Roland Garros

Just a day before the opening of the French Open 2010, there was a charity event for the children, and it's open for the public at Roland Garros.  Basically you can see bunch of player playing.  It was very cool because when I was teenager I was crazy about Pete Sampras, and my uncle who were at that time living in Australia would send me almost his 'Tennis' magazine.  And of course I crop all of his photo and put it somewhere in a more special book.  Anyway, here's the photo from the event.

The court

The Children are crazy about autograph on the big tennis ball

Monfils

Bahrami and Grosjean resting in between their double game, isn't the umbrella boy cute? 

The court is prepared for the next game

the crowd doing their wave

The enthusiastes sons, it was really hot that day so it's only fair if they take their top off!

Le Bastringue

Last weekend it was a super beau weather... After my french class, he picked me up and we ate at the restaurant at the corner of Riquet et Quai de la Seine at the 19th arrondissement.  I never been here before.  But it was actually me who convinced him to try this place.  Because everytime I pass this resto, there're always pack of people, and you can see what they eat because the tables and chairs are everywhere at the pathway..

Both of us ordered Dorage.  But what excite me was the side dish, baked cauliflower and cheese. 

Il a pris charlotte fraise pour le dessert, et un verre de mousse chocolat pour moi!

Waiting for the professional photographer to finish his job so we can eat the food

We'll comeback next week!

Heartbeat

I would say that this is the most simple thing I've put together. I had been falling in love with this super little ball-chain and this swarovski heart-shape crystal in my favorite color, champagne, not sure what its called in the Swarovski color-chart, have been in my keepsake for a loongg time and not sure how to make something beautiful with it. Who knows that I end up with something so simple. Something that you can wear everyday..

Beef Ravioli in Tomato Sauce and Crème Brûlée

It was a lazy afternoon and I didn't feel like cooking anything serious, I just bought a ready made beef ravioli and thought that it would be just enough to have a portion of that for lunch. Little did we know, we went way out of proportion.  Along with the 500g of the pasta, I made the sauce with four kinds of onions and a can of peeled tomato.

The detail ingredient goes:

1 red onion

1 yellow onion 

2 shallots

3 cloves of garlic

1 can of pelled tomato

Salt, Pepper

3 tbsp of Olive Oil 

And cheese as much as you like

Heat up the pan, add olive oil, add the onions until it is somehow transparent, then add the shallots, and last the garlic.  Keep it moving, and add the tomato, add salt pepper.  Boil the ravioli depends on the package direction.  And serve with cheese.  Depends on your country, you can add almost any sprinkled cheese.  I think in US you use cheddar cheese a lot, and here in France we use emmental more often.  The point is just to have a hint of cheese.  

For the healthiness sake, I serve these with a simple green salad: any kinds of lettuce and fresh tomato.  The sauce? honey, dijon mustard, salt, pepper, red wine vinegar, salt and pepper.  The measurement is as free as your imagination. 

Well well, the lunch, unfortunately, don't stop there.  We decided to close the meal with something sweet --this is what I mean when I said goes out of proportion..

Thought that this pack of 4 ready-made crème brûlée would feed our desire

With Moulinex A 154.51 INOX toaster we made a real good crème brûlée.  I follow the direction from the packet step by step.  Firstly, take off the top foil, sprinkle them with a dash of sugar.  Secondly, heat up the broiler (for my case: the toaster) Thirdly, tilt the toaster over and place it on top of the crème brûlée container like this below:

wait for 20 minutes, and.. 

a beautiful crème brûlée with perfect crispy caramelized sugar on top has been born

Err, not too long anyway.. *burp* now let's take a nap!

Caramelized Apple

Evolution of this post, I tried to modify the filling of my crêpe.  Instead of the Frozen Banana, I tried to make a caramelized apple.

2 apples --deskinned and sliced

2 tbsp butter

2 tbsp sugar

2 tsp cinnamon

Heat up a pan, melt the butter, bring the fire to medium, add the apples, let it cook for couple of minutes.  Dash in the sugar, keep them moving, and add in the cinnamon.  Make sure that the apple are tenderly cooked.  You can add the sugar and the cinnamon depend on how you like it. 

I used the red apple. You can try it with the green apple, it might bring up the flavor more but perhaps it would take longer to cook since it has different texture.  This is the filling for my crêpe this morning, but I think this can also be a filling to a pie.  Or if you love apple, and don't mind to gain weight, you can eat this alone for your breakfast.. no I am kidding. 

Banana Bread with Bread Maker Machine

When I was studying at the university, my breakfast, almost if there was a morning class, were a piece of banana bread and a Starbucks bottled frappuccino vanilla that I bought in a little cafe in front of my building.  I had a thought about wanting to eat it for like two weeks, so I decided to browse the recipe and make one for myself. Here is the recipe, 

1 1/2 cup of banana --smashed

1/3 cup of butter --melted

1 cup of sugar --you can reduce it to three-forth if you don't want it to be too sweet

1 egg --beaten

1 tsp vanilla 

4g or half sachet of levure chimique --I think this also replace the baking soda 

1 pinch of salt

1 1/2 cups of flour

Mix the banana and the butter.  Add the sugar, egg, vanilla, baking soda, and salt and slowly fold in the flour.  After all sorta mixed nicely, you put into the bread maker machine, or machine à pain, choose the method "cook" or "bake" or if yours is like mine, choose the method number 12, "cuire". Let it bake for an hour, and that's it! 

The Cloud and the Bridge Part 2

 Took a boat to Gare d'Austerlitz, it stopped just under the Cité de la Mode et du Design

The captain taking a smoke break at the dock. 

But as expected, the percipitation started to get harder, and I end up hiding under the roof or a building around until another boat came and take us back.

This is underneath the Cité de la Mode et du Design, where it protected me from the rain

I am not alone, there're the skater boys practicing their moves

Looking at the Pont de Bercy

A couple of enthusiast bicyclist passing through the building and Pont de Bercy passed by the Metro.  There is something seriously romantic about Paris when a train passing by the bridge.

Wet.  Not so much a chance of promenade today.

The Cloud and the Bridge Part 1

It was very cloudy in Paris, but I really wanted to get out that day... 

Looking through the southeast of the two of the four skyscrapers of François Mitterrand Bibliothèque 

The complex was so big that as if there is a forest inside the library, here is the multimedia link to have a look around.

Encore, la bibliothèque under the cloudy sky

The stair is going down to the Quai François Mauriac, just by the side of La Seine.

Walking through the bridge to get to the other side of La Seine. This bridge, in fact, is only for the pedestrians, not even a bike can go through.

View through the screen of the bridge.

The Parisienne take advantage of the velib' --except for the monsieur in blue pullover. It's basically a rentable bicycle.  This transportation system started in the Summer 2007 and by far only available in Paris. 

On the southeast side of the bridge.  Plenty of boats parked on the side of the Seine, most of them are restaurants, just like the red boat you see in the picture. 

You know you're in Paris when you spot lovers everywhere

Even under the bridge...