You love to cook. You love to eat even more. You think about food all the time, and you need something to channel all this food-loving frenzy into so you start a blog (not so hard to imagine, huh?)

You are a computer engineer by day, but when not at work, you are either cooking or eating or writing about it for your blog.
You invent recipes. You test them again and again, and finally, when they come out to your liking, you take mouth-watering photos of them.
At first, you are among a small community of such people. But that community and your readership grows. Your passion for what you do really shows through, and more and more people begin to discover you. Finally, you are so popular that you get a book deal, and quit your day job. You become a food writer (and photographer) full-time. You are only 27 years old.

This is the remarkable story of Clotilde Dusoulier, who writes the very popular food blog, Chocolate and Zucchini. I went to hear her last week in Berkeley, on her book tour, and of course had to buy her cookbook of the same name.
She really is adorable. For those who haven’t heard of her, I highly recommend her blog. She comes up with unique pairings of ingredients, with emphasis on seasonal and local. She is French, and lives in Paris, but really discovered food while living in the Bay Area several years ago. When she began blogging, she chose to do so in English because she knew she would have a bigger readership, and wanted to be part of the food blogging community. When asked whether she ever gets reprimanded by her fellow countrymen for writing in English, she answered “Yeah, there are those.”
I loved hearing Clotilde speak because she was totally unpretentious and just really gracious about her fame and fortune. Her book is new here, but not out in Paris yet, and she told us that she insisted that she not be on the cover in the French edition, as she does not want to see herself staring back at her every time she enters a bookstore in Paris. She said she loved being the common denominator of all of those who have formed a community of people who are as passionate about food as she is.
I can’t wait to try this recipe of hers with some apricots that just came into season…I may even make it for Shabbos tomorrow.
Lavender Apricot Compote
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
¼ cup sugar
pinch of fine sea salt
2 pounds fresh ripe apricots, halved and pitted
2 teaspoons dried unsprayed edible lavender flowers

1. Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Sprinkle with sugar and let it melt without stirring for 3 to 5 minutes, until blond and lightly caramelized. Add the salt and the apricots and stir to coat. Cover and cook until tender, about 8 minutes.
2. Remove the fruit from the skillet with a slotted spoon and set aside in a large bowl, leaving as much of the juices as you can in the skillet. Sprinkle the lavender flowers over the juices, turn the heat to medium-high, and cook uncovered until thick and syrupy, 4 to 5 minutes, stirring regularly. If you think the lavender buds will bother you, you can strain them out, but if not, then leave them in.
3. Return the apricots to the skillet and stir delicately to coat. Let cool until slightly warm or at room temperature. Serve with ladyfingers or thin butter cookies.