Read more…

MarketView is published every week or so so you can take a look at our list before you go to the market.  It should serve as a tool to help you make your grocery list and menus for the week before you go off to the market.

Summer fruit and vegetables in the Lake Geneva region are all but gone, and autumn and root vegetables are now on the agenda.

Fall fruit and vegetables

Baby carrots, baby turnips, baby beets, radishes of all types. New potatoes of all varieties.

Swiss chard (blettes), Jerusalem artichokes (topinambur), parsnips (panais), celeriac (celery root of knob celery, called céleri rave in French).

Cepe mushrooms (bolets) (delicious this year), field chanterelles (dark brown and gold in color, only available for a very short period in the autumn), black truffles, and a wide variety of other wild mushrooms.

Field chanterelles are only available in the fall.

Wild greens of all types, mesclun (mixed wild salad greens), wild arugula rocket salad, cabbage of all types, kohlrabi (colrave), beets, leeks, pumpkin, squash of all types, cauliflower, broccoli. Herbs of all types.

Most producers make their own mixture of seasonal soup greens and vegetables, which you can just add to a chicken broth.

Grapes (try the hard-to-find framboisé variety, absolutely delicious), apples, pears.

Flowers

In a couple of weeks, chrysanthemums will be the only local flowers available, so take advantage of what’s still available.

MarketView is published every week or so so you can take a look at our list before you go to the market.  It should serve as a tool to help you make your grocery list and menus for the week before you go off to the market.

Amazingly, we are still blessed with a few summer vegetables in the Lake Geneva region, so we still have an interesting mix of spring, summer, and fall fruit and vegetables. As I keep saying, it is surprising what a variety of local fruit and vegetables are still available this late in the growing season.

Spring and summer fruit and vegetables

Aubergine/eggplant, tomatoes, cucumbers, courgette/zucchini, green beans, radishes, bell peppers of all colors.

Extra-sweet strawberries, last of the corn, raspberries, blackberries (rarer than the other berries).

Rosemary, many varieties of basil, some mint (end of season), dill, coriander, parsley, laurel, scallions.

Fall fruit and vegetables

Local parsnips from just over the border in France.

Baby carrots, baby turnips, radishes of all types.

New potatoes of all varieties, Swiss chard (blettes), Jerusalem artichokes (topinambur), parsnips (panais).

Local Comice pears.

Grapes (try the hard-to-find framboisé variety, absolutely delicious):

Apples, pears, plums, red peaches (pêches de vigne).

Wild greens of all types, mesclun (mixed wild salad greens).

Cabbage, beets, wild arugula rocket salad.

Herbs of all types, but seeing the last of the mint.

In Switzerland, each producer makes her own mixture of seasonal vegetables for soup.

Most producers make their own mixture of seasonal soup greens and vegetables, which you can just add to a chicken broth.

Cepe mushrooms (bolets).

Black truffles, and a wide variety of other wild mushrooms.

Leeks, pumpkin, squash of all types, cauliflower, broccoli.

Flowers

Bad Foods that Are Good for Weight Loss gives common sense, practical advice about “bad” foods that can actually be good for weight loss if eaten in moderation and in the right way.

Great info on everything to do with cooking: Cooking Up A Story

Tips on cooking up fresh pumpkin and how to choose just the right pumpkin. As Americans and Canadians probably already know from experience, the water content of European pumpkins is often quite different from that of the North American varieties, which becomes a real problem when you’re using North American recipes for Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Photo courtesy of Michael Elliot.

Fortunately, farmers markets in the Lake Geneva region offer a wide variety of pumpkins, so you should be able to find the right variety so you can still make your family recipes. But I do forewarn you: pumpkin pie can be tricky, so it’s best to do a trial run before the Big Day.

And don’t forget to save the seeds. Larita’s pumpkin seed recipe is a bit too American, in that we tend to use more natural ingredients in Switzerland, but one could perhaps use Migros or Coop “Country Potatoes” seasoning and simply skip her American smoke flavouring. In this case, it would be best to leave out the other spices, since this seasoning is in fact a mixture of some of the same spices.

