Recent content by KimSteele

Thanks for everyone's help. My recipe also calls for some Toulouse sausage so I feel like bacon is going to overwhelm things. I wrote the recipe with the suggestion of substituting ham hock if one can't fine high quality salt pork with a good meat to fat ratio. But I'm wondering about...

Hi everyone, Last night I made a delicious French lentil soup called petit salé aux lentilles and I'd like to publish the recipe on my site, but I'm stuck for what to recommend to Americans (my principal audience) for the petit salé. Here in France we can buy several different kinds of...

Oh wow, that's a light bulb going off in my head Kitchenelf! Thanks.

Well we're already done here in France. Took me less than 30 minutes to fix. Noodles with bell peppers, onions, green beans, olive oil and canned sardines. My solution to the fact I took the boys school shopping and at the same time I did the grocery shopping and couldn't leave anything in the...

Well we pay about 8 dollars a gallon here in France. Nothing extraordinary, it's always been high here. That's why most people drive little cars, walk and take public transportation.

I just had to let you know that you inspired me to create an avatar. Your little deer reminded me of my favorite little goat.

Isn't removing the cork a ritual we will miss? And what if you are in a restaurant? Will the waiter offer you the cap to sniff? I do understand the picnic angle though.

That is a lot! Here's a link to rainbow cookies: Sound like a lot of work, but they sure are pretty. Also, note that it calls for almond paste, which I believe is slightly coarser, less sweet and more almondy than marzipan, although similar. Now that I've seen the picture, it seems like...

One thing you can do if it is drying out, is mix it with a little sugar syrup. That should make it more supple. You could try rolling it out thin to ice a cake, or stuff dried fruits with it. Seems to me I see dates like that around Christmastime. But I guess it's best used to make cute...

Try to imagine too that the only reason things are tasting so yucky is probably because your body is giving off toxins like mad. Once when I was pregnant I had a very weird thing happen to me. I couldn't taste anymore. It only lasted about 3 days, but if I hadn't been pregnant I would just...

That is funny to me that you say that. Yeah, I mean the broiler. Since I'm an overseas gal living in France, I belong to a forum of expats, who are nearly all English folks. When I say broiler, they wonder what I'm talking about. Language is more like juggling for me these days.

For dinner last night I wrapped prosciutto around prunes and put them under the grill for 2 minutes. It's supposed to be an appetizer, but since the men have all gone camping, it made a great dinner. Glass of Touraine-Mesland rosé alongside. Prosciutto happiness.

Hi, I don't think a Riesling would normally be described as having a pungent smell. It is a fruity white wine and should smell as such, maybe a bit lemony. The fact that the label notes that sulfites have been added, needn't alarm you, unless you have an allergy to these (some people do)...

Hey what a welcome! Much appreciated. Someone asked where in France? About 10 miles east of Paris in the notorious department of Seine St. Denis - supposed to have the worst crime, etc. but we find it just fine, if a little grey! We lived in Corsica for years and in French Guyana for a...

Hi to everyone! Looks like there are a lot of you out there! Hoping to find lots of inspiration amongst you and maybe sometimes answer a question. I'm no foodie or gourmet cook, but I do like cooking and am ever so gratfeful for the abundance of good food my family enjoys everyday. I...