A Cement Front Yard.

November 19, 2014November 19, 2014 | Jennifer Marcuson

I am just slightly behind posting schedule(about a month…), if you can’t tell! This was in early October, hence the pumpkin carving and sidewalk stooping. I’m missing being able to leave our front door wide open like this and just be outside. It’s cold and windy here already, and it seems the neighbors have all disappeared(to their warm homes). We live in Old Quebec City, and as you can see, we don’t have a yard. Our sidewalk serves as our yard, as does the large parking area on the other side of the road. That’s where the girls ride their bikes, color with chalk, collect leaves, and throw snowballs. We do have an amazing park across the boulevard that runs along the Saint Lawrence, but when I’m in the middle of dinner.. that doesn’t work so much. Often I do wish we had a yard, with grass, and trees. But we live in a city. We have cement. And you know what, it ain’t half bad. We have learned to love our cement yard, and frankly we’re missing it now as the ground is covered in snow. We miss seeing the neighbors sitting outside of their doors with a glass of wine before dinner, the girls being able to run down to Claude and Maryse’s place and hang out with them while they cook. We may not have a yard, but we have a beautiful little community that we are a part of. We share our stoops with each other, and invite each other in for visits. Winter can be long without that.

So I invite you to be a part of my virtual community, right here at La Bonne Maman. Come share your favorite recipe, wine, a silly story, or some good maman advice to help get us through this long winter ahead. I know I am going to need it….

If you or anyone you know are interested in contributing to the blog, please email me at hello.labonnemaman@gmail.com with your name and a little background about you, where you’re from, and what you might like to share with us, and we will make it happen!

I will be sharing our very first guest Maman tomorrow.. can’t wait!!!

summer days.. drifting away.

September 18, 2014 | Jennifer Marcuson

I am attempting to catch up on a whole lot of editing from the last two months.. I know. I know. Don’t ask me where the time has gone, I have no idea. I came across this set just now, and my heart sort of melted just a little bit. I miss these mornings of crêpes and blueberries, sidewalk chalk and watercolor painting, doors wide open and sunshine pouring in.. and Jospehine in my shoes. Although that really hasn’t changed much, it’s just boots now.

Anyway, I love these images. This is why I take pictures. For these kinds of memories. Nothing staged. Nothing planned. No stress. Totally relaxed. Totally loving life.

The last few images of me and Joey are taken by Maxime. She had been asking me that week if I would teach her how to use my camera, and this was our first lesson.

la bonne(nostalgic) maman

End of Summer Roasted Chicken

September 17, 2014 | Jennifer Marcuson

Soooo, I somehow failed to actually photograph the process when cooking this amazingly simple but yummmmmy meal last week. But at least I got the actual plate shot before I dove in! And let me tell you, it was de-li-cious.

I am a big fan of roasting the whole chicken when cooking for the clan, and here’s why:

the aroma.. the whole house smells like thanksgiving day while waiting for dinner to be ready. THE. BEST.
downtime: it’s a bit of preparation, but once the chicken is in, I have time to throw together the other sides, and then clean up the kitchen a bit before it’s time to eat!
leftovers. period.
chicken stock!! I never feel wasteful after roasting a chicken. we make use of the whole thing.. The stock, if jarred properly, can be used for months to come.

Inside of this particular chicken, which was roughly 3 1/2- 4 1/2 lbs, I used;

1 lemon, thinly sliced
2 cloves of garlic, halved
rosemary and thyme sprigs(to eye)

For the rub, I used;

extra virgin olive oil
ground himalayan pink salt
fresh ground pepper
rub the chicken well with the oil, and then rub in the salt and pepper (inside and out).. because I used the grinders, I just eyeball it. Make sure it’s covered well, and that when you’re rubbing it in, you can really feel the salt granules. To be perfectly honest, I almost never make the same recipe twice.. there’s always a little tweak here and there, and I encourage you to add/subtract your own touches to any recipe I share! I am no master chef here, just learning as I go along.

Ok, so I roasted it at 425 for 15 minutes, and then reduced the heat to 375 and roasted for another hour before removing it. I always baste the chicken throughout the cooking process.. keeps the skin crispy and golden, as that is one of my favorite parts to eat fresh out of the oven! I then let it sit for another 20 minutes before carving it. And let me tell you. Damn. It was so good. Seriously, the meat was so juicy and tender. I was pretty impressed with myself this particular evening!

