Coping With the Loss of Your Pet 走出失去寵物的憂傷, 1

Life without Soji (our cat) has not been easy these past 4 months. After all, we spent 14 years of our life with her! Before Soji, I had never had a cat. If anything, I was a little afraid of cats. I remember that my husband and I just started dating before we met Soji. He liked to tease me and suggested that maybe I should get a cat. He was out one day and, coincidentally, saw a flier from a neighbor who was looking for someone to watch her cat for about 2 weeks. He showed it to me. At the time, I thought, why not? I'd get to earn a few bucks, the time wasn't long, and it'd be a great chance for me to learn some cat skills. Before deciding, we went to visit the neighbor, and Soji simply looked too cute for us to say no, so we brought her home right away. Unexpectedly, she and I became very close almost instantly. (I guess I'm a natural, after all!) Before it came time to return her, we checked in with our neighbor and were surprised when she told us that if we wanted her, we could keep her (apparently, Soji didn't quite get along very well with our neighbor's other 3-legged cat.) We realized... Oh, that's why!

Beef "Bourguinness" Individual Pot Pie 吉尼斯迷你燉牛肉派

You may be surprised to see that for this post I chose such a hearty dish! I know, it's not very me (as you can see from my other recipes). I don't normally eat much meat, nor do I eat a lot of French food at home, but since Saint Patrick's Day is coming, and with the great quality meat we have here in Quebec, I thought, why not introduce something different to everyone? This recipe is really multi-functional, you can think of it as three separate dishes: the beef stew, the sautéed mushrooms with caramelized pearl onions, and the baked mashed potatoes.

I love cooking up a storm every now and then with some French classics. This recipe takes me back to the old days when I was in The French Culinary Institute. I remember how many times we had to practice certain techniques and how complicated the art of French cooking is, but in the end, the taste makes it all worth it. I'll be showing you how to make everything from scratch: no gravy packages, no frozen mashed potatoes. It's the real thing! So why wait, come check out this recipe (with lots of photos) on Foodies In Quebec City!

 

很多朋友們大概會為我這次寫的食譜感到驚訝，因為我大部分都是煮較簡易又清淡的料理，也不吃太多的牛肉，什麼烤牛肉、牛排等我都很少吃。不過就如同大家一樣，有時候也會例外的想吃口味稍重的菜，特別是聖帕特里克節 (Saint Patrick's Day) 就即將到來，而我們在魁北克又有品質非常好的肉，讓平時在家並不是那麼常吃法國菜的我，想到偶爾也應該介紹些不同口味的料理來給大家嘗試。這個食譜其實可以讓大家分為3個不同的料理來享用：燉牛肉、奶油蘑菇與焦糖小洋蔥、烤馬鈴薯泥，是個多功能又實用的食譜。除此之外，它也讓我想起多年前在紐約的French Culinary Institute受訓時做的一些菜及那時期嚴格的訓練。法國菜的確是很下工夫，但是煮出來那完美無瑕的料理是另人肯定的。我將在這個食譜裡與大家分享一些道地的法式手法，請大家到Foodies In Quebec City來學這道讓家裡充滿美味的派！

The French Garnishes: Sautéed Mushrooms In Butter & Caramelized Pearl Onions 奶油炒蘑菇與焦糖小洋蔥

Very often in French comfort food, like Boeuf Bourguignon (beef stew In red wine), Coq au Vin (chicken in red wine), Poulet Roti (roasted chicken), etc., you will see mushrooms and pearl onions among the ingredients. You might think that all the vegetables were cooked together, but in fact it's not what it appears; they're actually supposed to be cooked separately! Some of the ingredients such as the onions and celery are typically discarded after cooking, since they tend to get mushy. Once the sauce of the dish is ready, this is when you add the garnishes with everything else before serving.

I love how in French cuisine you add garnishes to have the right texture. It's more work, more time, and even a little wasteful, but to me, that is the art and beauty of the classic French cooking - everything is cooked to perfection. Here, I'll show you how to make two of the most classic garnishes: sauteed mushrooms in butter and caramelized pearl onions. You can even make them ahead of time and just add them to your dish before reheating!

Butternut Squash And Turnip Soup With French Lentils 南瓜蕪菁濃湯與法式綠扁豆

This recipe is actually inspired by a soup I had at Le Cercle (one of the hippest and one of my favourite places in Quebec) on New Year's Eve just 2 months ago. We wanted something light and easy for our tummy to start with - since we knew that it would have a lot more to take later on. It was supposed be the soupe du jour, and even though the waiter sort of told us what it was made of--you know, it was New Year's Eve, who was listening??? And forget about it, since everything was in French, too!!!