Ash Cloud

I realise that I have been MIA (Missing In Action) from the blog lately, but like so many I have the ash cloud to thank for that. I was stranded in England at my Aunt and Uncle’s house for 2.5 weeks and despite me being the guest who would never leave…  it was a wonderful silver lining to the whole airline drama and one that landed me back in the kitchen…

I made Country Pork Pate with Kip (I think we will soon have a Kip’s Corner, after the Garibaldi success and fig jam…) and then there was ginger biscuits baking with my aunt. When I finally got back home I had to remove a nasty virus from my computer (another week down the drain) and am only now back online.

This is all to say that new recipes are on the way, as is an interview I did with wonderful cake maker Silvia Felix of Cuddles Cakes.

WINNER Lemon squeezer contest!

 

Thank you all for participating in the Lékué Luki lemon squeezer contest. As promised I am writing to announce the results of the draw….

so with no futher a do,

drum roll please …….

Lékué Luki LEMON SQUEEZER!

Lékué Lemon Squeezer

What is it ? It’s your solution to 1/2 a lemon!!!

The new designer lemon squeezer by Lékué :

• Cut a lemon in 1/2
• Put inside the  squeezer
• Squeeze the exact quantity of juice you need
• No pips, no splashes
• Store in the fridge
• Quick & easy to use
• Made of 100% platinum silicone and very hygenic
• Dishwasher safe

WIN your very own Lékué LEMON SQUEEZER

ENTER the contest with THREE easy steps:

1. Go to the Lékué website by clicking HERE
2. Choose your favorite Lékué product
3. Leave a comment on this SWEET PEA post:  stating what your favorite Lékué product is & your email address.  ie) “My favourite Lékué product is the cooking mesh!!”

You are now entered in the free draw!

Click on link below for free draw & LEMON CAKE recipe!

NEWS: Menu for Hope

5th annual MENU FOR HOPE fundraiser (December 15 – 24)

“Every year, Food Bloggers from all over the world join together for a fundraising campaign.  We call it ‘Menu for Hope’.  Last year, we raised over $90K for the UN World Food Program.” Chez Pim

The idea:  an annual raffle in support of the UN’s World Food Program (WFP)

• you donate $10 
• you get 1 virtual raffle ticket towards many fabulous foodie prizes
• and you help the UN’s WFP to support the children’s school lunch program in Lesotho (South Africa) and their local procurement initiative = helping local farmers to help themselves

For more information on ‘Menu for Hope 2008’ please click HERE
Money can be donated through the First Giving website, please click HERE

It’s a small way to make a big difference 🙂

NEWS: Olive picking in Provence

 

***NEWS: OLIVE PICKING IN PROVENCE***

We escaped the city this past weekend for a little sun & olive picking. Despite a very trying train journey… apparently booking a ticket does not automatically include a seat…. and the fact that it poured rain all of Saturday (hail was an added bonus!), we still managed to get in some quality olive picking.

NEWS: Roasted Chestnuts (Marroni), Switzerland

***NEWS : ROASTED CHESTNUTS (MARRONI)***

The appearance of roasted chestnuts, or marroni as they are called here, is the sign that Autumn has arrived in Switzerland. Dotted around the city of Geneva, are little wooden huts with steaming cauldrons of roasting chestnuts, wafting their sweet nutty scent into the cold air.

This is a popular snack, which draws passersby into the lines of anxiously waiting people, for a paper cone of these toasty warm nuggets.

When I enquired about how they were made, the lady told me it was simple:

• Ingredients = chestnuts!
• They are normally from the chestnut-growing region of Ticino in the Italian part of Switzerland
• Directions :cut a small slit in the shell for the steam pressure to be released & pile them into a cauldron. Cook at 100°C for 25 mins
• Eat while warm

NOTE : The slit in the shell is particularly important, otherwise imagine popcorn, but on a larger scale!! When I was a little girl, I found this out the hard way, after placing a tray of perfectly plum chestnuts into the oven, only to have them exploding half an hour later. Needless to say I learned my lesson.

The taste of roasted chestnuts is tender and rather sweet. It gives you a warm and comforting feeling like being curled up in a thick blanket. So the next time you are strolling around Geneva or another Swiss city, from September through to December, I highly recommend treating yourself to few.

 

NEWS: Spice Bread AKA Pain d’Epices

NEWS : ‘Extra extra, read all about it!!!’ This is the 1st of many short “NEWS” posts, with information on my latest and greatest culinary discoveries.

***NEWS : PAIN D’EPICES (SPICE BREAD)***

This past weekend, in the Halle de Rive, Geneva’s indoor food market, I came across Jean-Jacques Tereins, from Al Terre épicerie, selling traditional pain d’épices (spice bread).

BAKING:What was special about his bread is that it is made à l’ancienne (the old fashioned way), with a recipe dating from the XVIII century. The dough, called pâte-mère (dough mother), is left to rest for several weeks, before being baked at low temperatures for 8 hours, in large terracotta pots!!!

THE BREAD: a very large, moist, 6 kilogram bread, made with 2 types of honey, cinnamon, clove, star anise and ginger.  It is divinely delicious , and can be kept & savoured for up to 3 months in the fridge. My slice lasted about 3 minutes….  so I may need to buy another piece or 2 to test this theory!!!

Ingredients:acacia honey, chestnut honey, buckwheat flour, butter, eggs, cinnamon, cloves, star anise (badiane), ginger & salt.

MUSEUM: just outside Strasbourg, in a French town called Gertwiller, there is a pain d’épices museum / shop run by ‘la maison LIPS (circa 1789) “, where the baking of this bread has been a tradition for over 2 centuries.