MY FAVORITE FOOD SHOTS

Paz of "The Cooking Adventures Of Chef Paz" (New York, USA) has tagged me for this meme called" "Ten". It was a very hard task for me to make my choice as there are more than ten pictures that I love... In fact, there are dozens of them!

Here are the rules:
1. Post ten of your own favorite food shots.
2. Pass the opportunity to others by leaving a message on their comments page just so they are aware of it.

"Pumpkin Challah" (see recipe)
"Pork Chile Verde" (see recipe)"Gravlax - Salt Cured Salmon" (see recipe)"Lemon Mousse Verrines" (see recipe)
"Triflemisù" (see recipe)
"Smoky Chili Crackers" (see recipe)

"Chicken In Vanilla sauce" (see recipe)

"Lahmacuns - Turkish Pizzas" (see recipe)

"Thai Yellow Curry Paste" (see recipe)

"Danish Braid" (see recipe)

FOOD TAG II - TAG CULINAIRE II

Didi74 at "Didoumiam" (France) & Louise at "Gato Azul" (Canada) have tagged me for a meme. Thanks for having chosen me!
Didi74 at "Didoumiam" (France) & Louise de "Gato Azul" (Canada) m'ont taguée! Merci de m'avoir choisie!

Six food and blog related questions:

*** Which food or ingredient do you like to cook?/Quel aliment ou nourriture aimez vous le plus cuisiner?:
I love to cook all kinds of foods and ingredients. Whether it is exotic, foreign, refined or regional, simple, farmer-style dishes, I pretty much enjoy eating as well as cooking everything. I'm very open-minded and adventurous food-wise.../J'adore cuisiner toutes sortes d'aliments ou de nourritures. Que ça soit exotique, étranger, raffiné ou régional, simple, campagnard, j'ai beaucoup de plaisir à cuisiner et manger presque tout car je suis très ouverte et aventureuse en ce qui concerne la cuisine...

*** Which one of your posts/dishes got the most comments?/Laquelle de vos réalisations a réuni le plus de suffrages?:

It was my "Artisan French Bread" post which I submitted as a member of the very successful baking group "The Daring Bakers". It was commented 110 times!!!/J'ai reçu le plus de commentaires pour mon billet concernant mon "Artisan French Bread" que j'ai posté en tant que membre du très célèbre groupe "The Daring Bakers". Il a été commenté 110 fois!!!

*** Which one of your recipes does your family always ask for?/La recette que votre entourage vous réclame le plus?: There are many as a matter of fact! At my house, lately, one of the most popular dishes is my "Spicy Beef Burritos With Homemade Tortillas, Guacamole And Tomato Salsa". We could eat that nearly every day!!! But there's also my "Mammoth Pizza", "Dirty Hamburgers", "Gravlax", "Maluns", "Ostrich Steak Tartar", "Quick Pizza", "Smoked Salmon And Cream Cheese Bagels", "Spätzli", "Tex-Mex Cornmeal Bread", "Vietnamese Chicken And Grapefruit Salad", "Hummus" and "Thai Yellow Curry" which are always very successful and which I make on a regular basis./En fait, il y a beaucoup de plats qui sont fort populaires chez moi! Dernièrement, mon "Spicy Beef Burritos With Homemade Tortillas, Guacamole And Tomato Salsa" a beaucoup été plébicité. On pourrait manger ce plat presque tout les jours!!!! Autrement, il y a aussi ma "Pizza Géante", mes "Hamburgers", mon "Gravlax", mes "Maluns", mon "Steak Tartar d'Autruche", ma "Pizza Rapide", mes "Bagels Au Saumon Fumé Et Cream Cheese", mes "Spätzli", mon "Cornbread Tex-Mex", ma "Salade Vietnamienne Au poulet et Au Grapefruit", mon "Hummus" et mon "Curry Jaune Thai" que je fait régulièrement et qui rencontrent toujours beaucoup de succès.

