GL food writers
La Savoie, with chef Philippe Chevrier
Lausanne and Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – The CGN boat company’s summer schedule goes into effect Sunday 13 June, which means the tourist cruise boats will be operating fully. Among the special offers are fine dining cruises, with wonderful meals from the Geneva port prepared by the kitchen staff working under one of the region’s best chefs, Geneva’s Philippe Chevrier (four-course meal CHF98, three courses for CHF85) and from Lausanne by the Beau-Rivage Palace.
You can dine at noon or in the evening.
Jonell Galloway
Marmiton’s Recipe for traditional Swiss Easter cake
The Marmiton site for French cooking covers the cuisine of every administrative department in France. Most recipes are in French, but there is an English section which is a great introduction to the techniques of French cooking.
Photo courtesy of Sezgin Ismail.
Marmiton refers to this part of their site as Let’s Cook French. It includes classic French dishes, beginner lessons, and much more. I love their Kids in the Kitchen section, where Monsieur Parmentier, who has a stereotypical French accent, gives easy but intelligent video cooking lessons to children.
The recipe below does not appear in the English section of the site, but they’ve kindly given me permission to translate and adapt it, since I didn’t manage to put my hands on any other recipe for Swiss Easter cake.
Read below for recipe.
Read more…
Jonell Galloway
Recent tweets @RamblingEpicure and @SwissFoodies, 27 March 2010
Food and health
Fooducate New blog post: Americans Expect and Want Government Nutrition Advice.
GHChealth Study: Eating slowly can actually help you cut calories and eat less.
Reuters_Health A1c diabetes test better indicator of risk: study.
THE RAMBLING EPICURE All you need to know about cooking food in papillote (or parchment paper).
goodandbadfoods Salmonella In HVP Additive Prompts Potentially Massive Processed Food Recall.
Jonell Galloway
News for real foodies: recent tweets @RamblingEpicure and @SwissFoodies:
Food topics and trends 18 March 2010
SeattleTallPopp Waaa?!? Forget goat or cow milk cheese. NYC Chef Angerer makes breast milk cheese. Milk source? His wife! Recipe.
THE RAMBLING EPICURE How To Never Look Fat Again: Dressing Thinner. Time Magazine.
guardianfood Is molecular gastronomy dead? by @TimHayward
THE RAMBLING EPICURE Time Magazine: study says women who drink tend to be thinner. What’s all that about?
Now on Tablet Talk: Food writer & cultural historian Josh Ozersky lays out his burger purist’s manifesto.
Atlantic_Food Egg-less mayo: A travesty or treasure? Introducing milk mayo — the Portuguese take on the mother of all French sauces.
goodandbadfoods Meryl Streep: A veteran green activist.
THE RAMBLING EPICURE Swiss and international food news.
THE RAMBLING EPICURE 15 chocolate-covered stowaways arrested, found buried in more than 20 tons of cocoa powder.
goodandbadfoods 18% tax on soda equals 5 pounds weight loss, study finds.
davidlebovitz At the Palais de Tokyo cafeteria drinking jus de tomate, and the cashier gave me specific instructions on how to drink it.
THE RAMBLING EPICURE Learn baking at the Sainsbury’s baking college!
KyFarmersMatter Every State needs this! Indiana, UROCK! Connecting communities 2 freezer beef farmers ~Easy oppy 2buy local beef
LocavoreBlog Should Farmers Speak at a Govt Hearing on Farming?: This week marks the first of a series of antitrust “workshops…
THE RAMBLING EPICURE Mindful Eating for weight loss.
Jonell Galloway
Chocolate fountains are in!
Chocolate fountains are the rage these days. You see them at dinner parties, weddings, all sorts of celebrations. This article gives you all the in’s and out’s, from mini fountains to giant ones.
Most Swiss chocolate makers make a special chocolate to be used in fountains. I would advise asking their opinion before attempting this, because it can be tricky and even dangerous. Last winter, I heard a story about a naked teenager falling into an oversized chocolate fountain in a party in Cologny and then running through the cold streets of Cologny before ending up in the hospital (escorted by the police).
This guest blog is by Edwin Hall, owner of the Chocolate Fountain Directory in Devon in the U.K.What is a chocolate fountain?
A chocolate fountain is a device for serving chocolate fondue. It comes in many different sizes: mini, medium, large and extra large, depending on the number of guests you wish to cater for.
The fountain has multiple tiers over a heated basin at the bottom. The chocolate is melted in the basin and then pulled up through the augur and continuously flows over the tiers. When it flows over the tiers, guests are able to select a condiment they would like to dip into the fountain, using a skewer. They then select a dip of their choice and coat their item in delicious, warm melted chocolate….heaven!
Jonell Galloway
Swiss Sérac cheese, a fresh cow’s milk cheese made with whey
Whey cheese is produced when the curds are separated from the whey to make cheese. Ricotta is also a whey cheese, but unlike Sérac, it is often made with sheep’s milk. As a result, you can use your local cheesemonger’s Sérac in most recipes that call for ricotta.
Photo courtesy of Fribourg Region tourist office.
