Very easy peasy apple cobbler

I'm sure that, like me, you have discovered all sorts of recipes from bloggers worldwide.
Some of the ones we try don't work for us or aren't to our taste, others go into our repertoire tout suite!
I recently was introduced through facebook to Marie's blog "The English Kitchen" by my blogging pal, Jenny.
Marie is a Canadian who lives in the UK where for the past twelve years she has been cooking up a storm debunking the myth that English food is bland, one recipe at a time.
Each time I visit I want to try that day's recipe and the one I want to share with you today is my version of her easy cherry cobbler.
Click here for a link to Marie's recipe, there's a printable version available too.
It really did seem ridiculously easy to make but not having a can of sour cherries in my larder I had to look around for some other fruit to use instead.

Enter the SP clutching the last of the apples and pears from our espaliered trees et voila, very easy peasy apple cobbler was on the menu.

Now, Marie does warn that this pud won't win any prizes for it's good looks but who cares? What if it's a little rough and ready looking.
Ladies and gents let me tell you this is the most divine tasting dessert/afters/pud that I have tasted in many a long day.
It takes comfort food not only to the next level but to infinity and beyond!

Think I might be exaggerating ever so slightly?

Well, why not make it this weekend for your family and let me know if I'm not right.
This is a recipe that you'll go to over and over again, I know I shall.

Preheat your oven to 200*C/ 400*F/ gas mark 7.

1lb cooking apples peeled, cored and sliced
140g (1 cup) plain flour
2 slightly heaped tsp baking powder
245g sugar divided (1 1/4 cup) (plus extra for poaching the apples if using)
225ml milk (1 cup)
pinch salt
125g butter, melted.


Poach the sliced apples in a saucepan with a little sugar & water until softened but not mushy, allow to cool a little. Meanwhile in a bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, 1 cup/200g sugar, milk & salt. Pour the melted butter into a 2 litre baking dish, pour the batter into the dish then add the fruit. Don't mix! Sprinkle the top with the remaining sugar and bake for about 30 minutes until the pud is golden brown on top and the juices are bubbling.
Marie dusted her cobbler with icing sugar after it had cooled a little but I couldn't wait to taste mine so omitted that step and served it a la mode - vanilla ice cream with a little double cream poured over it so that it freezes slightly and cracks when you dip in the spoon!

Serves 4 if they're hungry, 6 if they're not.

In the unlikely event that there is any cobbler left over (!) gently warm it through in the microwave, it'll still knock your socks off the next day.

Linking this post to Foodie Friday

hosted by

Gollum (aka Michael Lee West)
@  Rattlebridge Farm

Touring Blogland

Recently my dear friend Sarah invited me to join her on the Blogland Tour and featured me on her blog @Hyacinths For The Soul. 

Sarah and I have been friends since meeting at the Quimper Collectors Club’s second annual gathering in Washington D.C. in 2000. 

Sarah and I had a great day antiquing in Bayeux
when she & her husband came to visit in 2011.

As collectors of French faience in particular the pottery produced in the town of Quimper, Brittany, we always enjoy getting together with other Q collectors. I for one am counting down the days until we meet again next month in Nice, the jewel of the French Riviera.

plage Beau Rivage, Nice, France.
(photo from internet)

As part of the tour Sarah gave me 4 questions to answer.

What am I working on right now?

First of all with my Quimper Club Secretary’s hat on I’m working on preparing a report to present at the meeting next month. 

Mark Twain once said “there are two types of speakers, those that are nervous and those that are liars”. I know which type I am, addressing an audience is not something I am very comfortable with doing. Luckily I only have some statistics relating to the membership to report, so I think I’ll be o.k. 

Around the Presbytere I’m working on keeping everything “show home” ready as we never know when the Immobilier/ estate agent might call to arrange to bring a client over to view the house. 

My precious “me time” is spent in my attic craft room and it seems that lately I've been scrapping vacation memories.

L. Tulum, Mexico 1998
R. South Beach, HHI 2012

Some of my most recent pages.

