Barbra Austin

Is Coco & Co always as full of young women as it was yesterday afternoon?

One reason I chose this little apartment in Paris is because it has a decent sized oven, as opposed to the table top combination microwave contraptions that seem to be everywhere here. Essentially, I’m living in a kitchen with a bedroom in it. And a living room. And a dining room. And an office.

I figured it was time I did a little baking.

I love strolling aimlessly around Paris, particularly on a day as beautiful as yesterday. But sometimes even I need a little direction in life, a goal, an endpoint, something to aspire to. Yesterday I set my sights on 47 rue des Martyrs, the address of a glacier called Caramella.

Today I bought myrtilles in Paris for a tart I’m working on. Exactly one year ago I went blueberry picking with my mother in Ohio.

The food at Frenchie is ingredient-driven and free of gimmicks. In short, it’s the kind of food I love.

My mother had remarkable restraint when it came to sweets. The woman could eat two tablespoons of ice cream and claim to be satisfied. I say “restraint” but I think she actually didn’t really like anything too rich. Or at least she pretended not to.

This cake was one of her favorite treats.

Did the economy fully collapse while I was flying over the North Atlantic? Is the flood finally coming? No, it’s just a Sunday in August in Paris.

The idea of a hot drink on a hot afternoon is not always so appealing. The solution? Espresso granita, a.k.a. the easiest thing in the world to make.

I was introduced to Domaine Félines Jourdan’s Picpoul de Pinet last year by Juan Sanchez at La Dernière Goutte, and it became my go-to inexpensive white for easy refreshment during that late spring in Paris. I wrote about it then, but after seeing it on a few lists in New York City this summer, as well as on the board at Fish in Paris, I thought I’d revisit what I consider a perfect warm weather wine.