Sérac is made in most regions of Switzerland, and each region has its own version. Some regions smoke it; others flavor it with herbs, spices or pepper.
Sérac cheese is soft and creamy in texture, so it is easy to spread it on bread to make a healthy sandwich or snack, but Sérac is not only a snack cheese. It can also be used to make healthy, quick meals, such as the recipe below. In the summertime, I often use it like mozzarella, with tomatoes and basil or other Italian-inspired recipes.
It is a great way of teaching your children to eat healthy snacks. Top it with fresh fruit to make a healthy, low-fat dessert, or use it for between-meal snacks on chunky whole-grain bread.
Since it is a fresh milk cheese, it does not keep, and should be eaten shortly after purchasing. Because it is made from fresh milk whey, it is also naturally low in fat. In Switzerland, it would have about a 3.8% fat content, the same as milk.
Read more…
Jonell Galloway
Les 5 Portes
French cuisine.
Les 5 Portes, rue de Zürich 8, 1201 Geneva, tel. +41 022 731 84 38. Open Tues. through Fri. 09H00 to 02H00, Sat. 17H00 to 02H00, Sunday 11H00 to 20H00.L’Alhambar
American-style Sunday brunch, with mimosas, Bloody Marys. Nice price.
L’Alhambar, rue de la Rôtisserie 10, 1204 Geneva, entrance through Parc Pélisserie. Tel. +41 022 312 13 13.Calm
Saturday and Sunday brunch from 10H00 to 18H00, including scrambled eggs, pancakes, sandwiches, muesli, bread, croissants, brioches, etc. Garden terrace in summer.
Calm, rue Ancienne 36, 1227 Geneva, +41 022 301 22 20.Le Cheval Blanc
All-you-can-eat buffet for CHF 22. Buffet includes bread and jam, pastries, birchermuesli, various kinds of eggs, as well as quiches, original mixed salads, cheese and sausage. Also a selection of desserts. Reservation advisable.
Le Cheval Blanc, Place de l’Octroi 15, 1227 Carouge, tel. +41 022 343 61 61 from 11H00 to 15H00 on Sundays.
Jonell Galloway
I’ve been talking a lot about Mindful Eating lately. It’s a term that came to me out of the blue, and only weeks later did I realize that I picked up the word “mindful” in my many years of studying Buddhism and Hinduism. I studied these for so long that the vocabulary has become somewhat incorporated into my way of expressing myself and my subconscious. I am mindful; I live mindfully.
As a result, before publishing my own Mindful Eating Manifesto–a practical approach to my favorite subject of food–I only thought it fair to publish the somewhat more philosophical article by Buddhist thinker and teacher Thich Nhat Hanh.
Traditional Buddhist and Hindu teachings urge us to be mindful about every act, at every moment, every day of our lives. The word “mindful” is not a trademark. It is a way of being. Mindfulness gives meaning to every action, and creates a sharper awareness and a greater understanding of the interconnectedness of all living things.
What does mindfulness have to do with the way I eat?
This may not seem to have anything to do with how you eat, but indeed it does. It’s the current food trend in the developed world, and I feel confident that it will spread at a rapid pace. Eating is not just about filling your belly.
Mindful Eating is about love and care from A to Z in the eating process, from the ingredients you buy, and how they were grown and processed, and whether you prepare them with TLC, to filling your belly and providing your body with the nutrients they need. To eat mindfully, you have to be aware of every step in the process, which by definition connects you, either directly or indirectly, with everyone involved: the butcher, the baker, the farmer, the fertilizer manufacturer, the seed seller, the cook, the chocolate maker (I do live in Switzerland, after all), etc.
Jonell Galloway
This week’s foodie overview
I spend a lot of time reading, researching and tweeting about food and restaurants these days, so I thought I’d jot down my tweets from the last few days. These are from both The Rambling Epicure and Swiss Foodies and should give you an overview of what’s going on in the foodie world this week, in Switzerland and around the world.
These tweets are often focused on Switzerland, but also include a lot of links to Swiss, French, German, British, American, Canadian and other research on food.
Sometimes I couldn’t resist writing about the snow and skiing conditions, because that determines how a lot of us in Switzerland plan our weekends, and therefore what restaurants we go to or what recipes we cook up. And of course occasionally, watches and wine . . . and this week, the Vancouver Winter Olympics and those cute wooly pigs you see in the photo.
Read more…
Jonell Galloway
The wooly pig, which gives some of world’s most juicy and flavorful meat and fat, raised using special Austrian techniques, is one of the latest food trends. It is in fact correctly called the “Magalitsa pig, also known as the ‘curly haired hog,’ and is a breed of pig that originated from Hungary and the Balkans known for its thick wooly coat,” according to Pub Sub.
Photo courtesy of Pub Sub.
You can taste wooly pig tonight and tomorrow, 23 and 24 February, at the Chalet-des-Enfants in Le Mont-sur-Lausanne.
The complete menu, including dessert, goes for CHF 59. Reserve by calling +41 021 784 44 80 or +41 076 565 31 58.