I know it starts to be a little late to publish recipes with cherries, but season is not over everywhere and it could useful for next year too!

I made it up, I just thought and thought about it and the idea of mixing coconut milk, cardamom, pistachios with cherries sounded pleasant! And it is! You can believe me.

I baked it twice with agave syrup and once with mascobado sugar. I just appreciated both of them, even more when I managed to do it all from organic food (good for the conscience).

I found that presenting it in muffin cases was nice too. Easier to shot than in a big plate too.

Tonight, 30th of june is the first time my son is not here. We came back for one night from the sea because Joséphine has to do vaccination. So we decided to leave Giacomo at his grand parents. I feel like an orphan. « mais maman pourquoi tu viens pas manger ce soir??!! » he said on the phone… why I do not come and eat tonight. Even if we explained him, he just did not realized yet.

Can you imagine that, apart from 2 nights at the maternity I never left my son away from me one night!42 months at my side!

Okay, there is worst!

Like my new hair color.. hahaha!

Dark brown chocolate is not brown, it is simply dark, reaaaaallll, deeeeeeeep DARK! Black to be clear!

It’s quite a change when you know that I am light brown with some red with the sun!

I changed the brand, I picked up an organic one (not to blame on it). So I supposed it would be less « agressive » and kept it at least 20 minutes (but less than half an hour). Well…. not at all! It works well!

I still go check from time to time in the mirror « I know it’s dark, I know it’s dark » I keep saying myself before entering the bathroom

« OMG it’s SOOO dark »

Let’s hope my son will recognize me tomorrow!

Clafoutis aux cerises, lait de coco, pistaches et cardamome

pour 4-6 personnes environ

• 160 g de cerises
• 2 oeufs + 1 jaune
• 120 g de lait de coco
• 50 g de farine de pistaches
• 40 g de beurre demi sel fondu
• 3-4 gousses de cardamome verte
• 60 g de sirop d’agave (ou 100 g de sucre de canne moscabado)

1. Préchauffer le four à 170°C
2. Bien laver les cerises et en disposer 2-3 par caissettes pour muffins
3. Ouvrir les gousses de cardamome et en gratter les graines.
4. Mélanger tous les ingrédients (sauf les cerises) ensemble et verser la pate dans chaque caissette à muffins (environ une douzaine de caissettes)
5. Enfourner pour 25 minutes environ

Strawberries with lemon juice, mint and sugar.

I admit… it’s a really simple dish, but no matters, worth to be mentioned no?

The little thing more… peppers. Not that bad actually, un peu de peps!

I had an English uncle. I remembered how shock I got when he said that he was eating strawberries with peppers (or maybe it was salt, a taste enhancer… I am confused, it was at least 20 yrs ago, if not 25).  Whatever it was, I was at a age for which one you eat fruits with sugar or not!

We do often eat strawberries in summer,with some lemon juice, sugar. Kids are fighting for « il succo »,the juice. It’s true it’s good. And even better when you eat the stawberries first, keeping for the end the best part. So I do 2 rounds. One strawberries salad for lunch for Joséphine and I, and another one for Jack when he is coming back from school. Sometimes I add star anise too with the fruits.  For the momen it is fresh mint from our terrace… and a little of black peppers.

Apart from that I have new tables set for pictures,one black, one white. I am having fun with the composition. Indeed I discovered a new background. It was there beneath my eyes since ever. I was taking at pictures on a different spot on the terrace, when I noticed that our zinc closet was just an amazing background for pictures (look above)! I just had time to find the good settings of the camera when Joséphine stole one of the muffins. Go girl!

Strawberries salad with mint (and peppers)

• 500 g organic strawberries
• Juice of 2 organic lemons
• fresh mint
• sugar cane ( for my part Dulcita sugar cane)
• Optional: black pepper

 

1. Wash the strawberries andcut them into  »cubes » of 1-2 cm. Drizzle with the fresh juice of organic lemons. Add the sugar as muchnasyou desire. Chop mint leaves and add them to the strawberries. Mix and keep aside for halfhour in the fridge.
2. Serve in individual bowls with a few mint leaves and maybe a little cracked black pepper.

Salade de fraises et menthe

• 500 g de fraises bio
• Le jus de 2 citrons bio
• menthe fraiche
• sucre de canne (le dulcita pour ma part)
• facultatif: poivre noir

1. Laver et équeuter les fraises. Les couper en « dés » de 1-2 cm. Arroser les du jus de citrons frais. Ajouter le sucre en quantité désirée. Ciseler quelques feuilles de menthe. Mélanger letout et réserver une demie heure au frais.
2. Servir dans des coupes individuelles avec quelques feuilles de menthe et pourquoi pas un peu de poivre noir concassé.

I found buttermilk!

