“Me-moment”

by hungryyogini on February 8, 2010

It’s the beginning of week 7 here in Paris and I just can’t believe it. It’s a big week at school – midterms, papers, readings, museum visits. The works. I’m savoring all the little “me-moments” I can get!

Is that selfish? Well….good.

 

Let’s see. “Me-moment” number one. Chocolate. Did you know that it’s a vegetable? And it’s also an acceptable breakfast food? Well, a girl can dream…

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I seriously can’t get enough of this dark chocolate. Thank you Gillian Young….seriously. I love this stuff. I’ve been eating it with my coffee. In the mornings. With breakfast. Don’t judge.

 

“Me-moment” number two. One hour of glorious yoga. Glorious, grounding, booty-kickin’ yoga. It felt so good to spend some time on the mat, feelin’ the changes in my body. Not judging them, just feeling them. My hips and hamstrings are tighter they have been in a long time, but that’s okay…it’s proof that I’ve been wandering this glorious city on foot! But I’m glad I got on the mat and stretched it out a bit – not to mention I’ve gotta keep that handstand practice up so I can take pictures all over the city when the weather gets better Wink

 

“Me-moment” number three was delicious. I haven’t made a real dinner at home for myself in what feels like forever so I spent some time in the kitchen this evening cookin’ up something healthy and delicious.

On the menu…quinoa. Love this stuff.

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We are really fancy here. Like the cover to our pot? Like I said, fancy.

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One of my latest favorite thing to cook is onions and peppers. Just slice ‘em up, and let them do their thang (yes, a technical term) in the pan with some EVOO until they are browned and delicious.

Ohh. And if you feel extra fancy, splash in some balsamic vinegar at the end and let it cook down a bit. It gets all sweet and syrupy and delicious. Mmm.

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et Voila! Dinner is served!

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Quinoa, steamed broccoli, peppers and onions and an over medium egg. Nothing special but it sure was good. Mmmm.

 

I’m finding it really easy to eat healthy in Paris. And you know what else? I love that everyone eats food the way it was supposed to be eaten. Low-fat things like yogurt and milk are scarcely available, but full fat dairy is clearly the most popular choice. Also, when you go to the charcuterie, you don’t see them advertising for lean chicken and low fat bison – nope, not here. Bring on the marbled cuts of steak! Oh, and on any given day you can wander to a marché and buy fresh, local produce.

 

I had a little moment of clarity when I thought about all of that today. I cooked my dinner tonight in lots of olive oil, and fried the egg in butter. I’ve been snacking on flavorful cheeses and some of the creamiest yogurt I’ve had in quite some time, and heating almonds and cashews like it’s going out of style. And I feel gooooooooooood. Healthy and wholesome. And gooooooood.

 

Yep. Such a simple thing, and something that causes lots of fear and anxiety for us Type-A perfectionist-perfect-eater-non-cheaters-yada-yada-yada. Trust me, I have my moments, especially living in a place where I’m surrounded by chocolate and pastries and butter. Lots of butter. But why would we go and try to mess up something as glorious as crème liquide  (ahem, which I may or may not have been putting in my coffee), by taking all the fat out!? Now THAT sounds crazy.

 

Well. Enough about me. Did you have any “me-moments” for yourself today? What’s something you do everyday that is just for you?

It’s bedtime for me, friends. I turn into a pumpkin after midnight Wink 

 

Good night!

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Repas Indien

by hungryyogini on February 7, 2010

IMG 9957 thumb Repas Indien

I’m taking a class this semester called An Appetite for Paris: Gender, Globalization, Travel, and Food. One of our assignments for the semester is to volunteer at the slow food café in the Bastille.

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The cafe is home to the locals of the quartier, the meals are prepared by volunteers, and dinner is served at 20h.

 

This past Saturday I arrived at the cafe at 11:00am, donned my apron and wooden spoon, and spent the day working in the kitchen with my professor and several of my classmates. We made a repas Indien, all from scratch of course. This is a slow food cafe after all!

 

We started by making the ghee,

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and chopped lots of veggies while the ghee did it’s thang on the stove. And yes, that is a technical term.

