26 October 2008

Automne et une tarte pomme-poire/ Fall and Apple-Pear Pie

Despite not being in my native New England surrounded by maple tree reds, oranges, and golds, or even being in the countryside at all, I've been trying to take advantage of the fall colors here in Montmartre.


Bien que ma Nouvelle Angleterre natale me manque, surtout ces érables qui s'embellissent chaque automne de rouge, orange et jaune doré, j'essaie de profiter des couleurs d'automne ici à Montmartre.

Although I may grumble about the tourists constantly walking head up and tripping regular pedestrians while trying to get the best photo, I secretly never tire of looking up at the Sacré Coeur myself. With the fall light through the slowing browning chesnut trees, you can see why.


Comme tout autre parisien (natif ou d'adoption), je me plains souvent des touristes qui bloquent le passage piéton où ils s'arrêtent fascinés par le haut de la butte, et restent en plein milieu pour avoir la meilleure photo. Pourtant, je dois avouer que moi-même je ne me lasse jamais de regarder le Sacré Coeur, même si je le vois presque tous les jours, avec la lumière d'automne à travers les châtaigniers, vous pouvez voir pourquoi.

Some of the best places to find real fall colors in this neighborhood are the many vines that climb on old houses and turn fiery red in October.


Pour soulager mon envie de rouges automnaux, je n'ai qu'a regarder les vignes vierges qui grimpent sur les anciens immeubles, et qui prennent une couleur de feu en octobre.


And lastly, the best way to get in the fall spirit, of course, is to cook fall food and for me that means getting creative with my CSA. A couple Sundays ago, I mentioned an apple-pear pie in passing without giving any sort of recipe (what a tease)! This week, as I said in my last post, pears made another appearance in our basket, and D. immediately began lobbying for the pie. Luckily, after spending Friday and Saturday in London (more on that soon!), I was ready to relax around the house today peeling and coreing fruit. Next week I'm in a 6-day workshop on Bérénice by Racine. I'll see if I can post, but until then, eat up!

Finalement, la meilleure façon de célébrer l'esprit d'automne est de cuisiner avec des ingrédients de saison ! Cette semaine dans le panier bio, il y avait un sac plein de poires et D. voulait absolutement une pie à l'américaine pomme-poire. Heureusement, après 2 jours passés à Londres ce week-end (je vous en reparlerai bientôt !), j'étais contente de passer mon dimanche à tranquillement peler et couper des fruits. La semaine prochaine je suis un stage de 6 jours sur Bérénice de Racine. Je verrais si j'ai le temps de poster, mais d'ici là, régalez-vous !

Ingredients / Ingrédients :

-6 cups fruit, apples and pears, peeled, cored and sliced / 1 kg fruit, pommes et poires, pelées, et coupées en lamelles
-2 Tbsp lemon juice / 2 c.s. jus de citron
- 1/4 cup sugar / 50g sucre
-1/4 cup brown sugar / 50g sucre brun (si vous n'avez pas de sucre brun, vous pouvez mettre 100g de sucre en poudre normal)
-1 tsp cinnamon / 1 c.c. cannelle
-1/2 tsp vanilla / 1/2 c.c. arôme de vanille
-2 Tbsp flour / 2 c.s. farine
-2 Tbsp milk / 2 c.s. lait

-butter / beurre
-cinnamon sugar for topping / mélange de sucre et cannelle pour garnir


Mix all the ingredients (except the butter and cinnamon sugar) in a large bowl. Stir well. Prepare your favorite homemade or store-bought pie crust (my simple butter-free crust). Pour the ingredients into the bottom crust. Dot with butter and cover with second crust. Brush the crust with a little milk and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar mix. Cut slits for the steam to escape and cook at 375F/190C for about 1 hour, until the juice is bubbling over (don't forget to put a cookie sheet on the shelf underneath to catch the drips). Cool and serve.

Mélanger tous les ingrédients (sauf le beurre et le mélange sucre/cannelle) dans un grand bol. Mettre une des pâtes (il en faut 2 pour une tarte à l'américaine) dans un plat à tarte. Remplir avec les fruits, disperser des noix de beurre dessus et couvrir avec la deuxième pâte. Étaler un peu de lait sur la pâte et saupoudrer avec le mélange sucre/cannelle. Couper des ouvertures sur le dessus de la pie pour laisser échapper la vapeur. Cuire à 190C pendant environ 1 heure, jusqu'à ce que le jus boue (penser à mettre un plat en dessous de la pie pour attraper le jus qui coule). Laisser refroidir et servir !

I'm entering this post in the World Food Day Thanksgiving Event because I think it is appropriately seasonal and festive. I love how Thanksgiving brings together family and good food with seasonal ingredients: good for the soul, the body and the Earth. I am extremely thankful for my family, both immediate and extended. I couldn't ask to be part of a better, more supportive, wonderful group of weirdos.

