Hello and welcome!
My name is Sandra and I am a French native (Hence, the very unoriginal nickname....). In July 1999 I decided to head for pastures new and made my way across the Channel from Marseilles.
My favourite North-African sweet treat, about to be baked and smothered with honey...
I have never come to regret this decision, neither culturally nor professionally. Life in Southern England has helped me develop many life skills I never knew I had, such as learning how not to be a flapping mess when things go horribly wrong. Life in France was not one for me and deep down, this is something I have known from the day I visited London with my school, aged 12. Back in the day (mid-80's) the food was, erm, quite interesting to say the least: think fluorescent green beans and CJD-laced burgers. I was the only one who literally devoured anything that was put in front of me. I am not sure how my schoolmates survived on zero food, but their disdain for the local grub was overwhelming... meanwhile I kept eating both my lunch and my roomie's every single day. My host family was very impressed by my gargantuan appetite.
A very long time ago (15 years or so) I met Ratty. You couldn't have hoped for more English than this man. Think Jeremy Brett as the mighty Sherlock Holmes and you are half-way there. I swear, he would have made a perfect Victorian era gentleman! don't ask about the Ratty bit though. It has nothing to do with The Wind in the Willows.
One great advantage is that, unlike many of his fellow countrymen, Ratty likes a bit of adventurous food and I am proud to say that he makes a great guinea pig! When work allows us to be able to spend time together, he shops (and bitterly complains about the heavy bags), I cook, we eat. The copious amounts of gin/wine/beer he provides me with keep me motivated behind the stove.
Like this!
There was a time when all I was able to cook were a Daube Provencale or a Rabbit with Prunes. Now I know my paratha from my chapatti, my soffrito from my passata, my monkfish from my crocodile, my semolina from my couscous... well I have become as eclectic and versatile as the city I live in!
Whilst England in the 1990's was still limited in regards to foreign foodstuffs, the country has really made up for this now. Besides, online specialist businesses are just a godsend these days. A long way away from those fluorescent green beans then...
British cooking, thanks to people like Clarissa Dickson Wright, Hugh-Fearnley Whittingstall, Jamie Oliver, Rick Stein, Nigella Lawson and Nigel Slater, has risen from its post-war death: classics are revisited (River Cottage are amazing for these!)and the European influences have seeped through in everyday cooking (thank you Nigella Lawson).
Without getting too political, I am not sure what Brexit will bring, but whatever happens, let's hope it won't affect the prices of the lovely food and wine we currently get from the continent.
I look forward to sharing my food diaries with you all!!
Love,
Froggy
My name is Sandra and I am a French native (Hence, the very unoriginal nickname....). In July 1999 I decided to head for pastures new and made my way across the Channel from Marseilles.
My favourite North-African sweet treat, about to be baked and smothered with honey...
I have never come to regret this decision, neither culturally nor professionally. Life in Southern England has helped me develop many life skills I never knew I had, such as learning how not to be a flapping mess when things go horribly wrong. Life in France was not one for me and deep down, this is something I have known from the day I visited London with my school, aged 12. Back in the day (mid-80's) the food was, erm, quite interesting to say the least: think fluorescent green beans and CJD-laced burgers. I was the only one who literally devoured anything that was put in front of me. I am not sure how my schoolmates survived on zero food, but their disdain for the local grub was overwhelming... meanwhile I kept eating both my lunch and my roomie's every single day. My host family was very impressed by my gargantuan appetite.
A very long time ago (15 years or so) I met Ratty. You couldn't have hoped for more English than this man. Think Jeremy Brett as the mighty Sherlock Holmes and you are half-way there. I swear, he would have made a perfect Victorian era gentleman! don't ask about the Ratty bit though. It has nothing to do with The Wind in the Willows.
One great advantage is that, unlike many of his fellow countrymen, Ratty likes a bit of adventurous food and I am proud to say that he makes a great guinea pig! When work allows us to be able to spend time together, he shops (and bitterly complains about the heavy bags), I cook, we eat. The copious amounts of gin/wine/beer he provides me with keep me motivated behind the stove.
Like this!
There was a time when all I was able to cook were a Daube Provencale or a Rabbit with Prunes. Now I know my paratha from my chapatti, my soffrito from my passata, my monkfish from my crocodile, my semolina from my couscous... well I have become as eclectic and versatile as the city I live in!
Whilst England in the 1990's was still limited in regards to foreign foodstuffs, the country has really made up for this now. Besides, online specialist businesses are just a godsend these days. A long way away from those fluorescent green beans then...
British cooking, thanks to people like Clarissa Dickson Wright, Hugh-Fearnley Whittingstall, Jamie Oliver, Rick Stein, Nigella Lawson and Nigel Slater, has risen from its post-war death: classics are revisited (River Cottage are amazing for these!)and the European influences have seeped through in everyday cooking (thank you Nigella Lawson).
Without getting too political, I am not sure what Brexit will bring, but whatever happens, let's hope it won't affect the prices of the lovely food and wine we currently get from the continent.
I look forward to sharing my food diaries with you all!!
Love,
Froggy
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