca Sunday"! Although it is not raw, I am totally in love with it! Thanks so much, Michelle and Lori:)

I'm Nuts About This Post!

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Happy Monday everyone! Hope you all had a good weekend.

We did the usual...shopping:)

The rain stopped us from a day trip to Vermont, but we were just there last weekend anyway:) Below is a picture of Lake Champlain with the Adirondack Mountains in the background. It was so lovely.

Our main reason for going to Vermont last week was an Antique and Classic car show in Stowe. Have you ever seen a car with a record player in the dashboard?

Raise your hand if you actually know what a 'record player' is! :)

Since we usually have to do our food shopping on weekends, I was so happy to find a great Natural Foods store right on the same road as the show:) We stopped on the way home for a much needed cold coconut water and a few pantry essentials. If you find yourself in Waterbury Center, Vermont make sure to stop by Sunflower Natural Foods.

The store was very well stocked,

and so neat and clean with a very friendly staff:) There was even a sweet play nook upstairs for the little ones:)

Don't you wish you were 4 or 5 again?

My recent post, Raw Pantry Essentials, showed a few pictures from one of my usual places to shop. But sometimes, a 'special ingredient' can only be found online.

I recently ordered Heathy's Moonie Pie ebook (they look amazing btw), and noticed that I didn't have one of the ingredients. Hmmm...as well stocked as my favorite store is, they do not carry this one special ingredient. A quick online search for it brought me to NutsOnline.

My order was placed on Monday, and the box arrived at my door Tuesday afternoon, less than 24 hours later! What a pleasant surprise:) Everything looked great!

NutsOnline has a huge selection of organic and raw products, as well as hundreds of other products.

While checking out their blog, I was thrilled to see they had linked up to my Sprouting Chia seeds post:) Thanks NutsOnline!

So, I am very excited to tell you NutsOnline has generously offered one of you* a chance to try 2 of their products!

One pound of Organic Chia Seeds, and one pound of Raw Organic Hemp Seeds! YAY!!!!!

Thanks so much to the lovely Katie Ide from NutsOnline for making this giveaway possible.

These products were hand picked by yours truly:), but you can change them if you have issues with either of these...for anything of a lesser or equal value:)

*This giveaway is limited to residents of the United States and Canada only.

Requirements to enter this giveaway are simple:

Mandatory for entry #1:
Visit NutsOnline and leave a comment below telling me which of their products you would love to try, and what you would make with them.

For one additional entry:
Subscribe to the NutsOnline Newsletter to receive special offers and coupons, leave a comment here telling me you did so, for entry #2.

That's it! This giveaway will close at midnight EST Sunday August 29, 2010. Winner will be announced on, or shortly after Monday, August 30.

You probably already have a favorite recipe using hemp or chia seeds, but if you don't, here are several pictures of a few of mine to whet your appetite.

All the links are to my posts which either have the recipe, or tell you where to find it:

Chia Puddings

Bitts Hemp Brownies

Kate Magic's Marching Biscuits

Magic Chocolate

Hemp Power Ball Truffles

Chia-Sesame Cracker

Oh my...I think we need something with a little green:)

Russell James' Wilted Kale Salad with Creamy Chipotle Dressing

My S&M Salad with Creamy Macadamia-Lime Hemp Dressing

There, that's better!

Good luck everyone!!!!

8 Temmuz 2012 Pazar

Mama's Angel Food Cake with Rum Creme Anglaise

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Mama's Angel Food Cake

Can I just say how much I love angel food cake? The sky-high cake that looks airy but when eating a slice (or two... three!) instantly fills you up, is my new favorite cake! I might just make the other two variations from the weekly poll. To make this cake even more spectacular than the angel food cake with cream and strawberries I baked two weeks ago, I served the cake with a rum crÃ¨me anglaise. Which brings me to my love-affair with rum as well :P I LOVE RUM! The crÃ¨me anglaise made the cake wonderfully moist and reminded me of a French baba au rhum. What could be better? Rating: 5 out of 5.

Angel Food Cake: Virginia Willis - 'Bon Appetit, Y'all'

Ingredients:
- 1 ¼ cups sifted cake flour (not self-rising)
- 1 ½ cups sugar
- 12 large egg whites, at room temperature
- 1 ½ teaspoons cream of tartar
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ½ vanilla bean, split and scraped or 1 ½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon almond extract
- Rum CrÃ¨me Anglaise, optional

Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees with a rack set in the center of the oven.
- Sift flour together with ¾ cup sugar. Repeat process three times; set aside.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat egg whites, cream of tarter, and salt on medium speed until foamy. Add vanilla-bean seeds and almond extract. With the mixer on medium speed, slowly add remaining ¾ cup sugar. Continue mixing until whites are glossy and stiff peaks form.
- Sift enough of the flour mixture over the egg white mixture to lightly dust the top. Gently fold flour mixture into the egg white mixture. Repeat process until all the flour is incorporated into the egg white mixture.
- Gently spoon batter into a 10-inch tube pan. With a spatula or knife, using a circular motion, cut through the batter twice to eliminate any large pockets of air. Smooth top to remove any large peaks.
- Transfer to oven and bake until golden brown and a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes. Invert pan over a bottle (such as a 2-liter soda bottle or wine bottle) until completely cooled, about 2 hours.
- To serve, set upright, and using a butter knife or a long spatula, loosen the cake from the sides of the pan. Invert onto a serving plate. Slice using a serrated knife or an angel food cake cutter; serve drizzled with bourbon crÃ¨me anglaise, if desired.