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All the veggies were for various dishes we were making…

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First up, the dal. The moong dal had been soaking already when we got there and proved to be quite the task when we started cooking. Ever tried making dal for 60 hungry Parisians? Neither had we! But, we made it work…

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I had never actually made “authentic” dal before. It’s such a simple dish and it was really cool to watch the whole process. While the lentils boiled, we made the flavah. Yep, another technical term. Actually, I forget what this is actually called (anyone!?) but you fry the spices, onions and garlic in ghee and add it to the cooked dal. Oh. And it smells delicious. 

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After you mix in the spices, you add fresh coriander and fresh lemon juice. And there you have it…dal for 60.

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We also made a poulet curry, which is the brilliant brain child of my professor. It was actually kind of ironic to be cooking curry since lately we had just been discussing authenticity of certain foods in class earlier this week. Curry powder doesn’t even exist in “authentic” Indian cooking. Curry means vegetables and curry powder is a spin on the blend of spices (masalas) that goes into vegetable dishes in Indian cooking. It’s a sort of “Westernized” ingredient but is widely associated with traditional Indian cooking.

 

All that to say, this curry was curry powder-less. It did however have tamarind, sweet potato, chicken, onion and fresh coriander to name a few ingredients. (I’m working on getting recipes!)

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We also made raita, one of my very favorites…

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The highlight of the meal, however, was dessert (isn’t it always!?). We made halva, a really simple dessert of toasted semolina/sooji cooked with cardamom, cloves, cinnamon and cashews that have been fried in ghee. Then you stir in more more ghee on top of that. How could it not be good!?

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Food coma.

It felt so great to spend the day in the kitchen, all 9 hours of it. I got quite a few stares on the way home from the café, and my hands still smell like garlic and onions after 24 hours, two showers, and countless hand washings.

 

But this was my kind of fun. Does that make sense? I learned about cooking a new cuisine, and spent the day talking and learning from those I shared the experience with. I’m a foodie by nature, so these little moments spent in the kitchen are special to me. Silly? Yes. But it’s amazing how food can bring people together.

 

The regulars filled up the cafe after we finished preparing the meal, open to whatever the volunteers had prepared, as I left with new friends, a new outlook, and a big steaming bowl of dal and curry.

 

Life is…yummy.

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Wordless Wednesday…Two days late.

February 5, 2010

It’s late here in Paris, and I’m quite exhausted. Tomorrow is going to be a long day (I’m volunteering at a slow food cafe and cooking for 60 people with a few other people…post to follow!) so I figured I’d let the pictures do the talking. Hope you enjoy!
 

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To market, to market.

February 4, 2010

One of my favorite things to do in Paris is to explore the outdoor markets. On any given day there are several up and running around the city (How could there not be!? There is something like 65 outdoor markets in Paris!) and I’ve been really excited to explore each othef them. I’ve only made [...]

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Perfect Timing

February 3, 2010

Sigh.
 
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Je manques…

February 2, 2010

Even in Paris, Monday’s always get me. Yesterday started bright and early – the sun was shining, the birds were chirping…okay, I exaggerate a little.
 
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A Month, A Year

January 31, 2010

After full week of school, an exhausting (yet wonderful) overnight trip to Normandy on Thursday, and a weekend with quite the agenda, I decided to take a break from blogging for the last few days to just soak it all in.
    
Orientation is over, and I have survived my first [...]

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Wordless Wednesday

January 27, 2010

Ok maybe just a few…
 
Took a two hour walk through Paris this afternoon. Started at my apartment, walked to the river and strolled along until I got to the Eiffel Tower. Thought I’d share what I saw
        

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The Universal Language.

January 26, 2010

I find myself in this continual dance between overwhelming joy and gratitude that I am able to spend 5 months in Paris, and frustration with the fact that I don’t know the language very well and am quite honestly clueless in this big city. I’m fighting with those pessimistic voices in my head that are [...]

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Falafel Heaven

January 25, 2010

I can’t believe how quickly the days go by here. It feels like I just got here yesterday, but it’s already been three weeks! The weekend went by especially fast. Nothing too exciting to speak of on Saturday – just a trip to the laverie (where two load of laundry cost 17 USD! yikes!) and [...]

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