I should rename this blog: I‘m so sorry for neglecting you! What can I say, it’s happened again – life has once again taken control of my good intentions. But I am getting better with each passing day and sooooon I won’t have to apologize at the beginning of each blog piece! My wonderful parents are now with us in France and you will be hearing all about them and life in the not-so-sunny south of France more regularly. Honest. Come on, give me another chance!

(This photograph is copied from “Good Food” magazine, July 2009.)

Going straight from appetizer to dessert may seem a little strange to some, but it seems perfectly normal to me… Yes, I will be posting the middle bits, but I know how you lot like your puds so I decided to post it first.

Today’s recipe: Christstollen (The recipe is at the very end of the post. Da ist auch ein Link zu einem Deutschen Rezept ganz unten.)

I had hoped to get to another Christmas market of an evening to practice my night (naught) photographic skills, but (lucky for you) I have been unable to get to any of late (and late) so day views of how it gets set up (with German efficiency) and clearer photos are on today’s order. Phew, that was a long self-interrupting sentence.

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.

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!