Meet the Baker

Hello, welcome to my blog! Une Gamine dans la Cuisine published it's first recipe and fuzzy photo on a cold Spring day in 2009. When I began blogging, I knew very little about what it meant to actually 'blog.' All I knew was that I wanted to share my kitchen adventures...successes and disasters, with fellow food lovers.

I want this to be a friendly place where everyone who visits feels relaxed, hungry, and comfortable, and it's difficult to feel relaxed, let alone comfortable, when you don't know anything about your host. So please allow me to introduce myself and answer a few of the questions I've been asked, and maybe a few you were curious about ( or not).
 

My name is Valerie. I'm 30...early something, and I love the alchemy of baking.

What is the title of this blog? And what does it mean?

My father was French and I lived in Europe until I was about six, French was my native language. As a child, my hair was always cut very short and I somehow always managed to rip or muddy-up all the beautiful dresses that my mom forced me into wearing. (I couldn't sit still for too long.) By the end of the day, or hour, she said I looked like a street urchin. Gamine was a term of endearment frustration. A way to describe someone who gets into trouble. (I am the youngest, so according to my sister, that means I was able to get away with more.) 
My other nickname is Cricket, but gamine is less cringe-inducing. Plus it's a lovely tribute to my dad.♥

Where did the idea for this blog begin?

Growing up I was always fascinated with food. My dad would cook a vast variety of different recipes. He traveled a lot and when he finally came home from some exotic place, he would often try to prepare the dishes he had sampled. Once he served us cow's tongue, and on another occasion, some part of an alligator. But he was sneaky about it...he wouldn't tell us what we were eating until half-way through the meal. Needless to say, desserts became my happy place.

I have worked in bakeries since I was a teenager. When I was in college I worked at an amazing little pastry shop that really solidified my love for baking (and red wine). Since I was in the very lucrative Shakespearean lit./Anthropology field of study, it wasn't long before I ended up working in yet another bakery. After years of baking at home and getting brilliant ideas from online bloggers, I finally decided that I should just start my own food blog. I love writing without the pressure of deadlines or the worry of red marks all over the paper. Plus, anyone who knows me will tell you that I am shy. Writing online is a good way for me to express myself, sarcasm, occasional venting and all. Stuff I would never normally do around people I don't know.

What is my favourite recipe so far?

Anything with Dark chocolate is on top of the list. Aside from that, I really, love lemons and limes. But I'm also crazy about peanut butter. I think it may be a tie between the lemon cupcakes with cherry buttercream, and my Nutella peanut butter pillows. 

Chocolate chip cookies will always and forever be at the top my list of classic comfort food. I think the best recipe comes from Cook's Illustrated...but that's subject to change with my mood(s).

What kind of camera do I use?

Up until November 2010, I used a Canon Powershot A430. But after 2 years of snapping, a few tumbles, and an unfortunate fall into a bowl of frosting, the beloved camera just could not go on any longer. I now use her slightly upgraded cousin, the A520. Even though I would love to own a fancy DSLR camera, A) they're far too expensive, and B) I'm kind of hooked on the ease of a point and shoot.

Why do I moderate comments?

I didn't always do this. But after several spamming incidents, and a few not-so-friendly remarks, I felt it was best to protect my blog, and it's readers from anything annoying and/or negative. I know that not all the recipes are going to work for everyone, and I'm more than happy to hear questions or concerns, as long as they're delivered in a diplomatic manner.

 Do I actually eat everything I bake?

Of course. Just not much of it. I would never make something and not try it first. I don't think we should deprive ourselves of anything in life as long as certain things are done in moderation. As I've said several times before, I don't crave something right after it's made. I love the process and the steps it takes to bake something, and the real reward comes from watching people take pleasure in eating something that I made from scratch.

What do I do when my head is not in an oven?

