Zen Mama

I'm always looking for ways to give my kids snacks which are yummy, easy to pack and good for them. Recently, it's been fresh fruit, drinking yogurt and cheese sticks after school, but they do get special treats once in a while! And who doesn't like a chewy, chocolate chip cookie? It's so much easier to stop by the store and buy a box of packaged cookies on the run (I've done that many times in a crunch), but when you stop to read the ingredients on a box of store-bought cookies, you'll think twice about filling their little bodies with all that high fructose corn syrup, chemicals, preservatives and artificial flavorings. So when I can make the time, I prefer to prepare them homemade goodies. We love oatmeal in our household and it's a good way punch up the fiber count in your diet. Here, I've adapted a oatmeal raisin chocolate chip cookie recipe by adding some heart-healthy walnuts and dried cranberries -- they were a big hit with the kid...

Our recent family trip to Chicago was another food adventure. One of our favorite lunch spots was Lyfe Kitchen, at 413 N. Clark Street in River North, Chicago. Here, they serve great food that makes you feel healthy as well. I love that they have a fresh herb garden right at their entrance, and gluten free, vegan & vegetarian, and everything (for those who eat anything) menus. My 7 year and 9 year old boys loved their flatbreads, sweet corn chowder and Thai Curry Bowl with marinated tofu or chicken. We also tried their Quinoa crunch bowl and Kale Caesar salads--all very tasty! For weight watchers, nothing on the menu exceeds 600 calories. I found kale and quinoa welcome healthy additions on many menus during this trip and am going to start cooking more with them. Wish we could bring this place home with us to Paris! (Hmmm... Business idea??)

Hearty Lentil Stew There are so many ways to customize this dish--make it vegetarian, add sausages and make it a heartier dish, add more bouillon to make it a thinner soup, or add more lentils and veggies to make it thicker... Any way you spin it, this is a destined to become a favorite, simple one-pot dinner to make, even on a weeknight. Here's a version I've created from a couple of different recipes which always leaves my two sons and my husband licking their plates and asking for more. This recipe serves about 6 people as a dinner serving. Ingredients : 350 grams dried Lentils (can be brown, green or lentilles de Puy) 1 tbsp olive oil 2 yellow or white onions, diced 2 garlic cloves, minced 2 carrots, peeled and diced 1 red bell pepper, cored and diced 850ml/1-1/2 pints of hot chicken broth 400g can of peeled, diced tomatoes 1 tsp ground cumin 1 tsp ground coriander 1 tsp of paprika sprig of fresh rosemary (dried is OK too) sprig of fresh thyme  (d...

Homemade fruit crumble is always a favorite in our household. Over the years, I've tried and adapted different recipes. But the basic recipe I use for the crumble topping (below) is a combination of a crisp/crumble topping and it gives a crispy/crunchy texture. For the fruit filling, I change it depending on what type of fruit I have. Mixed Red Fruit and Pear Crumble INGREDIENTS:  CRUMBLE TOPPING: 1 cup oatmeal (not instant) 1 cup all purpose flour 1/2 cup light or dark brown sugar (vergoise) 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon (adjust to your taste) 1 teaspoon nutmeg (adjust to your taste) 125 grams cold, unsalted butter, cut into small pieces A teaspoon of orange flower water (optional) FILLING: - About 6 cups of fruit in small pieces. - Variations: Pear/Apple/Dried Cherry: you can use 4 very ripe pears and about 3 tart apples (granny smith) and add a handful of dried cherries. You can also add raisins or dried cranberries. Instead of apples, ...

This time it was my turn to choose a dish, and my co-cooking mamas asked me to find a Moroccan recipe--knowing that my mother-in-law is half Moroccan. Having experienced my mother-in-law's authentic homestyle cooking, it was pretty clear to me what dish I had to choose for this challenge. A Tagine would be too simple... It had to be something we wouldn't cook just any day. So I chose the ultimate special occasion dish: a Moroccan couscous. But I didn't ask for my mother in law's recipe. It's a rule of mine never to compete with her cooking. In French/Moroccan hubby's eyes (or tummy) his mother's couscous is the best -- full stop. And I must say, no restaurants we've tried together have ever served a better couscous than hubby's mummy-- ma belle mère. I cook by starting with a basic recipe, and then adjusting the elements for my preferred taste, texture, appearance and smell. So, I researched many recipes to find one that seemed to resemble the ...

