Au Revoir, Paris!

 

Yes, au revoir, Paris! After almost a month in France, I am back home! 

I ended up having a fabulous time, but the first four days were rough....

        Day 1...My computer crashed.

        Day 2...I fell and landed on my camera, breaking it.

        Day 3...My sister was sick at her stomach all day.

        Day 4...A pickpocket stole my phone when I was on the subway.

Yes, a rough start, but after that everything got better...I can't wait to share all 800+ pictures I took and tell you about all my adventures in Paris and in the Loire Valley. For today, here's a shot I took from our apartment balcony in Paris.

I brought a huge bunch of ebooks with me on my trip, and I managed to read seven of them while I was away. My two favorites were Dear Paris, an illustrated collection of letters written during the author's time in Paris, and One More Croissant for the Road, an account of the author's bicycle ride around France in search of the best food in the country.

Dear Paris: The Paris Letters Collection by Janice MacLeod (Nonfiction)

A Croissant for the Road by Felicity Cloake (Foodie Nonfiction)

Nobody's Boy by Hector Malot (1001 Children's Books You Must Read)

Murder on the Marais by Cara Black (Mystery)

Madame de Treymes by Edith Wharton (Classic)

Martha in Paris by Margery Sharp (Fiction)

The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Emmuska Orczy (Classic)

The links will take you to my complete reviews.

Another Year of Wonder: Classical Music for Everyday by Clemency Burton Hill (Nonfiction)

The Boy and His Horse by C. S. Lewis (Narniathon)

Mary Barton by Elizabeth Gaskell (Chapter-a-Day)

Le gentil petit diable et autres contes de la Rue Broca by Pierre Gripari (1001 Children's Books)

Last week I posted here at Readerbuzz:

Books with Semi-Naked Men On the Cover That I'd Be Happy If I Never Saw Again

Wondrous Words Wednesday: Let's Learn Some French, Part 3

Saturday, April 30 is Independent Bookstore Day.

Support your favorite independent bookstore today.

April 30 is also Dewey's 24-Hour Readathon.

I will be volunteering to help birders all day at

Quintana Beach for Spring Fling,

but I will keep a book in hand 

(hopefully something quite birdish to inspire 

the bookish among the birdish).

Good Things: Au Revoir, Paris!

I'm happy you joined us here at the Sunday Salon. Sunday Salon is a place to link up and to share what we have been doing during the week. It's a great way to visit other blogs and join in the conversations going on there. 

Some of the things we often talk about at the Sunday Salon:

• What was your week like?
• Read any good books? Tell us about them.
• What other bookish things did you do? 
• What else is going on in your life?

Other places where you may like to link up over the weekend are below. Click on the picture to visit the site.

        

My linkup for Sunday Salon is below. 

Let's Learn Some French, Part 3

One of the best ways to learn words is to link them with pictures.

I'm hoping to learn these words and phrases in French so well that I can easily say them.

So I'm pairing up the words/phrases with some of my favorite pictures...

For more wordless photos, go to Wordless Wednesday.

Wondrous Words Wednesday is a weekly meme where you can share new words that you’ve encountered, or spotlight words you love.  Feel free to get creative! It was first created by Kathy over at Bermuda Onion and is now hosted at Elza Reads.

Weekend Cooking was created by Beth Fish Reads and is now hosted by Marg at The Intrepid Reader (and Baker). It is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book (novel, nonfiction) reviews, cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, quotations, photographs. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend. You do not have to post on the weekend. Please link to your specific post, not your blog's home page. For more information, see the welcome post.

Books with Semi-Naked Men On the Cover That I'd Be Happy If I Never Saw Again

These men are not interested in me. Or you. Trust me. All they are interested in is their own bodies.

And, no, I do not want to be a Viking captive.

Nor do I wish to kiss the Coronavirus.

Why is the woman gazing so longingly at the person who is holding a sword on her?

And why do some of these men need such big swords?

I'm not a fan of these covers.

Your thoughts? It's okay to disagree and I'd love to know the appeal. 

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together. Each Tuesday That Artsy Reader Girl assigns a topic and then post her top ten list that fits that topic. You’re more than welcome to join her and create your own top ten (or 2, 5, 20, etc.) list as well. Feel free to put a unique spin on the topic to make it work for you! Please link back to That Artsy Reader Girl in your own post so that others know where to find more information.    

On My Way Home from Paris!

 

I've been reading some of these while I’ve been away.

I've finished the highlighted titles.

Reviews coming soon.

Nana by Émile Zola (Classic)

Murder on the Marais by Cara Black (Mystery)

Madame de Treymes by Edith Wharton (Classic)

Martha in Paris by Margery Sharp (Fiction)

The Paris Connection by (Contemporary Fiction)

An Omelette and a Glass of Wine by Elizabeth David (Foodie Nonfiction)

A Croissant for the Road by Felicity Cloake (Foodie Nonfiction)

Dear Paris: The Paris Letters Collection by Janice MacLeod (Nonfiction)

Castles and Châteaux of Old Touraine and the Loire Country (Nonfiction)

The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Emmuska Orczy (Classic)

Nobody's Boy by Hector Malot (1001 Children's Books You Must Read)

Captain Fracasse by Théophile Gautier (1001 Children's Books You Must Read)

After nearly a month in Paris and the Loire Valley, we fly home on Sunday. Sad to leave, but happy to have spent such a lovely time here. Photos coming soon...

