David Lebovitz

Panforte

2012-02-08T20:05:17Z

I’ve been going through my kitchen cabinets, and refrigerator…and freezer…and desk drawers, which has meant unearthing all sorts of odds and ends. Some were long-forgotten for a reason, and others brought back fond memories. Like the Pyrex glass container in my refrigerator encasing some remarkably well-preserved slices of candied citron. When I pulled the sticky citrus sections out, I realized that they don’t look quite as pretty as they did last year – which is okay, because neither do I – but they still tasted great. And the flavor of candied citron prompted me to make something I love: panforte.

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Pear-Fennel Soup

2012-02-05T20:14:18Z

I just learned a few more words to add to my French vocabulary while in the throes of remodeling this week. I already wrote about the five or six words in French for sink. And I finally got the difference between a mitigeur and a robinet (a mitigeur has one knob “mixes” the water, and a robinet has two knobs). Fortunately the word is the same no matter what size sink you have. Well, unless you have a commercial sink, in which case it’s a mélangeur. So if you ever come to France and want to find a faucet for a hospital sink, you can thank me for saving you three weeks of work.

Speaking of work, my quest for regular floor tiles finally came to an end last Friday. I was looking for off-white tiles that had to meet three criteria; 1) They couldn’t be insanely expensive (which wiped out about three-quarters of the tiles I saw), 2) They couldn’t have beige in them (Why would anyone want white tiles tinted with beige, which right out of the box makes them look old and dirty?), and 3) They couldn’t be ugly. (I know they’re just going to see the bottom of your shoes, but why are the majority of tiles ugly?)

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Helmut Newcake, Gluten-Free Bakery in Paris

2012-02-02T17:45:55Z

Ever since I heard word it, I’ve been anxious to try Helmut Newcake, what’s been heralded as the first gluten-free bakery in Paris. While a couple of bakeries and natural food shops offer gluten-free bread, they’re invariably made somewhere where other breads are made (risking cross-contamination with wheat flour), or the salesclerks simply stack the gluten-free breads with the regular ones, which is little comfort to those who can’t tolerate eating gluten.

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Lille, Aux Moules, and a Sink

2012-01-31T14:19:23Z

“Three weeks?! Is that all?” they laughed uproariously, as a response to my telling folks at a dinner party the other night about how much trouble I was having finding things like sinks, tiles, light fixtures, and so forth, for the renovations of my apartment. I literally spent weeks and weeks combing plumbing catalogs, scoping out a myriad of stores devoted to kitchen fixtures, and relying heavily on our friend, the internet, in search of a plain, large, white sink.

I don’t want swoops and swirls, (and I only have one more Ikea visit left in me, and I’m banking that for something really important) – I want a generous basin that’s large enough to hold a few pots and pans. And I’m not interested in a purple or green one. You wouldn’t think it would be all that hard – and neither did I – but after three solid weeks (and I mean, twenty-one days and twenty-one nights), I finally found one in France. The only problem? It was in Lille.

As I’ve shown many friends here, tout est possible, so we decided to make a day trip up to the city in the North, just a few hours from Paris, and while there, eat some of the local fare. Because things are so frantic right now — imagine if I took me three weeks to find a sink…then I really need to get cracking on a toilet, a towel bar, kitchen cabinet handles, a soap dish, and light bulbs — so I don’t have a huge amount of time.

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Paris Pastry Guide E-Book

2012-02-06T10:23:29Z

I’m excited to announce the release of the e-book of my Paris Pastry Guide!

With over 300 addresses for the best places in Paris for chocolates, pastries, and other confections, this comprehensive guide is the perfect sweet companion for your trip to Paris. But even if you’re not planning a trip, there’s plenty of pictures to so you can enjoy the scrumptious pastries of Paris – wherever you are!

The Paris Pastry e-book is available in three formats:

E.Pub: For the iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch, Sony eReader, Kobo, and Blackberry.

Mobi: For Kindle, MobiPocket, and Calibre.

Kindle: The Kindle version is available on Amazon.

They can be downloaded via the Paris Pastry website. It will soon be available in the iBooks bookstore and Barnes & Noble (Nook). To be alerted when they’re ready, follow Paris Pastry on Twitter or Facebook.

For a limited time, until February 14th, to celebrate the release of the e-book, the price of the Paris Pastry Guide through the Paris Pastry website is only $2.99 (regularly $4.99).

So get your copy today, to save…and savour!

FAQs

Will the e-book be updated like the app?

Yes, it will.

Is the map in the e-book aligned with a GPS system?

Yes, it is. So if you tap on a link, a map will open that will take you there. You will need to have an internet connection to use that feature. For those with other mobile devices, and iPad users, the e-book will work on those devices.

In the app, because people often have to pay substantial roaming charges, we attached the addresses to a fixed map. So if you want a map that is linked to Google maps, you might wish to consider downloading the e-book or the Kindle version.

(We are working on an Android version of the app, and appreciate your patience. There’s no need to leave a message or comment requesting an Android version because it it already something under consideration; if you’d like to be notified when it’s available, follow Paris Pastry on Twitter or Facebook. Although I don’t have an Android-enabled device, according to the publisher, you can read the e-book on Android devices using the Kobo app.)

