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Tuesday, 27 May 2014

June is almost here, and at this time of year in England gardeners are busy getting their gardens back into shape and cultivating fruit and vegetables. The first fruits to ripen are usually soft berries, such as raspberries and strawberries. Here is a delicious and simple to follow recipe for Lime Cheese Cake, topped with fresh raspberries, as made by my friend Dr B in Staffordshire!

Lime Cheese cake
(In twelve easy steps)





Ingredients

  • About 20 digestive biscuits (doesn't really matter - use your judgement)
  • About 25 g butter (again, use your judgement)
  • 4 limes or 3 lemons
  • 2 x 200g packs of value cream cheese
  • I x 397g condensed milk
  • Raspberries and basil leaves (or whatever) to decorate and serve

1)               Break up the biscuits until they're like breadcrumbs (e.g. in a food processor, pestle and mortar,
              or plastic bag and rolling pin)

2)             Melt the butter in a pan

3)             Mix the broken-up biscuits and butter together thoroughly.

4)            Place them in a suitable container (e.g. a spring-form cake tin)

5)            Flatten the biscuit base (but don't press too hard)

6)           Grate the zest of 4 limes or 3 lemons

7)            Juice the limes or lemons

8)             Put the cream cheese and the condensed milk in a bowl and mix until smooth

9)            Add the zest and juice of the limes or lemons and mix well (the citrus juice thickens the mixture)
10)          Pour the mixture onto the biscuit base

11)         Leave in fridge for a couple of hours to firm up

12)        Serve with raspberries and basil leaves (or however you want)


Thursday, 13 February 2014

Faux amis or False friends?

English contains numerous words that we have "borrowed" from other languages, especially French. It was the Normans, who under the leadership of William I (Guillaume) came to England to fight over the English throne with his relative Harold, whom he defeated at the battle of Hastings in 1066. The Normans spoke Old French, based on Latin, whereas Harold and his followers spoke a Germanic Language.Thanks to the Norman invasion, the English language changed beyond all recognition, but as the language continued to evolve so did many of the original meanings of the words that they brought with them. We call these words "false friends" or "faux amis".. Over the years the meanings of many of the original French words that arrived with Guillaume have changed too, this is probably due to England being an island, isolated from any changes effecting its cousin across the channel in France.
The following link gives a list of these faux amis...perhaps you can add to them.

Tuesday, 11 February 2014












Interested in French Films and Music?


Then check out the following Blog:


Mediathèque




Wednesday, 5 February 2014

Tuesday, 24 December 2013

 Market Day in Rimini


Here are some photos taken on a recent trip to the Romagna region of Italy, to the city of Rimini to be precise. Rimini is Italy's largest seaside resort, stretching for miles along the Adriatic coast. In winter the place is very subdued. The long sandy beaches are empty and desolate and everything is in storage ready for the early summer, during which time the city's population will swell to over a million, attracting tourists from all over Europe and in particular Russia.
My mother's family live in the North east of Italy, not far from Venice itself, and although fish plays an important role in the whole region, I was still amazed at the variety on sale in Rimini Fish market, alot of which I was not familiar with. In the UK, most of the fish we see in our supermarkets comes from the cold waters of the Atlantic and North Seas, or from the salmon farms of Scotland. Here there were 5 times the variety.
We decided to return to the market after mid-day, since that was the optimum time to get a bargain. For 20 euros we were given a large carrier bag of everything; from shell fish to sprats and sole. I  took a photo of the actual list of fish on sale and their Latin and Italian equivalents. Later I watched Foudil clean them with amazing speed and dexterity.
I think the markets in Italy are a lot bigger than in the UK, though admittedly I am a bit biased. Rimini market was no exception. There were hundreds of stalls spilling out of the main piazze beneath the foreboding castle of the Malatesta family, into numerous side streets. The variety on sale was incredible, from leather goods, hosiery, clothes, to locally produced fruit, cheese and salamis. The choice was endless...a chef's paradise.