It’s been such a busy week both at the South Coast (last week) and back in Canberra.  I’m sure most travellers relate to the hectic run around getting life organised before an extended time overseas, especially when working full-time – we don’t have that excuse now!  This time it will only be about 5 weeks but I return to spinal surgery in late July & again in August so that’s kept me on the hop…trouble is that I can’t hop as fast as I use to!  Another MRI tomorrow and after that we’ll finalise packing and be heading off to Sydney airport.  I won’t be taking my iPad with past photos so here’s one last post from France.

These photos were mostly from Montmartre Paris.  We would really like to return – maybe in 2018.

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Artichokes everywhere!  We often see them at our local markets in Canberra but we’ve only cooked with them once or twice…reminds me to look for a recipe from a French Cookbook!

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Cheeses in France are to be seen to be believed + eaten! In Australia, our cheese industry is developing so well in the cooler southern states of course.  Even our Sunday Bus Depot Markets in Kingston (near Lake BG) has beautiful cheeses for sale from a local cheese maker.   However, the range isn’t as vast as what can be found in France…


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At a gorgeous little wine/cheese “bar” in Lyon – see a much earlier post if interested + other photos of our stay in Lyon.  They also served traditional cheese boards without the salad, but I was trying to reduce the high fat intake as, since hitting 50+ish, I only need to look at cheese to put on weight!…unlike Tony who can eat/drink whatever he likes and rarely gains weight.  He teases me when we hop on the scales when we return from 2 months away – I never lose weight but he does even though we do similar amount of exercise too😕

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Chicken is popular in France!  One of Tony’s photos…I’ve never seen so many chickens on rotisseries and we saw these in various markets;  hope it doesn’t make any vegetarians feel too ghastly!  To increase our veg intake we do try to have a meat free day, 2 or 3 most weeks but we do enjoy a quality, fresh chicken sometimes – usually cooking it ourselves in an outdoor BBQ oven.  I like the way Jamie O and other popular chefs promote higher welfare meat.  As children in the 60s we remember chicken being very expensive and usually served only a few times a year including Christmas.  In Australia it’s now one of the more affordable meats.

Update in 2025…Chicken still one of the most affordable meats.


Brasserie in Montmartre, Paris…there’s a difference between Brasserie, Bistro and Bouchon & interesting to look it up, particularly when dining out in Paris

The photo of me in the Bistro above was taken after a freezing cold day at the WWI Battlefields/Memorials/Museum at Villers–Bretonneux – a highly recommended day trip from Paris – see earlier blog post if interested.  Amazing thing was that the day before (Anzac Day 25/4/13) was a heat wave in Paris and Villers-Bretonneux.  I hadn’t packed clothes for very cold weather so at the end of a long, cold day,  finding this cosy little bistro/pizza place was delightful, plus they served good food as can be seen below.

RECIPES…updated April 27th 2025

This Wednesday we’re leading the Canberra Food and Wine Club cooking class…more like a cook-up with 16 other friends…the club has an industrial kitchen + a dining room. The menu we’ve planned is based on Luke Nguyen’s ‘France’ cookbook which we own. The entree is Asparagus with Mousseline Sauce (Asperges with Mousseline Sauce). There are many similar recipes online…one I noted also included hazelnuts – could be a nice addition? Here are the ingredients (below) for those interested – the method is very similar to a few recipes online…

10-12 large (if possible?) asparagus spears; 2 confit oranges with their juices (if ‘confit’ not possible (process also online) perhaps try with ordinary oranges ie a little juice and orange zest??; 2 egg yolks; pinch of ground sichuan pepper; unsalted butter.

Artichoke Nicoise Salad (from Gourmet Traveller Oct 16…Paris issue)

“In her book French Provincial Cooking, Elizabeth David says a Nicoise salad’s ingredients may vary with the seasons, but egg, anchovies, tomatoes, black olives and dressing with a hint of garlic are a must.  Henri Heyraud wrote in La Cuisine a Nice that the true Nicoise should contain quartered artichoke hearts, raw peppers and tomatoes, black olives and anchovy fillets.  This recipe has both schools of thought covered.”

Serves 4

Ingredients:  8 young globe artichokes;  halved lemon (for rubbing);  2 tbsp olive oil;  4 soft-boiled eggs;  200 Gm baby green beans, trimmed;  1/2 cup Nicoise olives pitted (see note);  2 Kumato or black heirloom tomatoes, peeled & cut into wedges;  1 garlic clove, crushed;  2 golden shallots (thinly sliced);  1/4 cup torn basil;  6 anchovy fillets, torn;  1 tbsp white wine vinegar (or to taste);  150 ml extra virgin olive oil;  Baguette to serve.

