Spring market

Some might find me a bit old fashioned, but yes, I like going to the market on the sunday morning. Sunday morning exists! But I recognize I'm never there early... and sometimes it makes things more difficult since my favorite vegetable producer might have sold out something I need...

So back to last week-end. As usual I was wandering along the market when I stopped at my usual fruit place. While I was choosing avocado and grapefruit, I saw nice baskets of strawberries and some asparagus... and I couldn't resist!

Back at home, I was wondering what to do with my asparagus when I remember a very good meal prepared by J. I didn't had the recipe but I decided to prepare my own chicken with asparagus.


Chicken & Asparagus (for 2)

- tagliatells (I used spagetti, but believe me tagliatel are better)
- 200g chicken breast
- 10-15 asparagus
- 2 tablespoon cream
- salt & pepper


Wash asparus and cut the bottom end. Cut them in 3 (so you have 2-3cm long sticks). Place in a microwave cooker with a little water (I used 1 tablespoon water). And cook it in the microwave for 3-5min. Keep it in microwave so it remains warm.

Cut the chicken in "1 bite" pieces. I prefer it grilled, so I cooked it in a pan without oil or butter until it takes a nice golden-brown color.

Cook the pasta (hope you know how to do!)

When pasta are cooked, placechicken and asparagus in a saucepan to warm them a bit, add the cream, salt and pepper. Add pasta and mix everything.

Serve!

Unfortunately I had no wine to drink with... but I'm pretty sure the nice muscadet we tasted during our "foody week-end" (see Lil's Blog for a description) might have been great !

As a dessert I had strawberries dipped in cream... but that's another story...

Ode to my microwave

Cooking without an oven is challenging... cooking without decent stove is too... so I become addicted to my microwave.
Sure I miss cakes, especially the chocolatey ones, and I cannot bake tarts, quiches or pies, but I can cook healthy things like vegetables...

Yesterday evening was one of those evening when you want to eat something good but are to lazzy to prepare something elaborated (yes it happens quite often to me!). In my fridge was a piece of fish (lieu noir) I was to late to prepare on the morning. I decided it should become a frill...yes I can do it without an oven thanks to my suister who offered me a silicon cooker that allows me to bake such things in the microwave!

Lieu noir en papillotte (per person)

- 1 fillet of fish
- 1 small zuchinni
- 2 tomatoes
- 2 teaspoons of mustard
- salt, pepper
- herbs you like
- olive oil

Slice the zucchini and tomatoes (remove the tomato water)
Spread the mustard on both sides of the fillet.

In microwave, cook the vegetables for 2 min (max power) then add the fish (+ herbs) for 3 minutes. Remove the water and cook again for 2 minutes.

Add salt add pepper and a drop of olive oil... serve!

1st salad (of the summer)

Yesterday was a warm spring day in Paris : over 24°C in the afternoon. I went to the market for some vegetables and decided to prepare them in a salad. I had tomatoes, radish, zuchinis...
Based on a pasta recipe I tried last week for my birthday picnic, and with the ingredient I made my first salad of the summer (I know it's not summer right now, but as I've been sunbathing in the park and eating icecreams, let's pretend it is).

1st Salad (for 1):
- 1 tomato
- 1 small zucchini
- 1 small white onion
- 5-10 radishes (depending on their size)
- some feta
- some chicken (I took leftover of grilled chicken)
- cumin and curcuma
- cream
- balsamic vinegar

- Grate the zucchini, slice tomato, radich, feta and chicken, chop the onion.
- Stire cream, spices and vinegar
-Mixe all ingredients together

The recipe I will not write

Last week-end was the first really nice week-end of the spring (sunny, 24°C) and so it was perfect for a picnic. As it was also a way to celebrate my birthday for the second time, I decided I should prepare a birthday cake.
My mother used to bake it every year for my birthday so it became my official birthday cake... As I still have no oven (and no place to have one!) , Emilie was kind enough to lend me hers. It was the first time I was preparing it by myself and it turned out to be really good! (I don't have a picture because it was eaten to quickly!)

Unfortunately, I'm not ready to post the recipe on the interweb right now...
This recipe came from my grandmother (father's side) and my mother only got it by watching her preparing it...
So you will have to wait some time or become a spy and watch me next year when I will bake it again for my birthday!

;-)

Lazy dinner

Yesterday I came back home at reasonable time but seing the dishes waiting to be cleaned I decided I would do that later and I postponed as well preparing the dinner to start reading.
When my stomach decided it would be time to eat, it was 9:30, the dishes were still waiting to be washed and I wasn't in mood to cook something.
After a quick inventory of the fridge I choose to prépare something quick, and it turn out to be a kind of mussels and zucchinis soup.

