Canadian magazines and coconut lime cupcakes

magazines from H

The magazine swap continued throughout our vacation 

with the arrival of these glossy Canadian magazines 

sent to me by Lorrie and H (a.k.a. Pondside).

Thank you, ladies.

 magazines from Lorrie

One recipe that I couldn't wait to try once we got back to Normandy

was the one for coconut lime cupcakes from style at home.

The frosting was very rich so I omitted the white chocolate 

and as there's only two of us chez nous I halved the quantities.

Seven pretty cupcakes for the SP and I to enjoy this Easter weekend.

Joining Michael Lee @ Rattlebridge Farm for Foodie Friday and Everything Else.

foodie chat .........

Before I begin to share some vacation memories 

 a quick disclaimer - to all Francophones following Normandy Life

 for every reason you love to visit France I probably have a similar one for Hilton Head Island!

The grass is always greener - so the saying goes.

We're just back from our twenty something visit to the Low Country and over the years we've developed certain tastes and habits.

anchors away @ Hudson's

As self confessed foodies some of our long time favourite restaurants include ......

Hudson's on the Docks for their fish and chips

 and Gruby's New York Deli where we like to split a NY Reuben.

We both love to cook and are always 

overwhelmed by the vast array of produce available at The Fresh Market.

Choosing which coffee to buy can sometimes take a while as there are so many blends to savour.

I mentioned in the previous blog post that my fave one this time was 

Charleston Coffee Roasters Organic Sumatra.

This trip we also experienced Whole Foods Market

which has replaced dear old Piggly Wiggly in Shelter Cove since our last visit. 

Searching out where the locals like to eat is a favourite thing of ours to do.

A Lowcountry Backyard

The Low Country Backyard serves up great food. 

We liked the flatbread sandwiches:

 Charleston fried green tomato; crab cake; and meatloaf (the SP's personal favourite).

 The homemade mushroom soup was also delicious.

(We weren't greedy, we dined there twice!)

Another HHI institution, but a new to us restaurant, is Annie O's serving "southern" food.

I tried the tomato pie which was so good.

 I've been all over Pinterest to find a recipe to replicate it. 

I think I've found one that comes close and plan on fixing it at the weekend.

The final place we discovered is a real hidden gem of a place.

The Sea Shack 

which really should remain a closely guarded secret.

The only problem is that last week I wrote a tripadvisor review for it 

and it's already received 256 views!

just looking for another new restaurant to try!

Linking to Foodie Friday and Everything Else with Michael Lee @ Rattlebridge Farm

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

February National Food Days

I recently discovered a great website where you can learn all about National Food Days celebrated in the US.

Intrigued, I googled British National Food Days and unbelievably found just one.

But, what a "one" it turned out to be, drumroll please..................

the first Sunday in February has been declared "Yorkshire Pudding Day"

Click here to go to the Recipes4us.co.uk to learn how this celebratory day came about, and please join me on Sunday to honor this wonderful iconic British dish.

Meanwhile ........in the US, February is amongst other things
 Hot Breakfast Month
and the hot breakfast of choice here at the Presbytere is poached egg on toast. Mmmmm!

I don't know if you remember the scene in the movie "Julie & Julia" but Julie had a terrible time trying to poach an egg.

It didn't help I suppose that she hadn't ever eaten an egg in her life and sort of had an "egg phobia". 

During 30+ years of married bliss I must have poached hundreds of eggs, using a variety of methods.

Taught by my mother to use one of these, it stood me in good stead for many years.

A couple of years ago I discovered these little poach pods from Lakeland but couldn't get on with them at all, the egg always seemed to stick a liitle bit, to the inside.

A friend told me that Delia's method is foolproof, click here,  and it is.

However, I found the very best way to poach an egg in the Hairy Bikers 12 days of Christmas cook book which I blogged about here in December.

For the poached eggs, pour enough water into a large deep pan so that it is two-thirds full. Bring to the boil.
Place the eggs, still in their shells, into the boiling water for 20 seconds, then remove with a slotted spoon.

Step 1

Add a splash of white wine vinegar to the pan, then swirl the water gently to create a whirlpool effect. Crack one egg into the centre of the whirlpool and poach for 2-3 minutes, or until the egg is cooked to your liking.

Step 2

Remove from the pan with a slotted spoon and set aside to drain on kitchen paper.

Keep warm. Repeat the process with the remaining eggs

Step 3, foolproof.

Do this and you won't ever worry about your poached eggs again, if only Julie had used Si & Dave's method, as shown in my photographs, she could have saved herself a lot of anguish.

Linking this post to Miz Helens Country Cottage Full Plate Thursday gathering and also Gollums Foodie Friday, you can click on the sidebar buttons too, to find mouthwatering food from around the world.

Bon Appétit

Christmas Cakes and Foodie Friday.

