Summer holiday

Living away from France really makes you appreciate it all the more.  You look at it in a different way. As they say the grass is always greener on the other side.
While we're there, we try to take in all the natural beauty that this country has to offer. The fresh air, the wide open spaces, grocery shopping , yes you read right, compared to HK France is the Mecca of food shopping and most of all our time together as a family.

Days were spent between our olive groves and home. Sweating it out in the fields, yes some cursing was involved. Cooking up a storm. Relaxing on our patio. Having friends over for dinner, BBQ's, breakfast outside with the first rays of sun peeping through the oak trees.

Painting the garage floor, installing shelves and putting up a bit of nostalgia, the licence plate above the window from the car Alex had when we first met. He called me to come in the garage, I walked in to see that. Made me smile, then the girls were like what? what? So it was a trip down memory lane telling our story. Later on during our holiday they were looking through our photo albumns (must make more albumns, girls had so much fun looking through them and so did I) and spotted us with the car and said ah look , it's the licence plate thats in the garage.

Jam making, fruit picking, tartines smothered with home made butter, yes we did!!! Foraging, finding and Mathilde finding pleasure in finding the little golden girolles peeping through the dampened leaves in a sometimes intimidating yet majestic forest.

Driving the car into a ditch (not recommended).  Vowing to never drive again on these tiny french road and cursing every one of them. 

Driving again on the tiny french roads and having a whole new respect for the deep ditches on the sides of them. 

Eating, eating and more eating.

Making too many foie gras...

 Steamed fish with fresh, wild fennel from the garden.

 Mushrooms fresh from the forest

Salted caramel macarons

Fois gras with the whole, fresh preserved figs made earlier.

 Heart shaped pancakes because lets face it, everyone loves a heart shaped pancake and round ones sometimes just don't cut it!

Ahh, fresh olives and I'll leave it at that....

living life in hong kong: Woolworth's online South Africa

living life in hong kong: Woolworth's online South Africa

Woolworth's online South Africa

Who doesn't love Woolies? When we lived in South Africa from 2006 until 2009 Woolworth's shops were our go to shops. We had one just 3 minutes down the road and although it was small in comparison to the other larger ones, it was always stocked to the brim with whatever we needed.

We love duck and even when our shop had none in stock, the manager saw to it and a few days later I had a phone call saying they had it in for me. Now that is customer service for you!

Christmas, Easter and Valentines sweets and chocolates were also consumed a-go-go! My little girl loves all things Lindt and Woolworths have an amazing supply and always so cute. Grandma and Granddad, would go crazy there, stocking up on all chocolates imaginable.

We had family over from France and they loved it too. So intimate, unlike the massive supermarkets in France. Full of the freshest produce and at reasonable prices and once again, just up the road.

Ok, so where am I going with this? I recently used their online store because I'm no longer in South Africa but my sister is. I wanted to send her a box of goodies because lets face it who doesn't love getting a surprise? Especially when most of it is edible!! She (and us with her) has been through a very difficult time, so a fresh bunch of flowers lifts the spirits and at just a glance, she can feel and know that we are thinking of her.

She received each and every parcel on time and everything was at its freshest. I chose her favourite treats and some ready made meals because with a new born, every bit of time that can be saved in the kitchen is a god send, new parents will know exactly what I'm talking about.

Thank you Woolies for making it a little bit easier in bridging the gaps and making it so easy to put a smile on a face and feel love in the heart.

Now I'm off to send her another parcel just a little something.....
store

Summer in France

This year the girls finished school on a Friday - well Olivia did. Mathilde woke up the night before with a temperature of 39.8 - just to add to the "shear bliss" of flying a 12 hour flight.  

A trip to Dr Chow with a shot of antibiotics left us with a zombie like little girl. Delirious from the high fever that would spike like it was nobodies business. The excited little girls that we always see before heading off to the airport were nowhere to be seen. Olivia was worried about her little sister and to tell you the truth, so was I.

But long story short, we made it. She had no fever, it was all kept under control with numerous doses of paracetemol and neurofen.

We were the med pumping parents. You know the kind you never want to sit next to if you have kids yourself!

With a sigh of relief we finally arrived. But what the hell.... 16 degrees. It was so cold, grey and wet.  Luckily that only lasted a day or two.  Up side to the cold weather was that there were still cherries on the trees and lots of them!

