daughter

I will be in Paris, flying today, to take care of my mother who is in the hospital....
return unknown.

a date with love

My father used to say that the family dictate of old went something like" only love will do".He indeed fell in love with my mom at first sight when they were teens, and stayed in love until his death.This is my heritage, my ascendant in the house of cupid. I remember, as a single young woman walking the quiet avenues of Paris saying to myself" I want to be in love !!!!!".No other drug, or alcohol were necessary( we were getting drunk on love instead, and we had no money !).But then, I met significant, who knew what a little nip of Cointreau would do, and what would bring a sudden knitting of fingers, or kisses that would go on for hours....What was a student life, became a living together life,and then a married life, glam Dot came and went .The date with love goes on...

still life with me

If you go to my first "blog I love"link, you will find on the February 6 entry that one of my pictures was chosen as one favorite in six images out of over 850 entries...Each month on the "still life with" blog, there is a "challenge" and eager triggers are busy entering the flickr group . It was my first attempt. Can you tell which is mine ?

rave on beets or betteraves

dinner to make.seasonal a must, local preferred. Oven at 400, I place the white(!), golden,chiogga and baby reds on a alu sheet, brush a dab of olive oil on their witchy skin with crusty moles and long hairy side roots.Set at 58 minutes while I take a litterary nap (booker prize 2007) with my swiss chocolate (Frigor) as a childhood comfort.Speaking of, the house is slowly envelopped in a sweet chocolaty smell.These beets are truly amazing.Significant said later" I thought you were baking brownies....!!"I wonder for a second, what a sugar beet factory must smell like:a little odorous treat for northern folks in a desolate landscape.... I have to roast them for another 30 minutes, before they are knife friendly.After cooling, I remove the skins, and there, I have to apply my yogic attitude and take the job calmly and slowly as some skins have caramelized and decided to stay glued.But it is all worth it in the end:vinaigrette of blood orange juice and zest,shallots,champagne vinegar and olive oil,and plated with nicoise olives, a sprinkling of piment d'espelette and slices of blood oranges.oregano leaves scattered and bud placed for color.
Back in Paris,when I was growing up, beets salads were common.The beets were always sold already cooked,( even at outdoors markets), probably boiled in big copper pots ( my vision).They were always red .We only had to rub off the thick skins that would come off soft and fleshy , like peeling a fresh wound. My mother would always cut them in little cubes, and often served them as a mixed salad of beets and mache, which is a French classic bistro pairing.
I love both styles.