2014

Here’s the essential: we have a baby boy, Élie John François. He jumped the January 11th gun and decided December 26th, 2013 sounded better. Now, 15 months later, I am sitting here and trying to think where to begin, what to include, in this post about our life since then.

But how can I even begin to talk about all the ways big and small we’ve changed and grown and had fun! And been tired. Oh so tired for months! It’s all worth it a thousand-fold. To say we are completely smitten is, as for any new parents, a complete understatement. It is amazing how life managed to bring us just the most wonderful little light for our family. We could never have dreamed of a more perfect match.

And we’ve already had so many wonderful experiences with this little guy – we’ve played the tourist in Paris with visiting family, we’ve trekked to some of our favorite summer spots in the south of France, and we were able to celebrate his first birthday at my home in Maine with his American family.

All the while we’ve been working hard on this apartment, our home. It has so many challenges but we love it here. The work isn’t done and I am looking forward to sharing all those details because making home, designing spaces, is such a passion of mine, just as much as what I serve on our table. Our previous apartment didn’t have as much room for me to stretch those muscles and so I’ve been so excited to design a space that is truly us on this new canvas. I’ll finally be able to share more ‘dart’ along with the ‘egg’ here! Starting Wednesday, I’ll introduce you to what we started with, where we are now, and what my vision is.

In the mean time, you can catch up even more over on my instagram which has been my mini-blog when I couldn’t be here. I’ve thought long and hard about what I want to write here but maybe I’ve done too much of that. Let’s get going!

xo,

A.

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The Day the Tomatoes Came Back

The First Tomatoes | egg & dart blog

I’ve been planning during the quiet of naptime and dreaming in between. But today I am going against the rationalist that says I should have more prepared before I jump in this lake, that I should know where I’m headed. The little one has already woken from his nap and is telling himself stories in his crib. The minutes have ticked by and it’s getting so close to the end of the day. But I’m jumping in this lake. I’m throwing caution to the wind. Because today is the day that I walked into the marché and couldn’t help grinning at everyone. Today was that day, like at the turn of every season, that the newness on the farmer’s table makes my mind bubble with things I want to make, to taste! Today is the day the tomatoes came back.

(Just like the feeling of seeing that table brimming with the first signs of the new season, I am so excited to hit ‘publish’! I’ll be back soon with a little bit about what I’ve been up to.)

xo,

A.

The Surging of Life

I have a post about one of our favorite museums here in Paris to share with you but the truth is I haven’t been able to get myself to take the time to finish editing the pictures. It’s not because I don’t love them but if I’m being honest, I’ve been stalled on them. And then this morning I thought that what I should really share was a celebration of the holiday to come. A holiday for when life comes surging back. And that’s exactly what my mother-in-law wanted me to document in her garden the last weekend we were there. She wanted pictures of that moment in between. The quiet right before the surge of life washes over the sleeping ground. The garden waiting.

So that’s what I knew I wanted to share this Good Friday. Admittedly, winters in this part of France look little like the winters I know in my Maine. The ground rarely gets that unforgiving hollow thump from being frozen nor does it ever stay white very long if it ever gets a layer of snow. I had forgotten what the winter ground sounds and feels like until I was home in February. So curious. And because that rarely happens in this climate, green can blanket the ground even in the darkest months. Hardy old friends like leeks, beets, cabbage, and chard march right through the cold.

But new delicate greens are popping up in every corner. Vibrant colors that have been dormant for months. The birds have so much to tell in the trees and everything seems to be humming. It’s all waking up. It’s all surging back.

A very beautiful spring to you and a very Happy Easter.

xo,

A.

Raclette Pizza because baby, it’s gettin’ cold outside

Raclette may be France’s best kept secret. At least I had never heard of it before I married into a French family. But it was destined that I would love this winter dish because I love potatoes so much I consider them a meal even when they have no supporting cast. Even when I am sick and nothing else sounds good, potatoes will save me. Or ice cream. But that’s another post.