A chance! I was searching after almonds flour everywhere around the area, when unexpectedly I saw these bottles at a supermarket. « Great now I can do Muffins, original ones. I am going to bake them with Giacomo »

So we did! Cinnamon, organic pears and wholemeal from the farm, nuts. Simply delicious. Giacomo just eats the ones that are baked in the green stamp, they seem to be better…who cares after all.

Apart from that I received the book Plate to pixel of Hélène Dujardin, the author of the foodblog Tartelette. Well explained, well-argued with a lot of pictures as a support. Easy to read and you don’t even have to read it chapter after chapter. You can go directly to « props » chapter and skip some to come back on them afterwards! She is just making you want to take pictures, to set your camera by yourself. It’s the book you have to get if you want to start a foodblog or shot at food pictures. I highly recommend!

Pears and cinnamon muffins

• 375 g wholemeal (or you can do half wholemeal half traditional flour)
• 1 tbsp of baking powder
• 180 g sugar cane (I used mascobado sugar, a organic brown sugar cane)
• 125 g soft butter
• 2 eggs
• 270 ml buttermilk
• 2 small pears
• 15 g cinnamon in powder
• walnuts

1. Preheat oven to 210 ° C
2. In a bowl, add the flour, baking powder, sugar.
3. In another bowl pour the beaten eggs, butter, buttermilk. Mix and add to the mix of flour. Mix the dough, leaving it lumpy.
4. Wash and peel pears. Cut them in cubes (less than 1 cm). Incorporate them into the dough.
5. Spoon batter into muffin cups and top with some mashed walnuts.
6. Bake for 20 minutes

Muffins poire et cannelle

• 375 g de farine intégrale (vous pouvez faire moitié farine intégrale, moitié farine classique)
• 1 c. à s. de levure chimique
• 180 g de sucre de canne (j’ai utlisé le sucre mascobado qui a un plus faible pouvoir sucrant mais qui est très parfumé)
• 125 g de beurre très mou
• 2 oeufs
• 270 ml de lait fermenté (buttermilk)
• 2 petites poires
• 15 g de cannelle en poudre
• noix

1. Préchauffer le four à 210°C
2. Dans un saladier, verser la farine, la levure, le sucre.
3. Dans un autre saladier verser les oeufs légèrement battus, le beurre, le lait fermenté. Mélanger et incorporer au 1er saldier. Mélanger en laissant la pate grumeleuse.
4. Laver et éplucher les poires. Les détailler en dés (moins de 1 cm). Les incorporer à la pate.
5. Répartir la pate dans les moules à muffins, et garnir le dessus de quelques morceaux de noix.
6. Enfourner pendant 20 minutes.

Muffins alla pera e cannella

• 375 g di farina integrale (si possono fare  metà farina integrale e metà farina di grano)
• 1 cucchiaio di lievito in polvere
• 180 g di zucchero di canna (ho preso lo zucchero mascobado che ha una dolcezza più basso ma molto profumata)
• 125 g di burro molto morbido
• 2 uova
• 270 ml di latte fermentato (latticello)
• 2 pere piccole
• 15 g di cannella
• noci

1. Preriscaldare il forno a 210 ° C
2. In una ciotola, aggiungere la farina, il lievito, lo zucchero.
3. In un’altra ciotola versare le uova leggermente sbattute, burro, latte fermentato. Mescolare e aggiungere alla prima ciotola. Mescolare l’impasto, lasciandolo grumoso.
4. Lavare e sbucciare le pere. Tagliatele a dadini (meno di 1 cm). Aggiungerli nella pasta.
5. Riempire di pasta gli stampi a muffin e guarnire sopra son un po’ di noci.
6. Infornare per 20 minuti.

The chocolate and coconut milk mellow cake of Marine, the 4 yrs old girl of my friend Krishna. Her favorite cake, the one that her mother puts in her school bag from time to time, a healthy snack. Krishna is a long time friend, met when I still was a student, a year before I started marine biology… almost 13 years ago! Brr… Ca ne nous rajeunit pas ! At the begining I remember she brought me some croissants and pains au chocolat, and prepared my coffee after I spent one night at the lab for an experiment, the time degradation of proteins in dead birds. Delicate attention! Since then we did not work anymore in the same lab, but she was/is always around. She is a great cook too, specially indian food, wrote 2 blogs about her travels that I highly recommend, one in Florida and one in India.

I baked that cake yesterday for us, it had its little success… since this morning there is not that much left (and I put some in the school bag of Giacomo too!)

Have a nice week end!

The chocolate and coconut milk cake of Marine

• 200g dark chocolate
• 80g almond puree complete (or butter but I assure you, try the almond puree!)
• 200 ml coconut milk
• 200g unrefined cane sugar
• 100g wholemeal flour
• 4 eggs
• 1 tbsp of baking powder
• a pinch of salt

1. Preheat oven to 180°C.
2. Put the chocolate to melt in a bain-marie with the almond puree and coconut milk.
3. Then remove from heat and smooth preparation.
4. In a bowl, mix flour, sugar, salt and baking powder.
5. Add eggs one by one into the chocolate melted and cooled, pour the mixture into the bowl. Mix. Pour the mixture into a buttered and floured stamp.
6. Bake about 25-30 minutes for individual servings (clean knife test).
7. Cool and enjoy without guilty this pleasure (maybe with a scoop of coconut ice?).

