Sultry August & Delicious Crêpes

The sultry heat of August occasioned an afternoon trip to the Normandy coast and the small town of Blonville-sur-Mer. There the beach is long, sandy, pristeenly white and not so very crowded. We strolled the boardwalk until we found the perfect spot to sit on the sand and watch the waves roll in. Few people were in the water, which was warmer than winter but still not quite warm enough to entice us in. I’m sure an end-of-August trip will include a dip.

The Beach at Villerville, Dusk

After a langourous few hours on the beach we retraced our steps, headed for dinner at La Crêperie du Coin in the charming little village of Villerville, not far from Blonville between Trouville and Honfleur. Villerville is a perfect little jewel of a palce, where lanes lined with narrow, steep-roofed homes lead to verdant cliffs and winding stairways to the beach. It was made famous by the Jean Gabin film Un Singe en Hiver, which was filmed in the tiny central crossroads of the same name,in the heart of Villerville. La Crêperie du Coin is on one side of the crossroads, the vintage 1930′s Le Cabaret Normand is on the other. We settled into one of the outdoor tables at La Crêperie du Coin, and save for the recent vintages of cars that snaked through the crossroads from time to time, we might have been in 1930′s France.

As is typical on the Norman coast in August, the crowd is Parisian chic and patrons of La Crêperie were no exception. They congregate at this spot where owner Denis Gaffé, tall, weathered, with Belmondo-like eyebrows, greets each customer with a hearty handshake, a cigarette dangling from his fingers. He has a permanent seat at one of the outdoor tables where he nurses a drink, holds court and, when it’s time to make the savory buckwheat galettes and the sweet white flour crêpes, ambles inside to the kitchen.

Each of his savory galette holds within it an ode to Norman ingredients, from melted Camembert and crême fraîche dotted with fresh chives to the hand-cut ham and cheese, to local goat cheese and walnuts.

Goat cheese, crème fraîche and walnut galette

Each galette was delicious, but what merits a speedy return is the speculoos and salted caramel ice cream dessert crêpe. Perfectly hot and crisp, the crêpe is folded in four, spread with a thick layer of speculoos butter, topped with a generous scoop of salted caramel ice cream and sprinkled with candied almonds. We ordered it twice, to get our fill.

Our favorite - dessert!

About to dig in

Miam! That was delicious...

What is speculoos butter? It’s a Belgian confection that tastes like those gorgeous little Belgian spice cookies which French cafés now serve almost systematically alongside espresso. It can take the place of peanut butter or nutella at the breakfast table or, as at La Crêperie du Coin, it can be spread on a cr pe hot from the griddle. When next you’re in Normandy, I recommend a visit to La Crêperie du Coin and the tiny little paradise of Villerville.

Book Tour

Book tours have always been one of my favorite things. I’ve always loved them.

Who wouldn’t? I spend my time answering questions about the work I love, hearing compliments about my latest labor of love, being honored for my knowledge and insight. I get to go on camera, speak on the radio, meet lovely people who are passionate about food. I see my friends around the country, visit museums I thought I’d never see, occasionally sleep in a swanky hotel, watch people open the book I worked so hard on and see them engrossed in reading a headnote, an essay, a recipe. And then there are the wonderful moments of signing, truly a lovely activity for an author.

I’ve learned, on book tour, that I will sample versions of my own recipes over and over again as I teach, speak, demonstrate, and host. I plan for it, encouraging different menus at different events so my palate stays fresh, my enthusiasm high. No one is more thrilled than I am to taste a nut-filled dish from my book made by someone else – each person brings their own touch, personalizing it and making it new.

Take dinner at the Left Bank restaurant in Larkspur, California (www.leftbank.com). There, chef Sean Canavan produced a truly marvelous menu based entirely on recipes from Nuts in the Kitchen. We began with the goat cheese and walnut verrine, the almond and green bean salad, the nutty mussels; we moved onto the Edgy Greens Salad, and the Turkish Lamb. We then segued into the Hazelnut Financiers with Pistachio Ice Cream. I knew each recipe intimately, from testing it over and over. But Chef Canavan executed each with a personal touch that sang a high, flavorful note of seasonality.