So what do you do when you can't eat any more cherries? You preserve them. We made cherry jam, cherries au sirop and a french holiday wouldn't be complete without the famous cherry clafouti.

I even had my little helpers. Olivia cut the cherry stems and then placed them in the jars with a spoon or two of sugar.

Mathilde couldn't get enough of opening a door and being outside. Freedom at its greatest in an enormous garden with fruits and flowers to pick and kittens to chase .

This cherry tree is ideally placed, right next to the climbing frame. Or should I say the climbing frame is ideally placed. The cherry branches heavy with fruits offer easy access to little girls with a big appetite.

Overheard

This caught my attention...

My girls were busy playing restaurant in the living room and busy ordering from the 'Chez Patrick waiter'.

Mathilde :  " I'll have some of those cockroach things"

Olivia : " What??? "

Mathilde :  " You know those cockroach things that mama eats at Chez Patrick? "

Olivia : " You mean shrimp "

Mathilde : "Ah yes, shrimp with curly hair pasta and tomato sauce, with a pizza to share and some chicken"
 Some appetite she has our Mathilde.

Luckily no ones listening..... what with cockroaches at Chez Patrick.

Nothing like the smell of thyme!

Amazing how a smell, even the slightest can whisk you off to another place. Remind you of someone or something.

You see, I have this stash of dried time and every time I dip my hand into it, it transports me back to our fields.
In France we have fields of olive trees or olive groves if you prefer.

The ground is studded with scrawny thyme shrubs thriving amongst the calcareous soil. Every step you take releases the pure smell of thyme essence while tiny little crickets jump in every direction.

I love it here. My girls love it here. They pick the thyme, rub it in their tiny hands and inhale the scent. I love the fact that they do this and appreciate the small things which are in fact really big things!!

The thyme is picked, dried and packed up in a ziplock bag ready to travel the 9700 km back to Hong Kong.

It's a simple pleasure like this used in a beef stew or coq au vin that remind us of a place, our a beautiful place.

On the move.....again.

We're on the move but luckily this time, we're only moving house and not  continents.

The girls are off school .....again. This is making the task of sorting through their rooms a little of a nightmare. They don't want to toss one single thing. I have 2 little hoarders on my hands.
Every little paper or piece of plastic I touch I hear 'we need that' or 'this belongs to something'.

So their rooms I'll leave until they are back to school because what little eyes don't see... little heads, hearts and hands won't want or in their case 'need'. I must just remember to empty the bin before they get home because as always they'll see it, yank it out and won't let it out of their sight.

I attacked the cleaning of their doors and beds. I knew the day would come.

Stickers everywhere.
I  know that the 10 minutes of peace I had when I gave them the stickers that they used to "decorate their beds", was so not worth the 1 hour of scrubbing along with chipped thumb and index finger nails.
Damn those stickers.
Rule number 1 for the new place - NO STICKERS!!!

Don't even get me started on their walls which were full of those little stars and moon thingys that glow in the dark.
Well I've just removed them from the walls but unfortunately with them came chunks of plaster. Typical. So it was off the Aberdeen to buy some polly filler and I'll have to get to work because no way can I hand this place over with the walls in such a state.
Rule number 2 for the new place - NO STICKING THINGS ON WALL.

So its Hong Kong for the length of another project. I have no complaints.
Better than returning to France.... for the time being that is.

Is this a joke or what?

Tonights scenario....

My two girls decided this afternoon  they want to sleep over at grandma and granddads place.

So no kids - check.

Supper already cooked and house tidy - check.

Now just for me to crack open a bottle of red and sit back and watch anything but disney junior - check.

Phone rings.
Its Alex. I freeze.

There's a fire in the tunnel. Everyone is out and no one is hurt. Firemen are inside. Won't be home early. No let me rephrase that....' I'll be back late.'

Crap. What am I to do all alone with me wee self?

Just my luck!

Kitchen designs

The kitchen design file is bulging at the seams but making this decision is not an easy one.

 Light cupboard/black granite?

 Dark cupboards/light granite?

 I've always wanted white/cream cupboards and the black matte zimbabwe granite. Pictures from many moons ago  were clipped and placed in a file for that 'some day' all show the same kind of style or desired feel.
 Now the time is here. Time to bite the bullet.
 Its decision time and anyone who knows me, knows that for the life of me I can't decide.