*** What is your favorite breakfast item/food?/Votre petit déjeuner préféré?:
I am addicted to bread and cheese, so I'd say that my favorite breakfast/brunch (only on weekends as I very seldom eat anything for breakfast on weekdays) has to be composed of homemade bread (see bread recipes), good quality cheese and dry meat, cherry tomatoes, jam, honey, peanut butter and chocolate spread. I also love to eat "Pancakes" for breakfast.../Je suis accro au pain et au fromage, alors mon petit déjeuner (seulement durant le weekend car durant la semaine, je ne mange presque rien au petit déjeuner) doit être composé de pain maison (voir recettes de pain) accompagné de bon fromage, de viande séchée de qualité, de tomates cerises, de confiture, de miel, de beurre d'arachide et de Nutella (acheté ou fait maison). Autrement, j'adore aussi manger des "Pancakes" au petit déjeuner...

*** What is your favorite restaurant or your favorite bakery?/Votre restaurant préféré ou votre patisserie préférée?:
As we have to be very careful with our money, I haven't eaten out since a very long time, nor did I buy anything from a bakery, so I would not be able to answer that question... Our restaurant is at home and we get all our delicious baked goods from our own personal bakery (I am the baker)!!!/Comme nous devons faire très attention à nos sous, ça fait très longtemps que je ne suis pas allée au restaurant ou chez le boulanger/pâtissier, alors il m'est impossible de répondre à cette question... Notre restaurant favorit se trouve à la maison et je suis la boulangère/pâtissière de service!!!

"ARTE E PICO" AWARD - PRIX "ARTE Y PICO"

Sab at "Plaisir De Gourmandise" (France), Audrey at "Les Petits Plats D'Audrey" (France) and Véronique at "Cuisine Rebelle" (France) have nominated me for the "Arte Y Pico" award and I thank them ever so much for picking my blog!/Sab de "Plaisir De Gourmandise" (France), Audrey de "Les Petits Plats D'audrey" (France) et Véronique de "Cuisine Rebelle" (France) m'ont descerné le prix "Arte Y Pico" et je les en suis très reconnaissante! Merci!

The rules read:
1) Pick 5 blogs who deserve this award for their creativity, design, interesting material and who also contribute to the blogging community no matter what language.
2) Each award must have the name of the author and also a link to their blog.
3) Each award winner must show the award and put the name and the link to the blog that has given her or him the award.
4) The award winner and the one who has given the prize must show the link of the “Arte y Pico“ blog so everyone will know the origin of this award.

5 règles à respecter :
1/ Vous devez choisir 5 blogs que vous estimez mériter ce prix pour leur créativité, conception, matériel intéressant et contribution à la communauté de bloggeurs, quelque soit la langue.
2/Chaque prix doit contenir le lien vers le blog de son auteur pour être visité par tous
3/Chaque lauréat doit montrer son prix et remettre le nom et le lien vers le blog qui lui a donné.
4/Le lauréat doit montrer le lien du blog "Arte Y Pico".
5/Et afficher les règles.

I choose to nominate the following blogs for they wonderful content and amazing pictures (non-exhaustive list)/Je choisis de nominer les blogs suivants pour leur contenu fort intéressant et leurs photos renversantes de beauté (liste non exhaustive):

• Chuck at "The Knead For Bread" (USA) - A bread blog with truely gorgeous creations./Un blog dédié au pain, où vous trouverez de fantastiques créations.

• Laylita at "Laylita's Recipe" (USA) - A blog dedicated to the colorful and scrumptious foods of Ecuador./Un blog qui parle de la cuisine colorée et savoureuse que l'on trouve en Equateur.

• Jenyu at "Use Real Butter" (USA) - The Rockies-based (Colorado) blog of a very courageous women who loves to share her stunning landscape pictures and tasty Asian- as well as American-oriented recipes with us./Le blog (dans les Rockies au Colorado) d'une femme très courageuse qui aime partager avec nous ses splendides photos de paysages et ses recettes americano-asiatiques.

• Kim Morgan Moss at "A Yankee In A Southern Kitchen" (USA) - The blog of a woman embarking on a delightful Southern culinary adventure after having lived in the South for 30 years without having ever taken the time to learn about the Southern culture./Le blog d'une femme qui s'embarque dans une aventure culinaire sudiste alléchante après avoir vécu 30 ans dans le Sud, sans jamais avoir pris le temps de découvrir la culture de cette région des USA.

