Oh, those sneaky cherry tomatoes! I pulled all my tomatoes (slicers, romas, cherry) along with pepper remnants and tomatillos. Laid them in boxes and have been using as I go along. Ha, I have garden tomatoes for Xmas! Grow some tomatillos if you can. They are great with tomatoes in any dish. They help fill in the gap if you are short on toms. Easy to grow and abundant.
Hi David, your lovely description of Romain's birthday beef stew has inspired me to make my first stew of the "winter" season, despite the insistently warm weather here in southern California. You probably don't want to hear it but today in mid December in San Diego it was 71 degrees...and for those of us who long to savor some hearty winter fare, after endless months of summer salads, it is a tad frustrating. Anyway, I will wait no more now...beef stew it is for me this weekend regardless!
Hello David, I have had a similar issue with bread, for some reason our multigrain sourdough is no longer being baked, and we definitely don’t have any decent bakers nearby, that bread from Polka looks amazing, I have t heard about using paper bags to ripen tomatoes, avocado yes, but I have found picking the last of the crop and the tomatoes being green, that is exactly how they stay. The Bin Maman jars are definitely a keeper, I always save most of the jars as I like to make chutneys and jam, and about to embark in making some Nectarine Chutney as the fruit is pretty good at present. That White Chocolate and Ginger icecream sounds great, I don’t have an icecream maker anymore, I did see one today when out shopping, it was a mini and cost $150, I think that would be a waste of time, if you are going to make icecream you want a goodly amount! Thank you for the extras at the end of your post, very interesting.
Yes! I share your love of repurposing jars. In 2022, I spent the summer in Italy where my husband and I ate our fair share (+ then some) of pickled peppers, onions, and tomatoes. I washed the jars they came in out in our hotel shower before departing — fun! — and use them all of the time now back home in NYC. I love that each time I pull for them, I think of our days of la dolce vita.
Great recommendations and a lively newsletter as always! I saved the VegOresto link and look forward to using it. Paris is really changing from the time many years ago when I asked a server for a plate of vegetables since I was a vegetarian. « Ahh, la pauvre … » was her sympathetic (in the Anglo sense) reply.
Happiest of holidays to you and Romain. As ever, your newsletter inspires and cheers me.
It occurs to me that none of your vacations are really vacations in the same way that they are for the rest of us—you are taking photos and notes nonstop for the delight of your readers. Thanks for that!
There is a recipe for salted caramels on your website that is password protected - is that available to paid newsletter subscribers or is it just no longer available? I haven't been able to find it through the newsletter. I will just have to make the amazing sauce instead! Thanks
I had that recipe up for a while and some people said they came out perfect. A few people said theirs were too hard, and a few others said they were too soft. (All from the same recipe!) I tried to rework it to see if there are any bugs I could work out, but it wasn't to be, so I took the recipe down.
You can access it with the password <caramels> if you want to give it a go. (If they come out too hard, or too soft, you can melt them down with some heavy cream to make salted butter caramel sauce!)
Question: I have a hard time finding leafy greens in Paris -- whether at the farmers market, the supermarket, or bio shops. When I asked the server at a restaurant where they bought the lovely "chou kale" I was eating, she told me they got all their veggies at "marchés des producteurs" that only cater to the trade. Any suggestions? Thanks.
It's a challenge to find a variety of "cooking greens" in Paris. There's often Swiss chard, including a variety that looks like bok choy, and spinach, but that's it.
Terroirs d'Avenir often has kale and long or "late" radicchio, which is very good cooked. Sometimes you can find 'cimi di rapa' there, as well as at outdoor markets from Italian or Portuguese vendors. It's similar to broccoli raab, but it more stem-y.
You can ask for beet greens if you go to an organic market where they sell beets with the leaves. Often they cut them off and toss 'em, at the request of the purchaser.
Thanks, David. There's no reason why these greens can't be grown in France so, with the continued increase of restaurants from different cultures, maybe we'll start to see them sold retail. Or perhaps our building's potager committee can be enticed to plant some...
