We have just spent a couple of days in The Lakes. You might well ask” Where’s That” Actually I have only ever been there twice before, once many years ago, whilst at College in Manchester and once more recently to have dinner at a wonderful 3* restaurant. But you still have no idea where it is. Well, if you look on a map, go to the West side of England, almost in Scotland and there are the Lakes. It is a beautiful Wild, traditional part of England, rolling hills, very green grass, the highest mountain in England , lots of sheep And the wettest place in England. It certainly lived up to this reputation during our visit.

The Lakes and the villages which surround them have the most wonderful names, such as Ullswater, Coniston Water, Derwent Water,Grasmere, Foxes Tarn, Windermere, Grizedale,and Satterthwaite,there are loads, some are big others not so, but many are named, Water, Tarns and Meres! We went to Windermere, which is the longest of the Lakesat 11 miles long. Some intrepid swimmers rise to the challenge in the summer to swim the length of some of these lakes, including one of my daughters! Not content with the smaller lakes of Coniston and Ullswater she will be “Doing “ Windermere this summer !

However, we will quite by chance be there, as we have rented a house for a family gathering and we were in Windermere to have a “Recce”, look at adventures to be done and food to be eaten.

Restaurants as such, in Windermere itself proved to be a tad difficult, cafe style or too small for a large group. However, one cafe, for which one had to queue outside in the rain, was very good indeed, small again and BUSY, and the best Bacon Sandwich EVER! I had forgotten that “Up North” it is not called a Sandwich, a roll or a Bap but a SARNIE! And I went to Cooks School in Manchester, I should have known better.!

So we didn’t find the ideal spot for a family of 13, but we did test out one small eatery called “Hooked”, and yes it was a seafood restaurant. On the menu was Soft Shell Crab and mussels, and even though we generally try order different dishes from one another, this time we did not. We both love Soft Shell Crab and Mussels and the crabs are rarely seen on the menu in the UK, so for us, this was a first. The Crabs were wonderful but a little disappointed with the mussels, they needed some oomph! Garlic onions, chilli or something to lift it, as such a bit bland, but great chips!

So what are Soft Shell Crabs? They are Blue Swimmer Crabs, which have shed their hard shells and are waiting for their new shell to harden. Their habitat has traditionally been the USA eastern Seaboard but nowadays also in the Mediterranean. Given that the period of going from Soft to hard is a mere 24 hours it is imperative that they are shipped quickly, hence the normal way to buy Soft Shell Crabs is FROZEN! And this is what I was able to do this week in London.

The most important thing before cooking the frozen crabs, is to let them throughly defrost and drain them in a sieve or colander. Very simple to cook though, the ones we had in the restaurant were cooked in a traditional batter, but I decided to cook mine in a lighter batter, a Tempura batter. Tempura batter is easy to make but even easier if you buy a packet ! Then all you need to do is to add the correct quantity of water and whisk. It always say ICE COLD, but given that it comes from a steamy hot country no sure that they would use Ice Cold ( I just run the tap and get Cold water).

Heat some oil in your deep pan or wok, test by throwing in a bit of bread, and when it sizzles the oil is ready to use! Keep an eye on the oil ( and beginners at oil frying should keep a damp towel on hand just in it should over heat and burst into flames…….. just a word of warning)! When the oil is ready, dip the crabs into the batter and pop into the oil. Fry, turning once until a golden brown. Remove from the oil with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towel. Serve as they are or on salad.

Having decided to make my Fried Soft Shell carbs, I got to thinking about Po’Boys! Simply because soft shell crabs are readily available in Louisiana and so are Oyster Po’Boys. Basically a sandwich to you and me but here they are made with fried oysters or shrimp is another favourite. And not what we in Europe call Shrimp! Shrimp in the southern USA are large, but are not prawns. ( the word prawn is almost obsolete in the USA).The most delicious shrimp are the small brown ones very common in Belgium, but here in the UK ridiculously expensive! However, Shrimp / prawns are readily available frozen, especially in the Asian food stores and it is these larger ones that are used in Louisiana for Shrimp Po’Boys. However, I bought frozen oysters, which are readily available and are perfectly suitable for any cooked oyster dish.

Very simply, defrost the oysters, in a sieve so that they drain. Pat dry on paper towel and repeat the batter / drying as before. I bought “Posh” hot dog buns, ie brioche hot dog buns.

Fill them with some mayonnaise or spicy mayonnaise ( Nando’s Perinaise) chopped lettuce, sliced tomatoes etc and then top with the fried oysters ( shrimp)! Oysters nowadays are considered a luxury, whereas they were once the food of the poor. There is a myth that Oysters are spawned out of the Thymus gland of mating Whales! And as Whales are very passionate when mating, that has given rise to the myth that Oysters are an Aphrodisiac! Not true I’m afraid, but Oysters can change their sex?? Yes they can! They start of as males, after about a year they decided that being a female is the better deal, AND if they live long enough, then decide it is better to be Male! And if they live in warmer climes, they simply can not make up their minds and change quicker than I can change my socks! The Oysters life is a bed of Oysters, but unfortunately not a bed of Roses! As well as humans , Starfish, Rays and Crabs, just love eating Oysters ( their own little oyster bar !

