February went by in a blur. Unfortunately I was quite unwell for most of February (in fact all three of us... thank you winter and childcare illnesses), though when I look back over the photos I think wow we did squeeze some things in!
We treated ourselves to this fancy bottle of olive oil, we chose it because the typical Sicilian ceramic jar was so adorable but the oil was also surprisingly excellent - it tastes like rain on fresh grass in the springtime
This was the most fancy pain aux raisins I've ever had, from a hipster bakery. The lamination was excellent and the layers crispy and shatter-y while the custard was rich and unctuous
A brioche-y bread with frangipane & fig jam filling I made one morning for a mums group brunch. My friend paired it with Trader Joe's spicy honey sauce and it went really well together.
On the last day of Chinese New Year (a 2 week celebration), I made my own glutinous rice dumplings with a black sesame and peanut filling. I was pleasantly surprised by how well they turned out!
Photo doesn't do it justice but this roast eggplant and spicy edamame soba dish from Hetty McKinnon's Community cookbook was really delicious.
I think these are the most fancy chocolates I've ever had. S' friend was visiting from Lyon and he got us this super fancy box from the artisan chocolatier Christian Constant
We managed to get out to Lyon one weekend to visit S' best friend and his wife. It had been planned for January but with the illnesses we postponed it. It was G's first time meeting their 3 year old son and we were surprised how well they got along! We knew it would be a hit when the 3 yo took to feeding G nutella filled cookies one after the next!
She is an amazing cook and she uses our weekend visits as inspiration to make elaborate things - here a wonderful tarte tatin with perfectly caramelised apples and homemade pastry. Just amazing!
Ottolenghi's roast pumpkin and lentil salad, which we ate with some excellent gorgonzola.
On a side note - who knew the little zoo in Parc Tête d'Or (golden head) has giraffes? How do giraffes feel in freezing Lyon in the middle of winter?
This was a cheesecake that our American friends brought over, she lined the cracker crust with some confit orange pieces which really elevated the cheesecake!
Fancy Fridays...
We continue with our Fancy Fridays - it's a project I started in November after the specialist exam. On Fridays I make a three course meal. This was a real highlight from this month - caramelised fennel with farro with a crunchy acidic fennel green topper and mini buffalo mozzarella.
Vegemite crackers
Fancy Friday fell on a Valentine's day so we had this dessert from the patisserie downstairs Cyril Lignac
We also had our annual tradition for Valentine's day, a heart shaped challah
Virgin mojitos for a Fancy Friday with S' mother
And... this bottle of wine was to celebrate my first job interview in France.. cross your fingers for us!
Onto the curveball...
Who knew that they had pelicans in Lyon, and that they are pink! I was shocked to see them as I thought they were Australian birds!
And my obligatory baby contribution. Here he is getting acquainted with an onion that had sprouted
That's it for me for this month. Thanks to Sherry for hosting the monthly IMK. Have a great month everyone!