• Marion at "Tomaten Quiche" (Germany) - The very pretty blog of a humorous French woman living in München and who knows how to whip up wonderful dishes./Le très joli blog d'une française pleine d'humour habitant à Munich et sachant créer de merveilleux plats.

Thanks for making my everyday life a little more joyful and pleasant!

SIX NEGATIVE THINGS ABOUT MYSELF

Some days ago Lydian at "Mirliton" from France has tagged me for meme... Here are some traits of my character which could be labelled as "negative"!

Il y a quelques jours, Lydian de "Mirliton" (France) m'a tagguée... Voici quelques aspects de ma personnalité qui pourraient être considérés comme "négatifs"/des défauts!

~ Violet Kohlrabi ~

1. I am very critical towards myself.
Je suis très critique envers moi-même.
2. I am quite impatient.
Je suis assez impatiente.
3. I am "allergic" to ironing, cleaning, hoovering, etc...
Je suis "allergique" au rapassage, nettoyage, etc...

~ Pumpkin Seed Oil And Yoghurt ~

4. I lack self-assurance and confidence.
Je manque d'assurance et de confiance en moi.
5. I have problems to forgive easily those who have hurt me.
Je n'arrive pas à pardonner facilement à ceux qui m'ont fait du mal.
6. I don't like unannounced things.
Je n'aime pas tout ce qui peut être fait à l'improviste.

~ Ginger Root ~

TAGGED 13 TIMES - TAGUÉE 13 FOIS

Lately, I got tagged an incredible amount of times for different memes. It is nice to see how many wonderful people seem to appreciate me or my blog... Thanks!

~ Praline Cake ~
(see recipe on Mercotte's blog)

Isa at "Les Gourmandises d'Isa" Canada), Vanessa at "Confiture Maison" (USA), Dominique at "Cuisine Plurielle" (France), Awoz at "La Cuisine d'Anna" (Canada) and Mouni at "RDV Aux Mignardises" (France) asked me to find taste associations which, according to me, are naturally linked./m'ont demandé de trouver les associations de saveurs qui, selon moi, vont de pair.

1. Pandan Extract - Coconut Milk
Extrait De Pandan - Lait De coco
2. Pork - Liquid Smoke
Viande De Porc - Liquid smoke
3. Green Papaya Salad - Fish Sauce (Nam Pla/Nuoc Mam)
Salade De Papaye Verte - Sauce De Poisson (Nam Pla/Nuoc Mam)
4. Duck Breasts - Billberry Sauce
Filet De Canard - Sauce Aux Airelles
5. Preserved Lemons - Ras-El-Hanout Spice
Citrons Confits - Ras-El-Hanout
6. Cheddar Cheese - Apple Slices
Fromage Cheddar - Tranches De Pommes
7. Foie - Sauce Aux Huîtres
Liver - Oyster Sauce
8. Beetroot - Ground Cumin
Bettrave - Cumin En Poudre
9. Peanut Butter - Honey
Beurre De cacahuètes - Miel
10. Bread - Chocolate
Pain - Chocolat

***************

~ Dark Chocolate Ganache Tartlet ~

Hélène at "La Cuisine d'Hélène" (Canada), Louna at "Louna "So Cook" De Tout!" (France), Glamah16 at "Coco Cooks" (USA), Louise at "Gato Azul" (Canada), Ana at "Ana's Kitchen" (France), Babeth at "La Vie In English" (France), Paola at "Ma Toscane" (France) and Nathalie at "Du Côté De Chez Willow" (France) want me to reveal 5-6 things about me that you don't know./veulent que je révèle 5-6 choses à mon sujet que vous ne savez pas.

