Flour days

Becavin

The pictures of the buckwheat fields on the banner and the cow were taken in Brittany (the French say Bretagne) by my friend Caroline Forbes who is a photographer. Caroline sent me these pictures a few days ago because she knows about my wild dream - that I want to grow and mill my own buckwheat and make soba.  I wouldn't mind moving to Brittany to do just that.  Brittany is known for their buckwheat. The locals make a delicious buckwheat crepe called Breton Galette. Maybe they want to learn how to make soba, too. 

Caroline has the best of two worlds.  She  lives in London and has a farm house in Becavin in the heartland of Brittany.  To get to Brittany from London, she takes the overnight  ferry across the English channel to St. Malo and then drives South for another hour to Becavin. The whole of Brittany is a very special place, especially for a photographer - there is the ever changing tides of the emerald sea, the farms, the forests, the beautiful old villages dotted along the coast.  The climate is the most interesting part.  You can start the day with a sunny morning, which can then change into thunder and heavy showers during mid-day, sometimes even hail and snow, and then back again to being sunny in the late afternoon.  

One year, I rented her place for the whole summer.  I was there alone with my computer, cell phone and my suitcase full of books.  But what attracted me most the moment I got there was not what I brought from the city but what I saw  there - the wide open fields and the life in it.  The first evening in Becavin, I went for a long walk in the buckwheat fields. The young dairy cows were curious and followed me for awhile but they knew better to turn back.  I should have stayed with the herd but I kept exploring the bucolic life until I found myself lost in the middle of nowhere. No farm houses or roads in sight.   So what do I do?  I pick up my cell phone and call Caroline in London like she was going to jump on the ferry and come to the rescue.  Right.  It was approaching 10 pm. There was still some light out but if I didn't hurry, I would find myself in pitch darkness . Poor Caroline was so worried.  Somehow I felt fine though.  After another 3/4 of an hour of wandering, luck came my way. I saw in the near distance, the line of familiar trees and the Becavin chateau. I made it back to the farm house safe and sound. This experience didn't stop me from venturing out again the next day.  Crazy Japanese woman.  I managed fine for the rest of my stay in Becavin and even picked up some French. Caroline, who could not bare to leave me alone there, came out to spend a weekend with me. She took me to the best bakery that made a wonderful pain de campagne and to her favorite thrift shop where she always  finds treasures. She bought me a retro shirt for 1 Euro.  We cooked everyday. Caroline showed me how to make Breton Crepes stuffed with ham and cheese and many other wonderful dishes using local produce - coco beans, white asparagus, carrots, artichokes, oysters, mussels, etc. We ate well.  I didn't feel all alone when she left.  I befriended the farmer's old horse.  I kept myself busy in the garden.  At dusk, the bats flew around the fields looking for food.  Then at night, I watched the moon rise. The moon would hide in the clouds but then it would come out and  light the fields. I knew then that I had become part of the life in Becavin.  I only got through half of my books that summer but it didn't matter. I had my dream summer.

Just out of the of the oven

Something smells good. My sister Fuyuko is always testing recipes. I am the happy guinea pig. In general, I find French pastries too sweet for my palate but this Basque Gaeteau is not. You can have it for breakfast with coffee. Basque Gateau is made with an almond meal cookie base so it has a nice crumbly texture. It is filled with a custard creme but today Fuyuko filled it with Apricot jam and I thought it worked very well. Slowly but surely the cake disappears.

RECIPE

Serves 4

For the pastry

2.5 egg yolks (50 grams)

65 g powdered sugar

65 g granulated sugar

125 g softened butter

125 g unbleached all purpose flour

65 g almond meal

5 cm vanilla bean, split and scrape seeds

1 teaspoon rum

Apricot Jam - enough to fill the cavity, about 2/3 cup (see Apricot Jam with Vanilla)

Making the pastry

Combine all the ingredients for the pastry without overworking it.

Cover and let rest in a cool place for 4 hours.

Assembly

Butter a 16 cm round cake pan.

Roll out half the pastry to a thickness of approximately 3 mm.

Line the bottom and sides of the cake pan with the pastry.

Spread the apricot jam evenly in the pastry case.

Cover with the remaining pastry. Brush with egg yolk.

Bake in a 180° C oven for about 20 minutes. Then lower heat to 150 ° C for 10 minutes. Serve warm or cold.

It is always comforting to come back to a familiar place to cook and eat. That's how I feel about Fernando and Cissa's apartment in Paris where I spent last spring.

Since then, their apartment has gone through a major makeover. The old kitchen is gone. Gutted and replaced with beautiful modern appliances.  Walls removed and repainted, old posts exposed, etc. It's amazing what fresh ideas, new cabinets and carpentry can do. The whole apartment is lofty and light.  

This summer, Fernando was in Paris with his family.  So was our friend Niv and there was me. Fernando invited us to come and cook. This is what we often did when we were shooting our last film in Canada.  It was our favorite passtime.

