Italian savoury pastry

I have tried this for the first time last weekend and it was really nice so I will share the recipe with you.

You first need to arrange a pastry with either filo (as per picture) or puff pastry in a 20 cm diametre dish. Arrange at the bottom of the case little balls of spinach. Mix together 225g ricotta cheese, 100ml single cream and 2 eggs, and pour over the spinach in the pastry case. Arrange strips of red pepper and sprinkle with pine kernels on the top. In the oven for 20-30 min and serve warm or cold with a green salad. Red peppers can be replaced by mushrooms or any other vegetable you like.



J'ai essayé cette recette le week-end dernier et c'était délicieux donc je vais partager cette recette avec vous.

D'abord vous devez arranger dans un plat de 20 cm de diamètre une pâte brisée ou de brick. Arranger des boules d'épinards dans le fond du plat sur la pâte. Mélanger ensemble 225g de ricotte, 100ml de crème liquide et 2 oeufs, et verser la préparation dans le plat. Arranger des lamelles de poivrons rouge et parsemer de graines de pins. Dans le four pendant 20 à 30 min. Servir chaud ou froid avec une salade verte. Les poivrons peuvent être remplacés par des champignons ou autre chose.

Vienna

Back from Vienna where I was for work for a couple of days to visit a customer. And actually managed to see some parts of the city this time, if only briefly given the pouring rain we had during the whole time! The city seems lovely though and the architecture very rich. I hope to be able to see more next time. I came back with an umbrella, which is handy given that I forgot mine in the cinema a few weeks/months (?) ago.

De retour de Vienne où j'ai passé deux jours pour affaires. Et même que cette fois-ci j'ai réussi à voir quelques quartiers de la ville, même brièvement à cause de la pluie qui n'a cessé durant tout le séjour. La ville semble superbe et son architecture a l'air très riche. J'espère pouvoir en voir plus la prochaine fois. Je reviens avec un bon parapluie, ce qui est excellent vu que j'ai oublié le mien dans une salle de cinéma il a de cela quelques semaines/mois (?) !

First Salad with Home Grown Tomatoes

At last! It was worth the wait: a delicious salad with our own cherry tomatoes which we had yesterday.

A big thank you to trave's parents who supplied us with the plants and thumbs up for my favourite gardener.

Enfin ! Cela valait la peine d'attendre : une salade délicieuse avec nos propres tomates-cerises du jardin, que nous avons eue pour dîner hier.

Un grand merci aux parents de trave qui nous ont approvisionnés en plantes et bravo à mon jardinier préféré.


Also took a picture of the loaf of bread (plain white) that I made two days ago and which we had with the salad.

J'ai aussi pris une photo du pain blanc que j'ai fait il y a deux jours et que nous avons dégusté avec la salade.



And to terminate this festival of mixed tastes, I give you a tip for a delicious Apple Blush which will give you loads of energy:

3 apples
1 or 2 handfuls of strawberries
1 nectarine or peach
apple juice -> quantity to suit your texture tastes

All in the liquidiser (or juicer if you have one)... very nice. Although given the choice I would go for the Pink Melon recipe I posted here a few days ago.

Pour terminer ce festival de goûts, voici la recette pour réaliser un délicieux jus de Pomme Rougissante qui vous donnera tout plein d'énergie :

3 pommes
1 ou 2 poignées de fraises
1 nectarine ou pêche
jus de pomme -> la quantité peut varier selon vos goûts en matière de texture

Le tout dans le mixeur... c'est très bon. Quoique entre les deux, je choisirais la recette du Melon Rose (Pink Melon) que j'ai donnée il y a quelques jours.

Cheddar

We took the bus, or buses, to Cheddar on Thursday 27th July. From Mark to Wedmore then from Wedmore to Cheddar.

We first visited Gough's cave. I enjoyed the visit and the audio guides were OK. I sometimes find them... unsuitable.

Cheddar cheese used to be stored in these caves! Actually, some parts of the caves just looked like a gigantic melting piece of cheese!!!


We visited the Cox cave and did all the other attractions, including the mysterious, terrifying 'Crystal Quest'.... Ooooo... I won't tell you more, I might give away details which would spoil your visit.

After lunch we decided to go on the top of Jacob's ladder from which there is an outstanding view of cheddar, and we walked along the gorge where we got fantastic shots of the area.

After this long walk we went to a teashop where we ate an icecream made with local double cream... MMmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm....

