Yummy Homely Food

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ultimate comfort food
2008-05-04 19:13:00
whenever I need real comfort food, few things will do. But one of them is "coquillettes" with grated cheese and butter.... Read more!
More About: Food , Comfort food , Ultimate , Comfort

various takes on olive oil cake
2008-04-29 21:23:00
It all started with a conversation on rivercottage forum about "good v cheap olive oil" with someone called badbadger.Comparing the merits of various olive oil reminded me about my grand dad's lovely "gateau mousse" made without any butter, but with olive oil and white wine instead.... Read more!
More About: Olive Oil , Cake , Olive

Sunday afternoon walks, busy bees cake and other recipes with honey
2008-04-13 20:32:00
Sunday lunch when I was little. Generally at my grand parents, my parents or my uncle and auntie. A whole 2 miles away from each other ;). We'd meet at noon, sit down for a couple of round of aperetifs with various nibbles ... Read more!
More About: Recipes , Sunday , Honey , Cake , Afternoon

From holiday memories to my plans on "how to amuse 2 toddlers during the sp
2008-04-04 12:42:00
We used to live just outside the village, in a new built house that saw 3 successive extensions in 10 years. To accomodate our growing family: 4 girls NEED a lot of room. There's all the clothes, the dress up stuff, the riding gear, the magazines, the pushbikes, the "grocery store" (ALL pink of course...yeuck! :p ) with all the boxes of supplies carefully kept and cellotaped by mum, and so on.One great thing about growing up with 3 sisters is that you always have someone to fight play with :pIf we weren't rollerskating the length of the balcony (which went all the way alongside the house), cashing strange foreign coins on the old till dad salvaged from a closing butcher's shop, or following clues hidden in trees around the garden to retrieve our afternoon snack (I know, we had a cruel cool babysitter), we'd be...either playing "muuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuum...I'm BO-RED" or cooking!We all have a sweet tooth, so the cooking was more often than not a pudding of some sort. Creatures of h...
More About: Holiday , Plans , Memories , Toddlers

From holiday memories to my plans on "how to amuse 2 toddlers during the sp
2008-04-03 11:43:00
We used to live just outside the village, in a new built house that saw 3 successive extensions in 10 years. To accomodate our growing family: 4 girls NEED a lot of room. There's all the clothes, the dress up stuff, the riding gear, the magazines, the pushbikes, the "grocery store" (ALL pink of course...yeuck! :p ) with all the boxes of supplies carefully kept and cellotaped by mum, and so on.One great thing about growing up with 3 sisters is that you always have someone to fight play with :pIf we weren't rollerskating the length of the balcony (which went all the way alongside the house), cashing strange foreign coins on the old till dad salvaged from a closing butcher's shop, or following clues hidden in trees around the garden to retrieve our afternoon snack (I know, we had a cruel cool babysitter), we'd be...either playing "muuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuum...I'm BO-RED" or cooking!We all have a sweet tooth, so the cooking was more often than not a pudding of some sort. Creatures of h...
More About: Holiday , Plans , Memories , Toddlers

spring clean and time for a pic nic?
2008-03-31 22:04:00
We went on holiday a couple of weeks ago...and, banned from access to internet, I spent some time thinking about all the stuff I want to include in this blog...hence the slight reshuffle of the header again. Fingers crossed it should now cover all my main "cogitations" (thoughts really) about food :)Now that that bit of spring clean is done, parlons patés & terrines: I love them, preferably game ones. they are very closed to one another, except a paté is a paste -smooth or not- and a terrine made with layers of meat. Each time we go home I stock the car with little glass jars of "terrine de lapin aux noisettes" (Rabbit and hazelnut paté), "paté de canard au poivre vert" (duck and green peppercorns) and "terrine de sanglier a l'armagnac" (wild boar and Brandy). ... Read more!
More About: Time , Spring , Clean