For the past few weeks we have been jollying around, firstly in Barbados and much more fun on the high seas, whilst crossing the Atlantic on a sail boat( albeit a large one, so I guess technically a ship)!

To board this ship we had to get to Barbados and I hate to say it ( spoilt as I am ), that it is not my favourite tourist destination. Give me Majorca any day. Since our last visit to the island, shopping Malls have spring up and the traffic has increased, a pretty decent road on one side of the island ( read traffic jams) whilst on the Atlantic side, the potholes are enormous( read whole parts of the road have gone missing) and the going very slow indeed. One intrepid couple we met drove themselves all around the island ( we just did 2/3) whilst another ventured out on the local bus service.

We stayed in a small boutique hotel, which was the home to about 50 peacocks, male,female and babies! Who knew that they could be so noisy ! Screeching all night long ! But at least we learnt something, a collective noun for them ranges from OSTENTATION to Muster, to Pride or even a Party ! Interesting indeed, put that in your memory bank for your next quiz night!

Then we started on our journey across the Ocean, the (Atlantic that is) aboard the Royal Clipper. It is a sailing ship in the style of the old Tea Clippers and our journey was just lovely. This was our third Trans Atlantic crossing but our first on this particular ship. We joined another 128 ( ship will carry about 250 plus 100 crew) intrepid sailors, one could call them a motley crew, including an Austrian family who had been travelling for a year! The kids 10 & 12, were home schooled and thus still needed to do school work via Mum or Dad ( a tough return to normal school next week )!The largest groups were German along with British, French, Swiss and Italian with just a single Belgian and a single Irish ( me)! Consequently our long unused German language skills came to the fore !

And as it really was a sailing ship though at times it did have to use other means to glide us along, we rocked and rolled across the Ocean. I have never slept so well, so well in fact that I feel I need to teach Himself how to transform Himself into my SleepWallah! To rock me gently to bed each night!

The catering crew must have worked 24 hours a day, with early breakfast , normal breakfast until 10 am, lunch 12-2, afternoon tea at 4, dinner 7-9 and midnight snacks at 11-12! Everyday, lunch was of a different theme, Asian, Spanish , American, Mexican and so on. Every night dinner was a different menu, with choices of starters, soup, main courses, salad, cheese, and desserts! And if you didn’t fancy any ( or all of it, Yes you could have it all) , then there was always steak frites!

For breakfast alone 400 eggs were used! Can you imagine? So talking about eggs, did you know that you never need to throw away eggs as they freeze well, but not in their shells, simply crack them open, put into a container that is slightly larger than the egg ( it will expand upon freezing), and then to use, defrost and beat the whites and yolks together.Another interesting fact is that eggs do not need to be stored in the refrigerator, at least in Europe. But they do in the United States and Japan! Why the difference? Firstly, hens in Europe are more likely to have been vaccinated so Salmonella, less likely to be present. Eggs have a natural protective coating and as such can be safely stored on the counter top. But in Japan and the USA, hens are less likely to have been vaccinated, Salmonella is present in the hens, and hence on the eggs. Therefore they wash the eggs before marketing, but then they do need to be stored in a refrigerator. Having said that, I keep my eggs in the refrigerator, simply because, I try to keep my counter tops clear.

Eggs are extremely versatile and have great satiety value ( they stop you being hungry for longer). How many egg dishes are there? No idea actually, but boiled, poached, scrambled, omelettes, Turkish eggs, Mexican Eggs, Indian scrambled eggs, savoury soufflé, sweet soufflé, cakes and pastries galore, terrines, pasta and accompanying sauces, and don’t forget Ice Cream, the list is endlesss. It is therefore that apparently for just 5 days ( they restocked in the Azores) 90 DOZEN eggs were loaded. Every day ice cream was an option and even at afternoon tea, ice cream sundae or a waffle with ice cream ! Just as well I’m not an Ice Cream super fan ( Himself on the other hand !)

As I have said there are many variations on a theme as far as Mexican, Turkish, Indian Eggs. Croque Madam a La Mexican !Here are a few of them.

To cap it all, last night we had for dinner my version of Mexican eggs, which basically consisted of, sautéed onions, garlic, red pepper, chilli and tomatoes! Along with lime juice and chopped coriander and poached eggs, finished off with an avocado and grated cheese. Easy to do and oh so easy to innovate.

So finally I have made another Basque Cheese Cake ( we have family coming over for Brunch). It is actually very easy, almost as easy as the Japanese cheese cake, which has just three ingredients.

A traditional Basque Baked Cheesecake is baked at a high heat to make sure it has an almost burnt bitter top, .

• List Heat oven to 230 fan or 250 non fan
• 600 grams full fat cream cheese
• 200 grams full fat mascarpone
• 200 grams sour cream
• 200 grams fine caster sugar
• 4 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 4 eggs
• 2 tablespoons of plain flour

Heat your oven to 250 C.

Grease a cake pan ( loose bottom or not) grease the pan and then layer in two layers of greaseproof paper and grease again.

Put the cream cheese, mascarpone, sour cream, sugar , and vanilla into a food processor ( or blender) whisk until well mixed.