We then headed off to the Cheddar Gorge Cheese Company to vist the manufacturing process but unfortunately, the visits had terminated 30 minutes beforehand, bah! We still went to the shop and after trying most of them, decided to buy a wedge of mature Cheddar, with which we made sandwiches for the next 2-3 days. Yum Yum Yum!!!

On our way back we missed the last bus between Wedmore and Mark, so had to walk the 5 odd miles. No Colin to rescue us this time!

Cheddar is really nice and the walk is definately worth doing, even if it is hard work on a hot day.

Burnham-on-Sea

Wednesday 26th and Friday 28th we went to the beach in Burnham-on-Sea. It took about 30 min with our bikes and was a nice ride, especially the last 2 miles along the sea.

There were many kids on the beach, some of them somewhat unskilled for animal spotting, as they kept shouting "bloody pigeons" at the seagulls...

Oh, and... I got interviewed by a journalist from BBC Bristol! They were asking tourists if the plan to build a windfarm in Burnham would scare them off. My answer was: should I be more scared of a few windmills or of the nuclear power plant which fumes we can see from the beach? I said I was more bothered about the plant and by all the traffic and car parks occupying all the space along the beach. Apparently, this particular nuclear power station is leaking... and so did its previous version, and guess what? they want to build a third one as well!!!

We stopped at a shop on our way back and bought all the necessary to have a BBQ that evening. It took a while for it to start but we really enjoyed it.

We listened to BBC Bristol Breakfast programme the following morning but did not hear my interview :'(

Wedmore

On our first day we decided to take it easy and just walk around the surrounding countryside. We first walked to Mark, bought sandwiches from the local shop/post office and asked for bus timetables but they did not have any left. They receive a handful of them for the whole year! From Mark we went to Wedmore via narrow countryside lanes and this was quite a pleasant walk.



In Wedmore we tried another Post Office, then the paper shop and again, asked for bus timetables, request at which they laughed: "bus timetables??? you'll be lucky if you find a bus at all!!!", was their answer. Realising we were getting short of cash, we asked for the nearest cashpoint: re-laugh "cashpoint? you guys have just arrived here, haven't you?". We tried the bank, which closes at 2.30pm. At this point we were pretty tired: we had probably walked at least 8 miles so decided to head off for a pub, or rather the pub, as only one was open. Trave went back to the papershop to buy a paper and realised that THERE WAS a cash point inside!!!! Had we been subject to some sort of joke???


Walking back towards the campsite and thinking of the 5 or 6 miles ahead of us our saviour Colin suddenly and magically appeared and gave us a lift back to Splott Farm.

Saved again!

Tonight's dinner

Spicy Nut Roast with a Tomato Red Wine Sauce

This is a very nutritious recipe full of goodness.

- grease a tin with butter & cover it with baking paper
- mash 225g potatoes
- fry 115g sliced mushrooms + 250g mixed chopped nuts + 1 onion + 1 or 2 garlic cloves + 2 TBSP mixed herbs + any spice you like
- add mashed potatoes + 55g grated Parmesan + 115g full fat soft cheese + 4 eggs to the nut mixture.
- spoon in a loaf tin and cook in 190 degrees preheated oven for about 1 hour.

Sauce:
- 3 big tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped + 2 TBSP tomato purée + 5 TBSP red wine + 1 TBSP red wine vinegar + pinch of caster sugar. Bring to the boil and cook until tomatoes have reduced. Blend or press through a sieve.

(you can cheat as I did yesterday and use a can of chopped tomatoes if you don't have any tomatoes at hand or if they are out of season)



Rôti de noix épicé sauce vin rouge

Ceci est une recette très nutritive, et riche en protéines.

- beurré un moule à cake et le recouvrir de papier sulfurisé
- mettre en purée 225 g de pomme de terre
- poêller au beurre 115g champignons émincés + 500g d'un mélange de noix en morceau + 1 onion + 1 ou 2 gousse d'ail + 2 c.soupe d'herbes + épices préférés.
- ajouter à la mixure de noix la purée de pomme de terre + 55g de Parmesan râpé + 115g fromage entier style 'Philadelphia' + 4 oeufs.
- étalé la mixure obtenue dans le moule et cuire près d'une heure dans un four préchauffé à 190 degrés.

