Food Adventures in France

This post includes some food highlights from my recent trip to Paris & Nice. As a strong believer in experiencing new cultures through local cuisine, I took a break from pescetarianism and enjoyed some classic French dishes with duck, such as the magret de canard salad and duck confit (sadly not shown below). Paris, in particular, seems less accommodating to vegetarians, whereas Niçoise cuisine has a stronger Italian, Mediterranean influence with focus on fresh produce and seafood. 

A salad with "magret de canard" (thinly sliced duck breast)
Brasserie on Rue Saint-Honoré, Paris 

Peach Crumble Dessert

Fresh summer peaches + a friend's birthday party + Smitten Kitchen's peach shortbread recipe = a perfect occasion for a baking project. 


Shortbread, in my mind, has always been associated with dry cookies that come in tins and ten sticks of butter. So I apprehensively approached this recipe, fearing that it would come out too rich for my and others liking. The pictures on the recipe page reassured me that they would be more like a peach bar with crumble rather than a dense, dry shortbread. And the ingredients and instructions made it seem simple enough to whip up two hours before a party. 

Refreshing Summer Spritzer

Summer weather is now in full swing, which means even those of us with camel-like drinking habits are in search of refreshing sources of hydration. What started a year ago as the search for the perfect mojito in the city of Boston (verdict: blueberry or mango mojito at Top of the Hub) has transformed into a quest for the perfect mojito recipe and finally evolved into this "recipe" for a refreshing summer spritzer. Just as the key to the perfect homemade mojito lies in the mint-infused syrup, this drink also calls for mint-infused simple syrup to sweeten. 


Follow the instructions loosely, and change and substitute according to your preferences. (You can even turn this into a spritzer-mojito hybrid by adding rum.) After all, it's summertime and living is easy.