We went shopping at the Grand Epicerie - on Rue du Bac- the gourmet supermarket to die for.  We let our whims and what caught our eyes dictate what to cook. That's always the best.  At the La Gazetta, Niv had eaten  a fabulous fish the night before. He wanted to recreate the dish.  He said it was this delicate fillet that was served on a creamy bed of cauliflower puree and some arugula. Mmmm.  I was thinking more like sashimi or ceviche to start with and something a bit more simple like grilled lamb chops. But that's okay. I welcomed the challenge.   

We found a very nice fat sea bass at he Poisonnerie on Rue de Bac. There were going to be eight of us for dinner so we bought two medium size sea bash and asked for the fishmonger to make them into fillets.  At the Grand Epicerie,  we found a variety of fresh pasta in the Italian section.  So we picked up some vegetable, mushroom and tomato ravioli.  We decided to make the tomato sauce from scratch.  

We came up with the following menu:

Red radishes and carrots with fresh hand churned smoked butter (Bordier)  

Mushroom, mixed vegetables and cheese ravioli with tomato sauce and basil.  

Sauteed seabass served on a bed of stir fried arugula and 

julienned red peppers

Cauliflower puree  

Mixed greens and herbs with lemon dressing

Bread from Eric Kaizer

Strawberries, blueberries and currants with creme fraiche

Cheeses

and of course plenty of wine and a nice vintage champagne.  

We couldn't go wrong with these ingredients.

Lots to carry back to the apartment.  Niv was the master chef.  I started the tomato sauce for the ravioli. The sauce needed to cook for a few hours.  Fernando chopped garlic.  Caca peeled the carrots.  We all contributed our love and labor.  The Tomato sauce was slightly on the sweet side but we adjusted the flavor with chopped basil.  

For the Fish dish, Niv marinated the sea bass in some olive oil, sliced pickled lemon. He seasoned it with some salt and pepper.  Then Spencer remembered that the fish had a little dill in it.  So Niv used the dill from the green salad.  One herb can do a whole lot good to a fish..  We didn't have a blender for the cauliflower puree but Niv made it with an old  French press puree   we found in the cabinet.  It belonged to the former owner.  It took two people to assemble it together but we did.  He added some creme fraiche to the puree and seasoned it with salt and pepper.  

Niv, sliced some red and yellow pepers and pan fried them.   He put them aside. 

He took the sea bass out of the marinade and pan fried it in the same pan as the peppers.

To serve, He lay a small handful of argula on each plate.  The put a bed of creamy cauliflower puree.  Arranged some peppers on the side and then finally the sea bass on top.  The dish looked beautiful.

Basically, we won everyone over with the first course - the ravioli with fresh tomato sauce. Then the main fish course was served.  It was fantastic.  With some creme fraiche and chopped chives, the cauliflower puree tasted like a creamy cloud.  We were basically in heaven for the rest of the evening. Master chef at work serving the fish on the beautiful old Limoge plates.

Mmmmm so good!

At the end of the  evening, we promised each other that we will do this again.

A bientot!

French country window

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The farmers market in Bastile is right near the Metro station.  Before leaving Paris, I wanted to get some cheese to take back to my family in Japan.  Cheese, as with wine, has become popular in Japan but since most cheeses are imported, they can be very expensive.  In the last five years, I have seen such a variety of cheeses in Tokyo but you buy them as slivers and I find it takes the taste and fun away from cheese eating.  I am ready to take back a half a dozen cheeses.  Bastille is one of the largest fresh produce markets in Paris.  I find the most serious French shoppers staring at the fish, picking out the best produce and talking to the vendors.  The fish looks excellent.  I find three or four cheese shops.  I buy the cheeses from the place that has the most traffic.  A couple of goat cheeses, a brie and a compte. I  wish I can stay longer at the market, buy some food and cook them right here in Paris.  But I have to leave.  I will have to save the cooking for next time.

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My pastry chef sister Fuyuko e mailed me just before leaving Paris that I should check out Jacques Genin's new salon de the if I could get myself over to the Marais district.  Jacques Genin's  salon is breathtakingly beautiful. It is a bit daunting at first but the lovely marshmallows and caramels in the display case will lure you in.   What's was most impressive were Genin's chocolates. Creamy and dense in flavors of caramel, vanilla, chinammon, mint, etc.  The chocolates are packaged in a silver metal box.  I am telling you, he treats these little chocolates as if they were jewels.  I learned that in the old days, chocolates used to be sold in metal boxes because they stayed freshers.  Genin is bringing back the good old ways. I bought the smaller box of nine chocolates.  It was 10 euros for 9 tiny pieces but well worth it.  I was instructed not to put the chocolate in my suitcase while travelling because the temperature of the plane's cargo section was too cold.  So the silver box travelled with me in my backpack and stayed close to me during the 12 hour flight back to Tokyo.  

While you are at the shop, do have a cup of tea, sit here and enjoy the tranquil space. I loved it.  The teas are all Chinese green tea blended with herbs and flowers.  It was very relaxing.  You get two pieces of chocolate with the tea.  Also, when you buy the chocolate, they will let you try a free sample.  I ate so many chocolates that day, I felt full and happy.  I skipped dinner.

