Cups

I love a good cup of tea and the occasional coffee (un Latté, s’il vous plaît).

As an Iraqi-Brit I’m extremely fortunate that both countries share a passion for the black hot drink! My mother used to give me the stuff in my milk bottle! (true story.) Tea comes in many colours and flavours, in my blog you will find I have written how to make a few and recommend any particular tea type that I come across or any particular home made drinks you can make yourself.

In my limited free time, I’ve started a personal Cups in Paris project; where I review the latest cafés in Paris. It’s how I explore the city and part of the reason I’ve fallen in love with my adoptive country (a true Londoner I am).

Recently, the coffee scene has exploded with new concept cafés, specialist coffee brûleries (roasters) and bobo (bourgeois-bohème) style cafés. There are many sites and lists of the ‘best’ cafés in Paris which I have used and will provide links too.

So if you are in Paris and would like to taste a good cup of coffee or tea, Click Cups in Paris tab above.

 

Dishes

I’ve been told that I dish out a good plate. I have my mother and husband to thank for this. Mother’s always encouraged me and taught me the ‘family’ secrets of cooking. Her cooking is simply amazing (Doesn’t everyone say that about their mums?). Her encouraging words and my friends’ support have truly made my cooking time a more daring one and given me the confidence to continue in my culinary explorations.

My husband is my ultimate critic. With each one of his meal “analysis” (sarcastic grin) he’s made me more determined to cook. I refuse to give up my kitchen creativity because of his unique tastes (Have you heard of a French man who hates cheese and garlic?) so I experiment and adapt recipes so that my cooking is innovative yet still traditional!

My cooking style is simple home meals. I am not a restaurant chef, I’m a mama, busy one at that. I cook food in a fast simple way that doesn’t compromise on flavour and taste. I think life is too short to be in the kitchen , I’d rather spend it at the dinner table.

I’ll show you how to make my simple home recipes with easy step-by-step guides, tips along the way, and a photo of the delicious finished dish. If you’re lucky and my monsters give me the time to write, you may even get a story behind the dish.

For measurements I rely on eye judgment and cups, although I’ll try to be as specific as I can with measurements! (I have a “let’s see what happens” attitude.)

Our Sunday routine includes picking up fresh seasonal fruits and vegetable from the local market then heading to the halal butcher and topping it off with the most amazing fresh bread from my corner boulangerie; One of the blessings of living in Paris. London has something very similar more access to more world food but lacks the life-changing baguettes!