As the snails are back in my courtyard and the countryside is covered in poppies on my lockdown walks I decided to be lazy and re-post this. Besides that there’s a recipe for a dark flourless chocolate cake for those that can’t find flour on the supermarket shelves, or are gluten intolerant. From snails (and Dark chocolate cake with poppyseeds and walnuts[Read More]
Leaf to Root Soup and Celery leaf pesto
Now that we’re in lockdown in France and our weekly market has been annulé, or cancelled until further notice, I decided to make the most of the vegetables that I had and came up with a recipe that I called Compost Soup. Its ingredients comprise of everything you normally throw away or put onto the compost Leaf to Root Soup and Celery leaf pesto[Read More]
Fermenting Vegetables with Sandor Katz
It seems that the subject of fermented foods is a hot topic right now. So I was thrilled to be invited by Vanessa Kimbell to The Sourdough School Fermentation Garden Party on a sunny day in June. Besides a delicious lunch there were also plenty of tasty treats to sample, from MisoTasty, Kambucha, beer and Fermenting Vegetables with Sandor Katz[Read More]
Three Soups, Beetroot tops soup, Carrot, Orange and Cardemon, Chard and Potato
My favourite winter lunch is home-made soup with a slice of toasted, buttered sourdough, a slab of mature cheddar and a dollop of chutney or a beetroot salad. What could be more simple and more warming on a winter’s day? The base of the soup is the same for the different soups. 1 onion Three Soups, Beetroot tops soup, Carrot, Orange and Cardemon, Chard and Potato[Read More]
Asparagus Soup made from the woody stems
Asparagus has just started to appear in the markets in Provence. I love asparagus and even though it’s the beginning of the season and therefore still a little pricey, I can’t resist buying a lovely big bunch. The French like the white asparagus which are grown in beds where the earth is banked up Asparagus Soup made from the woody stems[Read More]
Foraging for Nettle Soup or Soupe à L’Ortie
The other day, walking the dogs in the hills near our house, I noticed the first clusters of nettles growing alongside the path. My foraging instincts took over and the next day I took a plastic bag with me and made sure I had a pair of gloves in my pocket. I was going to Foraging for Nettle Soup or Soupe à L’Ortie[Read More]
New Years Day in Provence with Aigo boulidou, or Garlic Soup
In France, the Christmas festive days are spent inside with the family, but for le réveillon, or New Year’s Eve the doors are flung open and all and sundry are invited in. Everyone must have a party to go to and if they don’t they go to a restaurant or hotel to celebrate with others. New Years Day in Provence with Aigo boulidou, or Garlic Soup[Read More]
Leaf to Root Soup and Celery leaf pesto
Now that we’re in lockdown in France and our weekly market has been annulé, or cancelled until further notice, I decided to make the most of the vegetables that I had and came up with a recipe that I called Compost Soup. Its ingredients comprise of everything you normally throw away or put onto the compost Leaf to Root Soup and Celery leaf pesto[Read More]
Fermenting Vegetables with Sandor Katz
It seems that the subject of fermented foods is a hot topic right now. So I was thrilled to be invited by Vanessa Kimbell to The Sourdough School Fermentation Garden Party on a sunny day in June. Besides a delicious lunch there were also plenty of tasty treats to sample, from MisoTasty, Kambucha, beer and Fermenting Vegetables with Sandor Katz[Read More]
Dark chocolate cake with poppyseeds and walnuts
As the snails are back in my courtyard and the countryside is covered in poppies on my lockdown walks I decided to be lazy and re-post this. Besides that there’s a recipe for a dark flourless chocolate cake for those that can’t find flour on the supermarket shelves, or are gluten intolerant. From snails (and Dark chocolate cake with poppyseeds and walnuts[Read More]
Three Soups, Beetroot tops soup, Carrot, Orange and Cardemon, Chard and Potato
My favourite winter lunch is home-made soup with a slice of toasted, buttered sourdough, a slab of mature cheddar and a dollop of chutney or a beetroot salad. What could be more simple and more warming on a winter’s day? The base of the soup is the same for the different soups. 1 onion Three Soups, Beetroot tops soup, Carrot, Orange and Cardemon, Chard and Potato[Read More]
Asparagus Soup made from the woody stems
Asparagus has just started to appear in the markets in Provence. I love asparagus and even though it’s the beginning of the season and therefore still a little pricey, I can’t resist buying a lovely big bunch. The French like the white asparagus which are grown in beds where the earth is banked up Asparagus Soup made from the woody stems[Read More]
Foraging for Nettle Soup or Soupe à L’Ortie
The other day, walking the dogs in the hills near our house, I noticed the first clusters of nettles growing alongside the path. My foraging instincts took over and the next day I took a plastic bag with me and made sure I had a pair of gloves in my pocket. I was going to Foraging for Nettle Soup or Soupe à L’Ortie[Read More]
New Years Day in Provence with Aigo boulidou, or Garlic Soup
In France, the Christmas festive days are spent inside with the family, but for le réveillon, or New Year’s Eve the doors are flung open and all and sundry are invited in. Everyone must have a party to go to and if they don’t they go to a restaurant or hotel to celebrate with others. New Years Day in Provence with Aigo boulidou, or Garlic Soup[Read More]
Walking the Golden Road on the Preseli Hills
Last week I found myself in Pembrokeshire, Wales, taking part in a 14 mile walk across the Preseli Hills in aid of the Busoga Trust. It all started with a round robin email sent by Lucy Bakr of Saint Remy, Provence, to raise money for the charity that builds wells and water sanitation schemes in Walking the Golden Road on the Preseli Hills[Read More]
Spicy chickpeas
Its summer here in Provence and with all the lovely tomatoes, lettuces and vegetables in the market, all I want to eat is salad for lunch. But to save it getting monotonous, I like to add different things to the basic lettuce, tomato, cucumber, radish combination; so sometimes I’ll add half a goats cheese, sometimes Spicy chickpeas[Read More]
French Regional Food
I remember my mother telling me with some incredulity that she had a friend who read cookbooks in bed, as someone might read a novel. With four children to feed at the end of a hard day’s work, cooking was a necessity for her rather than a pleasure and she cooked what she French Regional Food[Read More]
Medlar Jelly
Medlars are not something easily found in the market, at least not that I have ever seen. You need your own medlar tree, or know someone who has one, in which case, in my experience, they will be keen for you to help yourself. Medlar, much like the quince, or rather even more so, has Medlar Jelly[Read More]
