Crème à la vanille

Here's another recipe for you, Eliza. Wheat-free and meat-free. Enjoy.

This recipe is absolutely delicious. I fell in love with these while in Paris this past fall, though I was buying the store-bought version then. They are so good that I actually brought one of them with me to the airport and ate it right before going through security (damn new rule of no liquids/gels on board!). I had brought one to the airport for Jerome too, but he didn't want it (Well... it is a dessert and we did pass customs at 11am. But whatever. You can only get these in France). I then proceeded to forget about his and managed to accidentally smuggle it back to Canada with me. After much debate (I mean, it was my last one!), I decided to share it with my friend Heather, who was a great support to me during our events in Paris, rather than just pig out on it myself. So there's the history behind these delicious little desserts. Though might I add, how is it possible that I've been to France a kizillion times before and had never had these???

Jerome's mom had given us a cookbook called Petites Crèmes awhile back, but I had never actually made anything from it (what was I thinking???). It has all sorts of different flavours of creams: vanilla, chocolate, coffee, apple, even rhubarb. So I set out to learn to make these the instant we got back. And despite Jerome's pleading, I've only made the vanilla one (even though I've made them several times) as I'm still just as in love with them now as I was in Paris. Perhaps one day when I truly OD on them, I'll make him some chocolate ones (or maybe on his birthday... teehee... wait... that's my birthday too... so maybe vanilla and chocolate??). Anyhow, I'm getting off track...

The dessert is a bit like a pudding, but way, way better than any pudding you'd get in Canada. The secret is using real vanilla bean (not liquid extract) and making sure that it's good quality. We're lucky enough to still have vanilla from our trip to Tahiti, which makes these absolutely delicious. Though I'm a bit concerned about how I will manage once we run out and have started e-mailing vanilla producers in Tahiti to see if anyone will ship us any, as it's way better than anything you find over here.

Ok, ok, so you just want the recipe and not all of my related babble... well here you go:

4 egg yolks
1 egg
2 C homogenized milk (3.25%) (don't substitute lesser fat milk)
1 vanilla bean (I use about 1/3 of a bean and split it in half)
a little less than a 1/2 C of sugar



1. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees Farenheit.

2. Beat the eggs in a bowl. Add the sugar and beat vigorously with a whisk for 3 minutes.

3. Slowly heat the milk with the vanilla bean in it in a pot. Once the milk is almost boiling, remove the vanilla bean and scrape the seeds into the milk. Pour the hot milk mixture onto the beaten eggs and mix well. (Note: if the milk is not hot enough, the texture of the pudding won't be thick enough. Also, you can't let the eggs sit for a long period while heating the milk, so be sure to do it as the milk is heating and re-beat a bit again if necessary).

4. While still hot, divide the mixture between 6 ramekins. Place them into a large baking dish (I use a 13 x 9 glass dish). Pour water into the dish, avoiding the ramekins, until the water is halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Cook for 30 minutes. (Note: cooking time varies depending on how high the water comes up the sides of the ramekins. The creams are done when they jiggle a bit when shaken and don't seem too liquidy. I have cooked them anywhere from 30 to 50 minutes. When eaten, the texture shouldn't be too liquidy).

5. Let the creams cool and then place them in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour before serving. Serve cold.

Note: before cooking, you can place a piece of vanilla on top of each cream.

Back to Real Life

So there has been a real lull in my blogging to date... as many of you know, my mother-in-law passed away at the beginning of this month. So blogging hasn't been a priority lately, as I'm sure it won't be for a little while longer, as we settle back into real life here at home and catch up on everything back here.



It was all a bit of a crazy ordeal: visiting her regularly in the hospital, arranging her funeral, emptying out her apartment and shipping much of her stuff back to Canada, while at the same time dealing with a general strike in Paris and taking care of a 4/5 month old baby... I don't think we've ever been quite so happy to be back home.