I’ll type up Method when we return from Africa – describes how best to cook artichokes…something we would  like to learn more about.

Update…Monday 21 April 2025 (Easter Monday)

Beautiful autumn weather at the South Coast (near Ulladulla harbour/Mollymook beach) over Easter. Perfect weather for kayaking on lake Narrawallee – 5 min from our place. With what I call ‘my bionic back’ (like the Eiffel Tower holding me up) I can’t kayak – or if I did I’d be in agony a few hours later, but I love seeing (and hearing about) Tony and Joel’s (sometimes our older son as well) kayaking/fishing/enjoying Narrawallee. Unfortunately my neck, shoulder (RHS) as well as right arm has been out of action (+painful) since arriving here last Wednesday (problem at junction of unfused neck and fused spine (‘corrective surgery’ for scoliosis when I was 13). After lots of rest (including not even lifting a kettle for a cup of tea) the pain (especially with movement) is easing I think & 🤞will continue to improve – at least for a while. I’m seeing my specialist in Sydney in early May…dreading what the ‘solutions’ might be if past anything to go by – but the pain might be worth the gain – not sure at this stage. Enough of that…

Tony and Joel caught lots of fish yesterday, so I’ve been looking for a side/accompaniment – what ‘side’ dishes use to be called when I was much younger…maybe still are in a few very posh restaurants? A question for a few of our financially fortunate friends who visit $$$$ restaurants more frequently than we do.

Braised Lentils…French Style (Recipe from Out of the Pantry by Trish Heagerty – P63 (coast collection)

Serves 4

1 tablespoons olive oil; 1 brown onion, diced; 3 bacon rashers, diced; 4 cloves garlic (finely chopped); 250 g puy lentils (or similar dark lentils) rinsed and drained; 2 cups beef stock; 3 bay leaves; 1 bunch silverbeet (Swiss chard)…stems removed and roughly chopped; 1/4 cups parsley…roughly chopped; juice 1 lemon; 75 g goat’s cheese, crumbled; sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper; crusty bread to serve

Heat olive oil over medium heat, saute onions for about 3 min. Add bacon & garlic and cook until golden brown. Add lentils, stock and bay leaves. Bring to the boil, reduce heat and simmer, covered, for about 40 minutes, stirring occasionally. The lentils will have absorbed most of the stock. Add the silverbeet and use tongs to combine. Cook for about 2 minutes, until the silverbeet wilts. Add parsley and lemon juice and cook for a further 1-2 minutes. Season to taste and serve in bowls with goat’s cheese and crusty bread.

My note: goat’s cheese is quite salty so Tony and I add that before adding salt…well at least I do! Blood pressure can spike after eating too much salt and it’s easy to train palate (or ‘sense of taste’ for ESL readers?) to enjoy lower salt dishes.

A beautiful dessert to enjoy after the ‘Fish with French style lentils’ might be…

Cherry Crepes P129 of same book

This recipe serves 4 but I sometimes make extra & reheat crepes for another meal – or decadent morning tea!

1 cup plain flour; 1 tablespoon caster sugar + 1 teaspoon ; 300 ml milk; 2 eggs; 1 x 400 g can cherries in syrup; 2 tablespoons brandy; 4 cloves; 1 cinnamon stick; 1/3 cup thickened cream; icing sugar for dusting

My shoulder/arm sore and most people know the method for cooking crepes…and if not can look up online. Just remember the cherry sauce is best thickened with arrowroot not cornflour…becomes too cloudy with cornflour.

The above 2 recipes could be part of a tasty menu…an entree (or canapé) could be Leek and Fetta Fillo Cigars – from Entertaining Made Easy by Deborah Hutton P92

“A great party starter, this can be made in advance, set aside and just popped into the oven when people start arriving. The salty, flavoursome fetta mixed with buttery leek is a brilliant combination, especially when wrapped in light, crispy fillo pastry.”

Ingredients: 80 g butter; 1 medium leek (350 g) halved sliced thinly; 220 g Greek fetta crumbled, 1 small handful chopped flat-leaf parsley; 10 sheets fillo pastry, halved crossways

Method (summarised) – melt butter; cook leeks; Transfer to a bowl & add fetta and parsley to leek; oven heated 160 deg fan forced; line an oven tray with baking paper; melt remaining butter; brush 1 sheet of pastry lightly with melted butter; fold in half lengthways; 1 tablespoon leek at the short end, leave a 2 cm border. Fold in sides and roll up firmly to enclose; seam-side down on a prepared tray; brush with a little butter; repeat then bake fillo cigars for 15 min or until golden. Serve immediately…perhaps with Greek or middle eastern dip on the side eg Tzatziki