French Inspiration

It was the book Lunch In Paris: A Romance with Recipes that did me in! I do not mean that in a negative way at all, however it was the starting point for my newly minted obsession with French cuisine and food culture.

Americans have no food culture, hence the negative relationship we have with food. It becomes something merely to provide sustenance, to be eaten quickly and without pleasure. That alone makes me sad. Luckily, I grew up in a house the appreciated food and spent time in preparation, eating and enjoyment of it. But I digress since that entire concept could be a blog in and of itself.

My point is that unlike the French or Italians or many other European cultures, Americans to not have a relationship with their food. So upon reading Lunch In Paris I have decided to give my relationship with food an overhaul. Compared to many it is not that drastic a change. I already only use sugar, butter and olive oil. I eat very little packaged food and enjoy the preparation of a good meal. What does get changed is portion size, sitting down to eat, and shopping more frequently for seasonal and fresh items.

In my obsession to adopt French food culture, I have checked out the blogging world and here is my inspiration for this week: La Tartine Gourmande. The images are so beautiful you would eat the pictures and the recipes so simple and delicious that you can not help but want to try it. So Saturday morning I tried the following variation of a recipe from La tartine Gourmande.

Baked Egg with Asparagus, Pancetta and Creme Fraiche

Use 4 small ramekins. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

3 eggs
1 tbs. Creme Fraiche and a bit more (I found it already made at Shoprite, w/ the sour cream)
4 stalks asparagus (cut up and briefly pan fried w/ olive oil, but still crispy)
1 whole wheat sandwich roll
2 slices of pancetta

Slice roll in half (like for a sandwich) then in smaller pieces so that it fits into the bottom of the ramekin. It should not fill the entire space, just cover the bottom like a crust.
Mix 3 eggs with 1 tbs. Creme Fraiche.
Divide egg mix between the 4 cups. Place asparagus on top, add a dab or two of creme fraiche and place pancetta slice on top.

Bake in the oven for about 15 minutes, basically long enough so that the egg is baked through. These little cups of spring are great warm or cold and the perfect breakfast treat.