Tasty Supper dish .....

 

No special name ....

 

just TASTY

 

♥♥♥

 

INGREDIENTS

 

Spaghetti al Peperoncino

         Pancetta

               Peppers , skinned and diced

                      Tomatoes , skinned, deseeded and diced

Tomatoes , chopped, tinned (optional|)

               Chillies , to your taste ..

Few cloves of Garlic (chopped)
 

Seasoning.

 

RECIPE

 

Dice your Pancetta if not already diced, fry off in a tiny drop of Olive Oil , add your diced peppers , then your tomatoes  , you can add some tinned chopped tomatoes too , if you wish... whilst this is all cooking down nicely , cook your Spaghetti in a large pot of salted water,  this Spaghetti was so long , and it is doubled in the packet , BUT still do not break it up ... cook it Al Dente ,, because it does carry on cooking and when mixed INTO  the sauce it cooks a little more ... !

 

 

Buon appetito

 

 

♥♥♥♥♥

Delightful restaurant in Rouen .....June 2011

After Leesa and I checked in to our hotel,

we ventured out for a meal and a walk.

 

We went to

Tavalo Calda Bistrot

a delightful

little Italian place.

I cannot find a menu online,
but I can guarantee it was DELICIOUS..

♥♥♥♥♥


Please click on first photo to enlarge......

 What could be better .....

Eating Italian

 



In France!!!!

 



London - Leesa and I...

A few weeks ago Leesa came over to London for a few days and I joined her for two days. We had great fun! The hotel that Leesa chose to stay in was in a great location, close to Hyde Park and to the underground, also good restaurants nearby.

I met Leesa at the hotel, and then we went for a meal, in an Indian restaurant Leesa had seen before my arrival. We were the only ones in there!!

We had two days to fit in all that we wanted to do, before our other friend Barbara came over on the Saturday, when we were all going to make our way to my house until the Monday.

Thanks to Melange .......

we had a great supper last night!!

Melange is a great blog written by Robin. Robin is a writer and travel consultant in New York and has an overwhelming desire for Europe. She is deeply in love with Italy and adores Paris...call in and have a read, it is amazing, especially if you love Italy and France.

You might even find a recipe you like....Salmon and French lentils is one that caught my eye!!

Thanks Robin it was delicious!

Ladies, Lunch and L'oisive The....

Leesa, Barbara, Dawn and I all met up at this wonderful cafe L'oisive The, owned by Aimee. The Cafe is in Butte aux Cailles in the 13th arondissement and can be reached either by getting out at the metro station Corvisart (line 6) or Place d'Italie. I am sure my good friends in Paris will tell you the best way, I remembered Corvisart from my first trip in April!

The menu is really great, such a wonderful choice...we didn't have room for dessert after these super salads..!!
We had a wonderful lunch, lots of chat and laughter as usual!! Thanks girls, and thanks Aimee. I hope that some ofyou get the chance to go and visit!

I would like to add, if anyone living over there loves to knit, why not visit the cafe on a Wednesday nights at 7 pm and join the Trico The, I am sure you would have a great evening!!

Fancy coffee, cake and comfort....

and you just happen to be in the Marais ..why not call into ....
Le Loir Dans Le Theiere! This is where we came after I met Leesa and Dawn at the Metro Saint-Paul.

Just one of the many cafes that Leesa and Dawn know! This is a very popular and delightful cafe, with some of the best home made desserts in Paris.. Crumbles, Tarts and Pies, more British I would say, than French..but still delightful, I am sure you will correct me if I am wrong!! It is best to try and go early for lunch, it can get packed out, and you won't want those desserts to run out!!

I loved the coffee, the quirkiness and the people, very friendly. Thanks Leesa and Dawn..another wonderful coffee and chats!!

Some one said it is "One of those places you don't want to recommend because you want it to be your secret".

A great evening out with friends in Paris

Tonight I had a wonderful evening and meal out with Barbara and her husband Didier. We took a stroll over to Rue Cler, which is a great place to be in the evenings. The street is packed out, and the atmosphere is so great. Didier chose a lovely restaurant on Rue De Grenelle, called 7eme Sud..it was so tasty.

After dinner. we walked up towards the Eiffel Tower saw it light up, it only lasts for about 5 minute or so, it is one site I will never tire of seeing.

Picture taken from the internet

We took a slow walk back, passed Ecole Militaire , and home again. How different it all looks at night, it is wonderful and to walk around different streets. You see and look at things differently. I have walked passed this building so many times this week, but only from one side!