Sauce :

- 3 grosses tomates, épluchés, épépinnées et émincés + 2 c. soupe purée de tomates + 5 c. soupe de vin rouge + 1 c. soupe de vinaigre de vin rouge + une pincée de sucre fin. Mettre à ébullition et réduire les tomates. Passez au mixeur ou à travers un tamis.

(vous pouvez aussi tricher comme je l'ai fait hier et remplacer les tomates fraîches par une boîte de tomates émincées si vous n'avez pas de tomates fraîches sous la main ou si elles ne sont pas de saison)

Pink Melon Smoothie

I tried a new fruity combination yesterday. There is no existing word to describe how good it tasted!

1/2 melon
2 handfuls of strawberries
5 TBSP plain yoghurt
6 TBSP apple juice

mix it all in a blender... and enjoy!





J'ai essayé une nouvelle combination de fruits hier. Il n'y a pas de mot pour décrire à quel point c'est delicieux!

1/2 melon
2 poignées de fraises
5 c. soupe de yaourt nature
6 c. soupe de jus de pomme

le tout dans le mixeur... et dégustez !

Clarification needed

Let's make things clear:

I sent a text to some friends to let them know we had reached our destination OK. I also mentioned on this SMS that trave was fitter than me. There is a very sensible explanation to this: I HAD A FLAT TYRE FOR MOST OF THE WAY and our pump would not pump it up properly. I took it to a bikeshop in Highbridge where they pumped it up properly. I was fine after that!

So, although trave had more weight to carry (but that's just fair, isn't it?), I am just as fit I think!

Soyons clairs :

J'ai envoyé un texto à quelques amis leurs annonçant que nous avions atteint notre destination. Je mentionai aussi sur cet SMS que trave était plus apte que moi. Il y a une très bonne raison à cela : J'AVAIS UN PNEU A PLAT LA PLUPART DU CHEMIN et notre pompe ne pompait pas correctement. J'ai emmené le vélo pour être gonflé dans un magasin de vélo à Highbridge. Pas de problème après !

Donc, bien que trave avait plus de poids à porter (mais c'est normal, non ?), je crois bien être aussi en forme !

Animal Kingdom 3

Even photographed butterflies!

Animal Kingdom 2

More animals!

Animal Kingdom 1

Here are pictures of some of the animals we have come across. No pictures of the many creatures knocked over by cars.

Breakfast @ Splott Farm

This is our tiny cosy tent and our breakfast table... we even brought a toaster! There was a common fridge/freezer available at the campsite, so we also have the luxury of having butter on our toasts. We also have SmartCafé's mugs, which are fantastic!

I love getting up in the morning with a bright sunshine and preparing breakfast when camping.

Cycling Day 3 - Corston (West of Bath) to Blackford - 26 miles

We left late (again) on a very very hot day, cycling through the Mendip Hills under the glorious but nonetheless roasting sunshine, despite the waterproof index 50+ suncream. Feeling a bit weak, we stopped at the Travellers Rest in Pensford. We found the name very inspiring and so appropriate! At that point I think I realised I had a bit of a sunstroke so we stayed longer than planned. After I recovered and laid a damp towel between my head and my helmet, off we went again, passed the Somerset border (hurrahhhhh!!!) and the impressive Chew Valley Lake and finally reached Splott Farm. The farm/campsite is administratively located in Blackford but is actually closer to Mark, halfway between Cheddar and Burnham-on-Sea.

I really enjoyed this campsite, if only for the people running the place and staying there. For instance, on the first evening we felt too lazy to cook for ourselves so after a chat with Colin, one of the guys who lives there during the season, we decided to go and have a meal in the White Horse Inn. It was close to 21:00 when we headed off, walking, when Colin miraculously appeared on the side of the road and drove us to the pub, which we reached at 20:53, just on time to order food! We have suspicions that he made the journey just for us.

THANK YOU COLIN!

Cycling Day 2- Marston Meysey to Corston (West of Bath) - 50 miles

The second day was very hot. We made the mistake of leaving too late: 11:00, not ideal to do outdoor exercise. A few hills on the way, nice countryside. We had our ciabatta for lunch on the edge of Malmesbury, where we would stay overnight on our way back. It was great to just stop on the side of the road and have a picnic there. We met a builder who worked on the tennis courts in Victoria Park in Leamington some years ago! We were chatting about his allotments and cycling when a mate of his cycled passed: he knew somebody who completed the E2E challenge at the age of 76!

