Vegetables – Page 30 – Myfrenchkitchen

I have many weaknesses and they all depend on time of year or time of week or kind of mood. I’m not talking character weaknesses, of which I have so many, I could create a whole new population! I’m talking about those weaknesses that make you jittery in the knees. Like a handsome guy passing you on the street( ladies..!), or a stunning woman smiling at you(for the men..!!), or that pair of shoes in the window whispering: “buy mee, buy mee…” all the while next to you, you see the man in your life droolingly staring at that iphone in the window next door.

…classic and romantic…

Weaknesses. As I said,I have many. But not in the line of clothes or make-up, or even kitchen gadgets. Maybe perfume? But my knees do go jello when I see old linen. Silver. Glasses. Old etchings. OLd books! Old postcards. Old tableware. Old kitchen towls. Tablecloths. I’d better stop. At the moment I am the napkin phase. I love eating with a fabric napkin. Old, new, classic, contemporary, embroidered, monogrammed, linen, cotton, colourful, white..

…old and wintery…

In summer we are loud and modern bright, fun and frivolous with our summer tables. In winter I turn to old and classic, warm, heavier storytelling table ware. And the napkins of course, have to play along…whites and soft greys, dark aubergines and burgundies. Here at the dawn to autumn, I have grown a bit bored with all the summer napkins we used, so I got seduced this morning into indulging in a few new autumn-spirited napkins, which I couldn’t wait to use with dinner!

And no, I don’t spend a lot of money on a napkin. I have a rule as to what I’ll pay for a napkin and I never cross that line. To buy expensive everyday napkins , would be obscene. And thus far I could find pretty, elegant, stylish, fun, wintery…every kind of napkin I desire, within my set budget boundaries. Of course there are beautiful ones far above my rule script, but I would have to leave the price tag on so people would see it and then be too intimidated to wipe their mouths and so the napkins would remain forever unused. If you have the time and a sewing machine, it becomes even cheaper and your choice of fabric is endless. But another rule when making your own(of course to be broken if you so wish, that is why there are rules..?) is to keep the napkin simple, easy washable and of a natural fabric like cotton. Leave the trimmings like buttons and boughs for your cushions. Napkins should be simple. Unadorned.

No, I don’t do any napkin folding. No swans, or donkeys, or rabbits or candles swooning next to my plate. No flowery creations suiciding over wine glass rims. Just simply folded(with the monogram or the embroidery on top, if any), or rolled and stuck into a napkin ring.

And NO STAINS!! Therefore you have the trusted old soap- and- soak trick, letting it dry in the sun. Treat your stains as soon as possible and DON’T EVER iron on a stain.

So. You’re thinking: “Fabric napkins! Urgghh! Work!!” Maybe. Or not? Isn’t it the washing machine who washes it? Or even the washing services? OK, yeah yeah yeah, it still needs to be ironed, but isn’t all the trouble a small sacrifice compared to the delight of having a lovely napkin beside your plate?

So. How about an inspiring napkin drawer? Napkins neatly folded. Some maybe rolled and tied into a bundle with an oh, so pretty ribbon. And on the side in the drawer, interesting napking rings in a small basket, bowl, old tin, or pretty covered little box(that your creative self decorated at almost no cost!)Any fragrant herbs for repellant as well as perfuming? You wouldn’t want a guest, or yourself, bringing a musty, dusty smelling napkin to his/her mouth, that area right under the nose?

After spending time and energy and thought into preparing a meal, you owe it to yourself and to the food to present it at the best table you can create. It is called respect. For yourself, and your hard work, your guests and for the food you prepared.

…an inspiring napkin drawer makes for inspiring tablesetting. It doesn’t have to be expensive. It only has to be inventive and creative….

…now let’s eat!…

Suggestions:

This is eaten like a risotto…only with quinoa, but use arborio rice and you can have a green vegetable risotto.
Subsitute half of the boiling water with dry white wine.
Any green vegetables can be used, or other for that matter.
If on a diet, don’t mix the réme frâiche with the vetables, but serve it on the side, as I did in the photo, but still do toss the vegetables with some olive oil, a squirt of lemon juice and seasoning.
Top off with some tasted almonds or some sunflowerseeds for crunch.
Play around, and don’t skimp on the vegetables!

…shelled beans & peas…

After speaking to a very good friend this morning, who is on holiday in the bush, I felt the need to concoct something for Mariaan. I miss her. She is funny and makes me laugh. I wish I was there in the bush with them; listening to the roar of the lion at night and watching the elephant’s play by the waterhole.

