Invest - in a Nutribullet (and in yourself)

Disclaimer:
* I own a Nutribullet
* I have endorsed products before
* This isn't one of them i.e. this blogpost is not sponsored by Nutribullet

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Right, so following on from my last post on fried eggs and veggies - which I know, when you're running out the door, so late for work that you've got your heels in your hands and your keys in your mouth, really wouldn't be high up on your list of priorities. And so I promised to do a quick, healthy, on-the-go breakfast, and since I always keep my promises (I'm nice like that), here we are.

Now, if available to you where you live, please could you all just buy yourself a Nutribullet?
It's on Amazon right here
And ok, it's not exactly cheap, but it won't break the bank either, so please humour me a second. And let's all just do some Maths.
Didja hear me, folks?
Let's all do some Maths, I said.
Which is revolutionary, really because never, in a million years did I ever expect to use that line - Maths makes me shudder see. I'm the one who the Maths teacher always hated. Which is OK. Because my English teachers always liked me. Especially that one at University who looked like he spent his days writing ballads for god knows whom (OWU people, you with me here?!) and I'd always rather have it that way.

Anyway, sorry got a bit distracted there. Though if you went to University with me, you'd know exactly why. In fact you'd be grinning right now. And Facebooking the said Professor to see who he ended up writing those ballads for.  I have...(and she's prettier than me. Damn.)

Annywaay...

Back to Maths and the cost of the Nutribullet. So if you amortise (yes, yes, not just Maths, but complex Maths) the cost of this "thing" over all the many, many years of breakfasts and healthy snacking you will get out of it, and (intangibly) by the tremendous benefit it will do to your physical and mental wellbeing - trust me when I say it's worth every last penny.

See, Crush charge an average of £5  per glass of what the Nutribullet would do for you. 20 days and you've recovered your investment. Bam.

(I mean, are you proud of me?)
(That's some good Maths, huh?)

Incidentally, Juice Tonic, straight out of California and into the heart of Soho charge £5.50, Pure (with branches all over London) charges £4'ish and Wild Juicery in Covent Garden charge £4.80.

OK, so there you go. It's worth it.
Absolutely, without the shadow of a doubt, worth it.

On a related note - for those of you who know me, you know I stand relatively unmatched when it comes to cynicism - I detest false marketing and I try to resist the temptation to fall headlong for the
next faddy product that seems all the rage. This one isn't a gimmick, I promise you. I've tried and tested the Nutribullet with as much skepticism as I could muster (dare I say I almost wanted it to fail) - and can unreservedly say that this thing has done wonders for our lifestyle.

Now, I use the vague and woefully undescriptive word "thing" to describe the Nutribullet with thoughtful deliberation, because in reality, it's not really a blender and it’s not really a juicer. David Wolfe is the creator of the Nutribullet and he calls the NutriBullet an "extractor." The problem with most juicers, see, is that you end up throwing away 90% of the nutrients from fruits and vegetables in the form of fibre. It’s because juicing “squeezes” the extract, so you end up adding fructose without the fibre. You might as well "eat" a glass of sugar.

A blender, on the other hand, retains all the nutrients and breaks down the fiber. Nutribullet's claim is that it will not only retain the nutrients, but will also break down the fibre much better than a blender will. So, it helps "unlock" the vitamins, minerals, and essential fatty acids (such as omega-3s) that have been trapped within the cell walls of vegetables, fruits, nuts, and seeds.

I use mine for fruit as well as vegetable smoothies - the "green smoothies" that seem to have exploded in popularity of late and that, by the way, I have an amazing recipe for that doesn't taste like lawn, and that I will share with you shortly - stay tuned!

Today's smoothie combines berries, chard and seeds, which gives you a carb-free, completely balanced breakfast or snack in under 5 minutes of prep. You've given yourself a boost of Potassium, and Vitamins A and C plus, your smoothie is full of insoluble fibre from the pomegranate pith, which helps you to feel satisfied longer, helps clean your digestive tract and also helps regulate blood sugar and insulin secretion. Consider it a super detox smoothie because that's exactly what it is.