So when I was introduced to this dish at R.’s grandparents’ home one wintery evening, you can understand it was love at first sight. Raclette is actually a very humble meal: boiled potatoes are served and kept warm in a bowl on top of a raclette machine which is, basically, a tabletop broiler with individual little trays each person can fill up with raclette cheese, which can be plain or have pepper or spices in it, and what ever other goodies they like (cured meats and ham are usually on the table, too) and then warm it under the broiler. When the cheese is melted and bubbling you pour it out on top of your potatoes and the whole thing will disappear from your plate instantly. Magic. With potatoes.

I knew I couldn’t wait a whole year to have another raclette and since we don’t have a machine (or a place to store it – Parisian apartment!) I have made a gratin version in the chez nous in the winter. But in search of cooler weather comfort food last week, I put the raclette formula together with another of our favorites: pizza. I’m just going to say this because I don’t think you really need to know anything else: thinly sliced potatoes, coppa, melty raclette cheese, creme fraiche, and chives. Shall we?

Raclette Pizza

Serves 2

– 1/2 pizza dough (recipe follows)

– 1/4 lb. fingering potatoes, sliced very thinly preferable on a mandolin

– 5 slices raclette cheese*

– 5 slices coppa

– 1/2 c. creme fraiche

– a small handful of chopped chives

– olive oil

– salt and pepper

1. Preheat the oven on its highest setting with a metal baking sheet inside turned upside down. Baking the pizza on a preheated sheet will give it a nice crispy bottom and turning the tray over makes it very easy to slide the pizza right off and onto a cutting board.

2. Lightly flour the counter and your hands and start flattening out the pizza dough from the center until it is roughly 5 or 6 inches by 8 inches. You can make it round or rectangular as you like; mine are rectangular to fit the shape of my baking sheet. Once the baking sheet is very hot, remove it from the oven and place it on a heat safe surface. Drizzle the sheet with olive oil and place your pizza dough on it, stretching it gently to about 7 inches by 10 inches. Lay out the coppa slices on the dough followed by the potato slices, slightly overlapping until the pizza is covered. Drizzle the potatoes and crust edges with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Finish with the raclette cheese torn over the top.

3. Carefully put the baking tray back in the oven and bake until the crust is golden and the cheese is bubbling, about 25 minutes. When it is done, gently slide it onto a counting board and let it cool for just a minute or two before putting dollops of creme fraiche over the top and sprinkling with the chopped chives. You can serve some French cornichon pickles on the side to be extra authentic.

Pizza Dough

-2 1/2 c. all purpose flour

– 1 package dry yeat

– 1 c. warm water (105 – 115°F)

– 1 tbsp. salt

– 1 tsp. sugar

– 2 tbsp. olive oil

1. Mix the warm water, yeast, and sugar together and set aside to bloom for 5 minutes.

2. Mix the flour and salt in a bowl and form a deep well in the center. Pour the yeast mixture and the oil in and slowly start incorporating the flour into the wet ingredients with a fork until all the flour has been mixed in. Turn the dough out onto a well floured surface and knead until the dough is silky and smooth, about 5 to 10 minutes.

3. Put it back in the bowl and cover with a tea towel. Let rise in a warm place until it has doubled in size. I push this sometimes by putting it in a warm oven and using it in 30 or 45 minutes.

4. Divide the dough in two for the recipe above. It freezes beautifully if you need to. Done!

xo,

A.

Night Au Musée: Faces, Flora, and Fauna

It had been a while since we had made it to a nocturne at the Louvre and since our last planned visit ended in an evening home with a sick husband, I think we were even more determined to break out and get there this past Friday after work! We decided to visit the new Arts d’Islam wing again since it is so large we didn’t even see half of the collection on the first visit. Now, a second visit down, we still have a lot more left to see.

These collections, even before the new wing was opened, have always been some of my favorites at the museum. The colors and prolific patternwork (which is often calligraphy transformed into decoration, giving it several layers of purpose) are endlessly stunning. I am fascinated by the lines of these works and love drawing inspiration from them. Their sense of scale and balance is so perfectly tuned.

Half way through this second visit, I realized that the overwhelming majority of the pieces I was drawn to that evening were depicting faces, flora, and fauna, the latter two being particularly common themes in Islam art. So, here is a second visit to the new wing for you, featuring the many faces, plants, and animals carved, painted, and smithed over centuries and across continents.

