Leek & Potato Soup / Soupe Poireaux-Pommes de Terre: Délicieusement Terre-à-Terre

Two days ago, I made a very basic soup that everybody knows: the leek & potato soup.
It is unbelievable how flavourful that soup is! There seems to be something very comforting about the taste of leeks on a cold day.
This soup is a real winter warmer. It's smooth and tasty, and a simple way to a nutritious meal. ;o)

Here are the ingredients I used to make... a very basic Leek & Potato Soup:
2 medium red potatoes, quartered
3 medium leeks, diced
1,5L of water (I used water + chicken broth)
1 red onion
3 cloves of garlic
olive oil
1 hand-held blender

In a saucepan, heat the oil. Fry the onion, garlic for ten minutes until the onion starts to soften and go translucent.

Stir in the potatoes and leeks, and cook for a further 10 minutes.

Add the water and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer for 10-15 minutes until the leeks and potatoes are soft.

Blend the soup until smooth. Season to taste using only salt and ground pepper.
Decorate the soup with a sprig of thyme. Then serve.

PS: Many options are offered to you with this soup!
-You can stir in some single cream (50ml) and milk (75ml), or coconut milk before warming through. I personally opted for a cream & milk-free version. Trying to reduce the waistline, remember!
-Before serving, you can also throw in fried bacon or blue cheese.
-Add cumin, coriander, and nutmeg.
But it really is up to you!

Happy Leek & Potato Soup!

New Index for Atelier Jacob!

Marco Jacob in "Poetics of Structure" by Anna Sulikowska, Slash Magazine (Summer 2007)

Last week, Marco Jacob, my husband, and I, celebrated the launch of his new homemade (so to say) website!
It took him some time to transfer the data and upload the new material, but the result is really interesting. Instead of updating his old website with the help of a webmaster, he opted for a format that is called Indexhibit. He researched a lot, browsed on many sites that had been built with Indexhibit, and learnt how to master this new tool. Being independent in how to display one's creative work is, I think, of paramount importance for an artist. It therefore was a huge step that this more user-friendly format enabled him to take. He now can go through the regular updates of his multidisciplinary work himself, which is revolutionary.

Marco and I would like to invite you to browse through his new website, so you can see some of the projects he has been working on lately:

www.atelierjacob.com

Identity design and stationery for Plutino Group. 2009.


Fabrication of maquette for artist Luis Jacob. 2009.
Used in a competition entry for a public art project.


Warp lounge chair. 2008.
Vacuum formed plastic. Prototyped by UB Signs.

Set design for photo shoot featured in Fashion Magazine. 2007.
Photography Miguel Jacob.


Temporary installation initiated by the studio. 2007.


Installation at the Gladstone Hotel's Come Up to My Room exhibition. 2007.
Photography Anna Sulikowska and Chris Curreri.


Louise armchair. 2006.
Baltic birch plywood. Prototyped by Matt Wood.

Hope you enjoyed the visit! Please, leave a comment to let us know your impressions.
We'll take good note of it!


Marco Jacob. Photograph by The Sartorialist.

Une Fleur à la Boutonnière!

Takashi Murakami - Flower Ball, 2004

Mon cher Coco,

First, I would like to apologize for having been kept away so long. I was quite busy researching and preparing resource material for my new French teaching position. I indeed started a new job for the Government yesterday, and as any job, it needs a certain input of time and effort to adjust!
But, here I am. I'm back!
I would like to start off this new decade with a Flower Power behind-the-seams story. As I was going through my jewels, scarves and other fancy accessories over the holiday, I fell on a felt boutonniere that I made a few years ago, when still in Lyon, France. It had fallen out of grace in my eyes, so I was going to discard it for good, when my dear husband said: "Wait a minute! You made it. I love it... I want to wear it!" Ah, love is beautiful! Since then, he has worn it on the lapel of his Yohji Yamamoto winter coat everyday, and I must admit that I am very proud when he reports to me the compliments he got along the way, with his new 'fleur à la boutonnière'.

I wish you all to start off this new decade with a lovely flower on your lapel - Flower Power all over the world!

Love,
Christine Rochet-Jacob

Happy New Decade!