Ivy, qui était une des hôtes de l'évenement pour World Food Day auquel j'ai participé, continue de nous faire penser à ce sujet important avec son événement pour Thanksgiving. Les pies sont les desserts traditionnelles de Thanksgiving : pie au potiron, pie aux noix de pécans et pie à la pomme. Ces pies, et la plupart des plats traditionnels de Thanksgiving, utilisent des ingrédients de saison et cette fête est donc bon pour le corps, pour la terre et pour l'âme, puisqu'on pense à toutes les choses pour lesquelles on veut remercier l'univers. (Pour les dindes, j'avoue, c'est peut-être moins sympa !) J'en reparlerai sûrement, mais pour moi (comme pour plein d'autres), Thanksgiving est avant tout une célébration familiale et j'ai la chance de faire partie d'une famille merveilleuse, complètement barge (comme toute les familles), mais dont les membres se soutiennent énorment et j'en suis reconnaissante.

Last piece of business, but certainly not least, Nazarina over at Giddy Gastronome, a wonderful site where she makes good food and her own beautiful soaps(!), has very kindly given me this adorable Butterfly Award! The rules say to pass it on to 10 people, but rather than listing them here, for now, I will just send you over to my blog roll "Good Cooking" for recipes or "Fun Websites" for other things to explore. Thank you Nazarina!

19 comments:

Rosa's Yummy Yums said...

What gorgeous fall pictures! Thanks for sharing!

Your pie looks fabulous too! Yummy

Have a nice Sunday,

Rosa

Ivy said...

Thanks for participating in the event. Your tart looks scrumptious but I must admit that I was day dreaming with your descriptions of Paris.

Hopie said...

Rosa - You inspired me with all the gorgeous pictures on your blog these days!

Ivy - I'm happy to participate and to contribute to your daydreaming ;-)

Valerie Harrison (bellini) said...

Thank you so much Hopie for your continued support for world hunger with this beautiful tart. I was thinking it would be nice to be eating this tart in an outdoor cafe in Paris but I am thankful for what I already have:D

Cicero Sings said...

One can find beauty where ever one is ... if one stops to look! Your scenes look VERY inviting. It would be lovely to explore your world. Maybe one day.

That pie .... looks oh so mmmm good. I've just pulled an apple pie out of the oven and am awaiting company to help us eat it!

Hopie said...

Bellini Valli - I'm glad to be continuing awareness of world hunger. I'll sip something nice at a Paris café for you ;-)

Cicero - Thanks! Happy apple pie time with your guests!

Anonymous said...

Beautiful pictures! The pie looks and sounds wonderful.

Sam said...

Nice pictures, Paris is an amazing place.

Your pie looks great too, I've never thought of adding pears before, I'll try that next time.

Just Cook It said...

Wow, looks stunning I can't wait to see Paris. The pie looks mighty fine too.

Anonymous said...

I have been wanting to try an apple/pear pie. It looks so yummy!

Hopie said...

Kathy - Thank you! And thanks for stopping by.

Sam - I just started trying with pears this year. I definitely recommend it.

Alex - Thanks! Soon, soon!

Kristen - You should go for it when you have a bit of energy. Ripe pears can be a pain to peel, but the taste is definitely worth it!

Meg said...

Congrats on the award! I love all the pics and that pie is fabulous!

Here, There, Elsewhere... and more said...

Beautiful photos...great cause - love the look of your tart and can't wait to get started on your recipe - the orchard's overflowing with apples..!
Congratulations on your award..!

Now, I know Christmas is a long way off;
but, I just couldn't wait...

I'm in the midst of gift-wrapping an extremely early Christmas present for all my delightful favourite bloggers - it'll be ready this evening if you'd like to pop by my blog anytime after that and pick it up..:)

PG said...

Thanks for the great tour! I'm sure Paris in the fall would be beautiful.

I'll take a slice of pie...do you have any vanilla ice cream? Great submission for the World Food Day - Thanksgiving event.

Hopie said...

Meg - Thank you :-)

Here, there... - Thanks for your kind words and the early present. What a great project.

Psychgrad - Well come on over, have a slice and we'll take a walk over to the Sacré Coeur to look at the colors! Pick up some ice cream on your way, ok?

Anonymous said...

Monmartre is indeed a wonderful arrondissement!
As for the apple pie, I was just about to make one right now because I have too many apples (can one have too many apples?). I always use "The Joy of Cooking" recipe, but I'm going to make your variation instead.
Have a good one!

RV said...

I don't know what is the more exciting to me : the beautiful pie or the idea of a full-colored autumn in New England...
RV

Apples and Butter said...

Looks delicious! I do love the fall flavors and the baking that comes with being willing to turn my oven on for hours at a time in the cooling weather. I just picked up a bag of pears at the market and will have to give this a try!

Hopie said...

Hester Prynne - I don't think too many apples is possible! Hope your pie was good :-)

RV - Hard to choose, but fall colors aren't edible, so maybe you should go for pie!

Apples - I totally agree about fall baking. Enjoy!