Here's what you need:

5 cubes ice
1 cup Rainbow chard
½ of a medium pomegranate, scooped out with most of the pith intact
½ cup berry mix (raspberries, blackberries, blueberries)
1 tbsp pumpkin seeds
1 tbsp sunflower seeds
½ cup unsweetened greek yogurt to the max line

Don't squirm at the thought of chard - I've not put in a lot and honestly, you’ll barely notice and taste it (or any vegetable for that matter) as long as you get a ratio of 50% fruits with 50% vegetables.
Enjoy!

What I Eat for Breakfast

Hi guys,
Seems my last post caused an event in my inbox unlike one I've seen for a very long time - I had an avalanche of emails from old friends and new friends, acquaintances and strangers, mummies, non-mummies, and to my great surprise - lots of men! I'm still trying to respond to all of you, so thanks for your patience!
On a positive note, someone's reading what I'm writing (thank you!)

The question asked forty-two times (to be precise) in the various emails was one that made me smile after a while; near or far, man or woman, black, white or brown, it's amazing how alike we all think. The question I got asked more than any other was: what I eat for breakfast.
:)

So, I wanted to respond as soon as I could.
The answer, is that I eat many different things for breakfast.
Repetition bores me.
Variety and versatility excite me.
Excitement is better than boredom. Ergo, my breakfasts are creative and varied, much like the rest of my meals.

That breakfast is limited to high GI foods like toast and sugary cereals is a myth that really ought to be dispelled by now. The Kellog Company might have you believe that breakfast cereal is the healthiest way to kick-start your day, but hopefully by now we know that marketing is clever only because someone is a fool. Please don't be that fool.

I have gotten to the point where even the sight of breakfast cereal traumatises me - it's like trying to wolf down cardboard doused in sugar. The NHS considers over 15g total sugars in every 100g to be a high level. Kellogg's cornflakes run to 8g per 100g, Kellogg's Crunchy Nut cornflakes 35g. No one over the age of seven should be eating this stuff.  We are talking about breakfast here. This is not dessert.

So, what do I eat for breakfast?

Here's just one example. This might not be one for a grab-and-go, got-to-get-to-work-morning -- and I'll get to those, I promise -- but I wanted to start off with one of my favourites - so here goes!

Two fried eggs with a spinach, mushroom, jalapeño and cherry-tomato fry-up.

Here's what you need:

• 2 eggs - I buy mine from a farm shop, rather than the supermarket - I cannot even begin to articulate the difference in taste 
• 2 tbsp virgin olive oil
• 1/2 brown onion, peeled and sliced
• handful of cherry tomatoes, halved
• 5-6 button mushrooms, sliced
• 3 large handfuls of torn baby spinach leaves
• 1 jalapeño pepper, halved, seeded and julienned
• 1 garlic clove, finely diced
• salt and pepper to taste
• drizzle of lemon juice

Here's how you do it:

I'm not going to tell you how to fry an egg :)
But here's how you do the fry-up.

Heat some olive oil in a frying pan and sauté mushrooms for 3-4 minutes until browned and cooked through. Remove and set aside.
In the same frying pan, sauté the onions until slightly translucent. Then add tomatoes, jalapeños
and garlic and season with salt and pepper. Cook for a further 2-3 minutes and press tomatoes down with a spatula until smashed and the juices released.
Add the spinach at the end and stir through until the spinach is wilted. Season with a little more salt if you like and drizzle with some lemon juice right at the end.

Here's why:

This single amazing meal kick-starts your metabolism in just the right way. You've fuelled your body with protein plus your 4 (out of 5)-a day, and that's before you even get started with your day.

I cannot say enough about why eggs are such a great option for breakfast. Not only do they taste good and offer tremendous versatility in cooking options, but the protein and fat in eggs helps sustain your energy levels, keeping you fuller for much longer than that bagel or piece of toast and reducing the need to snack.

