Back in the saddle.

I know it has been a long time since I have posted recipes and other helpful information.
Traveling does that to me. I had a delightful time in Paris, came home, got sick and am finally getting back to my normal routine.

I was very happy during my brief illness that I had frozen batches of soup. I had green soup and Hippocrates soup , they were both nourishing and easy.

I love to make meals that dovetail into each other and I love to have lots of food that is quick and easy to eat in my fridge. If I can find a couple of hours free, I will cook up mutiple things for use later in the week.

This week I made Laurie's potatoes as part of one dinner. I used the leftovers chopped into a quiche.

I made my Asian slaw to go with the quiche and now we have been adding it to our lunch menu. It's such a good salad for lasting through the week or taking in a packed lunch.
So is my massage kale salad. And the leftover quiche makes a great quick breakfast or lunch.

 I made polenta and a tomato sauce from my roasted tomatoes from the freezer. That made one dinner plus a lunch and I still have enough sauce to do it again this week ( good intentions to get this post done and all...). Tomato sauce only gets better as it sits, at least for a week or so.

I made up a big green salad to go with the polenta, because I dress just what is on my plate, that lasts for several days as well.

My soup for last week, which I am still eating for lunch this week, was a corn and potato chowder. I used parsnips and cauliflower for the creaminess and bacon for flavor. It turned out great, you can't tell that it is dairy free. Of course, I forgot to take photos or write down proportions, still getting back into the swing of things...I will post about it soon. When I make soup I like to make at least a half gallon. That gives me enough for at least two dinners and maybe a lunch or two. I vary the side dishes and sometimes make my millet muffins to go with, for a real treat.

On Sunday I roasted a chicken with my curry spices and baked a large hubbard squash. I have leftover chicken which Bob will enjoy for lunch or we can use as part of another dinner.
I plan to puree some of the squash to serve as a side dish and maybe make into some kind of dessert or I may just freeze it.

So that's what I have been up to lately...as well as making baklava. I promise to post that soon too.

Last Day in Paris...

We had one more "must see" on our list of Paris sights: the catacombs. I had never been to the ones in Paris only the ones in Rome. This time we got there before they opened to get in line, which worked well, we were in the first group to descend. It's not an adventure for the claustrophobic. We walked quite aways down long, dark stone tunnels to several chambers of very informative displays about the geology of Paris...

and the creation of these catacombs.

 

It was surprising how many bones are down there. They were brought here from cemeteries all over Paris and were often arranged in patterns.

The rest of our day was only vaguely planned with some souvenir shopping, wandering and more good food.
Our tea time stop was at this charming little spot.

 We picked it for it's views of our beloved Notre Dame.

We were pleasantly surprised by its tasty cream puffs in a dozen flavors.

We sampled  green tea, lemon and berry flavored , they were all delicious.

It was a gorgeous day so we ambled long the Seine, soaking up Paris.

Lunch was a request from Bob: sushi ! I know this doesn't sound very French but when the craving hits...

Great miso soup and cabbage salad to start.

My nigiri choices.

Bob's sushi sashimi combo.

Genna's chirashi bowl.

We left this place very happy and sated.

Notre Dame photo-bombed us as we wandered across both islands.

Genna loved these public water fountains, they are everywhere.

We stumbled upon an open air market on our way home.

We spent some of our last euros on cheese from this woman's stand. She was a good sale-person, offering us tastes of anything we liked. We ended up with three different cheeses for our dinner.

 Bob loved the gigantic size cast iron skillet full of roasting potatoes.

The random thing you see on buildings as you walk the Paris streets...



















To end our ramble we all wanted time in our Luxembourg gardens. It's amazing how much the trees have leafed and the flowers have bloomed just in the two weeks we have been here. I know I mentioned it earlier.

Watching the people play boules before returning to our flat had become a ritual. We were so pleased to see our favorite colorful character there. He was dressed in another stunning outfit, knickers, knee socks, vest, a deer stalker cap and his pipe. We found out his name is Alain and could he play boules !!

Dinner was low key as we had to pack, were dead tired ( we figured we walked 6 to 8 miles at least each day) and knew the alarm was set for 5:30 AM the next day.

I did get this lovely little tart for dessert.

What a wonderful trip !! We saw and did new things, revisited old favorites. Spent lots of time walking and wandering and eating. Just what we all wanted.

I have one more Paris post of random thoughts after the dust has settle here on the home front.

 For now: Au revoir, Paris, je t'aime.

Paris Day 14: Notre Dame

We are already starting to feel nostalgic about Paris, only two more days before we depart.
We so love our flat with it's funny curves and polished banisters.

We love the walk through the gardens, we have seen the trees and flowers bloom just in the two weeks we have been here.