Verveine infusion, vacherin, crumbs and truffles
2008-03-11 23:56:00
So I finally made it to the evening...kids in bed, run done and dusted, kitchen tidy (ish). just in time for...Hotel Babylon and a cup of tea...of course not! I have lived in England for over a decade now but still can't drink the stuff I am afraid. Just not for me.What I do like to drink, apart from strong, black expresso coffee, is an infusion of  dry verveine (verbena) leaves in the evening. No sugar, occasionally a small teaspoon of honey (from mum and dad's own beehives) for a sore throat a little treat. It's a long family tradition. Like lots of food and drinks I enjoy, it brings back happy memories and a big smile on my face thinking of it.... Read more!
More About: Truffles , Infusion , Crumbs

Frangipanne based puddings...and local farm shops!
2008-03-03 22:27:00
Yesterday night I was watching Rick Stein's program...the one where he travelled through the South of France from West to East on a barge, stopping and sampling local dishes like cassoulet, salade de chevre chaud or gratin dauphinois. During that program, he made a Pithivier, an almond cream pie encased in puff pastry. He added fresh cherries to his which I have never tried but sounded like a nice idea. It reminded me how much I love almond cream. It's called "frangipanne" in French. It's a brilliant base for a fruit tart or indeed for the traditional Galette des Rois we eat on January 6th. Or to make stuffed almond croissants... ... Read more!
More About: Local , Puddings , Farm , Shops

back from holiday at long last!
2008-02-25 23:24:00
Last week I went back home with the little ones for half term... seeing that my other half was away for the week anyway! Needless to say I have spent a week indulging  in one of my favourite hobbie: food tasting. I had to be a bit sneaky this time since my mum, dad and sister were in the middle of a little spring detox and...not eating much else than soups and boiled vegetables. Anyway, I managed.  I also tried to do the same things with our kids that I remember doing with my parents and grand parents, simply because I have such great memories of growing up in Beaujolais. ... Read more!
More About: Holiday , Back , Long

Broadening horizons and chocolate heaven!
2008-02-15 14:56:00
You might have noticed I have changed the header that describes what Yummy Homely Food is all about.I have been thinking about it for a while,  I have tried quite hard to change the way we shop and eat at home for the past year at least now. I've tried to go back to principles I was brought up on...I am only talking about food here! My parents and my grandparents have always shopped local and eaten seasonal stuff - fruits and vegetables from the garden when available or from the local Tuesday morning market and butchers in the village... They "recycle" most leftovers, freeze/preserve excess seasonal food to use later when it's scarce. I blanked that for a long, long time .....then woke up!. Probably because of all the hype around the sujbect here in England and th fact that I might be more receptive to the issue now that I am a "mum of 2 getting on a bit and living in the countryside". Just joking, I can still stay awake past 10:30 pm...on the odd occasion.... Read more!
More About: Heaven , Chocolate , Horizons

a kinda tiramisu style cake to make with the kids and a HUGE jar of Nutell
2008-02-04 23:37:00
I spend lots of time these days trying to remember some of the recipes I enjoyed making/eating when I was little, Why? Some write a journal, I am a bit more of an exhibitionist! Seriously, it  makes me write down LOVELY, special memories I don't want to forget, it makes me SMILE a lot and it helps me remember stuff I can in turn, make with my KIDS. OK, mainly with Tom, but little Millie likes to help too even though she's only 14 months. The other day she spread jam on her toast all on her own - she did a great job and was very proud of herself (even though her hair had to be thoroughly washed after!)... Read more!
More About: Kids , The Kids , Style , Cake , Make

crepes time!
2008-01-31 22:55:00
It's coming round very soon... La chandeleur bien sur! Celebrated each year on February 2nd, 40 days after Christmas, it's "pancake day" in France ( and in Belgium). Now I wouldn't miss it for anything, I just love crepes too much. So much so that I cook them a lot more than just on February 2nd. I remember having crepes quite often when we were kids. I think it's because it's such an easy meal to be honest when you lack inspiration. Kids adore it too, of course!. But I fear that in these days of food correctness, low fat, low sugar and low carb diets, my idea of the perfect crepes will be highly unpolitically correct. But the thing is, what's the point of having crepes if you are going to fill them up with low fat yoghurt and fruits? ... Read more!
More About: Time , Crepes