Add the flour, eggs and a pinch of salt. Beat well until all is blended. Pour into the tin tap it to settle and bake for about 35 minutes, until the top is dark brown. Remove from oven and leave to cool at room temperature. Refrigerate until ready to use. Can be served with fresh raspberries or use a part of frozen raspberries with some added sugar for a Coulis. If you don’t want to use it all at once, then cut into slices, freeze individually,wrap and keep. Defrost by leaving at room temperature.

Many Many years ago, my eldest daughter ( the sylph like blonde) said, “Oh not salad! Salads are so boring”! I have to say even back then, my salads were never boring, using all sorts from the refrigerator and whatever fruit was sitting in the fruit bowl.

Times have moved on, many of the “Fast” food places serve pretty decent salads, ranging from Prêt à Manger to “Posh” bakeries and even to Mc Donald’s . Of course a salad which can be incredibly tasty is not necessarily Low Calorie. It really all comes down to the dressing. When you add the accompanying dressing to the crispy chicken Caesar salad with kale, it has more calories, salt, and fat than a Double Big Mac. However if you have the Double Big Mac and the Kale Caesar salad, then it really is a double Whammy !

The other day Himself, asked if he could do something for dinner, oh I replied, well you could make this sauce. It proved more difficult than I thought, but the end result was good! But it got me thinking. Having cooked all my life, most of it is intuitive. I have admit, I’m not a great baker, but I love to cook. I scan a recipe, and they always give me ideas. It really on the whole doesn’t matter if it is one tomato or two. Curries again are perhaps more precise, but generally the recipes have been handed down, by mouth and then someone finally decides to write his version down. Himself is perhaps more of a precise person than myself, given his background!

However, a few years ago, he was given an Italian Cookbook, which is basically a step by step ( idiot proof) guide. Perfect!

Quite by chance I was dropping things off, when I saw a German step by step cookbook! Brand New! PERFECT!

Consequently, Himself was equally impressed and decided to make a salad. It was much more than throwing a few bits of lettuce in a bowl, and it really was delicious. It was labeled Fenchelsalat mit gebachener Birne, Walnussen und Gorgonzolakäse, translated as, Fennel Salad with roasted/baked pears, walnuts and Gorgonzola.

Needless to say he did go off script, but just a little and infact we have discussed more variations.

The dressing for this salad very simple and good, just orange juice and a little olive oil. He used strips of fennel, but we feel that strips of celery would be better, giving a little more flavour and texture ( crunch). He also added small tomatoes ( piccolo) cut in half, and he also added the orange ( mandarin) segments. If using Gorgonzola make sure you keep it chilled before using as it will go soft too quickly, but try other blue cheeses such as Stilton, Bleu d’Auvergne, Cashel, Colston Bassett, Fourme d’Ambert, Roquefort, Saint Agur, and even Moody Blue and Moo and Blue! There are +/- 200 different blue cheeses to choose from ! So take your pick!

The only thing I would say is the pear is softened by baking for a few minutes, is this necessary? Maybe use pears that are a little on the softer side ( not over ripe though) , maybe add some chopped spring onions! The options are endless. The dressing very simple, the juice of an orange or mandarin / clementine/ satsuma mixed with some olive oil.

Himself is off on a jolly next week, to the Dolomites with eldest daughter! So don’t expect any updates from him !

Hals und Beinbruch ( neck and leg break, the traditional German good luck wishes before going skiing)!

Farmers ( especially the French…… they are so good at this) are protesting some new EU laws, they have been blocking major cities and roads since before Christmas.

Meanwhile, also just before Christmas we encountered the English tractors in Golders Green in London.

However, they were just having fun!

The French do seem to be a bit more militant than us Brits, thinking back to Les Gilets Jaune. We arrived in France one New Years Eve, promptly down to the local shop, only to find NO OYSTERS! The French always have oysters for New Year, so where were they ! Stuck in Brittany, thanks to Les Gilets Jaune, they had blockaded the ports and that was that !

So now it is the turn of the Belgian Endive farmers! Endive, Chicon, Chicory, Chicorée, Witloof ,doesn’t matter what you call it, it is a vegetable that is predominantly grown in North Eastern France ( now called Les Hauts de France, ) and Belgium. Chicory has been grown in this region since before Napoleon and strangely enough its roots can be and are used as a coffee substitute! If you have ever been to New Orleans and the famous Café du Monde, then you will have drunk coffee with Chicory! Growing up, I’m not sure we had coffee in the house, tea certainly but on visiting my grandmothers house we had coffee! It was to me rather strange , it was liquid in a bottle, a teaspoon or so was put into a cup ( one didn’t have mugs in those days) and boiling water added. Then a dash of milk and as refrigeration was not there, it was more often or not evaporated milk! YUCK! However coffee was around in the UK long before tea. The first coffee house was founded in Oxford in 1650. Chicory root is toasted and ground and can be a coffee substitute especially in times of need, the American Civil War, the Great Depression, and both World Wars.

However, I am not about to make my own version of Chicory Coffee. In Belgium and France, chicory is cultivated as a vegetable and like Rhubarb it is kept in the dark so that the leaves do not turn green. It is always used as a white vegetable. The usual ways, especially in Belgium of using Chicory is to precook them, wrap them in ham and a cheese béchamel sauce. Or chopped and used as a salad with walnuts, and a vinaigrette.