Arrived at the campsite at Corston @ 17:30 or so where we met Bill, who has been completing the challenge annually for many years: 23 from my understanding, 50 according to trave. The guy looked pretty young though! Bill, I wish you good luck in your journey.

Had a nice home-made pub meal at The Wheatsheaf. Although we arrived there at 21:10 Eva kindly fixed us a deliciously invigorating dinner, topped up by Richard's single malt nightcap, on the house, thanks to which we had a long, recovering sleep.

Cycling Day 1- Leamington Spa to Marston Meysey - 70 miles

Our first day was quite a day. We headed off @ 7:30 on Saturday 22nd July with a radiant sunshine and humming holiday tunes in our heads... and thinking of the long day waiting for us. After just 100 yards, a speeding car smelling of beer and redbull roared up the road, with noisy youths throwing cans at us, splashing Trave with redbull, opening car doors and shouting all sorts of things... then thankfully disappeared on the next corner. They really scared me! I think I even swore ;-( With hindsight this incident reminded me of The Motorcycle Diaries, when right at the start of their ride Alberto and Ernesto have a mishappen with a streetcar.

We then cruised along countryside roads, stopped at lunchtime in Moreton-in-Marsh where we bought sandwiches which we ate in a public park.

After about one hour after lunch, heavens suddenly opened: this was a big thunderstorm with lightnings and diluvian rain, leaving us to ride on a road covered with 2 inches of water... Luckily, we had 'waterproof' coats and had wrapped everything in bin liners and covered the panniers with waterproof covers. However, cycling became very challenging and my spirits were significantly down I must say!

We rushed into the first pub The Lamb Inn where we found very hospitable people who let us dump all our belongings in the hallway, gave us blankets to dry off and tumble-dried our so-called 'waterproof' coats.

We spent something like 4 hours drinking hot tea in this pub. The weather looked like it was never going to improve and we were starting to seriously consider staying overnight, but as we were starting to get ready to leave, a pinch of blue appeared in the sky and this was such a relief I tell you! :D

We arrived in Marston Meysey @ 19:30, pitched the tent, had a shower, and walked to the Red Lion, "first pub on the Thames" where Lewis Gordon Pugh had stopped a few days earlier at the beginning of his Thames Challenge. Although the food looked great (we both had ordered cheese and tomato ciabatta with chips) we were too tired to enjoy the food, but Melodie the Landlady organised the ciabatta to be wrapped for us, which was very kind.

Back to the tent... ZZzzzzzz...

Pasta with Port sauce

A nice and easy sauce to accompany pasta (one of my favourite pasta shape is linguine) is a creamy port sauce with mushrooms and sundried tomatoes.

The following makes enough sauce for a 2-people pasta portion:

- Fry 250 g sliced mushrooms in 25 g butter + 1 TBSP extra virgin olive oil + seasoning
- Add 1 TSP plain flour and cook, stiring, for 1 min
- Gradually add 75 ml double cream and 1 generous TBSP of port
- Add a generous handful of sliced sundried tomatoes and cook for ~ 8 min
- Toss with the cooked pasta and serve in warm bowls with sprinkled parsley.

Success guaranteed!


Une sauce simple et délicieuse pour accompagner les pâtes (une de mes pâtes préférées sont les linguines) est une sauce crémeuse au porto avec des champignons et des tomates séchées au soleil réhydratées.

La recette qui suit donne assez de sauce pour 2 portions de pâtes :

- Faire revenir 250 g de champignons de Paris coupés en lamelles dans 25 g de beurre et 1 c. soupe d'huile d'olive extra vierge.
- Ajouter 1 c. soupe de farine blanche et cuire tout en remuant durant 1 min
- Incorporer progressivement 75 ml de crème liquide (mais épaisse) et une bonne c. soupe de porto.
- Ajouter une grosse poignée de tomates séchées réhydratées coupée en lamelles et cuire durant 8 min
- Mélanger aux pâtes et servir dans des assiettes préchauffées en saupoudrant de persil.

Succès garantit !

Local map

We stayed at "Splott Farm" which is halfway between Cheddar and Burnham-on-Sea on the map below. Great campsite and outstandingly friendly people. More stories to come, I thought a nice map would be good as the links to ViaMichelin do not seem to be working any longer.

Nous avons résidé au camping à la ferme "Splott Farm" qui se trouve en plein milieu entre Cheddar et Burnham-on-Sea sur la carte ci-dessous. C'est un camping excellent et les gens y sont extrêmements sympas. Plus de détails plus tard, je pensais qu'une petite carte était due vu que le lien vers ViaMichelin semble avoir expiré.

