Le Petit Café

06/17/2026

Hello,

Beets, beets, beets. And beet greens, I love them, and you'll probably be getting them more often than you should.
Indeed, the beet will go on (sorry 😄)
This week in a quiche over polenta, thus gf, with caramelized onions. And a few sweet potatoes, just because orange goes so well with purple. I took the picture before I poured the cream to show you the contrast of colors.

The crêpe will be a Carbonara, with bacon then, but this time presented as one of my crêpe cakes.

And dessert, a blueberry cheesecake.

By the way, seven years ago a friend made a few baby blankets for our first grandchild Felix.
There were many blankets and I saved a few since I knew Rachel and Winston would have more children.
There was one I particularly loved and I was saving it for the right baby to come along.
I am a big fan of Babar, the king of elephants, and it had hundreds of little blue elephants.
That baby, a little girl, was born 2 weeks ago and guess what?
She was named Céleste!
Surely you know who Celeste was:
Babar's wife!
Isn't life sometimes just perfect?

🥰

06/13/2026

An early morning conversation with Joel.

Joel is the artist responsible for those lovely installations all over our town. Our building has been the recipient of many of his creations, usually cute little Barbie dolls or just their dresses.
I saw him around 7:30 this morning as I was cleaning my stretch of the B- line, and I presumed he had just installed the string of Barbie dresses on my wall.
- No, he said, these have been here since last Saturday.
I was rather impressed that no one had tried to steal them, and I told him so. I added, rather sheepishly, that if I were not the old and wiser Marina I am now, but a younger, much younger Marina and much foolish too, I might have tried to steal one.
- But just one, I said, the one with the cherries.
- Oh, you love cherries? he asked.
- I do, and I would love a cherry dress too!
- Yes, you need a cherry dress! I will be right back, I need to get something in my car.

I did not exactly think that he had a cherry dress for me in his car, but on the other hand if you knew Joel you would not be overly surprised if he did.

He did not come back with a dress, but he came back with a few yards of 2 of the sweetest cherry fabrics!
- Here you.go, he said while putting the fabric in my arms. Now , just look for a seamstress to make a dress for you!
- Would a top do? I asked, thinking I wear pants more often t han dresses. I have become distracted with age, but when it comes to something that really. really interests me , like a cherry dress precisely, I don't lose my train of thoughts.
- A top will do.

A magical morning indeed.
Also thanks to you always patiently waiting in line 🥰
And by the way, next time I complain someone stole my plant, I will try to remember that young and foolish Marina I just mentioned.

06/10/2026

Hello.

This week's quiche will be a very Greek affair. Gf too.
Zucchini, Feta and sun dried tomatoes.
I haven't used sun dried tomatoes for a long time just because, as I told you before, a few years ago during the Sun Dried Tomato Years, it was almost difficult to find dishes in restaurants without way too many of them.
And I got tired of them.
But I thought it was time to go back to using a few.

And here I am criticizing the omnipresent sun dried tomato as I am myself dealing with my own addiction: saffron.
But I am working at it, and this week you will only find a very light touch of saffron. an idea of saffron, in your oven baked French toast. With puréed mangos.

Nothing Greek about the crêpe:
Pears and Havarti.
And All The Usual Suspects.

And by the way, that's our son and Rachel's new Celeste in her sister Elodie's arms.
It won't be long long before those two play together with our daughter's old Barbie house!

See you soon or as soon as possible 🥰

06/07/2026

So many fun kids at the Window, and many of them place their own order now. Usually a chocolate (Nutella) or jam crêpe.
And what a creative bunch too!

Samuel brought me 2 origami croissants and 3 origami dresses!
I will hang 2 of them over the Window, next to Joel's fabric dresses.
Joel is not exactly a kid, but he will always be one at heart 🥰
And Samuel's little sister completed the gift with a nice drawing of croissants and crêpes.
Well, one of those très élégantes dresses will travel to Paris with me; I will add it to the local gifts I bought for my sister's birthday!

Every Saturday morning, I also get my own private Show and Tell with Sami's kids, who show me their latest toys or one they particularly like.
Nick's iced tea and lemonade stand next to us was a success. Although when I walked over to get my iced tea, I realized I forgot to wash that dirty window in the back next to their stand.
Oh my… 😪 What an idiot I can be…

Enjoy the rest of your weekend,
and thank you for yet another very entertaining Window! 🥰🥰

06/05/2026

Hello,

I woke up extremely happy this morning.
And this for many reasons:
Our fourth grandchild, a little girl named Céleste, was born yesterday in New 0rleans.
Céleste Lucia, Lucia being my mother's name.
It made me even happier to think Mom was smiling on her little cloud.