Lovely newsletter as always (and photos! 😍) People sure do love to give advice. Maybe I’m the same way…Anyway, if all the foolproof solutions to life’s problems found on the internet worked every time, there wouldn’t be so many people still asking! Happy December! ❄️🎄
I only save Bon Mamin jars … the rest go in our recycling bin. I’ve always thought it a very astute business practice… instantly recognisable.
I’ve saved the icecream recipe to use after Christmas as I have scored an icecream machine like yours! Amazingly I scored it for $123 AU instead of $500 AU with a Black Friday price and points earned on our credit card. I’m eagerly awaiting Christmas like a kid!!!
I’ve tried ripening the last tomatoes of the season on a sunny window sill but they just go yellow and I just can’t help but always think of that wonderful film Fried Green Tomatoes when I see them.
Merry Christmas and thank you for a great year of laughs, information and recipes. 💐
If you are growing tomatoes, wait, wait, wait. Then pull them just prior to hard frost. Put them in open boxes in the kitchen and they (mostly) will ripen.
In an attempt to rid my house of excess plastic , I've been collecting Bon Maman jars for about a
year. They are a great size for left-overs ( 2 of us), eggs whites/yolks from baking recipes,, and any number of other uses. One thing I have noticed is that the price of the jam inside those jars has jumped from $4.98 to $6.98 in recent months, however, since it is, to my palate, the best commercial jam on the market, I'll continue to buy ( and use the jars).
Oh, those sneaky cherry tomatoes! I pulled all my tomatoes (slicers, romas, cherry) along with pepper remnants and tomatillos. Laid them in boxes and have been using as I go along. Ha, I have garden tomatoes for Xmas! Grow some tomatillos if you can. They are great with tomatoes in any dish. They help fill in the gap if you are short on toms. Easy to grow and abundant.
Hi David, your lovely description of Romain's birthday beef stew has inspired me to make my first stew of the "winter" season, despite the insistently warm weather here in southern California. You probably don't want to hear it but today in mid December in San Diego it was 71 degrees...and for those of us who long to savor some hearty winter fare, after endless months of summer salads, it is a tad frustrating. Anyway, I will wait no more now...beef stew it is for me this weekend regardless!
You make my day, week, month... many thanks
Hello David, I have had a similar issue with bread, for some reason our multigrain sourdough is no longer being baked, and we definitely don’t have any decent bakers nearby, that bread from Polka looks amazing, I have t heard about using paper bags to ripen tomatoes, avocado yes, but I have found picking the last of the crop and the tomatoes being green, that is exactly how they stay. The Bin Maman jars are definitely a keeper, I always save most of the jars as I like to make chutneys and jam, and about to embark in making some Nectarine Chutney as the fruit is pretty good at present. That White Chocolate and Ginger icecream sounds great, I don’t have an icecream maker anymore, I did see one today when out shopping, it was a mini and cost $150, I think that would be a waste of time, if you are going to make icecream you want a goodly amount! Thank you for the extras at the end of your post, very interesting.
I used to pull up the whole tomato plant and hang in the shed. Lo, the toms reddened!
Yes! I share your love of repurposing jars. In 2022, I spent the summer in Italy where my husband and I ate our fair share (+ then some) of pickled peppers, onions, and tomatoes. I washed the jars they came in out in our hotel shower before departing — fun! — and use them all of the time now back home in NYC. I love that each time I pull for them, I think of our days of la dolce vita.
and I was wondering why my trusty goo begone wasn’t working on my empty Trudon candle! Apparently it’s not me, it’s French glue hahaha!
In the past, Goo Gone has never failed me. But a cornichon jar proved that it wasn't always effective. So glad I have a backup when it doesn't work :)
I use paint thinner or mineral spirits. Labels gone, no glue residue.