The side dish we just made? A nutritional slam-dunk! Spinach is full of vitamin K (one cup of cooked spinach yields more than 150% of your daily intake requirement), vitamins A & C and manganese. OK, Popeye is folklore, but there's no smoke without fire - Spinach is chock full of flavonoids and carotenoids – all which help to protect your body from diseases through cell signalling pathways and antioxidant effects. Add to that, tomatoes, mushrooms and garlic and some healthy fats from olive oil and you've done your body a tremendous favour - all within hours of waking.

Good morning? You bet your sweet bippy!
xx

15 Carb-Free Years (and counting...)

On the 15th of the month, in the year 2015, I thought it seemed about apt to let you know.
It's true.
Every word.
Yup.
It's been 15 years since I've touched a carb. That's a decade and a half.
(I know you know that, but see, sums aren't my strong suite, so if I get the opportunity to show off a bit, I do. You know?)
But yes. 15 years.
And no, I don't mean the odd bite here and the odd taste there - everyone's occasionally allowed that. But bar nibbling on a slice of chocolate cake on my boys' birthdays (because not doing that would just be wrong), I haven't touched a carb in 15 years.
And it's been worth every last bit.

"How do you do it?" I've been asked. "I couldn't! I won't last"
"You can," I say. "And you certainly will last"

Of course, this all started in my twenties for vanity's sake. I don't mind admitting it - I wanted to look good, and I was convinced this was the path that would keep me looking toned and fit. Over a decade and two boys later, it is less about how I look on the outside (though I won't lie, that still matters), but more about how healthy I am on the inside.

People ask if I miss the carbs?
"Miss what?" I ask. "Sugar, white rice, bread and pasta?"
Nope.
No chance.

"How can you be a foodie and not eat carbs?" I'm asked.
"Because good food is not about the carbs," I say. And I believe it with every fibre of my being. Pun wholly intended. 
No, good food is a paradigm shift. A lifestyle. Good food is fresh, and flavourful and fun.
And it's not hard.
The idea is stick to what comes from the ground.
And that's what I eat. And can't get enough of.
Because it makes me feel great, outside and in.
Fitter, leaner, healthier and stronger.
I sleep better, I keep up with my boys, I make the moments count - there's more memories to be made this way.

I eat what I love. And I love what I eat.

I've made this simple summer salad for years and years (yes a decade and a half) and it's amazing every time. It's also versatile. And you know how I feel about versatility.
You don't?
Well - versatility is the bomb. It rocks my world. Without versatility I would wither away like an unwatered peony.
There.
Now you know how I feel about versatility.
Little stunners those peonies, by the way, I have some growing in my garden, each the size of my fist. Simply stunning. Just saying.

Anyway.
My salad.
Very versatile. A peony in full bloom, as it were. Fabulous all by itself or alongside some chicken or prawns.
And now is just the time for it. Long, lazy summer days - the time for my kind of food - fresh, flavourful and fun.

I'm using fresh salad greens from my garden - a combination of rocket, watercress and spinach - and flavouring it with avocados, mango, lime and coriander.
I'm throwing in some marinated chicken for a bit of protein, but as I said, you don't need it.
The twin stars of the show here are the avocado and the mango.
Which make beautiful music together. 

So...with the avocado, you want ones that are just-not-yet ripe. You know, not hard, but not sqidgy. Firm with just that tiny bit of give. Perfect.

And...mangoes.
I can barely say the word without going all loopy in the head.
You see, mangoes and me. We go way back.
I mean I'd dump my husband for a mango.
If mangoes could talk and understand my feelings.
But they can't.
So I guess I'm stuck with Sid.
Boo.

On that note, (sigh)...

Here's what you need:

4 (4-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken-breast halves
8 cups mixed salad greens
2 diced peeled mango
3/4 cup diced peeled avocado
Handful of coriander

I've gone slightly overboard with the mango because I'm utterly, madly, freakily in love with mango. You can hold back. If you wish.(though why you'd wish that befuddles me) (but that's cool).

For the dressing/marinade
2 tablespoons mango chutney
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon soy sauce
3/4 teaspoon grated peeled fresh ginger

Here's how you do it:

Preheat your oven to 200 degrees.