We love seeing Notre Dame in all her glory as we come and go on our adventures.

Today we went inside the imposing church to pay our respects and enjoy her treasures.

Jesus flower ??

St. Genevieve

Is he climbing in or out ??

 

 

 

 

 

 

Notice St. Denis, third from the left, he is carrying his own head.

I never get tried of this view.

After our leisurely stroll through Notre Dame we stopped at a nearby cafe for lunch. It was bustling with both locals and tourists.

Bob and Genna had Croque Madame, which they both enjoyed.

I prefer my ham and cheese sandwich without the egg, which makes it the traditional Croque Monsieur.

Fortified with lunch and great espresso for Bob and Genna, we split off in different directions.
Bob went directly to the Carnevalet Museum, a free museum about the history of Paris.

Genna and I did some souvenir shopping, which is why Bob went off to the museum. He would rather have dental work than shop for anything really.

Our shopping done we headed over to the museum in hopes of finding him.

On the way we did see this very cool old building.

Unfortunately a lot of the museum was closed for renovation and lack of staff.
I did enjoy the paintings.

 

And this Art Nouveau room.

After some searching we realized Bob had probably finished with the smaller collections on view and had headed back to the flat. We did the same at a slow relaxed pace, trying soak up as much Parisiana as we could.

 We planned to have our dinner the second to the last night at the same restaurant, Le Timbre. We were so impressed with the food and chef, we were hoping for another great dinner and we were not disappointed. Sorry to bore you with all these food photos ;-)

I had the white asparagus soup.

Genna had the most tender calamari with chorizo.

Bob was brave to try the "tete de veau", a cow's head fried crispy.

I had this roasted pollack with leeks.

Genna had the quail.

Bob had pork sausage with lentils.

I had the coronet with jasmine cream and bittersweet chocolate.

Bob's chocolate quenelles were much better than this photo.

Genna had the house version of a mille feuille or Napoleon.

 We love this tiny restaurant with it's packed in tables and exquisite food !!

Paris Day 13: Animals, Plants and Bones, oh my !!

We do so enjoy our walks through the Luxembourg Gardens as we head out for our daily adventures. The trees have leafed out and are now blooming just in the time we have been here.

Today was all about plants, animals and insects. We spent the day at the Jardin des Plantes
and two of it's museums.

In the morning we ambled through all the various gardens.

The bulbs were in full bloom, Genna and I enjoyed the colors and variations of the French gardeners. The air was thick with flower fragrance.

 

 Walking outdoors with my two scientists is always entertaining, they must have spent 20 minutes or more photographing different insects "in situ". Here is a bee fly that drew their attention.

Speaking of bees, Bob was enthralled with this "Bee Hotel" for native bees in the small ecology garden. I imagine a similar structure will appear in our yard soon.

Spring was in the air and the wind was helping these huge Japanese cherry trees to rain down petals.

We had been hearing wild parakeet sounds and finally witnessed this mother feeding her baby. Turns out they are rose ringed parakeets.

Our outdoor adventures took up the whole morning, we found sandwiches near the park, ate them in the park and then began our two museum afternoon.

 

This is the sight that greets you when you enter the museum of comparative paleontology. I know this wouldn't be on everyone's list of Paris top ten sites but for us it was.

Genna doing her imitation of baleen.

Looking down from the second floor.

Fossilized bones.

 

My two biologists were in heaven. Our time limit was blown and I was secretly pleased when I discovered that the geology museum was closed for repair. The large natural history museum was our next destination, also called the Grand Gallery of Evolution.

This four story museum was beautifully laid out, the dark lighting gives a great feel and helps preserve the specimens. Genna's BS is in Evolution, Ecology and Biodiversity, another level of heaven for her here.

 Bob and I enjoyed the museum as well. The bittersweet highlight for me was seeing the Tasmania Tiger in the extinct and endangered species room.

 

By 5:30 we were finally full of science and went searching for dinner options. We found this cute street: Rue De Pot au Fer, which translates to "street of the iron pot".

Notice how clear and dry the street is in this photo. About half way through our meal the Paris weather put on a spectacular show. The clouds thickened, we had lightning, thunder, rain AND hail all in less than an hour. Our friendly hosts rolled the awning out to protect us and we had ringside seats !!

Here's what our "prix fixe" menus offered us.

Warm goat cheese salad.

Snails, what a great excuse for garlic !!

The grilled mackerel made Bob very happy.

My fish soup was rich and deep in flavor.

Genna wanted to go with the traditional beef bourguignon.

Chocolate mousse.

Classic creme caramel

We were all very happy with our choices, the location and the friendly service. 

Sunset on the walk home.