SUNFLOWER SEED BAGUETTE

Leave a comment July 28, 2021 Lisa LeCoump

We are celebrating the return of the Olympics with sunflowers by using sunflower seeds in our baking. This is the recipe for our sunflower seed baguette. Sunflowers from the Miyagi area of Japan are featured at the Olympics. The organizers said that after the earthquake and tsunami, the parents planted sunflowers on a hillside in Miyagi in memory of their children who died, and every year now the hill becomes covered with sunflowers.

FIG STAR BREAD IN ITALY

March 20, 2021 Lisa LeCoump

We love the look of this fig star bread. We first saw the star shaped bread in Italy. A soft sweet bread that looks very festive, but is actually very easy to make. The bread is made from a basic sweet bread dough, and for this version we used fig jam and fresh figs.

CASSOULET IN PARIS

Leave a comment September 2, 2020 Lisa LeCoump

The cassoulet at Au Pied de Cochon – the perfect Parisian brasserie – was one of the highlights of visiting Paris. On this particular trip, we were there in the winter, so the restaurant was serving le Cassoulet Toulousain. This means it is in the style of the way it is made in Toulouse, which is a classic. It is made with pork shoulder, duck confit, garlic sausage and topped with bread crumbs. With some research, I was able to recreate the recipe at home.

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VIETNAMESE CANH SOUP

Leave a comment July 20, 2020 Lisa LeCoump

The Vietnamese Canh soup is similar to Italian Wedding soup, so Tony added orzo for the pasta, and Brussels sprouts as one of the vegetables.

SWEET-AND-SOUR SPARE RIBS

July 1, 2020 Lisa LeCoump

A popular appetizer from Hunan province in China, sweet-and-sour spare ribs, or tang cu pai gu, are not that difficult to make, and are incredible with the right ingredients.

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POT-STICKERS

Image June 28, 2020 Lisa LeCoump

Best pot-stickers we’ve ever had. The home made wrappers make a huge difference.

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Flammekuchen in Strasbourg France

Gallery 3 Comments March 15, 2020 Lisa LeCoump

This recipe for flammekuchen is so easy and foolproof we use it almost weekly. It is the perfect make ahead meal and can be a fun family meal project or a healthy food swap, depending on how you make it.

Bagels in Montreal Canada

Leave a comment September 15, 2019 Lisa LeCoump

We went looking for outstanding leaf colors in Montreal, and found incredible bagels as well.

Discovering POG in Maui

Leave a comment July 15, 2019 Lisa LeCoump

We have found POG available in cans all over Hawaii. POG is a drink of Passion fruit juice, Orange juice and Guava juice. But only recently did I discover POG in Maui that was fresh squeezed. An incredible discovery.

Laduree in Paris

Image 1 Comment January 5, 2019 Lisa LeCoump

We diligently tried all the best french macarons in Paris, but nothing compared to Laduree! Maybe it was the pastel colors, or the uber cute shop, or the matching ribbons and tissue paper with the Laduree insignia, but nobody does it like Laduree!

(A list of our favorite tips for traveling with a camera is included at the end of this blog)

The evolution of Gingerbread

Image Leave a comment December 12, 2018 Lisa LeCoump

In the United States we know gingerbread at Christmas made into a gingerbread man, a dark cookie sweetened with molasses. But in Europe it takes all kinds of shapes.

(A list of our favorite tips for traveling with a camera is included at the end of this blog)

Amsterdam by night

Gallery 2 Comments October 4, 2018 Lisa LeCoump

One of the loveliest cities by night. The bridges and streets are lit up and the canals reflect the lights.

Touring Amsterdam – Canals and Markets

Leave a comment September 16, 2018 Lisa LeCoump

Traveling by boat was the perfect way to get see Amsterdam, since there are so many canals. Later, we discovered new things in the market, like stroopwafel and halva, and lots and lots of cheese.

Amsterdam – Heineken land

Gallery Leave a comment September 12, 2018 Lisa LeCoump

You know you’re in Heineken land when even the bottle opener in your hotel room says Heineken on it.

Published in Two Bright Lights

Image Leave a comment October 21, 2014 Lisa LeCoump

The photographs we took in Bruges, Belgium were published in the online magazine “Two Bright Lights“. They featured it as “Travel & Nature: Belgian Adventures”. We loved Bruges and are thrilled that they loved our photos.

Bruges, Belgium

Maui Grand Wailea Wedding Venue

Gallery 2 Comments June 4, 2014 Lisa LeCoump

The Grand Wailea on Maui is the perfect setting for a Hawaiian wedding, including an old Hawaiian style wedding chapel. Right on the beach with a gorgeous sunset every evening.

Prince William’s Groom Cake

Image Leave a comment March 24, 2014 Lisa LeCoump

Serving Prince William’s groom cake added a royal touch to this recent wedding.

Almonds at Weddings

Gallery Leave a comment December 18, 2013 Lisa LeCoump

Candied almonds have historically been given as wedding gifts or served to the guests as wedding favors. In France, Calissons d’Aix en Provence are said to have been served at the wedding of the king in the 1400s. The Italians serve five almonds to signify five wishes for the bride and groom – health, wealth, happiness, children and long life. known by many names – dragee, confetti, Jordan Almonds, mlabas, koufeta – they are popular at many American weddings as well.