124 replies to this topic

[Franci]

The children's plate and then ours






In the morning my son starts school by 8:45 and I pick him up for lunch at 11:20. He goes back to school at 1:30 pm and comes back at 4:30. This leaves me with very little time to prepare lunch and to shop.
I do need to go to butcher and I would like to go to the market de La Condamine, another district in Monaco by the port, I'll see at what time I manage to leave the house.
It's 11 pm at my time, so time to sleep.

[Shelby]

The children's plate and then ours

[url="http://i1270.photobucket.com/albums/jj619/Franciuk/Blog/egullet%20food%20blog/Mondayduckforthechildren.jpg"]http://i1270.photobu...thechildren.jpg[/url]

[url="http://i1270.photobucket.com/albums/jj619/Franciuk/Blog/egullet%20food%20blog/mondayduckforus.jpg"]http://i1270.photobu...ayduckforus.jpg[/url]


In the morning my son starts school by 8:45 and I pick him up for lunch at 11:20. He goes back to school at 1:30 pm and comes back at 4:30. This leaves me with very little time to prepare lunch and to shop.
I do need to go to butcher and I would like to go to the market de La Condamine, another district in Monaco by the port, I'll see at what time I manage to leave the house.
It's 11 pm at my time, so time to sleep.

Wow! Over 2 hours for lunch! Do some students eat at school, or does everyone go home?

[annabelle]

Granted it was 30 years ago, but one of my friend's did a year of study in Aix-au-Provence, and she said all the mothers took their children home for lunch. They also took them to school in the mornings and picked them up in the afternoons.

Is it the same way in Monaco, Franci? Also, is your child's school taught in French?

[heidih]

Those are some lovely looking potatoes. Just pan fried? The duck skin looks crispy. Do the children eat the skin? The greens look perfect as well - just heated in the pan? So I take it you are mostly a daily shopper?

[SylviaLovegren]

Is there a local cuisine in Monaco?

I'm just loving this.

[Mjx]

. . . .
In the morning my son starts school by 8:45 and I pick him up for lunch at 11:20. He goes back to school at 1:30 pm and comes back at 4:30. This leaves me with very little time to prepare lunch and to shop.
I do need to go to butcher and I would like to go to the market de La Condamine, another district in Monaco by the port, I'll see at what time I manage to leave the house.
It's 11 pm at my time, so time to sleep.

That sounds familiar, my mother went through that when I was small (I'd been wondering whether you shopped every day, and how you managed it). Since your son's morning school is relatively brief, does it mean you don't need to make something like a merenda for him to take with him?

I know you've mentioned that, relatively speaking, the selection of groceries there is a bit limited, but I still envy you, and your food looks delicious!

[Franci]

Morning!

Also this morning I got up at 6 o'clock. First thing, I put my coffe on. We also have a Nespresso machine but I do prefer my old bialetti and leave the Nespresso for a midmorning and afternoon coffee.

Wow! Over 2 hours for lunch! Do some students eat at school, or does everyone go home?

To answer also to Annabelle, if the parents are both working than the children can eat at school. Since I stay at home my son comes home. Also Wednesdays are optional days of school. And yes, the school is in French

Those are some lovely looking potatoes. Just pan fried? The duck skin looks crispy. Do the children eat the skin? The greens look perfect as well - just heated in the pan? So I take it you are mostly a daily shopper?

If you noticed Heidi, the potatoes for the children look nicer...I attended to them, while for us, I left for the doctor. They are oven roasted in duck fat. My son doesn't like the duck skin, he used to love fish skin but he is getting pickier by the day.

Is there a local cuisine in Monaco?

I'm just loving this.

I've seen a couple books at the local bookstore. It is a mix between Ligurian food and Nicoise. Some specialties are Barbagiuan, some little calzones stuffed with chards...but I do not know much.

[Franci]

. . . .
In the morning my son starts school by 8:45 and I pick him up for lunch at 11:20. He goes back to school at 1:30 pm and comes back at 4:30. This leaves me with very little time to prepare lunch and to shop.
I do need to go to butcher and I would like to go to the market de La Condamine, another district in Monaco by the port, I'll see at what time I manage to leave the house.
It's 11 pm at my time, so time to sleep.

