Tag: France

  • French Roast Chicken with Garlic Butter

    French Roast Chicken with Garlic Butter

    It all starts with a greasy massage in garlic butter. When I say “it”, I’m not referring to what I get up to on a Friday night, I mean a French roast chicken. French roast chicken is much the same as other countries’ claims on roast chicken, but for some reason, there is something alluring…

  • French Apple and Sultana Cake

    French Apple and Sultana Cake

    While I haven’t actually ventured outside at all today, I can finally feel that autumn has arrived in Toulouse. The leaves on the tree outside are still stubbornly green, but I proudly wore a jumper all day which is, naturally, the defining factor of a seasonal change. Autumn got waylaid, stuck behind the sleepy sun-drunk…

  • Naan au Fromage

    Naan au Fromage

    Upon my touchdown in Toulouse two years ago, within hours Gaylord was planning to make us naan au fromage. To give you some perspective, two years ago was a slightly tumultuous time, there was this little pandemic on, and lockdowns were declaring it was illegal to drive as far as your nearest airport. So, Gaylord…

  • French recipe: Ratatouille Without Aubergine

    French recipe: Ratatouille Without Aubergine

    I hate to admit it, but the Paris portrayed in movies is magical. It’s called the City of Light for a reason, and I don’t know who could leave unaffected by the Eiffel Tower lighting up like a glittering beacon over the city. Well, Gaylord, to be honest. He is Parisian. I don’t think those…

  • The 5 Best Budget Restaurants in Toulouse

    The 5 Best Budget Restaurants in Toulouse

    When I eat out, my first port of call is to google ‘budget restaurants in Toulouse’. I assume most of us do this, inserting our own home cities at the end. Eating is quite possibly one of the most enjoyable activities and food, well, it’s not free. So, the best option is to find restaurants,…

  • French recipe: Peach and Apricot Clafoutis

    French recipe: Peach and Apricot Clafoutis

    Summer: it’s the season to brave the heaving weekend markets, jostling old biddies with their shopping carts. It’s the time to drink iced coffee in the morning, and share a sliced peach so juicy you need some paper towel on hand. It’s the smell of the mosquito spirals burning, their smoke blowing through your window.…

  • The Best Hidden Beer Gardens for Summer in Toulouse

    The Best Hidden Beer Gardens for Summer in Toulouse

    Every year when summer rolls around, I find myself nursing some very specific cravings: 1. Pimm’s – ideally with a medley of fruits, cucumber and mint floating on the surface. 2. Olives. Big, meaty ones, the brinier the better! 3. And last but not least, a beer garden or terrace with outdoor seating, ideally shaded…

  • Pancake Day: French Crepes and Caramel Beurre Salé

    Pancake Day: French Crepes and Caramel Beurre Salé

    It’s funny isn’t it, how one of the best British traditions is actually French? Maybe only the Brits and the French will see the irony of this because, well, we hate each other. In a brotherly-sisterly kind of way. We often get offended by the other’s behaviour and stop talking to them for a while.…

  • The 5 Best Affordable Restaurants in Toulouse

    The 5 Best Affordable Restaurants in Toulouse

    I’d always wanted to live abroad and finally in 2019, I boarded that plane, carrying my life on my back. Incidentally, that flight took me to New Zealand, and through a series of exciting, surprising (and then there was a little pandemic) circumstances, I’m now living in France! In Toulouse in fact. Do you know…

  • French recipe: Pain au Chocolat

    French recipe: Pain au Chocolat

    What are the first three foods that come to mind when you think of France? Take your time, I will wait. Ready? Let’s see – I assume baguettes are up there? Baguettes seem to grow like grass here. What about delicate pastries like eclairs? Or their 1600 cheeses? Basically, anything involving butter? France is pretty…