Mango Ice cream

I hadn't lost interest in my ice cream maker yet. It's just that I've been so busy I haven't had time to try new flavours. Besides I've been making the same flavours cos the Girls loves green tea ice cream & X loves cookies so that's what I've been making over & over again.

I need to get them interested in other flavours. Mangoes, or rather good mangoes are really hard to come by around these parts. I've been meaning to try making mango ice cream for a while now so when I saw some the other day, I quickly grabbed them into my cart.

The taste was great - full of mango flavor but it wasn't creamy enough. Somehow the water content in the fruit makes it a little icey. X is of the opinion that it's better to make sorbets with fresh fruits. I'm not convinced. I'm going to keep trying.

Mango Ice Cream

2 mangoes, diced
150g sugar
300 ml heavy cream
300 ml milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 egg yolks

1. Add 3-4 Tbsp of sugar to the mangoes. Cover & keep overnight in the refrigerator

2. The next day, over medium heat, simmer the mango pieces with the sugar syrup. Cook for 5 minutes, then remove and cool.

3. Set aside about 1/3 of the mangoes. Puree the rest with sugar syrup in a blender or food processor. Cover and chill for an hour.

4. Heat the milk in low heat just as it's about to bubble. Remove from heat. Add the beaten 4 egg yolks & the remaining sugar. Put it back over the stove & over low heat, stir until it thickens.

5. When done, strain it with a fine sieve. Then set it aside to cool completely 2-3 hours or put it over an ice bath.

6. Mix in the mango puree & the cream (whipped lightly).

7. Process in an ice cream maker, according to the manufacturer's directions. In the last 5 minutes, add the remaining 1/3 of the mangoes that you had set aside earlier. (I do this cos I like to bite into chunky fruits in my ice cream. You can ignore this & just puree all of it in step 3).

8. When ready, remove from ice cream maker, pack into a container & freeze for a few hours.

Mustard Vinaigrette

After seeing how we use the mustard vinaigrette in all our salads & over vegetables like asparagus & lentils, my guests wanted to have the recipe.

So here's how to make a basic mustard vinaigrette

You'll need

Mustard - I generally use mustard a l'ancienne (literally ancient mustard) also known as grain mustard. It's less tangy & makes the dressing looks prettier. But any regular mustard will do just as well.

Vinegar - I use red wine vinegar but you could also use balsamic vinegar.

Salt & Oil

1. In a small bowl, add 1-2 Tbsp of mustard

2. Next whisk in 1-2 Tbsp of vinegar

3. Then drizzle 1 Tbsp of oil into the mixture & whisk vigorously till it's well mixed before adding more oil. About 3-4 Tbsp of oil in total. As you are whisking, add salt to taste.

Tip from X : If the vinaigrette "falls" ie. the oil is not mixed properly, stir in a little bit of warm water. It should help hold it together.

Vogue

Vogue. This is not a song by Madonna nor is it the fashion magazine. It's pronounced as Vo-gu-ay & it's listed as one of 152 most beautiful villages in France.

It's a small village nestled between the river Ardeche & a limestone cliff. Right at the top of the village is the imposing 12th century Chateau de Vogue, once the seat of the barons of Languedoc. It was rebuilt in the 17th century & it houses a museum featuring exhibitions about the region. Unfortunately when we were there on Tues, it was closed. I'm really not a very good guide. I should have done my homework.

In the summer, the Girl & I would go there to swim in the river. There is a nice sand bank by the river & the water is shallow enough for children to play in. Along the river, you can see the original stone wall around the village - still in pristine condition.





And not totally related but since I'm getting complaints that there aren't many pictures of the Girl, I thought I'd slip in some pictures of her in the playground not far from the Chateau.

Pont D'Arc

Pont d'Arc taken 4 years ago when I first arrived

Another view of the Pont d'Arc taken 2 days ago

The Pont d'Arc is the most famous landmark in Ardeche. You see it in all the travel brochures & literature. It typifies the landscape of the region - wild & rugged. It's a natural limestone "bridge" created by erosion & the elements, spanning across the river Ardeche.

It's a must see for any visitors here & no matter how many times I've seen it, it never fails to take my breath away.

In the summer, the river is full of kayaks & the river bank full of sun bathers & swimmers. Canoeing & white water rafting is the 2 most popular spots. For those who may not know this, I used to represent my JC in canoeing so it's rather pathetic that I've not canoed in these parts yet. But I definitely want to, some day.

