This is where I celebrate my birthday when I'm in Paris. I love that I can say that.
It's my third time here and the food is still as delicious as the day I first tasted it.
Four simple courses. No choices. Just whatever is fresh from the market that morning.
My favourite today was the beginning and the end.....
Read MoreWe picked up a baguette traditional (our baguette of choice, chosen over many years of research and bad mistakes) to have with our fromage for dinner. It was still warm, almost hot to the touch, when I lifted it up off the bench in it's paper bag as I said merci. Fresh from the oven. I couldn't stop smelling it as we walked the two blocks home to our little apartment in the Marais. Salivating the whole way.
When at home I eat gluten/wheat free. My dicky thyroid feels better when I do and my tummy does too.
Read MoreIt's no secret that I love a limited menu. I adore restaurants and cafes that have only a few select dishes lovingly made for that particular day based on the seasons and what's fresh. Lovingly created ready for me to be inspired by.
I love everything about this place.
From the bonjour we received upon walking through the door, the gorgeous styling inside, to the organic food that greeted me.
This place is not about fancy food. It's real food.
Read MoreThis tiny "hole in the wall" coffee shop in Paris gets a lot of social media attention.
It was on our "must try" list, so when we stumbled upon it by accident one beautiful sunny day, we pulled up a stool and ordered our coffee.
It was ok.
Maybe our hopes were too high. Maybe we're becoming too French and no longer use to such a strong flavoured coffee. Whatever the answer, we've been, we've tried....c'est tout!
Read MoreWe have found a winner people!
Yes. A bold statement, but I think I have found one of the loveliest coffees I've actually had in Paris.... EVER.
If you wander down an almost deserted little lane way in the 6th arrondissement
in Paris, you will, I promise you, find wonderful eggs Benedict, friendly service and creamy, smooth, lip licking coffee.
Did I mention the coffee?
Read MoreI WANT fudge....all of the time.
In particular, peanut butter fudge.
This recipe makes me want to stuff ALL of this fudge into my face. It makes me want to dance a jig whilst in the process of stuffing.
It makes me very, very happy.
My birthday also makes me very, very happy which just happens to be today!
Happy Birthday to Me!
Read MoreSay hello to Helen!
Helen is from the North West of the UK. She is a "massive foodie". Loves travelling and caravanning with her family and is the creative mind behind the lovely family blog Casa Costello. Casa Costello is filled with lovely family recipes, and is also where Helen runs her "Bake of the Week" posts.
Casa Costello also happens to be my Secret Recipe Club Blog for the month of May. My favourite month of them all. It just happens to fall in Autumn (my favourite season of them all). It holds my birthday (my all time favourite date of them all), AND this year I'll be spending most of it in France. So needless to say....I LOVE May..........and I LOVE this recipe......
Read MoreRecipe and first image from Margaret and Me by Kate Gibbs, published by Murdoch Books
Many moons ago I ate dinner with Margaret Fulton. Yep, that Margaret Fulton. The Australian wonder woman who taught a generation of Australian's how to cook.
I've chosen to forget the fact there were 99 other people in the room that night because in my mind it was just me and Margaret, comparing notes on getting a good crackle on our roast pork whist slowly sipping her cream of oyster soup which sat in front of us.
Read MoreRecipes and this image from Courtyard Kitchen by Natalie Boog, published by Murdoch Books
I have two problems (well, just two at this moment in time):
1) I live in the inner-city, which means I have limited outdoor space, which means I have limited chance of growing my own herbs, which means when a recipe calls for just a tablespoon of herbs and I have to purchase the whole bunch....!!!!!
2) I HATE waste!
So when the good folks at Murdoch Books asked me if I would like to take a look at the new cookbook Courtyard Kitchen by Natalie Boog, I was very intrigued.
Read MoreSo this is how it goes....you grab the freshest yellow zucchinis (and perhaps a few token green ones - because you can) and you lovingly stir them together with beautiful vegetable stock and the happiest spice of them all. The smile inducing, beautiful colour of sunshine spice...tumeric.
One of nature's super foods due to its anti-inflammatory, pain-killing and liver-detoxing capabilities,
An oldie but a goodie, this soup always puts a smile on my face and utter contentment in my tummy.
Read MoreBouchon.
How could you not love this wonderful word?
1) it simply rolls off the tongue like sweet honey;
2) it is a little cake whose shape resembles a cork (bouchon in French); and
3) a French cork comes from a bottle of French wine....need I say more?
Read MoreOut of all the cakes in the whole wide world, chocolate cake is never my first choice of cake to chow down on. So why am I constantly baking it?
In this instance, I think it was the frosting that suckered me in.....white chocolate and sour cream....bet you agree with me huh?
This is not a light, fluffy cake.
Think of thick slabs of fudgy brownie smothered in a cooling, and if I can say, almost refreshing creamy frosting. It's rich, decadent and smooth and it was baked with love to celebrate a birthday.
Read MoreSay hello to Claire!
Claire is a fellow Aussie, living north of me up in sunny Brisbane. She is wife to Will and mother to Ollie. She has a farmer's market within walking distance of her home (very jealous!) and is the very talented lady behind one of the most beautiful blogs around, Claire K Creations, a space where she shares delicious recipes, restaurant reviews and beautiful photography....amongst other little tidbits.
Claire K Creations also happens to be my Secret Recipe Club blog for the month of April.
It also happens to be Easter Monday over here in Australia today, so to celebrate this chocolate holiday, I found a delicious recipe that I've be indulging in over the Easter break....no guilt attached.....
Read MoreI've got the sniffles, the body aches and the "can't be f''s" at the moment, and all I'm craving is soup. Silky smooth soup that I don't have to chew. Food that is a cinch to make and that actually makes me feel like I'm giving my body a fighting chance!
I'm really not very pleasant when I'm sick.
Read MoreI've recently discovered I have an obsession for tea towels.
I never knew I did until I started pulling out hundreds of tea towels from my storage boxes...wholly smoke....I don't even remember buying half of them.
I do, however remember buying these ones.
100 year old tea towels brought home all the way from Normandy, from a little village called the vallee de l'Eure. This village holds beautiful memories for me. Memories of riding bikes, drinking cider and shopping for brocante and of course staying in the most exquisite little cottage.
Read MoreI've moved house.
Apart from setting up the bed, locating the kettle is the next most important thing for me. I don't function without my kettle. Period.
It took me two days to find the blasted box I'd put mine in....you'd think I'd be more diligent in marking the box wouldn't you?
Next on my "to do" list is to cook. To introduce myself to my new oven and stove top. To fill my new home up with aromas that make my mouth water and make me feel settled.
This isn't one of those dishes.
Read More