Rum CrÃ¨me Anglaise: makes 3 cups

Ingredients:
- 2 cups whole milk
- 6 large egg yolks
- ¼ cup sugar
- Pinch of fine sea salt
- 1 tablespoon rum or bourbon

Instructions:
- Prepare an ice-water bath; set aside.
- Place milk in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. In a medium bowl, whisk together egg yolks, sugar, and salt until thick and light. Slowly pour in half of the hot milk, while stirring constantly. Slowly pour the egg mixture into the remaining milk mixture, stirring constantly. Stir in bourbon.
- Place saucepan over low heat and bring to a gentle simmer, stirring constantly. Continue cooking until mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon and reaches 180 degrees on an instant-read thermometer. Remove from heat.
- Strain crÃ¨me anglaise through a fine mesh sieve set over a medium bowl. Set bowl in ice water bath and stir creme anglaise until cooled. Keep refrigerated until ready to use, up to 1 day.

A slice of heaven drenched with rum crÃ¨me anglaise ♥.
Mama's Angel Food Cake

'Laduree: The Sweet Recipes' Baking Book Giveaway! New Domain Celebration!

Images: 1, 2, 3, 4

One Potato, Two Potato ... Volunteering with Kids

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As we were driving toward the volunteer day, and I saw a sign promoting the Arts at the Arboretum event. We usually go to this fun day in the park. Would my kiddo be mad when she found out we would miss it this year, for a "Potato Drop?" We had people coming for dinner, too, we were so busy, too busy for one more thing in our day?

No, I thought, and what we are about to do is way more valuable than getting some face painting and our dinner guests would understand if things were late to the table. Just shove over, mom guilt, I thought, I'm doing the right thing.
This was my kiddo's first volunteer gig. And not a small one at that. Forty-two thousand pounds of potatoes were waiting for us to load into different trucks, vans and cars for delivery to food pantries all over our city and surrounding area. Forty-two thousand pounds of food, and still, less than a pound of potato per person in need in our area; over 60,000 people food insecure, and that number is growing daily.

I hesitated, was my kiddo at only six really ready for this? Age six? I kept driving through my doubts. We headed to the volunteer event. No time like today to find out.

I got a great surprise. Not only was my kid well-behaved, but I watched her be the first one, big or small, to jump into the back of a truck and load sack after sack. Seriously, thousands of pounds of potatoes herself. Then, when done there, jump down and run to the next vehicle to load. Over and over. She was a rock star.

I was amazed, just glowing really. I learned that six is not too young to count, not to young to make a difference for others. As a mom, this has to be my proudest moment, but I sure can't take a bit of credit here. It was all my child's achievement, all her doing. It was also the love and support of the 100 strangers around us, cheering her on, helping one another with joy, and heart. The whole day was charged with the job of this village of people who took a beautiful Saturday morning to help put food on the tables of thousands. The worries I had vanished and I felt lighter, more sure and happy than I had in a very long time.

As a parent, I've worried more than once, "Am I teaching my kid the right values? Am I doing okay?" It's hard to explain to a child just how lucky she is to have food on the table each night, good food. All I can do is show her and hope she'll embrace the lesson.

We were done early. As we walked toward the car, I heard, "Mom, I want to go load backpacks, I want to help with bingo, why can't we go do more today?"
"Patience, kiddo." I said. "We'll do more of this. A lot more." And I fell in love with my child again, a hundred times over again and again. Six is not too young, neither is 16, 26 or 66.

Jessica at O the Joys asked me to help promote this fantastic effort: October 16-22 is “Make Your Mark Week” – A week of young people making a difference through simple acts of service. It culminates on October 22^nd, Make A Difference Day. Not too late to get your family involved.

Thanksgiving: Simplified, Cranberry-Applesauce

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I can recall a lot of stressful holidays growing up. The unattainable quest for the perfect holiday gathering ruled our household for the weeks before the date. It never made sense to me because the "guests" were our family and closest friends — the very people who should love you the most "as is."

Now that I am a grown up, well, supposed to be a grown up at least, and it's our house and our kitchen for the Big Meal, I do my best for a stress-free season. Note, this is not an "easy holiday meal" post to lure you in with false hope of whipping out dinner in minutes and having time for that hour massage at the spa before the guests arrive.

