June 1, 2013 | The Rambling Epicure

Mindful Eating: Getting your Kids into the Kitchen: Fresh Fruit Smoothies

Published by Jonell Galloway + Sunday, June 30, 2013 Permalink 0

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Mindful Eating: Getting your Kids into the Kitchen: Fresh Fruit Smoothies

Getting your Children Interested in Food

From the archives

For younger children, one of the easiest ways of introducing them to the kitchen is to tempt them with a sweet, fruit smoothie.

Smoothies are easy and can be made all year, changing
the flavor according to what fruits are in season.

So as to avoid adding sugar, it’s best to choose a fruit that is very ripe and sweet, and, of course, one that your child likes. Letting your child choose the fruit is also a way of teaching him or her how to shop for fresh fruit, and explain why you don’t buy strawberries from Chile at Christmas. Local fruit is not only fresher and therefore has more vitamins, but it is also nicer on the purse.

Bananas are good all year, and can be mixed with different fruits in the summer. There are endless combinations that change with the seasons.

At the moment, strawberries, melons, peaches, and raspberries are already available in the Geneva region or from nearby France or Italy. Indian mangoes make a divine smoothie, similar to an Indian lassi, and always a favorite for children. The buttery, honey-flavored yellow kiwis from New Zealand have a very short season, but are not as acidic as the green ones, and have just come on the market.

Take a look at what’s in season before you go to the market.

Technical Difficulties when Viewing in Certain Browsers

Published by Jonell Galloway + Thursday, June 27, 2013 Permalink 0

Please bear with us. We are experiencing some technical difficulties with regard to viewing in certain browsers. Foxfire works fine, but Safari has gone askew.

We’d really appreciate it if you let us know what difficulties you are experiencing from your end! We’re working hard to correct this error and hope to have it corrected very soon. As Bob Marley always said, “Everything’s gonna be alright.”

What is Spontaneous Cuisine?

Published by Jonell Galloway + Thursday, June 27, 2013 Permalink 0

My Spontaneous Cuisine, by Jonell Galloway

Spontaneous Cuisine is an approach to cooking that I “invented” 25 years ago, around the same time as Paul Bocuse started talking about la cuisine du marché, or “market cuisine.”

The Spontaneous Cuisine method consists of writing out a tentative menu based on seasonal, local products; going shopping for the products, and adapting the menu according to what is available and fresh; going to the wine seller to select a wine to go with the menu, then going home and cooking all afternoon with my students. A day in the classroom-kitchen usually ends with a candlelight dinner at the château (in my past life in France), and now, at my 1,000-year-old chapel converted into a house in Chartres.

The Art of Tasting Wine with James Flewellen: Spotlight on Chardonnay Grapes

Published by James Flewellen + Monday, June 24, 2013 Permalink 0

The Art of Tasting Wine with James Flewellen: Spotlight on Chardonnay Grapes

by James Flewellen

Just as Pinot Noir is Burgundy’s queen of red grapes, so Chardonnay is Burgundy’s king of whites. Although originating from Burgundy, Chardonnay is so widely grown around the world it is now considered to be an ‘international variety’.

Chardonnay is often described as a ‘winemaker’s grape’ in that the primary qualities of the grape are overwhelmed by the winemaking procedure, meaning the winemaker has an essentially blank canvas upon which to work. I take exception to this somewhat in that there is certainly something about Chardonnay that makes it ‘Chardonnay’, it’s just that this quality may vary depending on location and climate.

: Close-up view of Chardonnay grapes

The typical flavour profile of the grape is green apple and lemon if grown in cool places like Chablis in France, moving through to ripe red apple, peach and melon in warmer climes and eventually to tropical pineapple, mango and even banana notes in hot climates such as California and parts of Australia. Wines from hotter places tend to have a fatter, heavier texture, lower acidity and higher alcohol, whereas those from cold climates can be lean, austere and steely.

Chardonnay and oak go together like a hand in glove. Although there are many ways of integrating oak flavours with those of the grape, some winemakers in the past have chosen to overwhelm the natural expression of the grape with an unsubtle whack of oak. This has led to the association in many people’s minds that Chardonnay “tastes like wood.” Judicious use of new French oak adds butter, toast, nutty aromas and flavours to the wine, while new American oak brings a slightly ‘sweeter’ coconut or white chocolate profile. While some very fine wines can be profoundly ‘oaky’, to my mind this should always work with the available fruit flavours rather than overwhelm them. There is a recent movement in new world countries such as Australia and New Zealand to produce leaner, more mineral Chardonnays with very little new oak influence, while this has been practised as the norm in Chablis, in particular, for decades.