That sounds familiar, my mother went through that when I was small (I'd been wondering whether you shopped every day, and how you managed it). Since your son's morning school is relatively brief, does it mean you don't need to make something like a merenda for him to take with him?

Sometimes I really struggle to fit everything...I do not shop everyday, more every other day. I like the idea of having very fresh ingredients but for my mental health I know I need a little planning. When I'm very short of time or energy I call Manuela at the vegetable stall in Beausoleil and see if she delivers.
For my son I have to provide two snacks: one for the morning, one for the afternoon. Mornings I'm giving him only some vegetables: some cherry tomatoes, few slices of cucumber, because otherwise he is not hungry enough to have a regular meal at lunch. For afternoons I give him a small muffin or a cookie. I wanted to give fruit but from morning to afternoon most fruits do not keep well, specially when gets warmer, and the picky one doesn't like peel, doesn't like seeds etc. I'd like to cut sweets all together but with other children in school it's almost impossible. At least he is eating homemade sweets with the ingredients I'm fine with.


So, this morning, when the children woke up, after days, I had a fried egg.



My dauther spits out scones, muffins or cookies. But she LOVES smoked salmon, so I had a slice of salmon myself. I only buy Alaskan wild.

Edited by Franci, 08 May 2012 - 06:41 AM.

[Franci]

Since I got up so early, I had the time to make a sauce for pasta. I defrosted some rabbit pieces I saved from legs and loins. Made the usual soffritto (brunoise of onion, carrot, celery), saute the meat, little white wine, some chopped tinned tomatoes and left to simmer slowly.

I decided to skip the Condamine market this morning. I headed to the Casino to take some pictures of caffes nearby.
I took a picture of the cafe' the Paris, in front of the Hotel the Paris. But the wheater was not nice, not much people around so I decided to go to the Metropole shopping center instead. You can see they are building the fences for the Grand Prix.




At the ground floor of the Metropole there is a Fnac cafe'



Next to it the very fancy Hediard






teas



coffees



foie gras and preserves



jellies




There is also a Fauchon




At the ground floor there is FNAC. So I decided to get in and see some book on Monegasque cooking

There is a nice book from Ducasse with many addresses. First pages dedicated to Formia...



I quickly flipped through another small book. Some barbagiuan, torte de blette, some stockfish recipes



Inside the shopping center there is also a Laduree and a Comtesse du Barry if you are interested in some caviar or foie gras. I wanted to take some pictures but I was left with 30 minutes...

Edited by Franci, 08 May 2012 - 06:43 AM.

[Simon_S]

I'm loving this, and it's great to get an insight into how "normal" people live in Monaco (if that's not insulting?!)

I got engaged there, so Monaco will always have a special place in my heart.

[Xilimmns]

Franci, thanks for sharing a little bit of your day-to-day with us. Great pictures, looking forward to what is yet to come. I have on my wish list to visit Monaco and watch a F1 GP there.

[Franci]

I went back to the Beausoleil market. Just outside there is a newly opened Russian Gastronomie. There is a huge number of Russians around, so I'm surprised there are no more stores like this.



I got in to get some kefir to drink. Finally I have a place to explore more some smoked fishes, where I lack experience.



I got inside the market to Manuela stall to get some cherry tomatoes, asparagus, cucumbers and few other items



Besides French, in Beausoleil you hear also a lot of Portoguese and Tagalog. All work force for Monaco. I'm surprised, given the huge Filipino population, it's very hard to shop for Asian ingredients. There are only a few little stores run by not sure if Bengali or Bangladeshi People. Sometimes I go to Nice where there are a few more options. I bet some of the men at the cafe' in the picture are Portoguese or Italians.

Edited by Franci, 08 May 2012 - 07:28 AM.

[JTravel]

Thank you for putting all the work into doing a blog. It is always wonderful fo see what day to day life is like in other places.
I love the "duck...because it's easy"....part. Sad to say I never even cooked a duck breast. That's why travel (with food) is such fun. And reading about other places (with food) is such fun too.

