(En Français plus bas) There I was, trying to find pictures of turkeys to illustrate today’s post, when I stumbled upon shots of one of the most fascinating birds I had ever laid eyes upon: the Vulturine Guinea fowl. I fell in love with their shape, their feathers, their pissed-off look…So today, I’m afraid you’ll…
Keep on Warnocking!
I wanted to send you all my very best wishes for 2014 but couldn’t find anything interesting to write except the usual good health, love and success banalities… Then yesterday, when I was about to throw in the towel and make a stupid list of all my favorite recipes of 2013, I received this incredible…
To Anna with love – A ma grand mère Anna
I think I had already mentioned it, but my family on my mother’s side came from Northern Italy. My grand mother Anna was a true Italian mama, and she left us with a number of wonderful original recipes. I wouldn’t dare assume that it comes from that one side of my family, but I’ll let…
Fast, easy and delicious option for tomorrow evening – Une option rapide, facile et délicieuse pour demain soir
(En Français plus bas) No bla bla today: Get small raw shrimps (live if possible) Dump them in a dry pan and wait for them to turn pink (about 30 seconds). If you are using live shrimp, make sure you put the lid on the pan right away or you’ll end up with shrimp jumping…
Straight from the Farmers’ Market – Purée de potiron
(En Français plus bas) I went to the Farmers’ Market as I always do on Sunday (and Tuesday, and Friday and Saturday and…). I found beautiful organic Brussels sprouts and bought a slice of pumpkin… The sprouts were uneven in size and their leaves had a few spots on them. That was the guaranty of…
Where there’s love… – Là où il y a de l’amour…
(En Français plus bas) I was just telling my friend Elizabeth (do check out her great art work here) what a hard time I was having writing this post about our Christmas here in Bordeaux. It’s just that there were so many pictures to sort through; I just didn’t know where to start… So I’ll…
A challenge for the REAL foodies out there
The idea came to me last evening as I was preparing dinner. All I had left in the pantry were really good potatoes from the Farmer’s Market. So I made French fries and ate them with just a bit of salt. I could not remember when I had enjoyed just plain French fries for the…
More deco ideas for Christmas – Encore des idées déco pour Noël
I’m still doing some research for Christmas. Boy do I love Pinterest! I am definitely making the family photo lanterns for the table and the little houses to plug into the coffee cups! I am also thinking of a bird cage with paper angels in it… Does anyone have a great recipe for cookies. I…
Dominique’s secret recipe for lentil & salmon salad
(En Français plus bas) I did not know this, but the only lentils produced in France apparently come from the center of the country: the Auvergne region. I love that part of France. I regularly drove through it when I was attending college in Lyon. The highway between Bordeaux and Clermont Ferrand did not exist…
The Cinderella meets Marie Antoinette Soup – Quand Cendrillon rencontre Marie Antoinette
(In English below) Il ne s’agit pas ici de réinventer la poudre, et certainement pas la recette de la soupe au potiron. Soupe de nos Grand Mères par excellence, il y en a des dizaines de recettes. Voici la mienne: Faites revenir 1 oignon et 200g de lardons fumés dans une cocotte Pelez et coupez…
Secret research for the best Christmas ever – A la recherche du Noël parfait
(En Français plus bas) My search for the perfect Christmas did not really need to take place since, for me, all that’s needed for Christmas to be perfect is to have my family around me… However this year, I am the one hosting the event and I want everything to be perfect. We will be…
A delicious crime. Or how my day was saved by a 2 year old foodie – Un crime délicieux
(En Français plus bas) So here is what happened: I was having one of those really bad days. Feeling blue, really grey sky outside… truly one of those days when you feel utterly alone and have to hold your tears in. Around 10am, I went to the supermarket to buy some chocolate (my drug of…
French Soul Food for the Fall – Nourriture pour l’âme
(En Français plus bas) I call this French Soul Food, but only because I use what we call “Paris” mushrooms (Agaricus Bisporus) and white wine from “The Graves” region in this recipe. Mushroom soup and/or cream of mushroom, in its many forms, is considered soul food in just about any culture… This specific recipe for mushroom soup…
Per Doctor’s orders: a heavy dose of light and beauty – Ordres du médecin: lumière et beauté à haute dose
(En Français plus bas) When we were young, my parents would take my cousin Bruno and I skiing in the Alps every year in February. One year, as we were on our way to the mountains, I fainted outside a hotel we were staying at. The doctor came and said that my blood sugar was…
Your French Heaven is here!
My dear friends, I need your expertise! If you have been following My French Heaven, you know that what I enjoy most in life, what makes me come most alive, is sharing my love for France, our culture, our way of life, our culinary traditions… While I have been doing this on the blog –…
My secret recipe for the French country kitchen fragrance – Le parfum
(En Français plus bas – Bien plus bas) After my sight, my sense of smell is the one that moves me the most. We all have our favorite smells and fragrances. They trigger memories of childhood or other significant periods of our lives. Just a sniff over mom’s Bourguignon can make me feel good and…
Saint-emilion, your insider look into the 2013 harvest – Vendanges 2013
(En Français plus bas) Here in St Emilion, the rhythm of our lives follows the growth cycles of the vineyard. Harvest time is the result of long hours of meticulous work and much prayer. The harvest in St Emilion is all done by hand. The workers move from plot to plot according to the degree…
The most perfect rack of lamb – Le plus merveilleux des carrés d’agneau
(In English below) Je m’excuse de ne rien avoir écrit au cours des deux semaines passées. Je suis pour toujours victime de mon perfectionnisme… Je m’aperçoit en relisant mes vieux “articles”, que je qualifie souvent mes recettes de simples. Je dois donc être le plus fainéant des “cuisiniers” car voici la plus “simple” des recettes…
MY FRENCH HEAVEN 