It's not going to be totally easy. That size of meal for twelve is going to take some effort. I just don't want you or I to stress about it or aim for some kind of unrealistic myth of holiday perfection. Tell your inner perfectionist to, uh, "stuff it" and just breathe. It will be okay.

Part of reducing the workload of holidays is making as much ahead as possible. Another bonus is this lets me use the local ingredients I sourced from the farmers market in October.

This Cranberry-Applesauce is a nice upgrade on the classic "cranberry sauce" that often appears on Thanksgiving tables in a wiggly, translucent can-shaped form that no one ever eats. How does it come of the can perfectly shaped like that, anyway?

You can make this recipe now, and freeze. Just take out of the freezer and put it in the fridge three days before Thanksgiving. Check to make sure it thawed the day before. One dish done and one less worry on the main cooking day.

Cranberry-Applesauce
8 Gala or Granny Smith Apples, cored, peeled and sliced thin
1 cup apple cider
1 pint fresh cranberries
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup honey
1/4 tsp. cardamom
1/2 tsp. Five Spice Powder
pinch salt

Place the apples and cider in a large pot, cover and heat to a simmer to cook apples.

Put cranberries in a smaller saucepan with the brown sugar and honey. Heat on medium until the berries burst and give up their juice and the sauce begins to thicken. Add the cardamom and the five spice powder and mix.

Stir the apples to break them up into a chunky "home style" applesauce. Mix in the cranberry sauce. The end result is a lovely red color with a warm and subtle spice to it that goes well with many holiday dishes.

Black-eyed Peas in a Healthy Soup for New Year's Luck

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For the last few years, we've made sure to make black-eyed peas for New Year's. I never even questioned the source of this mostly southern tradition. It's an excuse to eat black-eyed peas with smoked ham hock. 'Nuff said. That more traditional recipe is in our cookbook, The Cleaner Plate Club, and plenty of greens recipes to go with it, too.

In the South, the peas symbolize prosperity, greens mean money and the pork is said to symbolize the pig's hard efforts at foraging for itself. Some of the history behind the custom comes from Civil War days when the Union soliders wiped out all the food crops in the South, leaving just "animal feed" like field corn and the black-eyed peas.

Other history point to farther back, such as ancient Syria and Jewish Rosh Hashana, then brought to the US by Jewish immigrants in the 1700s.

This year, we skipped the ham and went for a vegetarian approach. After the holiday excess, I have to admit that we were all ready for something light. This soup is based on the Fall Vegetable Soup in the book, with the addition of farro, a wholegrain the offers some protein, and, of course, black-eyed peas which are available fresh this time of year. Also check in the freezer section for frozen ones.

Still, we have the peas for prosperity, kale as the greens for money, and the cheap, healthy protein source of farro for my own foraging, as well as some herbs from my garden (what has not totally frozen yet). And, without the saturated fat from the smoked pork, well, this soup adds a healthy start on your New Year's resolutions.

To modify the recipe for dried black-eyed peas, you'll need to soak them overnight. After sweating the onion, celery, garlic, and carrot, add the stock and black-eyed peas (drained and rinsed from the soaking water) and bring those to a boil, then simmer for 1.5 hours before going forward with the rest of the recipe.

Makes 12 servings

2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

1 large onion, chopped

2/3 cup chopped carrot (about  3 medium carrots)

2/3 cup chopped celery (about 3 stalks)

2 garlic cloves, minced

10 cups vegetable or chicken stock

1 Tbsp dried summer savory

2 tsp dried thyme

2 sprigs fresh rosemary, chopped

2 bay leaves

2 small Parmesan rinds, optional

1 lb sweet potatoes, peeled and diced small (¼-inch cubes)

1 lb winter squash, peeled and diced small (¼-inch cubes) 1 cup farro, rinsed and drained or 1 cup lentils, rinsed, sorted and drained

1 lb. fresh or frozen black-eyed peas

1 bunch (about 12 oz) kale or chard greens, stemmed and chopped

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Warm the oil over medium-low heat and add the onion, carrot and celery. Sweat this combination, known as a mirepoix, until the onion is translucent.
Add the stock and the savory, rosemary, thyme and bay leaves. Bring to a boil, and then reduce the heat to a simmer. Add the sweet potato, squash and Parmesan rinds, and then simmer for 30 minutes.
Add the farro or lentils and black-eyed peas and simmer for 30 more minutes (or until the lentils, if present, are al dente).
Add the greens, and simmer for 5 more minutes.
Remove the bay leaf and Parmesan rinds. Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve.

When we were eating, my six-year-old who often won't eat soft textures of orange foods, said, "Mom, can we have this soup every New Year?" As picky as kids can be, especially after a sugar rush of holiday desserts, I think that's about as lucky as it gets.

Happy New Year, everyone. I hope you are off to a healthy, happy new start.

7 Temmuz 2012 Cumartesi

I'm Nuts About This Post!

Our main reason for going to Vermont last week was an Antique and Classic car show in Stowe. Have you ever seen a car with a record player in the dashboard?