Spring's bounty & Pablo's weekly menu

I am posting our week's menu a bit late because of Monday's post for a good cause. And given its content, I have been especially grateful recently, for all the beauty and bounty Spring has brought us.

Today Pablo shelled fresh peas with his grandmother, eating five and putting one pea in the bowl for every pod. He tried to peel an onion. He tasted a radish and found it spicy. He kept munching on it anyway. He said, "Happy radis". I guess Pablo thinks radishes are a happy food. And he's become quite the radish connoisseur, from French radishes to watermelon radish to black radish.

His table vocabulary has expanded lately, and we hear a whole lot of "Mm, bon" (Yum, good) at the table. He's starting to know his foods, to have his idiosyncrasies. He likes to drink soup from the bowl, to dip his bread in vinaigrette, to drizzle that vinaigrette over his asparagus, to sprinkle the sugar over his plain yogurt. He's creating his rituals.

Is there anything warmer to a mother's heart? Not just that he appreciates what we cook for him, but also that these positive associations will hopefully remain an integral part of his childhood. There's such a tight bond between food, family and childhood.

Life is full of messiness. Well, mine is anyway. Things undone, piled up. Unresolved and pending. There's tiredness and juggling, sadness and worry. But then, there's joy. Tonight, I was able to put all those things aside for the time of a meal, a spring meal in the growing evening light, of young peas and onions and carrots and herbs, all to the tune of "Happy holidays", because Pablo is obsessed with that song and asks to listen to it every night at dinnertime. I just realized, writing this, how appropriate it is: mealtimes are happy holidays for us, from the drearier parts of life.

Tonight, there was laughter and joy at the table. Youth, felt by all generations.

Immensely blessed and grateful for that.

Turkey eggs, we tried for the first time this week. 

On to the week's menu.

Cheeses of the week: Following French tradition, I always offer a little bit of cheese at the end of every meal, between the main course and dessert. Rotation this week: Roquefort, Port Salut (cow cheese), Goat brie, truffle Italian cheese.

Desserts: At lunch, I offer a fruit yogurt (or plain yogurt with fresh fruit), but at night, I prefer sticking to plain yogurt (regular homemade* whole milk, sheep’s milk, goat's milk and Greek yogurt for extra protein) to avoid too much sugar before bedtime.

If you would like a particular recipe on the menu, feel free to contact me! (I marked with a * the recipes that will be the topic of upcoming posts).

MONDAY

Lunch - OUT at Le Pain Quotidien (great kids menu with ham cheese tartine, cucumber and carrots with dill aioli, cup of fruit, along with gazpacho and avocado shared with mom.)


Goûter (4pm snack) – Chocolate pudding, kiwi

Dinner
Appetizer / Finger Foods: Grated carrots French-style, watermelon radish
Main course: Chicken basquaise

TUESDAY

Lunch
Appetizer / Finger Foods: Sauteed red chards, orange, goat cheese salad inspired by Vanilla Bean
Main course: Leftover Chicken basquaise over buttermilk quinoa

Goûter - Apple-strawberry compote

Dinner
Appetizer / Finger Foods: Oysters on the half shell
Main course: Turkey eggs sunny side up, sauteed brown beech mushrooms with garlic & rosemary, flageolets beans French-style


WEDNESDAY

Lunch
Appetizer / Finger Foods: Green asparagus with vinaigrette, saucisson
Main course: Smoked salmon, avocado, quinoa

Goûter – Banana-peach compote

Dinner
Appetizer / Finger Foods: Spring pea salad, French radishes
Main course: Pan fried lamb chops with vegetable jardinière (using green garlic, baby turnips and fresh peas!)

THURSDAY

Lunch
Appetizer / Finger Foods: Green beans, potato, spring onion (from my friend's garden) & feta salad
Main course: Steak tartare (you know, the raw meat stuff) with butter lettuce in tarragon pesto dressing from Food Loves Writing

Goûter - Pear-blueberry compote

Dinner
Appetizer / Finger Foods: Pea, edamame, mint soup from Gourmande in the kitchen
Main course: Dover sole fillets with micro-radish potato puree

FRIDAY

Lunch

Appetizer / Finger Foods: Sauteed French radishes and fava beans, another recipe from Gourmande in the kitchen !
Main course: Shrimp with lime over coconut rice

Goûter - Muscat grapes

Dinner - OUT (I'm afraid I'm getting a year older hopefully wiser...)

SATURDAY

Lunch - OUT

Goûter - Apple

Dinner
Appetizer / Finger Foods: Watercress sorrel soup
Main course: Mustard pork tenderloin with blue potatoes

SUNDAY

Lunch - OUT

Goûter - Mango compote

Dinner
Appetizer / Finger Foods: Endive, almond, blue cheese salad
Main course: Ham, vegetable noodles

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