Good Bye 2017

2017 has overall been a good year. Not prone to make and/or tell the world about my resolutions, I never the less decided to take a leaf out of my mate Chris Osburn's book. 2017 was going to be the year when I was going to hone my writing. And, so I did with surprisingly outstanding results as in December I signed a book deal for a guidebook of the Lake District in the 111 Places series so expect a few blogposts about the Lakes' culinary delights, in the months to come.



In November, the world of food lost a legend, Antonio Carluccio. I had met him the year before at a Cirio launch. I'm sure at times, he was grumpy and difficult, he reminded me of my dad, part dinosaur with a big heart part grand-father everybody would have like in their family, he looked like him too. Hopefully, his business which he launched the year I arrived in London and, sold recently, will carry on. I was sent a Carluccio large panettone for Christmas. I can't really tell you what it tasted like, my mum ate it almost overnight, it looked good though 



In the summer, I spent some time working in the Queen's garden in Greenwich Park, Allotment week was a highlight as it became more and more difficult to fit vegetables growing or any kind of exercise in my schedule so guess what 2018 resolution.
Spring saw Him turn ....well, let's just say he had a significant birthday. Falmouth was voted the best town to live in so we decided to give it a go, not live there you understand, just have a look around to see what the fuss was about. We met some brilliant people. You should have a wonder there sometime, it's nice but avoid Rick Stein restaurant which is not so nice.


Pebble Soup curious ingredient showed up early in the year: Yuzu, loved it.

Thank you for dropping by this year and I hope to see you in 2018 .

Happy New Year






My Last Minute Christmas Gifts Guide

On the grounds of making Pebble Soup Christmas Guide personal. Here is a list of a few gift which will go under the tree at midnight on Christmas-eve.

Baby Lou, whose arrival early on this year, made our world a better place. With her big dark blue eye, olive skin and spontaneous fits of giggles, will get an Harpe Pepe. The perfect all round toy that  will help her to walk. I like the fact that Hape toys are made with sustainable materials and non-toxic paints, with a strong eco ethos. RRP 18.00 from Argos





As a thank you to my friend who will be cooking Christmas dinner
For the past 20 years, Xmas meant the gift of a Smoked House Salmon but this year from a well known smokery but, we broke with the tradition and turned to Quinlan's ( available in good independent stores). Sorry Scotland but I find Irish smoked salmon far tastier and meatier. Quilan's is a family business based on the South West coast of Ireland UK customers can purchase from the Quinlan’s Kerry Fish online shop and receive their orders fresh and chilled within 24 hours - RRP  125g, £12.50



To me, earlier this year, I wrote to Santa. In essence the letter said "Santa, I can explain..." and this is what I got in return.

Landon Tyler's new bathing sets comes in three colours Pink Cashmere, Golden Amber and green country meadow. 

The addition of a candle and a diffuser to the set is more than welcome. There is something comforting about the whole bathroom being in unison with your own fragrance. You know, a little like when you bake and, you yourself ends up smelling like a little hot bread. RRP £15.00

These were my last tips before the big day. Have a merry festive season. 


















Christmas Meal in Kit from Hello Fresh


HelloFresh has cunning plan for Christmas dinner and I am here to tell you all about it. But first,

What's Hello Fresh?
It's a cross between a meal delivery company and a weekly food box, it's a cooking subscription box. Imagine somebody does the shopping, sort the ingredients for each meal, writes down the recipe instructions and delivers it to your door, all you need to do is ...cook. Sound stress free doesn't it?


HelloFresh Christmas Dinner guide
So now imagine that the same somebody creates a guide to Christmas dinner with a brilliant timing sheet. A guide which includes all the preparation jobs starting on Christmas eve and ends with the moment you pull the crackers. It explains all the when and how. Want to try it, head on over to Christmas Dinner Cheat Sheet right now.

My own experience             

As it was little early for Christmas dinner, I opted for a classic box for three. I was given a time when the delivery would arrive and was kept informed by email, so far so good.

When the box arrived, the first thing I noticed was the attention to packaging, everything is recycled, every ingredient is measured for the number of people and the recipe sheets are extremely precise. They even tell you how many of your five a day there is in each dish.

My box was representative of typical meals on offer: Sausage Chilli with Homemade Tortilla Chips, Beef Kofta Curry with Sag Aloo, Creamy Linguine with King Prawns and Serrano Ham.


Verdict on the Beef Kofta Curry with Sag Aloo- 45 minutes - 1.5 of your 5 a day the step- 

Remember all the ingredients are measure out for you. The amount of ingredients was generous and though it ended up being a very westernised curry it was nevertheless rather good. It was nice to have a curry with a side dish which wasn't rice.

The quality of the ingredients was excellent. The meat seemed fresher than in the supermarket and as far as I could see all the ingredients originated from the UK. HelloFresh promises organic and seasonal ingredients.

It would take me a little while to get use to such a regimented way a cooking and I struggled with the step by step, I made a few annoying mistakes but looking at the instructions again, it is fool-proof.

And that is a good way to cook a Christmas dinner.


