Beautiful food doesn’t require mastery, only a respect of the ingredients and unconditional trust
Category: My Food Stories
Have a Spicy New Year!
It seems that when it’s cold out and everyone you know has gone down with the mandatory Holiday flu, there is but one food item that makes you feel all better! What better remedy than crispy, spicy & deliciously salty chickpeas? They take 2 minutes to prep, approximately 10 minutes under the grill to roast. They…
Tartine & leftovers..
We went ice-skating with friends today. Or rather, the kids went falling on the ice while the fathers prevented them from breaking their necks every ten seconds. True to myself, I was indoors sipping coffee and trying to win the “who is laziest” contest with the other mom.. (I’m pretty sure I won). Eventually, when we…
White Truffle oil infusion & Confession
I’ll admit it, I’m what you might call a “Food Snob”. I may pretend that I’m content with the simpler taste of life… but in my mind I’m drizzling it with a generous amount of White truffle infused olive oil. And by “it” I’m referring to pretty much anything savory you might be thinking of right now….
Sunny Lemon Chicken Tagine
Though I was born & raised in the North of France, my family originally comes from warmer climates. For this reason, the flavors of my childhood are multiple and diverse and do not stop at the national border of my native country. On Sundays, it was not unusual to enjoy the French classic of “Poulet…
Ode to a spud
One of the things that grows almost despite of you in Finland are root vegetables. They are generous, inexpensive and deliciously versatile. Yet who ever thinks twice about them? “What a wonderful boiled potato” said none ever! I find it such a shame to witness the jaded nonchalance they are submitted to. Like an overly reliable companion who…
Kalasatama, mon amour
In Helsinki there is a secret place. It’s a place where the sea surrounds you, the wind taste salty and the city’s luminescent heartbeat pulses with a decadent tranquility. Making Giant soap bubbles… just because I’m a city child, I’ve always been. I need the proof of life that comes from the movement and agitation of…
RuokkapiiWhat? Urban Farming under the Finnish “Sun”
I miss summer so much! Browsing through my pictures i keep going over the gorgeous vegetables that we got all summer long. Every second week, a big bunch of organic, locally grown vegetables, herbs would make their entrance in our home. It was our first year as members of the Herttoniemi Ruokkapiiri, and I’m so glad…
Flour Power!
Once you figured out a good challah bread recipe, there is no going back. It took me a few years, many horrifyingly failed, stone-hard attempts in order to find the one I’m proud to call “mine” If you google “challah bread” you’ll probably get hit with 100’s of recipes. (to explain Challah i actually think that…
Chocolate Vanilla Guerilla
It was a cold, rainy and windy afternoon, after I picked the kids up from daycare, it felt like nothing could warm us up, but suddenly here it was! “Let’s bake Mom!” The anxiety quickly filled my brain, no ingredient , have to shop… and the mess… plus which one would it be ? Chocolate Vs. Vanilla ?? The…
a lazy French loaf
Have you ever noticed this strange thing about bread? I have.. 3 Cups of Flour, 1 teaspoon of salt, 1/2 Teaspoon of dry yeast ( or a 1/3rd of fresh yeast cube) , 1.5 Cups of water and time (12 hours of it at least) … mix all the ingredients roughly with a fork and…
Chocolate Chips – to be or not to be?
This moment when you plan to make cookies and realize you don’t have chocolate chips… is actually my favorite one. It gives me the opportunity to crack open a tablet of dark 80% chocolate, and observe the random event of slivers of strong, rich intensity forming under the knife. I enjoy their unevenness and anarchist…
Sunny Squash for slushy sunday
Oven roasted Hokkaido Squash, with garlic, red onion, rosemary & oregano. Drizzle of Olive Oil, Salt & pepper. 30-40 minutes under grill. It’s a cold evening in Helsinki. I’m hungry and i don’t feel like fancy cooking. In the fridge there is a Camembert that is making its presence…
Hungry in Helsinki 