Food Glorious Food

Hands up who likes food? Well, I do and so does Steve. At the moment, we have our dear friends James and ML staying with us – they also like food. Between us, we have become E Le Clerc and Lidl’s best customers! We buy food in quantities usually only witnessed in times of siege. Water is stockpiled and even our fruit bowl is ridiculous by normal standards!

I mean, seriously, how much water do 4 people need?

Our OTT fruit bowl

As we are lucky enough to be living in the Tarn Et Garonne region of France, there is an abundance of good food to be had. We have regular sorties to the local towns and villages to sample the local delights, along with enjoying an obligatory cup of coffee.

Steve, James, ML and I out waiting for coffee and pastries

Wherever we go, we're usually eating!

James with one of his little picnics "just to keep him going"

When at home, we do a lot of cooking and baking, and the “kitchen dance” has become part of our routine as ML and I work around each other, often making different things at the same time. Sometimes James is in the kitchen too foraging. Steve is never in the kitchen. I doubt he knows where it is J

OK, I admit I didn't bake these, but never mind, they were yummy

Inevitably, there are left overs. Steve does not like left overs. Steve does not eat left overs. James and ML do. Herein lies somewhat of a problem.

Like many people, we save little tubs and use them as storage for said left overs. As we seem to get through a ridiculous amount of butter, it is unsurprising that we have a fair number of empty butter tubs, which are employed as keepers of these left overs.

Tubs of butter, right? 

Wrong! Here we have buttercream, courgettes, potatoes and carrots 

The problem arises when we open the fridge and are faced with up to half a dozen butter tubs, only one of which will actually contain butter. We have tried saying things like, “Okay, THIS is where the real butter will live, here on THIS shelf”, but then we forget, put it elsewhere, and have to go through the same routine of hunt the butter.

Often our left overs are just about enough to feed a hobbit, and I wonder why we bother keeping them at all!

Creme Fraiche and Marscapone, right?

Of course not! It's 2 different kinds of left over soup - hobbit portions!

A few days ago I made some butterfly buns, and filled them with butter cream and jam – once I had managed to locate the butter that is. I had overestimated the buttercream and so, as tradition demands I had duly scraped what was left into yet another butter tub.

There were 2 dozen, but by the time I got the camera .......

Our regular visitor Grolsch is just as bad - gimme one Steve

Yesterday, we made a Sunday lunch, complete with roast potatoes, mashed potatoes, veg, Yorkshire puddings and beef with gravy. Naturally, we raise our cholesterol levels by adding generous amounts of butter to the veg ……………… I think you know what’s coming here J

We all sat down to eat and after tasting the cabbage (on which we like a LOT of butter) I commented as to its unusual, but pleasant sweetness. Everyone else agreed, and I made a note to buy this lovely sweet cabbage again. Dinner over, washing up finished, we sat down later on to watch Downton Abbey. Feeling a bit peckish, I went and buttered 2 cream crackers; hang on, something’s not quite right here, the crackers taste sweet as well.

Yes, you guessed, it was buttercream. Sigh

So, what's the answer? Well probably a more organised fridge for a start. Steve, of course, with his sense of order, suggested a numbered white board with corresponding stickers on the tubs. Hmmm, maybe if I drew him a map of how to get to the kitchen, he'd be able to set that up. 

For now, I may use buttercream again on cabbage, but definitely NOT on the cream crackers, that’s just silly!

Food glorious food

Other jams are available, but not for me, Bonne Maman is the ONLY one for me mmmm

Happy eating everyone

Freya