Great recommendations and a lively newsletter as always! I saved the VegOresto link and look forward to using it. Paris is really changing from the time many years ago when I asked a server for a plate of vegetables since I was a vegetarian. « Ahh, la pauvre … » was her sympathetic (in the Anglo sense) reply.
Happiest of holidays to you and Romain. As ever, your newsletter inspires and cheers me.
It occurs to me that none of your vacations are really vacations in the same way that they are for the rest of us—you are taking photos and notes nonstop for the delight of your readers. Thanks for that!
Hoping that all is now well with you, healthwise.
This weekend really was a "vacation" and I didn't take notes or anything, just a few pictures. I put this together after I got home : )
There is a recipe for salted caramels on your website that is password protected - is that available to paid newsletter subscribers or is it just no longer available? I haven't been able to find it through the newsletter. I will just have to make the amazing sauce instead! Thanks
I had that recipe up for a while and some people said they came out perfect. A few people said theirs were too hard, and a few others said they were too soft. (All from the same recipe!) I tried to rework it to see if there are any bugs I could work out, but it wasn't to be, so I took the recipe down.
You can access it with the password <caramels> if you want to give it a go. (If they come out too hard, or too soft, you can melt them down with some heavy cream to make salted butter caramel sauce!)
Thanks so much!
Question: I have a hard time finding leafy greens in Paris -- whether at the farmers market, the supermarket, or bio shops. When I asked the server at a restaurant where they bought the lovely "chou kale" I was eating, she told me they got all their veggies at "marchés des producteurs" that only cater to the trade. Any suggestions? Thanks.
It's a challenge to find a variety of "cooking greens" in Paris. There's often Swiss chard, including a variety that looks like bok choy, and spinach, but that's it.
Terroirs d'Avenir often has kale and long or "late" radicchio, which is very good cooked. Sometimes you can find 'cimi di rapa' there, as well as at outdoor markets from Italian or Portuguese vendors. It's similar to broccoli raab, but it more stem-y.
You can ask for beet greens if you go to an organic market where they sell beets with the leaves. Often they cut them off and toss 'em, at the request of the purchaser.
Thanks, David. There's no reason why these greens can't be grown in France so, with the continued increase of restaurants from different cultures, maybe we'll start to see them sold retail. Or perhaps our building's potager committee can be enticed to plant some...
Lovely newsletter as always (and photos! 😍) People sure do love to give advice. Maybe I’m the same way…Anyway, if all the foolproof solutions to life’s problems found on the internet worked every time, there wouldn’t be so many people still asking! Happy December! ❄️🎄
Am I the only one who noticed you spelled Bonne Maman wrong?😁 I love reading your newsletter and posts, they are always so fun and interesting!
Thank you for sharing apps and websites that can help us find places to shop and/or eat!
I love the name of the Japanese grocery. It translates as “welcome.”
I only save Bon Mamin jars … the rest go in our recycling bin. I’ve always thought it a very astute business practice… instantly recognisable.
I’ve saved the icecream recipe to use after Christmas as I have scored an icecream machine like yours! Amazingly I scored it for $123 AU instead of $500 AU with a Black Friday price and points earned on our credit card. I’m eagerly awaiting Christmas like a kid!!!
I’ve tried ripening the last tomatoes of the season on a sunny window sill but they just go yellow and I just can’t help but always think of that wonderful film Fried Green Tomatoes when I see them.
Merry Christmas and thank you for a great year of laughs, information and recipes. 💐
If you are growing tomatoes, wait, wait, wait. Then pull them just prior to hard frost. Put them in open boxes in the kitchen and they (mostly) will ripen.
In an attempt to rid my house of excess plastic , I've been collecting Bon Maman jars for about a
year. They are a great size for left-overs ( 2 of us), eggs whites/yolks from baking recipes,, and any number of other uses. One thing I have noticed is that the price of the jam inside those jars has jumped from $4.98 to $6.98 in recent months, however, since it is, to my palate, the best commercial jam on the market, I'll continue to buy ( and use the jars).
What a great idea. Thank you. They would stack easily in the fridge too and save space!!