When in France you will often see people drinking syrups or cordials as they love them. More and more people here though are making their own so that they can control the sugar level and of course other nonnatural ingredients.

So here is my recipe for mint syrup.

One of my favorite things about French cuisine is its sauces and there is a little-known sauce called a Sauce Palois which comes from the mother sauce Bearnaise but instead of using tarragon, you use mint.

Here is my recipe for a sauce Palois which you can serve on a lovely piece of poached fish perhaps or over some lamb cutlets.

Morocco accounted for nearly 90% of the world’s production of mint in 2019 followed by Argentina, Mexico, and Japan.

Of course one of the ways the Moroccans use mint is in mint tea, which is loved by many French people.

I love mint tea so here is my recipe for Mint tea.

Like many I’m sure watching the acclaimed food series on Netflix High on the Hog was not only entertaining, and delicious but highly educational. Food writer Stephe Satterfield traces back the origins of African-American cuisine and I was fascinated to learn connections to French food in this series for a dish that isn’t I would have thought had any connection to France, Mac and Cheese.

James Hemings, Thomas Jeffersons, slave, brother-in-law, personal valet, and then eventually chef created the version we know of today after having in France a dish of pasta and cheese that he called at the time macaroni pie. This is the dish that would then evolve into what we around the world would call Macaroni and cheese.

Here is James Hemings' version of Mac and Cheese. Well as far as we know.

Snow Eggs or Isle Flotante or Oeufs a la neige as they’re known in France are wonderful poached meringues that sit on a custard or creme anglaise. The name snow was attributed to the whipping of the egg whites until they looked fluffy and stiff like snow.

In 1747 Hannah Glasse recorded in her cookbook The Art of Cooking Made Plain and Easy a recipe for floating islands, Glasse was an English cook but her recipe bears no resemblance to the recipe we know for today's version.

There is a note in a letter from Benjamin Franklin in 1771 about having a floating island dessert. But as far as we can tell James Hemmings's version that we know today was his own creation and is now enjoyed around the US and France, well even around the world.

Here is his original recipe for Snow Eggs

I make my own pillow mist from the lavender plants we have growing in our garden every year.

Here is my recipe for pillow mist.

French cuisine embraces lavender with it often being used to coat the outside of sheep and goat milk cheeses. In Provence, some places take lavender flowers and candied them to be used as decorations for pastries and cakes. A use I love is to make lavender sugar which is a great ingredient to place in the pantry.

My recipe for lavender sugar is below.

In French cuisine, you can find juniper berries being used in many Alsatian dishes and in particular Choucroute garnie which is French for sauerkraut accompanied with meats. They are also often used in brines for white meats like chicken, turkey, and pork and wild games as well as wild boar.

You can also find Juniper Berries being used to flavor a beurre blanc sauce.

Here’s my recipe

There’s nothing as simple or delicious as a Sauce au Raifort.

Here’s my recipe.

If you happen to have some fresh horseradish then why not try my horseradish cream which is a great sauce or dip. 

Here is my recipe

Another great thing to do is make a goats cheese salad with the herbs de Provence being used with some olive oil as a dressing. 

Here’s my recipe.

You can make your own version of Herbs de Provence.

Here is my recipe.