Meanwhile, add the olive oil, lime juice, mango chutney, soy sauce, and ginger in a small bowl and combine well. Separately, place the chicken in a large bowl and spoon some of the dressing mixture over it, reserving the rest for the salad. Turn the pieces over to coat well, and let stand a few minutes.

Place the marinated chicken on grill rack and grill 4 minutes on each side or until chicken is cooked through and slightly charred.

To serve, arrange greens, mango, and avocado on a platter. Slice chicken crosswise into strips and place over greens. Drizzle reserved dressing all over.

And that's that.
Yum Yum in my Tum
(yes, very mature, I know, I know...)

Roasted Cod with Spring Vegetables

Well, hello.
It's been a while, but it's not been for want of want.
You know.
I mean, I've wanted to.
I always want to.
It's just that Time - yes, that pesky little fact of life - always seems to pass me by. Another day, another week, another month.
But I won't linger on the already, still, yet and no longer.
And so, here we are.

Well, Hello Yesterday.

And speaking of time, it's night time and still it's bright, my windows open to the soft air, curtains fluttering, flowers moving as if caught in a breeze...it's my favourite time of year, heralding blue cloudless skies and long, sunny days; the spring wind, warm with just that dash of chill; daffodils and rose buds and fruit and veg so fresh, it makes you want to dance in the aisles of the supermarket. Well, it makes ME want to dance, I must clarify, not YOU. You're not (necessarily) cool like that. I, on the other hand, am the reason the great Oxford Dictionary invented the word "cool."
That's not entirely true of course, but it just makes me feel good to think so.
So.
:)

Here's something else that makes me feel good - my Roasted Cod with Spring Vegetables.
I've been trying - for months now - to eat more fish. Honestly if I could get all my protein from fish, it's what I'd do. It's a top-of-the-line nutrient dense food, high in protein, high in Omega-3 fat, good for your heart, good for your brain, chock full of B-12, and iron. If you can, it would really be one of the most powerful changes you can make to your diet.
Couple that with vegetables?
You're golden.
And really, there's something very magical that happens when "vegetables" meet "roasted"...when the heat of the oven releases the natural sugars from the veg. caramelising them slowly...yum. It's just perfectly...PERFECT. Yup, perfectly perfect.
And light and healthy and colourful and seasonal.
And you can throw it together in minutes and it still looks impressive (ask me, besides being cool, I'm also the Queen of Deception, hee!)

Here's what you need:

Just go your local market, and buy what is fresh and beautiful. I've done peppers, tomatoes, olives and courgette, but you can mix it around. Asparagus works, as do mushrooms. Or squash. Or brinjal. That's the beauty of cooking good food - it's versatile, it's what YOU want it to be.

Anyway, here goes my take!

- 2 red peppers, 2 orange peppers, 2 green peppers - the small, sweet kind; deseeded and halved
- 2 red onions, cut into wedges
- LOTS of cherry tomatoes
- 4 garlic pods, skins intact
- 1 medium courgette/zucchini trimmed and cut into 2cm slices
- 4 skinless cod fillets (about 600g/1lb 5oz)
- 2-3 tsp high quality balsamic
- Handful black olives
- Small bunch basil

Heres how you do it:

Preheat the oven to 220C/Gas 7. Put the peppers, tomatoes, courgettes, garlic and onion in a large baking tray and drizzle them with some olive oil. Season with a little salt and lots of ground black pepper and toss everything together until the vegetables are lightly coated with oil. Roast for 20 minutes until softened and lightly charred.

Separately, season the fish with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Then take the baking tray out of the oven and make gaps in the vegetables to make space for the fish. Place the fish on the tray.

Put the tray back in the oven for another 12–15 minutes or until the fish is cooked, then chuck in the black olives, drizzle with a little olive oil and balsamic vinegar and throw in some fresh basil.

Gosh, this dish is so beautiful it's making my skirt fly up.
Or...is that the open window?

Wayfarer

There's a small church on my right, as I drive by, painted gaily in bright shades of yellow and green.
It sits perched precariously on a cliff edge with straight, sheer drops into the Atlantic.