321 miles and only 1 blister!

We are back! Our holidays were fantastic and we enjoyed the cycling... mostly ;-) It is nice to be home though and I am looking forward to sleeping in a bed after all this exercise.

We arrived home at lunchtime today so let me recover a bit and I will tell you much more in later posts, with pictures.



517 km et seulement 1 ampoule !

Nous sommes de retour ! Nos vacances étaient super et le vélo était aussi bien sympa... la plupart du temps ;-) Pourtant, comme cela fait du bien d'être chez soi et j'attends avec impatience de dormir dans un lit après tous ces efforts.

Nous sommes arrivés à la maison à l'heure du déjeûner alors laissez-moi le temps de me remettre et je vous en dirai plus dans les messages à venir, avec des photos.

D-day - 1

This will be my last post until we come back from our holidays, heading from Royal Leamington Spa to Cheddar. We still have to pack a few things and I am taking my bike for its annual service this afternoon: better safe than sorry. I have never visited that part of the world before or briefly through the train windows on my way down to Glastonbury festivals. We will have to try the local delicatessen, which I am sure extend to more than cheese and cider! Back in a week or so with hopefully nice stories and beautiful pictures.

Ceci sera mon dernier message jusqu'à notre retour de vacances, où nous partirons de Royal Leamington Spa pour Cheddar. Nous devons encore empaqueter quelques affaires et j'emmène mon vélo pour sa vérification annuelle cet après-midi: on n'est jamais trop prodent. Je n'ai jamais visité cette région ou seulement brièvement par la fenêtre du train en allant au festival de Glastonbury. Nous devrons essayer les spécialités locales qui je suis sûre s'étendent à plus que fromage et cidre ! De retour dans environ une semaine avec je l'espère de belles histoires et des photos.

Merit!

I started a Management Course with the OUBS a few months ago. Say I needed a personal challenge. I will go through 4 modules of 3 months each. I handed out the final exam of my first module early July, hence my lack of postings when I started this blog. Well, Ladies and Gentlemen: I got a Merit Grade!!! Which is great news, I can now go on holiday with a peaceful mind before starting the second module.

J'ai commencé il y a quelques mois un cours de Management par correspondance. Disons que j'avais besoin d'un 'challenge' personnel. Le cours se compose de 4 modules de 3 mois chacun. J'ai rendu l'examen final du premier module début juillet, d'où mon manque de messages (et de traduction en français) quand j'ai commencé ce blog. Et bien Mesdames et Messieurs, j'ai reçu Mention Bien ! C'est une excellente nouvelle et je peux maintenant partir en vacances l'esprit tranquile, avant d'entamer le second module.

Holy Days...

Most of my weekend has been dedicated to checking my bicycle, washing clothes, airing the tent, making check-lists, studying maps and booking campsites... Would this means... You got it! It's this time of the year again, HOLIDAYS!!!

Trave & I are cycling from Leamington Spa to near Wedmore, South of Cheddar. It is all very exciting as it is our first fairly long-distance cycling trip.

This is a map of our departure and arrival points. We will cycle East of the Cotswolds on the East of Cirencester and then between Bristol and Bath. Let's hope the nice weather stays with us. We will head off on Saturday morning 22nd July.


La plupart de mon week-end a été dédié à vérifier mon vélo, laver des vêtements, aérer la tente, faire des listes "ne pas oublier ceci, cela", étudier des cartes et réserver des campings... Cela voudrait-il dire... Oui! Vous avez deviné : c'est cette époque de l'année, LES VACANCES !!!

Trave et moi irons en vélo de Leamington vers Wedmore, au sud de Cheddar (sud de Bristol). Tout ceci est très excitant vu que c'est notre premier voyage longue distance à vélo.

Voici une carte du point de départ et d'arrivée. Nous prendrons à l'est des Cotswolds, pour éviter les monts : est de Cirencester puis entre Bristol et Bath. En espérant que le beau temps reste avec nous. Nous partirons samedi matin 22 juillet.

Refreshing summer drink

I love fruit juices and smoothies and here is what I have been drinking today: Summer fruit and Banana. Ice cubes + mixed frozen fruit (fresh ones would be even nicer but more expensive!) + 1 frozen banana + water + a touch of honey: all in the mixer/liquidiser, and that's it!

