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Cherry Clafoutis

7/10/2013

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I don't trade shares. In fact I did very badly in Financial Mathematics back in uni when my classmates were already dabbling in the stock market, which was why they took up that module. That said, I think I have some very desirable qualities to be a good trader: intuition, discipline, patience, and decisiveness. 

Some of you would have seen photos of the cherry tree at JL's parents' house. When it is in full harvesting season, paying for cherries becomes a joke. I would anytime prefer pulling out a long chair under the tree and just keep popping those cherries like crazy. As if to satisfy a year's worth of craving. 

So the first time I came across a one-kilo tray of cherries going for RM 120, I had to ask the husband to witness the price-tag. And the first thing I will do when we go back to France again is to hug that tree in the garden. Yet at the same time, I think about cherry clafoutis constantly here in Kuala Lumpur. No amount of blueberry, mango or even pineapple clafoutis could sooth that yearning. 

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Coffee Cheesecake

6/23/2013

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I don't normally blog during the weekend but it is so hazy in Kuala Lumpur we are grounded. Self-imposed. Not that anyone is complaining since there are places worse than ours, and I feel sorry for the people who have to remain outdoors just to earn their keep. Like the drivers of trucks containing exhibition booth structures that wait all day at the holding area along Jalan Stonor - which is really a plot of open land that doubles as a carpark whenever possible - to enter the loading bay at the convention center. 

And I wonder if the family that sets up their weekday breakfast stall by the roadside near Exxon-Mobil building would be there tomorrow. Will they be wearing masks during those three hours or so? I really hope it would rain even for half an hour just so everyone could take a breather from this hazy atmosphere. 

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Lemon Cake

6/22/2013

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One of our favourite pastimes is to (don't judge please!) go to Times bookstore at Pavilion or Bangsar Shopping Center, pick a few magazines or books, head to the in-house café, order coffee and spend an hour there reading. The café has seen a change of hands and it is now run by Espressolab. Don't ask us how they rate, though, because we always ask for two piccolos and a complimentary bottle of water. But based on those and their warm hospitality, an afternoon there can be very pleasant when it is quiet. And that we go there regularly says enough.

A recent weekday afternoon there, I sat through Leon Family & Friends cover to cover. It was tempting to bring the book home with me but I am already having a hard time keeping up with those on my shelves. The book is beautifully decorated with old photos, styled shots of appealing ideas for the home kitchen, and hand-drawn illustrations. Nearly every recipe from the eclectic collection has a story behind it. I also love that it is designed in a typically retro colour scheme. However, one needs to exercise restrain now and then so the book may have to wait.

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Blueberry Clafoutis

5/16/2013

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First things first: kla-foo-tee. That's how the word is pronounced. 

Clafoutis is one of the classic French desserts which you will never find in most cafés or dessert shops. Probably because it is so easily homemade that one is embarrassed to charge money for it. Okay, I was only half joking. Unless it is served in pretty single-portion baking dishes, charged at the same price point as crème brûlée, I really doubt it'd be feasible to put clafoutis on one's menu. And that's my half-assed amateurish deduction as to why it is rarely found when eating out. 

Clafoutis is essentially a baked, firm batter with some fruit in it, the classic choice being fresh whole cherries. Talk to the French about cherry clafoutis and you will see the opposing sides of pitting or not pitting the cherries. The latter, some say, will add a subtle nutty flavour to the dessert. Ask my mother-in-law and she will shrug her shoulders and say that's how she does it because she doesn't have time to remove the stones, and besides, why spoil something that's not broken?

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Chocolate Mousse

5/15/2013

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"Bienvenue à ma maison!" 

Those were the first words my father-in-law said to me the moment I stepped out of his car after an hour and a half of soaking in the sights along the French autoroute starting from Lyon-Saint Exupéry airport. The air was fresh and cool, you would agree too had your feet felt the terracotta tiles on the ground. Not that I was barefoot. A pair of house slippers were waiting for me in the bedroom. Still, I could feel the coldness of the ground wearing them.

That was June six years ago, when I couldn't understand 95% of what I heard around me. Most of what I learned back then I did with my eyes. I remembered faces and places, really, short of sounding like the Beatles' song: JL's immediate family, close family friends who are family too, his best friend, wife and children, one of whom JL is godfather to. 

I watched the simplicity of having family and friends around, spending the day talking about everything under the sun, even taking naps at the corner if one wishes so. I followed everywhere JL went as he followed everywhere his father went: the bakery, the deli, the florist, the tabac shop for newspapers. Everywhere. The French really kiss a lot, I thought to myself. Even men greeted each other with a touching of cheeks and pats on their backs with varying strengths, as if a sum of how long since you last saw each other and how much you love the other person. But all done naturally, quietly, and absolutely without exaggeration.

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Jacques Pépin's Mock Tiramisu

5/25/2011

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Six years ago when I decided to really learn how to cook, I started with Jacques Pépin's Fast Food My Way. Perhaps I was drawn to the photos in the book. But looking back, I think it was more because I was living in Singapore on a budget, thus when it comes to buying cookbooks, I had to be sure that all the stated ingredients were indeed available in that part of the world. Also, that I wouldn't have to pay too much premium for them. (Try buying sweet cherries in Singapore!).

Put simply, I wanted to milk whichever book I bought for all it's worth.

One of my all-time favourites from Monsieur Pépin is his mock tiramisu. I love tiramisu. But I hate the fat, calories, cholesterol and eventual weight gain that comes with it. So imagine the excitement upon seeing an egg-free version of it, fully endorsed by this great man. Make this once, twice and by the third time (within the same month), you'll just tell yourself "one, one, quarter" and be spontaneous thereafter. 

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Fifteen Brownies

3/5/2011

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Don't get me wrong. I didn't make just 15 brownies. Among the celebrity chefs who have ventured beyond restaurant kitchens to change the way we cook and eat, my "first love" has gotta be Jamie Oliver. Sir Jamie Oliver. The Naked Chef has certainly come a long way!

"Fifteen" refers to the foundation and restaurant Jamie set up in 2002 to help a selected (no prizes for guessing the number) group of young hopefuls have another chance in life. The first Fifteen restaurant came up in London, with subsequent spin-offs in Amsterdam and Melbourne.

I've lost count of Jamie's publications but I do have two of his cookbooks which were bedtime stories for yours truly. And these two, in my opinion, are the most inspiring books he had written. Cook With Jamie, is perfect for serious beginners who want to start on the right note. And it is this book from which these brownies were adapted. Because I had the luxury of an entire afternoon with my favourite playlist that kept me going, here are some step-by-step photos to go along with it. 

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    briefly

    JL and S grew up in France and Malaysia respectively. They met while living in Singapore, stayed a year in the USA (Cambridge, MA) then the south of France, Malaysia, and are back again in the USA (New York, NY). 

    frenchinos at home is where we share some of our stories with friends, much like the living room, dine-in kitchen, or the timber-deck balcony which we've always wanted to have, which sounds most impossible where we live now. 

    Welcome and we're happy to have you here :)

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