[Franci]

Next stop is Formia, I need to pick up my order and quickly took some pictures

They carry mostly poultry from Bresse. I don't buy a lot of chicken, only carcasses or wings for soup. My husband doesn't appreciate much chicken meat. This is the only place I can order carcasses.



Pork and lamb. My only complain is that I cannot buy here pork belly with skin on, unless I order the whole piece (4 kg)







veal and beef. Their liver is sold at 48 euros a kg. Not cheap. But after having spent 10 days in Venice, I must say their liver is vastly superior.



And this is going to be dinner. Riz de veau, sweetbreads

Edited by Franci, 08 May 2012 - 08:20 AM.

[rotuts]

Your blog is terrific! when do ripe heirloom tomatoes begin to appear in your markets?

Is the beef/veal liver so expensive due to demand?

many thanks esp. for the fine pictures.

[Franci]

Sad to say I never even cooked a duck breast. That's why travel (with food) is such fun.

Everything new is intimidating even when it is simple, right? Happy you are enjoying it.

when do ripe heirloom tomatoes begin to appear in your markets?

Is the beef/veal liver so expensive due to demand?

many thanks esp. for the fine pictures.

I cannot answer precisely, I'm not overall strict of buying in season but I generally don't buy tomatoes in winter. It has been only a couple weeks I've been buying cherry tomatoes. If I recall correctly around February... the black ones where the first I've seen. Sanremo that is only 40 minutes away by car provides most of the Italian flower market. The hills around Sanremo/Bordighera and Ventimiglia are full of greenhouses. The climate is very gentle here and in Monaco is even milder than Ventimiglia, which is only 10 miles away.


Back to lunch. I usually add asparagus tips to that sauce with rabbit but my son doesn't like them anymore. I bought the first trombetta of the season and added to the sauce.



For the gardeners out there, if you have the chance to plant it, it is really a nice variety.








I usually use this sauce to dress tagliatelle but I didn't have time to make them and didn't have any dry tagliatelle in the house. So mezze penne it was. The children ate it with gusto.

[Franci]

Is the beef/veal liver so expensive due to demand?

many thanks esp. for the fine pictures.

Sorry, I missed this. It is calf's liver. Theirs is expensive because they only carry the best meat around, all AOC, Label rouges. At marche U the liver sells at 31 Euros.
Sometimes I order all the lamb offals (lung, liver and heart) and that is much cheaper, 11 or 14 a kg if I recall. So, yes, demand surely influences the price.
I get a whole veal's heart for 4-5 Euros.

Edited by Franci, 08 May 2012 - 09:42 AM.

[rotuts]

thank you. I find the various prices interesting. Im curious about the cost of a poulet du Bresse. I had them some time a go in France cooked by a French family and it was the best chicken ive ever had.

[Franci]

thank you. I find the various prices interesting. Im curious about the cost of a poulet du Bresse. I had them some time a go in France cooked by a French family and it was the best chicken ive ever had.

Maybe the tags are a little small to read but the poulet de Bresse is sold at 21.90 euros a kg. So, a chicken of about 4 pounds is going to cost roughly 50 dollars. My Chinese parents in law, used to shop for live chickens in chinese establishments, couldn't believe their eyes.

[rotuts]

Wow! I wonder what they cost in 1970, when I last had one Im sure it still tastes like Real Chicken. Ive wondered why the Red/White and Bleu hasnt been smuggled into some high-end free range place here.

Chicken (of a sort) on sale is 99c a lbs, so 4 dollars for one you can do 'Beer-can' on your webber. If you choose the rub and finishing sauce carefully, its not bad, just not French. Waverley Root said it tastes like teddy-bear stuffing. I wouldn't know.

thank you. the markets look wonderful. I also like seeing the insides of other people's refrigerator if they are not from the US. Just to see how routine stuff is sold and packaged around the world.

Thanks.

[Anna N]

Morning!