A new almond, like the ones in the Green Bean and White Peaches Salad

And take dinner at the Boat Street Kitchen (www.boatstreetkitchen.com) in Seattle, Washington. There, chefs Susan Kaplan and Renée Erickson created a menu that began with Muhammara and Eggplant Caviar and ended with an array of cakes and cookies, from Fiona’s Yogurt Cake with almonds to Lena’s Nut Cookies. I was enchanted with the evening, the people, the restaurant and yes, the food!

Heirloom tomatoes, like those in the meal at the Left Bank.....

I’m including the recipe for Nutty Mussels here, hoping you’ll make it often this summer while mussels are plump and tender and tomatoes are ripe with flavor. For all those other recipes, you’ll just have to go out and get the book!

NUTTY MUSSELS

4 pounds (2kg) mussels, shells washed

1 tablespoon fresh rosemary leaves

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1/3 cup (50g) hazelnuts, diced

1 small fennel bulb (about 1-1/2 ounces;45g; to give 1/3 cup), diced

1 thick coin of ginger, peeled, minced, to give ½ teaspoon

2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

2 tablespoons dry breadcrumbs

1. If necessary, de-beard the mussels right before you being to prepare the dish. Keep them in the refrigerator.

2. Mince the fresh rosemary, and cover to keep the aroma from dissipating.

3. Heat the oil in a wok over medium heat. Add the hazelnuts and cook, stirring constantly, until they begin to turn golden and smell toasty, about 7 minutes. Remove the hazelnuts from the pan. Add the fennel and the ginger to the pan and cook, stirring frequently, until the fennel is tender, about 4 minutes. Stir in the lemon juice then add the mussels to the wok and sauté them until they open and most but not all of their juices have evaporated, stirring them almost constantly, for about 7 minutes. Return the hazelnuts to the pan along with the breadcrumbs and continue stirring and sautéing until the mussels are cooked through and the breadcrumbs are thoroughly mixed throughout and beginning to smell toasty, about 3 additional minutes.

4. Stir in the minced rosemary, and remove the mussels from the heat. Season them with pepper, and serve immediately.

4 first course servings

SAN FRAN

While San Francisco isn’t typically considered the center of exotic foreignness, after a day there walking the streets of the Mission District, Noe Valley, and Chinatown I have to say that I feel as though I’ve been to a foreign place.

San Francisco didn’t feel foreign because I’ve lived in France for nearly twenty years. It felt foreign because it is. It’s filled with people and influences from everywhere. I was stopped by a couple, one of whom was from Rwanda, the other from Ireland, who asked me to take their picture. Meandering down a street I came across a bevy of elderly women sitting on upturned buckets selling freshly toasted cashews (yum), squash shoots and caramel popcorn balls, each item sealed with a knotted plastic bag, a la Chiang Mai street food. None of the women spoke enough English to even tell me the price of their wares – they waved over a nephew or a grandson to do so.

Nuts for Sale, Nuts for Sale

Further down that street was a hearty young man newly arrived from the Dominican Republic, delicately sizzling bacon-wrapped hot dogs and freshly cut onions on a big baking sheet set over a flame. Had I not just had a taco at Taqueria La Cumbre, where Spanish supersedes English and little girls look up with soulful eyes to say “Ola,” and been on my way to dessert at Bombay Ice Cream where flavors run from black sesame seed to rose flower water, I would have purchased one – they smelled scrumptious.