So onto using Chicon in a meal. I use it just two ways we’ll make that three! Salad one, is just chop some into a normal salad and the salad Mark Two, is chopped Chicon in a vinaigrette with chopped walnuts or pecans. Obviously very simple.

The way it is eaten in this household, well actually by one person in this household. Himself really really likes Chicon, gratin. This very simply involves cooked Chicon wrapped in ham with a cheese béchamel sauce and popped under the grill to brown.

For one person, take 2 Chicon, chop off the smallest bit from the stalk end and rinse. These can then be either cooked gently in boiling water about 7 minutes until soft. OR pop in the microwave, in a microwaveable dish or in a special microwave dish. Microwave on high for only three minutes, drain any liquid and pat the Chicon dry with paper towel. Wrap slices of ham around the Chicon. Make a cheese béchamel sauce by :-

• Multiply quantities as required
• 1oz butter
• 1oz cornflour 1/2 pint full fat milk or better still some single cream
• 2 Oz grated cheese, cheddar is ok but I use Emmental or Gruyère
• Pinch salt
• Pinch dry English mustard or a teaspoon of Dijon mustard.

There are two ways of making a sauce. Firstly traditional, by putting all the ingredients into a saucepan and whisk over a medium heat for 3-4 minutes until the sauce is thick and creamy . OR as I do, basically the same way but in the microwave. Obviously you can’t whisk all the time, but blast on high for bouts of one minute a quick stir and then another blast, until the sauce is thick and creamy.

Place the Chicon in an ovenproof dish, pour over the sauce and top with some grated cheese. Pop under the grill until the top is golden brown. Serve with Salad, boiled new potatoes, or sweet potato fries!

I read the other day what I found to be a rather odd version of Chicon Gratin! All it consisted of, was cooked Chicon with ham( as before) but the sauce was just cream, cheese and breadcrumbs! Well I suppose it simple, but a bit sloppy, but not the real McCoy at all!

And what does the REAL McCoy mean, it come from the USA. McCoy pottery/earthenware, not the most beautiful but became very collectible with lots of copycat stuff, the REAL has this mark on the bottom!

Le Gaspillage, what a wonderful word it is ( gas.pi.jaz). What does it mean , well Waste, waste of any kind , but here we are talking about food waste.

We spent a couple of days last week in Lyon the self proclaimed capital of La Cuisine Française. We had been forewarned about the French initiative to cut down on Food Waste. As of January 1 st 2024, municipalities must provide the population with ways to dispose of food scraps, expired food, garden waste etc. Previously, it was only those who generated more than 5 tonnes of organic waste were required to separate it.

This bin in Lyon was the first that we had seen and of course this being France it was already covered with graffiti. Currently there isn’t a fine for non compliance but as food waste accounts for 16% of total emissions from the EU food system AND food waste and food loss generates about 8% of human caused emissions annually. Home composting is widespread in Italy, Austria, the Netherlands and Belgium but in the UK it is voluntary with some local councils providing small bins for food waste. We are currently in the Savoie region of France and have yet to see a composting bin, though we are required to take our normal trash to local bins, one for paper, one for glass and one for general waste, I think in the winter they look like TeleTubbies!

Food waste in the UK is high as well with approximately 76 kg being wasted per person in 2021! The highest wasters were according to WRAP ( waste reduction charity) were those who eat out a lot, or have a lot of take aways, or were following diets such as Paleo, Atkinson, Gluten free, vegan vegetarian etc. The greatest waste seemed to be milk, chicken, bread, eggs, fruit and vegetables!

Being of the generation Waste Not Want Not, I don’t throw food away. I actually put the blame to much of the waste onto the shoulders of governments, with the introduction in the first instance of USE BY DATES! This was subsequently changed to BEST BEFORE! One milk company stopped using dates of any kind recently to the SNIFF TEST ! Good for them, the only ones I would truly worry about is chicken and fish. However, most homes have a freezer these days so I usually buy in semi bulk ( meat and fish) , pack, seal and freeze. Even if the product has Freezer Burn ( not packaged properly or been frozen for too long) it is still edible,( make a fish pie or a stew). Most dates on packaging is there just as a guideline , Yogurt that is two days past its date will still be fine and probably for several days beyond that. Sugar, salt, Vinegar, Olive Oil, Worcestershire Sauce, Hot Sauce, Tabasco, the industry says they need dates, but are still fine for a very long time.

The way forward is to reuse Left Overs! when my kids were younger we would go to Club Med on Holiday, where a very creative kitchen would create new dishes, using leftovers! Consequently, when I did this at home, the answer to “ What’s for dinner” sometimes would be a CLUB MED!

Here are some ideas for LEFT OVERS.

The Lettuce looking a bit sad? Use it as a basis for soup, any kind of green stuff, Romaine, spinach baby gem are great, simply chop and melt in butter. Add other vegetables ( frozen peas make a wonderful soup. I’m well known for what I Call Refrigerator Soup. I make this by using up the contents of my refrigerator, when I am going away for any length of time,I always start with salad, but it could included any vegetables ( think of mixed vegetable soup / minestrone) stock for the soup can be a stock cube, want to make it a cream soup, use up yogurt, cream, milk.

