Category: French

Strawberry and Pimms Clafoutis

Post author By Admin
Post date June 15, 2012
65 Comments on Strawberry and Pimms Clafoutis

Before we enter the blog proper, I feel it is important to make a couple of excuses. Firstly, I’m sorry that there have been no new recipe posts in the past week or so, but what I shall call a ‘negative life event’ took place and I haven’t found the time. However, we shan’t go any further into that since I’m not, as you may know, much of a sharer – I simply don’t feel the need. Secondly, this was supposed to be a post regarding a certain rhubarb, strawberry and orange compote. Unfortunately, the fates took time to collude against any honourable intentions I may have held and the photographing of the intended dessert fell flat on its face. I’m extremely glad to be back and I hope to bring you news of my recipe for individual rhubarb and custard galettes as soon as possible.

Tags Baking, British, Budget Cooking, Cooking, Desserts, Floods, Food, French, frugality, life, Money saving, Photography, Pimms, Recipes, Strawberries, summer, vegetarian, Weather, Writing

Basque French Healthy Eating Recipes Spanish Swedish Vegetarian

Hasselback Potatoes with Egg Piperade

Post author By Admin
Post date March 31, 2012
144 Comments on Hasselback Potatoes with Egg Piperade

The best way to achieve frugality is for one to learn how to make as many meals as possible using the humble potato. This has to be my personal favourite, thus far. The hasselback potato is a Swedish version of the baked potato, though due to the way it’s sliced it also tastes a little like a chip (fries). Although it pains me to lower my vocabulary to such base and vile terms, this is a really sexy way to prepare a potato – let it never be said that potatoes are boring. How naughty and un-British was that?

Tags Basque, Cooking, Food, Hasselback, Recipes, Spanish, vegetarian

Chocolate Desserts French Recipes Vegetarian

Chocolate Mousse

Chocolate is one of those ingredients that, every now and then, simply must feature in the life of any respectable person – not including those of you who, physically or medically, can’t ingest or digest it. It really is the height of decadence and as such is one of those entities, for I am loath to call it an ingredient, that will never become cliché, or over used. Simply put, chocolate is astounding and has been for centuries. Quite honestly, if you are not a fan of chocolate I’m a little unsure about what you’re playing at.

Tags chocolate, Cooking, dessert, Eggs, Food, Mousse, Recipes, sweet, vegetarian

Baking Bread European French Healthy Eating Recipes Vegetarian

Rosemary and Sea Salt Fougasse

Post author By Admin
Post date February 26, 2012
109 Comments on Rosemary and Sea Salt Fougasse

Fougasse is a French loaf, usually found in Provence, which I have been meaning to post for a number of weeks. The leaf shape and rustic quality of this bread is something that absolutely captivates me – it is incredibly pretty. As such, it was something that simply had to find its way to FrugalFeeding, since the quaintly rustic look of my food often belies my decorative deficiencies. As it is a cousin of the Italian focaccia it lends itself well to all manner of different flavourings. Rosemary is always a particularly good choice with bread, since its flavour appears to penetrate a loaf with devastating efficiency. Indeed, despite the fact that only a few sprigs of rosemary were employed in the making of this loaf, the flavour of the rosemary can be easily tasted throughout. The addition of plenty of good-quality bulk sea salt only adds to this. However, as I have already intimated, there is great scope for invention when it comes to bread. Olives, sun-dried tomatoes or chorizo would also make great additions to this superb bread.

Tags Artisan, Baking, bread, Budget Cooking, Cooking, Food, Fougasse, French, frugality, life, Money saving, Photography, Recipes, vegetarian, Writing

European French Healthy Eating Recipes Vegan Vegetarian

Black Olive Tapenade

During the last few months, I believe FrugalFeeding has undergone a reasonably subtle change of direction. If asked for a synonym of the word ‘frugal’, I believe most people would, somewhat wrongly, pluck the word ‘cheap’ from their vocabulary. However, the word frugal is slightly more nuanced than its usual usage might suggest. As the tagline for this blog might suggest, a rather more suitable synonym would be ‘economical’. I believe this recipe encapsulates my slight change in thinking really rather well. Olive tapenade is unlikely to win any awards for being the cheapest, or most necessary, culinary creation. However, this recipe provides an economical solution to one’s desire to indulge in this rather punchy side-dish. If bought at a supermarket, tapenade bears a rather exorbitant price. A price which no man, or indeed woman, in their right mind would be happy to pay. Make tapenade at home, however, and one’s monetary misdemeanour is lessened somewhat. This means that although money has been spent on something which isn’t necessarily necessary, the refusal to buy sub-par and overpriced tapenade has resulted in sound economic policy. Congratulations, you are now on your way to becoming Chancellor of the Exchequer – a position which is perhaps less esteemed than it was in the days of Gladstone.

Tags Black Olives, Budget Cooking, Cooking, Dip, Economical, Food, Frugal, frugality, Garlic, Healthy Eating, life, Olives, Parsley, Photography, Recipes, Spread, Tapenade, Vegan, vegetarian, Writing