One my favorite spots for tea in New York was a little palour called Tea & Sympathy, all doilies and scones. I finally caught up for tea in Paris with Karin, a fellow blogger (an alien Parisienne) and one of the first readers of the Lunch in Paris blog. It was such a treat to transform an online connection into a real life one - a uniquely 21st century encounter.
The blog will be a year old next month. After I finished the book - I knew I wanted to continue sharing stories and creating recipes from Paris. But I was very new to the online community - afraid I would be writing into thin air. Instead I've discovered a world full of enthusiastic, like-minded indivduals checking in to say hi, share their tips and Paris longings - and of course, their recipes.
Karin is a big gluten free cook - and she brought over some lovely carrot muffins made with coconut flour courtesy of almond flour fairy Elena Amsterdam of Elena's Pantry. I'm normally suspicious of gluten free pastries (I'm a texture nut), but these were moist, not overly eggy - and the coconut flour added a tropical ray that was just right with the grated carrots and juicy raisins. Never mind the fact that it was gloomy and chilled in Paris in the middle of June - we had the perfect excuse (and nibbles) to sit and talk the afternoon away.
PS - Karin changed a few things from the original recipe. She used Agave syrup instead of Yacon, and made 9 regular size muffins (baked for 20 minutes), instead of 32 mini muffins. Enjoy!