Traditionally Christmas cakes in England are made in early October and fed weekly with brandy maturing nicely until two weeks before the big day when the marzipan & icing go on.
For many years my MIL enjoyed baking a Christmas cake as a special gift for us and, as tradition had it, would always cover the basic fruit cake with a thick layer of marzipan and then royal icing on top of that.
A small christmas tree, children playing, silver balls and all kinds of other cake decorations would cover the surface and a wide red ribbon was fixed in place around it.

DH & I hate marzipan and icing but never wanted to hurt her feelings and I don't think she ever knew, that we would remove every last bit before savouring the rich fruit cake beneath.


Readers of my blog will know that I was enjoying myself at our HHI home away from home in October which means that I was quite late with baking my cake this year.


Delia (Smith) to the rescue.


The December issue of my Woman & Home magazine was delivered early November and included recipes taken from Delia's new book "Delia's Happy Christmas".

Lo & behold! "The Last Minute Brandied Christmas Cake".

Funny thing is at Delia online the recipe is called Last Minute Sherry Mincemeat Cakebut whatever your choice of tipple this is a such an easy recipe to follow and produces an amazing looking cake.

After the festivities are over I'll report back if it tasted as good as it looks.

Thanks Delia.

In the late 1800's Woman & Home magazine was titled Woman at Home, here is their menu for Christmas Day and two more Victorian illustrations from my V&A Christmas List Book.

I'm joining Michael Lee @Designs by Gollum for Foodie Friday this week and am so looking forward to seeing all the amazing festive recipes and picking up some new ideas. Her blog already has so many wonderful treats to share, care to join us?

Cream cheese stuffed chicken breasts & champ for Foodie Friday

It's Friday...................the weekend is almost here and what could be nicer to start the weekend off in style than an easy to cook dinner of chicken served with fresh vegetables.

I'll be adding this recipe to all the other glorious foodie treats over @
Foodie Friday graciously hosted as always by "Designs By Gollum".

Hop on over and
give your tastes buds a treat.

Cream cheese stuffed chicken, with champ & home grown green beans.

This has been one of our favourite dinners this summer, making the most of fresh produce from my potager and it has to be one of the easiest chicken recipes I’ve ever come across.


I saw British chef Aldo Zilli cook this, in a TV ad for Philadelphia cheese, earlier this year and since then I have made it probably once every couple of weeks tweaking as I went along.

Click here to watch him cook this dish on youtube.

All the combinations I’ve tried have been delicious even if I say so myself.

To serve 2 you will need:

2 skinless chicken breasts.
50 g Philadelphia Light with basil. (Philly isn’t available in France, so I use Boursin)
3 slices smoked pancetta, (you could use smoked streaky bacon or smoked parma ham instead)
Pre heat the oven to 200C, gas mark 6.

Place the chicken on a clean board, breast side down.

Open out the fillet and spread half the cream cheese over each piece. (I sometimes add a slice of Roquefort or fresh basil or thyme for extra piquancy)
Place the chicken breasts into a non stick baking dish & roast in the oven for 25to 30 minutes or until the pancetta is golden and the chicken is cooked through.

For the champ you will need:
125g/4oz spring (salad) onions, chopped, or 40g/1½oz chives, chopped
300ml/10fl oz milk
6-8 potatoes
salt and pepper
75g/3oz butter
Boil the potatoes in salted water until just cooked, then mash, if using onions, simmer these in the milk until soft.
Add the onions and their milk and the chives, if used, together with the milk which you have heated separately. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Let the butter melt over the finished dish.

If this is your first visit to Normandy Life be sure to read yesterday's Vintage Thingies Thursday post, there's a giveaway involved!

Bon Appétit
Maggie

Dejeuner au jardin..............................

Today I'm joining, for the very first time, the gracious hosts of both Tablescape Thursday at Between Naps on the Porch hosted by Susan and also Foodie Friday hosted by Designs by Gollum.

http://betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com/

http://designsbygollum.blogspot.com/

The weather here in our little corner of Normandy has been perfect for al fresco dining this week.

I have just the spot to place a small wrought iron table and two chairs, sheltered from the breeze by an ancient stone wall and perfumed by the climbing wisteria which is still flowering so late in the season.

Relax and enjoy the view over the garden and I shall pour you a cooling glass of iced tea.

For lunch today I thought you would enjoy some locally cured jambon, a meltingly soft chunk of brie and pain de campagne still warm from the boulangerie.
Bon appetit.

A Waterford crystal jug holds a pretty bouquet of blue hydrangeas and wild flowers picked on my walk this morning.

On such a pleasant day the ideal dessert, a simple ripe nectarine warm from the sun served in a 1940's green pressed glass dish set upon a handpainted Quimper plate featuring a man and woman wearing traditional Normandy costumes.

If, like me, you love French pottery then you might also like this blog:

http://quimperclubinternational.blogspot.com/

or you can click on the QCI Logo on the sidebar to go straight to the QCI website for a special membership offer.

I have so enjoyed your company at lunch today and I hope you'll come and visit Normandy again soon.