You can see pictures from our first visit to the Arts d’Islam wing here.

xo,

A.

Marché Photo of the Week

 

Between colds and travel and rain it feels like ages since I got to the marché on Sunday! Sometimes I can do a quick trip to another on Wednesdays on my way back from a morning appointment but it’s definitely not the same and I miss the atmosphere of our favorite Sunday spot. This week I headed out on my own as R. had some work to do and look the long way home (I spy egg & dart on that column!) with full bags of fresh goods on my back because the sun was glorious. Here’s what I came back with:

pancetta

coppa

(tart, crisp, pineapple-y) apples (!)

potimarron

pears

rustic bread

boule d’or turnips

tallegio cheese

shallots

fresh sage

fennel

parsley

leek

celery

eggplant

garlic

endives

baby salad

And here’s where some of those wonders will go:

Coppa, Apple, and Cheddar Tartines* – Autumn Panzanella – Turnip and Pancetta Ravioli with Crispy Sage –  Chard, Pear, & Gruyère Tart

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I always use the lazy weekend mornings to plan the week’s menu; I’m not good at planning on the fly every day of the week or running through the grocery store with no list. Besides not having to worry about it each evening, I love looking forward to the meal planned for the end of the day when we slow down (in theory) and find each other again at the dinner table. What are your plans for the week? I’d love to ‘peek’ in at your week’s menu!

xo,

A.

Azay-le-Rideau

 

On our mini-vacation at the end of last week there was one thing I knew I really wanted to do: visit the chateau of Azay-le-Rideau. The Loire Valley is littered with chateaus and I’ve been lucky enough to visit a handful but there remains plenty to discover. And I remember when I first learned about Azay-le-Rideau in my French art and architecture class in Grenoble – the image of this particular chateau captivated me the most.You see, it is built somewhat in the Indre river. It has water on all four sides and streams that meander through the park. So I convince husband and mother-in-law (who were eager to visit too) and we made the trip.

Before touring the chateau, we took a quick turn around the park. The rain had decided to take a break and sun peaked out once in a while. We were lucky. And even just looking around the landscape and the outbuildings, I started to notice that this place was all about perfect details. Gilding on roof pitches,decorative carving on stone borders… I’ll let to pictures show you.

When we started the tour of  the chateau, we followed the signs and climbed first up the central stairs to the attic. A brilliant place to start seeing the building, we were able to peer into the soaring roofs built of timber felled in the winter of the early 1500’s. What detail and thought was put into such a thing as roof beams at the time! It is beautiful and shows such pride in the skill that has now been listed on the UNESCO’s list of intangible heritage. The semi-circle under the post seen above would have even once been decorated with a crest.

Thought and detail everywhere. The wavy pattern carved into the shutter and door panels (top right) throughout the chateau is called a linen-fold pattern, like the folds of a pressed napkin.

We all agreed that it is a beautiful chateau and one I would recommend visiting if you ever have the chance. And keep your eyes open for hidden details! You can read more about the history here or here.

xo,

A.

 

Weekend Walk

We had a nice long weekend (but we want another!): Thursday through Sunday. Thursday morning, we bundled the Bug into his carrier and the three of us headed to Orléans for an escape. We managed to pack quite a bit into the four days including a viewing of Skyfall (oh how I love this film), a visit to a chateau I’ve always wanted to see, and a quick sunset walk near the Loire. I’ll share my pictures from the chateau later in the week but for now I wanted to show you a bit of what we saw on our walk.

Living in the city, I miss the amazing beauty of abundant and wild nature and found myself strangling behind on the path to breath it in, listen to the grasses and leaves, wish them goodnight, be stunned by their secrets. It must be the time of year, when there seems to be more dark than sunlight in a day, that I am being drawn more and more to those quiet moments, just before the light disappears completely, when all those grasses, leaves, trees, and vines are spilling with silent magic.

Have you ever noticed? See how flowers hold the light in there centers for a few more moments after the light is gone. Magic.

happy Monday.

xo,

A.

