Pâtisseries

My stay in Paris has taken an unexpected turn that I have to see as a blessing and that which has effected the project ... in a good way.

Over the past two weeks, I have continued tasting pastries and traditional french meals, visiting gardens and museums, making mini-pilgrimages to churches, making pastries, and encountering very interesting personalities.

One of my main goals while here is to become familiar with the tastes of traditional pâtisseries like la tarte citron and l'eclair chocolat. This was probably my most favorite l'eclair chocolat from Le Fournil St. Lambert (the St. Lambert's Bakehouse). This was the best I had eaten while in Paris!


My favorite line of pâtisseries has been Sadaharu Aoki. There have been few times where I've said, "Uh, I want to be you ..." in life, and tasting Sadaharu Aoki's pâtisseries made me believe anything was possible.


His genius is taking traditional pâtisserie concepts with taste and presentation while integrating Asian ingredients. You can taste a little of his vision in each of his desserts, which are all very distinct in their creativity. Super cutting edge, I was happy to have experienced his pastries and now know what With Mercy and Justice's pâtisseries can aspire to.

I decided to revisit the Marais and visited La Paroisse Saint-Paul Saint-Louis. Afterwards I wrote in Places des Vosges -- a lovely park.


I have never been surrounded by so many couples! I think I was the only one not cuddling with someone. How good it would be to do our apostolate on healthy relationships in Paris! :) City of lights ... and l'amour!

A trip to Mora's was necessary, as I needed some utensils in practicing recipes. I am in love ... but it is with the whisk. And I love the one I just bought by Matfer because the grip is substantial. The evening was celebrated with another one of Sadaharu Aoki's delicacies.


Friday I took my class with Lenôtre on chocolate and learned several recipes from Fondant au Chocolat to a mousse to meringue nut cookies - yum!


One of my joys on this trip was to meet another aspiring pâtissier from Japan -- Jungko! I came up to her after our course was over and told her she looked like my roommate from college. From that point on, we decided to grab a bite and turns out we have similar aspirations for taking our love of baking to the next level. Prior to our trip, we both had already prepared which pâtisseries and chocolateries we wanted to visit. I was impressed to see her list, and we exchanged resources of where to buy cookware and good pâtisseries/chocolateries to visit. She was even willing to go outside of Paris to a town, Avignon, to taste their gateaux and pâtisseries! Likewise, one of the reasons I am going to Belgium, in addition to the history there with the Liturgical Movement, is because they are known for their pâtisseries! Oui, la Belgique.

My night ended walking down le Champs-Elysées and l'Arc de Triomphe.


Sunday I treated myself to exploring the area around du Louvre and enjoyed Sunday brunch at a Bistro.


On a very exciting note, this was a tarte citron I tried. It was very delicious and presentation beautiful, but my good news is that the tartes I had made a couple weeks ago ... were far superior. Over the past couple weeks, I had tried other tarte citrons (not pictured here), and I realized the recipe I have is (tear...) worthy of being sold to support our apostolate. Woo hoo, praised be Jesus Christ!


Monday evening I met up again with Jungko after she returned from Avignon to celebrate her last day in Paris. We ate ... of course, dessert (!) at le Café Marly by le Pyramide près du Louvre.


She also brought me some cookies to try from Avignon highly recommending that I visit there if possible given their reputation for pâtisseries and gateaux. These cookies pictured above were like butter cookies but had cinnamon and another sweet spice -- it was delicious! Our evening ended with sushi ... kind of hilarious being in Paris but even I missed rice ...

Dessert when I got home was un macaron pistache aux framboises (pistachio macaroon with raspberries). This was maybe one of the best macaron pistache I had eaten in Paris from Gosselin by du Louvre.


Some people have asked me if I am eating -- that being, beyond sweets. I think the answer is: I'm working on it. Food is expensive in Paris, so my student budget tends to kick in on a daily basis. It isn't common for me to eat out. But I can't budget when it comes to pâtisseries. The reality is you can taste the quality of the pâtisserie through its ingredients and often there is a price to pay for what is fresh, creative, and well made. But it is worth it to me because the knowledge from tasting the pâtisseries and attempting to make them will go directly towards benefitting With Mercy and Justice.

Breakfast the following day was coffee and un éclair violet. Very creative and delicious. I was weirded out that my eclair was purple, but it was very good. Also, you can only buy the sugared violet pieces in Paris (pictured to the right and atop of the eclair). I had been hoping so much to try one and am happy to have found a place that actually decorates their pâtisseries with these little jewels.


This day I also went out to try to ask pâtisseries/boulangeries if it would be possible to only watch, or "seulement regarder" their morning operation. I knew it would be impossible to volunteer anywhere and to learn in this manner because I didn't have the proper paperwork to do so. So, this was the next best option, and I am currently waiting on the verdict of two pâtisseries. I decided to write and eat my lunch at La Tour Eiffel.

THUS FAR, THIS IS MY FAVORITE PHOTO!

The following morning I had coffee with un pain du chocolat (bread with chocolate).


Dinner was made for me Thursday evening, and I was taught how to make crepes. It was a thoughtfully prepared meal, one of the happiest times I've had while on my trip. It was so simple ... I will be practicing this week! I was very impressed with my crepe teacher's cookware ... very professional. Indeed, it is hard to make what you want if you lack the proper tools. I am finding this out as I experiment with various recipes.


On an aside, the weather here has been unusually cold, and I have only prepared for summer dress. Thankfully, the search for warm clothes and scarves has led me to new territory ... which means more ground for pastries! I bought this raspberry tarte because I have acquired a recipe, and I want to compare the taste. This was very good, but there was no creme underneath the fruit, so I was disappointed.


Well, God is good and full of surprises. It turns out that my landlady cooks very well. She doesn't have the greatest cooking tools but with what she does have, she makes really impressive meals. She cooks a lot of traditional French food from the North of France and also is very good at desserts :) Here is a dish she made. I was embarrassed I could only contribute macaroni and cheese, but she said she loved it. I think she was just being nice ...


For breakfast Saturday I had a layered coffee meringue dessert.


Later, the middle of the day I came across very disappointing news. The Lord was kind and always provides; and he sent me three hardcore angels from the Italian community: the Apostles of the Interior Life.

Apostles to the Rescue! Who knew? (God, maybe?! Yes!)

Without intending to, the Sisters provided their apostolate of spiritual direction when I needed it. Pictured here are Sister Titziana (left) and Sister Sabina (right). They gave me good insight and left me with a similar message my spiritual director from home had given me: to enjoy the rest of the trip, to not worry, and to live my life.

Today I walked around le Pyramide, le Jardin du Tuileries, and was able to visit le Musée de l'Orangerie.


I think after le Musée Picasso, this would have to be my second favorite. This was my first time in this museum, which is primarily dedicated to the works of Impressionists: Monet, Renoir, Cézanne, etc. Here Monet's famous collection of Water Lilies are the centerpiece of the museum. Rightfully so, it is spectacular and the first time I had ever experienced art outside of a church that made me go into contemplative mode. In the second room of the Water Lily canvasses, you actually feel transported into nature.



I have already had the opportunity to strictly observe, or just "regarder," the morning operation at a pâtisserie. I was not allowed to work for the reasons I've already stated, so I just watched. But just by observing ... I learned so much and am hoping for the same opportunity with the bakeries I have already asked.