Also this morning I got up at 6 o'clock. First thing, I put my coffe on. We also have a Nespresso machine but I do prefer my old bialetti and leave the Nespresso for a midmorning and afternoon coffee.

Is that an induction surface with a plate to allow you to use aluminum cookware?

[Franci]

Is that an induction surface with a plate to allow you to use aluminum cookware?

Yes, Anna. It is induction and, in fact, the moka pot is aluminum. I use the interface disk just for coffe making.

Tonight, as I told you, we had sweetbreads. I soaked them 3 hours in salted water, quickly blanched and cooked in salted butter. I served them on a bed of peas and favas.



Now, it's time for me to go to sleep. Not sure what I'm going to do tomorrow.

[eldereno]

Is that an induction surface with a plate to allow you to use aluminum cookware?

Yes, Anna. It is induction and, in fact, the moka pot is aluminum. I use the interface disk just for coffe making.

Tonight, as I told you, we had sweetbreads. I soaked them 3 hours in salted water, quickly blanched and cooked in salted butter. I served them on a bed of peas and favas.

[url="http://i1270.photobucket.com/albums/jj619/Franciuk/tuesweetbreadscooked.jpg"]http://i1270.photobu...readscooked.jpg[/url]

Now, it's time for me to go to sleep. Not sure what I'm going to do tomorrow.

That looks SOOOOO good. I had sweetbreads for the first time a few months ago at a local restaurant and found them quite enjoyable. Again..I would not even know where to source them or how to prepare them, though.

[prasantrin]

I know what you can do! Visit a bunch of the local patisserie and take pictures! I assume they're usually French in style?

Are there any locally made snack foods (potato chips, or traditional snacks from Monaco)? Or are most of them imported?

I noticed what looked like DeCecco dried pasta in your cupboard. Is that a favourite brand of yours?

[annabelle]

What lovely meals you prepare! Do your children eat a pasta dish every day?

I wish I could get fava beans here. I tried to grow them once, but they don't thrive here.

[6ppc]

Franchi this all looks great so far thank you for blogging.

[janeer]

Love the market photos of the Bresse chickens and the little zuchhini wiht their flowers on--wish I had some now!

[ScottyBoy]

I waaaaant the sweetbreads!

Edited by ScottyBoy, 08 May 2012 - 08:29 PM.

[Franci]

Morning everybody!
Today it's Wednesday, so, no school for the boy. But I need to go out for an appointment and have only 10 minutes before I need to wake up the sleeping family.

I know what you can do! Visit a bunch of the local patisserie and take pictures! I assume they're usually French in style?

Are there any locally made snack foods (potato chips, or traditional snacks from Monaco)? Or are most of them imported?

I noticed what looked like DeCecco dried pasta in your cupboard. Is that a favourite brand of yours?

• Yes, they are in French style. I'll see what I can do on the way back home, there are a couple nearby.
• In bakeries you find the already mentioned barbajuans, little calzones with a chard filling and deep fried, the chard tart, the pissaladiere, really no different than the other versions on the riviera.
• I am not too particular for pasta. As I mention earlier I could skip it no problem, I do more out of convinience factor. But I have a minimum standard. I prefer De Cecco over Barilla but I prefer Cocco, over De Cecco. Also Latini for some kind of shapes. I definitely want spaghetti De Cecco and not Barilla.

Do your children eat a pasta dish every day?

Almost. If it is not pasta is rice or potatoes. Ilike to make other grains: spelt, quinoa, barley but the answer I get from my son is at the moment: bleah!

Edited by Franci, 08 May 2012 - 11:16 PM.

[Franci]

This morning I got up slightly later, still in time to bake some muffins

I had my coffee while preparing the ingredients



I tell you. I don't like to bake sweets. Also in cooking school, while most of my female class mates really enjoyed pastry, it was the only station that really irritated me. In fact this muffis turned so so. I was mixing up recipes and I think I really got the amount of baking powder and baking soda wrong. My son said they are ok



I had a couple muffins with my son and shared salmon with my daughter.

Edited by Franci, 09 May 2012 - 02:00 AM.