We got back home on Tuesday, 6 February, which means for us it is time for cuisiner chez nous, cooking at our place. We love restaurants yet we miss cooking ourselves so we don’t eat out a lot between voyages. Here are a few of the highlights from the last two weeks.

Tricia started notre aventure culinaire with vegetarian shepherds pie. I love that you can have something so hearty without meat, which I eat plenty of when we travel. Watch her blog in the upcoming weeks as she assures me she will be posting her recipe soon.

We have a few favorites that are quick and easy. The pre-made pizza dough here in France is so good and so quick that it makes a regular appearance on the menu. Since confession is good for the soul I will also admit that we love the frozen fish and chips that we can bake in the oven; I of course make the mayonnaise myself which is better than store bought, and so easy to make. Some other favorites are Tricia’s pasta, and we both like paninis.

For our first Sunday lunch, our regular tradition, I made grilled salmon with braised lentils. The dish was inspired by something we had in Paris, and it turned out quite well. It was accompanied by grilled vegetables in the style of Peñiscola. I may post the salmon and lentils recipe in the future.

Here are the veggies, served on the tres cool slate plater from Mukilteo, a gift from our friends Claudine and JJ.

Yesterday we had nachos, which are a bit of a challenge here in France, at least rural France – you just don’t find refried beans here, so I tried making them. All I can do is quote Ina, “How good is that!” Refried beans are now added to mayonnaise as something I will never buy again as they are too easy to make and so much better than any pre-made.

Saturday I made cauliflower soup, another of our favorites and so easy. Topped off with Parmesan cheese toasts and a Roquefort salad, with a glass of Cotes de Rhône it was perfect.

We do like food, so I better finish this up as we are heading to The Citadel in Granville, one of our favorite restaurants. It is just 90 minutes away near Le Mont-Saint-Michel, so we have views of that to add to our trip on this sunny day.

I hope you are eating well and following Tricia’s maxim of cooking good food for the people you love.