Metric-Imperial Recipe Converter – French/British/American Equivalents

Published by Jonell Galloway + Sunday, June 23, 2013 Permalink 0

Metric-Imperial Recipe Converter – French/British/American Equivalents //

From Southern Food:

Liquid Measures
1 cup	8 fluid ounces	1/2 pint	237 ml
2 cups	16 fluid ounces	1 pint	474 ml
4 cups	32 fluid ounces	1 quart	946 ml
2 pints	32 fluid ounces	1 quart	946 ml
4 quarts	128 fluid ounces	1 gallon	3.784 liters
8 quarts	one peck
4 pecks	one bushel
dash	less than 1/4 teaspoon

Dry Measures
3 teaspoons	1 tablespoon	1/2 ounce	14.3 grams
2 tablespoons	1/8 cup	1 fluid ounce	28.3 grams
4 tablspoons	1/4 cup	2 fluid ounces	56.7 grams
5 1/3 tablespoons	1/3 cup	2.6 fluid ounces	75.6 grams
8 tablespoons	1/2 cup	4 ounces	113.4 grams	1 stick butter
12 tablespoons	3/4 cup	6 ounces	.375 pound	170 grams
32 tablespoons	2 cups	16 ounces	1 pound	453.6 grams
64 tablespoons	4 cups	32 ounces	2 pounds	907 grams

Chocolate: Everything You Need to Know about Chocolate Fountains

Published by Jonell Galloway + Sunday, June 23, 2013 Permalink 0

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).

The Art of Tasting Wine with James Flewellen: Top 10 White Wine Grapes

Published by James Flewellen + Sunday, June 23, 2013 Permalink 0

The Art of Tasting Wine with James Flewellen: Top 10 White Wine Grapes

by James Flewellen

With over 1,300(!) vine varieties out there making commercial wine, it’s a tough task to narrow down to only 10. Nevertheless, here are my ‘top 10’ white wine producing grapes. The order is my own preference, based on commercial importance, potential quality of the grape and whether it produces a ‘classic style’.

10. Albariño

Deutsch: Albariño-Weingut. Weingut Granbazan. ...

Bodega Granbazán en las Rías Baixas, producer of Albariño

Perhaps a controversial start to the list, Albariño is a rising star in my book. The grape can produce well-balanced aromatic, peachy wines with fresh acidity, suitable as an aperitif or with fish and vegetarian dishes. It’s not yet grown much outside its native Galicia in Spain (and parts of Portugal), yet its stature is certainly on the up and much interest is being shown in growing the grape in a number of new world countries.

9. Gewurztraminer

Tramin – Gewurztraminer Grapes (Photo credit: Lynne Hand)

A very distinctive grape producing ‘love-em or hate-em’ wines. Gewurztraminer has its spiritual home in Alsace, France, though can be found throughout Central Europe and in many new world countries. The grape is typically pink-skinned and produces an abundance of sugars in the right growing conditions. This leads to deeply-coloured, rich, full-bodied wines – many of which are off-dry, or even sweet. Gewurztraminer wines are flamboyantly fragrant with unmistakable notes of lychee, pot pourri and sometimes cloves.

8. Viognier

English: Viognier grapes ripening on a vine in...

Viognier grapes ripening on a vine in Amador county, California.

Another full-bodied, distinctively aromatic wine. Viognier brings forth characteristic notes of peach, apricot and ginger. The very best examples come from the tiny appellation of Condrieu, in the Rhône Valley in France. However, it is found in the blended white wines of southern France, and increasingly in the new world. A single producer in the Barossa, South Australia — Yalumba — could be credited with re-popularising this grape and bringing it to a new audience in the modern era.

Food Art: Still Life with Geraniums, painting by Henri Matisse

Published by Jonell Galloway + Friday, June 21, 2013 Permalink 0

Still Life with Geraniums, by Henri Matisse

Food Art: Still Life with Geraniums, painting by Henri Matisse

Henri Matisse painted “Still Life With Geranium” in 1906, when he was considered the “King of Fauvism.”It was the first Matisse painting to be purchased for a public exhibition.

An everyday subject matter is depicted in primary colors, thus infusing it with energy and emotion. At the same time, it resembles traditional decorative art.

Matisse was the leader of the Fauvist movement, and used vivid, primary colors long before his contemporaries. The colors always lent a sense of turbulent emotion to his work.

The term “Fauve” means literally “wild beast”. Another prominent member of this movement was André Derain.

Resources for Learners of Swiss German

Published by Jonell Galloway + Friday, June 21, 2013 Permalink 0

Resources for Learners of Swiss German

I’ve just discovered this Swiss blog, A Humourous Guide to Switzerland.

Miss Peaches, as the blogger calls herself, has compiled this excellent list of resources for those who are learning Swiss German.

Swiss Supermarket Discoveries, Part III: Hike Switzerland

Published by Jonell Galloway + Friday, June 21, 2013 Permalink 0

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Swiss Supermarket Discoveries, Part III: Hike Switzerland

by Sonja Holverson

If you actually want to take a hike in Switzerland (and of course you do!), there are all levels from hikes for flatlanders to experts to alpinists. (See Swiss Alpine Wanderlust Packing List for Serious Hikers.)

So don’t let those enormous Alps intimidate you, because you can do a lot at lower altitudes. You might start by hiking around the Swiss vineyards, a common practice in Switzerland, or even in villages; you can hike down to the lake and the one of the relaxing and scenic cruises on Lake Geneva. Whatever the activity you will need a picnic lunch and the best place to find the ingredients is the Swiss supermarket.