La Fête du Fromage - Fromage Frais Fermier

Un bon Fromage Frais Fermier moulé à la louche.

Fromage Frais Fermier is a fresh, salted, unripened cheese that comes directly from the farmer. The term moulé à la louche means that cheese's curd has been hand ladled into molds.

This particular one is produced from whole, unpasteurized cow's milk on a farm in the Charente-Maritime.


I found this cheese in a shop in Cognac. As I lifted it from its tray, wet and dripping, and slipped it into the plastic bag that the shop provided to keep it from leaking all over my other groceries, I caught a whiff of its mild, super fresh, milky aroma and just knew it was going to be good.

Back at our gîte, I sliced half of a baguette and carefully unwrapped the little, pillowy Fromage Frais. We spread it on the bread and took a bite.


My husband and his son, who is visiting us for a couple of weeks, were instantly smitten. They oohed and aahed and asked for more. Sadly I wasn't bowled over.
The texture was soft and fluffy and the flavor was salty, rich, fresh and tangy, somewhat similar to cottage cheese. Which I don't like.
Luckily they both love it.


After watching them demolish half of the cheese, all the time raving about it's deliciousness, I had another taste and decided that it would be perfect for breakfast, with some fresh fruit or drizzled with honey.
If you come across some locally made Fromage Frais, you should definitely give it a try!

Effortless Breakfast Burritos

Man, to look around here, you'd think it was all cupcakes, sticky buns, and cheesecake. I mean, obviously there has been some of that, but I've been making healthy stuff, too. Just nothing really blog worthy. A ho-hum dish with daikon radish and an even more ho-hum eggplant affair. I won't bother you with the details. So I decided it was time to bring back an old standard that, shockingly, hasn't made it onto the blog yet.

I've always had kind of a love affair with breakfast burritos. Back in high school, when I was on the swim team, one particularly enterprising mother used to bring them for us after morning practice. And let me tell you, there is nothing better in this world than a big breakfast burrito filled with eggs and veggies and cheese after two hours of swimming before dawn. This one is a little different, because it's a crockpot filling to which I've added eggs so it would be breakfast acceptable. They're a little bit spicy, totally filling, and pack a pretty darn good nutritional punch, what with the eggs, barley and vegetables. A quick shaving of cheddar cheese never hurts, nor do your favorite burrito fixings: guacamole, salsa, sour cream. And the filling can be reheated easily so that for busy mornings, it's just to scramble a couple of eggs and roll 'em up.

Crockpot Breakfast Burritos
Adapted from Cooking Light Slow Cooker

Place the following in a crockpot, give it all a stir, and set the pot on low. Cook for 4-5 hours (I usually go for 5).

1 15oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 10oz can diced tomatoes with green chiles, don't drain
1 cup uncooked pearl barley
2 cups vegetable broth
3/4 cups frozen corn, no need to thaw
1/4 cup chopped green onions
1 tablespoon fresh squeezed lime juice
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon ground red pepper
3 garlic cloves, chopped

When the filling is done, scramble however many eggs you intend to eat, and spread some of the filling on an flour tortilla along with the eggs. Garnish with any or all of the following:

Shredded cheddar cheese
Fresh cilantro
Salsa
Lettuce
Guacamole

Winter Cobb Salad:Recipe

Last year I had the pleasure of having breakfast with Michael Symon at a demo that he did at Williams-Sonoma. From recipes in his cookbook, Michael Symon's Live to Cook, he made creamy scrambled eggs with goat cheese, potato pancakes and of course, plenty of bacon. Michael Symon loves bacon, it features prominently in many of his recipes.

The next best thing to eating Michael Symon's food, is seeing him cook, so you can replicate his recipes at home. Right now you can see a number of videos with Michael Symon at EatWisconsinCheese.com, where he demonstrates some very interesting techniques. For example, he makes gnocchi that is cooked in a pan, with no need to parboil.

I'm always looking for more salad recipes and I like his version with arugula, apples, radishes and Wisconsin blue cheese. Symon's salad is a side dish, but with just a couple more additions, it actually makes a great main dish. To the salad I added crunchy jicama, creamy avocado, toasted walnuts and in honor of Symon, smoky bacon. The result is a very substantial "Cobb" style entree salad, with rows of seasonal ingredients. I'm not going to lie to you, while not hard to make, this salad does take a fair amount of time to prepare, but it is absolutely worth it. Even the least enthusiastic salad eater will love it.

Winter Cobb Salad
Serves 4, as a main dish

1 shallot, minced, about a tablespoon
3 Tablespoons Champagne vinegar
1 Tablespoon honey
1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 cup radish slices
1 Granny Smith apples, cored and diced
1 avocado, peeled, pitted and diced
1 cup jicama, peeled and diced
6 cups arugula
1 cup Black River blue cheese, crumbled (Buttermilk blue would be good too)
1 cup walnuts, chopped and toasted
6 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled

Dressing
Place shallots and large pinch of kosher salt in mixing bowl. Add vinegar, honey and mustard. Mix. Slowly whisk in olive oil. Taste for seasoning then put in a small pitcher or ramekin for serving.

