Verjus Restaurant, Paris, Vegan Dinner

Martin-Lane and I are vegan vegetarians– we eat very well.  Paris is no exception we have our favorite bakeries, street food, markets, cous cous restaurant, Vietnamese food, falafel... My preference is to eat meals inspired by the freshest seasonal market ingredients, many restaurants in Paris that cook this way are not able to accommodate vegans.  Of course there are exceptions on previous trips we have had memorable meals at Arpege, L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon and le violin d'Ingres to name a few.  On our trip last week we enjoyed a thoughtful and delicious seven course meal at Verjus.  I cannot recall each dish but the meal included– smoked broccoli, roasted potato with truffle salt and radish sprout, celery root dumplings with dan dan sauce, tofu made by a friend of the chef, cranberry beans, salsify...  Everything we saw at the farmers market and more!

At the end of the meal I asked how often they cook vegan meals and was told this was their first one!  I recommend both the restaurant and wine bar downstairs to both vegetarians and omnivores alike.

Home Restaurant March 22, 2012

Photo Kate Headley

Last night we hosted a dinner for an old friend of ours and his colleagues who were in town from all over the world...  Fabulous to have so many just available spring ingredients– shad roe, fiddelhead ferns, pea shoots, rhubarb... As per our hosts request served all American wines–

PASSING

Scrambled Egg and Bacon, Shad Roe with Sorrel, Grilled Guinea Hen with Leek and Mustard, Roasted and Pureed Potato with Oregon Truffle, Watermelon Radish with Parsley, Baby Beets and Balsamic, Roasted Brussel Sprouts with Ginger

(Arnot-Roberts) Rose of Touriga Nacional 2011, Bay and Lemon Vodka Martini

SEATED

Roasted Rockfish with Lemon Grass, Carrot, Salsify and Spinach– Sesame Roll

(Porter Creek) Pinot Noir Russian River 2009 

Fiddle Fead Ferns, Black Trumpet Mushroom with Celery, Celery Root and Fennel Salad– Spelt Olive Oil Bread

(Illahe Vineyards) Pinot Gris Willamette 2010 

Beef Short Ribs with Pea Shoots and Black Walnut, Turnip Gratin– 48 Hour Bread

(Porter Creek) Carignan "Old Vines" Mendocino 2009  

Winnimere Cheese, Walnut Cracker

Ginger Bread with Frozen Vanilla, Rhubarb and Candied Pecans

(Red Newt Cellars) Finger Lakes Riesling Semi Dry 2010

Cookies: Chocolate Cake, Coconut Almond, Rosemary Cornmeal, Chocolate Macadamia Biscotti

Take Home: Salty Rosemary Walnut Biscotti

Edible Forest Gardening

Until a couple of weeks ago I had never heard of an "Edible Forest"–

Edible forest gardening is the art and science of putting plants together in woodlandlike patterns that forge mutually beneficial relationships, creating a garden ecosystem that is more than the sum of its parts. You can grow fruits, nuts, vegetables, herbs, mushrooms, other useful plants, and animals in a way that mimics natural ecosystems. You can create a beautiful, diverse, high-yield garden. If designed with care and deep understanding of ecosystem function, you can also design a garden that is largely self-maintaining. In many of the world's temperate-climate regions, your garden would soon start reverting to forest if you were to stop managing it. We humans work hard to hold back succession—mowing, weeding, plowing, and spraying. If the successional process were the wind, we would be constantly motoring against it. Why not put up a sail and glide along with the land's natural tendency to grow trees? By mimicking the structure and function of forest ecosystems we can gain a number of benefits.

Anyone with a patch of land can grow a forest garden. They've been created in small urban yards and large parks, on suburban lots, and in small plots of rural farms. The smallest we have seen was a 30 by 50 foot (9 by 15 m) embankment behind an urban housing project, and smaller versions are definitely possible. ....

edibleforestgardens.com

We were approached about helping to create an "Edible Forest"  on a strip of land currently covered in concrete near our house across the street from a school...  Immediately we began to imagine fig trees, chestnut trees, mushrooms, herbs and frogs...  Hopefully we will be reporting some progress soon.

Kombucha Making Day

In addition to other things it was a kombucha making day... We bottle a batch that has finished fermenting and start a new batch every 2-3 weeks.

Since the SCOBY multiplies we always have extra and are always happy to share with anyone anxious to brew their own.  For those who do not brew their own a new brand is for sale that is quite good–  High Country, my favorite flavor is Elderberry Hibiscus which is barely sweet and consistently fizzy.

Cherry Blossoms Now!!

It is always difficult to predict the blooming of the cherry blossoms on the national mall, the current prediction for peak date is March 20th.  Florists have a little more leeway, we can force blooms early and get them from up north when the local ones are finished blooming.  This year blooms are coming early, more than 2 weeks earlier than last year. I used them earlier this week at an event at Rogue 24 and for an Architects photo shoot.  This coming weekend they will decorate a wedding at the Tabard Inn and another at Longview Gallery.  Because of the early heat, up and down the east coast I am concerned about availability for a couple of my mid-April brides–– luckily all sorts of other beautiful flowers will be available...enjoy them while they last!

Coconut Butter

Artisana Coconut Butter is a staple in our kitchen.  It is made from the pureed flesh of raw mature coconuts unlike coconut oil which is the pure oil extracted from the coconut meat.  The butter is an essential ingredient in our non-dairy ice creams, we used a little in a savory curry, whisking it in a sauce the way one would traditionally use butter.  I also use it in Macaroons... Coconut Macaroons

6 cups tightly packed coconut flakes 3 cups almond flour or other nut flour such as pistachio, macadamia nut, walnut 1 3/4 cup maple syrup 2/3 cup coconut butter 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 teaspoon sea salt
Thoroughly combine all ingredients, shape into small balls about 3/4 inches in diameter.  Place in a 100-120 degree oven and cook until crisp on the outside and soft in the middle, about 6-8 hours.

Kitchen Experiment, Young Coconut Curry

Most days I eat at least one young coconut.  John has been curious about making a curry sauce using both the water and meat from a young coconut, the idea being that it would be cleaner tasting and the spices more prominent without a traditional coconut milk base. For dinner one night last week he prepared a coconut curry sauce by blending the water and meat of a young coconut in a high speed blender.  The coconut mixture was gently heated and he wisked in a small amount of coconut butter.  Added, fresh ginger, fresh garlic, whole tumeric, cumin seeds and let the seasonings flavor the coconut while maintaing the temperature at 125 degrees for about 20 minutes.  We strained the sauce before serving over potatoes, salsify, black rice and spinach.

Kitchen Experiment, Pigs Foot

For as long as I have known him I have heard John talk about a dish that he ate in the UK more than 2 decades ago prepared by Marco Pierre White.  Yesterday he cooked a dish that was loosely based on that dish and a recipe by Pierre Koffmann.  There were many steps including careful butchering, a 24 hour stock and slow cooking the stuffed pigs foot.  He filled the pigs trotter with olive oil mashed potatoes, it looked fantastic and I am told it was delicious.

Kitchen Experiment, Eggs

We like to serve eggs at Home Restaurants, two of our favorites are from Path Valley Cooperative and Whitmore Farms.  We wanted to try some variations with a thermometer, a pot of water, and our new stove which allows us to regulate the cooking temperature on the low end, for example we can hold a pot of water at 140 degrees.  Sous vide without the machines– Image 1. Sous vide in plastic wrap, 7 minutes at 190 degrees

Image 2. Sous vide in shell, 55 minutes 143 degrees

Image 3. Traditional medium boiled egg, 7 minutes, 212 degrees