…watermelon, bresaola and cheese salad…

Cut some watermelon into slices, or chunks, add to a bowl along with some baby spinach leaves, or arugula, add some feta cheese, or blue cheese, or parmesan broken in chunks and lastly tear some bresaola over the salad. Finish off with a drizzling of live oil, a squeeze of lemon juice and a drizzle of white balsamic vinegar. Sprinkle with toasted almonds. Serve with a seed bread and a cold white or rosé wine.

As with many of the dishes I do here, there is no formal recipe. And there are hundreds of versions of salads with watermelon.

I started off this blog simply to have fun. I’m not obsessed about/with cooking. Or coming up with the perfect recipe. I am much more interested in a combination of things which evolve around food. Food is the last thing I think about when thinking about “meals”. I almost always first design my table for entertaining, before I decide on the food. I will first decide on colour, before I start thinking about a food to post. I will see sunset on the ocean and then I will want to make a dish that will fall in with my sunset on the ocean. An idea for a photo will pop into my head and I will start thinking of some food to go along with the idea. I will invite friends over and take hours to decide if we are eating inside or under the stars and then I’ll decide on the food. I will miss a friend and then decide to make something that represents her.

It is the same as painting a canvas. It is a whole process. It is the doing it, that gives the pleasure. The original thought, the preparations, wiping of plates, the shining of silver, the billowing throw of the linen on the wooden table, the cutting up of vegetables, the whiffs of onion in the pan, the delight of colours on the tables, the smells of flowers in a vase, the tasting of a sauce with your tasting spoon(NOT a finger) the stirring of a soup, the pinching of salt, the clinging of pots, the sipping of wine, feeling the coolness of rolled dough under your palms, licking out the bowl with your fingers, touching the crispness of a linen napkin, hearing the ping of crystal…it is a complete creative experience. A sensory ecperience. A sensual experience.

So. The recipes found here on Myfrenchkitchen are only for inspiration. They may not be perfect. They sure aren’t perfect. I don’t care for them to be perfect. I don’t measure and I don’t count. I am not inspired by recipes. I am only inspired by the idea of a recipe. A gazpacho will inspire me to do something with colour. A soup may inspire me to go for a new way of serving. A salad might evoke the desire to take a healthy course. I don’t follow recipes, it is too much effort and I’ll need my reading glasses. It wastes my time. Except for rare occasions when I might bake and even then, as long as I have some basic knowledge about what makes a cake rise and why do you need eggs and what is the relationship between ingredients and how and why to beat air into an egg white, I can make it work. It is knowing a little bit of the science behing cooking. That and a little common sense. And if all fails, I have my cooking encyclopedias, my kitchen bibles to run to. Which I do. Often. If you don’t have one, you won’t be able to make a recipe your own. There are many on the market. My well used bible is Larousse Gastronomique.

The recipes posted here, the photo’s, the silly stories…are all simply for enjoyment. My own enjoyment, as well as those who pass by here. They serve only as inspiration. If it can only be fun to look at or light an idea in your head to have you take off to your kitchen, it has served its purpose.Take the recipes and ideas for serving and settings and compositions and go to your kitchen and make it your own, or else it will always be someone else’s recipe. Play around with it, forget about the precision of the measuring spoon and start using your tastebuds and judgements…and common sense. Make mistakes, adjust, change and then delight in your own creation.

There is a magnitude of cookbooks out there, even more blogs, so many cooks, so many chefs. The internet specifically is a rushing waterfall of recipes of all kinds and all cultures and tastes. The world of food and cooking is on such a fast track, everybody can do anything, trends change every month, nothing is new, everything has been done, everybody is trying to push the envelope in doing more, trying to do something that hasn’t been done before. Just google french onion soup or any other recipe and see the response, screen after screen. New tomatoes show up on the market each year, snazzy coloured carrots, tongue twister berries, everything is dried and refrigerated and shipped. Exotic fruit recipes from Russia and sushi recipes from France, fresh croissant deliveries in Japan and saki in Sweden. It is a runaway train.

So what can I offer anyone here on Myfrenchkitchen? Absolutely nothing, except maybe enjoyment, even if only for fleeting, a second or two. Or maybe a raised eyebrow. Or a snort. Whatever the case. If you like it, linger and enjoy. If you don’t like it, forget about it and move on. Tastes differ. Likes and dislikes are very personal. But you knew that.

I know my friend in the bush will like this salad. She doesn’t follow recipes either. And she only makes quick meals. And she laughs at my jokes, which are never funny. And she enjoys my recipes, which aren’t perfect. She is a good friend.

…in the bush…