Cleaning up my stairs

I’m kind of bummed about the weather right now (rainy in Northern California). There’s not a lot for me to do indoors, so I’ve taken to cleaning up my online presence since I refuse to leave the house in wet weather.

Recently I updated my post on stairs and posted the video about Volkswagen’s experiment. Now, I’m going to post a link to the piece with the new edits to bring this full circle.

Here’s the link to the original post and here’s where you can find the new one with the spunky slideshow. Check it out.

Step Aside, Stairmaster

Stairs may not be as synonymous with French culture as wine, cheese and baguettes. However, stairs are a huge part of life in France. In the U.S., we often overlook these architectural accessories or hold irrational grudges against them for leaving us breathless after climbing only three floors. The French on the other hand, respect stairs as pieces of art that represent much more than simply a way to get from A to B…

Duck Breast with Peaches recipe plus Chocolates and strawberries

Puzzled after looking at the picture above? Don’t be. It’s a duck breast, cut into two, cooking in its own fat rendered from the skin.

More explanation necessary?

Since I’ve become a homebody for the next 2 months before my grad school apps are due, I decided I would report on adventures around the house and in the Mountain View/Palo Alto community as a way to keep you updated about my life. Sure it’s quieter around the suburbs. But it’s a unique challenge to find the interesting among the quotidian, the quirky among the mundane.

So what better way to start than with my kitchen endeavours. We all know this travel blog is a disguised food blog.

Here’s a dinner I cooked for my lovely housemate/landlady, S. She’s fabulous so I decided to make a nice meal to thank her for being awesome.

For cuisine, I chose French. For the main I chose fatty duck breasts with glazed peaches. Aka, magret de canard à la pêche.

The recipe came from the brilliant Mireille Guiliano. I modified it because it’s not grilling season right now (hello rain, another reason for my homebody tendencies). But it turned out perfectly too! Check out her other easy and yummy recipes.

Here’s are my mouth-watering photos to make y’all jealous! I’ll include the recipe as commentary for anybody who is interested in making this too. Note: tI don’t measure exactly. I’ve cooked enough that I don’t measure except when baking because it saves time and I don’t have to clean as many utensils. Plus, I can taste as I go along. If you must have the ingredients quantities, leave a comment and I’ll add them. But you should be able to assume how much salt to add and what seems reasonable.

You need some peaches. I used 2 and sliced them into eighths. Have as many as you want (within reason). Don’t forget to peel them or the texture will be too rough on the final plate.

Grab a fry pan, stick in some butter, honey, and 1/4c water (maybe less, you don’t want the peaches swimming in water) and throw in the peaches. Simmer until they’re soft but not overcooked. Leave them to rest.

Cook the duck. So refer to photo above. A duck breast comes with some skin that attached the 2 pieces of meat but you can really separate them into individual pieces, meaning 1 duck breast is 2 servings. While it looks big and fatty in the photo, you end up having a portion of meat about the size of a deck of cards – the size recommended, ironically, by most nutritionists. In other words, unless you’re really greedy and want a whole piece to yourself, just cut it in half. Makes it easier to cook too.

So fry pan on stove. Heat to medium. Score the duck skin in diamonds, helps the fat drain. Throw it on the heated pan, skin side down. Leave it for like 5-8 minutes (depending on thickness) until the edges look cooked but the middle  is still raw. Then flip it over, heat it for about 3 minutes. The goal is to have the middle still slightly bleeding – well done means tough and chewy meat. If you don’t like bloody meat, cook it for longer. Season – meaning sprinkle salt and pepper.

Lay some paper towels on the counter and quickly (but safely, burning yourself is NOT fun) put the meat on the paper towels to drain the fat. Put the fry pan back on the stove and throw the peaches in to reheat. And yes to cover in some delicious duck juices.

I made some vegetables to accompany but this is option. What types of veges don’t matter – you can see I have a medley of different elements from what I found in the fridge. It’s just to add some greens and colorful foods to your diet. You know, a health thing. Plus maybe you can trick yourself into believing that it will make your diet more balanced after swallowing all that duck fat. Haha, yeah right.

And by the magic of blogging, voilà, here’s the final product. So plating: grab the nicest places you have.

Gently slice the duck so it’s reasonably thick (about 1 inch or 2-3 cm if you’re used to metric – which is by far the easier system to use, of course!). Put some peaches next door. And there’s dinner!