Top 5 of my favourite puddings: From No 10 down to No 5. flan aux oeufs (
2008-01-23 15:28:00
When I was little, I had, like everyone, my favourite dishes...and to this day I still love eating most of the same things (except maybe sheep brain which according to my mother, I used to love?). So I thought I'd share my Top 10 dishes (savoury and sweet), starting with puddings: At No 10- Tarte tatin with creme fraicheAt No 9-  Pain perdu made by my grand mother  after schoolAt No 8- Reine de Sabah chocolate cakeAt No 7- Sweet chestnut puree charlotte (a variation from the summer fruits charlotte) made with wipped cream and a tin od sweet chestnut puree for fillingAt No 6- pistachio ice cream from the patisserie in the villageand at No 5- The mightly "flan aux oeufs" (a set custard baked in bain marie - in a tray with water basically- with runny warm caramel at the bottom). ... Read more!
More About: Puddings

Rainy holiday in Brittany and yummy palourdes
2008-01-21 23:31:00
A good few years ago (and more)...we went on holiday in Brittany, in a tiny little place called Plougastel Daoulas with mum, dad and my 3 sisters. plus my god mother, her husband and their 4 kids. Now, thinking back at what memories I have of it, this is the kind of holiday i'd love now. but at the time, getting stuck in the middle of nowhere in a cottage with goats and sheep outside was not my idea of fun. Ungrateful kid I was! But it rained most of the time too, and since at the time I was still living in sunny Beaujolais i was not happy (mind you, this might be why I got a stange attraction for England to start with. Along with the facts that people do queue, let you cross the road without trying to run you over, sell their vegetables outside their house with a money box next to it and more...but I digress)I thing I remember like it was yesterday is going to the beach at low tide with everyone to pick some shellfish. We got bucket upon bucket of "coques" and "palourdes" (small c...
More About: Holiday , Yummy

jambonneau sauce moutarde- or a great recipe with ham hocks
2008-01-18 21:51:00
A couple of years ago, my husband and I went for a meal out one January evening in Le Bois d'Oingt, where my parents live. Because it was the first week of January a lot of local restaurants were closed so we ended up at 200 yeards from home Chez Gudefin, the oldest and only classic restaurant in the village (we also have a great creperie hidden in a little back alley, Le Buxonien, a pizzeria, a small new restaurant called Chez Mado and...oh yes, a kebab shop! (which used to be the greatest little place to have a simple bite on a Saturday evening but there you go!). Better than that, seeing it was the only place opened for miles, I called at lunch time to book a table, thinking it's bound to be packed....and made a right fool of myself... Read more!
More About: Recipe , Great , Sauce

£8 billions worth of food wasted! What to do with leftovers?
2008-01-14 23:26:00
I read that astonishing figure in the paper today...I found it really depressing! As I mentioned in my "Poule au Pot" post last week, I was brought up on saving and re-using leftovers mroe often than not. And without going to extremes like keeping 1/4 of a dryish lemon in a Tupperware for months in the fridge (don't laugh, my mum does that)  we do pretty well I hope.One dish I find brilliant to finish leftover roast beef is my mum's tarte a la viande (meat tart) . It was a regular at the dinner table on a Monday night. I haven't made it for ages, but simply because we tend to eat more casserole beef at the moment. All you need is:1 shortcrust pastry a few slices of cold roast beef (5 or 6)1 can of chopped tomatoes a large handful of parsley1 onion salt and pepper1 eggRoll your pastry to 1 cm deepline a tart dish with greasproof paper and place your pastry on topRoughly cut the beef in stripsTransfer into a food processor and chop finelyFinely chopped the onionGently fry in a litt...
More About: Food , Worth , Wasted , Leftovers , Billion