Murals on the walls throughout the Mission District were reminiscent of Central America and, surprisingly, Sardegna; carp, tilapia, salmon heads, and pounded sheafs of beef tallow marked the beginning of Chinatown. I stopped for a tea tasting and found myself next to a young Asian man with a tony British accent – he works in the family restaurant in a small village just outside Leeds. This doesn’t take into the account the swirl of Eastern European languages from crowds of tourists, the high-pitched tones of Chinese vendors, the sing-song of Japanese restaurateurs.

Just one gorgeous mural

Omnivore Books (omnivorebooks.com), a white, bright jewel of a cooking and food bookstore in Noe Valley owned by Celia Sack, tells another story. Ms. Sack offers every cookbook you can imagine, from Nuts in the Kitchen (Yay!) to La Cuisini re de la Campagne et de la Ville (published in 1859). Her selection is immensely complete; her success astonishing, even to her. Ms. Sack represents a whole other San Franciscan “ethnicity,” with her pristine shop catering to the cooking foodivore, the passionate pastry chef, the ingredient obsessed.

My friend David's new book....gorgeous....

I’ll admit that a one-day roam is hardly enough in this beautiful city of which Mark Twain said the coldest winter he ever spent was August in San Francisco. He was right, it was freezing, which made a martini at the Cliff house – while not an”ethnically foreign” experience was certainly a “generationally foreign” one with its delightful cocktails and fifties menu – a perfect antidote to summer chill.

San Francisco is a delicous melting pot where every bite you eat, every sight you see, every cocktail you sip is a fine and simple celebration.

A Warm Night in Paris

It’s been exceptionally warm this summer, but evenings cool to a modest 23C(about 75F), which is more than tolerable. The sky is light until almost 11 p.m, and lately the clouds have been mare’s tails, energetically swooping above, leaving sprinkles of stars.

I arrived last evening in Paris, in preparation for a flight to the U.S., resistant. Not resistant to my favorite city, but simply sad to have left the country, its lush cool, a swimming pool at my disposition, truly clear, starry skies. My schedule dictated I must, and I could only give in gracefully. How could I have known how lovely the evening actually would turn out?

I had a date, with a friend. Too tired to “cross the river” he invited me to his apartment. Allergic to the idea of getting on the hot, stuffy metro I searched out a “velib”, or rental bicycle. Either the stands were empty or they were full – the full ones were out of order, leaving hundreds of un-used bicycles just sitting there. I finally found a free bike and was soon pedaling through the warm evening, cool and swift. I dreaded my arrival simply because the apartment I was visiting is on the sixth floor, and it has windows on just one end, so no cross-breeze.

I needn’t have worried. Right out the window is a slate roof commodious enough for two chairs, and offering a breath-taking, heart-stopping view. We, and a chilled bottle of rose, perched ourselves out there and proceeded to chat the evening away. The sky went from gold to purple, from purple to indigo. The Eiffel Tower kept jittering with light; neighbors all over the city flicked lights on and off as they moved from room to room of apartments stacked one upon another.

My friend and I did what the French call “refaire le monde,” or “remake the world.” We discussed work, love, life, friendships, fame, fortune, and food. At one point we sampled a fresh strawberry ice cream that captured the mara des bois like none other I’ve tasted. From now on, I’m a convert to strawberry ice cream (something I have never been able to eat), if my friend makes it and I eat it on a Parisian rooftop.

Where do nuts fit into this story? Now where, if the nut is edible. As the title of this blog suggests, Life is Nuts, and trading a country garden filled with gnarled apple trees, a near-Olympic length pool, soft breezes for a night in the city felt nuts. It turned out to be as perfect as anything could ever be.

I cannot share the recipe for strawberry ice cream because I didn’t ask for it. But I can share a recipe for strawberries – which one might say aren’t in season but one would be wrong. Somehow we all blinked, and strawberries have become not just a late spring fruit, but one that persists, with grace and flavor, throughout the long, hot summer.

Strawberries (and a raspberry or two) in Red Wine

1 pound strawberries, hulled and sliced

1/4 to 1/2 cup raspberries

3 tablespoons red wine (I like a Cotes de Blaye here, a nice floral ruby one!)

