Milka Philidelphia

While I am not adverse to a bit of healthy eating, I am undoubtedly an incurable gourmande. "Oh I'll just have a taste" could definitely be my life motto. So when I saw that Philidelphia had decided to go into collaboration with Milka to make a new chocolate spread, I had to see if the taste lived up to the hype! 

Cheese and chocolate have to be two of my favourite ingredients. However, while the French do some amazing cheeses, I am not such a big fan of the chocolate. Give me a Dairy Milk any day. In fact, give me a Dairy Milk maintenant. Despite my patriotism in all matters chocolate, I can, however, recognise the virtues of Swiss choc. Especially Milka. There is something so sweet and melt-in-the-mouth about Milka that I just love. Even the childish purple packaging and the Milka cow make me smile.

So, cheese = heaven and chocolate = bliss. But the two together? Only my slices of toast covered in this strange mixture would tell.

First impressions after opening the tub were positive. The spread is a nice hazelnut colour, almost gleamingly smooth and just asking for my butter knife to plunge into it. 

Texture-wise, Milka Philidelphia is more of a chocolate cream than a traditional chocolate spread. This means it is very easy to cover your slices of toast, top a chocolate cake, ladle on to rice cakes (see, I can be healthy!) or anything else you might fancy doing with it. However, because of this creamy aspect it is undeniably quite rich. A little goes a long way, which is a good thing as it's not that cheap - 2 euros for a little tub. 

Last but not least: the taste taste. I was agreably surprised by the combination of these two products. The Philidelphia actually balances out the sugary quality of the chocolate and brings a note of freshness to what could have been otherwise an over-sickly spead. The Milka taste is definitely still there, however, so Milka fans will not be disappointed. 

The only down-side may well be that this sold fresh and not in a jar like other chocolate spreads, so you need to eat it relatively quickly. On second thoughts, that may not be a down-side after all! 

All that remains is to brew myself a nice cup of tea and eat my Milka Philidelphia toast! 

Coconut Water / Eau de coco

I thought that one of the benefits of no longer being a teenager would be no longer having to deal with blemishes, spots and blackheads. I was wrong! I seem to have more spots now than I did as a carefree youngster. 

So when I heard about the new antioxidant craze hitting star town that promises to clear up your skin in no time, I admit I was a little intrigued. I'm normally quite sceptical about such fads, but even the girls at the beauty salon said this one was worth a try. Lily Cole said in a interview that she consumes it every day, mixed with aloe vera. And she's got pretty nice skin!

So what is this magic ingredient I hear you ask? 

Coconut water.

Not coconut milk, that lovely creamy Thai-curry staple, but the water that comes from an unripe green coconut. Apparently, this (relatively expensive) liquid has outstanding hydrating properties and is the fetish of many a sportsperson. It also contains more potassium than a banana! Taste-wise it's not too bad - a bit sweet, like a ripe melon. And it did leave me feeling rehydrated and refreshed.

While I'm not 100% convinced about all of its supposed healing properties (I'll wait to see some hard facts!) I do think it may have helped my skin a little. The only thing putting me off buying it again is the fact is costs 3.50 euros for a tiny 500ml carton! It's not easy to find either - after scouring the organic and health food shops I finally found it in the local supermarket, but in the half-hidden away organic section. And not even with the own brands: this is unfortunately a brandmark beverage!

Ater all, I could probably buy a bottle of Clearasil for that price...

 

Homemade lasagne / Lasagne maison

Lasagne always reminds me of my Mam. I remember her making it in the kitchen, carefully layering bolognese sauce, lasagne sheets and a creamy mushroom sauce, before smothering the lot with grated cheese. It was always delicious, and most importantly made with love. 

Now my Mum is miles away and I miss her. Growing up is great, but sometimes my homesick self needs ways to feel close to her even though we don't live in the same country anymore. 

Making lasagne is one of these ways, although I haven't used my Mam's exact recipe (Campbell's mushroom soup being her secret ingredient, it is impossible to find it in France!).  

Still, as I sprinkled over the cheese and put the lasagne in the oven, just for one minute I didn't miss her.

Little fishes 2 / Petits poissons : le retour

Here goes the Oscar speech: 

I'd like to say thank you to a good friend's dad for giving us these delicious fresh fishies, thanks to the good friend for gutting them as that is a skill I am yet to master, and finally thank you to Cheri for cooking the fish to perfection! 