L. Kos, Greece, 2013
R. HHI again with Dad & Joyce, 1992

How does my work differ from others in this genre?

Such a good question, but I’m not really sure that it does. I do have certain things that I like to include on my scrapbook pages, whether I’m following a sketch or a set of criteria set down in a challenge. I usually draw doodle a couple of lines around the edges to frame the layout. Tags! Almost every layout has to include tags wherever possible and I love to pile on embellishments in clusters and layers. These are my “signatures” I guess.

Why do I write or create what I do?

The simple answer is that I started my blog to share our life in Normandy. Our beautiful home, which we fell in love with the first time we saw it, is in a very small rural hamlet and there’s not a lot to do here if you’re not a farmer! 

In 2008 when I first started blogging I had no idea if anyone would be interested in my ramblings but just started chatting as if to a friend and went on from there.

 ice cream sundae, anyone?

I write about my garden, especially the potager, our pets, my husband, our little trips around the area and those to more faraway places. Blogging and scrap booking are the perfect hobbies for me.

How does your writing process actually work?

I always have my camera close by and anything such as my latest read, a beautiful sunrise, a bee on a lavender bush, a dog looking cute, white fluffy clouds or a new recipe can easily find its way onto the page. It’s almost always the photograph that dictates the post and inspires my words.

Lettuce soup, better than gazpacho!

Enough about me.

Time to introduce you to two ladies whose talents lie in quite a different direction to mine, you'll soon see why.

Lorrie @ Fabric, Paper & Thread is a blogging friend of many years who lives in Victoria, BC, Canada. 

On her blog you will find links to her Etsy store and Craftsy page where she says " I love to sew and create in a variety of mediums. Sewing, embroidery, paper crafts - you name it, I've probably tried it. But I always come back to my love of fabric and sewing! "

Another very talented lady is Sue @ I Sew Quilts. 

Sue and I met through the Quimper Club when we both attended the 2001 annual meeting in Quimper, Brittany. At that time she ran a very successful store aptly named “The Pumpkin Patch”. Sue’s blog is a feast for the eye, not only does she share with us the projects that she is currently working on but takes us travelling around the UK and the US, to the many museums and quilt shows that she visits with her quilting friends.

I’d like to thank Sarah for inviting me on the tour and you, too, for your company today. 

Please do visit Lorrie and Sue 

on Monday, the 18^th August 

for the next sequence of the Blog Land Tour.

Alphabe- Thursday - K is for Kedgeree

For Alphabe - Thursday this week with Mrs Matlock a dish you might not have tried - Kedgeree.
Kedgeree is an Anglo – Indian dish of onions, basmati rice, cooked smoked haddock, peas, hard boiled eggs, curry powder, parsley, cream and butter which was introduced into Victorian Britain from colonial India.

It is a very simple dish to make and perfect for brunch or supper.
In series one of Downton Abbey kedgeree is one of the first dishes that Mrs Patmore prepares for Lord and Lady Grantham and "the girls".

Some people make kedgeree using leftover rice and fish but like Mrs Patmore I make it from scratch!

Using the ingredients mentioned above, this is what you do……………..
In a large pan poach 250g undyed smoked haddock (+ 2 bay leaves) in 250 ml of water for about 5 minutes, drain and reserve the cooking liquor.
Discard the bay leaves and flake the fish into bite size pieces.
Put 100g basmati rice in a small saucepan with the reserved cooking liquor, simmer until rice is cooked. Remove from the heat and allow to stand until all the liquid is absorbed by the rice.
Meanwhile place 2 (or 3 if you’re hungry) large, free range eggs in a saucepan of cold water, bring to the boil and cook for about 8 minutes.
Remove the eggs when cooked and plunge into a shallow bowl of ice water, when they are cool enough to handle peel the eggs and cut each one into quarters, set aside.
In a small saucepan cook 50g of frozen peas, whilst this is happening melt 20g of butter and 1 table sp sunflower oil in a large frying pan. Add a finely chopped onion and fry gently until cooked and slightly golden in colour. Add 1 tablesp of curry powder and fry for another couple of minutes.
Tip the cooked basmati rice and drained peas in with the curried onions.
Next add 2 table sp chopped parsley, 2 table sp crème fraiche, flaked haddock and quartered hard boiled eggs.