Poule au pot, a great winter chicken dish
2008-01-08 22:47:00
It has to be about chicken today...since i have been watching Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall 's chicken run 3 nights in a row this week. I really REALLY hope he'll succeed in making a difference. We had chicken at home when we were kids and it was great fun watching them walking around snatching worms from the grass! The other thing shown in tonight prgogram was how to make several meals of 1 cut of meat...but I think they should have spent more time on this , considering the main objection to switching to free range chicken was the price- understandably Using leftovers is something I saw my mum and dad, and also my grandparents do at home all the time ... Read more!
More About: Winter , Great , Chicken , Dish

the tradition of Epiphany -frangipanne galette
2008-01-07 22:40:00
Every year it's one of my favourite tradition...After Christmas that is. On January 6th ,everywhere in and around Lyon we celebrate the Epiphany in our own particular way: "on tire les rois" (we pull the kings). I have looked up where the expression comes from: Apparently all the Christians used to celebrate Christmas on 6th January. When a new calendar was adopted, Catholics started celebrating Christmas on December 25th while the Protestants kept the same date as before (If I understood it properly). So the Catholics started celebrating the Epiphany (when the Wise Men came to visit Jesus)on January 6th! Depending on which part of the country you are, the type of galette varies. Last year, I was in Marseille on that date. We had a very nice, light and round brioche type cake topped with big pieces of glacés fruits. The brioche itself had a light hint of orange blossom water, it was delicious!But back when we were little, ... Read more!
More About: Tradition

Bonne Annee with a Petit Salé!
2008-01-02 23:54:00
I can't believe I have "abandonned" my blog for nearly 3 weeks...blame it on Christmas! Happy New Year to anyone wo will read my late night posts by the way . Since you ask (?) Christmas was great! Relaxed family time, a roast duck, a bit of foie gras (to go with THE onion jam from dad!) and a couple of visits to the pub...100 yards away from the house, would be criminal not to. Amongst the pile of presents was one I had on my wish list for a while and SO trilled to have finally got it: The River Cottage Meat Book. If you half like good meat, get yourself a copy it's well worth it. I particularly wanted to look at the first part to get to grip with the correct terms for each cut of meat...in English!. I have been struggling a couple of times at the butcher trying to explain which cut I wanted without any success, hopefully this it the end of that. One of the cuts I am after at the moment is "palette"  (which happens to be a shoulder of porc) to make one my favourite winter dish: P...
More About: Petit

Sardines soufflees on toast
2007-12-10 22:02:00
As we normally had quite a lot to eat for Sunday lunch, Sunday night meal was always on the light side...we never felt too hungry after finishing lunch around 4pm anyway!. Add to that the fact that in France, especially in a little village, there are no 24/7 Tesco (and I am not complaining), all take makes that you cook with what you have on Sunday night. Now, we always had (and still have I believe- from last time i checked my parents fridge this summer) a tin of sardines in the bottom drawer or in the cellar...not sure why, suppose it's one of those funny habits like me keeping...... Read more!
More About: Toast , Sard , Lees

marvellous duck confit and other duck delicacies
2007-12-09 23:07:00
my dad started as a butcher...and now is a food broker. He works for about 40 different small producers/breeders of cured ham, duck products, poultries, ready meals...and sell their range of products to supermarkets, wholesalers and local collectivies. He's a bit obsessed with food (in a good way!) and particularly likes duck. So we've always ate quite a bit of duck. I remembered that today because I had a confit leg of duck for lunch! Not sure how easy it is to get your hands on a tin of confit duck legs in England (well, not at your average supermarket but I am sure soem delis/French markets/places like Harrods, Selfridges and the likes stock that) but it's such a great thing yo have in your cupboard since it needs so little work for a really fantastic meal.Duck confit is basically pieces of ducks (legs generally but you can also find wings and neck) slow cooked in a low/medium oven... Read more!

salted cod makes a fab "aioli de morue"
2007-11-29 23:18:00
i think this used to be...one of my sister's favourite recipe. We always called it Aioli (pronounce "a- yo- lee") de morue but i am not sure this is the proper traditional recipe (which comes with lotsd more vegetables on the side...) but it's our version.  It's a very simple dish, very easy to prepare and very good value for money (well it was when we were little, not sure now with cod being over fished!). If you are going to try this recipe, really try to get your cod from a sustainable source...or you won't be able to enjoy it for long. I don't know where you can find salted cod round where we live, which is probably why I haven't cooked this dish since I have moved to England...but it's on my "list of requests" each time we go home. I really do that, yes! ... Read more!