Another reason is that the entire New Orleans family, the 6 of them, will be spending three weeks with us this summer in July and August.
An exciting summer ahead, followed by something equally exciting: I will be spending a week in Paris to celebrate my sister’s 80th birthday.
And spend a little time with our daughter who moved there.

You know, I envy all of you who have their families close by.
And when I complain about it, my children remind me I put an ocean between my parents and myself. Oh well.

Sadly, I will be missing one Window in August and I will tell you which one later.
To my French family's incomprehension, missing more than one Window was out of the question.
To abandon you 2 Saturdays?!? Are you joking?

Yes, an exciting summer ahead. ❤️

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06/04/2026

Hello,

On Saturday my gf quiche will be one of those two layer affairs: one of leeks and one of spinach.

The crêpe, one of my cakes of crêpes layered with fresh and smoked.salmon.

A mess of apple crumble and saffron custard for dessert. I tried the apple crumble last week on my restaurant customers and I want to prepare it again.
The apples I used lacked flavor so I decided to add a pinch of saffron to the preparation. I am a big fan of saffron and it added that je ne sais quoi which was missing.
Saffron and cream are my favorite solutions to my culinary uncertainties 😄
And since there is saffron in the apples why not add some to the custard as well?
Pourquoi pas!

And All The Usual Suspects.
And by the way, make sure to read my previous post on that fun iced tea/lemonade stand coming up right next to us on Saturday 😀

Hoping to see you soon.
No, not soon: AS SOON AS POSSIBLE!
🥰 🥰🥰

06/03/2026

Hello,

Don't ask for any iced tea on Saturday, I won't have brewed any.
Instead I will send you to Nick's iced tea and lemonade stand, just north of the Window on our lot.
For many reasons:
- Nick is a great guy.
- His profits will support a great cause, more about it below.
- One less thing for me to do! 😄

Now, I am not saying that my Window doesn't support a great cause: chiefly my happiness 😄
But I must admit Nick's cause is a more charitable one ❤️

And by the way, his iced tea, the recipient of which I have been in the past, is delicious and worth walking a few more steps to get it from 11 to 1:30.
Here are the details provided by Nick's mom/assistant Suzanne:

Come for the Window, stay for the Walrus! Laughing Walrus Tea & Lemonade will be open for Lemonade Day 2026 on Saturday, June 6 from 11 – 1:30 (or until sold out). The menu includes lemonade (regular and sugar-free), iced tea, tea twistees (1/2 tea, ½ lemonade), and snacks. 40% of the profits go to support Ranch Cat Rescue. In addition to rescuing stray cats and helping them find loving homes, they provide care for many cats that are challenging medical cases. Right now they’re raising funds to build a surgical suite on site, and the Walrus wants to help out! In addition to sharing profits, there will be a donation can for Ranch Cat Rescue at the stand. Anyone who donates a dollar or more can choose a free sticker in thanks. Or, you can tip the Walrus and hear a joke. Or both! 😄 Lots of fun and lemonade to be had on Saturday, June 6! 🍋💛🐈

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05/31/2026

My day started in a rather unusual way.
I looked outside and realized someone had tried to steal one of our big potted trees in front of the garage door.
Naturally it made me angry, and a bit sad too.

I think I know how it happened.
In order to lift the heavy tree, they grabbed it by the rim of the plastic pot which, after so many summers outside, was brittle and broke into their hands.
So they decided to abandon the project and the tree stood there a short distance from the door with, next to it, the large plastic saucer and the two big stones I put in the pot to keep it in place against gusts of wind.

The two big stones.
They could have thrown one into my window, out of spite, but they just lay on the side-walk.
Suddenly my anger gave way to gratitude.
It could have been turned into a very expensive repair, but it didn't after all and I silently thanked them.

But I could be wrong.
Maybe a gust of wind threw the tree down in spite of the two stones, and someone lifted it back up.
Which would be a nice thing to do in which case gratitude would also be in order.

I hope you enjoy this beautiful afternoon ♥️

05/28/2026

Melissa brought me this foam baguette tonight. She suggested I could use it on Patrick if he doesn't behave.
As he sometimes does, like last Saturday at the Window when he didn't put enough olive oil on the quiche or Nutella in the crêpe!
This should keep him in line.
Enjoy this beautiful weather and
see you soon! 🥰