Me, Myself et Moi

September 2011

Recently over a picnic dinner, some friends asked me, “do you eat like this all the time?” What did they mean by this? Maybe it was the tablecloth or the glassware. Maybe it was the vintage wood grains or the repurposed fishing basket. However, my guess is this meant the overall love and care put into the shared meal. Would I do the same for myself each night?

Another friend recently listened to my woes over the coming wanderings that will lead my inspirational yoga instructor away from this gray town. This beautiful friend told me, “Don’t ever make any person bigger than yourself, Quelcy.”

When I put those questions and the advise together, this is what emerged: quiet, beautiful moments for me, by myself et avec moi.

A friendly fella named Steve recently started selling fresh juice at the yoga school. He will also be vending his vitamin-filled, jam jars at the Pittsburgh Public Market. Significantly boosting my produce intake with such bold colors immediately brightens my day. Steve and the rest of the juicing yogis have inspired me to invest in a new kitchen contraption. I can’t wait for my very first elixir!

Beets and Bonne Maman and little, local plums turned leftover rolls into something brand new.

Same rolls on a different quiet occasion…

If I could preserve only two memories from all my time in France, one would be mon aventure avec un accordéoniste, and the other would be the flavor of crème d’amande.

Almond croissants are the perfect pastry in my baking book, but for whatever reason, they are really hit or miss on American soil. Thankfully, there is a a “true taste of France in Pittsburgh,” and La Gourmandine actually tastes like France! This almond croissant was the most perfect pastry in the bakery basket, and it made the ideal addition to a quiet brunch for one.