Oh mince! I had forgotten about those beets! I had to find something to do with them, n’est-ce pas ? Nothing hurts me more than tossing food because I forget about it. I could have done something I knew well how to, but I did not feel like making neither a soup nor a salad , although these sounded both good too. I was in fact looking forward to something new to use my bunch of soon-to-fade beets . So when P. walked into the kitchen on Saturday morning to tell me I take that we stay here this weekend, don’t we? , he gave me a brilliant idea. Inspiring! Of course, we were staying in! There was really little chance that anything more exciting and adventurous could happen with my turned-black foot still bothering me — and that’s a mild way to put it as I have never had such a pitch black bruise. Within a few days, I’ve mastered the hopping technique like a pro and I can even cover distances in the house — from stove to couch — quite fast. I think I even like it. “ Gnocchi ?  read more »

For many fans, a trip to the stadium is as much about the sights, the sounds and, most importantly, the food, as it is about the field.

"Spring is nature's way of saying, 'Let's party!' " Gimme a layered cake to make & I'm in 7 th heaven! As you can obviously guess from my blog posts, I love baking cakes. I have Morven @ Food Art & Random Thoughts to thank for posting such a wonderful challenge.. Dorie Greenspan's 'Perfect Party Cake' . After my first 2 challenges I was pretty much on shaky grounds (what with LMPs & French loaves), I must admit I procrastinated even going to check on March's challenge! Crumbs...by the time I checked, had already begun work on our anniversary cake ( Chocolate Orange Cloud G ateau ; nice one) so felt like kicking myself! The next opportunity was grabbed with both hands & I marched into a cake baking frenzy! As M orven , the large-hearted lady said...put your stamp on it. In her words..." I wanted to pick something that had potential for putting your personal stamp on. Although this is essentially a white cake I know there are some lemon haters among us so feel free to use your imagination. If you inner chef tells you that you need to make a chocolate layer cake then by all means do so." I did just that. My stamp had to be COFFEE!! So, I flavoured the basic sponge with coffee essence & a medium roast instant coffee blend. The icing was of whipped cream, again mildly flavoured with coffee. Drooooooooooooooolicious !! The edges I finished off with a dripping of thick chocolate ganache ; the 2 flavours really compliment each. A few coffee beans completed my stamp!! The theme was worming its way into my mind. Here's what I did. I made an Easter basket of sorts with melted chocolate & filled it up with Easter eggs & crystallised flowers from our garden! This is something that gave me a lot of satisfaction & creative pleasure. I also added a few flowers & butterflies that I piped onto parchment & peeled off when they had set. Thank you Morven for giving me such endless joy...this is actually my passion in life, to be able to fill up a 'cake canvas' & extempore!!  read more »

Quick Fix Meals with Robin Miller Thai One On Peanutty Somen Noodles with Shrimp Chicken Satay with Rice Mango-Red Onion Salad Steak Salad with Peanut-Lime Vinaigrette Root Beer Floats Chocolate-Hazelnut Sandwich Cookies It takes a lot to make a bad peanut sauce, but thats just what happened when I looked in on Robin Millers Quick Fix Meals. This was a show from 2006 and I LOVE peanut sauce, so I thought I would check it out. Her plan was to make a peanut sauce at the beginning of the week and use it in several ways to make different meals during the week. That sounds fine. But I grow concerned at her very first step. She takes 3 cups of chicken stock and pours it into a pot. Why does that bother me?  read more »

Memorial Day weekend is Marc and my wedding anniversary. (...)

I wish this photo was better. These lamb shanks deserve better!  read more »

An extremely simple recipe transformed into a scrumptious dessert: an easy challenge with the wonderful silicon molds from the Spanish brand Leku. Their "imperial" molds (hence the name of my post) are awesome. The idea comes from april-may issue of Rgal magazine and it was a perfect timing for me, since I had bought this mold a month before and had no idea what to do with it ! (I often buy fancy utensils that I never use). As for their lemon mousse recipe, I have changed almost everything since I wanted the mousse to taste and look like cheesecake batter. The result was wow but the unmolding particularly delicate. The cherry coulis was a feast for both the eyes (nice contrast of colors) and the palate. I would recommend that you serve this mousse with some powdered graham crackers on top   to make it taste even more cheesecakey.   Comment transformer une recette simplissime en dessert pur bluff : grce aux moules en silicone de la marque Leku : leur gamme Impriale (do le nom de mon billet) est vraiment top classe. Cest le numro de Rgal davril-mai qui ma souffl lide et cela tombait merveille, car depuis lachat de ce moule, javoue que je ne savais pas trop comment linaugurer. En revanche, jai totalement transform leur mousse au citron car je souhaitais obtenir une texture beaucoup plus proche du cheesecake. Le rsultat dcoiffe assez -mme si le dmoulage sest avr extrmement dlicat- et le coulis aux griottes tranche merveilleusement, tant pour les yeux que pour le palais. Pour accentuer le ct cheesecake, je vous recommande de la servir accompagne de spculoos ou de Bastognes de LU. Ou pourquoi ne pas les rduire en poudre et en saupoudrer la mousse ?  read more »

An extremely simple recipe transformed into a scrumptious dessert: an easy challenge with the wonderful silicon molds from the Spanish brand Leku. Their "imperial" molds (hence the name of my post) are awesome. The idea comes from april-may issue of Rgal magazine and it was a perfect timing for me, since I had bought this mold a month before and had no idea what to do with it ! (I often buy fancy utensils that I never use). As for their lemon mousse recipe, I have changed almost everything since I wanted the mousse to taste and look like cheesecake batter. The result was wow but the unmolding particularly delicate. The cherry coulis was a feast for both the eyes (nice contrast of colors) and the palate. I would recommend that you serve this mousse with some powdered graham crackers on top   to make it taste even more cheesecakey. Comment transformer une recette simplissime en dessert pur bluff : grce aux moules en silicone de la marque Leku : leur gamme Impriale (do le nom de mon billet) est vraiment top classe. Cest le numro de Rgal davril-mai qui ma souffl lide et cela tombait merveille, car depuis lachat de ce moule, javoue que je ne savais pas trop comment linaugurer. En revanche, jai totalement transform leur mousse au citron car je souhaitais obtenir une texture beaucoup plus proche du cheesecake. Le rsultat dcoiffe assez -mme si le dmoulage sest avr extrmement dlicat- et le coulis aux griottes tranche merveilleusement, tant pour les yeux que pour le palais. Pour accentuer le ct cheesecake, je vous recommande de la servir accompagne de spculoos ou de Bastognes de LU. Ou pourquoi ne pas les rduire en poudre et en saupoudrer la mousse ?  read more »