What would you like to accomplish in your life? “A cookbook,” Lara Fortin-Grenier said to herself. A dream she thought she would realize in 15 or 20 years. The illness disrupted his plans.
The diagnosis came 13 months ago. Brain cancer. Grade 4. Unoperable. 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 sunk in, 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, doing 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 Edition. 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 to a potluck, marshmallow cookies for those with a sweet tooth, mocktails (and their alcoholic version) to quench their 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.
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 he could taste some chocolate éclairs. It just goes to show that food brings people together, no matter the time of day.
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. »
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.
Prep: 30 minutesCook: 1 hourFreeze: 15 minutesYield: 16 to 20 balls
Are you looking for an original non-alcoholic option to offer your guests? Here is a mocktail that “recalls the forests here”, the recipe of which appears in the book En mode sharing, by Lara Fortin-Grenier.
Preparation time: 10 minutes Yield: 2 glasses