Downtown in Dior: Cooking

Showing posts with label Cooking. Show all posts

Things I Like

BOOKS. CINEMA. COOKING.

Despite being sick with a virus, it's been a good...and dare I say... productive weekend on the personal home front. I finished reading Gone Girl and can hardly wait for the movie to come out in October. I am curious to see how Rosamund Pike plays Amy Dunne. Immediately after, I started reading Gillian Flynn's Dark Places but I can't seem to get into it. It will also be a movie starring Charlize Theron coming out in two weeks, on September 1st.

Movie first, book later.
I absolutely loved watching The Hundred Foot Journey. It was one of those great surprises because I have not heard anything about the book or the seen the trailer for the movie. The movie was recommended by someone who loves cooking and is a great Indian cook himself :) Of course right after the movie, we went out for dinner to an Indian restaurant. The movie also inspired me to make my boeuf bourguignon again in the near future as soon as we get into fall. It is hard to tell these days, it doesn't even feel like August right now with this weather. I planned on many more days to be spent at the beach but it looks like that may not happen now.

On the list...books to be read and recipes to be tried for Fall / Winter

The Hundred Food Journey novel itself
The Pleasures of Cooking for One by Judith Jones
The Tenth Muse by Judith Jones
Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald by Therese Anne Fowler
Julia's Kitchen Wisdom by Julia Child
French Classics Made Easy by Richard Grausman
Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter
Cast Iron Big Skillet Big Flavors by Sharon Kramis
The Casserole Queens Cookbook by Crystal Cook
Cooking for Friends by Gordon Ramsey
Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell
The Vacationers by Emma Straub
Astor Place Vintage by Stephanie Lehmann
Around My French Table by Dorie Greenpan

This list looks really intimidating but the majority are cookbooks that are easy to follow with great instructions and a multitude of interesting recipes to explore.

I am not sure in what direction I want to move this blog. I don't even know if anyone reads it aside from my family and close friends (hi!!!) but I love it for me as a creative outlet and will continue with it. I hope to feature some photography on it and my cooking. Websites that always get it right: cannellevanille.com & theneotraditionalist.com.

Beautiful British Columbia

EVERYTHING B.C. + VANCOUVER
LAST OF SUMMER & THINGS LATELY

Summer days spent in British Columbia were memorable and magical. I felt so inspired and happy while I was there, even up to the very last moment. On the very last day of my vacation, grandma, dad and I went to explore West Vancouver and ended up at Ambleside Park at the Harmony Arts Festival.

Photo taken by dad

I re-visited the little secret community garden by the Pacific Ocean and I think, dad and I were both inspired to start painting again by watching this dad and daughter duo sit by the sea and paint.

At the art festival, I visited A Cagey Bee's booth and decided that I would buy some of her art prints. I first saw her work at Granville Island and was instantly taken by the Richie and Margot prints from The Royal Tenenbaums. I decided to get 'Ingrid and The Grey Bunny' and 'Beyond The Forest Edge' art prints for my kitchen. I ordered them online so they should be here in a week or so. I will find suitable whimsical frames for them and hang them up.

After the art festival, we decided to go to the Red Lion Bar & Grill before our bbq that evening. I had a salad and a quiche. Grandma had a salad and dad had apple pie.

Photos by dad

When we got home, we had a great feast of a bbq with trout and lot's of delicious salads that mum made and prepared.

Photos by dad

After dinner, Shaun and I embarked on a much needed walk.

It really was a perfect day

While I was in Vancouver, I also found the most adorable Herschel backpack with little woodland creatures on it and decided to get it for when we go on our hikes.

Currently inspired by taste of sara's beautiful photographs on her website and Instagram account.

I was actually so inspired that we ended up going to Whyte Cliff park after I saw her photographs.

My current projects consist of organizing fall outfits to sell at my local consignment stores and de-cluttering. I recommend this to anyone who has overflowing closets like me. Donating and selling your clothing, handbags and shoes is a great way to make extra room and a little bit of cash on the side. I plan to buy a new paint set with some of the extra money.

