Paris Loves Pistachios

 

Do you love pistachios? I’m nuts 🌰 about anything pistachio-flavored.

After my encounter with Princesse Pistache last week, I went looking for more pistachio desserts. Anything in this flavor 🙏 Luckily Paris loves 💚 Pistache too.

Sunday in the Park with the Luxembourg Chair

 

Alison of Glasgow asked, 

“Could you please do more maps with Luxembourg garden chairs besides Paris Parcs map? Tried to take one home last visit but they are too heavy for the plane”. I could have told her to take the Eurostar instead but thought better of it.

Next day as I went to buy more letter paper..voila. The Fermob shop was next door and Alison’s chair was in the window. My life is one karmic destiny after another.

Paris Leaf Greens

Yesterday it was green, green, green in Paris.
Does anyone know anything about 'green' almonds?
What do you do with them?

This picture was shot a few Sundays ago when it was drizzling. Little green squares that pop up out of nowhere in Paris.
 

Macarons of green apple, mint, cucumber and Rocquette. Next time I'll taste instead of shoot.

Yesterday at the Tour Eiffel. I got off #42 bus several times to shoot the greens.
 

Love how Sadaharu Aoki plays with the color green.
 

Another bus detour for the wall garden by Patrick Blanc near musee Branly - these are evergreen - year-round green.

Boissier green tins look like they were created in the 1890's.
 

Poubelle green is not the same word as pourboire, easy to mix up.
 

Latest Les Jardins has real green turf in it - you pay extra for this.
 

Green silk jacquard fabric on the walls of Chateau Fontainebleau.
 

I never noticed the patisserie across the street from me is forrest green. Le Figaro gave them 2nd place for their chocolate religieuse. I almost never go in but suddenly lines out the door. I was not bowled over I have to say but then the religieuse sat on my table waiting to be painted for days - a no-no with French pastry which basically has a shelf life of about 24 hours.
 

In Printemps I fell in love with this vendeuse's little grass green bows going down her back.

Today I'm off to see the Bayeux tapestries in Base-Normandie. I will eat every local specialty except les tripes, les moutons de mer, and espace d'andouilles.

No way will I miss out on le caramel d'Isigny!

V comme Verte

Pale, pale green is unique I thought.

 Then I looked in Amandine Guisez Gallienne's beautiful book, COLORFUL WORLD. Delicious pale green exists on the walls in Mexico, Finland, Mali, Rajasthan, on the Burmese border and elsewhere. I'd like to visit all these green, but I'm quite content to go back & have some more macs. Colors are always effected by what's adjacent to them.

 A mixed color can look perfect when wet. Then it dries "down", much lighter and all wrong. Greens can be especially tricky to mix. It's not so easy to match a color exactly and takes a lot of experimenting.

 Punch a hole in the color you want to match. Then hold it over the painted swatch. When you no longer can distinguish between the cut hole and the paint swatch you've got a match.

 First time on rue Bonaparte I was just browsing. Next to Galeries Lafayette for a look but it seemed small and crowded. And 2 times I sat downstairs and had afternoon tea on Rue Royal.

 I ordered a plate of 4 macarons -Citron, Caramel, Framboise, Chocolat. And a chocolate Religieuse mainly to photograph & then paint. I took only one bite - it's enormous!

 The waiter offered to box the rest and I refused. Idiot! I didn't want to walk out with a doggie bag so I missed out having a green box for my own.

Mint green, moss green, Matcha and celadon green, terre vert, Granny Smith Apple green? Where did they come up with this shade of pale green?

From the underside of a rose leaf? 

Today's post is a repost from 2006.
I'm surrounded by cats and dogs in the studio.

La Croix Verte

Have you also wondered why ALL pharmacies in Paris are green/verte? Have you found taking pictures of them addictive?

Pomme Ganny 2

I promised there would be more Apple GREEN Paris pictures. When you start looking for something, suddenly it's EVERYWHERE!

Why is that?

I went for petit dejeuner at a friend's house and what was she wearing?On rue de Renne in this Plastiques window.

Pylones has an apple-shaped purse in Pomme Granny green.

A market basket - you can be 'IN' at all price levels of chicness in Paris.Evidently Le Petit Prince is permanently chic in his Granny Smith apple jump suit on rue Saint-André-Des-Arts. These porte monnaie /wallets are Pomme Granny verte/ green but it was the mint green marshmallows that caught my eye in this chic rue St. Honore accessories shop.
You can be garbed from neck to toe in Paris' hottest color. Marie-Noelle supplied me with Apple green cars, bikes and almond dragees, so you can ride in it, sit on it, drink tea in it,
spritz yourself with it and eat it along with an actual Granny Smith apples!

Green Boxes...

A Stack of Boxes, 9" x 11 1/2"

Why are we so in love with those green boxes..? I have yet to figure it out...
What does it remind you of?

So many sizes and shapes.

Pink Macaron, 9" x 11 1/2"

The memory of what's inside those lovely boxes lingers on too. The memory of sitting in that beautiful salon, forgetting all the cares of the outside world for just a half hour... Priceless!

Éclair Researches

What is an éclair anyway?

It looks much like a straightened-out glazed, cream-filled donut flattened a bit on top.

Wikipedia says otherwise - a delicate pastry made with choux paste and filled with crème pâtissière (pastry cream or custard) and then topped with (often but not always) chocolate icing.

My curiosity was piqued by Sadaharu Aoki's Matcha-green éclairs. I'm 'chicken' when it comes to dark green unrelated to pistachio. Fauchon's iconic symbol must be the éclair!

They are celebrating their 120th year in the food business. Their colors are black and white along with hot pink and deep fushia.

These superb éclairs au café at the Patisserie Cador are more traditional. They reside in the perfect Louis XVI-style salon de thé just across from the Louvre at 2, rue de l'Admiral Coligny. A French éclair and you can eat in the appropriate setting!

Fauchon's Éclair Aquatique! I love going to the pool and French piscines are the best anywhere, and these remind me of Paris piscines.

Gérard Mulot can be depended upon for classic French pastries. 76, rue de Seine in the 6th is open at 6:30 AM and on Mondays when most Paris patisseries are fermé (closed). You can not go wrong here.

Green is the hot color in Paris this trip and especially in the patisseries. I love the way the pistachio nut (or the coffee bean) is planted neatly on top at Jean-Pierre Carton on 6, Rue de Buci, so there's no question what's inside.

éclair is the Fr. word for lightening. It's believed the pastry got its name because of the sheen when coated with confectioner's glaze. Antonin Carême (1784-1833), had much to do with developing French pastry and recipes. The "Paris Pastry Marathon", if such a thing existed, would beat out New York in a heartbeat. There seems to be a running battle who can come up with the most creative pastries in Paris. It would be fun to be a bystander at this marathon.

BONJOUR Paris ECLAIRS!