Freshly ground black pepper

Mint sprigs – for garnish

1. Place the berries in a shallow serving bowl. Pour over the wine and mix very gently. Let sit for 10 to 15 minutes.

2. Just before serving, sprinkle the berries with a bit of pepper, and garnish with a mint sprig or two.

4 – 6 servings

HOT!

Oooh, it’s hot out there. But nothing like it was last week. Then, the air was so heavy and lacking in oxygen that breathing was almost too much effort. Skin was clammy, relief slept in the folds of the big, angry clouds that passed overhead. Jokesters, they left nothing but more heat in their wake.

Finally, though, there was a little drizzle, then a big fat angry downpour paving the way to this glorious week which, despite temperatures climbing into the 30′s (90F and above), it’s sheer pleasure to be alive.

So much so that coffee and croissants sound good again for breakfast. You might say they always sound good, but no. Last week in that ugly heat they didn’t. Coffee ice cubes, perhaps, tossed down the back of a light linen shirt. But not hot coffee, nor buttery croissants.

Cafe expres and walnuts at Le Raspail

So this week it’s back to a hot morning coffee, a flaky croissant or pain au chocolat and, in the case of the other day, a bag of the freshest, nuttiest, buttery walnuts. I found them at the Raspail market in Paris when I was there checking out the season as I planned a menu. I was hunting for cherries – I found them – zucchini, eggplant, red currants and mint. I found it all and just needed walnuts to complete my haul. I tasted one before I bought them – it pays to be wary of nuts that are sitting out in the open – and was smitten. I’m a walnut fiend because I love their flavor and texture. That they’re heart healthy and contain lots of copper and manganese only helps the issue! I’ve very picky about those I’ll put in cakes, or sprinkle in salads, or sandwich between two layers of roasted eggplant. I want the best. These, from the Périgord, were the best. I didn’t buy the walnuts for nibbling, but somehow that little bag crept up onto the table and before I knew it those nuts became part of breakfast. I should have known they’d be a perfect fit – there’s a walnut and coffee cake recipe in Nuts in the Kitchen that is sublime (pg. 218). Breakfast was as well. I highly recommend a cup of rich, froth espresso (like the one served at Le Raspail, the friendliest café in Paris on the corner of the rue du Cherche-Midi and the Boulevard Raspail), a croissant, a bag of the worlds’ best walnuts, and the newspaper with its rundown of last-nights’ World Cup game. If it’s not World Cup season, you’ll find something else to read, I’m sure! After all, the Tour de France has just begun.

　

Pistachios Here, Pistachios there

Oh my goodness. My last post was a long time ago. Since that fateful June 6 date many miles have been traveled, much life has been lived, many nuts (and other delicious things) have been cooked, served, eaten, enjoyed.

And now we are staring the last week of school (my daughter’s) in the eye. Last Saturday, to celebrate the end of the year in English, I took them to the farmers’ market in the heart of Louviers. There we identified the produce, meats, cheeses and seafood we’ve been studying in the classroom all year (I help teach the kids English) by their English names. Merchants and customers alike were charmed by the kids piping up to say “Eet ees Pork!” or “strohberries” or “feesh” or “roast cheekine”. We ended our tour with a picnic in the garden around a platter of “roast cheekine” and a variety of salads the kids had brought with them.

Peek Neek

While I was away in the U.S. during the early part of the month (Thank you, Texas, I love visiting you!), French MacDonalds released the Pistachio Frappé, what looks to be a very green version of a milk shake. I haven’t tried one and probably won’t, but I’m delighted to see they’ve harnessed the flavor of the pistachio (and, who knows, some of its nutritional virtues as well) and presented it to the general public.  Pistachio is a wildly popular flavor here in France – would it fly in the U.S.?

