A week where one makes homemade raw butter and crème fraïche is by definition a good week! It certainly made ours. It was so easy (and fun, might I add) to make, and so much better tasting than anything store bought. If you want to give it a try, I used this video as a guide for the butter, it was perfect.
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| My butter in its cheesecloth cocoon… |
I found the crème fraîche recipe (though it’s so simple it really doesn’t qualify as a recipe) here. Berries dipped in that crème fraîche are beyond this world. And we’re making my mom’s cream of watercress soup this week just to be able to put a dollop of that raw crème fraîche in there! And as a Halloween treat, we might just make the fruit trifle from our trip to Normandy, mixing some of that crème with homemade plain yogurt…
Other highlights included a visit of the San Diego Hillcrest Farmer’s market (where Pablo tasted local live sea urchin and loved it; we also found some tiny Japanese turnips I’m looking forward to cooking this week), and a roasted beet and purple potato tatin from Cannelle & Vanille blog, which was just outstanding.
Sharing a few more images, and our menu for the upcoming week… Hope it can spark some ideas for your family!
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| Roasted beet and purple potato tatin |
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| Produce from the San Diego Hillcrest Farmers’ market |
Cheeses of the week: Following French tradition, I always offer a little bit of cheese at the end of every meal, between the main course and dessert. Rotation this week: Creamy Italian Blue cheese, Chives brie, Truffle triple cream, and we can never get away from the goat cheese (and have to sing the French song that goes along with it every night, “Ah biquette biquette”…!)
Desserts: At lunch, I offer a fruit yogurt (or plain yogurt with fresh fruit), but at night, I prefer sticking to plain yogurt (regular homemade* whole milk, sheep’s milk, goat’s milk and Greek yogurt for extra protein) to avoid too much sugar before bedtime.
If you would like a particular recipe on the menu, feel free to contact me! (I marked with a * the recipes that will be the topic of upcoming posts).
MONDAY
Lunch
Appetizer / Finger Foods: Green bean salad
Main course: Tofu with kale puree
Goûter (4pm snack) – Mango compote
Dinner
Appetizer / Finger Foods: Zucchini & mint salad, radishes
Main course: Pan-fried veal liver with yellow cauliflower
TUESDAY
Lunch
Appetizer / Finger Foods: Yellow cauliflower, tomato & potato salad
Main course: Shrimp with fava bean puree
Goûter – Passion fruit, berries dipped in home-made raw crème fraîche!
Dinner
Appetizer / Finger Foods: Cream of watercress (my all time favorite when I was a child!)
Main course: Lemon roast chicken with parsnip puree, recipe found on The Food Dept. blog
WEDNESDAY – Happy Halloween everyone!
Trying to go with the orange theme here… 🙂
Lunch
Appetizer / Finger Foods: French-style grated carrots (recipe by Karen Le Billon here)
Main course: Mixed chicken salad with lots of veggies (corn, peas, carrots, tomatoes, cucumber, hearts of palm, jicama, green beans…) – a good way to use leftover chicken and veggies.
Goûter – Apple & pear compote
Dinner
Appetizer / Finger Foods: Roasted butternut squash & coconut soup inspired by The Lovely Pantry
Main course: Steamed turmeric sole “en papillote” (cooked in wax paper pouch)
THURSDAY
Appetizer / Finger Foods: Hearts of palm & tomato salad
Main course: Ham with veggie noodles
Goûter – Kiwi
Dinner
Appetizer / Finger Foods: Japanese cucumber salad from the wonderful Just One Cookbook blog
Main course: Leg of lamb steaks (pan-fried), with carrot, Japanese turnips & fresh peas jardinière
FRIDAY
Lunch
Appetizer / Finger Foods: White asparagus tips in tarragon yogurt sauce
Main course: Sardines with broccoli & baked potato puree
Goûter – Banana
Dinner
Appetizer / Finger Foods: Leek whites in vinaigrette
Main course: Chicken Basquaise (We made a large batch last week, and froze two large portions for future busy – or exhausted – nights!)
SATURDAY
Lunch – Eating out!
Goûter – Persimmon
Dinner
Appetizer / Finger Foods: Savory herb custard (will experiment with sage this time)
Main course: Black pepper beef with 8 spices from Mummy I can cook blog, with steamed baby bok choy
SUNDAY
Lunch
Appetizer / Finger Foods: Avocado & orange tomato
Main course: Smoked salmon with creamed spinach
Goûter – Grapes, berries
Dinner
Appetizer / Finger Foods: Cauliflower, green beans, blue potato salad
Main course: Oven roasted pork ribs with rutabaga
Eeks so excited to see my black pepper beef on the menu! really excited in general for pablo now that he can eat solids! he's a lucky one to have a heck of a cook for a mum!
p.s. that beet and potato tartin looks amazing.
So sweet of you to say! Can't wait to try your beef recipe, got all my spices ready 🙂
Hi Helene! Thanks for including my cucumber salad Helene! Your weekly menus are always so impressive! This is exactly what I need to do. My menus are last minute or I'm lucky if I have time to cook these days. So many after school activities scheduled on top of homework! Enjoy cooking time with Pablo!
Thank YOU for all your wonderful recipes, your blog is always a source of inspiration! Making weekly meal plans has saved me so much time and stress, it really helps… that being said, I don't have any homework to deal with yet! What a juggling act motherhood is…
Hi! Beautiful menu this week! Do you have the recipe for the beet and potato tartin? Would love to try it!
Thanks Sarika! Yes, if you click on the Cannelle et Vanille link below the picture of the butter, it'll take you to the recipe. It was very good. I went the easy route and used an already made puff pastry sheet to save time, but her pastry crust sounds amazing, I'll be giving it a try soon.
I'm not sure if I can't find it, or if it isn't there, but I am looking for your cream of watercress soup recipe.
:(( I hope my wife can cook this dish. That's amazing!!
I love the vibrant photos and tasty-looking dishes. Thanks for sharing!