Watermelon basil chile agua fresca

I just ordered and received a copy of Fany Gerson's new book Paletas, devoted to those special Mexican ice pops of the same name. The book has been getting a lot of buzz in the blogosphere, and it's not hard to understand why when you flip through the pages and discover the delectable menu of paletas, raspados (snow cones!) and of course...aguas frescas. As Gerson explains, an agua fresca ('fresh water') is somewhere between juice and soda. Made with fresh fruit, herbs, nuts, seeds or some combination thereof and mixed with sugar and water, aguas frescas are the ultimate thirst-quencher, particularly in hot weather.

Pea & mint risotto

Happy Sunday to you all! Let me tell you...I had the most amazing weekend! For one thing, Thursday was my birthday! I was overwhelmed by all the messages, phone calls, cards and well wishes I received, as well as flowers sent to my office by some good friends of mine. In the evening, my husband Luis took me out to a nice Lebanese restaurant for dinner and gave me a lovely gift consisting of a really nice cookbook called Mes recettes de chef pour tous les jours and a four-hour cooking class, which I can take at a long list of cooking schools in Paris. I can't wait!!! Friday was a great day as well. For one thing, the amazing jazz legend Herbie Hancock was appointed as one of our Goodwill Ambassadors and delighted us all with an incredible performance and an eloquent speech about the power of music, and jazz specifically, to bring people together. At the reception that followed, Luis and I met both Mr. Hancock and bass maestro Marcus Miller and got autographs and photos with both. Then we met up with a big group of friends for a birthday dinner at my favorite Thai restaurant in Paris, the Blue Elephant, followed by dancing at an African club. Saturday afternoon, we hit Saravana Bhavan so that I could get my Indian fix.

Une ballade niçoise

Call me crazy, but after more than five years of living in Paris, I had never been to the South of France. Despite the allure of sunshine, azure waters and fresh Medittaranean cooking, I've generally chosen to spend my holidays and long weekends outside of France, telling myself that we have to take advantage of being in the middle of Europe for however long it may last. But silly me...I was obviously missing the best part of this country! Luckily, the Gastronomic Nomad and I rectified this during Fourth of July weekend, taking the TGV train down and spending four glorious days in Nice, in the heart of the Cote d'Azur. Clearly, I had been missing out all this time! With turquoise waters, sun-drenched plazas and excellent vegetarian-friendly food, Nice was just so...well...nice! 

Salade de chèvre chaud, Indian style!

Dear salade de chèvre chaud (goat cheese toast salad), thank heavens for you! If it wasn't for you, it would be much, much tougher to be a vegetarian in France. Even on the meatiest of bistro menus, I can usually count on finding some version of you. And even though I wouldn't eat you every day, je t'aime quand même! There is nothing like crusty slices of baguette toasted with smooth, creamy goat cheese...be it the fresh kind or a more pungent variety like a Rocamadour or a Crottin de Chavignol. Nestled on some lettuce along with some sliced tomatoes, toasted nuts and a dash of house vinaigrette, you make me say vive la France! I particularly enjoy having you with a glass of a crisp, fruity white wine such as a Sancerre or a Pouilly-Fumé. There's nothing like you, and I'm so grateful to have you! However...I do have a little confession to make...

Salsa verde

When people ask me what I miss most about the U.S., I feel like I could spout out a long list of things. I tend though to stick to the important stuff - friendly customer service, holidays such as Thanksgiving and the 4th of July and of course...Mexican food. Lately though, my Mexican food cravings have been quite manageable. For one thing, there has been a slew of quite decent Mexican eateries that have opened up recently here in Paris, along with a subtle but definite opening of French minds to "exotic" cuisines in general. After five years, I've also gotten quite adept at finding Mexican products and ingredients and coming up with substitutes. Portuguese stores, for example, are the source of canned black beans at a reasonable price. A little lemon juice added to crème fraîche makes quite decent sour cream. The piments marocains I find at the market (which I think are roughly equivalent to Anaheim chilies) can stand in for chili rellenos. You get the idea. But the one ingredient that remains gapingly absent here in France, and definitely not possible to substitute, is the tomatillo.

The best tamarind chutney ever!

Ever since I was a kid, tamarind chutney has been my favorite condiment. If you've been following this blog for a while, you probably know that I love the combination of sweet-savory-spicy flavors. This must explain my love for tamarind chutney, which to me is the most exciting condiment in the Indian repertoire! Whether dipping samosas and other savory snacks into it or dousing salads with it as a dressing at Indian restaurant buffets (yes, I did that!), nothing could beat it! I'd been searching high and low for the perfect tamarind chutney recipe for years. Most of them require dates, which must be microwaved and pureed along with the tamarind. This is fine and well, but I don't always have dates on hand and wished that I could whip up a simple tamarind chutney anytime with stuff I that always have in my pantry. Thanks to the wonderful Suvir Saran and his American Masala: 125 New Classics from My Home Kitchen (which I just recently sang the praises of), now I can!

Mango gazpacho

I feel very lucky to be married to a man who is a wonderful cook and who is just as much of a foodie as I am.  Yep...I definitely count my blessings that my man is always up for watching a cooking show, pouring over a cookbook to concoct a menu for the many dinners that we host and of course making all kinds of yummy things! We generally have similar tastes, but there are of course some exceptions. He can't stand cheese to my unending disappointment, isn't wild about beets and absolutely can't stomach couscous or rice-based salads... all of which I love! Another no-no on his list (I'm discovering that there are more than I thought) are cold soups. I think that there's nothing more refreshing in the summer than a gazpacho or any number of other tasty chilled soups...but the hubby unfortunately vetoes all of these! The one exception to this rule is my mango gazpacho...

Chez Plumeau

What is it about touristy areas that generally makes them rife with bad food? This seems to be the case in just about any city that I visit, and Paris is no exception. The Place du Tertre, a square right in the heart of Montmartre and behind the Sacre Coeur, is one such area. Filled with souvenir shops, caricature artists, accordion playing musicians and mediocre restaurants that offer diluted, industrial-style versions of French classics...that's the Place du Tertre.