It is summer time which means we are in the French Alps along with some little ones, ( getting bigger each time they come ) ! Have only been here a couple of days, but so far have been to the local Lake, where they tried out the new Blow Up Kayak, a big success but would help if Himself read the instructions first! Where was the seat? And the rope to pull it! But never mind, he didn’t tip them out ( they had been forewarned). Life jackets on, they were safe! Rubber rings, buckets and spades, hats and sun cream to the fore! And the waterfall waterslide is always good fun, even though the smallest is way too small, he was happy looking for tadpoles and pottering in the ice cold Mountain water.

Back home it was cooking time, well not exact cooking, but freezing. Ice lollies, more to the point.

We used 200 grams frozen raspberries, a quarter of a small watermelon and some apple juice, though orange juice could be used or better still frozen concentrated Orange juice would be even better, but as yet to find this useful commodity in the UK, but readily available in the USA.

The tedious bit of this recipe is removing the pips from the watermelon, I wonder are seedless ones available? However Miss Tess was the Queen of pip removal, then it is really easy. Just throw the lot into a food processor or Blender and wiz the lot around and then pour into lollipop mounds, which of course I just happened to have!

Wait for them to freeze and then let the neighbourhood kids come round and help eat/suck them! They were declared an overwhelming success and we are about to make some more!

I find Markets and Supermarkets fascinating, though I am the first to admit that our local one here in the mountains is not my favourite. We are only just over an hours drive from Geneva, so not really in the “back of beyond ” but the quality of fruit and vegetables tends to be rubbish but none the less I always find it intriguing.

On yesterday’s visit, I was amused by the absolute love of all things Chocolate, yoghurts with Smarties or M&M’s in, or the rows and rows of various dessert pots, all chocolate ! Or the biscuits, again with Smarties/M&M’s or the ones coated in Chocolate rice crispies! And the British Government is concerned about childhood obesity, I wonder if there is such concern here in France, if not, there should be!

And finally my absolute favourite (not) is the tube of condensed milk , already sickly sweet but here it is with added chocolate, also available in caramel, just waiting to be spread on your breakfast croissant.Quelle Horreur!

This week saw 8 of us meeting here, for lunch. We all lived in Brussels in the ’80’s and 90’s, had kids the same ages, who went maybe to the same schools, maybe played on the same soccer teams, baseball teams, and certainly all went to the same Orthodontist. I mention this because, out of all of us ( and there were many many more ex Brussels girls out there) the Orthodontist ( and one other, maybe) is the only one who is still there, after all these years! And yes! She came over for the day for lunch!

My dear friend, who now lives in New Zealand was visiting and so I thought maybe, just maybe, some of us could get together for old times sake, and so we did.

A beautiful sunny day in London, and the question was , what to eat. Something which did not require me being in the kitchen, and certainly not to have the oven on. I decided on the following:-

1. A Super food type Salad, of enormous proportions
2. my favourite french cheese tart
3. a salmon mouse
4. a vegetable frittata
5. Japanese cheesecake
6. Eton Mess.

The french cheese tart has been written about before ( Tart au Fromage d’Abondance…… January 15, 2016) as has the cheesecake ( March 29, 2016 and November 22, 2015) The super food salad is new as is the salmon mousse.

With apologies to Yotam Ottolenghi, whose recipe inspired mine. The quantities used are completely, hit and miss, add what you  want and as much or as little as you want. I used a mixture of all of the following

1. 200 grms cooked quinoa
2. 200 grms cooked puy lentils
3. 100 grms Fregola pasta
4. 2 grapefruit segmented and cut into chunks
5. 2 cups pomegranates seeds, ( too much of a pain? Waitrose sells them already seeded)
6. bunch spring onions chopped
7. 200 grams soft apricots chopped
8. 100 grms cooked asparagus cut into chunks
9. 100 grms cooked green beans cut into chunks
10. some baby gem lettuce shredded
11. some rocket leaves
12. 100 grms chopped nuts preferably pistachios
13. a couple or red chillies , de-seeded and chopped

other ingredients could be, red rice, brown rice,  sun-dried tomatoes, mustard and cress type sprouts, chopped parsley, chopped coriander, can of chick peas.

The dressing I served on the side, and it was very simple, dijon mustard, with lemon juice and olive oil.

The cooking of the various ingredients is a little time-consuming, but worthwhile, especially as they all need to be done ahead of time, cooled and refrigerated. Just before serving, literally chuck them all into a large bowl, mix well ( using your hands is by far the best way) and serve !

This week, we have a friend from New Zealand staying ( via way of the UK and Belgium ) and I have to admit that she is a big fan of “Himself”. No criticism of Himself is allowed when she is around! So working on boosting his already high ego, he declared he would make Dinner.

Me? I was off to the golf course, whilst House guest was off to Cambridge.

I gave Himself, three options:-Stuffed chicken breast, cooked Sous Vide ( he has become quiet a dab hand with the Sous Vide machine) , problem is, it is connected via my phone! Bang Bang Chicken, which I love and have not had it in years, used to be one of my favourites in Houston, in a restaurant strangely called Houston’s, and also in The Ivy in London. Or Singapore noodles! He chose the latter!

Not sure if it really is a recipe from Singapore, Singapore is the Manhattan of the East. Its cuisine is such a mixture, with influences from Malaysia, China, India, Indonesian and don’t forget the British. All of these have influenced Singaporean cuisine. And one cuisine, that is a complete mish mash of these is Nyonya cuisine which comes from the Peranakans who were the descendants of the early Chinese settlers, who married local Malays and therefore combine, the various cuisines. The majority of Singapore’s Chinese population is Hokkien, and this a version of their all time favourite noodle dish, Singapore noodles with pork and prawns.

1. 2tsp sesame oil ( or olive oil)
2. 300 grams pork mince
3. 1tsp Chinese five spice powder
4. 3 tsp curry powder
5. 200 grams large prawns peeled and deveined
6. 200 grams carrots, finely sliced
7. 3-4 red chillies de seeded and chopped
8. 400 Grams egg noodles ( preferably ready cooked or straight to wok type.
9. 
3-4 chopped Pak Choi ( spinach as Substitute )
10. 6 Spring onions sliced
11. 2 tbs soya sauce
12. 1/2 cup water or stock as needed
13. Maybe some peanuts or cashew nuts ( unsalted) might be a nice addition.
14. Maybe also some chopped coriander leaves.

Heat the oil in a wok or deep-frying pan, over a fairly high heat, fry the prawns for about 3 mins, until they turn pink, be careful not to over cook as they will become tough. Remove from the pan and put to one side. Add a little more oil and fry the mince for about 4 mins, breaking it up as it cooks. Add the carrots and the chillies.

Cook for a further 3-4 mins, before adding the Pak Choi or Spinach. Add the noodles and then the water or stock, scrape the bottom of the pan. return the prawns to the pan, make sure the vegetables and noodles are cooked and serve immediately, garnished with the spring onions and soy sauce on the side.

If using nuts add them just before serving.

Not maybe the prettiest of dishes, but taste wise, excellent.