March Monthly Round Up

LIFE LATELY: March was a very boring month. For a start, both of us got sick. When I recovered, I only felt good by hibernating at home! I nevertheless visited the Museum of Art and History in Geneva…but apart from that, I was longing for spring to come and our gardens and parks to be full of blossom.

GENEVA POSTCARDS: In the first week of March, Geneva looked like Siberia: freezing, cold and snowy. I took these morning photos of my neighbourhood.

BOOKS: My March goals were to review some old reads that I will be posting in May. The beautifully written, macabre and fascinating The Collector by John Fowles. The very powerful memoir Amores da Cadela “Pura” by Margarida Victória (English title: The Loves of the Purebred Bitch). The magnificent The Great Tea Rooms of Britain by Bruce Richardson.

ART LOVER: Museum of Art and History (2, Rue Charles-Galland)

The Museum of Art and History is a huge museum of over 1 million exhibition pieces, capturing the history of Western culture and civilisation from ancient times to the present day. Museum entrance is free for everyone.

Konrad Witz (Rottweil 1400 - Bâle 1447)

Jean-Étienne Liotard (Genève 1702 - Genève 1789)

Sir Thomas Lawrence (Bristol 1769 - Londres 1830

BOOKSTORE: Les Recyclables (53, Rue de Carouge)

This is an inescapable and friendly place for lovers of reading and good food,  where you can buy second hand books (often in perfect condition). This bookshop-café pairs literary taste with culinary artistry.

What is coming next? Well, warmer and longer days suitable for outdoor life, getaways, after work drinks on café terraces and seeing our markets and parks filled with colourful and pretty flowers. I wish you all an amazing Easter holiday.

A Wonderful dinner at Le Patio

For Valentine’s Day, Sweetheart took me to the very famous Le Patio, located at Boulevard Helvétique 19 near Rive.

For this occasion, I put on the blue lace dress I bought at Sandro boutique and I hid the gift I got for Sweetheart, the book “A Gentleman in Moscow” by Amor Towles, in my big bag.

That night, it was cold and the restaurant was almost empty. I arrived a little before Sweetheart. After being installed at our table, I went around the premises to admire the colourful canvases that adorn and enhance the walls of the restaurant.

For those who do not know, Le Patio has been open for almost 40 years. I would say that it is a restaurant where Genevan gourmets like to meet to taste the specialities of the restaurant. As soon as the warm weather arrives, locals flock to the charming little terrace.

The restaurant is composed of a small bar at the entrance which also serves as a lounge. There is a raised platform and, behind it, another larger room. We stayed at the front by the large windows.

The small bar of Le Patio

Panorama of the room

Canvas by the Cuban and Genevan painter Carlos Boix

As soon as Sweetheart arrived, our waiter advised us and explained the menu with warmth and professionalism. As lobster and beef are the stars of the menu here, we chose both.

My first drink was Champagne Guy Charlemagne Brut Réserve, the perfect way to kick off a meal - actually, I opted for bubbles throughout.

To accompany our aperitifs we were served a small appetiser: “Tartare de Saint-Jacques et Loup”. A real delight! The evening was shaping up to be a gourmet one!

My starter “Marbled foie gras and guinea fowl comfit, compote of apple and celery, flambéd with Calvados” - was successful.

Sweetheart’s starter was one of the best I’ve tasted in a long time. He had “Lobster cannelloni stuffed with chanterelles and baby spinach, served with a shellfish emulsion”

I chose the restaurant’s signature lobster dish, a really succulent “Grilled lobster with coral butter, courgettes, candied tomatoes and green olives, shellfish sauce”. Instead of potato purée I asked for a portion of French fries – this was a fantastic dish and perfectly portioned.

The food here is French and each of the wines has been chosen to pair with the dishes.

Sweetheart’s beef was pretty as a picture and cooked just the way he likes it. “Molard Beef Tenderloin Fillet grilled with crushed pepper, Béarnaise sauce, served with spinach”.

Being the sweet tooth that I am, I wanted to finish our meal with a lovely dessert. I had a delicious “Vanilla crème brûlée with caramel tuile biscuits” – a real treat!

Sweetheart went for “Rum baba, whipped cream and orange flavoured syrup” - he loved his dessert - and so did I!

Our menu may seem quite simple, even unpretentious, but the end result was stunning and we finished our meal with a huge smile on our faces, just happy to have enjoyed fine food in a warm atmosphere.

Once I heard a French chef say “simple cuisine is actually the most difficult to prepare” At  Le Patio, they succeeded hands down.

