obsessed: speculoos spread

I've been obsessed with Speculoos spread since I picked up a jar in Paris. Growing up, Speculaas (those spicy, windmill shaped cookies) were a favourite amongst the Dutch side of my family. This spread has the same spicy taste, is the texture of peanut butter (even sticks to the roof of your mouth), and tastes mighty fine on toast. But my favourite way of eating it is on a spoon, straight out of the jar.

sweets & treats

I fear that over the last few weeks I've developed quite the sweet tooth. One culprit? Caramel au beurre salé from Paris. It's rich, sweet and slightly salty. It's perfection really.    

* salted caramels (so good that I'm rationing them and kicking myself for not picking up more)

* Franck Kestener "Atlantique" dark chocolate bar w/ salted caramel and crisp butter cookie

I picked up a couple of the above bars at A L'Etoile d'Or, a small shop in Montmartre. The owner, Denise Acabo (pictured below) is a sweetheart. She showed me clippings of publications she's been featured in, asked me which blogs I've seen her on, and I loved how she would suggest chocolates for me then sample a few right there saying she was hungry. I guess she never got sick of eating chocolate.

* A L'Etoile d'Or

30, rue Fontaine (9th)

Paris

musée de la chasse

While we were in Paris we visited the Musée de la Chasse et de la Nature (the hunting and nature museum) due to a recommendation from a friend who said it was really cool. It's not as well known as the Louvre or Pomidou and I think it has only been open to the public since 2007, so it's pretty quiet and a perfect getaway from the crowds. The museum has three floors and houses an extensive collection of art, hunting relics and taxidermy. It was a neat way to see the role hunting had in France (and Europe) throughout the years. 

Musée de la Chasse et de la Nature

62 rue des Archives (4th)

Paris

paris, je t'aime

There are so many things that I love about Paris. The relaxed pace of life. Sitting on terraces for hours drinking wine. Strolling through the different arrondissements and finding hidden corners, markets and cafes. Picnics in the parks. The first crunchy bite of a baguette. Runny cheeses! The butter! Those pastries! Macarons! I miss Paris so much already. 


Some of my favourite eats this time around:

(clockwise from top left) 

Salade gascon from Le Relais Gascon: Under that layer of garlicky fried (probably in duck fat) potatoes was a large chunk of foie gras, slices of smoked duck and then the usual salad stuff.

Falafel from L'As du Fallafel: Crispy falafels topped with pickled cabbage, fried eggplant, cucumbers and hummus. The sandwich makers here have their technique down pat: they layer falafels, vegetables and sauce throughout so everything gets mixed properly.

Rotisserie chicken + potatoes from Rue Mouffetard: There are vendors along the Rue Mouffetard that have rotisseries full of chickens. As the chickens cook, their juice fall onto a huge tray of potatoes. It's easy to get mesmerized watching the rotisseries turn, turn, turn. Oh, and the chicken and potatoes are da bomb.

Pâtissier stohrer

Pâtissier Stohrer is supposedly one of the oldest pâtisseries in Paris. I had a hard time deciding on what to get, but settled on a croissant (flaky and perfect), a chocolate eclair (not shown, but believe me, delicious) and a puits d'amour or "well of love", a flaky pastry shell filled with vanilla bean studded custard and topped with a layer of crackly caramel similar to a crème brulée.

(clockwise from top left)

Millefeuille from Fauchon: layers of puff pastry and pastry cream (Joe's fav Parisian treat).

Canelé (a custard-y, slightly chewy pastry with a deep, caramelized outer shell) and Chausson aux pommes (apple turnover) from Paul a chain of boulangeries/pâtisseries (this was for the train ride back to London.)

Macarons from Pierre Hermé. The ones pictured above are lemon, pistachio, salted caramel and asparagus with walnut oil (a seasonal flavour that surprisingly worked!). 

Some of our best meals were spent sitting in a park eating cheese, bread and fruit from a local market. This spread was bought at La Grand Epicerie.

* Le Relais Gascon

6 rue des Abbesses (18th)

Paris

* L'As du Fallafel

34 rue des Rosiers (4th)

Paris

* Pâtissier Stohrer

51 rue Montorgueil (2nd)

Paris

* Fauchon

24-26 place de la Madeleine (8th)

Paris

* Paul

over 300 locations 

* Pierre Hermé

72 rue Bonaparte (6th)

Paris

* La Grand Epicerie

38 rue de Sèvres (6th)

Paris

home sweet home

I'm back. Still a little jet-lagged and missing being on vacation, but happy to be sleeping in my own bed again. Our flight home was cancelled due to the volcano eruption in Iceland (we flew Icelandair), but luckily they re-booked us on the next Air Canada flight to Toronto. I'll be posting more about my trip and all the eating that went down, but first a shot of all the goodies I brought home with me. Mostly chocolate and sweets (not all for me, I swear!), but there's also some cheese and wine chilling in my fridge.

bags packed

Joe and I booked a 10-day trip to London and Paris way back in January. We found some good deals on flights and hotels and figured the advanced planning would give us something to look forward to. Well, we're finally leaving! There will be lots of eating on this trip, so expect to see too many food pics when I return. 

new camera

Meet my new camera. I am so excited. I've been eyeing this guy since Christmas and it's finally mine. I really wanted the advanced features of an dSLR without the bulkiness. Just in time for my upcoming London/Paris trip!