Oh and just ’cause I really like S, I made dessert too. Strawberry soup with yoghurt and chocolate dipped strawberries. Her original recipes calls for Mascarpone but I prefer greek yoghurt with 1/2 tsp of honey stirred in because I find yoghurt lighter which marries well with the strawberries.

For the dipped strawberries, wash and draw the prettiest strawberries. I slice mine in half because it’s easier for them to sit still and the chocolate to harden than when they’re whole as they tend to roll around. Chocolate everywhere it messy to clean. I put some chocolate chips (dark) into a bowl and microwaved for 30 second increments until they were melted but not burnt. Be careful, it’s a fine line. Then I lay a sheet of aluminium foil on the counter, quickly dip each strawberry in the chocolate, lay it down and finish the rest. I throw them in the fridge so the chocolate hardens quickly and they’re ready for serving.

For the soup: grab some strawberries, wash them, dry them and crush them with a fork (you can try a potato masher but I find a fork is easier). Stir in some (tiny amount) of honey and lemon juice. Let it sit for a while. It should be quite watery with some lumps of strawberries in. Yum! I only let this one stand for 1 hour but if you plan ahead you can make this even a day in advance. If you’re in a hurry, you can serve it right now too.

To serve: pour some “soup” into a pretty bowl. Add some of the yoghurt mixture from above. Arrange the chocolate strawberries. And I even added mini basil leaves for decoration – whatever makes it more appetizing – go for it.

Serve dinner hot with some red wine and engaging conversation.

This is a good meal for a special occasion because it’s so easy to make but it looks like you put a lot of effort in. Try it and please let me know your results.

Bon appétit

Les CATACOMBES version deux: souterrain avec mes amis! (underground with my friends)

In Paris, above ground, you’re nobody. Underground, at least you feel like somebody. In the Catacombes.

I miss Paris. I’m still posting blogs about this city even after being back in Los Angeles for over a month and a half. And the reason is only not because I am so bloody slow at uploading my photos and writing posts. But hey! I have many photos.

It’s nice to draw it out too because it helps me relive the moments. A sweet memory here, a little whisper there when I go back and flip through my photos I can almost remember smelling the bread, seeing the buildings, strolling down the boulevards.

Nostalgia.

And I’ll end my series on Paris with this final post. Unless I find more photos I forget about (highly doubtful). The photos from my trip to Sevilla & Granada, Spain should arrive in less than 1 week though when D comes to California. So I will make sure I get those up. Plus I’m going to the Bay (hello San Francisco again, I’ve missed you). Basically, you can expect more variety soon.

But for now, you will enjoy these photos of the underground catacombes. I don’t want to bore (or excite!) you with long stories about them. Read about them yourself. They are a hot topic now; the National Geographic recently featured a story in their February (?) edition about them. They included a gorgeous spread of photos definitely worth seeing.

Even better though, is to check out the real thing. And with some amazing friends, I was able to do that. And here are the photos.

I don’t include any photos with people other than myself in them. Because this is not the Denfert-Rochereau amusement 8€ ride for 45 minutes. No these are illegal and I don’t want to invade people’s privacy or post photos of stuff that might get them in trouble. So here I am going to thank you all now, my cataphiles for bringing me. And this is the last that I will mention them. Except to say, you were also part of one of, if not, THE absolute BEST experiences I had in Paris. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

And don’t try this yourself. Seriously. THIS IS NOT FOR EVERYBODY. This post is not a recommendation for you to go do this. You might die in there. Like sex ed in high school, my advice is, don’t do it. But if you have to, then find a guide. Don’t go in there a lone. It’s not worth getting lost.

My favourite parts:

– the masterpieces created with paint and spray paint. From classical art to colourful graffiti the catacombes has it all

– there are road signs just like above ground which name many of the passages

– the little salons are cute and you can go hang out with some friends or meet up with other cataphiles underground. RDV la plage!

Last thing, I wish someone has told me this before I went in because there is not much information online about this. Bring some good shoes because you will walking for long time (we were in there for 10 hours 30 mins first time and about 9 hours second time) and you’ll be wet for a long, long time. So good clothes you don’t mind getting FILTHY DIRTY. But also it’s so humid with trapped air so you’ll be sweaty. If you’re tall, be prepared to crawl and crouch for a long time. The spaces are small, so think twice if you’re claustrophobic.

That's a tight squeeze!

Bring flash lights – headlamp is best. Deliciously yummy food (we did a fondue in there and it was amazing! Perfect for all the calories we burnt walking through tunnels). Cameras, of course.