 I know what I don't want and I'll have no shame in letting everyone know. But when it come to saying  'I'll take that'  leaves me feeling dizzy, sweaty and in a foul mood.

 During our summer vacation we visited 3 kitchen cupboard manufacturers.
 Firstly we weren't supposed to be deciding on this already but as we found out we'll be moving back to France next year July, we figured we may as well get it done.

 The plan was..... light coloured cupboards/black granite. But during the last visit we spied the most beautiful light grey granite and it threw us both into a dizzy fit.
 So the search was on for a dark cupboard to set off this beautiful counter top.

 Found. Done and dusted. Deposit down and our plan is to go back in December while they fit the kitchen. Now as it is me and as usual i  always ask, what if?? Alex doesn't want to hear a word of it. He sees it coming and I think this whole building the house has pushed him over the edge.
 I just don't want to regret it, I mean heck, I can't just go out and buy another kitchen? Can I?

 So what would you do white with black or dark gray with light tops?

Above is a photo of the girls in the part of the kitchen where the cupboards will be and an island in the middle.

Dreams and their meanings.

Do you believe that our dreams have a significant meaning?

Reflections of our thoughts and feelings from the day before.

What did you dream about last night??

Holidays are fast approaching.

When you have kids who attend school, whether it be in a French or any other european school for that matter, July and August rhyme with school holidays!!

There's the hype that leads up to it - just like with any vacation. Things you have to do and things you really want to do.
My girls are already counting down the days until we're leaving on a jet plane.

This year, I've decided that we are going sight seeing. We are going to soak up all things french and wallow in it.

Who says France, says cheese and wine.
Cheese is really something I miss. I remember the days when I would take the 'croute' off the brie. Now you can forget that!!
Here in Hong Kong, I frequent the tiny display of cheese at City Super to satisfy out cravings. I feel it tastes so much better here in Hong Kong - that is because its not something we have after every meal.So more of buying our cheese at tiny speciality cheese shops tucked away in the cobbled streets of Carcassonne.

I want to visit more brocante and vide greniers.
During summer in France as you enter any little village - they have signs with dates of local brocante and vide grenier.
A brocante is a market where second hand goods are sold. You can find a rare gem, but also a lot of crap!
A vide grenier , translated empty attic, is just that. The folk of the village empty their attics, sheds and houses and sell whatever they don't want.
I'm always saying, 'ah lets stop there', but to my dismay, hubby hates the things. He calls them 'fouille merde' which means looking through sh%$%t.

Yes, he's french and he does a have way with words!!

So this year, I vow to take the car, kids if they want and go and visit a few of our neighbouring markets - I can't wait.

I also want to take the girls to Toulouse. Visit the cathedrals, maybe have a picnic along the Garonne. We lived in Toulouse for 3 years it is a beautiful place and who doesn't like a walk along the canal du midi or violet sweets.

Of course they'll be visits to our 'pied-a-terre'. Our home, that is still ongoing. The kitchen needs to be fitted, all the walls and ceiling need to be painted, a railing needs to be designed and made by the local 'ferronier d'art' for our staircase, the tiles need to be sealed, window frames need to be sealed.
Gee the list could go out.
Building a house is like a big mouth that just keeps on gulping and gulping. There is always something that just pops up and you have to fork out.  Everything has come to a standstill and the funds have run dry. Yip, true as Bob. This house building malarkey has taken its toll on our bank balance!!

So we'll be sealing the tiles and window frames. Hubby and his dad will lay the parquet in the bedrooms. And that will proberly be all we'll have time for as we have a short 3 weeks holiday. Girls will be able to potter in the garden, we'll bbq and picnic and hopefully these will be memories they'll cherish as they get older.

They'll be feeding chickens, going to the boulangerie, making jams and relaxing after a hard day working on the house next to the pool with a chilled rose wine. Star gazing and little ones falling asleep on chaise longues  after a fun-filled day.

Here are a few images to whet your appetite.

Happy days!!

Wet Market

A what? you ask.

A wet market.

Its exactly that....a market that is very wet.

Wet markets are found all around Hong Kong. It's a fresh food market selling fruit, vegetables, meat,  fish and seafood. We also find the fresh noodle guy with his dumpling wrappers and noodles in all shapes and sizes.