Pop a lid on the pan and cook gently until the eggs and fish are warmed through.

Transfer to a serving dish or dot some butter over the top of the kedgeree, cover with foil and place in a preheated oven to keep hot until needed.

Serves 2 if they’re hungry and 3 if they’re not.

Talking of Mrs Patmore…………….are you a Downton fan?
Do you prefer upstairs or downstairs?
Do you know which character asked:
 “A weekend. What is a weekend”?
Or who said:
 “Friends? Who does she think she’s fooling? We’re not friends.”

Whether you’ve only just met the Cawleys, or can find your way around Downton as easily as Thomas the footman, call back here at the weekend for a chance to win The World Of Downton Abbey by Jessica Fellowes.

The Rivalry and Romance Revealed and the Secrets and History unlocked. 

Joining Jenny Matlock @ off on my tangent
for  Alphabe-Thursday
where the letter K is our subject this week.

I scream, you scream, we all scream for Ice Cream!

July, it seems, is Ice Cream Month and the 17th of July is National Peach Ice Cream Day according to my list of American Food Holidays!

Would you like to join me in the garden to celebrate?

Where would you like to sit?

My contribution to the Ice Cream Socials being hosted this weekend by

Suzy @ Kitchen Bouquet

and

 La @ A Musing Potpourri

Peach Melba Knickerbocker Glory - a Barney Desmazery Recipe from BBC Good Food.

It's so good and so easy and soooooooooo delicious

you're probably going to want to try it yourself!

This one is yours, grab a spoon and dive in!
You can even dip the madeleine into the sauce, I won't watch, promise.

Ingredients:

300g raspberries

50g caster sugar

200ml double cream

4 ripe peaches, halved - stones removed

8 scoops good quality vanilla ice cream

and a large handful of flaked almonds, lightly toasted.

This is so easy:

Blitz half the raspberries with half the sugar and a splash of water to make a raspberry sauce, then tip into a small bowl.

In a separate bowl, whisk the cream with the remaining sugar until stiff and spoonable, then set aside. Thinly slice the peaches.

In tall sundae glasses, layer the peach slices, raspberries and raspberry sauce, finishing with scoops of ice cream, a generous spoonful of whipped cream and a scattering of flaked almonds.

Serve straight away with long spoons.

and, since this is a social event after all

I'll be linking this post to

Beverly's Pink Saturday gathering @ How Sweet The Sound just so that I can show off the gorgeous pink hydrangeas that are still blooming so beautifully,
The Tablescaper for Seasonal Sundays

and also

Mosaic Monday with Mary @ the little red house. one of my favourite blog parties.

Please pop in and say Bonjour to all of our delightful hostesses this week
by clicking on the links above or on their buttons on my sidebar..

Bon weekend a tout!

Bobbie Flay's Grilled Chicken Paillard with Lemon and Black Pepper and Arugula-Tomato Salad

Joining Lynn @ Happier Than A Pig In Mud for July's Celebrity Cook - Along with TV Chef Bobbie Flay.

Strange as it may sound but before this month I didn't know who Bobbie Flay was.

Seriously!

But through the wonders of the Internet, and trusty ole Google, I was soon able to put that right and found this easy chicken recipe on The Food Network.com.


The recipe was featured in the series Boy Meets Grill in an episode entitled French Bistro Grilling.

Fat Tree Semillon - Sauvignon Blanc, New South Wales, Australia
went well with the dish.

Although we do have a small Weber BBQ I decided not to use it that evening, opting to grill the paillards on a heavy bottomed, ridged grill pan, on stop of the stove.

Much easier and not so messy!

As I happened to have all the ingredients, except for red onions, it was the perfect dish for a Sunday evening dîner pour deux au jardin.

Grilled Chicken Paillard with Lemon and Black Pepper and Arugula-Tomato Salad.