And, most importantly, your sense of adventure and good humour !

You will see much art that will amaze you. But one thing I learnt that applies here as much as in the natural wanderland in New Zealand, please take away any rubbish, left over food, s that don’t belong in there.

 

P.S. I hope nobody is pissed off I’m posting this because I know you’re very protective about this space. So if my post upsets you, post a comment or send me a message and I’ll think about deleting it.

❤

 

P.P.S. Special request from J

 

 

Architecture, Church and Military Prowess produce L’Hôtel des Invalides

Built as a training facility for the military as well as to house war veterans who became a social problem in the seventeenth century, l’Hôtel des Invalides is one of the most magnificent buildings in Paris constructed under the reign of Louis XIV (the sun king who also built Versailles).

The architecture is Neo-classical, very austere (appropriate for a military building) and cold. However, architect Libéral Bruant (the mentor/master of Jules Hardouin-Mansart, who designed a great deal of Versailles…it amazes me I still remember these details after taking the Art History final…2 months ago) designed a Baroque triumphal arch with an equestrian statue of Louis so the king could show his glory to Paris & by extension France, I suppose. It looks pretty awesome with a sculpture of a sun under it (well yeah sun king). My favourite part are the dormer windows decorated with military helmets (cute, right?).

 

And the back of the building holds a beautiful surprise.

Bruant build a chapel inside the hôtel particulier. But Louis complained it was too boring, too subdued…too military. So solution?

He commissioned Bruant’s protégé Hardouin-Mansart to build a glorious church.

Called l’Église du Dôme (church of the dome), the chapel is a spectacular example of French Baroque architecture. We suspect Louis designed to bury himself and his family.

 

What is really spectacular is the way Hardouin-Mansart designed the dome. It is composed of 3 different domes superimposed because one huge dome made from stone would cause the hold building to collapse under its weight. So he created a pierced stone dome that is the base, a smaller thinner and lighter dome on top. The third dome is extremely light and made almost exclusively of wood and thin sheets of metal (gilded with gold) that you see on the outside.

However the amazing thing is, you cannot tell it’s got 3 domes when you look from the inside. He also created some windows from the first to the second dome, hidden behind the painting to light up the mural painting on the dome. Because practically speaking, there was no electricity in the 17th century.

And of course, the architecture on the outside is amazing with the twin columns around the drum and entrance. The building as good rhythm too.

And inside…how pretty.

At the bottom, there’s also a little surprise:

Napoléon Bonaparte’s (the first) HUGE grave. Talk about a Napoleonic complex. And Louis probably turned a few times over in his grave.

Step aside stairmaster. Real stairs on the way…

One striking theme I found in France was stairs. Yes, you read correctly. Stairs. There are so many more everywhere in France than in the US or in NZ. I suspect that is because most of the buildings in the US are new which means contain elevators. And Americans don’t like to walk up stairs anyway. L can attest to this fact. She and I were shocked tonight when we saw a girl wait more than 3-5 minutes to take the elevator up ONE floor when she could have walked up ONE floor. And NZ doesn’t have many tall buildings. Most houses are 1 or 2 stories. As there are very few apartment buildings, there are very few places that require elaborate stairs. Sure skyscrapers for big companies exist in downtown, but they have elevators anyway. As a young country, we don’t have beautiful stairs that such as those in beautifully designed and famous buildings/monuments in France.

So here is a collection of the most beautiful and unique staircases I saw in France.

This is also my little tribute to Mireille Guiliano and her importance of stairwalking/running for French women. It’s true. There really are stairs everywhere. And considering how beautiful the stairs are, no wonder people enjoy taking them. It works. Really, it does. So thanks for the advice.

…So…the first stairs….

 

My first homestay’s apartment in Neuilly

Monumental staircase in Place Beauvau, headquarters of the Minstre de l’intérieur (the equivalent of the minster of internal affairs)

Stairs at the entrance of Château de Chantilly

Gorgeous staircase from the rez-de-chaussée (ground floor) to the basement of the Château de Chantilly

Treacherous stairs in a ruined fortified castle in Baux-en-Provence

Marbled and hella slippery stairs at Le Louvre

Beautifully steep stairs with a beautiful view over Montmartre

Magnificent staircase at the entrance to Château de Fontainebleau

Closeup of the wiggly Fontainebleau stairs

Masterpiece of Charles Garnier – monumental staircase at le Palais Garner (a.k.a Opéra Garnier)

Close up of stairs at Palais Garnier. The design is exquisite. Garnier created curved stairs that begin concave at the top and end as convex at the bottom (or vice versa convex and concave depending on the angle at which you stand). This means every staircase was specifically calculated and designed as the measurements had to be perfect; these aren’t just any old, straight stairs.

