Thursday, April 29, 2010

24 hours of this...



JF and I spent last nigh in a great little B&B in Notre-Dame-des-Bois, near Mégantic to celebrate 11 years together. It was nasty outside, so we spent most of our stay in bed and in the big beautiful living room, reading, talking, relaxing... We were quite impressed with the quality of the food we were served. Julie, the owner, is a chef and offers a different formula than regular B&B. She serves a gastronomic dinner and an amazing breakfast for $150 for two! Worth every penny!

JF et moi avons passé la nuit dans un sympathique petit B&B à Notre-Dame-des-Bois, près de Mégantic pour célébrer 11 ans ensemble. Il faisait un temps de chien dehors, alors nous avons passé la majeure partie de notre séjour au lit ou dans le grand salon à lire, à parler et à relaxer... Nous avons été très impressionnés de la qualité de la nourriture qui nous a été servie. Julie, la propriétaire, est chef de profession et offre une formule différente des B&B habituels. Elle sert un souper gastronomique et un succulent déjeuner pour 150 $ pour deux (incluant la chambre, bien entendu)!

She served us local raw goat cheese melted on cooked pears over a bed or fresh baby spinach and arugula with a dressing made of Quebec best sunflower oil (Champy). The main course was local duck confit with a trio of her homemade red pepper, yellow pepper and onion and blueberry jellies, with a side of young asparagus lightly sauteed in butter, topped with cherry tomatoes from her garden (that she canned last season) and fresh basil. The meal was accompanied by warm baguette from a local bakery (literally 3 doors down). Desert was homemade raspberry sherbet made with raspberries she picked last summer.

En entrée, elle nous a servi une tomme de chèvre crue local fondue sur des tranches de poires cuites sur un lit de bébé épinards et de roquette fraîche et accompagnée d'une vinaigrette faite à partir de la délicieuse huile de tournesol québécoise Champy. Le plat principal était du canard confit du Lac-Brome avec un trio de ses gelées maison (poivron rouge, poivron jaune et confit d'oignons aux bleuets), avec un accompagnement de jeunes asperges sautées dans le beurre et décorées de tomates cerises de son jardin (mise en conserve l'été dernier) et de basilic frais. Le repas était accompagné d'une baguette encore chaude de la boulangerie du village (à 3 portes de là). Le dessert était un sorbet aux framboises maison fait de framboises qu'elle avait cueillies l'été passé.

For breakfast, she served us a pear-apple juice with fresh fruits, and two crepes (one made of local buckwheat flour, ham, cheese and homemade bechamel with chives from her garden, and the other one with local unbleached flour, maple butter from her father-in-law sugar shack, warm pears and toasted pecans.

Pour déjeuner, elle nous a offert un jus de poires et pommes avec des fruits frais, puis deux crêpes (une faite de farine de sarrasin locale - La Milanaise - jambon, fromage et béchamel maison à la ciboulette du jardin, et l'autre à la farine non blanchie (toujours de La Milanaise) au beurre d'érable de l'érablière de son beau-père, poires tièdes et pacanes grillées.

It was not a raw fest, but it was delicious! However, the interesting thing is that by 9 o'clock, I could not keep my eyes open. I mean, we were watching the last 10 minutes of the hockey game (I know, not super romantic, but hey, it was game 7 of the series between Montreal and Washington) and it was super intense, and I could not, for the love of me, keep my eyes open (and I did not drink a drop of alchool). That's one thing that the raw food diet totally solved for me (no more falling asleep with the kids at 7 pm). And my body thanked me with a migraine this morning and a tummy ache... Back to the raw food diet for now!

Ce n'était pas un festin cru, mais c'était délicieux! Cependant, la chose intéressante est qu'à 21 h, je ne pouvais pas garder les yeux ouverts. Nous regardions les dernières 10 minutes de la partie de hockey (Ok, je sais, ce n'est pas la chose la plus romantique à faire, mais c'était le 7e match de la série Montréal-Washington!) et c'était super intense, et je ne pouvais pas, même avec tous les efforts du monde, garder les yeux ouverts (et je n'avais pas bu une goutte d'alcool). C'est une des choses que l'alimentation crue a totalement réglé pour moi (je ne m'endors plus à 19 h avec les enfants). Et mon corps m'a remercié ce matin avec une migraine et un mal de ventre... Retour à l'alimentation crue pour l'instant!



And before we left, we had Carmella's raw sushis. They were delicious!

Raw Sushi

Ginger Un-Steamed 'Rice'
1 1/2 - 2 cups cauliflower
1 1/2 cups parsnip
Salt, to taste
2 heaping tbs of almond butter or tahini (I used both)
1 T grated fresh ginger
A little lemon juice

Process cauliflower and parsnip in food processor until rice-size.

Mix other ingredients by hand.

Veggies:
Carrot, julienned
Red and/or yellow bell pepper, julienned
Green onion, julienned
Cucumber, julienned
Avocado, sliced

Alfalfa sprouts
Sunflower or Radish sprouts (opt)


Assembly:
First, put a nice layer of alfalfa sprouts, covering nearly half of the nori sheet.

Spread 4-5 tbs. of the rice mixture along the edge, on top of the sprouts.

Make a little indent in the rice and put veggies on top.

Top that with a few pieces of avocado.

Finish off with a some sunflower or radish sprouts. (opt)

Roll it up! You can roll the sushi with a sushi mat or use your fingers. I like to use my fingers. Use your thumbs and fingers and roll it up, tightening the roll as you go.

Wet the top part of the nori sheet with a little water so as to seal the sushi.

Let the roll sit for 5 minutes before cutting.

Using a sharp knife, cut the nori roll into 5-6 equal parts. Use a see-saw motion to make it a perfect smooth cut.

Voila!

Serve with dipping sauce of your choice (I simply used Nama shoyu)

8 comments:

gardenmama said...

Ahhh... this sounds fantastic! My husband and I have also been married for 11 years : ) I need to make a little cookbook with copies of all of your recipes The Catherine et les fees book of goodness!!

Sarah Cornett said...

Ooooh! I'm swooning! The B&B fare sounds delicious.

Happy Anniversary!

DC said...

aaaah. that bed looks really really nice. harray for you two!!

we have our 11th this summer!!! was it crazy crazy hard around year 7 for you too?

DC said...

shit, catherine!! i'm on david's computer....that last comment from DC is me, heather. sorry!!!

dc said...

Congratulations, my husband and I met 24 years ago tommorrow. Time sure flies when you're having fun!

Can't wait to try the sushi, a friend just gave me a bunch of parsnips from her garden.

Catherine said...

That's funny that many of us are celebrating our 11th year this year...

Heather, our 7th was totally crazy! The twins were 2 and Mathilde 6 months old. Needless to say, our couple had it hard! Sounds like the 7th year is a tough one for most couple. What about you?

heather said...

yes, that's why i asked. it was insanity. sometimes i still can't believe we made it through that. happy anniversary dear friend. i love you!!

Jen said...

Happy Anniversary Catherine! What a lovely celebration you and DH had!!!