Conclusion first: the original experiment failed after only a few hours.

When my sister told me she was going vegan for a month, it reminded me of the first time I tried. One day in 2003, I made it until mid-morning. Seven years later, I thought I had a stronger will and, since I wanted to be a good big sister and support her endeavor, I decided to go dairy-free for one week. (The whole month was out of the question). As I mentioned: big failure. I was only able to resist the strawberry yogurt nestled in the fridge until noon.

Thus, the original experiment has been redesigned: as a creative challenge, I’ll prepare one vegan meal per day until the end of the week.

Despite the fact that I have not yet met a vegan in France (nor a vegetarian for that matter), they do exist and the French language (despite popular belief) does have a word for them. Vegetarian translates to végétarien (no meat or fish) and vegan to végétalien (no meat, fish, dairy, eggs…not even honey). As I’ve mentioned in the past, I grew up vegetarian, and am now pescetarian.

Breakfast was one of the reasons going vegan sounded so scary to me. Milk, yogurt, butter: breakfast necessities. Without milk in my cereal, butter on my toast, milk in my tea, yogurt with my fruit…breakfast would cease to exist – as would any motivation to get up!

Yesterday morning, ready to tackle the first challenge, I headed into the kitchen. This was a completely un-prepared adventure and I had to make do with whatever was in the cupboard. Just leaving out the dairy would be too simple. First point: dry cereal was out of the question. Second point: my breakfast had to make sense and include protein, iron, calcium… all the important nutrients. A mix between muesli and tabouli ended up being my inspiration for this “Vegan Breakfast Salad.”

First, some nutritional info:

Bulgur is a whole grain, widely used in Middle Eastern cooking and rich in fiber.

Flax seeds have many benefits, but I added them for their Omega-3 fatty acids (similar to salmon).

Raisins contain antioxidants, iron and Boron (a mineral that helps absorb calcium and, thus, develop strong bones).

Nuts are a great source of protein. Walnuts are pretty much a miracle food if you ask me (they contain fiber, vitamin E, Omega-3 fatty acids, magnesium, B vitamins…). Almonds are a source of calcium (didn’t know that till yesterday), as well as iron, magnesium, phosphorus, B vitamins…

Shopping List

Bulgar

Raisins

Dried apricots

A juicy orange and lemon

Flaxseeds

Walnuts

Toasted almonds

Recipe:

1. Cook the bulgur in boiling water for about ten minutes. Add the dried fruits  just before draining so  they will just slightly cook. Drain well.

2. Mix in seeds and nuts.

3. Squeeze in some orange juice (until the bulgur takes the flavor) and some lemon juice (just a bit). Mix well.

I thought the fruit sweetened the salad enough, but add some agave syrup or cinnamon to taste if you like.

This salad is also great served cold and will give you a boost of energy to start your day.

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!

Shopping List

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 tablespoon sugar

2 eggs

1/4 cup canola oil

1 cup yogurt

1/2 cup grated gruyère cheese

3/4 cup Roquefort

2/3 cup walnuts

1 pear (cut into small pieces)

Recipe:

1. Mixed dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, sugar).

2. Beat eggs and mix in wet ingredients (oil, yogurt), in a separate bowl.

3. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients. Mix as little as possible so the cake will be light and airy!

4. Add the remaining ingredients. Still mixing as little as possible.

5. Bake in the oven at 350° F for about 35 minutes. The top should be slightly browned and the cake fully cooked (difficult to tell since the cheese will be melted).

Happy Birthday!

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.

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.

For the toppings, you can obvious choose whatever you like. For me, ripe avocado and carrot ribbons are an absolute must.

Shopping List

Vermicelli rice noodles

Tofu (cubed)

Sesame oil (one splash for two people)

Soy sauce (two splashes for two people)

Sesame and sunflower seeds (small handfuls)

Red pepper flakes

Carrot ribbons (made by using a vegetable peeler)

Cucumber (diced)

Lettuce

Bean sprouts

Cashews

Cilantro (or coriander)

For the sauce (two people):

2 tablespoons orange juice

2 tablespoons soy sauce

¾ teaspoon agave nectar

Recipe:

1. Stir-fry the tofu (until it’s golden brown) in the sesame oil, soy sauce and red pepper flakes. Just before the tofu is done, add the sesame and sunflower seeds so they will be slightly grilled, but not burnt.