To launch the chasse or hunting season: Wild River Review – Wild Table

Warren Bobrow’s new blog is full of old-fashioned and traditional recipes with a modern edge, as well as tips on how to live the gentleman’s life in general. Try his pumpkin-filled pasta recipe.

For manifestos on the importance of buying local food, as well as traditional recipes and food ideas: The Slow Cook

Ed Bruske is really just a foodie who engages in the concerns of a hungry planet, so you will find a variety of food-related topics, as well as recipes. I particularly like his “I’m an Elitest” post, in which he addresses the “ravings of James McWilliams, the writer who argues that there’s something sinister about the local food movement,” because it gives you both sides of the story: Michael Pollan and Wendell Berry vs. James McWilliams.

For a homely English slant: Yummy Homely Food

Laure Moyle took a 3-month holiday, but has finally returned just in time for chocolate week. She creates original, yet somewhat traditional recipes, using traditional British ingredients. Since she grew up in France, they often have a touch of the French, and use the local ingredients she finds near her home in Sussex. Sometimes it’s nice to have simple, unpretentious, yet good quality, comfort food.

She puts a particular emphasis on getting Kids in the Kitchen.

The Intermarché Mousquetaires and Ecomarché supermarket chain now offers home delivery in certain locations.

Unfortunately, the choice is more limited than that of leshop.ch in Switzerland, and it is not in English, but the photos are easy to follow, even if you don’t speak much French. You won’t find as much variety as at  the supermarket, but it can still come in handy when you’re in a pinch.

You can also do your shopping online in locations where delivery is not available, and then pick it up at the store, or if you’re traveling, you can order it and have it delivered so it will be there on your arrival. This service can also come in handy when you or your children are sick and can’t go out to shop, and for senior citizens who might have problems of mobility.

Payment is either by credit card or check.

To find out if the service is available in your region, simply go to the ExpressMarché site and type in your postal code either in France or Switzerland. If it is available in your area, a timetable will be displayed showing the days and hours the service is available (this varies widely from one location to another, so check it out carefully).

MarketView is published every week or so so you can take a look at our list before you go to the market.  It should serve as a tool to help you make your grocery list and menus for the week before you go off to the market.

Amazingly, summer just left us a couple of days ago in the Lake Geneva region, so we still have an interesting mix of spring, summer, and fall fruit and vegetables. It is surprising what a variety of local fruit and vegetables are still available this late in the growing season.

Runner beans, squash, pumpkin, raspberries, mint, radishes and assorted herbs in mid-October!

Since we just skipped straight from summer to winter, we are still seeing a large variety of summer vegetables, so I’ve separated the list into categories.

Spring and summer fruit and vegetables

Aubergine/eggplant, tomatoes, cucumbers, courgette/zucchini, green beans, radishes, bell peppers of all colors.

Extra-sweet strawberries thanks to the long, hot summer.

Extra-sweet strawberries, corn, raspberries, blackberries (rarer than the other berries).

Rosemary, many varieties of basil, mint, dill, coriander, parsley, laurel, scallions.

Fall fruit and vegetables

Baby carrots, baby turnips, radishes of all types, new potatoes of all varieties, Swiss chard (blettes), Jerusalem artichokes (topinambur), parsnips (panais).

Jerusalem artichokes.

Rhubarb, grapes, apples, pears, plums, red peaches (pêches de vigne).

Wild greens of all types, mesclun (mixed wild salad greens), cabbage, beets, wild arugula rocket salad. Herbs of all types, but seeing the last of the mint.

Cepe mushrooms (bolets), truffles, and a wide variety of other wild mushrooms.

Leeks, pumpkin, squash of all types, cauliflower, broccoli.

Black truffles, or should I say "black gold"?

Flowers

Sunflowers in October in the Lake Geneva region!

October flowers in Lake Geneva region.

The award-winning Cobb Grill is on sale online at Eboutic until 18  October.

Photo courtesy of Eboutic.

These grills are unique in that they are compact, lightweight, come with their own tote bag, and emit practically no smoke. They are only 12in/30cm high, 12in/30cm wide, weigh 8.5lbs/4kg, and are tabletop.

Although they should not be used indoors, they can be used on the balcony.

