0 WEEKEND CAT BLOGGING #191

This week, Sir Tristan and Tabby Cat Longtail at "Tabbylicious" (USA) are happy to announce that they are hosting Weekend Cat Blogging #191...To submit your kitty picture(s), you can either leave a message in their blog's comment section (with your permalinks) or contact them via e-mail without forgetting to give all the needed information."As anyone who has ever been around a cat for any length of time well knows cats have enormous patience with the limitations of the human kind." ~ Cleveland Amory...

0 TUILES - THE DARING BAKERS

This month's challenge is brought to us by Karen of "Bake My Day" and Zorra of "1x Umruehren Bitte" aka Kochtopf. They have chosen "Tuiles" from "The Chocolate Book" by Angélique schmeink and "Nougatine and Chocolate Tuiles" from Michel Roux.It is the very first Daring Bakers challenge of the year and, thankfully, after the Christmas/New Year period during which most of us embarked ourselves into a baking/cooking/eating frenzy, this light recipe is very welcome as it is far from being gargantuesque and doesn't require hours of slaving in the kitchen. The pefect choice for a stressless and healthier start!Making "Tuiles" is all about technique...

0 HAPPY LUNAR NEW YEAR - 恭喜发财

Today, we are leaving the year of the rat behind in order to enter the year of the ox (more info regarding the Vietnamese Tet can be found here and more info concerning the Chinese Lunar New Year can be found here). On this occasion, I send you my best wishes for the Lunar New Year ans say "Gong Xi Fa Cai" or "Chúc Mừng Năm Mới"! May this sign bring you luck, prosperity, health and happiness in life...My Chinese & Vietnamese recipes:Cantonese Lemon Chicken (see recipe)Chinese Steamed Fish (see recipe)Chinese White Sugar Sponge (see recipe)Nian Gao/Chinese New Year Steamed Cake (see recipe)Vietnamese Chicken And Grapefruit Salad (see recipe)Vietnamese...

0 WEEKEND CAT BLOGGING #190

This week, Kashim and Othello at "Paulchens FoodBlog" (Austria) are happy to announce that they are hosting Weekend Cat Blogging #190...To submit your kitty picture(s), you can either leave a message in their blog's comment section (with your permalinks) or contact them via e-mail without forgetting to give all the needed information."When the tea is brought at five o'clockAnd all the neat curtains are drawn with care,The Little black cat with bright green eyesIs suddenly purring there."~ Harold Monro...

0 THE BRIGHT SIDE OF WINTER

Although, during the cold season, we rarely get much sunshine (mostly fog and rain), sometimes, we are occasionally blessed with sunny days...On Sundays, when we are lucky enough to get azure blue skies and bright light, I always try to go out for a walk in order to capture the essence of winter (and get some exercise). It results in interesting and atmospheric landscape pictures. Enj...

0 KIPPER RILLETTES - RILLETTES DE HARENG

I'm a big fan of spreads and pastes as they are very practical, tasty and versatile. What makes them very exciting is that they can be paired with so many different accompaniments such as bread, crackers, savory biscuits, vegetables sticks and even with pasta or boiled potatoes. The association possibilities are endless...I've also always loved smoked kipper fillets (in a tin/Appel brand) as they are healthy, incredibly delicious, cheap, very convenient and can be used in so many ways in order to make quick, easy, toothsome as well as quality meals...So, for the farewell dinner that we organized on the occasion of our friends Jessica (see her...

0 MY EARLY YEARS AS A FOODIE

Mr. & Ms. Bloga2 (France) have had the great idea to launch a new game (see link in French). Both of them want us to go through our photo albums and choose one or two pictures of ourselves, when we were kids, so I thought that I'd just play along and show how the 3 year toddler that I was looked, back in the "old" times (~1981)...Madame et Monsieur Bloga2 (France) ont eu la bonne idée de lancer un jeu qui nous replongera avec nostalgie dans notre enfance (voir jeu), alors, aujourd'hui vous avez le droit de me voir lorsque j'e nétais qu'une gamine de 3 ans (~1981)...

0 WEEKEND CAT BLOGGING #189

This week, Miz Mog and Kitties at "Mind of Mog" (USA) are happy to announce that they are hosting Weekend Cat Blogging #189...To submit your kitty picture(s), you can either leave a message in their blog's comment section (with your permalinks) or contact them via e-mail without forgetting to give all the needed information.Two days ago, Fridolin got really sick (apathetic, silent, like drugged, not hungry & no energy).As he is soon 14 years old (in April) we were afraid that his illness was due to his "advanced" age and that he had something serious (kidney problems or diabetes)...Yesterday, I had to call a home visiting veterinary (very...

0 COLD, FOGGY DAYS

Last Sunday, a foggy and bitter cold day. In the fields, a few minutes walk away from my home. Everything is touched by the icy hand of winter, but in fact, nothing is as dead as it seems. The signs of upcoming spring are already visible...

0 BUTTERMILK HONEY BREAD - PAIN

Since the day I received Beth Hensperger's "The Bread Bible" (for my birthday last year), I have baked some of the most scrumptious loaves ever...Until now I have not been disappointed by any of her gorgeous breads. All her recipes are flawless and give extremely good results. As a matter of fact, I am constantly picking up my copy of her cookbook in order to try something new and exciting.The "Buttermilk Honey Bread" I'm going to talk about today is a real classic because it can be made fastly, it doesn't require many ingredients, nor does it contain too much fat and is incredibly delicious. I always tend to make this loaf whenever I don't want...

0 THE 12 BEST RECIPES OF 2008

As a new year has started, I have decided to look back at 2008 and make a list of the twelve (actually 14) recipes which have left a mark on me...Etant donné qu'une nouvelle année a commencé, j'ai décidé de regarder en arrière et de choisir 12 (en réalité 14) recettes qui ont marqué 2008...January - Janvier Gravlax Or Salt-Cured Salmon from Sweden (recipe by Chef Marcus Samuelsson) Gravlax, spécialité suédoise (recette par Chef Marcus Samuelsson)February - FévrierFish Rendang from Malaysia (Recipe taken from "Easy Malaysian-Style Cookery" by The Australian Women's Weekly and adapted by Rosa @ Rosa's Yummy Yums)Rendang De Poisson, spécialité malaise...