Its never too early for a treat

Remember Meert? A patisserie shop I discovered earlier on in the year? I love love love their vanilla gaufre cookies but hard as it is to believe, I wasn't completely convinced by their chocolates. Well, I just found out that on weekends, they have a small selection of freshly baked mini-cakes, including a mini-chocolate one that's apparently, too die for.  So in the name of research (its hard, but someone's got to do it right?!), I took myself there to buy one or two.  

They were delicious! Its actually resembles a teacake in consistency and there are little chocolate bits hidden within the cake. Its not too sweet yet not too bitter.  Its just right and perfect with tea or coffee.  I can see why these little cakes sell out fast.  The good thing about them too is that you can store them in the freezer and they keep really well. A sweet treat saved for another day is always a good one in my book!

Of course while I was there, I couldn't resist taking home another teacake.  This time, it was their version of glazed orange tea cake.  Little confession: I'm actually allergic to oranges but cannot for the life of me resist orange cakes.  So when I saw that Meert had one, I just had to try that too.

I'm happy to report that its absolutely fantastic. One can really taste the fresh oranges used while the body of the cake was all moist and soft. And did I mention that its glazed too? Absolutely yummy! Unlike the chocolate ones however, the orange cake doesn't keep well. It has to be consumed right away. I think that's not going to be a problem for me.

A sweet taste of Algeria

From the outside, this cafe doesn't stand out from all the other cafes that line the streets of Paris. But the  cold as well as the wonderfully steaming cups of mint tea being drank with gusto by the cafe's regulars convinced me to step inside. 

And what a wonderful surprise it was inside! You are greeted with the delicious aroma of sugary  pastries and mint tea. Tesnime  is an algerian patisserie and tea salon.  They serve a wide variety of Algerian sweets, each one more mouthwatering than the other.  I couldn't help but take pictures even before choosing which tasty morsel to try first.

Here are pastries based on pistachios and almonds..

Algerian version of the baklava with the honey still melting off the pastries

Chocolatey desserts with different nuts..

It was extremely hard to choose which ones to bring home.  And I've forgotten what they're called, those that did come home with me. But what I remember well is the taste.  They are redolent with the taste of honey and spices and they are hearty too with none of the fluffiness of French pastries.  Washed down with a steaming cup of mint tea, this afternoon's gouter  made me think of warm exotic lands.

A stroll along Montorgueil

The view from my window

Dear friends, it’s been a crazy week here, what with all the things I’ve had to do for my little project hence the long silence on the blog. It doesn’t help that the news has been so grim with the disaster in Japan and now the bombings in Libya. It has made me feel like what I’m doing in the scale of things is frivolous and too lighthearted by far.  It has made writing difficult, to say the least.

Today, I look out the window and the sun is shining brightly. It is officially spring in my corner of the world. The sky is this wonderful blue that I haven’t seen in awhile. All this reminds me that part of the purpose of this blog is to share all the little beautiful moments that can be so fleeting. Yes, Hobbes had a point when he said that life is nasty, brutish and short, but it can also be light filled and full of beauty, humor and grace.  We have but only to look closely.