Cobb Grills are multipurpose. It would be more appropriate to refer to them as a cooking system than a grill, because they can be used to grill meat, fish and vegetables, as well as to smoke, steam, stew, bake, roast, and stir-fry. It is possible to cook an entire meal for 4 or 5 people all in one grill. Various attachments are available, such as a cast-iron grill for better searing, a wok and a steamer. There is a special system, referred to as the “flavor well” or “moat”, for catching the natural juices that are drained off.

Unique charcoal briquettes, made of recycled, crushed, compressed coconut shells, are used for heating up to a temperature of nearly 600F/300C. Since they are recycled, they are ecological.

The cooking system comes with non-stick surface components and can be put in the dishwasher.

Photo courtesy of Cobb Grill America.

The Cobb Grill is a good and environmentally-friendly investment for any household, thanks to its versatility for cooking food in healthy, fat-free ways. It is specially designed to drain off as much fat and grease as possible, and is endorsed by the South African Heart Association.

For classic cake and dessert recipes: Joy of Baking

Stephanie Jaworski is a master baker.

Her recipes are designed for use in North America, so the measurements may have to be adapted to your taste and the raw ingredients to what is available in the Lake Geneva region. For one thing, North Americans tend to put more sugar in their recipes. My rule of thumb is to cut the amount of sugar in half, but I have every kind of tooth but a sweet one, so three-quarters the amount would probably work for those who do.

I’m dying to try her pumpkin cheesecake recipe, but the graham crackers would have to be substituted by some other sort of whole-grain, slightly sweet biscuit or cookie. I think spelt and sesame Wasa or whole-wheat Krisprolls mixed with a spoon of brown sugar/cassonade could also give somewhat the same texture.

Cookbooks: Mathilde’s Cuisine

Photo courtesy of Mathilde's Cuisine blog.

Mathilde Delville’s food blog is great for foodies like myself who have lived in a French-speaking country long enough to not know whether we’re more French, Swiss or Anglo. She rambles about all sorts of food-related topics, in both French and English.

I particularly like her post about cookbooks.

Gourmet recipes you can do at home: Citron et Vanille

Silvia is of Italian origin, grew up in Nancy, France, and has lived in the US for thirteen years now. She is a personal chef, and adds contemporary, gourmet recipes to her site almost daily.

Photo courtesy of Citron et Vanille.

She has the right origins (Italian and French) to know about good food and she is living in San Francisco, certainly one of the food capitals of the US, thanks to all the high-quality ingredients available year round.

Fusion, sugar-free and low-carb recipes: Café Nilson

Photo courtesy of Café Nilson.

The Virtual Chef, whose real name we don’t know, runs an on-line “café” consisting of recipes that people donate, to which she adds her own highly creative recipes. She leans toward light, healthy fusion cuisine, and offers two interesting categories we don’t often see: sugar-free and low-carb.

We still have strawberries in the Lake Geneva region, and they are extra-sweet right now, so I am strongly tempted by her Sugar-free Strawberry Soufflé recipe.

Barbie’s secret to weight loss was “don’t eat”: Is that your teen’s philosophy?

The 1965 Slumber Party Barbie came with her very own “How to Lose Weight” book. The main message was “don’t eat.” Along with this book came a bathroom scale always set at 110 pounds/49.9 kilograms, says Teen Beauty Tips. According to Malisa Morsman, “Barbie is the plastic equivalent of a 5-foot, 9-inch (1.75 m) woman with a 36-inch (91.5 cm) bust, 33-inch (83.8 cm) hips, and an impossibly small 18-inch waist (45.7 cm).”

Photo courtesy of Mental Floss.

Ken, on the other hand, came with his own milk and cookies, and no scales.

Unhealthy message to teenage girls that has persisted

Unfortunately, women of all ages gradually started to perceive Barbie’s body as ideal, and teenagers often follow, even now, Barbie’s 1965 instructions on how to lose weight. Some purport that Barbie is even responsible for the increase in eating disorders.

In Europe, a correlation has also been made between women of all ages who smoke and have eating disorders. Smoking cuts the appetite, and is used as a way to keep from eating.

Ironically, the problem often becomes not only of a problem of getting your teenage girl to eat properly, but also a problem of eating at all.

As for the boys, is the message still that he can eat milk and cookies to his heart’s delight?

Read more…