Rather than the usual “recipe recipe”, this week I’m sharing a “hardly-a-recipe-recipe” based on the two particular ingredients that currently make up 86% of my body composition, plus a round up of other things I’m loving this month, both in and out of the kitchen. These include the book I don’t want to put down, the podcast I’m listening to, the olive oil I can’t stop drizzling, and the latest piece of kitchen equipment that I’m trying (and failing) to justify to myself as a necessary purchase.
Normal “recipe recipe” service will resume next time, I hope you’ll bear with me (and maybe even like it!) while I scratch the itch to shake things up a little.
A few weeks ago I was lucky to be in France and one of the highlights of each day there was pottering to the bakery. Gathering a selection of pastries and a couple of baguettes is always a treat but the joy factor multiplied by many orders of magnitude thanks to the procurement of a baguette tote bag. Oui. That’s right. A tote bag designed and shaped specifically for carrying baguettes. Only in France.
Another highlight was the big shop at Intermarché. Cornichons, left, right and centre. Perfectly portioned pots of thick, tangy yoghurt that somehow taste better on that side of the channel. A plethora of dijon mustard jars. The raspberry jam wafer biscuits that abated many rounds of “Are we there yet?” during childhood car journeys. And the Boursin. Specifically, the black pepper Boursin because any other sort is of no interest to me whatsoever. Yes, Boursin is available in the UK but for a period of time it was, for me at least, less readily available than I would have liked. Fortunately, it seems to be popping up in the shops again more and more. I welcome its return with open, hungry arms.
All of this waffle is to say, since our return to home turf I have upheld the baguette and Boursin consumption with great gusto, spurred on by my (arguably superficial) desire to sling that baguette bag over my shoulder. So today’s “hardly-a-recipe-recipe” shines a light on both ingredients.
Below the recipe you’ll find:
~ the book I don’t want to put down
~ the podcast that’s bringing me joy amidst what feels like a podcast drought (anyone else?)
~ the olive oil that I’m drizzling so liberally I may as well drink the stuff
~ the latest piece of kitchen equipment that I wish I could find the space (and justification) for