Le Gros Minet, Paris

Five years ago my friend and I went to Paris  (my first time ever in Europe) and we ate at this restaurant Le Gros Minet where the food was amazing. This time we went looking for it, and only way we remembered how to find it was that we knew it was near this church Saint Eustache which we back then, confused as being the Notre Dame (rookie mistake, confusing all these Gothic style churches when you have never ever seen them in real life). This time we knew the difference at least, and found the restaurant. The food was still really good and very French and of course the bill a little bit high. Never the less, how wonderful to revisit a place five years later with the same best friend.

Cures for homesickness: Hot Cross Buns

Easter Monday made me miss South Africa a little bit, I missed being able to go to church, lunch with my family , those white candy and chocolate Easter eggs and Hot cross buns. Thank heavens though for a Skype talk with my parents and for the Facebook friend who sent me a recipe of Hot Cross buns. The recipe is really simple, and only takes a while because the dough needs time to rise – I altered it slightly to work for me.  My crosses failed a little bit as I don’t have one of those icing things or even a plastic bag (I read somewhere that one can use a strong plastic bag – like the ziplock ones -and make a small hole in  it ). And I spaced them too close to each other, so they didn’t maintain their nice round shapes. Regardless of the rough appearance it tasted delicious, way better than any store bought ones I’ve ever had. 

Cures for homesickness

 I am not really homesick, but I thought it would be a nice section to add to my blog, as usually when I do feel those blues coming, baking or making a dish from home helps to get the mood up. Dinner with the friends also help, and since the other night it was the first time we have seen each other since summer holidays, I whipped up a batch of these. These cupcakes are a classic - they are fluffy, soft and just the right sweetness. With normal icing it reminds of my birthday parties as a child, but they are amazing with this lemon butter icing.  And it is so simple and can be made without electric mixers and fancy things (all things a foreign student lacks in a rented apartment). To view the recipe just click on the image.

Summer treat :-)

Ok, really bad photo, but this is one of the things that makes me so happy anguria e melone (watermelon and melon). Also I immediately get that Afrikaans song in my head, "Saai die waatlemoen" and remember Christmas in South Africa - instant pick me up in the summer heat.