Salad
Make a bed of arugula on a large serving platter. Place the radishes, apples, avocado, jicama, blue cheese, walnuts and bacon on top of the salad in rows. Serve with the dressing on the side. Alternatively you can create individual servings of the salad if you prefer.

Enjoy!

Turkey Meatloaf:Recipe

Mmmmmm meatloaf. Is there a better comfort food than meatloaf and mashed potatoes? I can't think of one. Ok, maybe chicken soup. But I love meatloaf. I love making it as much a eating it. I think it's because you don't need a recipe and whatever you feel like doing with it you can.

I used to use recipes for meatloaf. I even made a terrine style one with three different layers from the Silver Palate Cook Book. But I found I like mine the best.

Here's what I do: I use ground turkey, I like the texture and the flavor. To a little over a pound of meat I crumble a few slices of fresh bread, and an egg and mix it up. Then in the food processor I finely chop a carrot, a stalk or two of celery, an onion and 1/4-1/2 cup of salsa. I add some salt, and whatever else I feel like! Sometimes leftover roast vegetables or a sausage or some chopped prosciutto and a bit of Chinese chili garlic sauce is always a good addition. You can really use a lot of things up in a meatloaf if you have leftovers in the house. Mix the whole thing up in a bowl. I put the meatloaf in a loaf pan lined in foil (easier removal and clean up) and top with a mixture of ketchup and salsa. I bake at 375 for about an hour or until 180 degrees internal temperature.

Serve with mashed potatoes of course! A simple side dish works with it too, like peas or green beans.

Heritage day in Paris

This year, September 19 and 20 mark the 26th anniversary of Heritage Weekend. This special event is celebrated in France and throughout Europe (49 European countries, I hesitated in writing this figure down.. I do not know how they count 49 countries in Europe!)- and even in Uruguay, I hear.
It started in Paris in 1984 when the Historical Monuments opened many "private" monuments to the public; it became a tradition and for years it was the third Sunday of September. It is now a whole weekend that the event lasts!
Thus every year the government opens to the public (free of charge) 15 thousand monuments, buildings, places that are usually not open for visits. Some years, even the Elysee Palace, the presidential building, has been open. Many foreign embassies housed in old and remarkable buildings also open their doors to the public. Last year there were 12 million visitors!
Nevertheless, Saturday evening I was surprised to find at Porte d'Auteuil, my metro station, as I was stepping out of my train, a beautiful old metro. I did not think right away about Heritage Day, but learned later (thank you Google) that the Paris Metro Company (RATP) had brought to my metro station several carriages of the very first metros for everybody to enjoy on Heritage Day. The Paris metro is over 100 years old.
Long gone are the days of these wood classy metros. In the old times and up to the early eighties there used to be a first class (the red one) and a second class (the green one). The first class carriages had leather seats and because 1st class tickets were more expensive, it was less crowded. Typically there was one first class carriage in the middle, and four 2nd class, two on each side. Nowadays, 10 000 000 people a day take Paris public transportation, which is effective, safe, and reliable!!
Do you have a Heritage Day in your country?

Today's market shopping

I usually go to the market with some idea of what I want to cook the next few days, I know what's available in the season and I know my local producers .. but today I had no idea of what I wanted to cook.
Here is what I found in my shopping bag as I emptied it in the kitchen!

First I went to buy my greens. I loved the different types of zuchinis in the stand, and chose 2 green round ones, three green long ones, two yellow long ones, 1 regular green one, and five zuchini flowers (they are edible). I am going to saute them in olive oil and will add fresh basil at the end. I am going to prepare the flowers as beignets de fleurs de courgette , a sort of tempura, and will place them on top pf the sauteed zuchinis.

I also bought a salad and nasturtium flowers. I had two tomatoes left from last Tuesday and I am going to make a salad. We're going to have it with two chicken breasts I have in the fridge.

It is the right season to buy "verveine" (verbena officinalis) to make delicious herbal tea. I bought a branch and I am going to leave to dry in the kitchen. It's has a strong and pleasant perfume. Once it's dry, I remove the leaves and store them in a jar.
Verveine is and indiginous trea of Argentina and Uruguay. I grew up with this delicous smell in my grandmother's kitchen.

I was tempted by the mini abuergines both white and pruple, and bought 1 lb. I am going to steam them and eat them with basil and olive oil. As I walked dowen the alley, I thought sardines and shrips would be a perfect match for my aubergines. I seldom buy sardines because of the pugent smell they have when they are cooked, but I have discovered that if I put a thick layer of sea salt in the pan where I put the rack to grill them, the small is less strong.

Finally, I also bought a cavaillon melon that we're going to have today for lunch with thin slices of Parma ham. The charcutier is very careful when he slices the ham and puts one slice at a time on waxed paper.

Simple, easy, and tasty!

Bon appetit.

Love letter with animosity and asparagus

Dearest Seattle,Every now and then you’re really spectacular. It’s usually something small and subtle and a little gritty, something I would have missed if I didn’t have a nasty habit of staring, a keen ear for other people’s conversations, or a weakness for your Patagonia-meets-post-punk fashion sense. It’s the chatty produce vendor at Pike Place Market, a gin and tonic at the Alibi Room, a romp