Le Petit Déjeuner

It is unfortunate that most of us don't really sit down for a proper breakfast except on weekends or while on vacation. But then again, that's what makes it such a special occasion. To me, le petit déjeuner is meant to be a lazy affair; something that encourages you to lean back and enjoy, without the constraints of time.

Whether it is a decadent croissant sandwich, stuffed omelet, fresh baked goods, crepes and toasts, or fruits and yoghurt, the first meal of the day is often accompanied by fresh fruit juice, chocolat chaud, coffee or tea. This is how we like breaking the fast, and we have been fortunate to enjoy such liberties at home and in our travels.

What about you? What is your favourite breakfast?

Buta No Kakuni

Inspired by a delicious Japanese-style tapas dinner at Guu Izakaya weeks ago, I hunted high and low to find a recipe for Buta No Kakuni, a braised pork belly dish that is widely popular in Japan and China.

Little did I know that my family holds a treasured recipe of this warming stew, handed down from my grandmother (who passed away last August). Here is my granny's version, taking cues from both Japanese and Chinese influences. It is believed that my "amah" took this recipe with her when she fled Communist China for the then Japanese-occupied Philippines. She honed her skills in her tiny home kitchen, gathering inspiration from her native China, and from the remnants of World War II Japan in her adopted homeland, the Philippines. She cooked with pride and perseverance - rightly so, as she raised and fed 11 kids on her own (my grandfather died at a very young age, leaving my grandmother a widow with 9 kids of their own + 2 stepchildren)! The general rule with this dish is, 'a little goes a long way'. Do not say I didn't warn you: this is artery-clogging goodness!

Buta No Kakuni / Japanese-Style Braised Pork Belly a la Amah

1 lb pork belly
1 stalk leek, roughly chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 piece fresh ginger (1 inch), sliced
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon Chinese five spice powder
4 pieces star anise
4 tablespoons soy sauce
4 tablespoons Japanese Sake or Chinese white wine
1 teaspoon white miso paste
2 cups water
spring onions for garnish
salt and pepper

Cut the pork into cubes about 2 inches each and season with salt and pepper. Heat a heavy-bottom pot and sauté pork belly cubes until brown without any added oil (the pork fat will release oil).

When the meat is brown, set aside. Caramelize brown sugar in the rendered pork fat, about 1 - 2 minutes, adding the Chinese five spice powder at the end. Toss the meat back in the pot to coat with the sugar-and-five-spice mixture.

Add the rest of the ingredients to the pot: leek, garlic, ginger, star anise, soy sauce, sake, miso paste, and water. Bring to a slow simmer for 2-3 hours until meat is fork-tender, turning occasionally. If water or liquid level becomes too low, prepare the sauce mixture as above with same ingredients and measurements, then add to the pot.

Serve pork belly with hot white rice. Drizzle some meat sauce on top and sprinkle with spring onions.

Changes

After watching the disturbing Food, Inc. documentary, I made a mental note to change the way I eat. Nope, I'm not turning Vegan or Vegetarian because that's just too much pressure on me. But I vow to make more informed choices, and I will elect to consume more wholesome and nutritionally-dense food whenever I can. Shocking as the movie was, I believe there is a grain of truth (pun intended) in the issues raised.

So I am saying bye-bye to purchasing artery-clogging items like this $20 luscious and creamy fresh-churned Beurre d'Isigny Ste-Mère butter from France that I slather on my refined-wheat baguette. Instead, I'll stick to olive oil or Vegan butter and whole grain bread.

Just in time for the switch, I recently added these titles to my cookbook collection, hoping to go through the recipes one by one.

Some of the recipes that I am eager to try starting today are:
From Tal Ronnen, the Conscious Cook

From Fresh Restaurant in Toronto
Dragon Bowl with Tofu Steak, Vegetables, and Miso Gravy on Brown Rice...

Vegetarian Burger with Spicy House Mayo...

And some fruit elixirs that can detox the body and combat harmful free-radicals.

Lung Lover Immune Elixir with ginger root, red apples, cayenne pepper and licorice root...