On a whim, I stop, braking far too suddenly. I shake my head at myself. My dangerous impetuousness. But it's done now. I'm here.
The doors are open and I walk in. I am slightly nervous, I don't know if I am trespassing. But then it's a church. And I remind myself that no one is ever a trespasser in the presence of faith.

I look around me, but there is no one in sight. I am alone. Like I want to be.
It's cool inside, dark, the brickwork shading the glare of the strong West Indian sun
Stained glass windows throw streaks of rainbow light  across the floor.
The effect is dreamy, otherworldly.

I kneel down
Fold my hands
Close my eyes
Whisper a prayer

For the health and happiness of those that are mine.
For my children. That they are kind to the world and that the world is kind to them.

Outside, far away below me I hear the faint sound of waves crashing on rock.
I wonder if that's the beach my husband is on with my two boys. I wonder, if I strain hard enough, I will hear the sound of their laughter, their loud excited squeals as the warm turquoise blue of the Caribbean washes over them, smothering them, and then recedes into dark, unknown depths.

But I dont. It's serene where I am. I hear nothing. And time seems to stop.
The setting, the silence, consumes me.

My sea is calm.

And then a bell tolls.
11 chimes, in rythmic, musical succession. It's 11 o'clock. I've been here too long.

And suddenly I am restless again.
I imagine my kids asking where I am, my husband wondering why a stop for milk is taking so long.

So I get in the car and drive down the winding path. Too fast for my own good.
My mind is everywhere
Falling down the rabbit hole fast and furious.
Searching for the answer to a question I don't have.

For I am a wayfarer.
A vagrant.

So I run to the kitchen.
Where I know is safe.
And dance to the nuance of unspoken words.

Here's what you need:
- 6 large skinless snapper fillets
- 125g unsalted butter, melted
- 2 tablespoons Cajun spice mix
(2 teaspoons salt, 2 teaspoons garlic powder, 21/2 teaspoons paprika, 1 teaspoon ground black pepper, 1 teaspoon onion powder, 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper, 11/4 teaspoons dried oregano, 11/4 teaspoons dried thyme, 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes)

Here's how you do it:
Brush each fish fillet liberally with the melted butter. Combine the Cajun spice mix, then sprinkle thickly over the fish. Use your fingers to rub the spice mix evenly over the fillets. Heat a large frying pan over high heat. When the pan is spitting hot,  cook the fillets in batches pan for  a few minutes on each side until you smell nothing but the aroma of the spices released by the heat, and each surface is well charred. Squeeze in some fresh lemon juice and serve hot.

I serve this with a simple side dish of chickpeas.
It needs:
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 400g tin chickpeas, drained
- Handful of sun dried tomatoes
- 1 tsp each salt and whole cumin seeds
Simply fry the chickpeas in olive oil until soft and well-coated, throw in the sun dried tomatoes and season with the mixture of salt and cumin.
I serve this on four plates.
It's gone in a blink.
And I am satiated.
I breathe, relieved. It's rare for me, this feeling of being satiated.
But I am.
This is the stuff that feeds my soul.

Tomorrow when the sun rises, I will need to find something else to do. Somewhere else to go.

I am a wayfarer.

But for now...
My sea is calm.

Slow-Cooked Lamb

Hi peeps!

So...it's that time of year when I get down on my hands and knees and rummage around the back of my pan drawer in a frantic bid to retrieve my trusty Le Creuset. My dutch oven, you see, hibernates all summer and only makes an appearance when there's that unmistakeable chill in the air, icicles on window panes, misty street lamps lighting grey skies...

Yup, it's definitely winter o'clock folks - time for mistletoe, jingle bells, and of course - taking comfort in the season's bounty with some warm, hearty winter fare for everyone to gather around and share in true holiday spirit.

Hence, I get down on my hands and knees and successfully retrieve my trusty Le Creuset.
It's a beautiful pot - red enamelled cast iron sitting bejewelled against my black granite counter. I love it. The way it looks, it's sheer weight; and the incredible stuff it cooks.

We're making slow-cooked lamb today - deeply comforting, aromatic, and full of flavour.

