Last week every time I opened the fridge I was greeted with a huge variety of berries and stone fruit. Packed in various boxes I had everything from blueberries to gooseberries, from nectarines to mirabelles. It was a delight for me to say the least.
It made a lasting impression and it deeply fulfilled my soul. Madame Maillard brought it out in a cast iron pan not much larger than a dessert plate. The sides were puffed up like a soufflé and browned on the edges, and the juices of the fruit left a blood-red trail within the ridges. Peeling off some waxed paper from a small ceramic bowl she pulled out of the fridge and to my delight, she formed the perfect quenelle of Crème Fraiche and carefully placed it on top of my very first cherry clafoutis.
I am still encased in the wonderful bliss of Norway. Although my body seems to be back in Weimar, I seem to have left my mind, spirit and most importantly, my heart in Norway.
Look for plump, fairly firm fruit with an orange-yellow to orange color at the stores or Farmers Markets. Fully ripe fruit is soft to the touch, juicy and should be eaten as soon as possible. If they are too firm they have not been tree-ripened, and tree-ripened fruits always taste best.
Get your recipes cooking for the latest mingle!
Can someone press pause, please? I mean on this thing called time! It seems to be stuck in fast forward all the time and I see the days zooming past me at a million miles an hour. In case you had not realized it’s already the second week of November.
To me it never really feels like summer until cherries arrive in the markets. Cherries announce the beginning of the stone-fruit season and for me this kicks-off my favorite fruit season of the year. For a short time cherries are the stars before apricots, peaches and plums arrive and take over front row.
In need of some comfort and warmth. As the temperatures drop I am craving an inner warmth and a soothing comfort. They say it’s going to snow this week. I am frantically rubbing the sparkly rhinestone sandals I bought in Dubai hoping that we’ll have a miraculous burst of summer. Damn the snow!
Summer break has come and gone already. It was not long ago we were eagerly counting down the days to spending two relaxing weeks in Gozo. Excited with anticipation of discovering a new country and just happy to know that the three of us would be together for the entire two weeks. I admit there was anxiety too. Anxiety knowing that the three of us sounds just right in theory but practically we were out of practice being together for such a long period.
Summer is full on here in Weimar. We’ve got temperatures hitting close to 40 degrees C and the weather is like on a tropical island. It feels good – almost like an extended vacation overseas. Ever since our return from India 3 weeks ago we are taking things easy. Soeren still is out from school and that alone slows down our routine immensely, with no time pressure for homework, sport runs, meal plans or bed time. It’s summer time and the living is really easy!
What I love about living in a city like Weimar is the culturally rich secrets hidden away, tucked behind hills, around corners, behind the park or just across the street. Even after living here for 9 years I still find jewels that surprise me with their beauty and uniqueness. They are treasures that have transcended the limits of time and survived centuries of eras and seasons.
When Sandy and I visited the Landgut Holzdorf, just a few kilometers outside of Weimar I was left speechless on many levels.
Many relationships are forged and strengthen over meals or social events. Emotions evoked and lasting impressions are made when people come together at the table to share a meal. As a daughter of an hotelier our family moved often from country to country, always leaving behind friends and a community that had taken us in. It was never easy and yet I watched my parents form new friendships and build a social environment in each new city with ease.
We pulled up on to the gravel path of the deserted gas station and as I stepped out of the car, stretching after the long ride, the pebbles crunched under my shoes. It was dark. The only light coming from an old, dusty lamp above illuminated a shanty looking shed with a bedraggled sign above it. The moth bouncing off the lamp, wings fluttering in haste, caught my attention for a minute.
If Eve had used a tomato instead of an apple, maybe the story of Adam and Eve would have been different. After all tomatoes are often called “love apples” and were thought to have aphrodisiac powers.The French therefore named it quite appropriately, pomme d’amour.
She was a proud buxom lady who commanded a very special aura of respect whenever she entered the oversized kitchen. It was the kind of respect you knew never to mess with because behind her kind smiles and her liberal patience there was her haughty dignity of being one of the best in her field. Anyone who dared to disregard this fact by challenging her significance, would become the subject of being abundantly praised out of her kitchen and into one of her inferior colleagues’ less meaningful sculleries. Before they even realized the poor exchange they had made, it was far too late to make any amends and many a wretched trainee ended up biting in the sour apple.
This month the Monthly Mingle is being hosted, for the first time since it's creation, away from home. I am quite proud to announce the first ever guest hostess for the Monthly Mingle: Abby of Eat The Right Stuff. She is my lovely colleague over at the Daily Tiffin and anyone who visits her blog will know that she keeps it fit and healthy. So it's no wonder the theme she chose fits her style. It also fits our time of year (at least for those leaving in the Northern Hemisphere) - Spring Fruit Sensations. I'll allow Abby to introduce the theme
one of the things i love about blogging is the inspiration it provides me with. however, inspiration is only half the story. taking that exciting spark of an idea and turning it into something on the plate in front of me, is the real challenge.
and this is where blogging events come in – a challenge is issued and then its time to start thinking what to cook so you can participate. and even if the timing doesn’t quite work, or the idea you’re working on wasn’t quite as delicious as you’d hoped, then it’s great to see what everyone else managed to come up with.
meeta’s monthly mingles are always fabulous for inspiration and i am delighted to be hosting the next monthly mingle on her behalf. the theme is spring fruit sensations and you need to get involved. whatever fruit is in season where you live and whatever you fancy doing with it, be it sweet or savoury, i want to know about it!
Here’s how it works:
Once you’ve posted your dish, send an email with “spring fruit sensations” in the subject line to: abby (at) eattherightstuff (dot) com by 7 April with the following information:
To keep a track of the Monthly Mingle each month please refer to the Monthly Mingle Guest Host Calendar.
