Pissaladière for a French piquenique

It's picnic time again. Memories of picnics come flooding back at this time of year.
 A baguette with Brie and fresh plums by a Scottish lake in Perthshire,
Cheese sandwiches and a flask of cocoa on the Dorset cliff path.
Mince pies and champagne on a boat on the Thames.
A beer and a slice of pizza by an Italian lake.
Waking up in the South of France and hearing the cicales singing so you know you are in for a hot day, no cooking allowed so off to the local Patisserie, what a magical word that is, to buy slices of Pissaladière. I usually point to it, my French pronunciation not being that great,

Try making it at home and you can go on holiday without even getting in the car.

Pissaladière

1 packet of shortcrust pastry
500g onions, cut in half and sliced
1 clove of garlic, optional
thyme,
salt and pepper
capers
anchovy fillets
olives

Heat the oven to 200 c.
Line a dish with the pastry and bake in the oven for about 10 minutes while it is heating up,


Gently cook the sliced onions in a small amount of olive oil for about half an hour until soft but not burnt.
Add the garlic, if using, the thyme, salt and pepper to taste.
Spread the onion mixture over the pastry base and decorate with olives, capers and anchovy slices as desired.
Bake in the hot oven for about 15 - 20 minutes taking care that the pastry doesn't brown too much.
Serve with a glass of wine and a crispy green salad.

Bon appetit!!

Ready to roll

Take it easy, take it slow

Ready to go in a nice hot oven

It wasn't burnt, the photo came out dark,

Ricotta and Strawberry Cake

Here is a lovely recipe for strawberry and ricotta cake which is the perfect way to use those strawberries that are not just perfect, the ones at the bottom of the punnet.

It is ideal for breakfast or as a dessert served with whipped cream and more strawberries.

Strawberry and Ricotta Cake

250g flour
300g ricotta
200g sugar
3 eggs
12 strawberries, washed, dried and sliced
12g baking powder
half a teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda
2 tbps brown sugar
icing sugar for dusting

Beat the eggs and sugar together until light and fluffy
Add the ricotta and beat until smooth.
Fold in the flour, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda

Spread the mixture over a cake tin lined with oven paper.
Arrange the strawberries on top
Sprinkle over the brown sugar and bake in the oven at 180 for about 40-45 minutes.

A lovely cake to wake up to on a warm sunny morning.

The one about the elastic

There are so many things in life that never cease to make your heart swell with joy. Raise your eyes to the sky and look at the full moon this week and just below it to the right, the evening star, what a wonderful sight, no matter how many times you see it , it brings joy. Beautiful sunsets are never boring, even if you see one every evening, you never tire of gazing in wonder at the golden, rosy hues.
The same with the sweet and delightful ways of small children Their spontaneous, enthusiastic hugs, their faces lit with joy at the sight of you, the funny things they say.


Putting my small granddaughter to bed is up there at the top of the list of life's pleasures. Smelling sweet and soft and relaxed, teethe cleaned and dressed in pink princess pyjamas she lays her head on the pillow, curls spread around her little head and snuggles down. Then when I ask which song she'd like she says, 'the one about the elastic'. I go through my whole repertoire of bedtime songs and rack my brains. Then sudden inspiration, ' do you mean, 'have you ever seen a lassie'?
Of course that's the one. So of I go

'Did you ever see a Lassie, go dancing, go dancing,
Did you ever see a Lassie go dancing like this.
Dance this way and that way
and this way and that way
Did you ever see a Lassie go dancing like this.'

While I singing the song though I didn't imagine a young girl dancing but a piece of elastic swaying around.

The one about the elastic

 

 

 

 

Boy elastic and girl elastic dancing this way and that way

Flowers from a friend's garden

The sight of the full moon  gives endless joy