J-3 avant le Pari Fermier de Rambouillet !

“De nos fermes à vos paniers“  From our farms to your baskets”

One of the great joys of living in France 🇫🇷 is going to farmers markets held in and  outside Paris. 

June = Fraises in Paris Letter

 

Les Fraises are in🍓 Even on the last day of June. The Paris Fraise map 💌 went out 📮Tuesday🤸‍♂️🍓I know I’ve been missing in action😳but there are worse things than 2 weeks of total strawberry immersion. 

The strawb producteurs at Ferm du Mont de Cuy at Marché Mutualité know me well. 

They top up my box with extra Cléry strawberries since I’ve been showing up 2X a week. The best berries 🍓 don’t last long. Eat immediately or same day. Supermarché berries hang around longer and look nicer, but are consistently tasteless.

If you run🏃‍♂️ to Samaritaine right now you can catch their Summer 🍓 berry beaded jewelry collection. 

I caught it yesterday after a strawberry gelato at Tea Salon Cova, next door.

Hope springs eternal. I bought a strawberry plant for map research at the Marché des Fleurs, after my visa rendezvous at the Prefecteur last week. Then I promptly forgot it on the bus. Either the heat or post-visa angst made me forget it. I am not a plant 🪴 person.

Speaking of plants, the rarest of the rare is fraise de bois or the tiny wild strawberries you can’t find anywhere except at Paris’ top glacier Berthillon in their famous ice cream (+.50 extra for the wild ones). 

Their ‘piece de resistance’ is the double coupe loaded with Chantilly whipped creme, tiny berries and their fraise de bois ice cream. I’ve imagined getting this coupe many times…it’s only in their tea salon, not for take-away. Some day…🍓🍓🍓

Next up the Charlotte d’Alsace berry varietié. 

To say I’ve devoted many hours of research to the confiture/ jams of Christine Ferber would be an understatement. 

Time spent simply browsing C.Ferber jam names could equal watching whole streaming series like The Queen. Without question, her strawberry confiture is the best on the planet. La Figaro agrees. More like strawberry soup, best eaten straight from the jar. Never to be shared or wasted on toast. 

Last but never least, a Paris ‘must-eat’ each Spring is the classic 🍓Fraisier. 

Fou de Patisserie 3 boutiques make it easy to taste many top chef’s creations. A one-stop shop for the créme de la créme of Parisian desserts. 

The vendeuse explains in detail the various layers of Maison Angelina’s fraisier (they recently added the ‘Maison’ title to stop confusion with the actress👏). 

FYI, Fou de Patisserie now has adorable antique, engraved silver spoons available if you buy a pricy (€25) jar of their jam.

🥂💋🎉 Please take a look in my shop so you can receive real Paris Letters💌 and watercolors in your mailbox📮 🇫🇷 Subscribe to ParisBreakfasts newsletter here.✏️✏️✏️❤️💋🍓

Le Perigord à Montmartre

Yesterday on my B'day Jeanne and I went to the Perigord à Montmartre.

Held at Montmartre by Sacre Coeur

For the perfect lunch.

Dessert First SVP! Hey it's my B'day

Fraises/strawbs direct from the Dordogne with Chantilly whipped cream piled on top

Next door figs from Norbert Echourgnac filled with heavenly foie gras. Just a gouter/taste did the trick. Insanely riche.

We had the best canele ever we both agreed. Not too sweet yet that perfect balance between cake and custard - so hard to get these babies right IMHO. I went back again today to get another and more strawbs and.

Pretty little bottles of flavored syrups - rose, rhubarb, black current.

Regional walnuts/noix in the shell or out and caramelized !

We shared a perfect half dozen of farm-raised escargot served with a little apero toast and a marinated snail. Heaven.

And just the right amount from Terre d'Escargots. The garlicky-parsley aromas were...oh heck!

This gentleman farmer had wonderful canard something or other and honeys from Château de Fayolle. You can visit and stay as well. There's a pool.

Chèvre/goat cheese in all ranges from fresh to Very aged.

These weekend French regional fairs are always announced in PariScope. Plenty of maps and guides were provided. What a great way to find out about an area before visiting. This British man was showing his Mum the postcard she bought of the ride down the Montmartre funicular...

Bonne Weekend PBers and THANK YOU for all your kind wishes and encouragement!!