While the frappé leaves me cold, I do love to sprinkle pistachios on everything from salad to dessert. Lately I’ve been dusting them atop an appetizer made with carrots and cardamom scented yogurt, and the dish has made everyone sigh with pleasure. The picutre is here, the recipe is below.

Carrot and Yogurt Verrine with Pistachios

My favorite pistachios are from Turkey. As part of the research for Nuts in the Kitchen, I traveled to Eastern Anatolia where I set my feet on the germ plasm of the pistachio in an orchard outside the town of Gazientep. 　As cars and trucks thundered by on the highway bordering the orchard, I tasted a pistachio straight from the tree. It was not yet mature, its color vivid green, its flavor like brown butter. I learned there, standing amidst a group of burnished field workers as they put the finishing touches on the harvest, that this stage of pistachio is referred to as “green gold.” Most of the harvest goes to fine pastry shops like Orkide in the heart of Gazientep, where a crew of at least ten pastry chefs spend their days making the paper-thin layers of filo dough (which they throw heaven-ward time after time to get it thin enough) then cooking the pistachios with sheeps’ milk butter, sugar and spices for a transportingly exquisite filling.

Back here on earth I use my little frozen stash of green gold, a gift from Mustafa Ozguler who is a friend and part owner of Orkide, for very special dishes and moments. Green gold isn’t necessary to make the Carrot Verrine but do use Turkish pistachios which are easy to find online.For my money, they’re the best in the world. And Bon Appétit!

Http://www.nutsonline.com/nuts/pistachios/turkish-antep.html .

CARDAMOM CARROT “VERRINE”

VERRINE DE CARROTTES CARDAMOM

For the yogurt:

1-1/4 cups (310ml) plain yogurt

Scant ½ teaspoon freshly ground cardamom

Pinch fine sea salt, to taste

For the carrots:

1-1/2 pound (750g) carrots, peeled, trimmed, cut into 1-inch (2.5cm) pieces

Three 3 x 1/2-inch (8.75cm) strips of lemon zest

1-1/2 teaspoons dark brown sugar

3 fresh bay leaves from the Laurus nobilis, or dried, imported bay leaves

30 sprigs fresh thyme

Scant ½ teaspoon fine sea salt

For the garnish:

2 scant tablespoons (18g) raw pistachio nuts, finely ground

1. About one hour before you plan to make this, line a sieve with cheesecloth and place it over a medium-sized bowl. Pour the yogurt into the sieve and let it drain. When the yogurt has drained and become thicker, turn it into a small bowl, add the cardamom stir, and let sit for at least 1 hour, and up to 8 hours, refrigerated.

2. Place the carrots in a medium-sized saucepan and just cover them by 1-inch (2.5cm) with water. Add the lemon zest, the sugar, the bay leaves, the thyme, and the salt and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to medium, cover the pan and cook until the carrots are completely tender through, 20 to 25 minutes and most, but not all, of the water has been absorbed. Remove the carrots from the heat.

3. Remove the bay leaves and the thyme from the carrots. Transfer the carrots and the lemon zest, without the cooking liquid, to the work bowl of a food processor and puree. If the carrots won’t puree, add a bit of the cooking liquid to help them along. They won’t ever be silken smooth, but will be a fine blend. Taste the puree for seasoning and adjust with salt if necessary. Reserve.

4. Place equal amounts of carrot puree in four glasses. Top with equal amounts of the spiced yogurt. Garnish with equal amounts of pistachios, and serve while the carrots are warm, or at room temperature.

4 servings

Dallas and Art – 1

I’m in Dallas, and it’s hot. One hundred degrees in the shade, which thankfully is manifold.

