Still on a low sugar diet for the kiddies. The date cakes were such a success yesterday (all gone in 24 hours), I thought I might do a twist on the carrot cake. So here we go – carrot cookies, or “Carrotees” as they are called now. Ingredients: 1/2 cup gluten free flour 1/2 cup…
Date Cakes – healthier than ordinary cupcakes
You’re going to see some changes in my recipes. I’m trying to cut sugar out of my youngest boy’s diet. But for this sucrose monster, we’ll start with baby steps. Considering he had absolutely no sugar all day, I think he did pretty well until he broke down at 4pm asking for cake. Don’t let…
Cavalli – Roberto and Tommaso, and Style over Substance
The other night, I went to the Cavalli Club for a Wine Dinner. Some might say this is a little incongruous. It’s a nightclub. I mean, we all know the restaurant is there, serving food every night, but if only the beautiful people go, does anybody really eat it? In fact, I might say it…
Duval-Leroy Brut NV
This Champagne is far too cheap. It’s only 2/3 the price of Moet and yet its better – well, it is for those who like a richer style of fizz anyway. It’s a very complex champagne, and delivers all round. Nose is almonds, apples and honey. Front palate bursts with red delicious and burnt sugar,…
The most beautiful villages in France
Seguret, “safe place in troubled times”, a haven. It’s on top of a hill, watching its neighbours on the flat – Roaix and Sablet. It’s framed by a skirt vineyards and petticoats of lavender. Winding country lanes like arteries run down them, bringing the lifeblood of the town – wine – to its centre to…
Real Chocolate, Chocolate Cake
Chocolate cake without melted chocolate? That’s criminal. Here’s my simple recipe for real chocolate chocolate cake. Tried and true and featured in Gourmet Magazine, Middle East. Ingredients: 200g dark chocolate, chopped 200g butter, softened 1 cup castor sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla 3 eggs 1 1/2 cups self-raising flour 1/2 cup cream For the fudge frosting:…
French Country Markets
It’s 6:30am on a Saturday. You might think this was the beginning of the day, but the small rabble sitting on the next table are having wine with their lunch. There is a small amount of time for them to breathe. The cafes are open, but the market as yet is not. In half an…
Beautiful fountains, beautiful villages and beautiful wine in France
Druyes Les Belles Fontaines. Or, “Druyes, the town of beautiful fountains”. Not the fountains we imagine – fish or ducks vomiting l’aqua, cupids peeing it, greek gods writihng in it. No. Natural fountains. Water springing from the earth, washed clean by underground stone from a time before history. Cold water, even in Summer. Continuous, sweet,…
Shakshouka
Shakshouka (or shakshuka) is a dish I first tried at Baker and Spice, Dubai. It hails from Northern Africa, but other areas over the middle east, and the Ottoman empire also lay a claim to it’s invention. Simply, it is baked eggs in a rich sauce. This is fairly close to the version found in…