by Paige Donner
All photos copyright Paige Donner 2014.
And the cherry on top? It's all-organic sorbets and ice cream.
: )
Now we absolutely LOVE that!
All photos by Paige Donner
The Avocado tree is native to Mexico and Central America...
The vitamins and minerals contained in this recipe can do everything from speeding cell turnover (to reveal healthier skin underneath) to protecting skin from the sun's damaging rays. Get plenty of moisturizing vitamin E from the avocados. Not only does vitamin E ease dry skin, but studies show it also may reduce free radicals and protect against damaging UV rays. Cucumbers are a great source of silica which, as a precursor to collagen, can help fight wrinkles.
I like to serve this soup in individual glasses as a delicious appetizer. Sprinkle with a little dill and sprouted pumpkins.
Soup
In a blender, mix the following ingredients:
Pour in individual glasses and chill for a couple hours.
If you have no time to chill, lower the water content and replace with ice cubes.
Sprinkle Options
Chives, dill, mint & dehydrated pumpkin seeds, roughly chopped.
Inspired by Green Kitchen Story
by Paige Donner
With these three goals in mind, is it any wonder then that Fast Food Solution caught my eye in a big way?!
North Americans spend more time watching Cooking Shows than cooking their own meals!
I just had to see what these guys were all about… So I've dived right in, ordered up the program (a humble $37 as a Beta launch price) and am learning from Nick and Gen, two young Canadians, how to eat healthy, cook my own meals in 15 minutes or less and spend less than $5 per meal.
Wowzaaa!!!
Where have you been all my life?! Is all I can say.
The coursework is abundant and I've only just started on their integrated platform of videos, MP3 downloads and PDFs (including cheat sheets with rich visuals).
So check back with me in a few weeks once I've worked through some of the recipes in my own kitchen.
But for starters, the support is terrific, their layout is SUPER user friendly, and they've sliced and diced all the information down into very bite-sized and digestible pieces.
Plus, here's a few stats from their website. (Now you don't want to be one of those TV-watching, overeating porkers do you?!)
Just as guilty as the 100 million folks who are subscribed to the Food Network and watch endless hours of Top Chef, Hell's Kitchen and other epic cooking shows every single day.
The numbers don't lie…
The average American watches more than 5 hours of TV every single day, but spends a mere 27 minutes cooking food.
and check this out…
Every single week, a whopping 89.7% of the US adult population
– 228 MILLION people — is getting scammed at the grocery store.In plain English…
Everyone who is trying to eat healthy is basically WASTING $123.91 and 41 minutes every single time they visit the supermarket.
Why? Simply because they end up buying the wrong foods, and falling for the clever marketing tactics and fattening
traps that the Global Food Conglomerate has set up in every aisle.We know it's hard to believe.
But if you buy any of the foods below, the food companies have already found an easy way into your wallet…(read more on Fast Food Solution).
by Paige Donner
A young, impassioned wild strawberry producer - gariguette in French - named Julien Héliès has launched a limited production of White Strawberries.
Did you know strawberries were originally WHITE?!
You might not have known that 300 years ago, when strawberries were first imported to Europe from Chile, they were white berries. But they were.
That was back in 1714 when, after two years of travels around South America, the explorer, Amédée Frezier, arrived back in Marseilles with 5 plants from Chile he brought with him of these white strawberries. One of these was planted in the botanical gardens of Brest.
A bit larger than a wild strawberries found in the woods and hinting of a taste of pineapple amidst their delicious sweetness, this limited and very confidential production can be found by contacting the strawberry grower/agriculture cooperative directly at Saveol.com where you can also read more about the history of the strawberry in France and around the world.
Personally I am waiting with bated breath until I see some of the Parisian chefs, or any international chefs, serve these up, fired simply by their fruitful - ; ) - imaginations.
by Paige Donner
Just a few tantalizing photos... All details and descriptions to these outstanding Paris Patisseries can be found HERE at 10BEST Paris.
All photos are copyright the illustrated pâtisseries.
by Paige Donner (with some translation from French original)
After much contemplation, and repeatedly going back to the drawing board, Madame Lily Bollinger at long last decided on the term Récémment Degorgé for her prestige champagne.
