Today’s recipe: German Christmas cookies / Vanilla crescents / Vanillenkipferl

Today I send you greetings from Germany where I will be spending the next 5 weeks and where I hope (WILL) to catch up on this blog. The last couple of months have been so hectic and I have neglected my beloved blog something terrible. But all that is bad history and the future holds all things good – including German Christmas cookies/biscuits. My mother-in-law makes 10 to 20 different types each year and each one is a little masterpiece.

Today’s recipe: Peach or apricot tart

Our little village in France made a decision for the environment rather than for a million dollars and this cake helped in making this decision. So now I suppose you want more details? Well, the cake is deliciously moist, looks gorgeous…oh, you meant about the environment!

The time – how does she fly! It’s been 10 days since we got back from our vacation and I have only told you about 1 day! Tut, tut. In the meantime, my beloved husband Joergi-Bear has had a birthday (on the 2nd) and we have been working hard trying to make up for being away for 2 weeks. I am soo hard done by, she says, sipping a cold glass of rose and reminiscing about the Apple Cream Cheese Cake I made for Joerg’s birthday – and strangely enough the recipe for today’s post.

When my famous friend, Marieke, the Dutch ex-prima ballerina and current ballet teacher, asked me to make savory biscuits for her annual Ballet Show, I immediately said YES. Being in charge of the nibbles means I get to stand behind the bar with the food and drink at my fingertips – a slice of heaven.

We had a couple of friends over in May and I have been meaning to write and tell you about the fantastic Steamed Sponge Cake I made for dessert, but you know how it goes – the rabbits had babies, the ducks sat on eggs way too long, the sheep continue to behave as though they have no brain cells whatsoever – life got in the way! This dessert / cake is so easy and delicious – I’ve made it several times now and it is great every time so I have decided to share the recipe. But first, some stories…

Today's recipe is: Pea Quiche

I find it totally amazing that both of my cats refuse to eat peas. I buy them this really expensive cat food in sachets and one of the packets has Veal and Peas (no, of course they are spoilt!) and they both manage to leave all the peas licked and intact in the bowl. How do they do it?!? We have Buddha, named so for his corpulent body, and Puss Puss, who could also be named Moaning Monster but this takes too long to scream out quickly. I adore them and couldn’t live without them (mostly). Buddha is the only other male besides my husband I would be prepared to French kiss. He has one little, tiny, small fault. It’s barely noticeable really. It’s just that he seems to be getting a little cantankerous as he gets older. While on his diet, I once lifted Joerg’s pants leg and said “Bite Buddha” and he did. Such an obedient sweet baby! And it was a small bite, poor starving creature. Barely drew blood at all. Well, it is Joerg who has him on diet.

Today's recipe is: Molten Chocolate pudding
It was recently brought to my attention that I have as yet to post a dessert recipe. Quel faux pas! What a mistake! Last year, I was given a chocolate cook book and am becoming a legend with my chocolate desserts. Death by Mississippi Mud pie should actually be the title of one of my posts. One slice and your mind is in chocolate heaven and your tummy is in serious danger of explosion. A sheer joy is what it is. Today you are meeting Louis, my biggest chocolate fan. Don’t those two teeth and that gorgeous big smile say it all? His beautiful big sister, Emma, and he are both big chocoholics, but Louis does take the (chocolate) cake in this department, if you’ll pardon the pun.

SUBTITLE: BRAS, PIZZA AND CO.

What does buying a bra have to do with pizza, you may ask. After the following ordeal, I needed some sustenance, i.e., food. I always need food when I am stressed, happy, sad, up, down…..so basically always. And so it was the pizza place in St. Gaudens that was to fulfill my ravenous appetite. If you happen to go there for lunch, try to sit on the left side upon entering – the lady that serves the right hand side hasn’t as yet heard that smiling does not cause an immediate and painful death…..

Today's recipes are: Moroccan Marinated Carrots; and Dried fruit Cake
I find some French words harder to pronounce than others and this is such a word. You don’t say the end of the word, but you make sort of a nasal thing so that (a French person) would immediately write ‘ng’ on the end in spite of the fact that you never actually pronounced them. With or without ‘ng’, Asseing is a beautiful village in the foothills of the Pyrenees – the mountain range that separates France from Spain. We had a lovely Moroccan lunch there with Ginette and her friends (now ours too!) Kristel and Nicolas. It was the end of March and the weather was still a little cold, but we Europeans go out rain or shine as we would otherwise never get out!

Today’s recipe is: Carrot Roulade/Swiss Roll
When (my darling) Em and Pikey first invited us to a murder mystery dinner, I had no idea what to expect. That no-one was to actually die, seemed fairly logical, but what then? We each received our own personal invite with the character you were to play. I was Angel Roni, the beautiful (thank you, Em!) young daughter of the deceased, and Joerg was Rocco Scarfazzi, a slightly dodgy Italian businessman. We dressed as our roles required – me in a short black dress with fishnet stockings/nylons and Joerg with his head almost shaved and in a dark suit – and hoped the whole way to their house that we wouldn’t be stopped as we looked like a hooker and her pimp!