Le Patio 

Boulevard Helvétique 19

1207 Genève

Tél.: +41 22 736 66 75

Girl With a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier (1999)

The book centres on Vermeer’s prosperous Delft household during the 1660s. When Griet, the novel’s quietly perceptive heroine, is hired as a servant, turmoil follows. First, the 16-year-old narrator (Griet) becomes increasingly intimate with her master. Then Vermeer employs her as his assistant and ultimately has Griet sit for him as a model. A complex domestic tension rises in the household, ruled by the painter’s jealous, eternally pregnant wife and his taciturn mother-in-law.

Author: Tracy Chevalier was born on October 19, 1962. She grew up in Washington, DC. She moved to England in 1984, and worked for several years as a reference book editor. In 1994 she graduated from the MA course in creative writing at the University of East Anglia. Her first novel, Virgin Blue, was chosen by WH Smith for its Fresh Talent promotion in 1997. She has written seven novels, mostly in the historical genre. Tracy lives in London with her husband and son.

My thoughts: I read this masterpiece twice. I loved this beautifully written historical fiction, all the more so as I am fond of Vermeer, a little known painter born in Delft in 1632. Johannes Vermeer painted mostly domestic interiors, often portraying a woman performing a task. He only painted about thirty-seven pictures and one of my favourite paintings is without a doubt the “Girl With a Pearl Earring”.

Although it is a fiction, the facts around the famous painter Johannes Vermeer are true. The author has respected the historical facts with respect to the dates and events that have taken place. I loved the character of the maid, Griet, a very intelligent and wise girl, who evolves in the course of the story. The other characters are intriguing, including the painter; most of the time the narrator (Griet) makes him seem very mysterious.

The style of the book is what I would call a “huis clos” in French (a claustrophobic drama behind closed doors). As the story develops the reader feels the tension growing and is gripped by an anxiety: how will Griet manage to survive among the vipers? It's an intense and sad story, but so beautiful. I urge you to read it.

Matcha Green Tea Cupcakes with Matcha Cream Cheese Frosting

At the end of year, I followed a Matcha green tea cure – it consisted of drinking three cups of this tea, known for its amazing health virtues, each day. After only a couple weeks I felt that I had more energy and I noticed that my digestion had improved considerably (I lost weight without dieting).

Matcha tea is a powdered Japanese tea - the tea plants are grown predominantly in Japan - it is becoming increasingly popular in Europe because of its benefits and exquisitely unique flavour and aroma. Having said that, this little miracle tea costs a fortune. I paid CHF 22.00 for 50 grams of this organic high-grade quality tea.

You can find high quality Matcha green tea at Betjeman and Barton on Rue Saint-Joseph 35, Carouge.

Here are a few of the many benefits this tea has to offer

*Boosts metabolism and helps weight loss

*Prevents cancers and slows ageing

*Good source of fibre and energy

*Improves your physical endurance

Matcha green tea can also be used in cake recipes, I used the basic recipe for all cupcakes and added Matcha green tea powder and made pretty, colourful and yummy cupcakes.

Here is the recipe to make 12 regular sized cupcakes.

Ingredients

115g superfine sugar

115g butter, room temperature

2 eggs

2 tbsp milk

115g self-raising flour

10g Matcha green tea

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 180ºC. Line a 12 hole muffin tin with paper muffin cases.

2. In a bowl, beat the butter and sugar until a light and whitish batter is obtained. You can use an electric whisk. Add the eggs, one at a time. Sift the flour and fold it into the batter. Add the Matcha green tea powder and the milk and beat to a creamy, thick  and smooth mixture.

3. Put a big spoonful of the mixture into each of the cases. Bake in the preheated oven for about 17 minutes until golden brown.

4. Remove the cupcakes from the oven and set aside to cool for 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

5. When the cupcakes are cold, pipe the Matcha cream cheese frosting on top.

Matcha Cream Cheese Frosting

115g icing sugar

40g unsalted butter, room temperature

1 1/2 tsp Matcha powder

125g cream cheese, cold

Preparation

1. Beat the icing sugar and butter with a handheld electric whisk on medium-slow speed until the mixture comes together and is well mixed.

2. Add the Matcha powder, then the cream cheese in one go and beat until it is completely incorporated. Turn the mixer up to medium-high speed. Beat until the frosting is light and fluffy, at least 5 mins. Do not over-beat, as it can quickly become runny.

3. Decorate the top of each cupcake with the frosting.