Water is used extensively in these markets - the floors are soaking wet so remember not to wear your flip flops and white trousers. The water is used to keep the fruit and veg fresh, the fish and seafood alive - clams squirt at you from every angle and beware of the odd fish or two that goes AWOL and last but not least to keep everything a wet market kind of clean!

But be warned these markets are definately not for the squeamish.

I'd been craving squid - or calamari - if that makes you feel better. So off to the market I trot!

I must admit that I went to the same market twice the week before but I just couldn't go through with it. After walking around looking for the blackest beady eyed squid I saw quite a few things that had me clicking my heels and darting for the stairs.

But today I was determined to just go in and get the god damned squid.

Of course you go to places like these 'sans enfant'. I can only imagine the looks and things Olivia would say if I took her to a place like this.  Its already a stressful situation add to that the moans and groans of one child and the excessive need to touch everything of another and you'll come running out of there sans enfant.

So I had my blinders on and I braced the wet market with one thing to find - squid. My blinders must have failed at one stage because I saw a lady empty a bag full of frogs onto a chopping board, pick up a cleaver and as she lifted her arm (no gentle gestes here) I turned away and upped my already fast paced walk to high speed.

I walked all the way around, inspecting the eyes until finally I say the brightest beady black eyes. This stall was swarming with people. I guess that's an easy indicator of the freshest fish.

I pointed to what I wanted and how many. She asked in what I understood if she had to clean them? I replied no because the sooner I got out of there the better.

I didn't want to see any more cleaver lifting.

A kind lady next to me asked ' Do you know how to clean them?' I answered no, but I wanted to try. She replied 'You should let her clean them, if you don't do it properly it will be really messy'. Well I was willing to chance the mess. The locals were looking at me as if I was crazy - why the hell doesn't she get them cleaned here??? Mind you, by now I'm starting to question my own sanity about still standing about in puddles of water, fish guts and heaven knows what else!!!
My squid was placed in a red plastic bag, I paid the whole 56 HKD for 5 beautiful squid and I was so out of there.

As Gordon Ramsey would say..... SQUID - DONE!!!!

In my case, shopping for squid - Done!!!

At home hubby jumped on board without me even having to ask - bonus. He started to clean these beauties. I had to tell him about the quill of cartilage - which I ended up pulling out.  Not a lot of mess to my relief and it was quite a relaxing time, the two of us together in the tiny kitchen.

I fried them whole (this way they didn't dry out) with a good drizzle of olive oil, crushed garlic and a squirt of fresh lemon juice. A sprinkling of Maldon and the squid was done.
The little tentacles turned a lovely shade of pink and we enjoyed it all with a crisp, green salad.

Tiny hands and chinese dumplings.

The past week-end we, well I decided to make some chinese dumplings with the help of Olivia and Mathilde.

We kept them simple and kid-friendly. Filled with ground organic pork, chopped cabbage, carrots, spring onions, ginger and garlic. To that mixture we added organic soya sauce, a drizzle of sunflower oil and a generous pinch of salt.

Olivia is quite the dumpling folder. I was quite impressed.
Mathilde on the other hand still needs practice!

The dumpling wrappers were bought on a recent trip to the Aberdeen wet market. More on this outing will follow. 

I boiled them but they are equally delicious steamed or fried (pot sticker style).

Serve with a dipping sauce of your choice.

Thank you Olivia for all those perfectly sealed little dumplings!!

Fresh pineapple granita.

I love a good granita. And boy is this pineapple one a GOOD one.

When we lived in France, many moons ago, I would often make a ruby grapefruit granita. It was the most delicate pink colour  and looked ever so pretty!!

Not only were the delicate, pink crystals pretty to look at but they were a regal to eat.

Cold and refreshing just what you need when the mercury begins to rise.

Here we have an abundance of fresh, sweet pineapples. But lately my girls are on a pineapple overload.  I decided to try something new to tease their taste buds and get them eating them again.

My grapefruit granita came to mind, so I decided to give it a shot with the ever so ripe pineapples I had sitting in the fruit bowl.

This granita is not only a beautiful yellow but it is bursting with flavour, you'll be running back for more. I think a grown up version with a good shot vodka or malibu could be nice (very nice) too. 