Bonne Année 2010!
Wishing you big smiles aplenty for the new decade!

A beautiful, bountiful Christmas!

Noël 2009, c'est fini!
I will keep a vivid memory of the cheerful carols we sang on Christmas Eve, and of the very gourmet/gourmand Christmas that we spent with our loved ones.
Just for the sake of sharing the joy, here is a sample of what was on our menu for this year's Christmas potluck dinner at home:

***Appetizers***
I'll give you just one that is typical to my hometown:
-Lyons hot sausage with truffles and pistachios, also called "cervelas truffé et pistaché" .
(see picture above)
I was so happy when I received some from my parents in France that I had to serve this special dish for my Canadian Christmas. I served the sausages sliced, and halved topped with a cloud of homemade chutney (date & apricot winter chutney).

Different types of Lyons sausages

Traditionally the hot sausage or 'cervelas' is served with steamed potatoes, or on a bed of lentils (so typical to the cuisine lyonaise). It can also be served in a brioche, it is then called saucisson brioché. Any option is equally tasty!

***The pièce de résistance***
- A 7-kg smoked turkey (a big mama turkey!) with a side of roasted vegetables (chestnuts, butternut squash, small potatoes, rosemary, paprika, onions and garlic), and cranberry sauce.

I'd like to report the fact that, on Christmas Day, I turned a vegetarian into a carnivore with that turkey. Incr-edible!

***Desserts***
-Chocolate Log
-Schwowebredle
-Gingerbread Cake
All 3 from Simone Morgenthaler's Alsatian cookbook-

-Crème Jaune à la Vanille ( a sort of custard cream)
-Chocolate Truffles ( stuffed with roasted almonds!)
-Christmas Shortbread Cookies

It was my first Christmas as a married woman, and I had a beautiful, bountiful Christmas sharing with my in-laws, here in Canada. I felt like a child offering my homemade Christmas presents: orange marmalade, chutney, Christmas cookies and truffles, all wrapped up in hand-made gift bags. But I also felt the intense joy of receiving in front of so many generous earthly presents! I enjoyed every moment before, during and after the party. Perhaps like me, you too enjoyed that special moment when, once the guests have left, all snug in your slippers, you start to clean the place a bit, shove the colourful wrapping papers in the recycling bin, pack and store the leftovers in the fridge, and eventually pause in awe in front of all these wonderful memories and gifts that you collected over the day (See post on my other blog Christine Rochet-Jacob) !
One of the greatest gifts that we received came from my mother-in-law who is a great supporter of my culinary experiments. Ohlala! Quelle folie! She offered my husband and I a master Vita-Mix juicer-blender! Look at the beast...

I have read the instructions, and gone through the DVD with the Getting Started recipes. I feel ready to try my first Vita-Mix juices in a couple of days, i.e on New Year's Day. Fresh juice will sure help us cleanse the body from all the toxins accumulated over the holiday season, and start the new decade with a lot of vitamins and a lot of bravado! Yes. Let's get ready for a healthy detoxifying diet come January!
Now before we part, allow me to leave you for this year 2009 on a double-bill happy note!
For your viewing pleasure, I recommend you watch...

A Chef in Love (Les mille et une recettes du cuisinier amoureux)

Dir: Nana Dzhordzadze/Cast: Pierre Richard, Nino Kirtadze, Timur Kamkhadze, Micheline Presle, Jean-Yves Gautier/ Language: French and Russian with English Subtitles/ 1996/ 100 mins

This film tastes like a fairy tale about a bigger-than-life French tenor/gigolo/Chef. The title character of A Chef In Love is indeed a Frenchman with equal passions for his restaurant and his lover.
As cinematic banquets go, I enjoyed A Chef in Love ( I love Pierre Richard, and Micheline Presle, whom we hardly see, unfortunately...) but I must confess it left me somehow unsatisfied as parts of the plot was left unresolved. It tickled my appetite but...- je suis restée sur ma faim!
I therefore went for an extra serving of ''Babette's Feast''(Ahhhh!Ohhh!Wow!), and invite you to do the same!

Babette's Feast

Savour the last moments of 2009!