A big thank you to Barbara and Didier for a wonderful evening. I really enjoyed myself and I hope you did too!

My little taste of Italy...

My Olive Oil by Bertolli..Canned Cherry Tomatoes from Puglia and some Sicilian Lemon juice from the Conca d'Oro region of Sicily.

Food Markets.....

After reading Robins blog ..My Melange , where she shared great photos of her trip, to a French market in Montreal..I thought I would show you our photos of one of our favourite markets...Boqueria market in Barcelona.

Birthday Meal in Colletta .....

Whilst on holiday it was my husbands birthday, so I decided to treat us to another meal in the restaurant in our village. We had eaten there on the second night of our hols, and what a meal it was!!! Only thing was, if we calculated the price in pounds it turned out to be quite expensive but oh so worth it!!

Now we could not of got a restaurant closer to us!! If you look at the picture above, you will see a little red door in the top left, up the steps, that is our apartment, and you will see the door on the right --- that was our restaurant, how brilliant is that.!!

The first meal we had was a "meat" feast, my husband loves his meat, I don't mind, but thought maybe fish this time. So I spoke to Dianos who was the barman, he spoke english quite well, and in turn he spoke to the chef Giorgio..all understood, very good. They also asked if I would like a special cake/tart, fine I said. Grazie, Arrivederci.

The evening of the 20th arrived, and we made our way down ..Ordered some wine, and chatted for a while. Whilst chatting though Dianos kept appearing with small containers with fish..you name it, small shrimps,huge prawns, crayfish, mullet, squid..A fantastic choice. Giorgio had gone out that afternoon, and bought the freshiest fish I have every seen..he was only feeding us!! We were amazed, even hubby decided to have fish as well. We were not disappointed, never had such a meal.

The plate on the bottom right is Mullet with Artichokes..(Carciofi in Italian)

Here is the tart that Girgio made a few hours before our meal..just for us!

A fantastic birthday meal and one we will never forget!

Please click on photos to enlarge.

Cheeses in the Oxford Covered Market.

Sainte-Maure de Touraine and Sein de Negresse(Breast of the Black Woman)which I can't find a link for. Maybe Chez Loulou can help me out on this one.


Carre Du Berry

Valencay

There is a vast range of cheeses at this stall, just amazing, will take more another day.

UPDATE:- My friend Chez Loulou has just informed me that the cheese Sein de Negresse Picture 1) is The Breast of the Black Woman, but I still can't find a link to it. Loulou found another cheese named Le sein de nounou, which translates to The Breast of my Nanny.. Thank you Chez Loulou :-)

Moroccan-style Lentil Soup

2tbsp olive oil
2 leeks, thinly sliced
2 carrots, thinly sliced
2 sticks celery, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1.25l (36fl oz) chicken or vegtable stock
175 g(6oz) red lentils rinsed
2tsp harissa paste
Juice of half a lemon
2tbsp chopped coriander or flat leaf parsley

1.Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat. Add the leeks, carrots, celery and garlic and cook for 5 minutes. Add the red lentil and harissa paste. Pour in the stock and bring to the boil, then simmer, partially covered, for around 20 minutes or until the lentils are tender.

2.Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper, then add a good squeeze of lemon juice. Stir in the herbs and serve with flat bread.


Bon appetit, Bon appetito, Gudden Appetit!, Smaklig måltid! Mwynhewch eich bwyd! Enjoy!!!

French Cheeses

Last night, I was invited round to a friends for normal wednesday night get-together, and we were just going to have a light snack with wine. My friend and her husband have just returned from France, and they treated us to some lovely cheeses. I took along some crackers, parma ham, chorizo and some lovely little cherry tomatoes. We had a great time, chatting, drinking and eating..



Oh how could I forget these...



UPDATE:- Photo sent, it is the top one!!

American Foods

Now this might not interest a lot of my readers, but maybe my American blogging friends.

On Friday I went to Cambridge to visit my brother. He lives on the outskirts in Haslingfield and just before you get there, you have to go through Barton, where my brother always stops at the Q8 petrol station for milk, ciggies etc on his way home. This place also has a huge range of food items. Well it was so amazing, it had so many American foods in there, well, for a garage shop in an English village it did have!!! Baking, Cookies, Jello, and maybe more that I didn;t see!!! Now I am sorry I didn;t take a photo but I can remember some of the things. My brother and I took a long time to look round...sad I know, just interesting!!!