Cooked food leftovers can of course be recycled as well and made into something new and exciting. Think of Tuna Niçoise, it doesn’t have to be made with Tuna, try cold salmon, or mackerel , or you have the veggie part, add boiled eggs and tinned Tuna. Cold cooked Salmon can be made into a salmon quiche. currently Poké bowls are in fashion, again, using cooked salmon, tuna, pork, beef, lamb, prawns eggs etc. add a stock and veggies, any will work but add chillies, coriander, fresh ginger, spring onions, lemon grass, kale, broccoli, chard, the list goes on!

And then don’t forget Fried Rice, I always seem to have left over rice.However for a while a few years ago, Care Homes were told not to serve reheated rice to their resident! Why?

Bacillus cereus a toxin grows in rice and the illness can cause some nasty symptoms like nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. The symptoms will usually set in just a few hours after eating your meal but will also normally not last for long. However this is not just for Rice but for any cooked foods that have not been refrigerated, so storage is important.

I love fried rice and is so simple to do, if you have left over rice. Scramble some eggs, quickly cook some vegetables ( or you might have some leftovers) or use a packet of frozen Mixed Vegetables ( defrosted), ham, fish, prawns along with Pak Choi, onions, coriander , just add to the rice and there you go! Might not be authentic but Oh So Good!

And why throw away Bread? Bread is WONDERFUL, it freezes really well, take it out of the freezer, put it back it doesn’t mind and no health risk. Or use it to make French toast, Bread Pudding, Bread and Butter pudding, or dry it to make posh breadcrumbs ! Why throw milk away, half a bottle of milk left over and you are going on holiday ! FREEZE IT! Defrost when you come home for that cup of tea! AND EGGS! If you are going away for a week, the eggs will be fine, but they also freeze, crack them open , freeze them and use them when defrosted for scrambled eggs! And CHEESE, I have so much cheese in my freezer, I buy French cheese when on offer, it all freezes well, don’t bin it!

And Finally! I saw this idea the other day just perfect for my extremely smelly Camembert cheese, which is desperately crying out to be used. Wrap chunks of it in Nori ( dried Japanese seaweed), dampen the Nori, wrap it around the cheese, egg and breadcrumb, deep fry. Result? Well maybe, just maybe my cheese was a tad too runny and SMELLY! And of course you can buy breaded cheeses, might just save you time and energy! But I will try it again !

During our stay in the mountains in La Belle France, we decamped for a few days to Lyon, the gourmet capital of France. Situated between the butter-loving regions of Alsace and Lorraine to the north , the cream, cheese and charcuterie region to the North East and the vegetable and olive oil-based cuisines of Provence and the Mediterranean, Lyon has blended them together to create its own rich heritage of French cookery.

Whilst in Lyon, we went to Las Halles…… the stomach of a city and here it was Les Halles de Paul Bocuse, a world famous chef ( 3 Michelin Stars) who had been based in Lyon.

However, I have to say that we were both marginally disappointed, a market it was not, but a very smart conglomeration of expensive food stalls, with almost no one there buying! But as no one was there, it gave us ( me ) ample time to roam and look! But we didn’t buy!

Having gorged our senses on all of this, lunch ! But why do we always forget that in France, LUNCH really does mean a full blown lunch! However we saved ourselves for the evening.

Up until now I had been totally unaware that Lyon had been once the centre of the European silk industry. In the 1400 and 1500’s it really was a boom town, with tunnels and passageways leading from the weaving district down to the river. The business was mostly destroyed during the revolution with those artisans who survived moving to Germany, Switzerland, Italy and the UK. It rebuilt itself with revolts along the way and of course modernisation and so Lyon still produces fine silk today. As with any industry, others piggyback alongside. With maybe 25,000 silk workers needing food, small restaurants sprang up and these were called BOUCHONS. These catered to the silk industry and were family run businesses and many are still in operation today, serving traditional Lyonnaise cuisine.

One of the culinary delights is something called “ cervelle de canut” or translated as “Silk Workers Brains”! And despite its gruesome name is a treat. Soft white cheese mixed with white wine, a dash of sour cream and some herbs. To be eaten by dunking in some crusty bread. At the time this was the original Take Away lunch for all of the silk workers!

Daniel and Denise is a typical Lyonnaise Bouchon and in fact there are three locations, one in the old town which is where we went.

Another typical aspect of cuisine Lyonnaise, and although introduced during the 16th century, it was the 19th century that saw the introduction of the pot Lyonnais that is still known today. Like the traditional bouchon restaurants, the history of the pot Lyonnais is wrapped up in Lyon’s history of fine silk production (which dates back to the Renaissance). The skilled silk weavers, called les canuts, of the La Croix-Rousse district of Lyon, would typically eat at bouchons after finishing work and, in a fittingly French fashion, they were equally entitled to 50 centilitres (17 ounces) of wine per week paid by their employer. However, the ever resourceful restauranteurs had a ruse! A glass pot was created with a thick bottom Therefore, the ‘pot’ started out as a 50-centilitre glass bottle that would be filled with wine from a barrel. However, in1843, the measure changed from 50 centilitres to 46 centilitres. Therefore the owners were able to make one litre of wine stretch to fill two pots and have a glass leftover for themselves. The pot’s typical glass bottom was consequently thickened to compensate for the missing 4 centilitres!!

We went to a DanieletDenise closest to where we were staying and we were not disappointed, though I have to say that Himself was marginally less adventurous than normal!

