Mango and Apple Chutney
One of the disadvantages about moving to the beautiful rural Limousin Region of France is that it is harder to get all the foods we used to take for granted in the UK.
One of the advantages of living here is we have the time to experiment and make our own delicious versions. Make this and serve it with Chana-sag-aloo-dal (madras).
2 large mangos, peeled and diced
2 large apples, peeled and diced
1 large teaspoon sea salt
400g sugar
350mls cider vinegar
big chunk (inch and a half) ginger, peeled and grated
2 medium onions, finely diced
A couple of tablespoons of sultanas (this is optional)
1 heaped teaspoon turmeric and
1 heaped teaspoon cumin
1 heaped teaspoon corriander
1 heaped teaspoon mixed/all spice
1 heaped teaspoon gara masala
1/2 teaspoon chilli powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/2 teaspoon fenugreek
good squeeze of lemon juice
some black pepper
(You can adjust the spices to your taste. If you don’t have all the spices listed, don’t worry – use what you have. You could probably just use curry powder if that is all you have. You don’t want it too hot – well maybe YOU do – you want it to be spicy rather than hot.)
Put all of the above in a stainless steel pan (NOT aluminium). Bring to the boil. Simmer for 30 minutes with the lid on. Then for 30 minutes with the lid off.
Allow to cool, and then put into jars. Store in the fridge.
We will let you know how the flavours mature over the next month or so. But 12 hours after it tastes delicious.
To come: Lime pickle (takes a month to make, so come back and we will let you know how it is going).
3placedesarbres.com. Vegetarian & Vegan recipes from the kitchen of a vegetarian chambres d’hotes/bed and breakfast in Felletin, near Aubusson in the department of La Creuse, Limousin region.
It is always nice to hear from you
Check out this review of 3 Place des Arbres, the vegetarian B&B located 10k from Aubusson, in the picturesque town of Felletin, in the Limousin region of Central France.
Thank you!
A Good Start
Bruce (from the vegetarian bed and breakfast, 3 Place des Arbres, in Felletin, near Aubusson, in the Limousin Region of France) has entered one of his short stories into an online competition. You can read it here
3placedesarbres: a vegetarian b&b in the heart of Felletin, a beautiful market town, close to Aubusson, in Central France. Why not treat yourself to a break in our guesthouse in the Limousin region of France
Organic food in France to be more readily available?
The French public are increasingly demanding more organic food, and the supermarkets are responding.
France is the third biggest consumer of pesticides in the world (US and India top the chart) and the biggest user in Europe.
Unfortunately going organic doesn’t necessarily mean more vegetarian produce or even better labeling of foods but it is a step in the right direction.
Le Figaro – Consommation : Les hypermarchés font sortir les produits bio de leur ghetto .
3placedesarbres: a vegetarian b&b in the heart of Felletin, a beautiful market town, close to Aubusson, in Central France. Why not treat yourself to a break in our guesthouse in the Limousin region of France
Action | Journée Mondiale pour l’Abolition de la Viande | Association Végétarienne de France
If you are in Nancy on 30th January you may be interested in attending this event:
Journée Mondiale pour l’Abolition de la Viande
30/01/2010, Nancy – Place Thiers, devant la gare SNCF
À l’occasion de la Journée Mondiale pour l’Abolition de la Viande, l’association VegLorraine, en collaboration avec L214 et l’AVF, organise un stand d’information pour une alimentation sans viande. Une dégustation de produits végétaliens sera offerte aux visiteurs.
Contact : Pour VegLorraine : veglorraine@yahoo.fr Pour l’AVF : massimo.nespolo@orange.fr 03.83.68.48.85 et 03.83.94.06.28 (correspondant AVF pour la Meurthe-et-Moselle)
via Action | Journée Mondiale pour l’Abolition de la Viande | Association Végétarienne de France.
Is this the most nutritious super-breakfast ever?
Quinoa and fruit porridge
It’s January and we could all do with a boost. The French may disagree with me, but breakfast is the most important meal of the day (most of my French friends shudder at the thought of a hot breakfast, unless by “hot breakfast” you mean dipping a croissant into a bowl of coffee).
