Calendar : Septembre

Speaking of Fall... 

I don't know about you, but I'm crazy about Paula Red apples right now. (Not because they sound somewhat like my name, actually I always refrained from buying that kind because of that! God, was I missing out!!) What are your fall cravings?  

And now a tune to make you want to kick your feet, kiss your loved ones and eat pumpkin pie! 

An Autumn Vacation

 On the first weekend of November, we went out on a vacation / retreat. We basically, on a whim, rented a cabin, in the middle of nowhere - or Lefebvre, Qc - and took off for 3 days and 3 nights. It was perfect. It rained, or spat for most of those three days, we had no cell reception or Internet, so we really had to change our pace and adapt. Adapt to relaxation mode, and it really recharged us. 

The cabin itself was just so lovely. It had a cozy mezzanine, a balcony over looking the woods, and massive windows facing a stream and waterfall. The sound it made was so imposing... it was surreal. We were detached from reality. Days going by with nothing to do but read, make fires, drink tones of coffee and tea, tend to the fire, cook great meals, drink tones of wine, cuddle with the dog. (And with each other, a little ;))

I took walks with Constance in the little forest surrounding the property, and did yoga every morning. It felt great. We drank good wine, and cooked awesome meals. I made a roast for the first time, ever. It was a scandalizing success. I'm including a humble recipe down at the bottom of the post. 

We had the intention of making a lamb roast, but did not find any at the Drummondville market.. We bought bison instead. Great move! 

As you can see I basically just put my piece of meat in an oven friendly pot. Made it cozy with some green beans, garden carrots, onions, and fresh thyme branches. I added kosher salt, ground pepper and generous chunks of butter to my veggies. I coated my bison with more salt, more pepper, and Dijon mustard. I added about 1/4 cup of blond beer to the bottom of my pot, to make sure these guys would stay moist, since the bison was pretty lean. 

I set my oven at 375f, and let it go for 45 minutes. (the butcher had recommended 1 hour, but I eat red meet pretty rare, have all my steaks blue, and did not want to over cook.) So I checked the middle of the roast, and put it back for an extra 5 minutes. 

Once you're happy with the done-ness, take it out, wrap it in foil. (it will keep it warm, and make it even more juicy, while you serve the vegetables) Slice your meet and enjoy.. Oh boy, that was one good meal!! 

Mardis Manger : A Guest Post from Boyfriend

 Now, now... What? A guest post!? Youpi-yeah. I am pretty excited, and quite all-over-mushy, to introduce to you.... my boyfriend Guillaume! He has prepared a little post for today, and put all of his TLC into it. For a little introduction, all I'll say is... When He and I met, one of our first dates was to bake cookies together. It was pretty darn cute. It was actually that exact recipe he is sharing today. Later, my friends would always refer to him as Biscuit because of that. And the nickname stuck. (and he stuck around too ;)) But seriously, those cookies are serious stuff, highly-addictive, crack-like cookies. I don't have that much of a sweet tooth, but those ones!? It's the salty thing... I can hardly wait until they're at a decent temperature to start ravaging. 

 So, Paule Thought it would be nice if I did a little something for les Mardis Manger. Since she does most of the cooking around here and is pretty good at it, it was obvious that I had my hands full. I'm no cook compared to Paule but there are two things that I think I'm not to shabby at. One of them is Dessert and the other is Breakfast (I'll keep that for another Mardi Manger maybe?)

So here it is my Recipe for Super Salty Chocolaty Cookies !
it's simple but so good. Also easy is to make it your own if you want to!

All you need is:

- 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

- 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

- 1/2 teaspoon fleur de sel or 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt

- 1 stick of butter + 3 tablespoons, at room temperature

- 2/3 cup (packed) light brown sugar

- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

- 2 Tablespoon of Cold Espresso (optional)

- 1/2 cup of "make it your own" also optional ingredient

First, mix together all the dry ingredients (flour, Baking soda, Cocoa Powder Salt), keep aside. 

 In a large bowl beat the butter with a hand mixer until it's creamy, add the brown sugar, the vanilla and the coffee (or not, I just love coffee and think it kicks up the taste of chocolate) and beat again until it's all well mix. Add the dry ingredients to the butter mix and stir with a wooden spoon or with your hands, mix it until the flour is all incorporated. The dough may be a bit crumbly but don't worry it will all be good when you'll make a log out of it.

 Now is the part when you can make it your own, I had some left over caramel chips, so I tossed that in the mix. You can leave it as is, or throw nuts in there, chocolate chips or both or marshmallow and so on and so on ! When your ''make it your own'' ingredient is well mixed, divide your dough in two and make a log out of them (the wider the log the bigger the cookies) wrap them up in plastic and put them in the fridge for at least three hours :S

Now, Time to Bake !

Preheat your oven at 325f

 Take the logs out and cut them in 1/2" slices (use a sharp knife, and don't worry if they break a bit, just squeeze them back in a cookie shape). Put them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for 12-15 minutes.

Let them cool off a bit and enjoy. 

Hope you like them, I know Paule did !

TGIF

Oh, good memories of when I first fell in love with this band, two years ago. :) 

I'm stoked to hear their new album, Lightning. The previous one did not really catch my attention. 

Happy weekend, Y'all. 

A Girly Post : Shoes

 I know, for a fact, that most women can identify to this. That moment when, you KNOW, you deserve some new shoes. You KNOW it will make everything feel right, and that somehow you did something to earn this. The right to go and buy yourself some awesome new shoes. Either for fall, or for summer, or for no reason at all... Sometimes you just need new pretty things to put on your feet and walk around with. 

 For me, that time had come. I know that buying ballerines and sandals, when fall is just around the corner, might not seem very clever... But! But! Is it me or summer kind of stretches a bit further every year now? It will be warm, and even later, I will love those new flats with jeans, jackets, when the weather chills out. And! I think those Dr Marten wedges are going to look terrific with dark socks, or opaque tights. :) 

I saw these cute Reef flats in Virginia, but they did not have my size. Montreal Magic. Period.

 I pretty much never wear heels. I'm always scared I'll be uncomfortable and will want to walk bare-foot all the way home. So I don't buy shoes I'm not likely to wear, ever. But lately, I've been wanting some sort of feminine alternative to everyday sandals. Something high*er* but not so high that I don't feel natural in it. Those are seriously sooooo comfy. The plastic sole makes them really bouncy, and the arch is not too pronounced. Feels manageable! I hope I'll wear them A LOT.