Beautifully cut stairs from the Catacombes. Each step is supposedly a different type of rock?

Gorgeous stairs at Monet’s house in Giverny

And last but certainly not least, my FAVOURITE stairs of all the ones I saw….

The staircase at the house and present-day museum of Gustave Moreau

 

Aren’t these stairs amazing? They’re beautiful. And functional. The museum placed pieces of art high up on the walls so you have to stand on the stairs to get a better view of the paintings. Plus the spirals are super cool and funky.

 

Isn’t the snow beautiful?

I know the cold weather is upon me when I feel the bitter chilly wind creeps inside my clothes and slap me till my back and toes feel numb. And yet, I’m finding more and more that snow has a peaceful beauty that is hard to surpass. Sure, a golden sunset during a warm summer’s day next to the beach is hard to beat (especially when the BBQ grill fills the air with the smell of deliciously cooked seafood). But snow has a rough elegance second to none: not only frosty and cold as hail pelts down with angry vengeance, but also delicate and fragile as snowflakes melt slowly through my skin. It’s really beautiful.

What I learnt so far living in a city that snows:

1. best to walk like a crab – small and very quick steps because long strides make me slip in ice, (gosh I wish I had a photo of me to upload here)

2. buy some shoes that are decently waterproof,

3. if everybody suddenly disappears and walks laterally, there’s probably a huge puddle coming up,

 

4. umbrellas mean NOTHING in snow and

 

5. don’t be too embarrassed when the old lady with the cane is laughing at me, hell she’s had all those years of practice AND she’s got a cane to help her walk through sludge.

 

J’adore le chocolat

One of the more special experiences so far in Paris is the Chocolate Fair, also known as, le Salon du Chocolat. It’s an event hosted in many of the big cities in the world such as New York, Shanghai and so on. But it started in Paris and this is where hundreds of chocolate lovers congregate every year to taste the best offerings from the chocolate aficionado of the industry. Thanks to my friend D who got me a ticket, I was lucky enough to go in and eat as many samples as possible until we were bursting and sick to our stomaches.  Plus, predictably, I couldn’t stop jumping around from my sugar high. Thankfully we had bottles of water on hand and sushi to help.

Here are the spoils from the afternoon:

So to start, I have photos from the Lindt company; the two chefs are making crème brûlée chocolate squares that have a thin and gooey inside with a thin and crunchy chocolate coating on the outside.

I also really enjoyed the fashion and sculptures made from chocolate especially the dress with the chocolate skirt that has the right texture and flow to make the material look real. The Aztec sculpture with the dragon head and detailed base is amazing. It’s also very cool how the artists uses the 4 types of chocolate at his disposal: white, milk, dark and cocoa powder to create the different shadings and patterns.

The raw cocoa plant looks like a pod that contains weird organs when first opened. It’s amazing how beautiful chocolate comes from something so ugly and disgusting-tasting before it’s processed!

And there are pictures after pictures of all the goodies 🙂 Some of the peculiar ones: potato-shaped and sardine-shaped chocolate, “inactive” cannabis chocolate without the THC, the innocent looking cherub pissing a fountain of chocolate! And the huge bigger-than-life-size Petit Ourson – part of the petits oursons which are marshallow shaped teddy bears dipped in chocolate. Yes they’re as good as they sound. And they covered the entire 4 sides of the stand for the mini statue in petits oursons with a sign saying “no touch”. At that point, clearly it was an invitation and I stole 2. And they tasted amazing.

I really enjoyed seeing the curry powder and spices though. They had some of the most fragrant tea I’ve ever smelled, which just so happened also tasted delicious.

Le Bon Marché

As part of my marché series, had to share something funny with you today. Long while ago I wrote down I had to visit something called Le Bon Marché. I forgot what it was because I only put the address down in my moleskin (which I love, it’s my best friend in Paris). I happened to be in the neighbour and decided to check it out.

Bon marché in French means cheap, or a good deal. Ya know, like a bargain buy. So I go there expecting to find a run down market maybe with some cheap food or cheap winter clothes I can buy (perfect). Plus I desperately needed to use the bathroom (those of you who know me well…) and they’re hard to find in Paris! So I walk around looking for the store. Only to find…hahah

 

it was filled with anything but items bon marché.