Le moelleux au chocolat et lait de coco de Marine

• 200g de chocolat noir
• 80g de purée d’amandes complètes (ou de beurre mais je vous assure, essayez la purée d’amandes vendue en magasin Bio!)
• 200 ml de lait de coco
• 200g de sucre de canne non raffiné
• 100g de farine complète
• 4 œufs
• 1 sachet de levure
• une pincée de sel

1. Préchauffer le four à 180°C.
2. Mettre le chocolat à fondre au bain-marie avec la purée d’amandes et le lait de coco.
3. Retirer ensuite du feu et lisser la préparation.
4. Dans un saladier, mélanger la farine, le sucre, le sel et la levure.
5. Ajouter les œufs un à un dans le chocolat fondu et légèrement refroidi et verser cette préparation dans le saladier. Mélanger le tout.Verser dans un moule beurré et fariné.
6. Faire cuire environ 25-30 mn pour des portions individuelles (test du couteau propre).
7. Laisser refroidir et profiter sans culpabilité de ce plaisir coupable (pourquoi pas avec une boule de glace coco?).

La torta al cioccolato e latte di cocco di Marine

• 200 g di cioccolato fondente
• 80 g di purea di mandorle (o burro, ma vi assicuro, provare la crema di mandorle in vendita nei negozi bio!)
• 200 ml di latte di cocco
• 200g di zucchero grezzo di canna
• 100g di farina integrale
• 4 uova
• 1 bustina di lievito in polvere
• un pizzico di sale

1. Accendere il forno a 180°C.
2. Mettere il cioccolato a sciogliere a bagnomaria, con la purea di mandorle e latte di cocco.
3. Poi togliere dal fuoco e mescolare bene finché l’impasto sia omogeneo.
4. In una ciotola, mescolare farina, zucchero, sale e lievito.
5. Aggiungere le uova uno a uno nel cioccolato fuso e leggermente raffreddato, versate il composto nel recipiente. Mescolare tutto.Versare in uno stampo imburrato e infarinato.
6. Cuocere circa 25-30 minuti per porzioni singole (prova del coltello pulito).
7. Lasciare raffreddare e godersi di questo piacere senza colpevole (magari con un po’ di gelato al cocco?).

Some of you might know it, a childhood dessert, a chocolate cream dessert, la danette! I remember the advertising on TV « on se lève tous pour danette » (we all stnd up for danette). My mother was not the kind’s one that used to buy dessert or this kind of yogurt. According to her it was too full of chemical products! She might be right. I never bought or buy some either. I took that from her. She was also very proud that at 3 or 4 years old I did not know about candies. I was looking at them at the baker’s who proposed her that I take some and she proudly answered « she does not know what it is! ».

Now, I am doing almost the same. I never (really occasionally I admit) buy candies or cookies… I am trying to my best to prepare it myself.

This cream is easy to do and take no time. I did it on saturday night and the night after no more petits pots de creme were left! You can use just milk or do like I did half whole milk half coconut milk!

Eggless cream with cocoa and coconut milk

• 250 ml whole milk
• 250 ml coconut milk
• 50 g unsweetened cocoa
• 80 g soft brown sugar
• 50 ml liquid cream
• 20 g cornstarch

1. Pour all ingredients into a saucepan. Whisk.
2. Bring to low heat andwhisk continuously until it thickens.
3. Pour immediately into yogurt jars. Keep refrigerated once the cream has cooled.

Crème sans oeufs au cacao et lait de coco

• 250 ml de lait entier
• 250 ml de lait de coco
• 50 g de cacao amer
• 80 g de sucre de canne doux
• 50 ml de crème fraiche liquide
• 20 g de maizena

1. Verser tous les ingrédients dans une casserole. Fouetter.
2. Porter à feu doux et fouetter le mélange sans interruption jusqu’à ce qu’il épaississe.
3. Verser immédiatement dans des petits pots à yaourt. Réserver au frais dès que la crème a refroidi.

Crema di cacao e latte di cocco senza uova

• 250 ml di latte intero
• 250 ml di latte di cocco
• 50 g di cacao amaro
• 80 g di zucchero di canna
• 50 ml di panna liquida
• 20 g di maizena

1. Versare tutti gli ingredienti in una pentola. Mescolare.
2. Portare a fuoco basso e mescolare continuamente il composto fino a quando si addensa.
3. Versare subito in vasetti di yogurt. Conservare in frigo una volta che la crema si è raffreddata.