A glimpse of Ireland and chocolate petits pots de crme
We had five days to embrace it all.
I suppose that many would have thought that traveling to Ireland in early February was insane and crazy. At this point in time. And for such a short stay. Especially with, as it turned out, Lulu who happened to suffer a nasty cold as soon as we arrived.
Okay, maybe it was somehow a little crazy.
But then that was beautiful Ireland where we were going. Europe. With great family times; striking bold colors, mild weather, and this je-ne-sais-quoi outside that always speaks so clearly to my eyes, my camera. My heart.
A piece of home away.
Despite her cold and jet lag, Lulu soaked it all in. Its not often that she is able to see her cousins she had a lot of fun with them. To start, with Emily. An Irish one. Beautiful. Funny. Playful and cheeky. A wonderful friend to have.
We came to Ireland to attend a family reunion during which I found myself sitting at a table with thirty Irish relativessome of whom I knew, some who were new. I was glad to meet Odette again, the other French woman part of the family.
a fait du bien de parler franais, non ? (It feels good to speak French, right?) I told her as we stood in church after the ceremony. She smiled. Words were flowing more easily. Oh, youve already found a French mate, someone joked as he walked by us.
Of course, that day, in the true Irish tradition, we ate lamb and gravy and potatoes and salmon.
Whats the soup? I asked the waitress who was taking our orders and inquiring about appetizers first. Vegetables! she answered in a thick Irish accent I didnt recognize.
Vegetables! I repeated in a low voice to myself, in the hope of understanding better what that was going to mean. P. was sitting near me and hear her too. looked at me and laughed. Ill take the vegetable soup then, I replied, smiling. The soup was simple and vegetabl-y, even if in the end, I never managed to tell what vegetables were in it.
The few days that followed were filled with an afternoon in Dublin, a walk in Powerscourt Gardens, playing with Charlotte and Penny the cats, and more family dinners that, I knew, were going to turn into good memories in the coming years.
We started with Dublin.
A lovely afternoon. A little drizzly but with pleasant spells of sun. I wanted to visit Fallon and Byrne for its choice of foods; Avoca for its selection of housewares and its caf where we ended up enjoying a lunch of soup, ravioli and salads.
I love all the colors of the buildings! I told Kelley, Ps cousin, as we were walking the streets of Dublin. I noti! ced bold red and lime green painted doors; striking orange pavements and gray churches reminiscent of years of history; flowers and plants making the streets cheerful despite the light rain.
By late afternoon, we decided to stop at Butlers for hot chocolate.
The next day, we took a walk in the fabulous gardens of Powerscourt. In the Irish manner. The trees and flower arrangements looked stunning and our family stroll felt exotic and invigorating. Lulu and her cousin Cait strolled along happily, picking pebbles and playing in small puddles along the way.
It reminds me of our walk from two years ago, I told cousin Hugo.
It was just Irish and pretty.
During our stay, we ate brown bread; we had muesli and drank local apple juice in the morning; we enjoyed tasty cheddar and delectable yogurtsoh Irish yogurts, I already miss you so much! And, of course, we sipped many cups of tea while having random conversations about lifeokay, I will admit that I still cannot drink tea the Irish way.
One night, when all the cousins came for dinner, we enjoyed a dinner of beef stewed with mushrooms and Guiness, Jasmine rice and salad on the side. The next night, it was a dish of pork roast, chestnuts, potato gratin, lemon tart and almond cake with ras! pberries that made our bellies happy.
All, always, delicious and homemade.
Five days was short and full; exciting and tiring too. I already miss Dublin and the Irish family. Lulu too, I know, especially the cats and Emily.
But I am thankful for the memories and stories weve built there during our short stay.
One of those, in fact, revolved around chocolate too.
Tu y crois cela ? (Can you believe this?) I told my mother when I called to tell her we were safely home. It happened during one of our usual conversations following a trip overseas.
Quoi ? (What?) she asked, intrigued.
Lulu a appris dire le mot chocolat! (Lulu learned how to say the word chocolate!)
She did.
Elle dit cola!! (She says cola) I went on.
At first, I didnt know what Lulu meant when she used the word.
Cola? I asked one morning when we were in the kitchen, ready to have breakfast. What is cola?
I walked to the counter top and then, suddenly, she proudly pointed at the bar of dark chocolate I had left on the counter top the night before. Ohhhh chocolat! I said.
Since then, shes been asking for chocolate at breakfast, lunch and dinner. I think she likes to say the word. She likes that she understands and knows it.
Its irresistible.
And I am afraid that every time she will use it, I will have a hard time saying no.
How could I really say Non to chocolate?
Hence this was how these chocolate petits pots de crme ended up on our table. For her. For us.
Lulu ate hers plain. I topped ours with tiny pieces of ! apples sauted in butter, sugar and vanilla.
Bliss!
You might not believe me if I told you how quickly six jars disappeared in our household.
I blame Ireland for it.
But I like it this way.
Appropriate for a casual treat, adult and children alike, or for a special occasion that involves the buzz word chocolate. Monday, Valentines day perhaps, anyone?
You need:
- 2 egg yolks
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup blond cane sugar
- 3 oz (80 g) 64% dark chocolate
- 1 cup coconut milk
- 1 cup + 3 tablespoons milk (2 %)
- 4 cardamom pods
- 1/2 vanilla bean, split open and seeds scraped out
For the topping:
- 1 apple, peeled, cored and diced in tiny pieces
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1 tablespoon blond cane sugar
- 1 vanilla bean
Steps:
Comments