French Notebooks and Soup
Posted: 09/17/2010 Filed under: Gluten-Free, Recipes, Vegan | Tags: France, Gluten-Free, Notebooks, Recipe, School, Soup, vegan 1 Comment »When I first arrived in France, I looked everywhere for “college-ruled” notebooks. Being sixteen and going to school in a foreign country was a big challenge in itself. But then, on top of that, the French notebook paper was covered with a million lines that didn’t really seem to serve any purpose. After all, you only really need one line to write on. I searched in all of the papeteries or stationary stores in Rennes, but eventually I gave up and settled for a notebook marked “grands carreaux” and filled with more lines than I thought necessary.
At first, all of the lines seemed too constricting. I missed having a nice, blank, white-space, between the main lines. There wasn’t enough space for creativity aka doodling. Read the rest of this entry »
Salted Flourless Chocolate Torte
Posted: 09/14/2010 Filed under: Gluten-Free, Recipes | Tags: Baking, Flourless Chocolate Torte, Gluten-Free, Recipe, Salt Leave a comment »I came up with this recipe, like many of my recipes, by mistake. There were two types of butter in the fridge – one marked beurre doux, meaning “sweet,” and the other marked beurre demi-sel, or “half salted.” Normally when making a chocolate flourless torte I would reach for the unsalted butter, but of course I happened to grab the salted butter instead.
This little mistake turned into a mystery. Nobody could quite put their finger on the mysterious ingredient that they could taste in the torte. Even I found a subtle flavor that I had never quite tasted before. Read the rest of this entry »
Basil Pesto
Posted: 09/02/2010 Filed under: Gluten-Free, Recipes | Tags: Basil Pesto, Recipe Leave a comment »I have a secret… I love the smell of basil. It’s one of those herbs that makes just about everything smell and taste better. It’s best, however, when it steals center stage and serves as the main ingredient. I’m not quite sure how I learned to make pesto. I think it began when I started experimenting with making pizzas. At this point, I just kind of throw the ingredients in the blender and it turns out more or less perfect. I decided that I should finally pay attention to what I do, and write down the recipe. So here it is…
You can use this pesto on pasta, pizza, or on crackers. I also like to add a heaping spoonful of it to my salad dressing to give it a nice basil and garlic flavor.
Read the rest of this entry »
How to Milk an Almond
Posted: 07/11/2010 Filed under: Drinks, Gluten-Free, Raw Foods, Recipes, Vegan | Tags: Almond Milk, Raw Foods, Recipe, vegan Leave a comment »While most people don’t have access to a cow in order to have fresh, raw, milk, you can easily find raw organic almonds and make a creamy and healthy (and delicious) almond milk. Almond milk was always a favorite of mine back in the States, but, since moving to France, I’ve pretty much stopped drinking milk altogether. This is mainly because a lot of the cow milk sold in France is UHT sterilized, and, even after a couple of years in France, the idea of not having to refrigerate milk kind of eeks me out. Plus, the taste just isn’t the same. You can find fresh milk at certain outdoor markets (and when you do it’s wonderful), but, when you just want to pick up a carton of milk from the corner grocery store, you’re usually out of luck.
In France there is a strong movement towards eating healthy and ecologically. You can easily find organic nut milks, but the problem is that they are still very expensive. Luckily, almond milk is really easy to make. Almonds are also really great for you. They are high in protein, fiber, calcium, magnesium, potassium, vitamin E, and other antioxidants. They even help prevent osteoporosis and regulate blood pressure. In a recent conversation I had with an Ayurvedic practitioner, she mentioned the great health benefits of almonds. She also said, however, that almonds need to be peeled in order for the body to absorb the nutrients. Almond milk is thus a great way to consume and maximize the benefits of almonds.
