PEACH & GINGER FLOGNARD (Clafouti) Recipe

 

‘Same Same, But Different’.….This was the slogan written on the shirts my brother brought back from South-East Asia for Olivier’s stag party. Odd that this phrase should pop into my head when cooking but it really does answer the question  “What is the difference between clafouti and flognard???”

For the purists in this world clafoutis is a desert made with whole cherries and a sweet batter poured over the top.  A clafouti made using any other type of fruit ie) peaches is called a flognard or flaugnarde.

I often make this dish as it is a quick and easy summer desert. If you are pressed for time, don’t bother peeling the peaches or substitute them for red plums! This recipe calls for standard ingredients that you should have on hand, and if you are without cream just use extra milk. A dusting of powdered sugar (icing sugar) adds a nice touch for serving.

LENTIL SOUP

The DUTCH Series N°5 : Lentil Soup Recipe with Saffron Garlic Roux

It is officially the 1st day of SPRING!

So why am I writing about a winter soup you may ask. Good question. The thing is – the calendar may say that Spring has arrived,  but while it is sunny in Geneva it is still very chilly. I was nearly blown away this morning when crossing the bridge  – literally! It is because of  ‘la bise’ a Northerly wind that comes whistling through the city at a bone chilling rate. It is at these times you really need some stick to your ribs, heart warming food.

Years ago lentil soup was the very last thing on my list of favourite foods. It was something to eat under duress. In fact I was such a terrible child, that once my aunt went to all the trouble of preparing a homemade lentil stew and I turned my nose up and said I couldn’t possibly.  Naughty naughty naughty.

I have since grown up & so have my taste buds.  The first lentil soup recipeI tried will remain nameless, as the spices were all off and it made enough for the Russian army… needless to say, I was not impressed. I have since fiddled and tweaked my way to come up with this version, with a hint of chilly, the tang of lemon, soothed with spices & served with a generous dollop of saffron, garlic roux!

GINGER COOKIES

GINGER COOKIES

I have come to believe that cookies/biscuits or ninnies as my aunt calls them, are the unofficial 5th major food group, and one that I cannot live without, especially as it has not stopped raining for the past week and feels more like October than June…. who is playing the cruel joke! So I am having cravings for hot drinks and cookies, and with the urge to bake last night came across this recipe from an old issue of the Globe and Mail newspaper.

The original cookie recipe called for shortening / hydrogenated vegetable oil or vegetable lard, not to be confused with normal lard if you don’t want your cookies tasting of bacon!. However  I am a purist when it comes to butter, even more so after reading about the negative side effects of eating industrially created trans fats by partly hydrogenation plant oil. The moral of the story = eat what nature naturally intended and not what humans have manipulated to increase shelf life!

I like these cookies as they are, however I did go out on a limb and added cubes of candied ginger and nutmeg, then reduced the cooking time to 8 minutes to give them slightly chewy centres.