Friday 28 June 2013

Fresh French Inspired Lunch!!

Do you find that sometimes our winter food ends up being a bit stodgy? Or full of very strong flavours? Don't get me wrong ... I don't mind some stick-to-your-ribs stews and soups that have lovely deep flavours ... but sometimes in the middle of winter I kind of go into denial ... you KNOW how much I LOVE winter ... NOT!!! :0) ... and I want something a bit ... FRESH ... ZINGY ... LIGHT ... something that brings to mind sunshine and picnics and ... OK ... so I'm getting a little delusional now ... winter is getting to me! :0)

So ... today I decided to do a little bit of kitchen experimenting ... play with some flavours. And I was feeling a little FRENCH inspired. (Do you ever wonder what style of decorating French people aspire to? Or what inspires French people's cooking?? I do! But I digress! :0) ) Step one was to dig this out of the cupboard ...

When I think of French flavours, I think of olives, cheese, fresh herbs ... and yummy bread. So I decided ...

... to combine all three elements! :0) I got the ol' breadmaker whizzing with a wholemeal sourdough mix ... YUMMY! Then added some grated cheese and chopped olives ... DOUBLE YUMMY!! :0)

OK ... bread on. Hmmm ... who can I share this yummy bread with? I decided to "phone a friend". Just one problem ... the friend's tummy hasn't been enjoying bead. Uh! Oh! Thinking cap on ... I decided to experiment some more with a nice, light chicken soup. So I chopped up some onions, finely diced some chicken breast, bashed and crushed some garlic (makes me sound violent!!) and tossed them all in to get cooking. I then added some chicken stock. Hmmm ... good start ... but it needed "something".

Out to the garden I headed to harvest some fresh parsley and rosemary and pick a lemon off my overloaded little lemon tree. Finely chop the herbs, grate in the lemon rind, squeeze in the juice ... We're really cooking now! :0) My kitchen smelled HEAVENLY!! Although ... I forgot to take photos - too busy dreaming of promenading along the River Seine or gazing at the Eiffel Tower. :0) But after the bread machine beeped, the soup had bubbled away for a while, been lightly 'whizzed' with the barmix and my lovely stitching buddy, the Fabulous Fiona, arrived ... we were ready for a French-inspired lunch ...

Both experimental dishes were a SUCCESS!! The bread wasn't too heavy and had just a hint of cheese and little chunks of olive adding to the sourdough flavour. The soup was fresh and herb-y with a lemon-y zing to it. I REALLY liked the lemon flavour! :0) I can see that I will be making both of these French-inspired treats again. Maybe they will help me enjoy winter a bit more ... Hmmmm ... probably NOT! :0)

Thanks for coming for a spontaneous lunch/stitching playdate, Fiona and sharing my experimental soup! Always fun to hang out stitching and chatting with you! :0)

Do you experiment with different flavours in your kitchen? Are you inspired by the flavours that remind you of a special place? I'd love to hear if you have some more not-too-stodgy winter recipes to help me make it til spring. :0)

I'm linking up with the Sweetly Shabbilicious Kerryanne over at Shabby Art Boutique for ...


Pop over to give Kerryanne a big Bear Hug and peek at some other people who are being inspired by all things French, shabby and vintage ... make a cuppa first, cos you might be there a while ... there's a LOT to see! :0)

Hope the end of your week is about to herald a relaxing weekend for you. I'm playing catch up after last weekend's road trip and HOPEFULLY doing some stitching. Til next time ...

AU REVOIR!!

CHEERS!
KRIS




5 comments:

Anne-Lise at Rag, Tag, Bobtail said...

Drooling! Looks delicious!

Narelle said...

Clever gal and lucky Fiona :o)

Fiona said...

The soup was just amazing... and the bread was very tempting!!
Thanks for a fun surprise afternoon...I loved it..
Hugz

Susan In Texas said...

Looks very yummy! I have been thinking about getting a bread machine, do you use yours very often? Is it difficult to clean? Inquiring minds want to know. lol

Take care,
Susan in vey hot and sunny Texas

Judy S. said...

Looks yummy! It's hard to think of you in winter when it's nearly 90 here....which is fairly unusual for us. Can it be July already?

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