My little girl has become quite the foodie. She loves to watch Anthony Bourdain (at age 2 she declared: “Tony is my best friend”), Chopped, Cupcake Wars, and pretty much any other food related show we will let her watch. She got a kitchen for her birthday: But one of her favorite pastimes is to sit and read out loud from cookbook; one recipe after another. That means my days sound like this:
It wouldn’t be so bad if the recipes were all healthy and nutritious, but her favorite book from which to read is this: All day long with the delicious sounding recipes, delectable ingredient after delectable ingredient. And the recipe she was reading in the video was for a Chocolate Hazelnut-Pear Tart. Mouthwatering.
So hour after hour I sit here having chocolate deserts described to me, and the more she reads those recipes, this more I want to shovel chocolate in my face.
Now I don’t pretend to be a cooking blog, so no, I haven’t made this recipe yet. Although, I do believe this particular tart is in my future. But, since we taunted you with the ingredient list earlier, I’ll go ahead and include the recipe she was reading here: Chocolate Hazelnut-Pear Tart.
Oh, I love me some farmers markets. I love the festival feeling. I love the little individual stalls. I love the flowers. I love the fruits and vegetables. I love the hand made goods. I love being out and about, milling around other people admiring all these things I love.
As it turns out, this week has been designated Farmers Market Week here in the State of Washington. Farms and fresh food are definitely something worth celebrating, if you ask me.
Gem loves the markets as well. She loves the flowers, especially, and all the colors, the crowds, the blueberries, and all the energy.
Today, we went to the farmers market in Renton. This one had a bonus of a kids area, staffed with volunteers, with homemade play-dough and cookie cutters to make ornaments.
Gem was so taken with the dahlias that an elderly woman working in one of the stalls gave her one. Gem was beside herself.
Then she spent the rest of our time at the market looking for the white water-filled buckets that were used the anchor the tents.
Why?
Her flower needed water. So she she made a job for herself of finding all those water buckets, and dipped her flower’s stem in the water of every single one of those buckets at the market.
I don’t like peas. I would almost go so far as to say that I hate peas. Well, not really. I can appreciate them in theory, I know they’re healthy, I just really, really don’t want to eat them.
But…
As a mom, I don’t want to pass along my pea issues to my kiddo. How do I give her opportunities to make up her own mind about peas without inadvertently influencing or limiting her own ability to enjoy them? I want her to like them, but it’s difficult not to shudder in their presence.
Well, true to form, my kid finds a way to make being her mom easy. (Yes, I know the teenage years are coming, and no I’m not prepared.)
She is completely enamored with the little garden out back at our favorite coffee shop, C & P Coffee Company. She loves to inspect and name off the different plants: rosemary, oregano, lettuce, peppers, tomatoes, strawberries, and, yes, peas. She doesn’t just name them, she works her way through that tiny garden like a little rabbit, munching away on strawberries and lettuce, and, yes, peas. (she tried the rosemary and oregano, as well. Once.)
This little garden makes it easy for me to get excited and show some enthusiasm for the peas. I love the flowers,
and I just can’t get enough of those curly tendrils.
And as I’m ooh-ing and ah-ing over these beautiful plants, getting lost in the moment with my camera, my precious little girl reaches up and hands me a baby pea as though she were giving me a gift. I couldn’t turn it down, so I ate it. And it wasn’t that bad.
When it comes to food and travel, whenever possible I like to eat where the locals eat, tourist traps rarely have the best food. I have also come to believe that Alton Brown will never steer me wrong when it comes to food. Both of those rules turned out to be true on this my trip to New Orleans.
I didn’t have a big list of things to do in New Orleans because I was bringing my homework along with me (yeah, this girl knows how to par-tay), but I was not going to leave that city without tasting a beignet.
World famous fried dough, topped with powdered sugar, and served up with cafe au lait? Carbs on top of deep-fried carbs? Served with coffee? What’s not to love? That was definitely first on my list.
The first name in beignets, is Cafe du Monde. It’s world famous. Mention New Orleans, and people who have never set foot in Louisiana will tell you to go to Cafe du Monde. I was going to Cafe du Monde if it was the only thing I did in New Orleans.
Luckily it wasn’t the only thing I did in New Orleans.
My friend, Jen, did her homework before our trip, including watching The Best Think I Ever Ate: New Orleans. “We have to go to Cafe Beignet!” She insisted. “Alton said it was the best thing he ate in New Orleans.”
How lucky I am to travel with someone like Jen who can straighten me out on these things – I might have missed Cafe Beignet altogether.
Hidden away amongst antique shops and art galleries in the French Quarter, I might have stumbled across this little gem, but I might have also been saving up my caloric allowance for the beignets at a shop with more name recognition. How sad that would have been.
I would have missed this lovely french cafe, with it’s menu that goes well beyond pastries, jazz from the street musicians wafting in on the breeze, the cobblestone floors, and the charming little birds that flitted around as we ate.
I would have missed the subtle flavor and delicate texture of these little pillows of heaven.
I fully intended to get a shot of these as they were delivered – both times we visited – but it just didn’t happen. I dug in. Yum.
We hadn’t even finished the first beignet when we decided we needed to hit Cafe du Monde as well – same day – so we could do a little comparison. Also, so we could have more beignets and coffee (but lets just keep that between us, ok?)
We had to walk several blocks farther, through Jackson Square, to get to Cafe du Monde. Surely that was enough walking to burn off all those carbs… No?
Cafe du Monde was a completely different environment.
It was packed, there were street musicians as well, right next to the table seating, but the music that pulsed in was more aggressive and in your face (perhaps intended to keep customers from lingering too long?). Pigeons dive-bombed tables, and snacked fearlessly from tables in the middle of this crowded restaurant.
The food the server plopped down in front of us was a little different as well.
The beignets were hard, and flavorless.
But at least they had sugar. A lot of sugar.
Once we finished eating the beignets, there was a good 4 ounces of sugar still left on the plate. Thank goodness we decided to share that order.
I will say in Cafe du Monde’s favor, that I preferred their coffee.
But for beignets, (and other foods, we found out at later visits), and ambiance, I’d recommend Cafe Beignet over and over again.
Alton Brown was right. So was the Concierge. Thanks, Jen.
Add the olive oil to a large skillet over medium heat
Thinly slice and caramelize the leeks, and brown the chicken. Make sure the leeks are well caramelized, releasing all their sugars. This will help to counteract the tartness of the pomegranate juice.
Add one tub of Knorr Chicken Homestyle Stock concentrate and thin with the pomegranate juice.
Grind the walnuts to the size of breadcrumbs in a food processor, and add to the pot along with the cardamom.
Cover and allow to simmer for approximately 20 minutes. Cook time will vary, just make sure the chicken has reached an internal temperature of 165°.
Shred or cut chicken into bite size pieces and stir back into gravy. Remove the lid to allow the gravy to further reduce. It should be thick enough to sit on top of the rice rather than run right through.
Serve on basmati rice.
Notes:
If the gravy is a little too tart, add a tablespoon of sugar, but not too much. This isn’t supposed to be dessert.
Cooking the chicken in larger pieces results in juicier meat, but if you are in a hurry, cut the chicken into bite sized pieces before browning, and do not cover while simmering to significantly cut the required cooking time.
This isn’t a pretty dish, but it’s yummy. In fact, you might even find yourself closing your eyes as you enjoy it.
———–
FTC disclaimer: I received free product from Knorr for use in creating this recipe.
CoffeeJitters is an affiliate to a number of sites and services. I do not endorse products I don't love. I may receive compensation if you purchase items from links on this website.