Pebble Soup makes every effort to test and review products fairly and transparently. The views expressed in this review are my own. This was a sponsored post on behalf of Hello Fresh

Pebble Soup Award Nominee

Pebble Soup has been nominated in the Foodie category of MyProtein Fitness Blogger Awards 2017


The extraordinary thing is that I knew nothing about it until the email arrived. And, even better it's a people vote which means that there are potentially 3 million+ people out there who voted for thousands of blogs and Pebble Soup made the shortlist of 10. Wow. 
So what happens next: 
We all cross fingers and make a wish because the decision is the hands of a panel of judges. But, I have got a cunning plan to seduce them. So look forward to:

  • Meal planning and what it means for a fitness plan
  • Matcha swirl shortbread biscuits
  • Goodbye Antonio Carluccio and my favourite Italian recipe.
So thanks to everyone out there that continues to read my blog. And on the 18th December, I'll tell you the results.

November 17 Inheritance Recipes Round Up


We would love more of you to join this challenge. We relay to thousands of followers and we love to see your recipes. In November Inheritance Recipes was small but perfect with

A Gluten Free Victoria Sandwich
Homemade Calamondin Marmalade
Delicious Vienna Doughnuts
and Caramalised Onions

In December Coffee and Vanilla will be hosting. Click here to be redirected to the linky

Les Sablés Scented with Fennel, Cumin and Aniseed Inspired by Avignon Christmas markets -

As a part of 12 Days of Blogmas, I've teamed up with Titan Travel this year to offer Fennel Seeds sablés biscuits recipe inspired by Christmas markets in Avignon, Head on over to their 12 Days of Blogmas to find recipes from other bloggers inspired by Christmas markets from around Europe.

Most people know Avignon for its bridge and its summer festival. Very few know of its Christmas traditions which in turns means that when the medieval town lights up in December, you will probably be one of the few tourists celebrating a Provençal Christmas


Christmas Market Avignon

A little bit of History: In the Middle-Ages, Avignon was the capital of the Christian world, nicknamed “The chiming Town”, it is unique for many reasons. The city encircled by its original ramparts encourages visitors to random walks through its alleyways and cobbled streets, past chapels and churches, medieval buildings, private mansions of the 18th and 19th century. It is so easy to slot into the quiet Provençal lifestyle away from the excessive commercial pressures.


Inside Le Palais des Papes Avignon

Glorious Food: Food is everywhere. Local gastronomy graces the markets like nowhere else, with a genuine reverence for its past and a real enthusiasm for modernity. Next time you fancy a Christmas market with a soul, Avignon is the place.

A Provençal Christmas: On the 24th of December, the midnight-mass takes place after the “big supper” and only then baby Jesus is placed in every crib around town


Each year, in Avignon, a 10 meters Provençal village with a crib at its heart, populated with Santons is recreated. In the past, Santons were made out of dried bread, painted and varnished. They are now delicately hand-painted terracotta figurines, about 20cm tall. To this day, each small figurine is made by hand and represents a character from Provençal village life such as the shepherd, chestnut seller, baker and even plumber. Th crib with its 600 santons “going about their business” in the shadow of a terracotta miniature Palais des Papes, tiny lavender fields and a barn awaiting for its Jesus-Santon.


Les Santons de Provence


In the chapel of The Palais des Roures there is a representation of “the big supper” with its famous 13 desserts.

13 desserts?

Representing the 12 apostles and Jesus Christ at the last supper
The Four Beggars or Les Quatres Mendiants representing the four religious orders
  • Raisins
  • Walnuts and Hazelnuts
  • Dried figs
  • Almonds
Then comes Pompe à Huile interpreted in various ways, it could be a soft cake flavoured with neroli or
  • a fougasse bread
Pompe a huile Fougasse
Next 3 types of nougats 
  • Nougat blanc, pistachios and pine nuts
  • Nougat noir, honey and almond
  • Nougat rouge, rose and pistachios
Fresh fruits
  • Grapes, melon, tangerines, oranges,
Then depending on the local variations you get
  • Dates
  • Candied Fruits
  • Quince cheese
  • Les Sablés scented with Fennel, Cumin and Aniseed
I love recreating recipes from our travels so let me take you to Avignon at Christmas with

Les Sablés scented with Fennel, Cumin and Aniseed


Sables biscuits



sablés are akin to shortbread biscuits, the uniqueness of these particular sablés is that they are served at the "apéritif" with white wine or Pastis - I decorated mine which in retrospect was a little over the top but makes for a lovely photo :))

Ingredients
125g plain flour
70g salted butter at room temperature
40g sugar
1 egg (+1 as you are not going to decorate)
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp (rounded) fennel powder ( Traditionally fennel and cumin seeds are used but I prefer a smooth texture) 
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp ground aniseed

Method

  1. Mix flour and butter (this can be easily done by hand but use the mixer if you wish)

  2. Beat the egg, fennel, cumin seeds, aniseed, sugar together and add to the flour mixture
  3. Pat the dough into a rectangle, wrap in clingfilm and store in the fridge for minimum one hour up to 5 days
  4. Cut the rectangle into 2 halves and place one half between 2 sheets of baking paper
  5. Roll the dough to a thickness of 1 and a bit centimetre. Repeat. Discard the top sheet
  6. Cut between 15 to 20 shapes of your choice, remove the spare dough (that can be rolled out too)
  7. Chill in the fridge or the freezer until firm
  8. Preheat your oven to 180C
  9. Beat the egg and paint on each biscuit
  10. Place in the middle of the oven and bake for 15 minutes
  11. Cool on the rack repeat with the second sheet
Serve cold. They will keep for up to 4 days in an airtight container

Disclaimer: This post was written in partnership with Titan Travel 
si

LinkWithin

Related Posts with Thumbnails