The past week has been miserably cold, with temperatures dropping down to -9 degrees Celsius. After living in sub tropical Hong Kong for 16 years, my body has long forgotten that I was born in the Windy City of Chicago, where we grew accustomed to temps way colder than that! Today, it was only -2 but we had our first snowfall of the winter season... A whole 2 inches (laughable by Chicago standards) which the kids were all excite about. So we got all dressed in our ski wear and went up to our rooftop to try to build snowmen. After sweeping up most of the snow on our rooftop terrace, we had enough snow to build this mini snowman.

January 30th would've been my Dad's birthday. This time of year always evokes memories of him. He used to lead the Hip Sing Association lion dance troupe in the Argyle area of Chicago. I still remember him teaching the twenty and thirty something year old Chinese guys how to do the dance while he played the big drum. My brother and I would be on the sidelines watching every move with glee. Then on the usually freezing day of the performance, we would get all wrapped up in our winter snow gear and follow the lion dance parade around all the Chinese businesses in the neighbourhood until our toes couldn't take the cold anymore. So every time I see a lion dance around Chinese New Year, a wave of memories come flashing back into my head. We took Alexandre and Jean Michel to see the lion dance parade at the Hotel de Ville in Paris last weekend, and I was impressed by the thousands of people who were there to see it, and even more amazed at the number of Chinese associations wh...

Boeuf Bourguignon (Beef Stew in Red Wine) adapted from Julia Child's recipe Well, it's hit zero degrees in Paris today, and as I knew I wouldn't spend too much time outside, I decided to make a nice, heartwarming stew to warm up everyone's tummies this evening. One of the French stews I have always wanted to master is Boeuf Bourguignon. It's similar to a beef stew that my Dad used to make when I was a kid, except the Chinese version didn't include a bottle of red wine! Dad's version included such Chinese flavors as oyster sauce and star anise. I like to cook by taste, which I often find emanates from memories of flavors and aromas tasted. So I decided to add one star anise to my boeuf bourguignon, and found that it delicately spices up the carrots and the beef in a slightly sweet way. It can be overpowering, so I tossed it in the pot only halfway through the cooking. As Julia writes in her book, Mastering the Art of French Cooking , there are more wa...

Chinese Gambling Rice So, I finally got around to my next assignment from the Cooking Mamas: Chinese Gambling Rice, or “ pua kiao beng ” in the Teochew Chinese dialect of Singapore, from where this recipe originates. My fellow Cooking Mama, Eva, found this recipe and an evocative story about preserving ties to our cultural past through passing on family recipes, written by author Cheryl Lu-Lien Tan at: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/03/22/AR2011032202865.html I adore the history behind the name of this dish, which the author’s grandmother served to keep gamblers in their seats longer, instead of having to leave her illicit gambling den in search of food. That’s a practical and smart woman for you --  serve a rice dish that gamblers can hold in one hand while continuing to gamble.  While reviewing the list of ingredients, I could already smell and just about taste the familiar aroma of rich Chinese black mushrooms (which are believed t...

Something about living in Paris inspires the chef in everyone. Not only have I started my own home-based cake and cupcakes business, I've also joined a group of 3 cooking mamas + 1 (me). 2 of the cooking mamas are fellow Asian women who moved to Paris with their European husbands and children. We met through a great group of Asian women who had been meeting socially once a month, and then we decided that this group was so meaningful to us that we volunteered to set up a Board, to keep the group going. We are now known as the Asian Women's Association of Paris (www.awa-paris.com), we have 80+ members and we keep growing with each new event. So, now back to my assignment! As part of this group of Cooking Mamas, we are supposed to try 2 new recipes/menus a month. My first assignment was Paris Bresse ( poulet de Bresse farci avec asperges ) or Stuffed Bresse chicken with asparagus. Recipe here:  http://www.saveur.com/article/Recipes/Stuffed-Bresse-Chicken-with-Asparagus I only ...

Blogged about by a gourmet food lover with her own cooking blog. Thanks Eva!  http://baguslahandsedaptoo. wordpress.com/

My little business mentioned in Parisian Style blog: lourivka: Creamy time : "Depuis un moment déjà les cupcakes connaissent un succès fou. Les gourmandes que nous sommes chez Lourivka Chineuses de style n’ont pas manq..."