2. Chop and prepare all the cold ingredients.

3. Cook the rice noodles and rinse in cold water* (move around under the faucet with a fork or your fingers to separate them). Shake excess water out of the colander and let sit a minute.

4. Prepare the sauce by combing the three ingredients and stirring.

5. Place noodles in bowls and cover with about half the sauce. Add the tofu, the veggies and then the remaining sauce. Decorate with the cashews and cilantro.

*The package always says to soak the rice noodles in water, but I’ve never been successful doing this. I just boil them like regular pasta (but only for about a minute- you have to taste) and immediately run them under cold water. Don’t let them cook too long or they’ll get mushy.

This is the perfect dish for a hot day, as the tofu can be prepared ahead of time and served cold.

After avoiding the subject for way too long, I’ve signed up for French driving lessons. Unless your American license was issued in one of the 13 states (see below) that have a reciprocity agreement with France, you have to take both the written and driving tests once you live here permanently. That means drivers’ ed all over again.

Technically, one could sign up on their own for these two tests, but the catch is that you must have a car equipped with brakes on the left and right sides. On your own, you also have to register for the exams through the Préfecture- a process that seems quite daunting to me. The only real solution for those of us from the “other 37 states” is to go through a driving school.

Advantages:

1. The school takes care of the registration at the Préfecture.

2. You learn what is expected of you on the exams.

3. You learn all sorts of French vocabulary you’ll never learn in college (i.e. point mort = neutral, angle mort = blind spot). And, yes, all the references to death (mort) do freak me out a bit.

Disadvantages:

1. Expensive (at least 1,000 euros for the classes and exams).

2. Time-consuming (you actually have to study, even if you already “know” how to drive). The whole process takes several months.

3. Apparently, less than 60% of the candidates get their license on the first try (and in Paris, you may have to wait up to six months for another exam date!).

See why I’ve put it off for so long?

Short-term visitors and students in France can both drive on their American licenses- no problem. Foreign residents can drive on theirs for up to one year. For those who have the right to exchange their license, they must do it in these first twelve months- otherwise, all is lost and they have to take the lessons and tests. To date, these states are part of the agreement: Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, New Hampshire, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Virginia.

One of the hardest parts about this whole process is finding a decent driving school. After quite a bit of research and a few visits, I ended up going with this school. These were my criteria:

1. Convenient location and open hours

2. “Reasonably” priced (haha!)*

3. A friendly vibe and professional atmosphere

*I chose a school with the best value for the money. For example, they propose unlimited classroom courses and three months access to their on-line lessons and practice tests (many schools didn’t offer this at all). I chose not to go with the most inexpensive schools, but a medium-priced and well-established one. Driving schools in Paris are more than abundant and the smaller ones frequently go out of business.

I’m actually having fun studying, especially when I ask people who already have their license the mock questions and they don’t know the answers. It’s not their fault. It’s simply that the test is difficult and not always straight-forward. The way the questions are formulated can be tricky and you have to learn to think like the test (makes me feel like I’m taking the SATs all over again). I’m also having fun putting to work what I’m learning by walking around Paris, pretending I’m a police officer. I give imaginary tickets to, well, pretty much everyone.

In order to give me test-studying energy, I started off the morning with some home-made muesli. Originally from Switzerland, it’s made of uncooked cereals and is extremely easy to make. The advantage of making it yourself is that you can choose whatever ingredients you want- and you won’t get stuck picking out dried coconut shavings, for example.

The three essential ingredients are:

1. Uncooked, very slightly toasted cereal flakes

2. Dried fruits

3. Nuts

I used a combination of five different cereals in equal parts. If you don’t find them already toasted, you can do it yourself. Be careful not to leave them in the oven too long- otherwise they’ll become too crispy, like granola. Muesli should practically be raw.