I have an iPad. Which version should I buy?

The app available in the iTunes store will work fine, although it’s formatted for the iPhone and to save on roaming charges, the maps in the iPhone app do not require an internet connection (they aren’t attached to Google maps). The book is formatted for larger size reading devices, such as the iPad, and the maps are linked to Google maps, which work with an internet connection.

Is there going to be a printed book available?

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I’m not complaining…

2012-01-27T18:03:20Z

During my first week of French class, many years ago, one of the very first words we learned was râleur, or complainer. Back then, I wasn’t sure why our teacher was making sure we understood that particular word, but I’ve come to realize why it’s so important now. I’m not one to râle, or complain (although there are likely scores of people I’ve worked with over the years who would say otherwise), but this last week has been really hard.

At the beginning of the week, I walked into my place under full construction – everything covered with plaster dust, tarps strewn everywhere, random wiring in tangles all over the place, big gaping holes that one could easily fall through, with a lone toilet lurking in the corner. In short, the place is just able to accommodate only the most basic of human needs. (Food was represented by an empty package of cookies, and sex..well…Iet’s just say in its present condition, the place doesn’t exactly lend itself to romantic interludes.) But let’s not rule out any for the future, okay?

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Wild Rice Salad with Roasted Vegetables and Lemon-Tahini Dressing

2012-01-25T14:32:08Z

Over the past few weeks, I’ve been trying to use up things I already have in the cupboard, plus eat seasonally, plus make things that are relatively easy to make – and this salad fit the bill on all counts. It combines tahini with wild rice and used up some of the marvelous root vegetables that I can’t help buying at the market, even though I should be using up what I’ve already got on hand. It’s not the prettiest salad in the world, but compared to what I didn’t show you of my refrigerator, that bowl should be hanging in the Louvre.

Speaking of which, I’m only going to give you a glimpse of my jam-packed refrigerator (and I mean literally, there are over a dozen jars of assorted jams in there) because I don’t want my refrigerator scrutinized. Not that I’m ashamed of having a bottle of bbq sauce and some store-bought feta, but, well, my refrigerator is sort of a disaster at the moment, and I’m hoping to take care of that shortly. (Although I’ve been saying that since November…of 2007.)

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Ma lampe de cuisine

2012-01-22T07:56:24Z

Excuse the pun, but it’s been very illuminating hunting down a light for my kitchen. I’m not sure if it’s because of the high price of electricity in France, or what, but sometimes it feels like I’m living in a country of Jewish mothers whose goal it to keep lights off as much as possible. Yet with the high price of electricity, and the debate over the proliferation of nuclear power plants in France – (we’re #2!), it’s no wonder people are happy to be kept in the dark.

Every time I go to my eye doctor for an exam, I’m always surprised when I enter the waiting room. And once my eyes adjust, I see that the dim room has no reading lights, and the people are perched in chairs, squinting their eyes to read their magazines. So although one of our former US presidents is rumored to have said that the French don’t have a word for entrepreneur, I beg to differ and think it’s a pretty good way to ensure future patients. Although I will confess that it’s a little uncomfortable explaining to the eye doctor why I am carrying a flashlight to my appointment.

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Le Siffleur de Ballons

2012-01-19T06:44:00Z

It wouldn’t be the first time, but I almost had an accident on my bike when I was heading to yet another tile store (who knew is was going to be so hard to find plain, white tiles?), and raced past a new place on my list. I had the usual 4 second debate in my head whether I should stop and grab a bite and a glass of wine, before I made the decision to grind myself to a halt and hitch my bike to a signpost.

Fortunately no one else was injured, but let’s just say that I think I need to lower my bike seat a little in case I have to brake unexpectedly in the future. (Well, at least if I ever want to have children, that is.) However I did manage to save the baguette and the croissant in my bike basket, so I think it was a decent trade-off.

It was actually my third visit to Le Siffleur de Ballons this month. My first was when I was planning to meet my friend Theresa for drinks and a snack and due to an e-mail misunderstanding (you would think someone would have come up with a snappy name for that by now, a mash-up, like ‘spendy’ or ‘bromance’…I tried to come up with something but have other things on my mind at the present) but while I waited for her, I had a few glasses of Cheverny while I balanced myself on one of the metal stools, which I eyed for my new apartment, and talked to the counter woman.

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New Digs

2012-01-25T14:55:52Z

Well, I did it. After nearly ten years of living in Paris, I am finally going to have a place that I can call my own. After dipping my feet in, and checking apartments from time-to-time, I decided that it was time I went ahead and did it. So I bought my own apartment.

Hunting for an apartment in Paris is quite an adventure; there’s no multiple listings like there are in other countries (and it’s estimated that over half the apartments in Paris get sold directly by the owners), so you need to spend an inordinate amount of time searching online, in the newspapers, and in real estate agency windows. And since each agency will only show you what is offered by their particular agency – and some real estate agents have a less-than-stellar reputation here – it’s a process that takes a combination of luck, timing—and of course, plenty of time.

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