1. I'd love to own a beautiful Kitchen Aid stand mixer and a gorgeous Nikon D80 reflex digital camera.
J'aimerais posséder un beau robot ménager Kitchen Aid ainsi qu'un appareil photo réflexe Nikon D80.
2. I dislike the taste of melon (unless it's a chemical aroma...) and of fish eggs (lump, caviar, etc...).
Je n'aime pas du tout le goût du melon (sauf si c'est un arôme chimique...) ou les oeufs de poisson (lump, caviar, etc...).
3. I'd love to take cooking lessons, especially baking lessons.
J'adorerais prendre des cours de cuisine, et tout particulièrement de boulangerie/pâtisserie.
4. I'd love to write cookery books and/or articles for culinary magazines.
Je rêve d'écrire des livres de cuisines et/ou des articles pour les magazines culinaires.
5. I never weigh myself and don't have a scale (only in my kitchen, for food) at home. I know if I've lost or gained weight thanks to my clothes (trousers).
Je ne me pèse jamais et je n'ai pas de balance (sauf à la cuisine, pour les aliments) à la maison. Je sais si j'ai gagné ou perdu des kilos grâce à mes habits (pantalons).
6. My dream is to have my own business: a deli coupled to a coffee-shop/diner in the US or Canada.
J'aimerais avoir mon propre commerce: un coffee-shop/diner qui ferait aussi office d'épicerie aux USA ou au Canada.

~ Apricot Cream Tart ~

I tag anybody who wants to play!/Je tague tout ceux et celles qui veulent bien jouer!

WHERE DO YOU LIVE? - OÙ HABITES-TU?

Dominique at "Cuisine Plurielle" (France) has organized a very cool game/meme which's aim is to make the other (food)bloggers discover where we live.../Dominique de "Cuisine Plurielle" (France) nous propose un jeu très intéressant qui a pour but de nous faire découvrir où habitent les autres bloggeurs...

I live in Switzerland, in a little village called Veyrier (see on map below/click to enlarge). It is situated in the canton Geneva./J'habite en Suisse, dans un petit village appelé Veyrier (voir sur la carte ci-dessous/cliquez sur l'image pour l'élargir). Il se trouve dans le Canton de Genève.

The town of Geneva is the second most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich), and is the most populous city of Romandy (Suisse Romand/the French-speaking part of Switzerland). It is well-known for it's "Jet d'Eau" fountain, for it's international aspect and for being at the south-western end of the beautiful Lake Geneva./Genève est la deuxième ville de Suisse (après Zürich qui est la plus grande) et est la ville la plus peuplée de Suisse romande/Romandie (région Suisse de langue française). Genève est bien connue pour son "Jet d'Eau", son aspect international et pour être située au bout d'un superbe lac, le Lac Léman.

Veyrier is a municipality of the Canton of Geneva and is close to the French border, near the Salève mountain. In 2006, it had a population of 9 689 inhabitants and it's people are called
"Les Veyrites".../Veyrier (voir lien) est une municipalité du Canton de
Genève et est proche de la frontière française, juste en face du Salève. En 2006, la commune de Veyrier comptait 9 689 habitants, aussi
appelés "Les Veyrites".

(Genève Pic by www.db.com)
(Map Pic by www.dj.web.ch)
(Veyrier Pic by www.veyrier.ch)
(Satellite Pic by http://pearthobservatory.nasa.gov)

BEST OF 2007

Zorra at "Kochtopf" (Spain) and Sandra at "Un Tocco Di Zenzero" (Italy) had the great idea to create an outstanding recipe collection of foodbloggers' best recipe of 2007.

To participate, each of you has to choose his/her best and most impressive recipe of year 2007, write a little something about it and send the informations needed to either Sandra or Zorra (see rules)...

I must say that it was an extremely difficult task for me to make my choice and pick only one recipe within all the gorgeous ones I have posted this year. I cherish all of the recipes on my blog, because I generally only talk about the dishes I find particularly scrumptious. A real dilemma!!!

I went through this year's posts and saw so many stunning dishes that I could potentially elect for this game. My year was very much marked by various wonderful foods such as "Panettone", "Wholewheat & Rye Sourdough Bread", "Tender potato Bread", "Lahmacuns", "Smoked Salmon & Cream Cheese Bagels", "Chicken In Vanilla Sauce", "Pork Chile Verde", "Chocolate Intensity Cake", "Luscious Lemon Bars", "Deadly Blondies", "Earl Grey Chocolate Mousse" or "Tiramisù Mousse & Lemon Curd Tart" (to name only a few)...