Toasting the nuts, like the cereals, brings out the flavor. I especially like adding slivered almonds. I grill them (without any oil) in a frying pan. Watch them very carefully, as they cook fast- I’ve burnt many a batch!

Recommended ingredients:

Barley flakes

Oat flakes

Rice flakes

Rye flakes

Wheat flakes

Small Sultana raisins

Slightly toasted slivered almonds

Combine ingredients and you’re done. Top with sliced banana for extra fuel.

I couldn’t pass this one up: a little jar of whole nutmeg seeds and a miniature grater.

Freshly ground nutmeg, I’ve just discovered, is simply stronger and much more aromatic than the pre-ground spice.

I found my little jar of noix de muscade in the spice section of the neighborhood grocery store and have been curious about it ever since. The nutmeg we traditionally use in cuisine (frequently used and highly regarded back in the Middle Ages by-the-way) is the ground seed of the (edible) fruit from the nutmeg tree. Another common spice, mace (macis, in French), comes from the same tree; it, in fact, is the dried red netting that covers the nutmeg seed.

In addition to being fun to grate, nutmeg gives a slightly sweet, rather nutty (surprise) flavor to dishes- I’ve used it in quiches and desserts, for example.

Happy grating.

]]> http://thetomatoknife.com/2010/05/freshly-grated-nutmeg-2/feed/ 0 http://thetomatoknife.com/2009/11/roasted-chestnuts-recipe/ http://thetomatoknife.com/2009/11/roasted-chestnuts-recipe/#comments Tue, 03 Nov 2009 13:57:15 +0000 Joy Anna Becvarik http://thetomatoknife.com/?p=936 As I mentioned in my posts about bourru and bernache, tradition has it that you eat roasted chestnuts with these young “wines” that show their faces only in the autumn.

There are two words for chestnut in French: marron and châtaigne. While we don’t seem to distinguish between the two in English, we certainly do in French.  Marrons come from marroniers (cultivated chestnut trees) and châtaignes come from châtaigniers (wild chestnut trees).  They are very similar; in fact, a marron is technically a type of châtaigne.  Both nuts fall from the tree when ripe and are encased in a prickly bur.  One difference between the two types of nuts is that the marron bur will contain only one “fruit”, while that of the châtaigne will contain two or three.  Marrons are larger and rounder than châtaignes.

In France, you’ll find marrons used in a variety of specialties, such as marrons glâcés (sweet glazed chestnuts) or crème de marron (a grainy spread often used in dessert crêpes).

Châtaignes are the best for roasting. In France, they’re often collected off the ground by passersby, taken home and eaten on chilling fall evenings.  You will also see them for sale at farmers’ markets and in certain grocery stores- already taken out of their outer burs, but still enclosed in their dark brown shells.  Now’s the time to take advantage of these cheery little nuts, as they’re only around from September to February.

This last week, I tried home-roasted châtaignes for the first time- and what a treat!  When cooked just right, the inside fruit is warm and steamy, soft and pasty- not at all like the other nuts I know.  I didn’t just eat, though; I also learned how to prepare them. Here’s the very simple and traditional recipe that Sébastien’s family shared with me.  All you need are chestnuts, an old cast iron pot and some heat.  We used a gas flame, but I’m thinking you’d might be able to roast them on an electric stovetop or even in the oven.

Recipe

1. Cut two small slits into the shell of each chestnut with a paring knife.  This keeps the nuts from exploding during cooking.

2. Begin heating pot over a high flame and add prepared chestnuts- as many an each person wants to eat!

3. Cook for about ten minutes or more (it’s better to overcook than undercook).  Test one chestnut by cutting it open with a knife- the outside will be blackened and the entire inside should be soft and warm.

4. Transfer chestnuts to a bowl and enjoy with some bourru, bernache or your favorite white wine.

A few hints: You eat each chestnut as you open it.  Just off the flame, they will surely burn your fingers, so use a cloth napkin to hold them.  Also, use a small knife (or your daring fingers) to help open the shell and dish out the “fruit.”  Before biting in, make sure the nut isn’t dark-colored, a sign of mold or rotting.  That happens in nature!

We enjoyed our châtaignes plain- not salt, no butter, nothing- pure, simple tradition.