Dallas isn’t just the land of hats n’ kickers, lognhorns, spice and good ol’ boys. It is the land of art and fabulous architecture and very, very good food. Last night I went with friends to Stephen Pyles Restaurant on Ross Street. It was a delight to sit outside being ruffled by the slight breeze, sipping a French rosé (Domaine d’Hortus) while dipping naan into hummus, a multi-cultural mix in the land of the longhorn. This points out one of the glories of eating in the USA. There are no barriers, anything goes. Mr. Pyles has taken East Indian food and mixed it with that from the Middle East and the Magrhreb. Does anyone care where it came from, in favor of that it tastes so good? I doubt it – this master of foodcraft never ceases to delight his faithful followers – the place was overflowing. Stephen Pyles’ Restaurant 1807 Ross Avenue Dallas, TX 75201-8002 (214) 580-7000.

East Indian Chicken with Cashews at Stephen Pyles Restaurant

His restaurant is right near the Margot and Bill Winspear Opera house, awesomely glowing red in the night. Designed by Foster + Partners it is close to if not part of the Dallas Arts District where I.M. Pei has two signature creations, each seeming to be made of fabric. They fold into themselves as they spear the sky. Foster + Partners designed the Annette Strauss Artists’ Square, and the City Performance Hall, another architectural wonder, is thanks to Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill. Speaking of lush and shade, there is also the Michel Desvigne Elaind D. And Charles A. Sammons Park. Why so much art – inside and out – in Dallas? It’s been a forty-plus year project, funded mostly by private donations from people who want urban beauty. It’s so far a huge success.

This early morning, granola is on the menu. If you like being awakened by crunch and a slight sweetness, try the granola recipe in Nuts in the Kitchen (page 4-5). It’s a blend of the sweet and savory, the crisp and the crunchy. Serve it with seasonal fruit which would be, right this very minute, a big mound of strawberries. Bon Appétit!

Texas Nuts Two

Here in Texas, nuts are everywhere. Yes, I do mean the kind that grow on trees and come in shells. It’s the land of the pecan, of course, and they are everywhere, mostly wrapped in brown sugar and eggs and baked inside a nice, crisp pastry shell.

As you all know, I’m cooking at the Central Market cooking schools, which are tucked upstairs in the gorgeous Central Market grocery stores dotted throughout Texas. I cannot tell you what a pleasant, professional, fun and sometimes hilarious experience this is. It isn’t my first tour with Central Markets – I’ve taught several times at their stores and the reason I return is because they have a class act.

Part of the class is the basic southern hospitality that oozes from everyone once you get into the south. Just take a look at this sign which sits outside the Central Market in Austin.  I”m a northerner and we’re all well brought up and nice. But in the south people are simply…gorgeous. The men hold the door open for you, the women are warm and strong and funny, everyone calls everyone else Ma’am or Miss (Miss…imagine that?!) or sir. Call it all old-fashioned, maybe it is. But it’s also very sweet and easy living. At least for a northerner like me. Just as I love being called “Cara” when I’m in Italy, and “Cherie” when I’m in France, I just love being called “Honey” when I’m in the south.

So, back to Central Market. The runway-length aisles are laden with so much…stuff! From organic potato chips to rice cakes, acres of fresh corn to little tiny pots of delicately raised basil, to hunks of beef and row upon row of very large chicken breasts. I have found the Leblanc nut oils I love, the fleur de sel de Guérande I cannot live without, nuts of every kind and description both salted, sweetened, and raw. I am always just the tiniest bit in awe of the abundance I find when I return to the U.S., as though that notion is part of the national creed, which perhaps it is.

I’ve been teaching recipes from Nuts in the Kitchen of course, and I settled on a menu long ago that has turned out to be not only crowd-pleasing, but utterly delicious, even for me who is tasting elements of it each night. I particularly love the pesto with its crunch of walnuts and pine nuts, its depth of Niçoise or Nyons olives, and the herbal scent of plenty of fresh basil leaves. Lucini extra virgin olive oil (try this brand if you haven’t – it hails from Tuscany, and is the freshest, most grassy-green olive oil I’ve tasted in a long time) rounds it out, and I must say it is simply wonderful on a round of freshly toasted bread.