Finally, after a lot of thinking, I decided that my recipe of the year 2007 would be that excellent "Vietnamese Chicken And Grapefruit Salad" which I made for one of the "Dinner Parties" I attended.

I love the foods of Southeast Asia and especially of Vietnam. Along with the cuisines of Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia, anything that is Vietnamese ravishes my palate. I love it's matchless freshness, subtility and mindblowing variety of flavors as well as textures!

This "Vietnamese Chicken & Grapefruit Salad" is a culinary experience in itself, a real treasure of the Vietnamese cuisine (see infos) as it tastes incredible and is really, really wonderful! It is a delicate and exquisite dish that has fantastic aromas and is a mindblowing assemblage of holiday-like flavors. With it's crunchiness, gorgeous and incomparable freshness, it's delicate fragrances, sweet and savoriness, you'll be conquered! This exceptional dish will leave it's mark on you and you'll see that you'll come back asking for more!

THINKING BLOGGER AWARD

Thanks to the lovely Brigitte at "Café Créole" (Guyana), Awoz at "La Cuisine d'Anna" (Canada), Paola at "Ma Toscane" (France), Chrisshaked at "Cute Cakes" (France), Sab at "Le Plaisir De Gourmandise" (France), I am happy to be the next in line to carry on the Thinking Blogger Award. It is an honor to be included in their list. I was really flattered by your nomination, the fact that you had chosen me and your kind words that made me blush!!!

Merci aux bloggeuses de choc suivantes qui m'ont décerné un Thinking Blogger Award: Brigitte de "Café Créole" (Guyane), Awoz de "La Cuisine d'Anna" (Canada), Paola de "Ma Toscane" (France), Chrisshaked de "Cute Cakes" (France), Sab de "Le Plaisir De Gourmandise" (France). J'ai été extrêmement honorée d'avoir été choisie pour cet award. Votre nomination m'a beaucoup flattée et vos gentils mots m'ont fait rougir!

The concept of Thinking Blogger Awards was created by Ilker at "The Thinking Blog". If you get tagged, write a post with links to 5 blogs that make you think. Link to this post so that people can easily find the exact origin of the meme and proudly display the Thinking Blogger Award with a link to the post that you wrote.

Le concept des Thinking Blogger Awards a été créé par Ilker de "The Thinking Blog". Si votre blog est choisi pour un award, il vous est permis à votre tour de citer 5 blogs que vous avez élus en disant quelques mots sur le pourquoi de votre choix en faisant un lien vers chacun d'eux.

As you might already know, the number of blogs to choose is limited to five and it is totally impossible to nominate all the people whose sites speak to me. For that reason, I have decided to choose those which desperatly need to get out of the shadow and into the light, because they deserve more publicity...

Comme vous pouvez le remarquer, le choix est limité à cinq blogs et il est impossible de nominer toutes les personnes dont les sites me parlent car il y en a tout simplement trop. De ce fait, j'ai essayé de choisir ceux qui méritent d'être connus et qui sont un peu dans l'ombre...

Here are the 5 blogs which I decide to award. I very much love everything about them and believe that they are worthy of the nomination/A mon tour donc de décerner 5 awards à des blogs que j'apprécie beaucoup et qui le méritent :

Vibi at "La casserole Carrée" (Canada)
I particularly enjoy her general culture knowledge. Every post always has little stories rooted in history. When going on her blog, you inevitably learn something new and interesting while discovering her wonderful and poignant recipes!

J'aime tout particulièrement sa connaissance en culture générale. Chaque billet contient des petits "contes" en rapport avec l'histoire (et la recette). Quand on visite son blog, on apprend inévitablement quelque chose de nouveau et d'intéressant tout en decouvrant ses superbes recettes poignantes!

Burekaboy at "Is That My Buréka?" (Canada)
One of the rare male amateur cooks around! I really enjoy his homey and highly enjoyable Jewish family dishes that hail from all around the world. The sheer quantity of amazing recipes and the enlightening informations that are delivered make this blog a real goldmine!