Things Lately

FRANCE. SOUTH OF FRANCE. PROVENCE.

It is no secret that I am, and as long as I could remember have been, a Francophile. I can never spend enough time in France and love returning. In the last year I have developed great interest in everything and anything to do with French cooking and the region of Provence in particular where I am planning on taking a culinary pilgrimage in the near future. This is in part to the many books I have read by Peter Mayle and of course, Julia Child. Some of my favourite books on the topic that I could read over & over have been these three...

THINGS I STILL PLAN TO DO THIS SUMMER...

Watch movies under the stars & have a movie rooftop night
Take the most scenic route home
Expand our definition of getting out of town
Museum hop on a ~~hot day~~ rainy day
Sneak out early on more than one Friday

*Inspirations from the Kate Spade blog summer bucket list

PROJECTS. BOOKS. INSPIRATIONS.

I've been averaging at reading about three books per month lately (I love my Kindle and consider it a necessity on all the flights that I have been taking lately) but I am also inspired to take on many new projects. I have recently started painting again with watercolours and acrylics. I am also interested in mandala designs and healing crystals.

Weekday Meals

These are some quick and easy meals that I made in January throughout the week when things are always a bit hectic and I am running around doing errands, going to appointments and when I don't have much time to go grocery shopping. I try to plan most of my meals for the week (as much as I can), go grocery shopping about once a week and I always try to make a bit more so I can take the leftovers for lunch the next day. My favourite websites for easy recipes come from The Gourmand Mom recipe collection and Canadian Living.

Paella with Chorizo and Prawns

My inspiration for this came from here and the adorable Laura Vitale

Unfortunately I do not have a paella pan and had no room for the mussels and chicken but it was still very delicious

Beef and Vegetable Stir Fry

My own mix of items that I had in the firdge. Secret kick is 3 teaspoons of grain mustard ;)

Very smooth with Hendricks gin & tonic but also goes very well with a delicious Malbec

Grilled Rosemary Mustard Chicken

Recipe from here

I made a salad with some leftover chicken

Korma Chicken

I marinaded the chicken for a day, added paprika and served with Basmati rice and cucumber salad

Alfredo with Parmesan and White Cheddar Cheese Pasta

From Whole Foods

Delicious on it's own or add chicken for a full meal and less than 380 calories

Frozen Yogurt with Skor for dessert

My handy Ipad that I use for all my recipes - Thanks Mom! ;)

Bon Appetit!

Welcome 2014

This year, more attention will be given to cooking, painting & reading.

Sometimes in life things find you. In November 2013, I watched Julie & Julia on television, a movie that I have previously seen when it initially came out a few years ago about Julia Child, played by Meryl Streep and Julia Powell, played by Amy Adams. Powell, a blogger turned author, rose to fame as she aspired to cook all of Child's recipes within a year from Child's famous book Mastering the Art of French Cooking. I thought the movie was cute but that a project of such magnitude was highly ambitious and that I could never have the time nor the patience to do it. A few days later, I was buying Christmas presents at Home Sense and saw that Mastering the Art of French Cooking, both Volumes 1 and 2 were being sold for around $50 (the set retail price starts at $85) and felt that this was a sign and ended up purchasing the set.

I will not attempt to make all of the recipes from the set but felt inspired to make more of an effort with cooking and actually learn how to make a few traditional French dishes. Along the way, I have found many great websites related to cooking (I love the Gourmand Mom website) and started reading books about cooking, Child and French cuisine that I enjoy so much that I cannot put down.

The first dish that I made from my newly acquired Julia Child book Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Volume 1 has been the classic and much blogged about boeuf bourguignon. The second time that I made the beef stew, I made minor alterations to the original recipe by reducing the amount of wine and beef stock that I used. Instead of 3 cups of wine and 2 to 3 cups of beef stock, I used 2 cups of wine and 1 cup of beef stock. The result was a more dense sauce, as opposed to the initial beef stew that I made.