Supersonic Energy Elixir with mango juice, blueberries, strawberries, and raspberries...

Liver Flush Immune Elixir with ginger root, beets, lemon, and pink grapefruit...

It's going to be difficult cutting down or giving up my beloved pastries and favourite restaurant food. However, I concluded that, with the strength of my will and the courage of my heart, I can find a balance "in moderation". So, here's to good and clean living in the new year. No pressure.

Seriously.

I'm a moron. I somehow managed to deep fry the skin on my hand that only a moron could. How did I brilliantly managed to do this? One special Saturday night (last night), we decided to stay in. In the midst of my Pork-Tenderloin-in-a-Shallot-Merlot-Country-Mustard-Sauce-with-Red-Himalayan-Rice oeuvre, and whilst immersed in my own manic thoughts, I grabbed a hot skillet with my naked hand. A skillet that just came out of a 500-degree-Fahrenheit oven. I actually heard my palm sizzling. So, I did what made sense the most: dropped everything and ran to immerse the injured hand in ice cold water. 3 hours and a very pruny hand later, it still felt like it was f***ing on fire every time I removed it from the ice bath. Since no amount of cold water and Aloe could soothe the burning sensation, I begged my husband to take me to the hospital Emergency Room. As soon as the doctor on-call checked (and chuckled) and bandaged my hand in Polysporin and special burn pads, it felt much better, although I still need to see a Plastic Surgeon! A Plastic Surgeon. To monitor any infection and to follow the healing, in case the new skin has malforming effects. Seriously, I am a moron.

However, one of the advantages of being injured and taped up like a mummy is that you get spoiled. Seriously. I told my husband I wanted a heart-warming, decadent breakfast. He drove to my favourite pâtisserie, Nadège, on Queen Street West and came back with this package.

Now, you have to understand that Nadège Nourian, pâtisserie owner / pastry chef, hails from Paris, France - my favourite city in the world for anything sweet. Yet she does not concern herself with the conventional image of the wicker-chaired, pressed-tin-ceilinged Parisian café that most Canadians have. She brings modern Paris to Toronto. And having worked at Michelin-rated Hakkasan in London as Executive Pastry Chef, there's something about her pedigree that brings legitimacy to her shop.

I love everything about Nadège the pâtisserie and Nadège the artist. Not only did she bring her right-hand woman, Sous Pastry Chef, Laur Larrose, to Toronto, but she also imports her ingredients from France (i.e. butter and chocolate, etc.). Is it any surprise that this is one of the most authentic French pâtisseries that ever graced our city?

Even at $7 CAD a piece, I highly recommend their savoury breakfast croissants. They have bacon, egg, and tomato; smoked salmon; ham and cheese; and vegetarian - all wrapped in her signature flaky butter croissant. But don't be fooled by the simple description. The ingredients are of super high quality and they are elegantly presented - like most things French! Delicieux! Seriously. This is not your regular Tim Hortons, Au Bon Pain, or Starbucks sandwich. This is Paris!

Oh, and their viennoiserie and desserts are just absolutely heavenly. Layers and layers of flaky, buttery crust imbued with fresh, deluxe fillings that are NOT the usual sugary stuff that North Americans are barraged with. You actually taste the fruits and the spices themselves, not the fake stuff laden in sucrose.

This chocolate pear croissant dusted in dark cocoa powder is absolutely divine, without making you feel like you've just eaten a kilo of sugar and were about to go into a diabetic coma. The croissant is light with airy layers. The pear filling is actually made of fresh pears, sweetened only by nature's touch (not the artificial stuff). The dark chocolate is smoky and spicy - like it should really be - not too sugary.

The fig crumble square and raisin brioche are quite the perfect breakfast alternatives as well, although there's something else that I supremely adore.

The French macarons! My fave Nadège flavour? Salted Caramel. Don't be fooled by the yellow cookies. Inside, it's a perfect brown caramel brûlée intensified beautifully with fleur de sel. This is some serious desert!

