July Peaches with ...

It's July with the bounty of summer fruits.  CL got 2 boxes of July peaches, so we've been eating these non-stop while we can.  I made a delicious flavor discovery this week :  The peaches above are drizzled with Slim and Nunne's (formerly Bite Your Butt Mustard) Sweet and Hot Mustard from Middleton's Mustard Museum.  This stuff is so good, we should be buying it in barrels!  It has a sweetness and a bite that is perfect for these peaches.

I dare you : Go ahead and try it!  It's a match made in heaven.  Mmmmh!

Pictures from France : Dinner at Genevieve's in St. Flour

 

Here's the storyboard version which I'm learning to do in my online Photoshop Elements Class.  For an explanation of what and how, go here.

 The old city of St. Flour, on the hilltop.  

We elected to drive up to the top rather than walk up the goat path.

 One of the towers in town.

 We decided to have dinner Chez Genevieve.   

This is some of the decor on the wall around our table.  

A bouquet of silverware is quite appropriate for a restaurant.

 The view out the window at our table.   

 I love these chimney tops and roof tiles.  

 My dinner partner, CL.  Oliver was there, too, and not at all happy that I wanted to eat here.  It was a tiny restaurant with 2 floors.  The kitchen, the chef, and the bar were upstairs.  It's amazing what wonderful meals are made in such tiny kitchens in France.   Genevieve's was filled with local people--which is a good sign of good food!

 The sun was setting as we ate, and offering a magnificent light show on the fields in the distance.  Every time I looked out, the fields were a different color, from greens to golds and finally to gray.  It was remarkable.    Then there's this slate tile rooftop that made me think it was the skin of a big slumbering dragon ...

 More of the decor.

Coquilles Saint-Jacques, or scallops, with fresh basil pesto on the noodles, and I forget what the vegetable in the cup was.  Delicious and light!

Holiday Folk Fair : Favorite Foods

Here's a photo of the Kolaces at the Czech stand. These tasty pastries shine like jewels! Grappa Eddie remembers these from his Bohemian upbringing. I even made him a batch a few years ago ... Maybe it's time to do that again?

The Folk Fair is always the weekend BEFORE Thanksgiving. We re-discovered it in 2000 when I was pregnant with Oliver. With all that music and dancing, the little fish gave the first flutter that I could feel (at 5 months).

When we go now, we make a beeline to the Czech food stand. We love the pastries!

The Rakviky, or "Little Coffins" are an almond cookie filled with a lemon icing. They are DELICIOUS! It's a good thing we can only get these once a year--That makes them special too. One year, I asked for the recipe for these Rackvivky, but I was told it's a secret family recipe that could not be shared. Then she invited me to come down to help make them the next year ... Maybe I don't want to know how much butter is involved, but I haven't done it yet. We live just a little too far from Milwaukee for such a baking trip.

Uly, or Little Beehives, is another favorite. It has a Nilla wafer base, with a chocolate-covered nut and cream topping. There's also some hint of alcohol (brandy?).

[Photo - Glugg]
Another favorite item of past years is Swedish Glugg, or mulled wine. They always made it with grape juice since so many kids attended the Fair. One year, I happened to sit next to the head of the Swedish presence there. I lamented to her that I couldn't get the Glugg anymore. She was wonderful enough to send me the recipe! Here it is (You'll be able to find lots of recipes for the wine version on the web, but probably not this version.):
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Swedish Glugg (non-alcoholic) from The Holiday Folk Fair International

2 c. apple juice
1 c. grape juice
2 T. sugar
2 sticks cinnamon
8-10 cloves
Peel of 1 or 2 oranges, peeled in a spiral

Combine ingredients and bring almost to a boil. Place raisins and slivered almonds in each cup and serve.
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We had a nice talk that year. She said the Swedes no longer did a food stand at the Folk Fair anymore. It's too much work, and too exhausting to man the booth (thousands of people attend). In those years, she said they had not been very good about encouraging the young people to take over the tradition. She regretted that ... I was pleased to see that the organizers seem to have made a special effort to get younger generations involved. There was one dance performance stage that scheduled only youth groups. Hurray!

We LOVE the international flavors in the World Cafe (We can't get most of this in Oshkosh, so when we go, it is special!) Here's what we ate this year :

Spanikopita from Greece is a delicious spinach and feta pie in a wonderful flaky crust

Koshari from Egypt / Egyptian Rice - a delicious warm salad of noodles, chickpeas, lentils, spices, rice (and more)

Hearty Lentil Soup from Slovakia

Hummert Salad from Denmark - Lobster Salad

Chicken Kebab and Hummus from Lebanon (above)

With so many choices, it's hard to decide what to eat! For all that, we managed NOT to over-eat this year.

The Way to a Woman's Heart : Part 2

You may be wondering why I have links for New Scandinavian Cooking on this blog's sidebar ... I first discovered it a few years ago on PBS when a younger Andreas Viestad was cooking a traditional Norwegian Christmas Dinner. He was in a tiny, tiny kitchen. It just seemed so low-budget, yet artful (and certainly tasteful) that I had to keep watching. They have a portable kitchen that they set up anywhere--on a beach, on a mountintop, in the artic circle ... I love the travelogue nature of the show! It really makes me want to take a trip to see Scandanavia!

The most recent season has been hosted by a Danish Chef named Claus Meyer. He's just a normal-looking guy--nothing special to look at. But when he makes a meal and presents it to the tv camera, I always feel like he really made that dinner just for me. His episodes are informative, sensual, and romantic. It's the only cooking show that makes me blush! His episodes really are appealing ... It must be the way they film it : Just look at some of these stills from Claus Meyer's season. You never really see a sweetie present, so I get to feel like I'm the one!

My Dear Husband's theory is that Claus is the guy who can provide the protein (with a little "goose fat"), so he's the one who gets the girl.

At our house, my husband does most of the cooking : He provides the protein, and he got me ;-). He bought the cow, as Sandy used to say.

NSC is more than just a cooking show ... Claus Meyer cooks with his wedding ring in full view--and it's an attractive part of the show. This cook's fidelity to his own sweetie makes it all the more appealing ... (and I hope he is good to her!)

Ahhh--Dreaming's cheap! And Claus Meyer can cook for me anytime.

Don't get me wrong, I like Andreas, too, but he's more like a buddy--like someone who lived in the coop with me over the years.