One thing Central Market doesn’t stock is kitchenware, so I’ve had a tough time finding a mortar and pestle to make the pesto. I could make it in a food processor, but the texture just isn’t right so I’ve resorted to making it on the chopping board and I’m here to say the result is sublime. It turns out full of toothsome texture, the way it is supposed to be. It is perfect for the blazing temperatures we’re experiencing, too, because it’s refreshing (especially with one of those Texas margarita’s on the side). I highly recommend you try it. Here is the recipe, with a little nut tip included.

Chopped Walnuts and Basil for the Pesto

NUT AND OLIVE PESTO

NOTE: To pit the olives, place them on a work surface, cover them with parchment or waxed paper and whack them firmly yet gently with a rolling pin. This splits them open, making the pit easy to remove. In general, olives are salty so the additional salt isn’t necessary. When looking for olives, if you cannot find those mentioned below, use a generic French olive.

1 clove garlic, green germ removed if necessary

Generous pinch sea salt

1-1/2 cup (8 ounces;250g) top-quality black olives, such as Lucques or Olives de Nyons,

pitted, coarsely chopped

½ cup (50g) walnuts, coarsely chopped

1/4 cup (30g) pine nuts, coarsely chopped

1 cup (15g) fresh basil leaves

9 tablespoons (140ml) extra-virgin olive oil

Fine sea salt – optional

1. In a mortar, pound the garlic with the salt until it is a fine puree. Add the olives, the nuts, and the basil and mix until the mixture is homogeneous but still has much texture. Slowly mix in the oil. Season to taste with salt if necessary, and serve.

1-1/2 cups (375ml)

******

If you find two nuts in one shell where there should be only a single nut (almonds, brazil nuts, hazel nuts, etc.), eat one of them and throw the other over your head as you make a wish. After you have made your wish, you should not speak to anyone until you can answer “yes” to a question, or your wish won’t come true.
(England)

 

Travel N’ Nuts

The Nuts in the Kitchen Book Tour has begun. I’m now in Austin, Texas preparing to begin a teaching tour at five Central Market stores (www.centralmarket.com) throughout the state. On the menu are delicious offerings from Nuts in the Kitchen, photos of which will appear on this blog as the tour progresses. The class begins tonight, Wednesday June 2, at Central Market’s North Lamar store (512.206.1014).

What I love about cooking in the U.S. is the trick of finding gorgeous ingredients. I know that during my time in Texas I’ll have no trouble at all. Central Market stores are little havens of perfection, with anything you can imagine at your fingertips.

My trip over here was surprisingly tranquil, thanks to traveling with carry-on only. This has made a huge difference to travel, as one is the captain of one’s ship, the mistress of one’s soul. How many times have I filled out the paperwork for lost bags, losing precious hours of a visit? How often have I wanted to flee from the airport and instead waited, along with other weary travelers, for the grind and bump of the bags to come off the plane. Now it’s a quick in and out, with the only stressful part being the domestic leg.

Why? On international flights a purse isn’t counted as carry-on, so you can have one along with the other two pieces of luggage. On domestic flights, the rules are rabidly clear – two carry-ons, and two carry-ons only, which occasions a deft reorganization that can sometimes result in chaos. “Where are my glasses?” “What did I do with my book?” “Where is the cord to the computer?” Sometimes I wonder at the real reason for two carry-ons when I see people getting on the plane doubled-over with the weight of their bags. It is not, however, for me to ask why.

Nut Bounty at Laguardia

Each time I return to the U.S. I see more nuts in airports. I’m serious. Is it my book that’s making the difference? I’d like to think so! This time I waited at LaGuardia for my flight to Austin and had some time to kill since the flight was late. I could have worked but chose to walk instead, and stumbled onto this bank of bounty as I did. More nuts than I’d ever seen in one place at an airport stand, and they were selling fast.

