Hi there & bonjour!

After noticing that over half of my Instagram photos were of food that I made at home, I realized that there may be a better way to share my love of cooking with the world. The idea of blogging about my food scared me, but after some encouragement from my dear friend Cydny, I figured that I might as well give it a try.

I’m not new to blogging – you can read about my life as an expat in France here – but I have never tried to write a recipe. Most of my cooking in the kitchen consists of a few steps: looking at the gorgeous veggies that I picked up at the farmers market that week, selecting a few, completing the dish with spices and protein-rich grains, and tasting as I go along. However, there are several dishes that I see myself making over and over again, and they deserve to be shared. Voilà, the goal of Pepper & Cream. Pepper, because every dish needs a little kick, and cream, because the cows down the road have become my wonderful new neighbors.

M and me at our friend’s farm just outside of Cassel

Living in the small town of Cassel, France with my boyfriend and our dog and rabbit, I enjoy visiting local farms and cooking with delicious fresh ingredients. We live a vegetarian lifestyle (eggs and dairy products from down the road are included) and love to host apéros – essentially the French version of an informal cocktail hour with lots of things to snack on – with our friends, hike the trails around our town, and travel. I’ll be posting here weekly following my routine visits to the farmers market. Recipes and the stories behind them will give you an insight on what it’s like to be a vegetarian Texan living in a French town of 2,300 people – and maybe they’ll inspire you to try the dishes out for yourself.

Vanilla gateau

Eggplant parmesan

Rustic rainbow swiss chard & mushroom tart

Thanks for reading, and check back for a new recipe soon!