Oats are a fabulous basis for a breakfast and contain many nutrients which help to combat depression, lower cholesterol, help control blood sugar levels in type 2 diabetes, can help in weight loss, and can help prevent heart disease(see this, or this, or this article)
To the traditional porridge mix I have added quinoa. Quinoa is an excellent source of protein. Lack of protien is thought to contribute to people feeling hungry (and therefore quinoa can help combat weight gain). Quinoa also contains many of the nutrients you need to help control diabetes, prevent heart disease and cancer. (see this, this or this article)
I have also added fresh and dried fruit. They taste great, add natural sugar to the mixture and are good for you! I add banana at the end as bananas also contain lots of nutrients that help combat high blood pressure and also contain precursors to (chemicals that your body can breakdown to make) serotonin, the brain chemical which makes you feel good (many modern antidepressants work by keeping serotonin in your brain to lift your mood). To read more about the benefits of eating bananas read this, this or this article)
Bananas and Quinoa are two of the very few things we buy which are imported from outside the EU (we try to buy French produce where possible). They are so good for you, so we make the exception…
Anyhoo, here is my recipe
This makes a big bowl (when cooked it almost fills a 500ml bowl) for breakfast, if you don’t have a big appetite you may want to start by cutting the quantities in half.
2 heaped desert spoon of cooked quinoa (I cook quinoa in bulk and then decant it into small tubs, which I can then freeze and use when I want – use this recipe to cook the quinoa – just cook it in water without adding anything else)
1/2 tea spoon of mixed spice
2 desert spoons of dried fruit (raisins, cranberries, what every you like)
2 heaped desert spoons of compote (cooked apple, rhubarb or anything else you like)
1 pear (peeled and chopped finely)
If you wish you can mess about with the fruit above – use all fresh fruit if you want, or all dried fruit or preserved fruit if you don’t have fresh
5 heaped desert spoons of porridge oats
1 banana (chopped finely)
300mls oat milk (or whichever milk you prefer)
Put everything into a bowl (it needs to be big, at least 500mls), apart from the banana.
Stir and put in microwave and cook on full for 4 minutes.
Take out of microwave. Stir and leave to stand for 4 minutes.
Stir again and cook on full for 1-2 minutes
Stir in the banana.
Eat and enjoy!
3placedesarbres: a vegetarian b&b in the heart of Felletin, a beautiful market town, close to Aubusson, in Central France. Why not treat yourself to a break in our guesthouse in the Limousin region of France
Christmas Market
It’s the Christmas market today in Felletin (a beautiful town in central France). As if we had planned it the snow fell out of the sky last night and it looks great today.
Here are a selection of photos taken by Bruce, from 3 Place des Arbres, the vegetarian bed and breakfast, located right in the heart of the town.
Purple porridge – blueberry and banana bliss
Purple porridge. Blueberry and banana bliss!
Got a bit of a porridge addiction at the moment (see our previous post, Christmas Pudding Porridge). This one is not very seasonal, but we have a lot of blueberries which we froze when they were in season…
For a 500ml bowl (makes about 400mls of porridge, which is a pretty hefty breakfast):
20g porridge oats
100g frozen blueberries
250mls liquid (use Oat Milk or Almond Milk if you you are vegan, or avoid dairy, or use semi-skimmed milk if not). You may want to add more liquid, at the end of the cooking process if it is a bit thick, but the blueberries release quite a lot…
half a banana, chopped finely
1-2 tsps brown sugar (depending on how sweet you like it, I recommend 2)
Put the oats and half the sugar in the bowl and cook on full blast in the microwave for 3-5 minutes until the milk starts to boil up. Remove from the microwave, stir well and leave to stand for 5 minutes or so (if making more than one bowl this time is not wasted).
Stir again and then add all the blueberries and stir well. Place back in the microwave and cook for a further 2-3 minutes until the mixture starts to boil up again. Stir, leave to stand for a minute, and then cook again for a further minute (stopping and stiring if the mixture boils up).
Stir well, and add the banana. Stir it in. Then sprinkle the rest of the brown sugar on top and serve with a nice hot cup of tea! (Mrs H says “mmmmmmm” – her current favourite breakfast!)
3placedesarbres: a vegetarian b&b in the heart of France. Why not treat yourself to a break in our guesthouse in the limousin region of France
Vegetable Gratin
This is a dish that Andrea (chef at the vegetarian and vegan guest house (B&B), 3 Place des Arbres, located in the heart of France) has been cooking for a number of years. It can be made vegan (as it is in this recipe) or you can substitute the soya cream for real cream and add cheese if you want. We much prefer this dish to the Tartiflette, which is a bit too heavy for our tastes!
