snacks (les goûters ou gâteries)

hungry no more: The Hunger Games menu

April 1st, 2012

 hungry no more: The Hunger Games Menu 

Peeta’s nut and raisin bread with Prim goat cheese

Rue dandelion salad with tracker jacker dressing

Katniss’s rabbit (or chicken) chasseur

 Roasted blackberries on a vanilla pod bow with vanilla seed ice cream
and fresh violets for Gale

Impossible for me to resist. I love food. I love books. The title is The Hunger Games. Coincidentally the book (part of a trilogy by Suzanne Collins) is a fad among tweens and teens and it was race with my eldest daughter to see who could finish the book first. She won. We both loved the book and the food references throughout sent my creativity into orbit. However, the power of this book goes beyond the ability to encourage a child’s love of literature, it can also encourage them to eat good food (unbeknownst to them), and as I quickly turned the pages, this week’s simple pleasure, a Hunger Games menu, was born.  

Happy Hunger Games and may the odds be ever in your favor.” 

Hunger Games Loaf of Bread with and arrow stuck in it

“Gale holds up a loaf of bread with an arrow stuck in it, and I laugh. It’s real bakery bread, not the flat dense loaves we make from our grain rations.” (page 7)

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raisin and nut bread

April 1st, 2012

Hunger Games Food = Raisin and Nut Bread

 raisin and nut bread

makes two 1½ pound loaves

what you need:

¼ ounce instant yeast
2 cups (16 ounces) warm water
1 ounce quality honey
4 ounces King Arthur whole wheat flour
~18 ounces King Arthur bread flour
½ ounce kosher salt
1 cup raisins (all colors)
1 cup walnut pieces, toasted
½ cup whole and halved hazelnuts, blanched and toasted
mix of flaxseeds, poppy seeds, sunflower seeds (as needed) Read the rest of this entry »

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spiced rosemary pecans

March 24th, 2012

spiced rosemary pecans

just hungry, getting spicy, and going nuts:
spiced rosemary pecans

Innocent comments, taken out of context or just plain misconstrued, can lead to life’s awkward, sometimes funny moments. It is one of those moments and a party favorite recipe that bring us this week’s simple pleasure: spiced rosemary pecans. 

 It was a first date and he was a brave man. He was brave because he not only

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chia chips and soybean hummus

January 19th, 2012

Chef Morgan Soybean Hummus and Chia Chips

 

 healthy snacks that will not send you back to 2011
part 2: chia chips and soybean hummus

It’s a chia…it’s a pet…it’s a chia pet.” Rumor has it that chia seeds are le tendence (the “in” thing) in food right now. However,  thanks to my brother, who sang that 70’s jingle selling chia pets (sprouted chia seeds on an animal-shaped moss forms), when I think of chia seeds, I think of chia pets. Today is my brother’s birthday. Thinking of him, trying to be trendy (save your laughter), and unable to escape the song he “planted” in my consciousness, I arrived at this week’s simple pleasure: chia chips with soybean hummus.

Chef Morgan Soybean Hummus and Chia Chips

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Pas de Deux: douillons aux pommes (apples in nightdresses)

December 16th, 2011

 

 

douillons aux pommes, apples in night dresses, dessert apples

Pas de Deux: douillons aux pommes (apples in nightdresses)

Like many people this time of year, one of the traditions in my family is to attend a performance of The Nutcracker.  In sum, it is a story of a young girl, Clara, who is given a nutcracker as a Christmas gift. The nutcracker turns into a Prince who takes Clara to the Kingdom of  Sweets where the Sugarplum Fairy and various treats (Spanish Chocolate, Peppermint Candy, etc.) perform for Clara (still in her nightdress) and the Prince. At the end, the Sugarplum Fairy and her Cavalier perform the Grand Pas de Deux (“steps of two”). As I watched the Pas de Deux, I thought of … food. The combination of a kingdom filled with dancing culinary specialities, Clara’s nightdress, and the “deux” (the collaboration of two) reminded me of the French classic dessert douillons aux pommes (apples in nightdresses). Inspired by the ballet, douiillons aux pommes is this week’s simple pleasure. Read the rest of this entry »

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pain d’épice (with ginger and honey cream cheese spread)

December 8th, 2011

sugar and spice . . . it is all nice:
pain d’épice
(with ginger and honey cream cheese spread)

Nothing gets us into the holiday spirit more than our sense of smell. While the decorations and songs are festive, it is the smell of roasted chestnuts, mulled wine, and baked treats that transport us to memories of family meals, gatherings around a fire, and baking holiday cookies. For many people, the smell of gingerbread is synonymous with the holidays. Filling your home with a little holiday sugar and spice this season was the inspiration for this week’s simple pleasure: pain d’épice (with ginger and honey cream cheese spread). Read the rest of this entry »

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pumpkin spice madeleines

November 23rd, 2011

Pumpkin Spice Madeleine

“I don’t just like it . . I love it !”
pumpkin spice madeleines

It is Thanksgiving. You are in the kitchen trying to get the meal ready and the kids, big ones and the little ones, are hungry. When is dinner? Sometimes it is nice to have a little snack on hand to keep hungry tummies at bay (and busy hands out of the kitchen) while you finish preparing the meal. Here it is and it could not be more simple or satisfying: pumpkin spice madeleines. Read the rest of this entry »

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Forget about Halloween? Not a ghost of a chance!

October 21st, 2011

Forget about Halloween? Not a ghost of a chance!  

almost melted chocolate

chocolat chaud du fantôme (ghostly hot chocoalte)
and
œufs fantômes à la macédoine de légumes (deviled egg ghosts with vegetables)

Halloween Deviled Eggs with Vegetables

The French are crazy about eggs … and chocolate. This week we take both of these passions and bring them to your home in Halloween form (this week it is ghosts; next week it is witches and skeletons). Wrapping a white napkin around a teaspoon gave me the inspiration for the first recipe: it is a chocolate ghost “spoon” that “disappears”  in hot milk making a perfect cupful of  chocolat chaud (hot chocolate). The second recipe “revamps” a classic French recipe using hard-boiled eggs and vegetables creating a healthy, yet ghostly snack. Treats are simple to prepare and are sure to delight your little ghosts are this week’s simple pleasure(s): chocolat chaud du fantôme  (ghostly hot chocolate) and œufs fantômes à la macédoine de légumes (deviled egg ghosts with vegetables). 

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snickerdoodle cookies (à la Niçoise)

October 6th, 2011

Cinnamon Sticks and Snickerdoodle Cookies

snickerdoodle cookies (à la Niçoise)
This simple cookie, with its warming cinnamon and brown sugar,
is perfect for the turn in the weather. Enjoy.

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oh honey . . . bees should not have all of the fun: apricots, miel de lavande and fromage blanc

August 18th, 2011

lavender

oh honey . . . bees should not have all of the fun:
apricots, miel de lavande and fromage blanc

It is the little things that make the difference. This week it is the delicious detail of miel de lavande (lavender honey) inspired by my recent stay in Provence where neither my children nor the bees could get enough of the lavender fields that cover the landscape. With Provence in mind, grilled apricots and lavender honey over fromage blanc is this week’s simple pleasure. Read the rest of this entry »

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