I regularly freeze bananas for cocktails and smoothies' purposes. You should peel and slice a banana, then arrange the slices on cling film making sure they don't stick to each other. Banana will thicken the drink and bring you energy too!

Drinks combinations and possibilities are endless: I sometimes replace water by freshly squeezed orange juice. To make alcoholic cocktail, you can add any alcohol you like: Cointreau, Cognac, Gin, Vodka,... Actually, this would make a nice aperitif for a summary evening like tonight!

J'adore les jus de fruits et cocktails et voici ce que j'ai bu aujourd'hui: Fruits rouges et Banane. Glaçons + Fruits rouges congelés (ou frais, encore mieux, mais plus onéreux) + 1 banane congelée + de l'eau + un peu de miel : le tout dans le robot et c'est prêt !

Je congèle régulièrement des bananes pour faire des cocktails et jus de fruits. Vous devez peler et couper une banane en rondelles, disposer les rondelles sur du cellophane en faisant attention qu'elles ne se touchent pas. Une banane épaissira la consistance de la boisson et vous apportera de l'énergie !

Le nombre de combinaisons et de possibilités de mélanges est sans fin : je remplace parfois l'eau par des oranges pressées. Pour faire des cocktails alcoolisés, vous pouvez ajouter l'alcool que vous souhaitez : Cointreau, Cognac, Gin, Vodka,... Tiens, cela ferait un très bon apéro pour un soir d'été comme aujourd'hui !

14th July!

It's Bastille Day! I wish my fellow countrymen and women a Happy Bastille Day!

Je souhaite à mes compatriotes un très bon 14 juillet!

Bread of the day

same recipe as last time, but different shape... I will let it cool down for a bit and have a slice with melting butter on...

Même recette que la dernière fois, mais une forme différente... Je vais le laisser refroidir un peu et me faire une tartine beurrée...



Tonight we will have a carrot & broccoli quiche with parsley and tarragon. I made the pastry with 1/3 white flour, 1/3 wholemeal flour and 1/3 millet flakes. It makes a good, healthy and nutritious pastry.

Ce soir, nous mangerons une quiche carotte & broccoli aromatisée au persil et estragon. J'ai fait la pâte avec 1/3 farine blanche, 1/3 farine complète, et 1/3 flocons de millet. Cela fait une bonne pâte brisée, très saine et nutritionnelle.

Have a good weekend! Bon week-end !

This week's vegbox

Hello,

we receive most weeks fresh organic fruit and vegetables from Rivernene. This is the highlight of my cooking week! Well, let's say I get very excited at the idea of looking inside the box and discovering all the shapes and colours waiting to be cooked. I find the box scheme idea very motivating and I have discovered many unknown items thanks to it. It is sometimes disconcerting to have a weird looking piece of veg in front of you: shall I peel it? does it need to be cooked? how? how long? what can serve with it?

I have included here photos of how the boxes appeared to me when I got home and how appetizing the fruits look! can't wait to bite into one of them... ;-)

Bonjour,

Presque chaque semaine, nous recevons de Rivernene des fruits et légumes biologiques frais. Ceci représente le summum de ma semaine gastronomique ! Disons que je deviens très impatiente à l’idée de regarder à l’intérieur de la boîte et découvrir toute sorte de formes et de couleurs qui attendent d’être cuisinées. Je trouve l’idée de la livraison de boîte très motivante et cela m’a permis de découvrir plusieurs articles inconnus. Cela est parfois déconcertant d’avoir devant soi un légume aux formes bizarres : dois-je le peler ? doit-il être cuit ? comment ? combien de temps ? avec quoi puis-je le servir ?

J’ai inclus ici des photos de la boîte telle qu’elle paraît dans le jardin quand je rentre à la maison et combien les fruits ont l’air appétissants ! je ne vais pas tarder à en croquer un… ;-)

Trave the baker

oooh, what a nice surprise when I got home yesterday! Trave had been working all weekend, and very long hours, so had Monday afternoon and Tuesday off instead. And... ooooh, as soon as I opened the entrance door yesterday, there was a delicious smell of freshly baked bread invading my nostrils... and here is the wholemeal bread, kneaded by Trave:

Oh, quelle surprise m'attendait quand que je rentrai à la maison hier ! Trave avait travaillé tout le weekend et donc avait pris son lundi après-midi et mardi pour compenser. Et alors... alors que j'ouvrais la porte d'entrée, une délicieuse odeur de pain frais envaissait mes narines. Et voici la photo du pain complet pétri par Trave.