The date was 1963 and it was during this era that the notion of Prestige Cuvées was starting to pick up tempo in Champagne.
Consulting with her American disstribution agent, she decided to release several of her prestige 1947 Réserve bottles onto the market as prestige releases. What followed was nothing short of a small revolution « champenoise ».
Bollinger R.D. 2002 - Time Rarity Boldness
The nose is quince, ripe fruits, a bit of honey. The palate gives way to a carnal encounter, powerful but balanced with great persistence. The finish hints at lemon notes revealing a lovely citrus. Consume at a temp. of 12°C
The highly original idea that Madame Bollinger had at the time was to choose a great – and older - vintage, one that had only recently been disgorged and then give it only the lightest hint of a dosage, not more than an Extra Brut. At the time, this was a daring approach to releasing a new product on the market as consumers then were not accustomed to older vintage champagnes. But she followed her intuition and worked with her team to communicate to her loyal clientele the significance of a late-disgorged champagne.
In a Bollinger R.D. champagne what you will find is the freshness of Grand Cru champagne along with the developed aromas of a vintage champagne, one that you can keep for a long time. It has everything to do with the « Recently Disgorged » aspect, as that is what has allowed the champagne to mature on the lees for more than a decade, in the case of Bollinger R.D.s, and its recent disgorgement also recalibrates its freshness.
Bollinger R.D. is the perfect testament to our everlasting loyalty to Madame Bollinger and her vision for the House of Bollinger Champagne . - Jérôme Philipon, Président de Champagne Bollinger
It was in 1967 that Madame Bollinger and the House finalized the name of R.D. after toying with several others ( Late Disgorged, Late Disgorged Reserve) and retained the title Récémment Degorgé for their prestige label.
Several vintages were released simultaneously on the market that initial year of commercialization : the 1952 to the English market, the 1953 in Switzerland and France, and for the U.S. market and Italy the 1955. It was with the 1959 vintage that the house first did a full-on international release of the prestige cuvée.
This newest R.D. release, the 2002, will stand out among greats. The 2002 vintage in Champagne is one of the best in recent history. For this blend, the house of Bollinger blended 23 crus using 60% Pinot Noir and 40% Chardonnay. 79% are Grand Crus and 21% are Premier Crus. The maturation of this wine is more than 3 times longer than is mandated by the Champagne AOC regulations. The dosage is very light, no more than 3 or 4 gr. per liter thus keeping it very much an Extra Brut.
In addition to the exceptional quality of this champagne, all bottles are handled exclusively by hand. This 2002 release, which marks the 50th anniversary of the Bollinger R.D. prestige cuvée, is available in a case of 6 bottles, a luxury gift box, a magnum and even a limited edition Jerobaum (price upon request).
by Paige Donner
On a recent round-up of Paris interviews, I succeeded in doing the near-impossible - catching up with the man-in-motion, the chef who never stops, Mr. Yannick Alléno, 3* Michelin chef and champion of local-sourced ingredients for his outstanding cuisine.
You can catch my interview with him on World Radio Paris by clicking on the World of Wine play button Here. He talks about his upcoming book that re-envisions French sauces and also his winemaking endeavors with M. Chapoutier in the Rhône Valley. Episode will air shortly...
Until then, here's what's new:
Starting in a few short weeks, mid-April to be exact, you will be able to make reservations for a very special dining experience:
Where - Moët & Chandon's l'Orangerie in Épernay
This is the private l'Orangerie on the Trianon Garden grounds just across from the main cellars on Avenue de Champagne in Épernay. The grounds are only open to invited guests, except for once a year when they give tours of the gardens, including the l'Orangerie, on France's national Garden Day.
A dining experience in this magical setting is sure to be a memorable one.
Who - Yannick Alléno, 3* Michelin Chef and Benoit Gouez,
Moët & Chandon's Chef de Cave.
Chef Yannick Alléno, already a legend not just for his 3* Michelins but also for his extraordinary re-visioning of French cuisine and his dedication to local foods and ingredients which he uses exclusively when creating his menus and dishes.
When - June 9 2014 to July 9 2014.
What - A sublime dining experience.
Photos were taken at his newest Terroir Parisien, at Palais Brongniart in Paris, otherwise known as La Bourse. Photos copyright Paige Donner 2014.