Mussel and zucchini soup (for 1)

- 1 small zucchini
- frozen mussels
- 1 tablespoon of cream
- 1 teaspoon curcuma + salt

Palce the frozen mussels in a cup.
Cut the zucchini in small pieces and add to the mussels
Put in the microwave for 2 minutes.
Add the cream and curcuma, and put in back in microwave for 2minutes.

It's ready!

NB: as mussels were frozen they realized some water when defrasted and that was enough liquid to make it look like a soup...

Une fois n'est pas coutume...

Today post will be in french...because the original idea for recipe I will describe comes from Mike's blog: the strawberry white chocolate mousse.

Donc en français pour la suite!

Devant préparer quelque chose pour un fête de départ, et n'ayant toujours pas de four (ni la place d'en avoir un), j'avais dans l'idée de commencer à expérimenter les recettes de ma liste "à essayer".
Ayant vu des fraises sur le marché le week-end dernier, j'ai choisi de préparer la mousse de fraise au chocolat blanc que j'avais vue sur le blog de Mike.
Evidemment, une fois au supermarché, les fraises avaient une sale tête... donc après moultes hésitations et des détours pas tous les rayons du monop', j'ai décidé de remplacer les fraises par des framboises.
J'avais de grands projets pour cette mousse, une idée précise du dressage etc malheureusement le manque de temps et d'espace m'a fait renoncer à appliquer mon plan jusqu'au bout.
Le résultat est donc moins joli que prévu, mais c'est bon!

Attention pour ceux qui compareront les 2 versions, j'ai changé pas mal de choses, nottament les proportions de sucre et de beurre.

EDIT :
J'ai écrit la recette avant de l'avoir goutée... à mon avis, on doit pouvoir supprimer le beurre et réduire encore la crême voir la suppirmer pour que ce soit plus léger.

Mousse de framboises au chocolat blanc

- 4 oeufs
- 200g de chocolat blanc
- 2 cuillères à soupe de sucre glace
- 3 cuillères à soupe de crême fraiche
- 50g de beurre doux (oui je sais, quelle horreur...)
- environ 450g de framboises (j'ai triché j'ai pris 1 barquette de framboises fraiches et le reste en surgelé ...chut...)
- du jus de citron

+ de l'huile de coude et du temps (environ 1h30- car j'ai fait la chantilly à la main)

-Faire fondre le beurre et le chocolat au bain marie. Quand c'est fondu, le laisser refroidir doucement.
-Pendant ce temps, faire la purée de framboise : 3/4 des fruits dans le mixeur, et on ajoute le jus de citron à la fin pour la conservation et une cuillère à soupe de sucre glace pour le gout. Passer la purée au tamis pour retirer les grains (ça aussi ça prend du temps).
-Monter la crême en chantilly : on commence doucement puis on accèlere, et on ajoute 1 cuillère à soupe de sucre glace.
- Séparer les blancs des jaunes. Battre les blancs en neige ferme.
- Ajouter les jaunes 1 à 1 dans le chocolat fondu.

c'est là qu'intervient le téléphone... Donc je vous raconte comment j'ai fait (tout en ayant le téléphone sur l'oreille, tenu par l'épaule.. vous visualisez?):

-Mélanger la purée au chocolat (j'an ai gardé un peu pour la déco). ajouter ensuite la chantilly en remuant doucement pour ne pas la faire retomber. Ajouter les framboises entières en en gardants quelques-unes pour la déco.
- Ajouter les blancs en neige petit à petit pour ne pas les faire retomber.
- Mettre au fais pendant 2h au moins
- Décorer avec la purée et les framboises fraiches.

Rooibos chicken

It was cold and cloudy yesterday in Paris... so I decided to stay home and tidy/clean the flat. I started with the shelves, cleaning and throwing some useless things like draft of the 1st year master thesis or old articles I would never read anymore. Then I came to the cooking books... and I had to put things in order there too... So I sat on the couch and start reading recipes I never tried. When I discovered the "Red thea chicken" I decided I would cook it ... and surprisingly i had all the ingredients!

Rooibos chicken
You need (per person)
- chicken (chicken breast)
- half a teaspoon of rooibos
-1 teaspoon of lemon juice
-1 spoon of vermouth

Cut the chicken in cubes and brown them in a pan.
Add the rooibos + salt and pepper.
Cook for 10 minutes (often turn the chicken).
Remove the chicken from the pan and add the vermouth, let reduce and add the chicken again for 2 minutes.
Serve!

easy isn't it? I served it with young carrots and oignon.
As I was in a cooking mood I prepared a fast crumble: I made the sweet apple sauce I described before, and add a mashed biscuit ("roudor") at the top... yummy!