I'm quite boring actually. But I do like to ride, equestrian style, though I've always wanted to try western. I love to ski, although I don't do it as often as I would like. I can't go a day without doing some form of yoga. It helps to clear my sometimes over analytical head and focus on what matters. Pilates is also crucial to my daily routine. (I'm only 5'2", so it helps me feel stretched out and slightly taller.) I love to read. The classics mostly (like I said, boring). I could read Shakespeare's Plays over and over and still find something new. I'm also a crossword puzzle addict!

Reads (in random order)
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith 
The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

Doctor Zhivago by Boris Pasternak 
The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett 

Les Misérables by Victor Hugo 
The Law of Love by Laura Esquivel
Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel 
The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory 

Out of Africa by Isak Dinesen 
The Great Gatsby by  F. Scott Fitzgerald 

One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez 

The Tempest by William Shakespeare 

Breakfast at Tiffany's by Truman Capote 

The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

t.v.

30 Rock 
Arrested Development
Battlestar Galactica (stellar acting & writing, plus, Jamie Bamber) 
Top Chef
Homeland 
Portlandia

The Office (BBC style)
House M.D.
Modern Family 
No Reservations 
Game of Thrones 
Barefoot Contessa

Music

Cat Power
Fiona Apple
Keren Ann
Françoise Hardy
Yann Tiersen
Azure Ray
Nouvelle Vague
Bitter:Sweet
Charlotte Gainsbourg
Mazzy Star
Leonard Cohen (I'll never get sick of "Famous Blue Raincoat")
Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová
Regina Spektor
Katie Melua
Lenny Kravitz
Emiliana Torrini
Massive Attack
Pink Martini

Movies

Popeye (à la Robin Williams & Shelley Duvall)

Another Earth
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

Tango
Practical Magic
500 Days of Summer
Good Bye Lenin!
Moonrise Kingdom
Amélie
Melancholia
Immortal Beloved
Il Postino
Midnight in Paris
Big Fish 
The Royal Tenenbaums

Once 
Much Ado About Nothing
Lost in Translation 
Step Up 3 (please don't judge, I adore dance movies.)
Out of Africa 
Roman Holiday
What About Bob? 
The Saint
Pan's Labyrinth  

Loves

The sound of a cello
Umbrellas
Baking (shocking, I know)
Grey shirts and sweaters
Warm, humid rainy days when everything is lush and green
Elephants
Goats
My cat/pseudo child, Niles. Aka Poopie (a nickname from a scene with Gérard Depardieu in 102 Dalmations)
Mojitos
Fedoras (I think it's great that they're making a come-back)
Crossword puzzles (especially those that I can do with a pen)
My camera (even though because it's crusted with frosting and crumbs)
Listening to seagulls
That feeling you have after a great early-morning workout. (If only that could be bottled up somehow.)

Dislikes

Clowns
Ventriloquist dummies
Pretense
Winter driving
empty cookie jars
The way a room feels after everyone has left the party
That seemingly endless, empty stretch of time between January 2nd and April.
Those days/nights spent obsessing over lost opportunities

Things I would like to do someday

1)  Get my pilot's license (think Maggie, from 'Northern Exposure') :D

2)  Learn how to speak Italian

3)  Try out for, and ultimately land, a role in a Shakespearean play (Miranda from 'The Tempest', Ophelia from 'Hamlet' or, Hamlet himself)
4)  Learn how to play the cello

5)  Travel more (I've always wanted to go to London, Cape Town, Corfu, and Barbados.)
6)  Master the art of making symmetrical layer cakes.
7)  Figure out how to live in the moment and stop over-thinking 
8)  Say hello to Jamie Bamber

Season

Autumn

Why is there a 'u' in the word favourite?

Because that's the way my dad spelled it. :-)

Favourite Colours

Green
Purple
Grey

Foods that I actually don't like

Brussels sprouts
Lima beans

Liver

Butter mints
Brussels sprouts
Sauerkraut
Banana peppers

Popcorn shrimp (there was an incident at a Red Lobster when I was little)

Black licorice

licorice in general
and Brussels sprouts