Crisps On the Floor
Paris proved yet again this week that sometimes it’s worth getting caught in the rain to see the rainbow, but that didn’t stop my children from being quite upset with me as we battled a gale, trudging across town for afternoon tea at my lovely friend Kath’s house. As professional chef she’d pulled out all the stops and prepared a table laden with food, so of course the children sat on the floor, ate only crisps and ignored everything else (a net positive for me as it meant I had the handmade yuzu & white chocolate truffles to myself).
WWII Resistance fighters Missak and Mélinée Manouchian were inducted into the Panthéon, which is the highest honour in France and such a special moment, a timely opportunity to learn about those who made great contributions to history. As it’s the third time a ceremony has happened since I moved here I anticipated the road closures, bus diversions and knew to carry ID to show the gruff policeman who block off my street so I could get home, breezing past the confused crowd being turned away.
My social life is like catching a bus, nothing for ages and then 3 come at once. There was a group lunch with an Aussie bunch for a friend recovering from surgery, where I took the opportunity to get passport photos signed over coffee, a ritual every Australian living overseas will be all too familiar with. The next day I snagged a quiet hour with the talented writer Roxy of What’s Up Paris (a must follow if you’re looking for culturally diverse events and affordable food options), to down some dumplings and ask her where all the cool new places to go in town are, knowing full well I’ll never go to them but it’s nice to be up to date. We paused our soup slurping to swiftly cover all the major mum topics (health, work, how our kids have SO MANY holidays etc) before cooing over the dessert menu, hand illustrated by the propriétaire’s children, the spelling gently corrected.
A highlight of the week was a classic lunch at Bouillon Chartier with chef Molly Wilkinson and podcaster and writer Andrew Prior, where we discovered it’s possible to order a whole bowl of whipped cream for dessert. We met up to celebrate the launch of Andrew’s great new guide to Paris and I was spoilingly sent home with a homemade peach and chilli jam, lavender from his garden and a copy of the guide, which my mum immediately swiped and read cover to cover.
On Saturday I embarrassed myself at the market by being the woman who ordered a whole crab and then freaked out upon realising it was still alive. I’ve boiled crabs before, split lobsters down the middle and gutted countless fish but something in me resisted enough that I was willing to take the laughter of the market regulars and walk away. Maybe next week. Less fraught was the local vegetable farmer who filled my panier with seasonal greens, enormous pumpkins and a few battered apples.
In a total show of hypocrisy when I saw crab on the menu at Clamado I didn’t hesitate to order it, already cooked and perfectly presented on an ice-bath. We followed it up with raw scallops on a delicious beef consommé under shaved truffle, and cabbage with sesame and xo sauce so good I lapped it up with a spoon. The dessert of mandarin sorbet under a cloud of mezcal infused mousse with a light sprinkle of piment d’Espelette was just the thing to round out the meal and we walked away throughly impressed - if you like seafood it should definitely be on your list. They don’t take bookings but go at the beginning of service for a good chance and if you have to wait for a table it’s the perfect excuse to explore the very cool 11th arrondissement a little.
For those of you who think I have too much fun, Saturday night was spent tackling my least favourite household task, re-siliconing the bathroom. After multiple touch-ups it was time to remove the old seals (satisfying but gross), crouched in the bath, my back reminding me of my age. Putting on the new ones was a disaster (imagine a mix of chewing gum and super glue) but after a while I got the hang of it again and although not perfect, at least the seals are relatively tidy and most importantly, watertight, which is key when living in a 400 year old building where we’ve already used up our leak quota with the downstairs neighbour.
Plans for a lovely Sunday lunch were immediately shelved as my daughter slipped and split her chin, requiring a tearful visit to the hospital for stitches. Adding insult to injury her brother went off to a birthday party (to be fair, she was NFI anyway) and I hovered in a nearby cafe to do some work while waiting, which was a total fail as I ran out of both laptop and phone battery almost immediately, but the people (and dog) watching was excellent.
Have a great week,
- Emily
Spinach Rice
A little “kitchen forage” dinner that was as good as I’d hoped it’d be.
Rice (I used half a bag of sushi rice (~250g) because that’s what we had in the cupboard)
Raw, washed, spinach leaves
Butter
Olive oil
Stock cube or stock (optional)
Salt & pepper
Rinse the rice and put in a non-stick frying pan, place your index finger on top of the rice and cover with water or stock until it hits your first knuckle (honestly that’s what I always do, but best to read the instructions for your rice). Add in a stock cube if using and some salt.
Boil furiously with the lid on for about 5 minutes, then turn to low and leave for another 15 minutes. All the water should be absorbed and the rice should be cooked and fluffy.
Add the spinach on top and replace the lid until the spinach is well wilted (the remaining steam should do it in a few minutes), then mix well to spread it all through the rice.
Dot a few dollops of butter on top with a drizzle of olive oil for good measure, then leave to melt down through the rice. At this point (depending on your frying pan) you can turn up the heat and let it get a little crispy on the bottom, careful not to let it burn. It will be quite wet so it can take a while to brown. I serve it straight from the frying pan so there’s no pressure to have it perfect, I just like a bit of crispy texture.
Bon appétit!
Cheese we’re eating this week:
Gorgonzola - an Italian veined blue cheese made from unskimmed cow’s milk, with a creamy texture and a pungent aroma.
Maroilles - a very fragrant cow's-milk cheese made from northern France with a washed rind and delicious flavour.
Comté - a semi-hard cheese made from unpasteurised cow’s milk from the Jura Massif region of France, this one was aged 18 months.
All 3 cheeses were from were from Marché Maubert.
Real Life Paris Photo
School holidays. Again.