Sweet treats

Some Saturday mornings during college, I would walk downtown (I went to college in a small town) and get a fresh glazed doughnut (not donut!) at the bakery.  It was so delicious and with my metabolism, I never had to worry about the calories.

However, during high school, my first job was waiting tables at a cafe and doughnut shop.  I would come home from work exhausted and reeking of the smell of the grease in which the doughnuts were fried.  Later, after college, I worked for a time in a health food store in Steamboat Springs, Colorado (yes, they made and sold doughnuts there, ironically,)  I’d arrive in the morning to see the doughnuts draining and although the smell wasn’t as intense as at the cafe, it was enough to put me off eating doughnuts for quite some time, just as in high school.

Dessert

When in France, eat!   You can get good meals in little local restaurants as well as in five-star establishments.  But my eyes, and stomach, are drawn to pâtisseries and boulangeries once the meal is over or when exploring towns.  The former specializes in pastries, cakes, and the like, while the latter sells various sorts of bread.  If you’re fortunate, you may find the two in one spot, a combination I love.

We found one such combination while in Luxeuil.  After taking in all the history we could get, we were ready for refreshment and people-watching, so we stopped for a coffee (cappuccino for me).  Afterwards, I ducked into a shop to pick up these tasty raspberry tarts for dessert after our dinner at home.  Not too sweet, in the style of most European pastries, they came in a wonderful box that was elegant, but with a riff of the 60’s, at least to me.  And the taste (of the tarts, not the box)?  Divine!