NOTE: The MM Calendar for 2008 is now full. I am now accepting guest hosts for 2009, so if you are interested send your emails to blogmeeta@gmail.com. January and February 2009 are already booked!
You'll find some great fruit sensation ideas here:
Now let’s get cooking!
All photographs and written content on What's For Lunch, Honey? © 2006-2008 Meeta Khurana unless otherwise indicated. | All rights reserved | Please Ask First
I know this roundup has taken a while to get posted. Golly we’re already looking forward to the next roundup. I’ve been pushing it back and finally I can present you with 74 grand Brunch creations from across the blog world.
When people find out or realize that food is not only my hobby but also work – that I blog about food, shoot and style food and obviously cook with a lot of food – they are often curious about the kind of cuisine I cook at home. Probably expecting me to define myself to one specific cuisine – probably Indian. They are often fascinated when I tell them that I truly enjoy blending ingredients to give a variety of different flavors in combinations that come together often as an idea or experiment.
What I love about fresh fruit and vegetables is the lush palette of rich colors they come in. It's like a gorgeous kaleidoscope, each twist creating a gleaming new pattern and each pattern illuminates the gloomy in a whole new and exciting way.
I have always been a sucker for colors and in my younger years could spend hours twisting, turning and shifting a kaleidoscope, finding perfect satisfaction in the multitude of patterns. Today, although I could still sit for hours twisting Soeren's kaleidoscope, I get my fix for colors at the Farmer's Markets. Seeing the colorful fruit, vegetables, breads, cheeses and flowers provides soothing comfort to extremely dull winter days.
And on such gloomy days, when the skies seem to only have shades of dull and drab grays, I go to the market. There I am greeted by cheerful yellows, bright oranges and ravishing reds. Walking down the rows of the several stalls, each turn I take brings a completely new set of colorful patterns. Fruit and vegetables in all shapes, sizes and colors piled up high all waiting to be picked.
I never can resist and I cannot remember that I have ever come back empty handed from the market. Even if my fridge is bursting full, my temptations of all I could make with the produce in front of me always takes on the upper hand.
This fruit salad adds a lovely vitamin kick to the day. Besides the fact that it looks beautiful with all it's lovely bright yellow, orange and pink tones, almost all the ingredients are organic. There are organic mangos, papayas, pink grapefruit and oranges, only the baby pineapple was not. I use the fresh juices of the grapefruit and oranges to provide my dressing adding a touch of lavender honey and chopped mint to give an explosive taste.
For me fruit salads should not be a mushy pulp of too many fruits. As the saying goes "Too many cooks spoil the broth", my saying goes "too many fruits spoils a good salad." I always pick 3-5 types of fruits for my fruit salad. This is more than enough and will offer a wonderful harmony of flavors. Adding too many types of fruit overkills the flavors of a fruit salad only confusing the taste-buds as to exactly what it is one is currently chewing on. I also like to set a theme when preparing a fruit salad. For this salad, I chose "tropical" as my theme and stuck to fruits that pair well with each other. The flavors of mangos, papayas and pineapples blend perfectly with each other and the tangy aroma of the citrus fruits complements the entire salad wonderfully. A touch of mint adds a refreshing note and the pistachios the crunch.
Ingredients
Printable version of recipe here.
1 mango - chopped into cubes
2 papayas - chopped into cubes
1 baby pineapple - chopped into cubes
2 oranges - filleted - juice reserved
1 pink grapefruit - filleted - juice reserved
1 tablespoon honey - use a lightly flavored honey like lavender or eucalyptus
Few mint leaves - chopped
Handful of pistachios - chopped
Optional:
Low-fat crème fraiche
Method
Put all the fruits into a large metal bowl. In a separate bowl pour in the reserved orange and grapefruit juice. Add the honey and whisk until incorporated.
Pour over the fruit and toss well. Sprinkle with the mint leaves and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes so that the flavors and aromas can infuse with each other.
To serve, simply spoon into bowls or glasses and sprinkle with chopped pistachios. If using the crème fraiche add a small dollop on top. Serve chilled.
Verdict
Always a pleasure and always enjoyed anytime of the day. I always make larger portions of this fruit salad as all of us really enjoy it. Soeren enjoys it best for breakfast sprinkled with granola and topped off with yogurt. Tom digs into it in between meal time as a healthy snack and as for me I cannot resist adding a scoop of pistachio ice cream for a special treat while watching Grey's Anatomy!
You might enjoy these fruity desserts too:
| Apricot Clafoutis | |
| Figs In Cherry Caramel | |
| Grilled Peach with Eucalyptus Honey Yogurt and Roasted Almonds | |
| Persimmon Honey Nut Yogurt Verrines |
I am sending this over to Andrew at Spitoon Extra who is this month's host for Waiter There's Something In My .... Salad. Enjoy the extra vitamins Andrew!
Reminder!
One pot + many ingredients = one-dish dinner! That's you challenge this month. I am looking for innovative and creative one-dish meals. These can be casseroles, cooked in a crockpot, in a pressure cooker or in a baking dish. Whatever you are using you need to stick to the one cooking dish. So, come on over to February's mingle with your favorite One-Dish Dinners.
You'll find all the necessary details to this month's Monthly Mingle here.
Deadline: March 10th, 2008
Don't forget to send me your links to your fresh, crispy, juicy winter produce. Eat Fresh is a seasonal event, which attempts to bring people to share their weekly fresh produce with each other. So, all you need to do is take a picture of your weekly fresh vegetables and fruit, post it on your blogs, send email to blogmeeta@gmail.com and you will get an invitation to join our growing Eat Fresh list.
Deadline: March 31st, 2008
All photographs and written content on What's For Lunch, Honey? © 2006-2008 Meeta Khurana unless otherwise indicated. | All rights reserved | Please Ask First
