A few of my favorite things...
And the recipe for my Christmas spice cookies!
Bonjour and happy Thursday!
I can’t believe Christmas is just a week and a half away! As we all look forward to celebrating with friends and family, I’m looking back at the year that’s passed and, once again, getting ready to wave it goodbye with a peaceful heart. Despite life throwing us a few curve balls, change has ultimately resulted in a lot of good. I am convinced that gratitude brings resilience: It’s not about dwelling on the things you’ve lost, but about focussing everything you still have.
After losing a big client in early spring (a publication that regularly published my work was sold to its competitor; unfortunately, they didn’t have the decency to pay the assignments I had turned in), I decided to start this newsletter as a platform where I could write freely about everything that brings me joy. My weekly newsletters include everything from stories on France and other beautiful travel destinations to fine wines and delicious plant-based recipes. Within weeks of launching this newsletter, I gained a wonderful new audience, which keeps on growing day by day. As a writer, there’s nothing more rewarding than knowing your work is appreciated. Thank you, to those of you who subscribed and look forward to finding The French Life in your mailbox every week. Your support has given my creativity wings! I’m really looking forward to welcoming new subscribers in 2023, so please help me spread the word by passing on my newsletter to anyone you think would enjoy reading it.
In this week’s newsletter, I’d like to highlight some of the things I’ve been loving recently. At the end, I’ll also be sharing a recipe for one of my favorite holiday cookies. Please note that these are personal reviews which have not been sponsored.
On y va!
Buvé plant-based cashew butter
Though finding a good butter replacement for baking was quite easy when I went plant-based, I wasn’t having much luck with sourcing a ‘butter’ that would do honor to the crusty baguettes and rustic sourdough breads we so much love at weekend breakfasts. Most plant-based ‘butters’ are made with a blend of oils, resulting in a product that is not really suitable for this purpose. Good salted butter is one of life’s greatest joys, and I was especially fond of the distinct lactic tang of raw butter.
Last weekend I finally found the perfect plant-based butter for spreading: Buvé! Made with only four ingredients (50% cashews, coconut oil, water and salt), organic and free of nasty additives, this artisanal butter is fermented, giving it a slightly tart flavor which is very much similar to that of raw butter. My only wish is that the product would not be packaged in plastic, but that aside, this butter will always be in my fridge!
Fermentini by Casa del Fermentino
Not to be confused with plant-based ‘cheeses,’ fermentini do not attempt to emulate the real thing, but instead are a completely unique product that is as delicious as it is healthy. Produced in the Emilia Romagna region in Italy, fermentini, as the name suggests, are made by fermenting nuts and seeds, with only the addition of water and salt. Like Buvé, the products are organic, free from preservatives and full of nutrients and healthy fats.
The Casa del Fermentino brand includes everything from spreads to a grated fermentino for pasta and has recently launched a sweet variety, Dolcillo, made with sugared cranberries and pecans. We tried it last Saturday for dessert along with some pain d’épices and it was fantastic!
Buttery, delicately tangy and balanced by the sweetness of the berries and crispness of the nuts, this is definitely one that will make it to our Christmas Day plateau des fromages (or should I say ‘vromages’). Though it’s creamy enough to use as a spread, the Dolcillo also lends itself well to being enjoyed in wedges.
We also tried the spreadable Fermè flavored with chives. I used it to make a toasty sandwich with plant-based grated cheese, sun-dried tomatoes and red onions. A highly recommended combination!
Dal Maso Casa Roveri Merlot Colli Berici 2019
In my previous post, I told you about Consorzio Colli Berici e Vicenza and three of their gorgeous reds. Last weekend, we opened the Merlot from Dal Maso Casa Roveri, one of the area’s most awarded wineries, which also produces whites. As mentioned, Merlot makes up 20% of the region’s vineyards. This fleshy Merlot is aged for 18 months in oak barrels and on the nose it has powerful aromas of ripe forest fruits that mingle with subtle oaky notes. The palate is a harmonious balance of elegant, supple tannins and a pleasant acidity. The wine has an aging potential of ten to twelve years. I paired it with a mushroom wellington served with a rich, aromatic jus made with a splash of the wine.
La Vie vegan bacon & lardons
From the country that claims tout est bon dans le cochon (everything in the pig is good), this awesome brand is deliciously proving that, actually, tout est bons sans (without) le cochon! As in the rest of the world, pork is the preferred meat in France, especially in the form of processed meat, which makes up three-quarters of the production.
The painful reality is that pigs raised on intensive farms suffer an unfathomable amount of cruelty from the moment they’re born and mutilated to the moment they’re crammed into a truck on the way to their death, often subjected to more torture before leaving the world and ending up on a charcuterie board or as dinner. A few weeks ago, undercover footage of pigs being tasered was shown on Dutch news. Nothing new here. This and other forms of cruelty are not an exception.
La Vie’s bacon and lardons taste very much like the real thing. So much so, that the France’s pork lobby (INAPORC) was not amused and issued them a formal warning for “deceiving customers.” La Vie, in turn, published a full-page ad in Le Parisien thanking them for the compliment and asking them to change THEIR recipe!
I tried the bacon for breakfast with scrambled tofu and roasted cherry tomatoes. It seriously fries up beautifully crisp and smells temptingly smoky! I used the lardons in a mushroom risotto (recipe to follow), but they will also be great in French classics such as tartiflette, petits pois à la française, tarte flambée, cake salé and salade de lentilles.
Querubi olive oil
The last product I’d like to highlight before signing off is an organic and vegan French olive oil made by small-scale producer Domaine de Querubi in the Pyrénées Orientales. All oils have become a rare treat for us, but when I do use olive oil to add a special touch to a soup or salad, I stick to organic and give preference to the more herbal varieties. As soon as you open the bottle, Querubi delights you with clean aromas of freshly cut grass. Its taste is pure, somewhat spicy, peppery and very persistent. Supporting sustainable agriculture is very important to me, and I really love the story behind this olive oil, which you can read here.
If you’re looking for an excellent, quality olive oil, this one is highly recommended.
I hope you’ve enjoyed my food and wine tips! And now on to this week’s recipe!
One of my favorite things to do during the holidays is bake cookies. We have a cookie baking and decorating day shortly before Christmas, but right around this time, I usually bake a batch of molasses spice cookies. Their soft, chewy texture makes them totally irresistible, and they make the house smell so festive, too!
Here is my recipe, which I’m sure you will love as much as we do. They go very well with an espresso or a chai latte.
Bon appétit!
Christmas Spice Cookies
Makes 10 cookies
Ingredients:
65g all-purpose flour
210g whole-wheat flour
1 ½ tsps ground cinnamon
1 ½ tsps ground ginger
¼ tsp ground cloves
¼ tsp salt
1 ½ tsps baking soda
80ml molasses
100g plant-based butter, melted and slightly cooled
60ml oat milk
50g coconut sugar
2 tbsps granulated sugar, for rolling
Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 180°C and line a large cookie sheet with baking paper.
Mix the flours, spices, salt and baking powder in a large bowl.
In a medium bowl, mix the molasses, oat milk, melted butter and sugar.
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix well with a spatula. .
Use a tablespoon to scoop out dough and roll into balls.
Place the 2 tbsps of granulated sugar in a shallow dish and roll the balls through the sugar. Place the cookies on the baking sheet, spacing them 5cm apart and bake for 13 minutes.
Allow to cool on the sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer the cookies to a wire rack and cool completely.