At this point, I laughed. I realised I’d been punned. Le Bon Marché, might mean cheap in French, but a literal translation also means the good market. As in, a good shopping mall, in this case. Haha, a cute little malentendu (misunderstanding) ou double sens (double meaning, curiously the French don’t use the expression, double entendre, meaning a double, often sexual, connotation/meaning, even though they are French words). Anyway, I happily used the clean bathrooms (love that about high end department stores) and went away thinking about the rest of my life.

 

You’re in for a treat: Aux Marchés

Sorry I know I know! It’s been forever and you’re dying to read. Well finally I got the time and the pictures to show you. It’s been a busy few weeks. La grève (the strikes/protests) are still happening and there’s still problems with the métro (surprise, surprise). But I promise I’ll be sending many more updates to catch you up on my adventures.

In the mean time, you can have a mouth watering look at all the beautiful foods I get to experience, sometimes on a daily basis thanks to the French love of outdoor markets. Some of these places are indoors, but the majority are outdoor markets the Parisians attend religiously in order to get their fresh produce. You see, kitchens in Parisian apartments are small and food must be fresh, so they shop a few times a week, only buying enough for one or two days each time (well there are those weekly supermarket shoppers, but we’ll pretend they don’t exist).

Anyway enough reading, let’s get to it! Yum yum. (Besides, my English is deteriorating quickly (and yet the French isn’t getting much better), so it’s a bit of a struggle for me to write as much. Which is perfect for you right?)

 

CANDYLAND

Um what can make me happier than seeing lollies (candy, if you’re American)? Eating candy of course! Haha but at this point I’m satisfied with the eye-blogging range. I ❤ Haribo. It’s amazing. Enuf said, yum yum.

Look at the huge smile on my face.

That’s the smile of somebody who had too much candy as a kid.

A little surprise from the BUTCHERY

Voilà it’s boudin, also known as a blood sausage. It’s sausage made from pig blood. Supposed to be great source of iron! Kind of looks like you know what though, so I just tried not to think about it. I tried it 2 times (gasp, I know I used to be a vegetarian, then I went to France…). It’s really good when spicy. Just don’t stare too long. Not as bad as Andouille (a French specialty, it’s an intestine sausage made from a lot of offal – meaning it looks and stinks like merde – oh and it tastes like it too, one of the most awful smelly things I’ve ever had – worse than Camembert du lait cru (smelly cheese made from raw milk) in Normandie). Speaking of cheese…

CHEESE

Yum, don’t that look tasty?

All the different varieties…

This, I just had to take a photo cos I don’t think I’ve ever seen so much mould on a cheese that it is black coloured. Well bon appétit!

FRUITS and VEGETABLES

The fruit and vegetables here are out of this world. You don’t need to buy organic. Just anything fresh at the market is a taste sensation. I’m in love with all the varieties of mushrooms here, often wild. Shame the cost me an arm and a leg. But so delicious.

And everything is so good that I’m even willing to eat it raw, as in salads.

Mouth watering juicy fruits, and…..yum

Frozen Foods At one point we went to Picard which is a supermarket that ONLY has frozen foods. Can you imagine? Ppl give Americans a hard time about eating frozen meals. But the French have an entire supermarket dedicated to these frozen meals and other cold goodies. Like herbs…

FROZEN HERBS

Or ice cream and lasagna. Basically anything you want 🙂 There was the normal stuff, frozen apple pie, frozen veggies, chicken…but then there’s the weirder (but cool) stuff, frozen gucamole & salsa, frog legs, herbs..

Marché IENA

A view from the street market closest to my house. What cosy company, right? You can stroll leisurely down, look at the products according to your own pace and chat to the vendors. When it gets very busy though, be prepared to rub shoulders with your neighbours. Just make sure you don’t lose your wallet in the process!

FLOWERS

So beautiful. They’re some of the freshest and most beautiful flowers. Paris has 2 famous flower markets. This was just an ordinary vendor at a store, so I’ve yet to go. But I’m sure they’d be goregous. It’s cheaper to buy from a market than a store. And just as beautiful.

SEAFOOD

Yum yum yum. Love shrimp. The fish is very appealing. Always. I’ve almost never smelt the “fishy” smell or ammonia smell which means they’re all very fresh. But this was a bit disgusting…

At least I didn’t show you the photo of the half-skinned rabbit :p