My Life in France by Julia Child

I recently read the book My Life in France by Julia Child.  She is even more obsessed with food and cooking than I am!  I loved getting to know her through her writing.  She was an adventurous, glass is ALL full type of person.  

I made my first Julia Child recipe (Garlic Soup) yesterday using her cookbook Mastering the Art of French Cooking lent to me by a friend.  The recipe was mentioned in the My Life in France book, so I made it and it was delicious!  It was unlike any soup I have ever had.  My five year old downed several bowls of the brothy liquid too.  

One of my favorite quotes from the book was:

"Learn how to cook-

try new recipes, 

learn from your mistakes, 

be fearless, 

and above all have fun!"

At Home PERFECT French Baguettes

Chef John at foodwishes.blogspot.com has some great cooking videos.  He is really entertaining to watch. 

This recipe is amazing and easy!  No special equipment needed really.  And it really does turn out even better than a baguette from the store.  So watch this short video and then make some fantastic baguettes!  Note, if you use bread flour or wheat flour, it will not turn out quite as airy or crunchy, but it will still be very tasty!

For 4 smaller or 2 large baguette:

1/4 tsp dry active yeast

1 1/2 cups water (325 grams)

1 3/4 tsp salt

18 oz by weight all-purpose flour (500 grams), about 4 cups

- Mix dough just until combined.  Cover bowl with plastic and let rise 12-14 hours or until doubled.

- Punch down and shape loaves, let rise covered with floured plastic 1 to 1 1/2 hr or until almost doubled.  Snip or cut into bread for your baguette look.

- Bake at 550 F. about 15 minutes (spraying with water before baking, at 5 minutes and 10 minutes during cooking time) or until well-browned