Un des rares cusiniers amateurs masculins de la blogosphère! J'apprécie beaucoup ses agréables plats familiaux juifs qui viennent des quatre coins du monde. L'immense quantité de recettes stupéfiantes et les informations instructives font que son blog est une vraie mine d'or!

Jessica at "In Search Of Dessert" (Switzerland)
This is my expat friend's thoughtful blog. Her tongue in cheek articles decipher the Swiss mind and culture in a very abrasive way. Her well-pondered criticism, questionnings, appreciations and descriptions of her new country of adoption are caustic, but always done with much affection. This is the everyday life experiences of a woman who entertains a love-hate relationship with Switzerland and is not afraid to say out loud what she thinks!

C'est le blog intelligent et profond de mon amie expatriée. Ses articles sans complexes décryptent la pensée et la culture suisse d'une manière décapante. Ses critiques pondérées, ses questionnements, appréciations et descriptions concernant son nouveau pays d'adoption sont caustiques, mais toujours faits avec beaucoup d'affection. Vous pourrez y apprendre tout sur ses expériences de vie. Cette fille entretient un rapport d'amour-haine avec la Suisse et elle n'a vraiment pas peur de dire tout haut ce qu'elle pense!

Rosa at "Living As Rosa" (USA)
This woman knows everything about coziness and the art of making her home a wonderful place to be! She is the queen of cocooning and loves to decorate her magnificent house(s), to do crafts and scrapbooking as well as to cook for her family. She writes a lot about her life in Tennessee with her two sons, her husband, her mother and cats. Every time I visit her blog, I feel as if I'm travelling and in another world...

Cette femme au foyer en connait beaucoup sur le confort et l'art de faire de sa maison un agréable lieu de vie! Elle est la reine incontestée du "cocooning" et elle adore décorer ses maisons magnifiques, faire de l'artisanat et du "scrapbooking de même que cuisiner pour sa famille. Elle parle beaucoup de sa vie de tous les jours au Tennessee avec ses deux fils, son mari, sa mère et ses chats. Chaque fois que je me rend sur son blog, j'ai l'impression de voyager et d'être dans un autre monde...

Lamiacuccina at "Lamiacuccina" (Switzerland)
This is a Swiss foodblog in German. The man behind it is a passionate cook who has developped his skills thanks to his wife and the culinary courses he followed. His blog is really enjoyable and his dishes are always delicious looking. A taste of Switzerland with a Mediterranean twist...

C'est le blog culinaire en allemand d'un compatriote Suisse. L'homme derrière les fourneaux est un cuisiner amateur passionné qui a développé son savoir et ses compétences grâce à sa femme et aux cours de cuisines qu'il a suivi. Son blog est vraiment agréable et ses plats sont toujours appétissants. Des saveurs suisses avec un arrière goût méditerranéen...

HOLIDAYS - PART II (KKVJ: CARTES POSTALES)

As promised, here is my second post on the subject of my holidays (see Part I) here in Geneva. Remember I spoke about a great place called Hermance? Well, I will continue showing you more pictures of this quaint village that is situated around the lakeside...

This time, the photos are totally different (no boats) and show something else: the view from the top of the village (when looking up North, shots of the Lake Léman (Lake Geneva) and when looking down South, the fields and the Voirons Mountain in France).

I hope that you'll enjoy the virtual visit which is offered here (click on pictures to enlarge)!

The very last picture is for Anne at "Papilles Et Pupilles" from France (see infos regarding the "KKVJ" meme). La dernière image est pour toi, Anne!...

KIKI VEUT JOUER - SUMMER FLOWERS

VérO at the great "DelimOOn" from Switzerland is organizing an event around flowers, more specially summer flowers and/or plants. The participants have to show uswhat's in their gardens (or elsewhere). The round-up will take place in September and the closing date is the 2nd of September 2007 at midnight (see all infos in French)...

I've just realized that I don't really have any flower pots on my balcony, although I love such plants and would love to have colorful surroundings. I guess that I never really thought about having any... Maybe next year, who knows?! But as I have a "balcony garden" and a beautiful lavender plant, I thought that you might like to see how it looks!