Nuts were on the flight menu, too, as one meal option. The other was a veggie wrap. What is coming over American airline companies? Are they hoping their clients will live, and thus travel, longer? My seat mate ordered the nuts and I ogled him as he nibbled each and every one. I know his trip was better for it, though I kept this information to myself. And my ogling was discreet – he never suspected a thing.

Garrido's Margarita

I’ll close this entry, short as it is, with a little Austin vision, from a wonderful restauranthere called Garrido’s (360 Nueces Street Austin, TX 78701 (512) 320-8226 www.garridosaustin.com) It was the best margarita I’ve ever had in my life, worthy of being recorded for posterity. There were no nuts in it, but it sustained all the same!

Stay tuned!

Fame by Radio and Everyday Nuts

So much to say, so little time. Firstly, I’d like to thank all the great radio people who’ve asked such fantastic questions about nuts so far. Here’s an interview you can actually listen to whenever you want
http://www.amillioncooks.com/vertical_page.php?verticalin=18

Lynne Rosetto Kasper interviewed me for Spendid Table, and that interview will run on the actual air waves on May 28, 2010. Tomorrow, Monday May 10, I’ll be interviewed by Dr. Alvin Augustus Jones The Paradise Radio Network WCBQ-AM 1340 WHNC-AM 890. Both of these promise fun!

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I wrote Nuts in the Kitchen primarily to show you how nuts can be easily incorporated into delicious dishes the way they are in so many cultures throughout the world. I did this because I wanted you all, cooks and eaters, to enjoy the incredible flavors and textures nuts add to just about everything. I want you to benefit from the nutritional aspects of nuts, too, so I have set out to seduce you with fantastic flavors, ideas, fun, and stories. Because all of this has been on my mind I’ve documented some of my nutty experiences this week, to share with you.

The other day, I made a chocolate cake that has almonds folded into the batter. This may not come as a stroke of brilliance but it is, when you realize that you can fold nuts into any cake batter and make it a billion percent more tasty, interesting, delicious, exciting.

In my cake the almonds were cut larger than a mince, so you could actually feel them crunch under your teeth. Several friends who ate it thought the almonds were praline, they were so crisp and toasty. What is praline? It’s almonds mixed with caramelized sugar that are then pulverized or chopped and added to things. Praline can be powdered, or it can be chunky. Either way, it is sweet, crisp and marvelous.

I entertain a lot because I love it, and I am always testing recipes. This week, I was fooling around with sunflower seeds. I added them, with pumpkin and flax seeds to a spelt bread dough. The result is so toasty and satisfying that a slice of bread almost counts as an entire meal.  

I ordered pâté at a restaurant and it arrived studded with vivid green pistachios that seemed to wink up at me from the plate. Tender and sweet, they are a traditional addition to pâté, and they add so much. I make pâté sometimes and add toasted hazelnuts. They’re delicious too, though not quite as dressy.  You can always add both, as here.

What met with the most success in this nutty, seedy week were two things which book ended a meal.  As part of the appetizer I roasted peanuts that I’d first tossed with minced garlic, hot paprika, salt and some oil . Everyone loves them.  Dessert  for this meal was a coffee and walnut cake (direct from Nuts in the Kitchen, page 218) which I turned into cupcakes.

The French are just being introduced to cupcakes, which they have a tendency to call “muffins (or moofeens),” and I predict much success for them here. When I served them last night, with their little top-knots of coffee icing and toasted walnuts, you’d have thought that I’d ushered in flaming babas au rhum or crème caramel. The oohs and aaahs were gratifying, the abrupt silence which followed even more so. And the fact that seconds were requested got me to thinking that maybe I should turn myself into a professional cupcake baker.

Without very much effort at all I incorporated nuts into almost every meal this week. You can too, and you’ll be better for it. Why? You’ll be ultra satisfied because of the flavors  and textures.  You’ll be nice and healthy because of all the minerals, proteins, joint-loosening oils and other healthful attributes, and you’ll be happy because you did something a little different.

Bon Appétit!