However, despite the craziness my life has been over the past 6 weeks (or perhaps because of??), we still managed to try to enjoy French food and wine to the fullest while we were away. Well... the wine as much as any breastfeeding woman without a pump can... there were even a few super tasty desserts that I somehow only tried for the first time this trip, despite the fact that I've been going to Paris regularly for the past 15 or so years.



My new goal in life is to find recipes for some of these super delicious treats... as well as to learn how to make a pâte feuilleté (flaky pastry) as good as my mother-in-law's. We still have one in the freezer here that she made for us on her last trip out here that we will one day savour in her memory. And also, to make her famous crème caramel, that every single person we crossed in our trip over there this time talked to us about, even though I've never even had it! Jerome doesn't like crème caramel, which I guess explains why she didn't ever make it for us. But we have her handwritten recipe book with all of her recipes and over the next little while I'll make them and get them up here on the blog for all to enjoy.



I wanted to come on quickly to write, as Alanna pointed out to me that I somehow missed the flour in the Reverse Chocolate Chippers posted on Jan. 31/10. I've adjusted the recipe now, so it should work now if you make it :P Apologies to anyone who may have tried to make it already, as I'm sure it wouldn't have worked. But the cookies are delicious, so if you tried them before and they didn't work, be sure to try them again now that you have all of the ingredients.

On that note, I am going to go relax for awhile... I'm sure it'll still be a few good weeks before I'm back to cooking and baking as usual. Just one last thing...

In memory of Josiane: La tête haute by Les cowboys fringants

Chicken Curry

I got this recipe back in undergrad, many moons ago, from my roommate at the time, Aleya. This is an authentic homemade chicken curry and is delicious. I haven't made it in absolute ages and am not sure why... I think it may be because it doesn't freeze well, due to the potatoes. Though I suppose I could always just make it without the potatoes to freeze it and add them in the day I'm serving it. I served this with brown basmati rice and a salad.

This recipe makes quite a decent portion. I made it when we had people over for dinner this weekend and 5 of us ate it for dinner. I think there was enough leftover for Jerome and myself to eat it for another 3 dinners.

3 C chicken, skinned and cut into pieces
5 tbsp. oil (I just used a bit)
2 large onions, finely chopped
1 tin peeled tomatoes, chopped (I used the large can)
5 potatoes, peeled and chopped
2 tbsp. tomato paste
1 tsp. garlic paste
1 tsp. ginger paste (be sure to use fresh ginger and not powder, as it's not at all the same)
2 tsp. dried coriander
2 tsp. dried cumin
1/2 tsp. turmeric
1/2 tsp. red chili powder
3 tbsp. plain yogurt (optional)
salt to taste
lemon juice to taste



1. Heat the oil in a medium sized saucepan. Add the onions and fry until golden brown. Add the tomatoes, salt, ginger, garlic and all the powdered spices. Fry on low heat for 10 minutes, adding a little water at a time, until sauce is well blended.

2. Add yogurt (optional) and tomato paste and cook until sauce is dry. Add the meat and cook on medium heat, stirring occasionally until meat juices are dry.

3. Add 2-3 cups of water to desired consistency (the gravy should be quite thick if it is to be served with naan, paratha or rotli and slightly runny if it is to be served with rice).

4. When meat is tender, add potatoes and cook until potatoes are done.

5. Add lemon juice. Bring to a boil and serve with naan, paratha, rotli or rice.

Chocolate Chocolate-Chip Cookies

This recipe was sent to me by Katie, who had gotten it off of the Whole Foods website - a store that I love and wish we had in Quebec...

If you make sure that the vanilla, cocoa and chocolate chips are gluten-free, then these cookies are gluten-free and a great option for anyone with Celiac disease. I made them for my sister this weekend, who has Celiac. Finally an easy dessert that I have the ingredients for that I can make for her when she's visiting!! These would be particularly good with peanut butter chips.



1/4 C butter, softened
3/4 C sugar
2 eggs
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/3 C cocoa powder
1/4 C coconut flour (I picked this up at the bulk food store)
1/2 C chocolate chips
1/2 C chopped walnuts (optional)



1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Farenheit and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.