·    1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

·   1 small shallot chopped

·   1/4 cup pure olive oil

Freshly picked rocket from the potager

• 1/4 teaspoon coarsely ground fresh black pepper
• 4 boneless, skinless, chicken breasts, pounded thinly
• Salt
• 1/2 pound arugula (rocket/roquette)
• 2 ripe beefsteak tomatoes, diced
• 1 small red onion, peeled, halved and thinly sliced ( used salad onions instead)
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar (I used balsamic just because we love the taste)
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus additional for garnish
• Lemon halves, for garnish
• Whisk together lemon juice, shallot, olive oil and black pepper in a large dish. Add the chicken, turn to coat then marinate in the fridge for 30 minutes.

·    Preheat grill to high. Remove chicken from marinade, season with salt on both sides and grill for 2 to 3 minutes per side or until golden brown and just cooked through.

·   Combine arugula, tomatoes and onions in a large bowl, toss with the vinegar and oil and season with salt and pepper, to taste.

·   Place each piece of chicken on a large plate, drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil and top with some of the arugula-tomato salad.

·   Garnish with lemon halves and serve.

Délicieux

Don't forget to head over to Lynn's
and also to a new blog find
Beth Fish Reads for Weekend Cooking.

Click here for more Bobby Flay recipes.

Bon Appétit 

Alphabe-Thursday....K is for Kitchen Garden.

Is it me or is Thursday coming around quicker every week for you too? I almost forgot to prepare my homework for Mrs Matlock's Alphabet Thursday "K" assignment but luckily I didn't have too far to look for inspiration.

One of my very favourite things to do is to grow organic vegetables in a small patch of ground outside my back door, my very own Kitchen garden or potager as we call it here in France.

It was in a very sorry state when I inherited it from the previous owners and for the first few years that we lived here it was rather neglected by me also since there was so much work to be done on the house first.

Almost two years ago I decided to completely rehaul the design and wrote about it in my very first blog. (Note to self: NL 2nd Blog Anniversary coming soon!).

You can read about it here and over the following months I blogged regularly about my progress.

With the onset of fine weather a few weeks ago (I say that tongue in cheek as today we have had hail & rain interspersed with blue skies & sunshine) the weed suppressing covers came off. S the G (Sean the Gardener) rotivated and composted the raised beds and it was time to plant!

Last weekend I planted 4 sorts of "pick and come again" lettuce, and scallion/salad onions. In this bed I already have some early and maincrop potatoes, with the blueberry bushes at the end.

I also love to cook, a pastime that goes hand in hand with growing my own produce. Two excellent books which have inspired me with both of these interests are The Ornamental Kitchen Garden by Janet Macdonald for planting plans and gorgeous photography and The Gardeners' Community Cookbook which was a gift from a dear friend, Fayne, several years ago.
These words from Victoria Wise, author of the cookbook, say it all:

Good cooking comes from good growing

Good growing comes from loving the earth

Good dishes come from tending your pot

as you do your plot.

Happy Gardening.

Tuesday morning

Cold & damp on the dog walk this morning so I decided to spend the morning being a domestic goddess in the kitchen.

Simple comfort food was called for so first off I prepared banana walnut muffins, a personal favourite, to go with our coffee for elevenses and then a cauliflower cheese with crispy topping dish for lunch.

Muffin recipe:

10 oz/280 g plain flour

1tsp/5ml baking powder; ditto bicarb soda; and half a tsp salt

3 large very ripe bananas, about 1lb/450g

3oz/85g granulated sugar

1 large egg, beaten with a fork

2 floz/60ml milk; 3 fl oz/90ml corn oil

3oz/85g walnuts chopped

ditto chocolate chips

Mix first 3 dry ingredients together, mash the bananas & add wet ingredients, stir until just combined. Add walnuts & choc chips.

Spoon into muffin cases & bake in pre heated oven, 400 f/200 c for 20 - 25 mins

If you have a favourite muffin recipe please share!!

bon appetit

Maggie