Last week I posted here at Readerbuzz:

Bookish Merchandise I’d Love to Own

Baking with Dorie: Cheese Puffers

Good Things: At Home in Paris Playlist

I'm happy you joined us here at the Sunday Salon. Sunday Salon is a place to link up and to share what we have been doing during the week. It's a great way to visit other blogs and join in the conversations going on there. 

Some of the things we often talk about at the Sunday Salon:

• What was your week like?
• Read any good books? Tell us about them.
• What other bookish things did you do? 
• What else is going on in your life?

Other places where you may like to link up over the weekend are below. Click on the picture to visit the site.

        

My linkup for Sunday Salon is below. 

Baking with Dorie: Cheese Puffers

It is Paris Sweets: Great Desserts from the City's Best Pastry Shops: A Baking Book that first made me fall in love with the cookbooks of Dorie Greenspan. I took a batch of her Sablés au Citron to a family get-together (back when we had such things) and I got a whole series of requests for my recipe. (My post about making Sablés au Citron is here.)

Now I'm enjoying Baking With Dorie: Sweet, Salty, & Simple. This book marks thirty years of cookbookery for Dorie. To make this cookbook, she spent three years working on the kinds of recipes she loves most: recipes that are simple, use basic ingredients, and have deep flavors and complex textures. She focused on creating recipes that are flexible, that allow the cook to play with them. And she built surprises into as many of the recipes as she could. 

Doesn't that sound fun? 

And here's a lovely quote from Dorie in her introduction to the book:

"This is my fourteenth cookbook, and it arrives exactly thirty years after my first. A lot has changed over those decades, but not the joy I get from baking. That's constant and unfailing. If you're a baker, you know exactly how I feel. If you're not, the sweetest thing I can wish you is that you become one. Bake something and share it. It might change your life. It changed mine."

Dorie shares recipes for what she calls The Daily Bread (a fairly simple white bread that can be made every day); brioche (her favorite bread, and mine); babka; biscuits; Lemony Yogurt Muffins (the next thing I'm trying from this cookbook); cakes; cobblers; French Riviera Lemon Tart (on my list to make soon); Peanut-Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies, Paris Style (how can I resist that?); biscotti; pies...Let's just say that if you can bake it, there is probably some fresh version of it in this book.

The first thing I tried is Dorie's Cheese Puffers.

Cheese Puffers

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 12 pieces

1¼ cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon fine sea salt

A few grinds of black pepper

Pinch of cayenne pepper

3 large eggs

1 cup milk, at room temperature

4 ounces cheddar cheese, shredded

3 scallions, trimmed and finely sliced or chopped

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

If you have a cast-iron muffin tin, put it in the oven when you start to preheat it and melt the butter in the cups a minute before you’re ready to add the batter. Check puffers after 15 minutes in the oven.

Center a rack in the oven and position another rack just below it. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Have a baking sheet lined with foil or a baking mat and a muffin tin at hand. (If you’re using a cast-iron pan, put it into the oven now; see above.) Put the baking sheet on the lower rack — it will be your drip catcher.

Drop one piece of the butter into each muffin cup; set aside (see above if using a cast-iron pan).

Working in a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, black pepper and cayenne.

In another bowl or a large measuring cup, whisk the eggs and milk together. Using a flexible spatula, stir the liquid ingredients into the dry, then blend in the cheese and scallions. Be thorough, but don’t be overzealous.

Put the muffin tin into the oven and as soon as the butter has melted, remove it and brush the butter around the sides of each cup with a silicone or other pastry brush. Using a big cookie scoop or a spoon, divide the batter among the cups and immediately return the tin to the oven.

Bake for 20 to 23 minutes, or until the puffers are tall and golden. The butter will be bubbling around them and a tester inserted into the center of one will come out clean. Transfer the tin to a rack, run a table knife around the edges of each cup and pop the puffers out. Serve immediately.

Storing: These are meant to be eaten as soon as they’re baked, but if they must wait for a few hours, quickly reheat them in a hot oven.

For more wordless photos, go to Wordless Wednesday.

Wondrous Words Wednesday is a weekly meme where you can share new words that you’ve encountered, or spotlight words you love.  Feel free to get creative! It was first created by Kathy over at Bermuda Onion and is now hosted at Elza Reads.

Weekend Cooking was created by Beth Fish Reads and is now hosted by Marg at The Intrepid Reader (and Baker). It is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book (novel, nonfiction) reviews, cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, quotations, photographs. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend. You do not have to post on the weekend. Please link to your specific post, not your blog's home page. For more information, see the welcome post.

Bookish Merchandise I’d Love to Own

These are all on my Amazon wishlist. If you were interested...

Mind you, I already have a Book Shirt, a Book Dress, a Book Scarf, a Book Quilt...

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together. Each Tuesday That Artsy Reader Girl assigns a topic and then post her top ten list that fits that topic. You’re more than welcome to join her and create your own top ten (or 2, 5, 20, etc.) list as well. Feel free to put a unique spin on the topic to make it work for you! Please link back to That Artsy Reader Girl in your own post so that others know where to find more information.