I was recently at a branch office of my bank on Avenue Emile Zola in the 15eme depositing a check, and I had a question about filling out the envelope so I went to the  acceuil (reception) desk. During this time, a French woman came into the small agence . When I turned around to go back to the ATM, she was just finishing up filling in her envelope and we both approached the ATM at the same time. She pushed in front of me brusquely saying that she was here first. I corrected her and said I was there before her, but whatever, I told her to go ahead and “ pas de soucis ” ( no worries). She continued to grumble, and I told her there was no need to be rude, I was already letting her go first. She told me to go back to my own country. I said: “yes, you French are all racist (not that I meant ALL French, of course, but people like her)” So she told me again to leave France. This is the 3rd time since arriving in Paris that I’ve been confronted by such direct racism in my...

My kids are spoiled. They have not only come to expect birthday parties each year -- they also have started to request the exact theme of the party and the design of the birthday cake that they want to have. So, this year, as Jean-Michel is about to turn 4 years old, he requested a dragon cake. But he loves dinosaurs as well. So, I made this dragon/dinosaur cake! After sharing this photo with a number of friends and acquaintances here, I've started to get orders for other children's birthday cakes! Why not? I can do something I love to do, and start a little business! Strangely enough, in the pastry and gourmet mecca of the world, there IS a shortage of places in Paris where one can find novelty cakes and cupcakes that Americans are used to. So, let's see where this may lead...

I can't believe it's been 1/1-2 years since we moved from Hong Kong to Paris! It's hard for me to answer the question: "So how do you like Paris?" Where can I start? It's a beautiful city, and I've met a diverse group of people from all over the world, mainly tapping into the local, international community through our children's bi-lingual international school, and through a group of Asian women living here. But, as anyone who lives or has lived in Paris before, life here comes with its frustrations...

Hard to believe, it's been 9 months already! Jean-Michel is now a crawling, babbling, very loveable and cuddly baby, wanting to pull himself up to stand every chance he gets. He admires his brother Alexandre to no end. Every time he hears big brother's voice, he turns to scoot that way. Not quick on the dental development side of things, he has two little teeth on the bottom gums and 2 more just erupted on the top. EVERYTHING he picks up has to go into his mouth. Loves: looking through his little books, and tapping on his little drums, bathtime, a dip in the swimming pool, crawling and standing everywhere. I take him to Kindermusik once a week, and he seems to love clapping to music or falling asleep to it. So far, he sleeps quite well through the night, with the exception of the times he's been teething, or a little sick. And, maybe it's wishful hearing, but I swear he says "baba", "mama", and "dada" in all different ways. So far, he has s...

Jean-Michel turned 5 months this past week! Here he is smiling away... He's a sweetie. Alexandre has sort of gotten used to having a little brother around. It's your typical love/hate relationship. Developmentally, it's been an amusing time! A typical moment with Alexandre: I put down my bag on the hood of the car parked next to ours to get Alexandre out of his car seat, and as I was holding him in my arms while picking up my bag, he said: "Mommy, you put your bag on somebody else car?!" Me: "Yes, honey, just for a little while so I could get you out of the car." Alexandre: "Mommy, that's no good!" Hmm... What do you say to that? Jean-Michel is getting quite good at pushing himself up, and is just about to start turning onto his side. Whenever his big bro Alexandre is around, he just can't keep his eyes of of him! It's as if he's studying Alexandre's every move. He's a fiesty little one too. Smiles alot, but also will re...

What a lovely way to break into nursery... feeding rabbits outside, and making your own bread inside. Today, Alexandre started his 1st day at Highgate House School. As is tradition with all 1st timers, the school allowed parents to sit in during the 3 hour morning session. We only lasted 2-1/2 hrs, because Alexandre started to get tired... so next week, we'll probably just have him stay for 2 to 2-1/2 hours, and gradually build up to the full 3-hour session. With rabbits, slides and a garden to play in outdoors, plenty of free play and activities to choose from, he seemed to really enjoy his time there. Next week is the real test, when I leave him there with the teachers and other kids. He seemed to be happy to play independently, with me in sight. Knowing him, he should be fine even without me in sight, as long as he is around other kids and has activities aplenty! He was especially pleased with himself when one of the teachers handed him a paper bag with his freshly baked bread ...