The Tomato Knife

Today’s my blog’s first birthday! In honor, I made a cake.

This was an adventure, considering I had never made a savory cake before. On my way home last Friday I was imagining exactly how I wanted it to turn out- and trying to figure out which ingredients (and in which proportions) would make it work best.

I didn’t want a dry cake- that was sure. I wanted it to be light, smooth and moist (while being cooked all the way through). I knew what I was up against and all the pitfalls I was likely to fall into. Moist. How can I make it moist? I wanted it to be like a yogurt cake- et voilà- there, in the late afternoon sunlight, I decided what I’d make- more or less a yogurt cake without the sugar.

I also knew I wanted it to be light- well, as light at a cake packed with creamy Roquefort cheese can be. So, I decided (for, I think, the first time ever) not to use butter because, with the cheese, it would just be too much. Instead, I opted for canola oil, which doesn’t have an overpowering flavor.

In the end, I was very satisfied with my blog’s birthday cake!

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Tags: cheese, cooking, nuts, pears

Want to know a kind of funny secret? I’d never, until this week, bought a fennel. I don’t really know why I asked for two, last Sunday, at our market’s organic produce stand. These awkward whitish bulbs were just piled there, kind of like beady fish eyes staring at passersby. It was what you’d call an “impulse” buy. By the time the young lady helping me had weighed them, it was too late- fortunately.

Since I’d never bought one, I’d never cooked with one either- until today. What an aroma fills the room as you slice into it! A sort of fresh, playful licorice. I made my two bulbs into four bowls of creamy fennel leek soup. We finished it off about half an hour ago, but I really wish we had more.

I was inspired by a “velouté” that I found in one of my French cookbooks.

Shopping List

2 fennel bulbs (chopped)

3 leeks (chopped, except for 1/2)

1/4 cup crème fraîche (or sour cream)

1/8 cup finely grated Parmesan (plus a little more)

1 teaspoon lemon juice

Olive oil

Freshly grated nutmeg

Gros sel de Camargue (coarse cooking salt)

2 bay leaves

Freshly ground pepper

Recipe (makes 4 bowls):

1. Prepare the soup: Sauté the fennel and leeks in a bit of olive oil, until translucent (like onions). Cover with water, add the bay leaves, sprinkle in some salt and grate in a dash of nutmeg. Cover and let simmer (medium heat) until the fennel is fully cooked.

2. Prepare the cream: In a small bowl, combine the crème fraîche with the lemon juice and let sit. (If using sour cream, do not add the lemon).

3. Prepare the leek topping: Slice the remaining 1/2 of a leek into small strips. Gently sauté them in a small amount of olive oil. Cook them very slightly, stirring regularly and removing them from the heat before they turn brown. Set aside.

4. Blend and combine: When the vegetables are cooked, blend them until “smooth” and then return this mixture to the pot. Add the cream and the Parmesan. Top with the leek strips, a bit of Parmesan, a grate of nutmeg and some pepper.

Serve with thick slices of fresh, grainy bread (perfect for dipping).

Tags: cooking, fennel, leeks, soup, vegetables

Starting today, the Paris farmers’ markets are “en fête,” which means they’re celebrating with music, photo contests, and all sorts of fun goings-on. We can all join in the festivities through Sunday- a good reason to go explore some of the 83 (at least that’s what I’ve counted) food markets in the city. The city website lists all the markets by neighborhood (arrondissement), as well as the special events happening this weekend.

When I get back from the market, I think I’ll make my “Buddha Bowl,” a cold rice-noodle salad piled with fresh, raw vegetables. I’ve been calling this dish “Buddha Bowl” for no apparent reason, except that it sounds cute- and I always seem to feel that much more “zen” after eating one. I naively thought this pet name was my own little invention, until I just googled it (I’m chuckling since I just used “google” as a verb). Apparently, a whole slew of bloggers have a plate-less recipe with the same name and, worse… it’s an actual bowl that one can buy! Since I’m more or less addressing the subject of “enlightenment,” I’d prefer to stay in my own little world and pretend it’s just mine- my interpretation of it in any case.

For my “Buddha Bowl,” I make a three-ingredient sauce, using orange juice and agave nectar as the secret ingredients. The orange juice gives a slight citrus taste and the nectar sweetens it just enough.

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Tags: carrots, cucumbers, markets, noodles, nuts, salads, sauces, spices, vegetables

As I’m writing this, there’s a brand-new jar of confiture de lait staring at me from across the table. Maybe I should wait, but this “milk jam” has already been in the house twenty-nine hours and I’m curious. I’ve already seen this mystery from afar, many times, but I’ve never tried it. This jar showed up yesterday- an unknown visitor ringing at the doorstep. Looking at the jar, I think of caramel- same color, maybe same texture? I’m turning it around in my hands. Ingredients: whole fresh milk and sugar.

I’m opening the lid now- why not? Too curious to wait for the bread, I’m tasting the brown goo falling off the spoon- with my fingers, of course. Hmmm, not bad, not bad at all- sweet, and creamy. Not the same smooth texture as caramel, almost mealy- not in an old-rotten-apple kind of way, but in a this-actually-works kind of way. It’s sweet, very sweet. Maybe too sweet?

Now I’m eyeing the boring old peanut butter (the organic, no sugar kind that, at 5:00 on a Tuesday afternoon, just doesn’t cut it alone). Don’t know if this is allowed, but I’m spreading the purée de cacahuete over a torn-off piece of the baguette de campagne I just bought on my way home from work. And now a dab of this blissful “jam” (that isn’t jam at all). Wow! That’s good- might never stop.

I’m reading the jam jar now- goes on top of yogurt, bread, ice cream… This is a new find.

I’m looking on the Internet now…oh, I see. It’s like dulce de leche- it all makes sense.

Tags: dessert, sauces