UPDATE - I have always known that we have two American bases in Suffolk, which is not far from Cambridge. And more importantly we have the American Cemetery in Madingley not far from my brothers, but I never knew that Duxford, was a base for the Americans and is home to the American Air Museum., I always thought it was just the Royal Air Force.

Maybe there are a lot of Americans still living in the area, and hence, the American food in the garage!!!!

I should really do more research before posting, to save any confusion...this post was prompted because Justin , put on Twitter, that he was having Kraft Mac and Cheese for his dinner!!!!!!!

Summer Supper

It is so warm tonight, so a very light supper was called for..We had Parma Ham, Green olives stuffed with pimentoes, Sun Blushed tomatoes, Salad and Puy Lentil Salad taken from Ainsley Harriots Barbecue Bible.

Puy Lentil, Red Onion and Sundried Tomato Salad

Serves 8

225 g Puy Lentils
1 fresh bay leaf
1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
2 garlic cloves, peeled and left whole
pinch of caster sugar
1 red onion, finely chopped
50 g sundried tomatoes in oil, drained and chopped
1-2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar, (depending on your taste)
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
100 g goats' cheese or feta cheese, crumbled
3 tablespoons of flatleaf parsley
salt and pepper

Put the lentils into a pan with the bay leaf, vinegar, 1 whole clove garlic, sugar and a little pinch of salt and pepper. Cover with 1.2 litres of cold water, bring to boil, and leave to simmer for 25 minutes until just tender but still holding their shape.
Drain the lentils well, discarding bay leaf and garlic. tip into bowl and leave to go cold.
Finely chop the remaining garlic clove and stir it into the lentils with the rest of the ingredients. Season to taste with salt and pepper and chill for 2 hours before serving.

Enjoy, Bon Appetite, Buon Appetito.

Friends and Fun!!

I had a fabulous weekend, which started by me going to stay with my brother Paul. I caught the coach to Cambridge and was met by Paul. He kindly took me out for a birthday meal. We went to a great Noodle Bar...Kymmoys in Mill Road...We had Chicken Satay and Vegetable Spring Rolls, followed by noodle dishes..Singapore Mai Fun and Kymmoy Special Noodles..so tasty!!

The following morning I was meeting Sally. I was going to travel into meet her, but then she had to go on a rescue mission to Geoff at Wimpole Hall...so she picked me up on route...we delivered Geoffs socks, had a coffee and the headed back to Cambridge. We spent the rest of the day perusing around Cambridge shops..having lunch, chatting as we went!! In the evening, we had a lovely bottle of wine, Thanks Geoff, and then Sally treated me to a meal at Bella Pasta.

On Sunday morning I took Sally a cup of tea in bed..taking things easy!!! Then we set off for our walk to The Orchard in Grantchester, where we had tea and scones. The weather was absolutely beautiful, we walked along the edge of the river, where people were picnicing and lazing around...


On Sunday evening we took ourselves off to the cinema for the preview showing of the film The Edge Of Love about Dylan Thomas.Which included a question and answer session live by satellite with the director John Maybury. This film is great and we both really enjoyed it.

We ended our day with a lovely sauna and more girly chat!!! The next morning (Monday) was time for us to head off to our homes!!! but not before Sally treated me to one of her fantastic Massages, such a treat...if any of you get a chance, phone Sally and book one, you will not be disappointed!! Sally walked down to the bus station with me, where we had a cappucino in Savinos and then we both set off for home.

I would just like to say a big thank you to Geoff for making it possible...love staying there..I feel like I am in a hotel..We had a fantastic weekend.

Saturdays Supper

Tonight I made ZUCCHINI AND PEPPER CANNELLONI WITH OREGANO or CANNELLONI CON ZUCCHINE E PEPERONI PROFUMATI DI ORIGANO taken from Lucullian Delights blog. It was very tasty..

My supper...

I had Prawns and Spaghetti...added some fresh Tomatoes, Spring Onions, Garlic and Chilli flakes, supper was ready...

For Tonights Supper.....

I made Pasta with Broccoli....This recipe was on Bleeding Espresso's blog. I adapted it a little bit and added some Baby Vine Tomatoes...It was delicious!!!

For Dinner Tonight we had ......

(click to enlarge)

The Baked Risotto, recipe from Chez Loulou's blog and it was absolutely delicious.

Don't normally like cooking when my son is around, he is a chef, and got a silver medal in Chicago last year!!! He didn;t interfere at all, he said "Mum that was spot on, even the right amount of seasoning" Top Marks and a Gold Star for me!!!