Here's what you need:
- 1 kg diced lamb
- 4 large onions, sliced
- 1 head of garlic
-  Herbs (I used 2 sprigs each, thyme, rosemary and 3 bay leaves)
- 250ml balsamic vinegar
- 3tbs olive oil

Here's how you do it:
Add the olive oil to the slow cooker or dutch oven and add in the onions. Sit the lamb cubes on top of the onions, then add the balsamic vinegar. Top with herbs. Let cook on low heat for 3 hours.

By the way, in case you're interested - what the oven is doing in those 3 hours - while you do nothing but twiddle your thumbs and use every last reserve of will power to stop yourself from opening the lid and devouring the contents within - is actually slowly braising the lamb in it's own sauce to ensure that the meat's full, immense flavour is drawn out. Brilliant, isn't it?

Now I've had lots of hits and misses with lamb - undercooked, overcooked, burnt (yup that one left me crying for years)...but with the dutch oven, it's hard to go wrong. 6 ingredients, 1 pot. Our meltingly tender lamb dish virtually cooks itself.

And anyway, I'm used to trial and error. I had to kiss lots of frogs, you see, before my pumpkin turned into a golden carriage and I found my Prince. I think I may have just mixed up two very different fairy tales, but you get my point, so it's all good folks, it's all good.

Honestly, get out a glass of red, an old book and sit back on your couch in the warmth of your home. Because nothing is more comforting than a languidly cooked one-pot meal, that simmers away on the back burner, infusing all those different flavours and textures and aromas into one gorgeous dish.

Enjoy x

Vive la France!

So...
Read enough expert opinion on food and they'll all have you believe that French food is as dead as the fish in your bouillabaisse.  Instead, they say, if you want to eat interesting food, go to New York, London, Tokyo, Copenhagen, San Sebastian...

Another trip back to our friendly, baguette-munching neighbours, and I've come to the conclusion that French food is really not.

Dead I mean.
At least for now. And at least in France. Despite all the articles claiming otherwise that keep popping up with such monotonous regularity.

In fact I think I blame New York and London (and other such cities that pride themsleves on being heaving metropolises of culinary sophistication and global gastronomic diversity) for the bad rap that French food has suffered of late. I challenge you to find a French restaurant in all of NYC or London that doesn't cost you your months pay check. For food that makes you wonder if they forget to transfer the rest of your serving from the cooking pot.

I have tried, believe me. Tried and failed. Truly. I have given my custom to several French establishments in London. Not because I'm a glutton for punishment, nor because I'm rich. Ha, trust me, that, I'm certainly not - but because I needed to convince myself, by myself, that this great city cannot, in fact, produce even one half-decent French restaurant. I did. Convince myself I mean. And become a glutton for punishment. Not to mention even less rich than I previously was. Which renders me virtually penniless.

Because after all that trial and error, you see, no matter where you go and how many red M-stars they showcase on their front door, the plate placed in front of you seems consistently to consist of some creative permutation or other of the below-mentioned:

A 2" x 2" cube of canard, sandwiched in between two layers of pastry, served on a crib (because bed would be too large) of pureed potatoes, with a single glazed carrot lying forlornly on one side and a perfectly shaped teardrop of mint-pea jus on the other. Sometimes you're fortuitous enough to deserve a sprig of rosemary scattered artistically across the plate. But only if the chef is feeling particularly generous.

It almost makes one too scared to eat, for fear that it will all be gone in one mouthful and you will be left staring for eternity at an empty plate. Until, that is, you conjure up the will to part with many notes with many zeros on them. That done, you no longer have to stare at your empty plate, because that's the point where you leave.

Then of course all the way home, you are trying (and yes, failing) to ignore the rumbling inside your tummy. And then, when you do get home, in a moment of weakness you  give in and call your trusty local Dominoes, who brings in a large pepperoni in 30 minutes or your money back and you pay him in coins because all your real money has been spent on the cube.

This by the way is after waiting about a month to get a booking because everybody else also apparently enjoys spending a great deal of money on a duck-cube.