I had to start, Bones with Escargot (YUMMY) whilst he had the Pǎté en Croute, this was followed with Calves Liver saignant for Himself and Scallops with boudin noir for me! All in all it was a good meal in an interesting location and would go again.

Meanwhile I have been working on my Cheese Tart, which is fast becoming my signature or go to dinner.

Therefore I have been updating my Tarte Abondance. For those of you who have already made this Tarte, then here is the update. It is important to use a mixture of cheeses and the ones I use are perfect as they melt really well, whereas, cheese like cheddar, which is a great cheese, just doesn’t work.

Now I start with a layer of 3 onions chopped and lightly sautéd and on top of that the filling as for a quiche. I use a 500 grams melange of Comté, Abondance and Beaufort (plus 1-2 Oz of plain flour mixed into the cheese).These are local to me in France, in the Savoie, they are available in the UK but tend to be pricey, but worth it. I then also use 300 mls dpible cream and 4 beaten eggs. Use the above for a large Quiche type tart along with a green salad.

I think possibly that the average person doesn’t think of Belgium as being a gourmet destination, but how wrong they would be. For me it is the Frites capital of the world ( despite Arras, France holding a World Frites contest). Frites ( French fries, Chips) stands are on almost every street corner , but Belgium is far more than that. There are more Michelin starred restaurants per capita in Belgium than there are in France!

So for today I’m going to showcase a specialty from Ghent. ( Gent in Dutch or Gand in French) why the difference? Because Belgium despite being a small country, has 3 official languages ( French, Dutch and German)and many dialects. Ghent is the third largest city in Belgium ( behind Bruxelles and Antwerp) , is the capital of East Flanders. Basically they speak Flemish, which by all accounts is an offshoot of Dutch ( but don’t say that to a Flemish speaking Belgian).

Belgium, or what we know as Belgium was occupied by various nations, including Celts, Romans, Spanish, Austrians, Dutch and Germans. It became a country in its own right in 1830.

Today, it is a cosmopolitan country with Bruxelles as its capital, where almost ( by necessity) everyone speaks several languages, but having said that there are tensions between the regions. The poorer French speaking Walloons, consider themselves more aristocratic and intellectually superior to the Flemish and Dutch speakers of Flanders. And don’t forget the German speaking region in the east. Given its location at the crossroads of European countries and cultures it is of little surprise to find that its cuisine has developed over centuries into something that is a bit from here and a bit from there, but something that is also distinctly Belgian.

We lived in Belgium for 13 years, our first daughter was born there,in a hospital named after the World War One, British nurse Édith Cavell, who was shot by the Germans. Belgium is a relatively small country where houses sell on average once every 51 years. Why move, when going out to lunch with family is never more than a quick drive away.

Going out for lunch, in-fact tends to be just that Going Out, a bit like in the French tradition La Grande Bouffe ( a big feast), is eaten at lunch on a Sunday, a meal that can last for hours with the family gathered around. Bakeries abound and it has been said that the Belgian housewife prefers to buy her dessert from the bakers than to make it herself.

All cuisines are found readily in Belgium, but rightly so they are proud of their own specialities. Leek and Potato soup ( Belgians love leeks), creme of Endive soup, and Chervil Soup are three of the most popular soups. Marinated Herrings ( roll mops ) are popular with rye bread, and oh hearty tomatoes stuffed with the most wonderful grey shrimps ( tomates aux Crevettes grises) mussels in all shapes and forms and vol au vents filled with a chicken fricassée .Waffles, pancakes dumplings, fish galore and even eels. Game and poultry, including rabbit, venison , beef stewed in beer, blood sausages, not for the faint hearted.

And did we mention BEER! There are over 300 breweries in Belgium and the average Belgian drinks over 60 litres each per year! Wheat beers, fruit beers, strong beers, even Vegan beers ,CHIMAY, LEFFE, JUPILAR, HOEGARDE, MORT SUBITE, DUVAL, TRAPPIST to name just a few.

But onwards, to a very classic Belgian meal. Waterzooi! Meaning boiled in water, is an ancient soup or stew, originating in Ghent. Previously always made with fish ( fish from the canals and rivers surrounding the city ) , but nowadays more often or not made with chicken. I have to admit, Chicken stewed in water doesn’t sound very appealing , but wait, by the time the onions,garlic, herbs, vegetables, egg yolks, and cream have been added, it is a delight.

Once upon a time, I would make it for any visitors to Belgium, until one year, when I explained to one of my sisters in law, the origins of Waterzooi, she said “ I know, you made it last time we came ! Oops ! However I made it the other weekend for the first time in years, and in fact within the last two weeks, I have made it twice! Once with chicken and once with fish, but now will probably not make it again for another year ! Traditionally, a whole chicken is used, boiled with herbs, but honestly who like chicken skin and bones! So for ease I always use chicken breast.

• For 4-6 people
• 1 1/2 kilos of chicken breast , cut into chunks or use an assortment of fish
• Chicken stock/ vegetable stock or even white wine , enough to cover the meat
• 3 Oz unsalted butter
• 4+ cloves garlic crushed
• 4 carrots peeled and chopped
• 3 white onions peeled and sliced
• 2 baby leeks, cleaned and sliced
• 3 sticks white celery chopped
• 8 smallish potatoes quartered
• 3 egg yolks
• 300 mls double cream
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Juice of one lemon
• Fresh parsley or coriander for garnish

Very simply cook the chicken in the liquid that you choose, until cooked. Remove and put to one side. Pour your stock into a jug and put to one side as well.