And don't even get me started on their fancy sweets and haute mini cakes!

So I can't help buying a pack of four macarons to give away to my office mates and friends. For them, I selected these flavours (from top): Olive Oil, Dark Chocolate, Blackcurrant, and Salted Caramel. 'Tis the season to be sharing anyway. Seriously.

A Little Afternoon Delight

Weekends are for relaxing at home. And this is my version of an afternoon delight!

It all started with a trip to my local gourmet shop. I went in for a loaf of fresh French baguette, but I surfaced with these chocolate goodies. Snack-perfect Chocolatour bars are a great prelude to imaginary trips around the cocoa-plantations of Tanzania, Dominican Republic, Grenada, and Ecuador.

Scharffen Berger natural cocoa powder and 99% dark chocolate bars were calling for a mid-day project.

So I dug through my old recipe files to come up with these Nutty Double Chocolate Cookies, replacing half of the unsweetened cocoa powder for grated chocolate.

Sprinkle, sprinkle, sprinkle with icing sugar...

After toiling in the kitchen, I felt like I deserved a break and made a beeline for my closet of goodies. The beauty stuff: Fresh Umbrian Clay mask, Benefit's Honey Scrub Out of It exfoliator, Guinot Biologique algae gel mask, Philosophy's Hope in a Jar face cream, and Palmer's Cocoa Butter Stretch Mark cream.

I sprinkled a handful of pink Himalayan sea salt crystals to a running bath. Warming, soothing, embracing, relaxing, and calming waters met my very tired body. I gave myself a luxurious facial and I closed my eyes to rest.

My secret obsession on a lazy afternoon? Glossy, international fashion magazines!

Then at night, I got ready for a friend's birthday dinner at lol resto lounge. Ahhh...a satisfying day altogether!

Yet Another Blog. Why I Started This Terrible Idea...

There's a steaming glass of Parisian Mariage Frères tea on my desk. My favourite blend - Marco Polo - is a fruity, flowery black tea that resonates with hints of strawberry, citrus, and rose.

I must be insane to start another blog. Pensive, I went through the scenario in my head: I have a young family to care for; I already write a travel blog; I'm managing an investment renovation project, and I'm dealing with all kinds of issues regarding my regular (yawn) job. I came to the conclusion that I am, indeed, insane to subject myself to such a behaviour.

I recall when I first started my other blog, Folie à Deux, which is all about travel. I had no expectations that it could lead me anywhere. Not knowing much about HTML and CSS, I spent many sleepless nights learning how to tweak the style sheets. I also had a crash course on how to use a digital SLR camera, Photoshop, my new Mac notebook, and all the social media tools out there. I tell you, those nights came with a price. I'd be exhausted the following day; I would even have mini-meltdowns. It was a time in my life that can be compared to a nuclear near-collapse as I tried to balance my new found love for writing and blogging with breastfeeding an infant who barely slept through the night.

In any case, everything appears to have worked out for the best. Burning the midnight oil on my travel blog, Folie à Deux, earned me a place as a finalist in Best Travel Blog category at the 2008 Weblog Awards. This, in turn, opened many doors for me that I wouldn't have otherwise had the opportunity to enjoy had I not started the blog. Moreover, I have met many fabulous, like-minded travellers, vagabonds, digital nomads, lifestyle designers whom I respect to the fullest. They have inspired me to revisit my passion and re-evaluate my goals in life.

With this blog, I am hoping to connect with families all over the world, and share in this wonderful journey of parenthood. We can focus on exchanging ideas and advice on mostly fashion and design, but also on travel, food, lifestyle and well-being. Or we can simply relish in swapping evocative photographs or anecdotes of everyday life as a parent.

Why Les Filles Giada et Cairo? Giada is my eldest daughter (almost 3 years old), and Cairo will be the name of this next one coming in March 2010. Les deux filles (the two girls) make my heart sing and they galvanize every inch of my soul.

Some once said that great stories usually come out of terrible ideas. Is this such a terrible idea? We'll see in a few months.

xoxo,
Jen