Callaloo Soup

Condrieu: A Family Tradition

My father-in-law had been buying wines from the Perret family for over 30 years, starting with the father of the current owner Andre. With his passing, the torch has been passed to Lucas to maintain the connection and tradition.

On Saturday we took a trip to the vineyard to introduce Kieran to Andre and his family.

 

Of course there had to be tasting of wines

(Kieran and I abstained. Ok, I had a couple sips.)

Condrieu is a very special wine, and one of our favourites.

 

We usually have it at special occasions.

 

I think Jean-Michel will be happy to know that the tradition continues.

(To learn more about Condrieu and Andre Perret click here and here)

A Very Special Lunch

We got together with family and friends on Sunday to celebrate Kieran’s birth - his “Inauguration” as my mother -in-law called it. We weren’t many, just enough. My mother-in-law; Lucas, Kieran and I; Lucy, Loic and Ian; our friends Olivier and Vanina; my brother-in-law Manouche and his girlfriend Cécile.

 

 

As usual my mother-in-law laid a beautiful table, with a special service bought just for the occasion.  The vases are  “timbales”, the silver cups traditionally given at the birth of a baby.

 

And speaking of timbales, Lucas was presented with the one that belonged to his late uncle, who was also his godfather. We celebrated with champagne.

 

 

 

During lunch Kieran took a nap (albeit a brief one!) in a traditional Alsatian berceau, made by a family friend and decorated by my mother-in-law

Dessert was a combination of delights with home made ice-cream, Lebanese pastries, West Indian black cake and cupcakes.

I think this photo clearly shows that the entire event was a resounding success!

Chez Wam

Last week Lucas and I discovered a new lunch place that is perfect for a quick but relatively healthy meal.

The idea is a cool one: fast food, but home cooked fast food. Everything is made right there from fresh ingredients. The owners, two young guys, try to use only seasonal products, and organic if possible. You have a choice of various salads or hot dishes.

We went with salads and resisted the temptation of the homemade desserts

The best part is that the prices are reasonable, I'd even say cheap. We had a nice chat with the owners and they were telling us that a lot of their customers are students who are tired of eating traditional fast food and were happy to find food just like at home that was reasonably priced. Here are the owners in question

We were talking so much I forgot to ask their names! They are closed for the next ten days or so for vacation, but we will definitely be going back once they re-open.

8 & 9 / 365

Cinnamon toast for breakfast and Lucas blows up balloons.

7/365 - I don't know

7/365 - I don't know, originally uploaded by scrappyfran.

   

Lucas baked these today. When I asked him what they were he said " I don't know". Whatever they might be, they are delicious! Luckily I took the photo right away because they are almost all gone!

5/365 - lunch

5/365 - lunch, originally uploaded by scrappyfran.

Did I mention that Lucas and I are dieting? We've been doing really well and my jeans are loose. (Note to self - buy new jeans). We're mostly following the ideas behind the South Beach Diet. It was tough at first but we have adjusted well. A lunch like this is now a delight! And it helps to be married to an inventive chef, with fresh ingredients and herbs and spices we still eat like gourmets!

3/365 - artichoke

3/365 - artichoke, originally uploaded by scrappyfran.

A light and healthy dinner tonight, after a weekend of a bit of indulgence!

Lunch with Lucy - Coffee and photos with Jo and Marc

Lucy has been travelling for the last couple weeks so we hadn't gotten together in a while. Since we had a meeting of the Lyon Canon Group this afternoon we decided to eat lunch together first. Lucas and I are currently on a diet (trying not only to lose some weight, but to eat right) and since going to a restaurant would be too complicated she offer to cook lunch. Well I jumped at the chance of course! I think I've mentioned a few times before that she is an amazing cook right? (here for example).

We had a simple, but delicious chicken salad. She marinated the chicken breasts in a special and unique home mix of spices: vanilla, bay leaf, red peppercorns among others. Sauteed red peppers and onions, and served it all over a bed of lettuce.

Who says healthy eating can't be delicious?

Here's the lovely chef
And Sissy even came out to say hello.

After lunch we strolled along the Quai de Saone to Jo's house to meet up with her and Marc and talk photography. We ended up talking a lot more about life in France, but the words aperture, shutter speed and ISO did manage to come up in conversation.

I adored the light in Jo's apartment, so I took some random shots.

There was also quite a bit of talk surrounding these waffly cookies. Anyone wondering if I gave into temptation?

I had a lovely afternoon! Thanks Lucy and Jo.  And Marc too!

Tuesday Weirdness

mmmm; mmmmm, good!, originally uploaded by scrappyfran.

   

Today was a strange day. It seems as though my week is being all flipped around. I had a great Monday, good mail, bargains in the sales, sunshine and productivity. Not at all normal for  Monday. And today all plans fell through, and those that did happen were less then stimulating. Total weirdness. But all was not lost. Thank goodness for comfort food!

Quick Monday post

Just a little update on my recent projects. Make a thing a day is going pretty well, though some days I have to do two projects to catch up because I spent the previous day out with friends or taking photos, or lets be honest, just being lazy!

This layout was done for the French blog ScrapNScrap and uses a sketch by Begga Huna

Along with the treat I made for Lucas I also made these cupcakes on Valentine's Day

This little felt clutch was made to hold my Moo calling cards.

And I did this series of mugs based on an idea by Ashley Wren

I'm really enjoying exploring all the different parts of my creativity this month!

Labels: altered, baking, matadfam, scrapbooking, sewing