Growing up, I have always asked my parents why did they have to move to the most rainy and muggy part of France where I was born and raised, and not in the South. My dad would nod his head “ma insomma Silvia, siamo andati dove c’era lavoro!”. Ok fine, they moved where there was work, but still that did not justify living in that terrible weather. I always dreamed that one day, I would be living in a very warm and sunny place where I wouldn’t have to wear socks and a weather that would not make my hair curl. Here I am…not exactly warm and sunny but I don’t have to wear socks, my hair does curl…BUT it’s definitely a beautiful city. I guess, you cannot have it all.

Kale is a great leafy vegetables and can be accommodated in so many different ways. In Italy they make wonderful soups with it, and this one is one among many. You could of course use cannellini beans for a variation, or chards instead of kale.

When using kale, I blanch it for a few minutes, to get rid of the dark water it produces. I gratinated it with comté cheese, not really an Italian cheese, but it melts well. You could use fontina for a more Italian touch, but Italians and French are cousins, so their cuisine is quite related. We say Italians are like the French but with a smile…which is quite close to the reality.

This soup is very simple, so if one day, you buy kale and have no inspiration about how to prepare it, try this soup, it’s healthy, delicious and quite simple. Crack a good amount of fresh pepper on top and it’s ready to be consumed…without moderation!

Ingredients for 4

• 1 tbs olive oil
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• 1 celery stick, diced
• 2 carrots, diced
• vegetable broth
• 1 bunch kale, blanched and chopped
• 1 lb (or 400 g) cooked chick peas
• comté cheese (or gruyère), grated
• salt and cracked pepper

Preparation

Heat olive oil in a pot. Add onions, carrots, celery and garlic. Cook for about 10 minutes until the vegetables soften. In the meantime blanch kale or chards in salted boiling water for a few minutes. Drain, squeeze some liquid and chop. Add broth to the vegetables then add kale. Let it simmer for about 45 minutes, then add chick peas, let it cook for another 10-15 minutes.

Serve in bowls and sprinkle with a good amount of comté cheese or gruyère. Place under broiler and let it melt and become golden brown. Crack black pepper on top and serve hot with toasted country bread.

After a sunny and perfect weekend, not too much breeze, not too hot, just perfect day of hanging out with a friend, I realized that when people drop by, I never have snacks to offer them. I rarely snack or buy snacks, so when you have nothing to offer people other than wine, or apéritif, they tend to get buzzed a little too fast. So having little bites would be something to think about.

As every Sunday, I speak with my mom who keeps me updated on what is going on over there. So she had guests and made mini savory olive madeleines in her fancy silicon molds. I don’t know why I never of think of making those. They are perfect for an apéritif, snack or whatever, you can even even freeze them…so I figured I would make some too, and if no guests show up, I will give them to my neighbor. Which is what happened.

They’re fun to make and they don’t have to be the regular boring ones. In France, savory madeleines are common, it’s somehow trendy, and they’re great to nibble on. Not that I particularly love to follow a trend, because sometimes they don’t make any sense, but if you taste those, a lot of sense is in there. I can assure you.

Here is for the little story….Madeleines de Commercy are born in Lorraine that’s why I am bringing this up (yes again, it’s a rainy region, but lots of stuff happened there! and Commercy is a small town – when it’s rainy, people stay inside, and lots of stuff happen in rainy regions). In 1755, King Stanislas (he was a Polish King who was a also Duke of Lorraine and ruled it for years; we have a gorgeous square called Place Stanislas with all Golden painted doors with the statue of the King in the middle) had an argument with his pastry chef, who quit “il a rendu son tablier“, he gave his apron back! Soon after, the King with his sweet tooth, got introduced to a pretty young lady whose name was Madeleine Paulmier, a servant at some marquise estate. She made those beautiful little bites for the King who became addicted to them and probably to her too, since he was known to like the ladies. She then became his personal supplier. Those little oval golden nuggets with the shape of a shell were then named after our pretty baker. Since then, Commercy has been famous for its madeleine fabrication.

Now the madeleine has evolved into a savory one and can be fun to make and to eat too. I think I will post more madeleines recipes…don’t even know why I didn’t think about it sooner. So much clutter in my mind lately, too many recipes and too little time.

For those savory madeleines, I used olive oil, the sweet ones need butter. Whenever I can substitute butter with olive oil, I do it. You can use butter too if you prefer in this recipe. My recipes are lenient, when you use the base quantities, you can flavor the rest with your ingredients.

Ingredients for 16 madeleines

• 5.30 oz (or 150 g) flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 2 eggs
• 1. 35 fl oz (or 4 cl) olive oil
• 1 fl oz (or 3 cl) milk
• 1 tbs fresh oregano, chopped
• 2. 16 oz (or 60 g) gruyère cheese, grated
• 2 tbs kalamata olives, chopped
• salt and pepper

Preparation

In a container, mix flour and baking powder. In another container, mix eggs and milk, then add to the flour. Gradually add olive oil and mix well to obtain a smooth but sticky dough. Add gruyère, oregano, olives, and mix well to combine all ingredients together. Add salt and pepper. I add more salt than I would to a savory dough, I like them to be on the salty side, but you might not. I always taste the dough before adjusting with salt.

Place in the refrigerator for at least one hour.

Butter madeleine molds, and fill each with with dough but not up to the top, only 3/4 filled. Place in a pre-heated oven at 375F for about 10-15 min, or until the madeleines have risen and became golden.

Now I know that this might be a little too much of spaghetti squash in just a couple of days. I was not planning on writing a blog about it, I took the pictures, just in case…then after eating almost all of it by myself, I figured it was definitley blog “worthy” and I have to say it’s my favorite spaghetti squash recipe. I had quite a lot of extra squash left from the pancakes, and certainly did not want to throw anything away. I was taught not to throw food growing up, and I rarely do. I still have some squash left, but I promised I will not write another blog about it.

Vegetable gratin are every French basics. They come in all colors, shapes and form. One thing in common they have cheese in it, actually almost all of them, the real potato gratin, le gratin dauphinois has no cheese in it (although a lot of people do put cheese, but the “purists” will grind their teeth at the though of cheese in gratin dauphinois).

I absolutely love this gratin, and I recommend it to anyone who likes spaghetti squash.

Ingredients for 2

• 300 g cooked squash (approximately)
• 3 riped tomatoes, peeled, seedless and cut in small cubes
• 3 medium size potatoes
• 2 tbs basil chopped
• 2 tsp fresh thyme, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1/2 onion (optional)*
• 4 tbs Gruyere cheese, grated
• 4 tbs Parmigiano Reggiano, grated
• salt and pepper
• 2 tbs olive oil

Preparation

Cook potatoes in boiling water until tender but do not overcook them, they will cook more in the oven.

Add a little oil at the bottom of a deep dish, slice potatoes and lay them flat in the dish, add salt and pepper. Add another layer of spaghetti squash using half of the squash. Add garlic, basil thyme, tomatoes and cheeses, salt and pepper. Sprinkle with olive oil. Proceed with another layer of the same ingredients, ending with cheeses at the end.

*You can add onion fondue and add the onions after the potato layer. You have to cook onion at medium heat in olive oil until they’re translucent. Add a tsp of balsamic vinegar.

When you’re done layering the gratin, press firmly with your hand on the surface to remove any air in between the layers. That way, when it’s cooked it will stand and not collapse.

Cook in a pre-heated oven at 370-375F for 30-40 minutes until the top is golden brown. Serve hot as a side dish or as is with a green salad.