Reading, filters and yet more baking!

It was lovely to read all your comments and your own posts inspired by my piles of books the other day - thanks so much for your interest and your own fascinating views on reading! (And also on toys, whey and the other varied posts recently - it is great to hear from you, especially as I'm still a little too ill to get out and about). But of course, my post was about the books, not their contents, so I thought I'd show you a selection of what's actually been on my bedside table recently. The snow is outdoors, not in the bedroom, you'll be glad to hear. The thing about recommending books to other people is that I don't always know how they'll respond - for example, I do a lot of my reading with a sort of 'filter' which I don't even think about much. I aim to get what I can from the book and kind of filter out any bits that seem irritating, pointless or just plain wrong. But I know if I recommend a book to a certain person who has the opposite bedside table, he will often be so annoyed by the irritating, pointless or possibly wrong bits that he gives up the book. It seems a shame to me - there is so much good in many books that we may as well read them to gain the 'gold', and just ignore the 'dross'; sift the 'wheat' from the 'chaff'... I wonder if you read the same way?

I made Lululiz's friend's muffins using more whey! This proves MummyMad's theory that the whey can be substitued for buttermilk, at least in some recipes. Thanks for all your other suggestions too - I found a good ricotta recipe on the net thanks to your advice. Look at the pretty preparations! Thrifted sillicon cases, used for the first time, and a Sarah Smith cleaning cloth sent to me by the great and generous Liz herself.

They made a lovely addition to our tea yesterday - very healthy, very orangey. I substitued loads of things, because we didn't have all the ingredients in our cupboards, and it all worked - farine de blé noir (buckwheat) for wholemeal flour, and raisins and dates for the blueberries. Fresh blueberry season at the farm down the lane will trigger another round of this recipe, I hope.

This funny little photo shows you some of the cheeses from Ben's work canteen - he found they (and other foods) were frequently thrown out so he and several others salvage various bits and pieces at the end of the day! It's not exactly how we would buy cheese but it's free and it's better than seeing it chucked out. I can't eat it because of my low salt requirements, so I carry on with the home-made stuff.

And finally a lovely local bread, pain d'epis. Epis are the grains of wheat - can you see how each section is like a grain? A very popular loaf in our family, when we splash out for it.

Eggs - permanent and temporary!

The permanent eggs of the title are those I snapped around my parents' house - I think my mum is very fond of egg shapes. The more I looked, the more it felt like a grown-up's Easter Egg Hunt! China eggs in the sitting room...

On either side of the mantelpiece...

Stone eggs in a bowl....Mauchline ware... These are needle cases, I think... A gift from my dad in the dining room...Hiding in a drawer...Another bowl-full!..In a box, this time!..Now into the kitchen... And my final discovery in the hallway. Now for the much more temporary eggs - the chocolate kind.They're going into nests made with equal quantities of butter, fair trade cocoa powder, sugar and golden syrup, melted then combined with cornflakes.Yum!Yum yum! The results were extremely good. The fat charity hens joined us again. As did 'Bloups' the FT fish... And the traditional French bell...

Thanks for all your Easter wishes and your beautiful Easter posts. Easter hope and joy to you all!

Toulouse Violets for Friends

We're having some friends over for lunch today. It's all very informal and everyone's bringing a contribution of food. Having bought the cake stand on Friday, I had to make cup cakes today!

I've decorated them with traditional Toulousain violets, grown in the fields around the city and crystalised with mimosa seeds:

Have a look at the lovely blog An Enchanted Cottage, which has a fantastic first birthday giveaway!

Cake Stands and Serendipity

Today I took a bit of time out of a free lesson and popped into the nearby Troc Shop (it's a hard life). I'd seen a French porcelain cake stand there a few weeks ago, and today I resolved to buy it if it was still there. It was...We have all enjoyed a lovely tea, with the (shop bought) cakes.

Son 1 took this photo of a vapour trail in the sunset this evening, and thought you all might like it:

And this is the serendipity! I've been looking for a water jug to replace a lovely Fair Trade one which has cracked after many, many years of service. On Sunday night we were in a restaurent and Son 2 made friends with a small, giggly French toddler who was clearly just getting over chicken pox. They screamed and giggled together in a very un-French way, but her parents seemed delighted, so we let them get on with it. At the end of the meal, French dad asked us if we would like the empty carafe from their wine, in thanks for the fun their tiny daughter had been having! So now my quest for a jug is over...

Have a lovely weekend.