Flea Market

Now that the weather is warmer, it's flea market season. Every town & village seem to be organising their own. I ran a search & just next Sunday alone, there are already 9 of these in Ardeche. If you're interested, here's the site.

In France, they are called vide-greniers, marche aux puces or brochantes. I can never figure out the difference. I suppose it depends on whether you consider gently used goods as junk or antiques.

Anyway, this past Monday (Whit Monday, a public holiday) it was our commune's turn to have our marche aux puces. Regardless of whether you end up buying anything, it is always fun to browse. And as with every activity in the countryside, it is just as much a social event - you'll end up saying hi to all your neighbours there. They may be either browsing or they may have a stand selling their stuff - not unlike a garage sale.

Roasted Quail stuffed with Glutinous Rice

The other thing that I've been busy with was the birthday lunch for X & Rene. They both have their birthdays in May so we had a double celebration for them last Sunday. Just a simple family affair.

I mentioned before that normally X prepares all the special occasion meals but since this is his birthday, I couldn't very well expect him to cook, could I ?

For the main course, I decided to do roasted quail stuffed with glutinous rice. Even tho quail is easily available in the supermarkets, it's not something his family eats often. To give it an Asian twist, I wanted to stuff it with glutinous rice. I've done it before with chicken wings but honestly, they are just too small to be worth the effort.

I wasn't too sure how his family would take to glutinous rice so I'd prepared a gratin dauphinois on the side to be safe. I was happy to note that nobody, except for the kids, helped themselves to the gratin. But the 2 biggest fans were Appy & Jackie so this recipe is for you guys.

Roasted Quail stuffed with Glutinous Rice

For the glutinous rice (enough for 6-8 quails)

250g glutinous rice (soaked overnight)
1 chinese sausage, diced
3-4 mushroom, diced
handful of dried shrimp
garlic & ginger, chopped
sesame oil

Seasoning
2 Tbsp oyster sauce
1 Tbsp light soy
1 Tbsp dark soy
1 tsp chinese wine
1 tsp sugar
salt & pepper

1. Drain the rice
2. Fry ginger & garlic in sesame oil
3. Add mushrooms, shrimp, sausage & seasoning
4. Fry till fragrant
5. Add rice & I cup of water
6. Cook over medium heat for 10-15 mins, stirring till water is absorbed into the rice
7. Transfer the rice to deep dish (I used a cake pan) & steam for 30 mins until the rice is done

For the quails

1. Rub the quails with worcestershire sauce - inside & out
2. Stuff the cooked glutinous rice into the quails
3. Close them up with a toothpick (I did this thinking that maybe the rice might fall out but it didn't so you can probably skip this step)
4. Add 1 chopped carrot & 1 chopped onion in the roasting pan
5. Roast at 220C until the quails are brown & crispy occasionally basting with honey & soy sauce
6. Once done, remove the quails & keep the remaining juice in the pan to prepare the sauce

For the sauce

1. Add 1-2 cups of veal stock to the pan & scrap up the bits from the tray & transfer to small pot together with the carrot & onion
2. Boil then simmer to reduce
3. Sieve & add cornstarch to thicken

Home made Pizza

I haven't posted anything lately cos I've been busy but I do have a lot to blog about so I'm just going to get right to it

My good friend Appy & her daughter Jackie came to visit. We haven't seen each other in over 4 years & since I don't get many visitors (note to all friends & family who have yet to visit), I had been so looking forward to their arrival.

Last night, we were all invited to X's sister's place for home made pizza. This is always a treat cos they have an outdoor wood-fired oven & let me tell you, there is nothing quite like pizzas cooked in that oven.

To begin with, JM makes his own pizza dough & then all the ingredients are fresh from the garden eg. home grown tomatoes for the coulis.

This here is cepe also known as porcini, king of wild mushrooms. I love cepe. It is succulent & flavorful but this is the first time I've had it on a pizza. For me, this was the highlight of the evening cos it is excellent. And especially since these are hand picked by JM on one of his mushroom hunting trips (he has his secret hunting ground that is only known to him). Are you drooling yet ?

Check out that oven. The pizza needs to be in there no more than 7-10 mins. Then out comes delicious pizzas.

For starters, we had a green salad (of course, from Rene's garden) followed by pizza after pizza of all different varieties - smoked salmon, artichokes, cepe, anchovies, ham, bacon. For dessert, it was Jeannine's very own strawberry sorbet.

At the end, everybody had a go at rolling the dough & making their own pizza. It was so much fun & I probably had way too many slices of pizza. To put it in Appy's words "this family really takes food seriously". I couldn't have said it better.