Oh, and for the gravy, I just made a quick roue with a little water and flour, added it to the grease left in the pan, added a little salt and pepper, and cooked it down just a few minutes.. easy enough.

Paired up with some roasted asparagus and potatoes, and we had ourselves another perfect summer-to-fall transition meal.

la bonne maman

fleurs de l’ail

September 17, 2014 | Jennifer Marcuson

I was at the farmer’s market here in Québec city on Sunday with the girls, and I stopped at the garlic farm stand for a huge head of fresh garlic. I love garlic. I use it in almost everything, roasted or raw. I probably reek of it half of the time, but I don’t care. It makes EVERYTHING better. Soups, salads, fried rice, pestos, burgers, spinach, brussel sprouts, coucous and quinoa.. you name it. So I was surprised when I found this bag by the register as I was going to pay for my garlic, full of twisted, green, stalks that looked almost like a curly scallion, but firmer. I asked the farmer what they were, and she told me they were ‘fleurs de l’ail‘. Garlic flowers, or as we call them more commonly in english, Garlic scapes. Essentially, the stalk or flower that grows out from the bulb of the garlic.

I asked her what they were used for, and she told me pretty much anything that you might use garlic for. Some people like it because it’s a bit lighter, not quite as pungent, and the bright green color will brighten up any dish! I’ve been using them in my roasted potatoes, a risotto, a stock I made after roasting a chicken last week(posts on all of these things coming soon!). It’s essentially an easy additive to anything.

I looked up some info on these beauties on the website for The Garlic Farm, in Connecticut, not far from where I grew up. They give some awesome info and recipes on the garlic flower or scape. This one for a Garlic Scape Pesto sounds to die for! I think I am going to have to try it!

Do any of you have any good recipes using Garlic Flowers? If so, please share them with us!

la bonne maman

Cinq à Sept

September 10, 2014September 10, 2014 | Jennifer Marcuson

These days, I often feel very very scattered. I have thoughts and ideas and dreams and goals spewing from my ears (I mean like smoke shooting out both sides sort of shit). I have laundry piles that never seem to get folded, even though it feels like all I am ever doing is folding laundry. I have three businesses that I am attempting to build, two children that I am attempting to raise, and then there’s that marriage thing too.. I have friendships I adore and cherish and am always trying to find time for. I have my body, heart, and mind that I want to take care of.. (my mere 5k a week is all I’ve been finding time to fit in lately.) I haven’t been out for a ‘cinq à sept‘ (happy hour in french) in, well, I actually have no idea how long. Our happy hours currently consist of dinner and bath time.

These days, it seems, I spend most of my time in the kitchen. And ironically, this is by choice.. I mean, if you had asked me 6 years ago if I liked cooking, (let alone did it), I would have probably responded with something like, wait, what’s that??. The kitchen has become, for me, a place where I can focus. Where I can get creative. Where I can try new things. Where I can put on music and get messy and make mistakes and sip on some delicious red wine while doing it, of course.

And then, the best part at the end of all of this, is that I get to feed my people. And that grounds me and brings focus and calm and peace into my crazy, short, often stressful days. This is my new cinq à sept, and I must say, as surprised as my 27 year-old self is about it, I am totally ok with it.

It’s been chilling down at night here in Québec City, and I’m finding myself starting to crave some of my staple fall foods and spices. I threw this sort of play-by-play version of a sort of autumn swedish meatballs dish together with some frozen meat we had in the freezer and some fresh veggies the girls and I had picked up at Marché du Vieux Port on Sunday. My favorite part about living in a big farming community, is that you always have fresh, local stuff at your fingertips. The rosemary and thyme on the potatoes, and the little bit of allspice I threw in last minute into the meatball sauce(which I made with coffee creamer btw… ha!), added just the perfect touch of cool weather comfort, while the buttery corn still had us holding onto the tail end of this summer season.

I devoured my plate, and the girls ate about 2/3 of theirs, which is impressive for them. All in all, I think I can say that it was a pretty successful dish!