Eating fish whole is something relatively new to me. I'm a little bit ashamed to say it, but up until this year all fish cooked by my greedy hands had already been gutted, filleted and de-boned. However, I just couldn't say no to these little beauties, especially saying as fish is something that is becoming ridiculously expensive. Cooking the fish whole stops it from drying out and keeps all of the flavours intact. However, it does mean having to battle with the bones which can be a little irritating, especially when one gets lodged in your throat. A bit of care and patience is all it takes. 

I decided to accompany Cheri's papillotes with some curried courgettes. This is a quick and easy side-dish that goes well with white meats or fish. For four people you'll need one large courgette. If you're dining solo or cooking for two, freeze the remaining courgette slices for up to three months. Fry off in a little olive oil until soft, add a couple of spoons of crème fraîche, and then stir in whatever spices you fancy. I chose to put in some medium curry powder, groud cumin, fresh coriander, and a good dose of turmeric to give a nice colour to the veggies. Fry over a medium heat for about 20 minutes, or until the courgettes are soft and melt in the mouth. 

Wild mushroom hunt / Chasse aux cèpes

Though I still think of myself as a city gal, I am growing to love the countryside more and more, especially as living right in the town centre (all be it a relatively small town) seems to equal being woken up by idiots on motorbikes driving past at 4am and never being able to park outside the house when I've got all the food shopping in the boot. 

Besides the peace and quiet, there are many other things I am learning to appreciate about the French countryside. Wild mushrooms is one of them. 

Mushrooms seem to be one of those foods that people either love or hate. No-one just 'doesn't mind' mushrooms. Cheri hates them. I love them. However, Cheri does love going hunting for them in the woods. I think it's his hunter-gatherer instincts coming through. However, I also like to think of myself as a curious Lara Croft style adventurer(minus Angelina Jolie's body the crop top of course), so when our countryside-residing friend invited us to accompany him on a chasse aux cèpes, I put on my wellies and grabbed my plastic bag.

However, we were not the only ones on the prowl for wild mushrooms. My friend explained that these delicious and ridiculously expensive fungi can be found more or less abundently depending on weather conditions, and also the position of the moon. Apparently today was an excellent wild mushroom gathering day, will all conditions reunited. Apparently we weren't the only ones to know this.  

Thus, the hunt required a keen eye, a certain discretion and a good amount of bluffing. After spotting several of the little beauties just next to another elderly couple of mushroom hunters, Cheri craftily incited them to move on: Il n'y a rien ici, quelle dommage! At 15 euros the kilo, one can't afford to play Mr Fun Guy. 

One hour and two plastic bags full later, the mission was a success. I'm planning on freezing half of the mushrooms to make chicken and mushroom pie or a wild mushroom risotto. The other half are going in tonight's dinner, lovingly cooked with garlic, fresh parsley and olive oil to make a perfect winter omelette filling.  

Confit duck / Confit de canard

There's a good reason that confit duck is a French classic. It's one of the most tender ways of cooking meat that exists, and the side-dishes that normally accompany said duck are just as flavoursome if admittedly not too diet-conscious, notably thin sautée potatoes cooked in duck fat and sprinkled with lots of garlic and fresh parsely. 

While this is a dish I love eating, it has the reputation of being a bit tricky to get right at home so I normally only have confit duck when Chéri and I eat out.

But being the adventurous gourmande that I am, it wasn't long before I decided to give it a go especially saying as Lidl had tins of brand-name confit on special offer! 

The result was not bad at all really. The duck turned out crispy on the skin side and stayed tender. This is one of the main problems when cooking a confit duck, as cooking over too high a heat can dry out the meat. I chose, for this reason, to cook mine in a large frying pan for about 25 minutes over a low heat, or until the duck was warmed through.

As for the potatoes, no real problems there either. You need quite a lot of duck fat when frying, as the potatoes seem to drink it up. Add the parsely and garlic just at the end so as not to lose their flavour and turn the potatoes constantly so they don't burn. 

Maybe I'll give coq au vin a try next!

Pancake party / Crêpes party

A big thank you to Chéri for this impromptu pancake party! This nifty Tefal pancake device comes with a little spatula for flipping the pancakes (Chéri's job) and a roller for smoothing them out into perfect circles (my job). It also doubles as a raclette machine (a french winter dish of potatoes, sliced meats and gherkins with melted cheese poured over.) 

We had savoury pancakes to start with ham, cheese, mushrooms, fresh tomatoes with basil and a dollop of crème fraîche. Delicious! Then came the dessert pancakes: lemon and sugar (classic), rhubarb jam (seasonal) and chocolate/banana (my favourite). 

We can't wait to try this again with friends. Pancakes, anyone?