Local Christmas | Share your dream before the end

What would you like to accomplish in your life? “A cookbook,” said Lara Fortin-Grenier. A dream that she thought she would realize in 15 or 20 years. The illness disrupted his plans.

The diagnosis was made 13 months ago. Brain cancer. Grade 4. Impossible to operate. Impossible to cure.

“It really gives you a sense of urgency. I have to enjoy life. I have to accomplish what I want to accomplish,” confides the 31-year-old young woman in a telephone interview.

Once the shock of the news had subsided, a friend asked him what items were on his bucket list – this list of wishes to come true before dying.

Nothing, she replied. “Because, in my head, making a cookbook was big. Too big,” recalls the woman who has been running the culinary blog Petite Bleuette for seven years, in honor of her native Lac-Saint-Jean.

Two weeks after receiving her diagnosis, she dared to contact Pratico Édition. A year later, she holds her own recipe book in her hands – which has nothing to do with the ones she made herself with the aim of making “home cookbooks”.

In sharing mode brings together 75 recipes ideal for gatherings with family or friends: dumplings with lemongrass and maple syrup to serve as an aperitif, flaky shallot tartlets to bring in a potluckmarshmallow cookies for your sweet tooth, mocktails (and their alcoholic version) to quench your thirst…

You can also find very good recipe ideas for Christmas receptions, including goat cheese cromesquis, blueberries and daisy buds. “It’s a classic that I make when I entertain during the holidays,” says the Quebec resident. Many guests have often asked him for the recipe. It is now accessible.

A way to say thank you

Why did she choose to build her book around the theme of sharing? “In the last year, I realized that it is so important to be well surrounded, to take care of our loved ones, to share moments with them. I realized that the times when I was happiest were when I was with my people,” replies Lara Fortin-Grenier, with a charming Lac-Saint-Jean accent.

Already, when she was little, the notions of sharing and cooking went hand in hand in family gatherings, especially during the holiday season.

“My Christmases were about the gang, the family. The big family! At my mother’s house, there are nine children,” explains this photography enthusiast, who signs the images in her book.

Sharing also marked the first experiments in the kitchen of this self-taught woman who was never afraid to “try things” behind the stove.

“Being an insomniac, I found a passion that I could do at night when I wasn’t able to sleep,” she reveals of her years at university. He even woke up his roommate so that he could taste chocolate éclairs. It just goes to show that food brings people together, no matter the time of day.

To enjoy life

Throughout the interview, we feel that Lara Fortin-Grenier is a radiant woman. A joy of living emanates from his words, even if death lurks. How does she keep smiling despite everything?

In her eyes, after the diagnosis, she had two options: feel sorry for herself or take advantage of the precious time she had. For her, the choice was obvious. “You don’t want to spend your last months, your last years moping about your fate. »

Lara Fortin-Grenier doesn’t know how much longer she will be able to enjoy life. Since his cancer is usually diagnosed in children, doctors cannot give him a clear horizon. “I have to get used to the unknown,” she notes.

For now, she is feeling good and is looking forward to celebrating Christmas, her favorite holiday, in Lac-Saint-Jean with her family.

“We are such a small point in the universe, in history. […] The important thing is to take advantage of the luck we have during this little point. »

Spicy squash and bacon tartare bites

There are dozens of recipes that lend themselves well to holiday celebrations. In sharing mode. For your New Year’s Eve, Lara Fortin-Grenier suggests these spicy squash and bacon tartare bites. “This recipe tastes like happiness,” she assures.

Preparation: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 1 hour
Freezing: 15 minutes
Yield: 16 to 20 balls

Ingredients

• 1 small Butternut squash (about 500 ml – 2 cups of flesh)
• 30 ml (2 tbsp.) olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 60 ml (1/4 cup) butter
• 1 thick slice of bacon, approximately 100 g (3 1/2 oz), minced
• 2 liters (8 cups) canola oil (for frying)
• 400 g (about 1 lb) very fresh inside round of beef, cut into small cubes
• 1 packet of fresh chives (21 g), finely chopped
• 22.5 ml (1 1/2 tbsp.) mayonnaise
• 10 ml (2 tsp) sriracha
• 20 baguette croutons
• 30 ml (2 tbsp.) alfalfa sprouts (optional)

Preparation

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F).
2. Peel the squash, then remove the filaments and seeds. Cut two thin slices of flesh, 3 mm thick, and reserve them for garnish. Roughly cut the rest of the flesh into cubes.
3. In a bowl, mix the squash cubes with the olive oil. Salt and pepper. Spread the mixture on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
4. Bake for 45 minutes, turning the squash cubes halfway through cooking. Remove from oven.
5. Place the squash in the food processor or electric blender, then add the butter. Blend until smooth. Reserve in the refrigerator.
6. In a pan heated over medium heat, cook the bacon for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring every 2 minutes to prevent the bacon from sticking to the bottom of the pan, until it is crispy.
7. Using a fine strainer, drain the bacon, then place it in a bowl. Place in the freezer for at least 15 minutes, until completely cooled.
8. In a deep fryer or large saucepan, heat canola oil until it reaches 230°C (450°F) on a cooking thermometer. If a saucepan is used, monitor the cooking carefully to prevent the oil from overheating and igniting.
9. Cut the thin slices of reserved squash flesh into julienne strips.
10. Fry the julienned squash for 4 to 5 minutes to remove the moisture from the squash. Drain and place on absorbent paper.
11. Fill a large bowl with ice cubes, then place another large bowl on top of them. Place the beef, bacon, chives, mayonnaise and sriracha in the bowl and stir.
12. Spread the squash puree over the croutons. Garnish with tartare, julienned squash and, if desired, alfalfa. Serve immediately.

Boreal mocktail with myrique balsam

Are you looking for an original alcohol-free option to offer your guests? Here is a mocktail that “recalls the forests here”, the recipe of which appears in the book In sharing modeby Lara Fortin-Grenier.

Preparation: 10 minutes
Yield: 2 glasses

Ingredients

• Ice cubes to taste
• 2.5 ml (1/2 tsp) ground myric balsam
• 0.625 ml (1/8 tsp) ground juniper berries
• 375 ml (1 1/2 cups) apple must
• Ginger soft drink to taste

Preparation

• 1. Fill two glasses with ice cubes, then distribute the myric balsam, juniper berries and apple must. Stir with a spoon.
• 2. Fill the space in the glasses with the ginger soda.

For an alcoholic version, replace half of the apple must with wheat beer.

In sharing mode – 75 recipes to get together around good food

Lara Fortin-Grenier

Practical Edition

208 pages