This recipe serves 4-6. The peppers, mushrooms, tomatoes and courgette are optional – feel free to add any veg you want…
1-1.5kg potatoes (this depends on how hungry you are, and whether this is too be served as a main dish or an accompaniment), sliced – don’t wash the slices – the starch is essential!
1 large onion, sliced
1 leek, sliced
1 large carrot, chopped
1 pepper, sliced
4 large mushrooms, sliced
2 large tomatoes, sliced
1 courgette, sliced
3 large garlic cloves, chopped
150ml soya cream
150ml white wine
1 heaped tsp veg bouillon powder
A large dollop of mustard – depends on your taste, dijon, grainy – whatever
1 tsp herbs de provence
1 tsp paprika (+more for sprinkling on top)
chilli powder (optional)
Heat oven to 180 degrees C. Use a cast iron oven-proof pan, if you have one – you will find it cooks the gratin quicker than a lasagne dish…
Put half the potatoes on the bottom of the pan, season with salt and pepper, a third of the herbs, paprika and chilli powder if you want it spicy.
Layer all the other vegetables on top (no particular order – be creative!), season again.
Arrange the remaining potatoes on top, and press it down if it seems to full (don’t worry the vegetables will shrink during the cooking).
In a jug, mix the other ingredients well, then pour it over the gratin. Put the lid on (if you are using a lasagne dish cover with foil) and cook for 1 hour. Remove lid, stick in a knife to check if the potatoes are cooked (if not cover again and continue cooking, checking every 15 minutes). If so, sprinkle paprika (and if you wish at this point you can add vegan cheese, or real cheese if you are not vegan/lactose intolerant). Return to the oven, without covering it, and cook for a further 15minutes.
Serve hot with a green salad, and a large glass of sauvignon blanc.
This recipe was created by Andrea, chef at the vegetarian bed and breakfast (B&B) 3 Place des Arbres, a luxury guest house, catering for vegetarians and vegans (and the veg-curious) in Creuse, Limousin, France.
Christmas Pudding Porridge
Delicious and good for you!
Porridge is making a comeback, apparently – see this Guardian article, but it has never gone away in my household.
When I first think of it it brings back memories of family breakfasts – my dad making the porridge (sweet porridge for my mum and my brother, and salty porridge for him and me – my dad is Scottish and it is traditionally made with salt and water).
It is a fantastic winter breakfast – it fills you up and warms you at the same time. It also is reported to be very good for you, so you really can’t lose!
I have recently deviated from the traditional scottish salty porridge, as I was concerned about the amount of salt I was eating, and actually discovered that sweet porridge ain’t too bad!
This is a seasonal recipe, and while we have it for breakfast I think you could eat it as a desert (it is not that different from rice pudding). Christmas pudding porridge is not as ridiculous as it may seem at first, as before the 16th century porridge was the original christmas pudding (see this article)
We make it in the microwave, in individual bowls, as this saves the washing up. You can, of course, make it on a pan on the hob…
For a 500ml bowl (makes about 400mls of porridge, which is a pretty hefty breakfast):
20g porridge oats
50g of dried fruit (we use two organic dried apricots -the dark ones have a lovely flavour- diced finely, some cranberrys, a very small amount of candied peel, and the rest lots of jucy raisins).
1/4 level tsp of 4 spice (nutmeg, cinnamon, clove, pepper: or whatever christmassy spices you like)
300mls liquid (use Oat Milk or Almond Milk if you you are vegan, or avoid dairy, or use semi-skimmed milk if not).
1-2 tsps brown sugar
Put half the sugar and all the rest of the ingredients in the bowl and cook on full power for 3-5 minutes (the exact time will depend on your microwave and how cold your liquid is, and what your liquid is – almond milk seems to boil quicker than normal milk) until you see the liquid boiling/and or the oats start appearing. Whatever happens – don’t let it boil over!
Remove the bowl from the microwave and give it a good stir and leave for 3 minutes or so (if you are making porridge for other people you can use this time to start off another bowl)
Stir the mixture again and put it back in the microwave and cook it again on full power until the mixture boils up (being careful to watch it to stop it from boiling over). Get it out and stir it again.
Continue doing this until the oats are cooked (the mixture will have thickend, slightly, and the oats will be swollen and soft).
Give it another stir – if it is too thick add a bit more liquid (it depends on how you like your porridge). Sprinkle the rest of the sugar on the top.
Enjoy!
3placedesarbres: a vegetarian guest house, in the heart of France. Offering vegan, and vegetarian meals in a beautiful bed and breakfast, located in the Limousin Region of France.
Vegetarian and Vegan France 