Reine de Sabah, the yummiest gooeyest(?) chocolate cake
2007-11-27 21:58:00
Not sure the word "gooeyest" even exists...but how else can i describe it? Backtracking my line of thoughts a bit for your benefit, last Saturday was the day of The Lunch (see here for the complete story). Was wondering what to make for pudding though...do I go with a very light fruity desert like poached pears in mulled wine for example to stay seasonal...but then again maybe too daring for my friends... or do I? Do I? Go the Full Monty?!After all if you are going to be bad, you better do it right so I ended up making some plain chocolate brownies (an adapted recipe from Jamie oliver's Red Nose Day booklet)...I realised only tonight they tasted a lot like the Reine de Sabah cake we used to make...that's how I came to think of that one! Reine de Sabah is a rich, melt in the mouth, ... Read more!
More About: Cake , Chocolate

Chicken soup from Belgium
2007-11-24 23:33:00
The village I grew up in is twined with a tiny village in Belgium called Saint Hubert. The idea is that people from Beaujolais go there once a year and then the people from St Hubert visit Beaujolais as well. Simple and quite effective to make new friends! My mum and dad met several friends like that, one couple in particular with 3 daughters.  Isuppose they naturally had stuff to talk about since there are....4 girls in our family! Anyway, to cut the long story short, I became really good friend with their middle daughter  and still is all those years later...she's now our daughter's Godmother. When we went to their house, we often ate a chicken and leek soup called "waterzooi" in winter. I like this dish because it reminds me of my friend and also because it's a meal on its own, a brilliant and easy "week day evening recipe."You need:about 600 g of potatoes2 or 3 leaks (white bit only)2 carrots2 chicken breasts200ml of single creama large handful of flat parsley 1 l of chicken s...
More About: Soup , Chicken

winter salad with chicory and walnuts
2007-11-21 22:43:00
My grand-parents used to live in the old part of the village...and that's a mediaval village, so we still have remains of castle fortifications...Their house wasn't huge but had a massive garage bigger than the bit they lived in (I think I have told this story before?). To get to it you had to get otu of the house, down a very steep staircaise (frozen and deadly icy in winter), open a big, heavy wooden door with a key like you see in a pirate's treasure hunt or Alice in Wonderland!. Besides that door was a smaller one leading directly underneath the house to a very old cellar with vaulted ceilings and an earth floor. I know it is impossible to imagine from a few words but as it didn't have any windows, it smelt of slightly damp earth all year round. I only have to close my eyes to remember that smell and wish I could have bottled it!. Anyway, that place was ideal to force chicories. So all winter we'd have a regualr supply of white, crunchy vegetables. last time I mentioned chi...
More About: Winter , Salad , Walnuts

Gratin dauphinois...the king of all potato dishes!
2007-11-20 22:32:00
Now that we are each day coming a bit closer to Christmas...(sorry for mentioning it so early, can't help it!), I thought it was time to share a few of the dishes we used to have more or less every year. We used to spend Christmas either at home, at my dad's parents or at my auntie (my dad's sister). Occasionally we'd have Christmas lunch at my mum's mum and dad but less often I think (or maybe I have decided so since I didn't like it as much there sadly). Moving on...We'd all contribute to the meal to make it a bit easier on whoever we went to (when I say "we" I mean my parents! Our contribution stopped at making "fruits deguises"(mainly dates or 2 walnut halves stuffed/held together with a bit of pink, green or white marzipan then either rolled in caster sugar or dipped in caramel), a Christmas log (same as the chestnut one but with whipped cream inside and coated in chocolate ganache) or "feuilletes aperetif". My auntie, Micheline, always made her signature dish:  Gratin d...
More About: The King , Potato , King , Dishes

