Zut alors! My other half has just informed me that he wishes to join me in my quest to learn how to cook!
You who have known me for a while now through my blog will recall that before I came to France, for me cooking meant opening a tin of baked beans (haricots in tomato sauce for the uninitiated) or heating up a Chinese take away in the microwave. My office which overlooked London Bridge was where I spent most of my waking hours – normally a 7.30 start and I’d leave most nights after 20.00 – often a lot later.This daily routine combined with a one hour commute each way didn’t leave much time for chopping vegetables let alone shopping.There were also frequent weekends in the office and a fair bit of travelling to our Geneva office – so cooking sort of went on the back burner.
Anyhow, coming to France and living in a tiny rural village with no shops has meant that I’ve had to change my tune somewhat. It was also a conscious decision to live a more healthy life as let’s face it, five nights a week of McDonalds, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Chinese take away or tinned beans is not a great lifestyle choice.
Shortly after I got here I started to learn the basics from books about the cuisine of France (when in Rome and all that) and as people here found out I was learning they gave me tips, recipes and even lessons! The man who makes our bread which is delivered three times a week came to my house and gave me a bread and ice cream making lesson and pops hand written recipes in my post box! Luckily for me my friend Julia who lives in the next village is a superb cook and a good teacher.
Recently the OH started commenting on my presentation style – both he and I have been gripped by the latest television series of Master Chef the Professionals which is as much about presentation as taste. You can imagine how sweetly I said “sorry dear, let me just rearrange that dinner to your satisfaction”. Well imagine all you like because that’s not what happened at all. I told him if he thought he could do better then try and he did, and it’s not as easy as they make it look on the TV I can tell you.
The OH is a bit of a perfectionist at most things so I think he may actually do really well at cooking – I hope so as I’m quite happy to share that responsibility. Our first lesson together will be a tarte au poire – something I’ve been putting off a little bit as the recipe calls for frangipane which sounds complicated!
It will either end in marital bliss or divorce this cooking together malarkey – I’m not sure which one yet…
