Archive for September, 2009


The cookie crumbles

Tuesday, September 29th, 2009

I try not to complain too much (oh, who am I kidding? I complain all the time) but I really was a little blue this weekend. Paris has been basking in the hot sunshine of an Indian summer and when the weather is beautiful I miss having CK around to share it. So, I was [...]

Julia and me

Friday, September 25th, 2009

I finally saw Julie and Julia this week — it came out in France on September 16 — and I was reminded all over again of how much I love Julia Child. I was also struck by the parallels between Julia’s life and my own. Julia was a trailing spouse — her husband, the lovely, supportive [...]

All points delicious in France

Tuesday, September 22nd, 2009

I’m so tickled by this postcard, which I found while browsing at Cartes d’Art (9 rue du Dragon, Paris, 6ème) this weekend! As you can see, there’s certainly no shortage of delicious food in France — the whole country is stuffed (quite literally) with regional specialties! Click here for a closer look. I especially like the nougat [...]

A year in a French market: Bouquet vivant

Friday, September 18th, 2009

Picture this: Three young American women, out for dinner in Paris. We’re all French speakers — indeed, my two friends are French education professionals, who have been speaking, reading, writing, living French for over fifteen years — so when the waiter props the blackboard menu on our table, we’re confident we won’t have any problems. [...]

Holy hot hammam!

Tuesday, September 15th, 2009

Have you ever been to a hammam? I hadn’t. Until last week, I’m not sure I could even accurately define “hammam” (it’s an Arabic word, meaning steam bath). Paris abounds with these Turkish baths, and when my friend Heather came to town, she had the bright idea of getting steamed and scrubbed. After extensive internet [...]

All about my book

Thursday, September 10th, 2009

Bonjour, mes amis! I am so, so, SO squeakily excited to share with you news about my first novel, Kitchen Chinese: A Novel about Food, Family and Finding Yourself, which Avon/HarperCollins will publish in February! I wrote the book while living in Beijing, and it’s based loosely on my experiences as a Chinese-American young woman [...]

Allez, les Bleus!

Monday, September 7th, 2009

It’s true that, in France, Les Bleus refers to the national soccer team — you know, le football. But there’s no reason not to steal their nickname for my own purposes, in this case a little blog playground game. Croque Camille tagged me last week, challenging me to find seven blue items in my home. I’ve had les [...]

A year in a French market: Wild (insert ingredient here) chase

Thursday, September 3rd, 2009

Do you ever get into one those moods where you must cook a certain, specific food? Maybe you have a craving, or maybe you’ve planned your dinner party menu, carefully considering each course. But then you can’t find a crucial element at the grocery store. And so the hunt begins… Such was the situation that [...]