Night at the Louvre – Les Arts de L’Islam

 

Ever since the much anticipated new wing of the Louvre opened, I’ve been excited to see the new space and discover the pieces of the museum’s collection that hadn’t been displayed before. The Islamic and Middle Eastern collections are some of the most inspiring to me for their rich decoration, vibrant colors, and fluid lines. Last Friday, after a fairly hectic week, we meet at the Louvre for a nocturne visit and headed straight for this new wing. Built into a previously unused inner court, the architecture is very modern, in the tradition of the  I.M. Pei glass pyramids, but marries will with the existing structure, not competing with it. So entering the new wing is like stepping through the wardrobe into a completely different world. With 2 1/2 levels of space, there was much too much to see in one evening and it was fairly busy, with everyone interested in the new space.

The pieces on display vary widely, the theme of the collection itself covering a vast geographical and cultural area, and different areas are highlighted by themes such as writing (calligraphy being such an important decorative element in Islamic art), game objects, or tile work. These displays are complemented by touch screens that play fascinating videos in several languages, several 3D models that were created from key pieces for visitors to be able to touch the work with their own hands, and maps that glow from behind, the light moving to show the spread of an empire or culture. It was all very interesting and there is still so much for us to see but we did have just a few critiques: for one, the light is unusually low, even for light sensitive pieces, and the floor, walls, and displays are charcoal making it difficult to read even for R. and I who don’t have trouble reading. Also, almost all texts were presented in three languages but not Arabic. For a country with such a large Arabic population and tourist stream, I feel that it’s a miss not to offer the exhibit information in the major language of the culture whose work is being displayed.

Despite those things, the new wing is a space you should visit if you can. The work is beautiful (the above reproduction mosaic looks so contemporary to me yet it dates to between 705 and 715 A.D.!) and I know we’re both looking forward to going back to see even more. Here is a taste of what you’ll see there:

How was your weekend?

xo,

A.

Firecracker Flowers and Loving

These orange flowers are on our table from Wednesday’s market and I love them so much. I’m always so happy when I splurge on flowers (and by splurge I mean I paid 5 whole euros for these) and vow that I’ll always have some fresh ones gracing the apartment but I often fall off the wagon. Then I crack one day and rediscover how much it adds to a living space. With these, I was hoping for a bunch of wild Queen Anne’s lace that I had seen the week before but the vendor didn’t have any this week. So glad I got these little firecrackers in their place! It’s dahlia season, too, and I think they’ll be on the table next week.

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• Have you been reading Ann Mah‘s Tuesday Dinner series? So good! I love hearing about everyone’s go to meals. Looking forward to reading more.
• One of the great things about Pinterest is rediscovering what you pinned but may have forgotten about. Well, I rediscovered my pin of this pink mercury glass cake stand (yes, pink. mercury. glass) and it has got me all obsessed anew. So beautiful.
• Remember when my friend Lindsey rescued an abused street dog from India? She made the paper! Read all about how Meena is looking for her forever family. (And she had a photoshoot here. Look at those eyes!)
• The comments section of Wednesday’s post now has some ideas for finding hazelnut flour in the U.S. for the Brandy Roasted Plum & Hazelnut Cake.
• I have no idea what started the tumble of 90’s songs and bands that started to surge back to mind this week but I’ve been reliving the music of my high school days. Crazy!
• I have to thank Ann of Uni homemaker for nominating me for a One Lovely Blog award! It’s so flattering! I’m supposed to tell you 7 things about myself which kind of has me stumped. Let’s see what comes up: 1. I just became obsessed with Lonny. Don’t ask what took so long. 2. I don’t like bananas but love banana bread. 3. Apparently I know the names of more Ikea furniture than my husband is comfortable with. 4. I love calling R. my husband. 5. Heights above my head (read: cathedrals) seem to make me more nervous than those below my feet. 6. Julia will tell you, I call eyeballs eyebobs. Which was confusing for my French husband. (There I go, “husband” again!) 7. I actually enjoy ironing dress shirts. (Ok, I did it! Tell me about you? Pretty please?)
• I’m finally finishing off one of these klismos chairs and it is so sexy it’s killing me: black stain paint and a black velvet seat. Sigh. (Don’t remind me about the orange and white furry cat that lives here just yet…) I’ll share the finished product soon.

Happy Friday!

xo,

A.