Clean the pan, melt the butter and sauté the vegetables ( not the potatoes) until tender. Add the reserved stock and the potatoes and simmer until the potatoes are tender.

Mix the egg yolks with the cream, and pour over the vegetable mix. Add the chicken and heat for about 5 minutes until the chicken is hot but don’t let it boil. Season, add the lemon juice and garnish with the parsley/ coriander.. Serve immediately!

Once of the advantages of having a home in the Mountains ( ours is in the Haute Savoie, not so far from Mont Blanc) is the amazing Savoyard food, the cheeses, the ham, the charcuterie, the cream, the potatoes and oh yes more cream and butter! On the other hand, the disadvantages are also huge, the cheeses, the ham, the charcuterie, the cream, the potatoes and yes more cream and butter! What makes the food wonderful is also its deterrent. Morzine/Les Gets both on the Route des Grandes Alps, have their fair share of local restaurants but nearly all of them specialise in the local food which is labeled Savoyard. Hence, going out to eat usually means eating the local fare. To be fair, they, the restaurants are not catering to the likes of me, on the whole they cater to the tourists, the skiers in winter, the hikers and mountain bikers in the summer. Consequently, when we are in the mountains, we don’t eat out very much.

Having said that, in Les Gets, there is a good restaurant, called L’Outa, which on first sight one can be forgiven in thinking that it is a rather nice antique shop. Madame who runs this establishment with her husband is fun! We telephoned one day to make a reservation and we’re told to call in the morning as she hadn’t decided if she was going to be open or not! Another time she complemented a French friend on her excellent French ! And her food is not the local fare! Another, supposedly up market restaurant, we visited one Christmas. The waitress declared that the chef had been shucking oysters all day! We couldn’t resist! We got 2 each ! And the rest of the meal, although not Savoyard, was less memorable!

In our little hamlet, we too have one, just one bar/ café. Over the years, it has become smarter and better food, in fact her hamburgers are really good as is her Steak tartare. Of course there are Savoyard items on the menu, but not exclusively so.

So what are the specialities of the region.

• Tartiflette which is made from Potatoes, Reblochon cheese, bacon or ham, onions , butter and cream.
• Farce or Farcement Savoyard, is a cake made from Potatoes, cream and bacon, NO cheese, but of course it could be added as well.
• Croziflette, which is a bit like Tartiflette but made with the little local pasta
• Diots are the local sausages
• Raclette, which is melted cheese and usually served with local charcuterie
• Croute Savoyarde is the areas answer to Cheese on toast or Croque Monsieur or Croque Madame
• French onion soup, not necessarily from this region except, the soup is topped with toasted bread smothered in one of the local cheeses
• Tarte d’Abondance. This really is my favourite, it is a cheese tart.
• There are 8 cheese from this region and all have a PDO, which means they have a Protected Designation of Origin. They are Abondance, Beaufort, Chevrotin, Emmental, Raclette, Reblochon, Tome and Tomme. They are all made from one of two types of cow, Abondance and Tarentaise.

A visit to any of the local markets will give you a good overview of all the cheeses and charcuterie available throughout the region.

For some reason the other day, I decided to make Tartiflette. It is a firm favourite for Himself and also for his skiing buddy who comes every January.

To make enough for 4/6 people :-

• 1.5 kilos of potatoes scrubbed but they don’t need peeling
• 3-4 oz unsalted butter
• 8 oz bacon cut into chunks or lardons, smoked or not
• 2 white onions roughly chopped
• At least 4 cloves garlic mushed
• About 12 oz Reblochon Cheese. I actually didn’t have any Reblochon tucked away in the freezer, so I used what I had, a combination of Pont l’eveque , Tunworth ( an English Camembert type) Emmental . Not traditional, I know but it worked.
• 100 cl of creme fraich or cream
• Salt and pepper.

Simply boil the potatoes until soft, I as usual cook them in the microwave. When cool, slice them into rounds about 1/4” thick.

Melt the butter and sauté the potatoes , until a golden colour, put to one side and then sauté the lardons, until they are crispy, add the onions and garlic and again sauté, but don’t let the onions brown, just get them soft.

Layer the potatoes, lardons/ onion/garlic in an ovenproof rectangular casserole ( in France one can buy special dishes for Tartiflette) along with some of the cheese.

Pour the cream over the mixture and top with the remaining cheese.

Bake at 180 C ( fan) 425/ Gas 7 for about 15 minutes, it should be bubbling. Serve at once along with maybe a green salad.

Left overs? I’m kidding, but if there are, refrigerate or freeze. Reheat very quickly in a microwave.

Enjoy ! We certainly did !

The family have had a love affair with pancakes, since I can’t remember when. Himself is the pancake King. He made them at weekends for our own kids, where mostly the youngest and the middle child had competitions as to how many they could eat. Nowadays he makes them for grandchildren, in two groups, the big kids and the little kids, but whenever they come to stay, it is expected that he makes pancakes for breakfast.