So this week brings me to Paris. Yes, I am hopping around the world a lot this summer. Tokyo then Paris, then back to Tokyo again before I go home to Santa Monica. It's business combined with a little pleasure. When I travel to a place like France, food is almost always good. So I love eating out but since I will take a good home made meal anytime over a restaurant meal, I get very excited when somebody invites me to their house.  This time I got very lucky.

I was invited to Rudy and Brien Chelminski's home for lunch in Fontainbleau, which is about three quarters of an hour by train from Gare de Lyon in Paris. The Chelminskis are Americans who have lived in France for more than 30 years. Rudy is a journalist and Brien is a homemaker. Rudy has written several books on wine and French cuisine. So he always gtives me good insight on French culture and food. Their house sits right at the edge of the famous forest of Fontainbleau. I have visited them a dozen times. I always take the same 11 am-ish train and get there just in time for lunch. If it is warm, Brien sets the table outside and we eat in the beautiful garden.  Something is always blooming.  This time of the year, the hydrangeas dotted the garden in pink.  Today, it is a little cold so Brien set the table in the dining room. She is expecting two other guests. Her neighbors Joe and Benedictine who live across the street.

Every space in this house is used efficiently and reflects the Chelminski's artistic taste.  I love the kitchen.  It has a warm country feeling.  Whenever I am here, I feel like cooking.

      Brien painted the ceiling green.

All the pots and pans hang comfortably on the wall and they feel like they could be mine.

Rudy cooked a "more vegetables than egg frittata" - a recipe he found in the New York Times. The final garnish was chopped basil.  It was really more vegetables than egg. He used zuchinni, broccoli, red onions, peas.  The red onions made the frittata a little brownish in color but still, we all loved it a and there were very little left over.  It's nice to see a man cook.  I saw this happen in all three French kitchens I was invited to.  Which I think is a good thing.

  Everyone pitched in.

The table setting was very French.  There was five of us.  I was starving.

Dessert consisted of Brien's homemade apricot clauffouti and macarons from Pierre Herme.  I ate a lot of claffouti and macarons this month.  It started out with my sister's cherry claffouti in Tokyo, then Fran's cherry claffouti in Paris and Brien's apricot clafouti in Fountainbleau.  Fran said that Clafoutti is as homey as desserts come in France. It is so simple to make.  You can make it with crust or without.  I loved the claffouti with fresh apricots.  The classic claffouti is made with whole cherries, with the pit and all.  The pit adds flavor to the dish.  

Pierre Herme's macarons, the other dessert, were a big hit as always.  Pierre Herme worked at Le Notre, Fauchon, then at La Duree where he did a whole makeover of their pastries. He then opened his own open shops in Paris and Tokyo. I think his macarons, the variety and freshness of taste, are remarkable.  He even makes Yuzu and Wasabi flavors, which the Japanese clientele love.

MORE-VEGETABLE-THAN-EGG FRITTATA

From The New York Times - Mark Bittman

2 Tbls olve or or butter

1/2 onion, sliced

salt and ground pepper

4-6 cups of any chopped or sliced raw or barely cooked vegetables

1/4 cup fresh basil or parsely leaves, or 1 teaspoon chopped fresh tarragon or mint leaves, or any other herb

2-3 eggs

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese (optional)

1. Put olive oil or butter in a skillet and turn heat to medium. When fat is hot, add onion, if using, and cook, sprinkling with salt and pepper, until it is soft, 3-5 minutes. Add vegetable, raise heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until they soften, from a couple of minutes for greens to 15 minutes for sliced potatoes.  Adjust heat so vegetbles brown a little without scorching.  (With precooked vegetables, just add them to onions and stir before proceeding.)

2. When vegetable are nearly done, turn heat to low and add herb.  Cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are tender.

3. Meanwhile, beat eggs with some salt and pepper, along with cheese if you are using it. Pour over vegetables, distributing them evenly.  Cook undisturbed until eggs are barely set, 10 minutes or so; run pan under broiler for a  minute or 2 if top does not set.  Cut into wedges and serve hot, warm or a t room temperature.

Yield: 2-4 servings.

People in France put these charming porcelain cicadas at the entrance of their homes to bring good luck.  I have been going to France for nearly 25years, so I have accumulated a small collection. I didn't get one thisy ear but I have enough to keep me company.  Not all of them are up on the fence.  Some could hold flowers,one could sing (battery operated).  I love the big yellow one, which iselaborately painted. Cicadas bring childhoood memories.  I grew up inJapan listening to cicadas sing and running away from them.  They flyf uriously and can be rather annoying if they get inside your mosquitonet at night when you are just about to turn in. There were no chemicalrepellants to kill insects back then. 

My brother would catch thecicadas with a butterfly net during the day and at night release themin the mosquito net just to be mean! My sister and I would run out ofthe mosquito net screaming.  Not all cicadas are a nuisance. Some sing beautifully and forlornly.  My favorite one sings like this: hoshee,tsuku tsuku tsuku.  Hoshee, tsuku tsuku tsuku.  Cicadas spend six toseven years as larvae, come out of the ground to mate and die within afew of weeks. The life of a cicada is so ephemeral. Sometimes, I think we are like them.