I mean, what good are stars, chandeliers, or white gloved waiters when you need to go home after eating out and order pizza? In fact, every time I see the word "amuse" and "jus" on a menu I want to go in and slap the chef because it simply means he's not putting anything on my plate.

Then of course is the small matter of the service at these places. Everything you do is wrong. And everything you don't do is wrong. Basically, it's all wrong.
If you order tap water, you are wrong. If you don't order an aperitif you are wrong. If you ask for food suggestions, you are wrong. If you don't ask for wine suggestions, you're still wrong. Not ordering an appetiser is wrong, substituting fries (yes yes the french ones) for vegetables is wrong (or vice versa) and god forbid, if you dare to share your dessert, you are so wrong, you might as well just give up and go home. Or be prepared to endure that look from your waiter - albeit a white gloved one - yes the one that makes you feel like a school girl in pigtails being told off by the headmistress. Or a school boy. In whatever you boys did to your hair, how would I know. Anyway, you get my point. And that's just the thing you see - of the many crimes against gastronomy that I've encountered in my life - putting up with waiters who have perfected the art of treating paying patrons as an annoying inconvenience, is invariably the worst.

So. Yes. There's all this talk of the demise of French food.
Aha, you say.
You nod your head.
Precisement.

However.

I have just returned from sojourns to the land of fashion, love and food, and have to admit that all three - and most definitely the last - are not only very much alive; they are superlative.

Every Auberge kitchen we had the pleasure of dining in left us licking our chops.
Think:
Menus - creative
Portions - plentiful
Service - delightful
Price - affordable.
Win. Win. Win. Win.

Seriously.
And I'm not easy to please. Ask Siddy.

There's much too much to get into if I were to recount our every meal, but I will just one.
Which was one of the nicest meals in the history of ever.

This was a place we happened to walk into, basically because it was there. I mean we were walking by rather aimlessly and it was lunchtime and the place looked busy and bright and smelled great. Which is always a great give away by the way. In times of doubt, trust your nose. Anyway. The place is called L'Hydropathe if you're interested. (No, don't ask me what on earth it means.) (And why it rhymes with "psychopath".) (And yes, even though I'm heaping generous praise on the French for their good food doesn't mean I don't think they are a strange lot with strange names).

Anyway.

We order a plate of "guinea fowl stuffed with dried fruit"
And this is a thing of beauty.
Succulent meat heaving with bits of nutty, crunchy pistachios, and tiny diced pieces of fig. There's no creamy, heavy sauces here - just the natural juices that seep through from cooking the meat. Light, lush and packed with flavour. It is served simply with a handful of salad leaves that are so fresh I feel like they've just been picked from the chef's grandmothers garden.

The plat du jour (which I always, always recommend you get by the way - doesn't matter which restaurant, doesn't matter which part of France because it always emphasises the freshest of seasonal ingredients) is a "filet of perch served with legumes" (i.e vegetables).
The thick, meaty fish is flame grilled until hot and crisp on top, served alongside a cool lick of goat's cheese yogurt. Spankingly fresh. Under the fish sits basil-infused greens - broccoli, beans, courgette and the tiniest, most delicate leaves of Swiss chard that are so intense that I have a small head rush from the combined flavour of it all.
No words.

We didn't do too much dessert. Mostly for fear that if we started, we'd never stop.
And that's really not great for the waistline.
Which I constantly stress about.
I'm vain you see.
With a penchant for good food.
Which is such a tricky combination, sigh.

Anyhow, we did sample a knock-your-socks-off chocolate eclair; the outside surgery and warm, the inside, dark chocolate cream, both rich and delicate. And an apricot tart, all butter baked crusty heaven, the custard a dense sweet velvet. The apricots are astounding...orange circles of expertly caramelised flesh that veritably melt in your mouth. Utterly perfect.

All accompanied by a truly excellent glass of some Bordeaux red I'd never heard of before in my life.

No M-stars, no gilt-edged mirrors, no chandeliers, no white gloved waiters.
Just good food.

Maybe we got lucky.
Who knows.
What I do know is that the next time I'm invited to eat French food, I'm going to make sure it's in France.