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The Truth About Chocolate Mousse

21 Apr

So, apparently I am one of the few who “knows about” this discovery : chocolate mousse doesn’t need dairy -at all-. I came to the conclusion that most people don’t know this truth judging from all the recipes I see that call for all sorts of creams, and butters and crazy dairy requirements, and the fact that I have never met a restaurant that does it sans butter or cream. Even the dairy free recipes out there on the internet all call for the complicated substitutes that I just don’t want to deal with. Chocolate mousse is really quite a simple recipe. 3 basic ingredients are all it takes! P1190089 THREE! I wish more restaurants would get the concept since it would be nice to have something other than fresh fruit once in a while for dessert when I go out. But then I live in France, dairy land of the world. *sigh* … I suppose that the silver lining is that I have retained my figure.

When I want dessert, I have to make it myself. And usually I have to come up with all sorts of resourceful and inventive solutions to my creations to make them look, taste and feel like the “real” thing.

Luckily for me this is one of the simplest desserts out there!

Continue reading →

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Cake & Bake makes me a cake!

9 Apr

Cake & Bake for Prete Moi ParisPaul Waters a.k.a. “Pastry Boy” of Cake & Bake invited me over to his boutique on rue Lancry in the 10th for an in depth demonstration of how to decorate a cake in fondant. Little did I know the surprise he had in store for me! He had conceptualized a cake just for Prête-Moi Paris! I was thrilled to watch the “sculpting” happen right before my very eyes, and to capture it all on video for you. In addition to being photogenic and just plain charming, Paul also has an expert hand, it meticulous when creating his masterpieces. He always made sure everything was just perfect! And of course, made it all look sooooooo easy in the process!

See what he is capable of here…and hold on to your bakers hats…this video goes fast!

Cake & Bake from Prete Moi Paris on Vimeo.

. Continue reading →

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Rochers Coco

27 Mar

My boss left a little magazine cutout with some recipes she found for me (she knows that I eat dairy free and my Chéri eats sans gluten). I was so touched that I was inspired to make one particular recipe to share with my colleagues.

Rochers Coco, has go to be the easiest recipe for the biggest taste. Bite sized coconut/vanilla sublime goodness… and my whole house smelled incredible while making them!

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Continue reading →

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Home Made Chocolat Chaud

8 Jan

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I love hot chocolate. Sadly I am unable to go out and have it in Paris, as it is always, ALWAYS made with milk. And although lactose intolerance has finally reached the shelves of the local super markets, it has not and probably will never reach the café tables and counter of the many charming Salons de thé. And that is ok, since I have a living room decorated like a vintage café, and I can make my own chocolat chaud at home! Continue reading →

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Paris Wedding Wednesday : DIY Marshmallow Pops

26 Oct

P1110852 Marshmallow pops. When I first discovered these as I browsed wedding ideas online, I was INSTANTLY seduced by the possibilities, the colors, the sprinkles, the fun! Continue reading →

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Friday en Français : Recette américaine

2 Sep

Ok, pour ce vendredi en français…je vous propose une recette, facile. Cette recette m’a été servie pendant mon enfance et adolescence très souvent, car c’est facile, rapide et on peut en faire un bol énorme (je viens d’une famille assez grande en faite). Et bon, c’est la fin de la semaine, on est fatigué, on n’a pas forcément envie de labourer dans la cuisine à faire des plats compliqués…c’est pour ça qu’on sort au restaurant souvent le week-end, non?!?

Cette recette est génial en hiver comme en été, se sert avec une bière ou un verre de vin léger, peut se manger en picnic ou à table, c’est génial pour les enfants et les grands…. Je le sers aussi à mes amis intimes parfois quand ils viennent à la maison pour une soirée cool et détendue, mais bon je ne le servirai pas à ma belle mère quand même! ;)

C’est le Taco Salad! Plat de mon enfance, que j’adore toujours. Même mon Chéri l’adore! Et à la phrase “Je fais du taco salade ce soir!” j’ai droit à un grand sourire!!!

Pour 2-4 personnes :

260g steak haché

1 oignon jaune de taille moyenne

1 c à soupe paprika

Sel et poivre

Faites revenir l’oignon jaune que vous avez émincé avec la viande haché en le remuant pour qu’elle ne garde pas de forme précises. Égouttez l’huile qui s’accumule pour éliminer un peu de la matière grasse, une fois que c’est à moitié cuit, à l’aide d’une cuillère. Rajouter le paprika et terminez la cuisson. Votre viande ne devrait pas avoir du rouge. Saler et poivrer.

2 avocats mûres

1 tête de laitue

2 tomates rondes

1 concombre (ou demi concombre cela dépende de sa taille)

4 petits oignons frais

Coupez les avocats, tomates, les oignons frais, le concombre et la laitue en morceaux.

1 boite de 200 ou 250g de maïs doux

150g de chips en maïs nature

Dans un grand saladier mettez et mélangez la salade avec les tomates et avocats, les oignons frais, le concombre et maïs. Incorporer la viande cuite, et ajouter les chips en maïs légèrement écrasés.

(Facultatif) Fromage rapé

(Facultatif) Haricots rouges en boîte

(Facultatif) Olives noire dénoyautés

Sauce salade au choix!

Déguster!!!