2. In a medium bowl, use an electric mixer to cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla.

3. Sift together cocoa and flour into a second bowl, then add to butter-sugar mixture and beat just until combined. Stir in chocolate chips and walnuts, then set aside to let batter rest for 5 minutes. (Coconut flour will absorb the liquid and thicken as it sits).

4. Drop the cookie dough by rounded teaspoonfuls onto prepared baking sheet, leaving 2 inches between cookies. Bake 13 to 15 minutes, or until cookies are slightly set in the centre. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling.

Makes about 18 cookies.

Creamy Maple Syrup Dressing

This is a simple, tasty homemade salad dressing. I have no idea where I found the recipe, but it's one of few salad dressings that both Jerome and myself like. I love oil and vinegar dressings, with tons of vinegar in them... my mouth is watering just from writing that. Yum! Jerome doesn't really like vinegar and prefers creamy dressings, which I'm not a huge fan of. This one is creamy but still has a bit of the tangy flavour to it that I like of a salad dressing.

1 C your favourite mayonnaise (I used Hellman's light)
1/2 C pure maple syrup
1/4 C apple cider vinegar

Mix all ingredients together thoroughly. Chill and serve with salad.

Apple Cake/Muffins

Wow... I wrote this back before we left for France months ago and just came across it now, realizing that I didn't ever post it. So the comments are no longer timely (nor is the tank top that I am wearing in the photo as I stare out the window at the snow on our front lawn), but here's the recipe all the same.

This recipe comes from the cookbook Simply Great Food by the Dietitians of Canada. I was looking for a healthier recipe to use some of the apples we got while apple-picking this weekend and knew this cookbook would have something good. I used all whole-wheat flour instead of the recommended mix of white and whole-wheat. The recipe is actually for carrot cake, but they recommend using either a mixture of carrots and apples or just apples as a variation, so I made it with only apples this time. I also threw in a handful of raisins and opted to make it in muffin tins instead.



3/4 C all-purpose flour
1/2 C whole-wheat flour
1 1/4 tsp. baking powder
1 1/4 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
3 eggs
1/2 C vegetable oil
1 C lightly packed brown sugar
2 tsp. vanilla
2 C grated carrots (or apples, or a mixture of both)



1. In a small bowl, combine flours, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.

2. In a large bowl, bean eggs, oil, brown sugar and vanilla until well combined. Fold in dry ingredients. Stir in carrots. Pour into prepared 13 x 9 inch pan.

3. Bake in a 350 degree Farenheit oven for 30 to 35 minutes.

Makes 20 servings.

Spaghetti Squash with Tomatoes and Cheese

I got this recipe from the fall 2010 edition of the What's Cooking magazine, published by Kraft and made it last night to accompany dinner. I had never had spaghetti squash (at least that I can remember) until spending a week with Katie at her parents'. And I fell absolutely in love with it and began buying it obsessively. Which is why my husband no longer likes it... So when I saw this recipe, I thought that it might be a way to sneak spaghetti squash past him again. Though he didn't say anything about liking it, he also didn't say anything about not liking it, so I'll consider that approval ;)

1 large spaghetti squash
2 small tomatoes
1/2 C grated mozzarella cheese
1/4 C light grated Parmesan cheese (I used fresh Parmesan)



1. Prick a large spaghetti squash with a fork to let steam escape and microwave on high for 10 minutes, turning after 5 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes, then slice it open. Remove seeds and scrape sides with a fork to create strands.

2. Mix in 1/2 C shredded mozzarella cheese and 2 small chopped tomatoes; sprinkle with 1/4 C light grated Parmesan cheese.

I mixed everything together in advance and then put it in a casserole dish, sprinkled with the Parmesan to be reheated for dinner. I put it in the oven at 350 degrees Farenheit for 15 minutes, just enough to reheat it and melt the cheese.