MM Cinq

I have learned a lot in the last month, especially the last week, about the challenges associated with cooking and baking in a country with recipes from a different country.


**Google Translate has been a life-saver in the grocery store!  I always think I've translated what I need before I go to the store, but it never fails that I get there and then am confused by the different options of things.  I know the locals are annoyed with the fact that I'm crouched by a shelf for a good 3-5 minutes on my phone before I figure out what I need.  And the cheese section, oh good luck, even Google translate doesn't help with that.  Sometimes I just buy things and they end up being the complete opposite of what I thought they were when I get home!

"Puddle cookies"

**Brown sugar, as we know it in America, is a rare commodity here.  I tried baking for the first time last week and neither were super successful (one was just a Pinterest recipe fail, the other, an actual fail on my part).  I was able to find most ingredients without any trouble, but in order to get "all-purpose American" flour, you have to mix 2 different flours together here.  After much research, I bought two recommended kinds of sugar to substitute for brown sugar: cassonade and vergeoise.  I tried the cassonade mixed with water and the result was flat cookies.  Cassonade has a different melting temp than our brown sugar, so immediately after putting them in the oven, they began to melt.  There was a point that I thought I might end up with 1 big pan cookie!  Several taste testers said they still tasted delicious, but I think I still need to work a little on technique! :)

Luckily, my friend Katie and I went to a recommended baking store today, and we were able to snag some more "American-style" ingredients, including vanilla, baking powder, and chocolate chips (this is very exciting here!)  I'm excited to try some more batches with different ingredients, including the vergeoise version of sugar.  Maybe by the time some visitors come, I'll have it perfected! :)