cheese fondue...not that cheesy afterall!
2007-11-16 21:19:00
When I was working in London a few years back, in events/outside catering, each time I mentioned cheese fondue, my boss started talking about how it was "such a 70s dish, blah, blah, blah". Don't know to this day if it was only her who associated the 2 together or if it's a general English thing. In France cheese fondue is never out of fashion, especially when you come to winter months and ever more if you go skiing or boarding or "ski-bar" :). I have recently featured quite a few recipes from Savoie in my blog(tartiflette, croutes au fromage): I used to go skiing quite a lot when I was a student since Lyon is only a couple of hours from the slopes. And yes, I know boarding is much cooler, but hey....Why did I suddenly think about this dish?  (Sorry R,A,  and S I HAVE to tell the story) I happen to have a bit of challenging lunch to organise for next Saturday and out of the 4 girls coming round to my house one is vegetarian, one doesn't eat pork or lamb and one eats only very pla...
More About: Cheese , Fond

Mussels mariniere, au curry, a la diable...
2007-11-15 23:20:00
If you ever go to Lyon...You might end up in Rue Merciere for dinner. it's a cobbled pedestrian street where all you can find are restaurants and bars. There must be at least 50 of them lined up one after the other, catering for all tastes and budgets. From traditional Bouchons (of course) to Mexicans,  Italians, a Spanish tapas bar, piano bars and the famous "Chez Moss" (an institution when it comes to fish and shellfish, but not cheap- you've been warned!). In the middle of those is a little place that used to look like a cabanon straight from the Calanques of Marseille (that's another lovely place to visit...not Marseille, the Calanques). It's called "Bleu de toi" and used to be really nice (not sure what it's like now, haven't been for years but sure it still exists which is a good sign). There you could eat simple salads and large pans of steaming mussels cooked in several ways: Mariniere, provencale, in a curry sauce...it's "cheap and chearful" mind you, but what a grea...
More About: Curry

Got spare apples? make a tarte tatin bien sur!
2007-11-14 21:40:00
A tarte tatin is basically an upside down apple tart...cooked in caramel so the apples go all golden brown and sweet and yummy. it's a very typical French dessert that I learned from watching my dad making it. He'd find any excuse to make a pudding, and I am so glad for this. Amongst his favourites are (I think): "It's Sunday" (lets make a pudding), "we've-got-friends-coming-round-for-apere tif-and-they might-end-up-staying-over-for-dinner-and- we- need-to-be-prepared" (lets make a pudding),one of us is coming round for lunch-more likely a week end in our case- , oh we've got loads of (apples/butter/ready made pastry..) in the (cellar/fridge/freezer), and so on.but anyway, it's a quick and no-fuss pudding to make and you only need a few ingredients which helps if you decide to make it at the last minute (it's best served warm anyway, just after you've left it to cool for a bit)You need:1 shortcrust pastry- ready made or home-made (got a great recipe on my blog in French if you...
More About: Apples , Make , Pare

chestnut special!
2007-11-13 11:20:00
With the weather getting all cold...and the first Christmas lights already on in some of the shops round here, that's it, I am starting to think A LOT about Christmas (I always kinda think about it a bit since I am part of the strange breed of people who buy presents all year round). I have lots and lots of nice memories about Christmas as a child, and when it comes to food, some ingredients always come back to my mind. one of them is chestnuts, and particularly  sweet chestnut puree. Maybe because my mum's family comes from Ardeche: it's an institution down there!. Anyway, when we were kids, mum used to buy us the stuff in little tubes (like tomato paste but a bit smaller) and we'd suck straight from it until every single little drop was gone.....now that's comfort food! sadly I never found those in England but you can find the sweet chestnut puree in a tin in most supermarkets and delis now. And with that you can make a "gateau roulé" ("rolled cake"). You can use the basic ca...
More About: Special , Chestnut