A few years ago, my daughters and I, were in Chicago for the marathon, above said middle child has run many marathons and so we were there as the support team. There were always two items that were a MUST for marathon running, the best Hamburger afterwards and pancakes the following morning. We had an Excellent Air BnB right next to a Ralph Lauren restaurant which made the most amazing hamburgers. And true to form we found the best Pancake house in Chicago! We had to wait for maybe an hour but when needs must !

As I am sure you are aware,there are many many forms of Pancakes, the word pancake being a generic word ( for us anglophones) which covers a myriad of different types of pancakes. In the UK it generates at least 450,000 monthly searches for a recipe, and not only that there are at least Seven pages of recipes on the BBC website for pancakes.

So as you can imagine there are numerous types and recipes. Here is a brief synopsis. English pancakes, flat thin, usually eaten with lemon juice and sugar, but can be eaten with almost anything ranging from yogurt to Nutella, to bacon and scrambled egg. American, thick and stacked and definitely with additions, bacon, sausage, egg, maple syrup, fruit, cream yogurt and more. The Scotts have Drop Scones, and the Welsh have Pikelets, whereas Eastern Europe have Blini, which should be made with Buckwheat flour ( Sarrasin). The French have Crêpe which they flatten out in their pan with a rateau en bois and they have Crêpes Salée, or in Brittany it is a Galette, a savoury pancake made again with Buckwheat flour! You don’t have to have a Crêpe pan, but it really does make a difference. It is best not to wash your crepe pan, at best wipe it our with paper towel straight away after using, at worse whilst still very hot just water and wiped dry immediately.

We were away recently, just for a few days, so once again, being of the school of “Waste Not, Want Not” I wondered how to use up the odds of food that were in the refrigerator. I decided to make Galettes Soubises which are pancakes made with Buckwheat or Sarrasin flour ( which by the way is Gluten free ). The recipe I found used a combined plain flour and Sarrasin, which I found to be an odd choice. However, I do happen to have a box of Sarrasin flour ( from France) and there is no mention of mixing it with plain flour.

Ingredients :-

• 330 grams of Buckwheat flour
• A pinch of salt
• 75 CL of ice cold water

Put the flour and salt in a bowl, and carefully pour in the ice cold water, stirring constantly, to make a smooth mixture.

Leave the batter to stand for 2-3 hours. Heat the Crêpe pan until very hot, grease with either a spray or with butter. Pour in some of the batter, but remember Galette are thin. If the mixture is too thick carefully add some extra water. When the edges of the pancake begin to brown, using a spatula flip the pancake over. ( if you are confident, you can try flipping. Quickly cook side two, remove with a spatula and place on a plate. Repeat until all the mixture has been used. They can be staked and stored until ready to use.

For the filling, well savoury, something as simple as cheese and ham, ( using grated Emmental) sautéed mushrooms, or as I did a mixture of sautéed onions, bacon bits ( lardons), garlic, parsley, and then topped with grated Emmental cheese and fried eggs! A meal in itself, or maybe add a green salad!

I saw a recipe the other day, well more of an idea than a recipe. I saw a picture, that was all and although I googled Duck with Figs, the only result was an article in The Telegraph. (UK). I have a newspaper subscription but not that one and no matter how I tried I couldn’t find the recipe. So it had to be invention! Actually the invention became very easy. I had the duck breasts, I had the figs. And bizarrely I also had fig jam, which I would use when making my sauce. My fig jam was actually homemade, probably made during one of our lockdowns, when himself really got into Jam making! Unfortunately since then he has hardly eaten toast and jam, so now we have a bit of a glut, both here and in our house in France! Maybe we need to set up a stand at our farmers market?

I have used my Sous Vide contraption in the past for a simple precooking, but this time round I decided to forgo the Sous Vide option, ( maybe I was just being too lazy)! I had two plump duck breasts, which I defrosted and then patted dry with kitchen paper. Then I sprinkled the fatty side liberally with ground black pepper. Heated a cast iron griddle, until it was really hot and put the duck fat side down to sear and to really cook the fat, pressing the breasts down. This did result with the extractor working overtime, but it is important to get this fat reduced, nothing worse than having horrible soft fat.

When the fat side was really done and crisp, I removed them from the pan and let them rest a while on a plate, but in the meantime I made a sauce. This was very simple and almost cheating. Into a clean saucepan, I put a couple of tablespoons of fig jam, then added a good swish of port, and a dash or two of some cassis. Heated the mixture slowly on the stove top, stirring to marry the ingredients together. When well amalgamated, put to one side until ready to serve.

I served my duck breast with some green beans with almonds and as always I cook them in the microwave, beans for two only takes about 3 minutes on high. Microwave cooking is in fact the cheapest way of cooking but not only that, things like vegetables do not lose any of their nutrients in the cooking water ( there is none). I have memories of my mother or aunt cooking cabbage for what seemed like forever, until it was limp and plaid, but gone are those days, thank goodness.

Once I was ready, I popped my duck breast back onto the griddle, this time skin side up, and cooked for about 5 minutes for the meat to heat through, again, I left them to rest on a plate with some kitchen paper, whilst I cooked the beans.and reheated the sauce.

Figs are very much in season in the UK, and are readily available at my local Middle Eastern stores.