From Paris to Berlin...

And a little bit of Edinburgh and London... Here are a few food highlights from the past 2-3 weeks. I haven't taken nearly as many photos as I would have liked and many have had to be taken through windows as so many places don't allow photos to be taken indoors. Most annoying!

London

A visit to the Borough Markets on a Saturday morning...

...was a little too early in the day for a Pimm's but a lovely stall to admire.

Delicious Middle Easter food for lunch...

...and a stop in at Neal's Yard Dairy before heading off.

Edinburgh

Vegetarians skip this section!

This poor little piggy was being carved into roast pork sandwiches.... we didn't try one but it made for an interesting and eyecatching window display and I couldn't resist taking a photo!

Another highlight was trying haggis - both this real thing and a vegetarian version - with neeps (swede) and tatties (potato). Much more oaty (as opposed to meaty) than I expected, quite a peppery, savoury flavour and really quite nice!

Paris

Fruit from the local market...

...it was hard work acquiring this enormous fig with my limited knowledge of French and I was mocked by the stall holder for trying!

Warm-from-the-oven pastries for breakfast...

...decided one to share was enough after the first day!

Beautiful macarons from Pierre Hermes...

Too many lovely little cakes to choose from...

...almost too pretty to eat!

Berlin

Berlin has totally surprised me - such a fantastic city! A real mix of food - lots of Turkish, Asia and the local specialty that I am yet to try... currywurst - a bratwurst sausage with mustard and a sprinkling of curry powder - it is everywhere!

Highlight so far - ramen noodles at Cocolo. A tiny place with a choice of six different ramen noodles plus a few sides like edamame and gyoza. We sat crammed around the bar looking into the kitchen/workspace watching the action. It's a popular wee joint - we were lucky to get seated within 20 minutes but lots of people were happy to wait outside for a space to come up. A really basic set-up with the open kitchen consisting of a couple of huge pots of burners, a couple of plug in elements, a few rice cookers and a sink to wash the dishes in but it works so well! I want a Cocolo ramen noodle bar in Wellington! I forgot my camera so no photos sadly but if you're ever in Berlin seek this place out!

Now for some real German food... meatballs and fried potatoes!

...And bratwurst in a bun with half a litre of heferweizen!

Beer is almost cheaper than bottled water in this city so it's not surprising that they drink it by the litre! You can buy beer everywhere - bakeries, cafes, corner shops... everywhere!

Yet to try that German favourite of pork knuckle with sauerkraut... I just can't bring myself to order it! But we're off to Munich tomorrow so there's still time...

A few of our favourite things...

Daisy enjoyed opening a parcel Aunty Libby sent via Royal Mail from London last week, which included this super cute Emma Bridgewater 'Polka Dot' melamine tea set. Admittedly the tissue paper intrigued her more than the actual tea set, but I am sure it will cater for many a tea party in years to come.

Becs: Perhaps needless to say my favourite thing this week would be our solid oak dining table, under which a large proportion of early Saturday morning was spent huddling, after the terrifying 7.1 earthquake that struck Christchurch. Non-quake-related, I am going through a nostalgic phase of using our old school toasted sandwich maker in lieu of the sandwich press that is more fashionable these days for making posher grilled sandwiches. Although a tendency to overfill can make clean-up a bit messy to say the least, I think the hassle is worth it.

Miriam: When I moved up from Wellington earlier this year, I packed a box full of IRD info, bank statements, insurance policies and general stuff I couldn't face dealing with and labelled it 'admin'. The admin box stayed sealed and tucked out of sight until a few days ago, when I had to face the dreaded task of completing my overdue tax return. What a lovely surprise when in amongst the dreary statements I discovered my old moleskin notebooks from my OE a few years back. I have delighted in reminiscing of my wee adventures around Europe. I was also pleased that one of the notebooks has hardly been written in, so I shall pop it in my handbag ready to record little tid-bits.

Libby: I have had many many favourite things in Paris this week - fresh baguettes from the boulangerie on the corner, breakfast pastries from Ble Sucre, macarons from Pierre Hermes and salted butter caramel ice cream from Berthillon... but this little tarte citron from Angelina stands out. Angelina is a delightful little tea house on Rue de Rivoli. It would have been lovely to have been seated and enjoyed the moment a little more but were weren't quite ready for afternoon tea so decided to choose a wee treat to take home and enjoy later on.

Tarte-Gateau Poire Chocolat

In preparation for my visit to Paris next month (!) I have been reading "Clotilde's Edible Adventures in Paris", a delightful guide to where to eat in Paris written by Clotilde Dusoulier of Chocolate & Zucchini. I haven't organised a meal-by-meal itinerary, (and don't think my travelling companion will appreciated it if I do) but have noted a few places that would be nice to visit.

Clotilde's Edible Adventures in Paris has a few recipes sprinkled throughout so as a "warm-up" to prepare ourselves for what awaits us in the patisseries of Paris I made a "Tarte-Gateau Poire Chocolat" (pear and chocolate cake-tart ), a recreation of a similar sweet treat from La Boulangerie par Veronique Mauclerc.

This recipe has great potential and I look forward to making it again with a few adaptations: I found the pastry too buttery and flaky, so next time will make a biscuit-y sweet short crust; I will use vanilla instead of rum in the poaching syrup as I couldn't taste the rum (which is good as I don't like rum anyway); and I will make sure my pears are properly ripe.

I served the cake-tart with a spoonful of sour cream (the delicious Cyclops sour cream) and whipped cream mixed with a little brown sugar. Of course, it did nothing to cut through the richness of the tart and my travelling companion could barely cope with it all, struggling his way to the last mouthful! I don't know how he will fare in Paris!

Here's the recipe as I made it:
Pastry:
1 egg yolk
3 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon ice-cold water
25g sugar
2 cups flour
125g butter

Poached pears:
25g sugar
45ml dark rum (I will use a teaspoon of vanilla paste next time)
2 ripe but firm pears (I used beurre bosc)

Chocolate filling:
25g flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
125g bittersweet dark
75g butter
100g sugar
1 egg
1 egg yolk (saved from pastry)

Beat egg yolk, water and sugar and set aside. Combine flour and butter in a food processor until the mixture forms coarse crumbs. Add the egg yolk mixture and process until the dough just comes together. Add a little more water if you need to. Turn out onto a floured surface and bring together into a ball, flatten and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Now poach the pears: Combine water, sugar and rum and bring to a simmer. Peel, halve & core pears. Cut each half into 3 pieces. Ad pears to the saucepan and similar until tender (recipe says 4 minutes, mine were in for 10 and were still rock-hard). Remove from syrup and drain until needed.

Remove dough from fridge and roll to fit your tin (I used a long rectangular tin). Chill for 30 minutes before baking blind for 10 minutes (I should have left it in for longer).

Prepare chocolate filling: Combine flour & baking powder and set aside. Melt the chocolate and butter in a double boiler, add the sugar and mix well. Mix in the egg and egg white, stirring between each addition. Add the flour mixture and stir again.

Pour the chocolate filling into the prepared tart shell and press the pears into the filling. Return to oven and bake for 20-30 minutes until the filling is just set.

Leave to cool before serving.