This is a guest post written by Anne Elder, my wonderful intern, about the recent class trip* she took to the Jura. The photos are also hers. Take it away, Anne!

When I drive through France, the roadside signs always make me feel like I’m about to meet a celebrity, bearing names of towns I only know from the perspective of my tiny Paris kitchen, and the labels on my favorite foods.

I felt that very excitement traveling through the Jura, a French region that’s just south of popular oenophile destination Burgundy, but one that is oft overlooked by tourists. It is a lush mountainous region near the Swiss border, where the land lends itself to the production of many delicious terroir foods.

The concept of terroir is pervasive in French cuisine (and increasingly in America, too), dating back centuries.

Eating a produit du terroir means you are indirectly tasting the ground in (or on) which it was made — tasting the soil, the climate, the craftsmanship. This notion ranges from cheese, and how the hay eaten by the Montbéliard cows impacts its flavor, to wine and how the precise fusion of soil and climate and skill meet to grow grapes that are pressed into such a complex beverage.

Jura is a goldmine when it comes to seeking out terroir. Equipped with rain boots and notebooks, my classmates and I were determined to learn how to taste France. We drove over hilltops, past rows of sapins (spruce trees, which are cut down into boards where the cheese will be left to age) and stayed in a gîte, a no-frills guest house.

During our five days there, we were afforded the opportunity to see the cheese production from the farm to the aging cellar, taste wine still ripening in oak barrels, and sample many more local recipes and products cooked by gracious hosts.

If you are able to travel to Jura on your next trip to France, here are the terroir products you must not miss.

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I am always curious about other people’s routine, and my favorite section in the French magazine ELLE is the page near the end where a personality shares a typical day in their life. I recently had the opportunity to do just that for an Instagram takeover of One Woman Shop, a community of female solopreneurs, and I thought I would share that little photo essay with you here.

Ready to go behind the scenes and experience a day in the life of a Parisian food writer? Here’s what it looks like.

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With the nicer weather taking us out of the house more — springtime in Paris is no time to stay indoors! — I become a more frequent practitioner of picnic meals.

These are meals for which we just plop a bunch of items on the table for each of us to compose our own plate: imagine crunchy crudité sticks, a simple green salad, buttery avocados, perhaps a jar of chicken rillettes or a can of sardines, some roasted nuts, a quick dip or spread, and any leftover bits and pieces from previous meals.

I love the loose structure, the joy and spontaneity of it, and I never tire of this format.

With this we may have some fresh baguette from the corner bakery, but lately I’ve been making these absolutely irresistible raw buckwheat crackers, leveraging the power of my high-power blender (more on that below!).

The process is very simple: you soak some buckwheat groats and almonds over night, then blitz them in the blender with a few spices. I use cumin and cacao but the formula is very flexible.

You get a fairly smooth paste that you spread on two baking sheets, and dehydrate in the oven or a dehydrator until you get crisp, rough-around-the-edges, high-flavor, raw buckwheat crackers that are up for anything.

I’ve enjoyed them dipped into my simple tahini sauce, to scoop up some hummus, or spread with cashew “cheese”. And when bell peppers come round again I’m sure they’ll be magical with romesco sauce.

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The French have a saying that goes, “En avril, ne te découvre pas d’un fil,” which means that April is generally too early and too chilly to remove layers of clothing. It has certainly been true this year, though we have had beautifully sunny weather in Paris. I have been to the greenmarket a couple of times with my sons, and we picked out these beautiful, fresh tulips — one of my simplest recipes for happiness.

The sister saying to the above is, “En mai, fais ce qu’il te plaît !” (In May, do as you please) and I intend to do just that.

Good Eats From This Month

• The gorgeous weather has made it possible to have a few balcony lunches (bundled up) in the sun. What bliss! Pictured here is the veggie hotbox from Nous. Is it al fresco dining weather yet where you live?

• The famous ramen house Ippudo has recently opened its first French outpost, and their Akamaru special was the best bowl of ramen I’ve had this side of Tokyo. (See highlights from my trip to Japan.)

• They say you should eat the colors of the rainbow and I can’t think of a more delicious way to do so than this toss-it-yourself quinoa salad from vegan haven Le Potager de Charlotte. What’s your favorite way to eat the rainbow?

• How lucky am I that the first Éclair de Génie café has opened right in my neighborhood, on rue Lepic? It offers delicious éclairs galore, of course, but also these irresistibly flaky rolls of brioche feuilletée. Pictured here is the plain version, but they also come in apple, raspberry, or chocolate. Which one would you get first?

Check my map of Paris favorites and follow me on Instagram to see many more food shots throughout the month.

Latest Reads

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5 Cool Links

1. Would you recognize these staple foods if you came across them in their natural habitat? Yeah, me neither.
2. Ever wondered what French students eat? (Interviews in colloquial French, if you feel like practising!)
3. If you have trouble drinking as much water as you should, this one’s for you!
4. I was so very excited to be a guest on the Food Blogger Pro podcast, which I listen to and love. The episode is up now if you want to listen to me discuss my blogging ups and downs, maintaining a bilingual blog, and embracing change.
5. I walk past the Sacré-Coeur every day and love seeing these old photos of when it was built.

Follow me on Twitter and on Facebook for many more links throughout the month.