When I heard about a new sweet shop opening in Zürich, you can imagine how excited I got.  Especially since the name of it had one of my favorite French words: Gourmandises.  You can also imagine my surprise then when I learned that the pastry chefs behind Les Gourmandises de Miyuko were not French, nor Japanese, but Swiss German.  This deserved some investigation…

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What sunny, sweet days we have had !  March 20th was not only the first day of spring, but also the Jewish holiday of Purim and Macaron Day too (Jour du Macaron in France).  I enjoyed the obligatory sweets, meaning those 3-cornered cookies called hamantaschen for Purim, with mun (poppy seed), prune and apricot fillings… and I stopped by Ladurée here in Zürich‘s old town to mark the occasion with a salted butter caramel macaron.  (Or two.)

But the weekend saw lots of other sweets too, including more cookies. With a friend in town, I was even busier in the kitchen than usual, making a few batches of my favorite crunchy oat, seed and nut granola (with dark chocolate and sea salt).   Getting crumble topping ready to cover ramekins filled with frozen summer berries.  And preparing rolls of cookie dough to bake at a moment’s notice (chocolate chip pretzel cookies and Nutella oat cookies). You can only imagine my reaction when my friend showed up herself with an enormous box of bakery cookies from London’s Assal Patisserie, as well as Persian nougat (known as Gaz). It was NowRuz, the Persian New Year, she told me. And enjoying these sweets made with saffron, pistachios and rosewater was a must.  I was certainly not going to argue.

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Last year my parents happened to be visiting us in Zürich from New York during Thanksgiving.  ”How perfect,” we all said.  We would recreate the holiday meal chez nous and uphold our family traditions – play the same music we play every year while we cook (Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue, and very loud), decorate the table together, put my mother in charge of her famous noodle pudding, and bake a turkey with all the trimmings.  Not taking any risks, my mom packed her suitcase in New York with Pennsylvania Dutch extra wide egg noodles (the only ones she has ever used in her highly-prized recipe), Thanksgiving themed napkins and table decorations, real American brown sugar, even her favorite canned pineapple to assure authenticity.  Sounds like the plans were laid to go on without a hitch…

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One thing is clear; I definitely want to return to Rovinj in Croatia’s Istria region. And when I do, I?ll be eating at the restaurant Blu again. I am just not sure whether I’ll be returning more for the view on the Adriatic, or for Chef Nikola Hrelja?s chocolate cake (bonus – I got his recipe, it’s below!). Read the rest of this story >>

With a couple of perfectly ripe bananas on my counter, the baking pans called out to me once again.  There’s nothing like the smell of fresh banana bread wafting through your entire home. Or that of banana macadamia chocolate chunk cookies too!  But I also had an enormous supply of the most moist, sweet Medjool dates – due not only to my obsession with them, but also to a funny misunderstanding at the farmer’s market the other day.  I had attempted in German to buy a (small !) box from an Italian, who was speaking Swiss German back to me!  But that’s a whole other story!

I couldn’t decide whether to make banana bread or to make one of my many recipes using those irresistible dates.  So… I didn’t.  And what resulted was a most delicious and tender banana date cake, which I will be making many more times in the future.

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I am not ready for Thanksgiving.  I have not read my pile of food magazines, all boasting special Turkey Day menu ideas and recipes.  I have not done my research and tracked down a 20 pound bird here in Switzerland.  I am still getting over having missed Halloween.  I was on the road, mostly in Paris, and aside from treating myself to a serious dose of excellent candy from Käramell (Paris’ Swedish candy shop), I didn’t celebrate Halloween as I usually enjoy doing.  I didn’t get to see any trick or treaters, with their fun, creative costumes and their big bags or baskets to fill, nor did I have the chance to bake spooky themed cookies or ghost shaped meringues.  But most especially, I missed out on making my annual pumpkin cake, which I normally do once we hit October.  So today, before I start thinking turkey,… I’m thinking pumpkin.

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Jewish holidays and food.  One simply goes with the other.  This is indisputable.  Certain symbolic foods and/or ingredients are sought out on special occasions, while others are avoided.  Food and observance are unconditionally linked, and it is often the case that we are either feasting or fasting, most likely the former.  And so, with the Eve of Yom Kippur at sundown on Wednesday, October 8th, we feast… before we fast (with a big feast to follow of course!).    

The final meal prior to sunset on Erev Yom Kippur provides us with the physical strength needed for the 25 hour fast of Yom Kippur.  The meal still needs to be somewhat light and easy to digest, and foods such as chicken and soup are common.  For those of you who observe this holiday, I wish you all an easy fast.

At the table where I’ll be eating tonight, the menu is as follows:

Matzoh Ball Soup

Homemade challot (traditional braided breads) served with honey

Chicken, boiled beef

Vegetables from soup – cabbage, carrots, leeks

Thinly sliced carrots cooked with honey and golden raisins

Fruit Salad (made with at least one dozen fruits, including fresh figs, mango, passion fruit, strawberries, grapes, mini kiwis, pineapple, orange and pears.  Red and golden raspberries added when serving)

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