Yesterday's bread

just a quickie to add a picture of the bread I made yesterday. It tastes wonderful!

voici le pain tout frais d'hier, miam miam!

El espíritu de la colmena

Trave is (still) working and the cold wind made me decide to stay home and watch a movie rather than joining the festivities in the pub. I decided to watch The spirit of the beehive (Victor Erice, 1973) which has been sitting on the shelf for a while. It is a beautiful film. I really recommend it. This film was made in Spain during Franco's regime and is set post Civil War in rural spain.

Trave est (toujours) au boulot et plutôt que de me risquer au vent frisquet et d'aller au pub rejoindre les festivités, j'ai décidé de rester au chaud et de regarder un film. Je me suis décidée pour L'esprit de la ruche de Victor Erice, 1973. Cela faisait un moment qu'il était dans l'étagère. C'est un film magnifique. Je le recommende vraiment. Ce film fut tourné en Espagne durant le régime de France et se situe après la Guerre Civile dans l'Espagne rurale.

simple summery salad

I did not have much time to cook yesterday, so I made a simple salad, which was really nice and quick to make, with pasta, pesto, tomatoes and mozzarella. I must admit I did not make the pesto myself this time... it came straight out of a jar. We had a tasty dinner nonetheless, but now I have a mortar and pestle in my kitchen, and a fresh basil plant which is a gift from Trave's mum, so I will make use of both very very soon!



Je n'avais pas trop le temps de cuisiner hier, alors j'ai fait une salade toute simple qui était très bonne et rapide à faire, avec des pâtes, du pesto, des tomates et de la mozzarella (pour ceux qui ont vu Les bronzés font du ski, le pesto ne s'appelle pas comme ça parce que ça empeste, contrairement aux dires de Gérard Jugnot...). Je confesse que je n'ai pas fait le pesto moi-même cette fois-ci, mais c'était très bon quand même. Maintenant que j'ai un petit mortier et pilier, et du basilic frais en pot qui pousse dans la cuisine (un gentil cadeau de la mère de Trave), il va falloir que je me remette à le faire moi-même!

Just finished making bread. The dough is now raising in the kitchen. This time with white flour and seeds: sunflower, linseeds, poppy, hemp, pumpkin, and some others whose names I have forgotten, sorry!

Je viens tout juste de faire ma pâte à pain qui est en train de gonfler dans la cuisine. Cette fois-ci, pain blanc aux multi-céreales et graines: tournesol, lin, pavot, chanvre, courge, et d'autres dont j'ai oublié les noms, désolée !

BBQ last Monday

first corn on the cob for my fellow countrymen last Monday. they seemed to like it.
Premier mais cuit au barbecue pour mes concitoyens : ils ont l'air d'aimer !


For the veggies (Trave & me) I had made some brochettes and left them marinated all day. The brochettes were very colourful with smoked tofu, red & yellow peppers, courgettes, mushrooms, and halloumi (cheese from Cyprus). The marinade was made with juice of 1 lemon + its rind, 3 tbsp virgin olive oil and herbs & cracked black pepper. Halloumi cheese is quite salty so I don't add any salt.

Pour les végétariens (Trave et moi), j'avais fais mariner des brochettes dès le matin pour développer tout leur arôme. Les brochettes consitaient de cubes de tofu fumé, poivrons rouge et jaune, courgettes, champignons et halloumi (fromage chypriote). La marinade elle, se composait du jus d'un citron et de son zeste, de 3 cuillers à soupe d'huile d'olive vierge, et d'herbes et poivre. Je ne rajoute pas de sel car le halloumi est un fromage très salé.

A nice sauce to accompany the brochettes is a roasted cashew nut sauce. You roast 150g of unsalted cashews, fry 1 onion & 1 garlic clove in butter and mix it all in a food processor with plain yoghurt, cumin and coriander. It's delicious!

Une sauce sympa pour accompagner ces brochettes est une sauce aux noix de cajou grillées. Vous grillez env. 150g de noix de cajou, faites frire 1 onion avec une gousse d'ail et mélanger le tout au mixer avec du yahourt nature, en ajoutant du cumin et de la coriande, selon les goûts. C'est délicieux !

Bon appétit :-)

Hot hot hot

The Red Hot Chili Peppers concert yesterday was absolutely fantastic! The atmosphere was just incredible!

Glad I have a day off today :D