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Friday en Français : Se faire une beauté

3 Jun

Le concept : traduire un ancien billet et français, déjà pour pratiquer mon français à l’écrit mais aussi pour faire un geste envers mes lecteurs et lectrices francophones! N’hésitez pas à me corriger mon français.

The concept : translate an old post into French, first in order to practice my written French, but also to be a bit more welcoming to my francophone readers! Don’t hesitate to correct my French.

(Original post in English here)

Originally published May 13th 2010 / Publication originale le 13 mai 2010

Photo : southernaccents.com

Mylittleparis.com et L’Occitane ont fait équipe pour proposer aux dames de l’hexagone une petite séance de beauté gratuit pour introduire la nouvelle gamme de maquillage qui est disponible pour un temps limité. C’est à l’honneur de toutes les mères, cette gamme de maquillage est fait avec l’essence des pivoines, ces belles fleurs qui qui fleurissent tard dans le printemps ou tôt l’été, et il y en a qui sont fou pour ces fleurs. Eh bien, ces produits sortent chez L’Occitane en même temps que ces fleurs froufrous apparaissent dans le vitrines des fleuristes.

La séance maquillage était douce et rapide, avec un peu de Mine d’Or pour bronzer légèrement qui a plusieurs couleurs dans la même palette pour pouvoir s’accommoder à toutes les peaux.

Un peu de fard à paupière qui pourrait être utilisé sec ou humide, pour “ouvrir le regard”, un blush à crème qui peux doubler comme gloss pour les lèvres. Rien n’est lourd, et justement ce que l’on attend d’une compagnie qui a l’habitude de proposer des produits à base d’éléments naturels.

(Petit info supplémentaire : cette gamme de maquillage à été ressortie cette année également!)

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Saucey, sweet and easy!

24 Nov

Stewed prunes

I just made up a yummy little side dish to go along with Turkey (or duck or goose) maybe as a replacement for cranberry sauce???

Thought I would share!

1 kilo of prunes (got these from Naturalia, the organic market, they have pits in them, so beware when biting down!)

2 cups shelled walnuts (got these at Monoprix)

3 or 4 table spoons of butter, margarine or olive oil. (I use a dairy-free margarine purchased at Bio-Génération…which will soon become Les Nouveaux Robinsons…)

1/4 cup chopped onions  (from the weekly market)

3 tablespoons fresh or frozen thym (I use frozen from Picard & always have some in my freezer, it has more taste than dry thym)

1 cup fresh cranberries (got these from the Thanksgiving store in the Marais, they also sell them at the Grande Epicerie de Paris aka : le Bon Marché, in the 6th…which by the way has so many fun and delicious things for the holidays, it’s a miracle I got out of there without spending an arm and a leg. I wanted to purchase so many little charming packages of Christmas treats!)

1 table spoon brown sugar (Got this at the Thanksgiving store as well)

1 teaspoon (or more if you like) ground cinnamon. You can always add more if you feel it’s not enough.

Salt to taste.

First braise the onions and the butter/margarine/olive oil in a pot  on low heat for about 5 minutes, they should become soft nut just before they start browning, add the walnuts and stir over the heat for about 2 minutes. Then add the prunes, cranberries, thym, and brown sugar. Stir well. Let it simmer on very low heat for another 10-15 minutes. Stir again, and let simmer for another couple of minutes.

And voilà!

If you try this, let me know what you think!

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Être en fleur – to blossom

17 May


Youpi! It’s Spring!!!
Convinced by the many compliments and the empty bowl, I believe I should offer you up my wild rice salad recipe with flourish!
This salad is full of flavor, color and fun textures

Voici some measurements but I really prefer to eyeball everything… it’s like art, I don’t paint-by-numbers.

Long grain black wild rice about 1.5 cups
Short grain black rice about 2 cups
Dried cranberries about 2 cups
Graines de courge (the green squash seeds) about half a cup.
Thyme (fresh not dried) about 1 cup.
Chicken (diced)
A handful of diced onions (for the chicken) about a quarter cup.
Edible flowers (color – au choix!)
Salt (amount to taste depending on the quantity of your salad) for mine I probably used about 2-3 teaspoons, but it was a large salad.

Everything I got was organic (except the flowers, I got them from the Bon Marché, but I don’t think they were organic)

So…

I cooked the two different rices separately because of different water volumes and cook time. The long grain (1 vol. of rice for 2 vol. of water), cooked for about 45 minutes.
The short grain rice (1 vol. of rice for 2.5 vol. of water) cooked for about an hour.
I put in some fresh thyme with both rices to cook. 1/8th cup per pot. This will help get the thyme flavor in the rice.

Mix the two cooked rice grains in a large bowl and stir to let it cool a little while you take care of the rest.

The chicken should be diced in small pieces, about the size of… well a dice, and sautéed with the diced onions until cooked through, but not too dry! Don’t over cook. Add the chicken to the rice mixture.

Toss in the dried cranberries.

Take the green squash seeds and put them in a clean dry pan on low heat to roast for about 3-4 minutes. Shuffle frequently. Add to the rice mix.

Take the rest of the thyme and stir it in the mix.

Add salt to taste. I add a little, stir, taste and repeat until I think the flavor is perfect.

The flowers are to be added on top just before serving. Don’t mix them in as they will end up looking slightly like flower mush.

And voilà!

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