I started with 2 pineapples which I peeled and cubed. I ate the middle pieces of the pineapples - I couldn't resist.

I then whizzed it in the food processor until I was left with a pineapple foam. If you have a juice extractor, you could use this and skip the sieving process

I strained the pineapple mixture by pressing it with the back of a spoon through a sieve. You see, I have a husband who detests anything with fibres in. If it was just for me, I think I would just skip this step because the fibres were really minimum - but I'm sure it was enough to leave my hubby gagging.

 That took all of a few minutes.

I then made a small quantity of sugar syrup. I just eyed the quantities. I ended up with about 3 Tbsp of syrup which I mixed into the strained pineapple juice.

Place in the freezer and remove to mix with a fork ever 30 minutes or so until you have beautiful golden crystals

Don't say what mama says.

Yesterday while  doing our shopping with Mathilde seated in the seat of the trolley, I stumped my toe. I proceeded to say 'OH shit' at the banging of the toe but mostly because of the chore that grocery shopping really is and the bang only added to the agony of it.
I made a dash for the check-out as the queue was literally non-existant.

While we stood in our line waiting, a little boy had started to cry and shout. Mathilde shouted at the top of her voice ' Oh shit, he's crying' and repeated this a good  3 times.

This is one of those famous times as a parent you just want to creep away and never have to show your face again.

I tried to get her to be quiet and told her that she must not say that, but as we all know the more we say no, the more they find it funny and the louder they shout it!!

I don't know. She had her naughty, cheeky little face and it was as if she could feel it made me so uneasy so of course, she continued.

'Oh shit, I want those sweets'

'Oh shit we have to get a taxi'

Finally, I coaxed her with a pain au chocolat  and that silenced her little mouth, to one mamas relief!!

France has voted.....

Yes, the presidential election has come and gone and France now has a new president.

For the people on Hong Kong Island, voting took place at the French International School of Hong Kong.

Alex headed off with Olivia who wanted to see how the whole voting process 'worked'. At the moment they are learning all about the French Republic and what happens during the voting process.

I'm not French so I'm not allowed to vote in the Presidential elections.

After he voted, he came back to pick up Mathilde and myself and we headed out to Stanley.

The girls played at the newly revamped Stanley Plaza but it was so sunny and hot, places were quickly traded to enjoy a berry smoothy in a shaded nearby restaurant.

We then braved the crowds and pushed through the market street. Girls got a remote controlled helicopter which I'm sure will supply endless fun and ducking at home.

After all that navigating through the crowds, we decided to head to Chez Patrick for lunch.

I ordered the cheese platter with fig fois gras. I was dubious as I wasn't quite sure how the fois gras would taste. But when the plate arrived and we tasted it, it was delicious. The cheese was ' a point' and oozing every bit of goodness!!

Alex took some coq au vin and the girls had steak with chips - frites- and steamed vegetables. Before their food arrived they'd attacked the baguette and butter. Olivia then traded the butter for fois gras. Mathilde still didn't want to touch the stuff!!

It was complete chaos in the restaurant. No let me rephrase that. It was a Sunday lunch time, so families with kids and dogs in tow.

The restaurant grew rowdier and rowdier. Little boys were screaming because parents had brought them in from outside where they were free to run and scoot until their hearts content and now their parents wanted them to sit in a chair and what....eat!!


One little boy was hell bent on getting his scooter and leaving this joint. He went for his scooter about twenty times and tried each time to sneak past his parents. Each time the scooter was placed on the floor and he was shoved back into his chair. Like I said only to repeat this gesture about twenty more times - nerves of steel I tell you us parents need.

We looked on amusingly as for once our two were well behaved and were keeping each other entertained. Two of Mathildes friends from school were also there. So after a few mouthfuls of meat and chips they sat down on the floor, played and kept each other entertained therefore letting the twins parents enjoy their lunch. And everyone was happy - well almost everyone. The women in front of us  was still chasing after her son and his scooter!

Chum Hom Kok beach

Tuesday was the 1st of May and with that brings a welcome break.

Because the weather has been so unpredictable over the last few days, we decided to plan a day out and see what happened.

Doing a bbq in Hong Kong is no easy task. If you're lucky enough, you can fling open your door and light up the barbi.
But like the majority of people here, we have no such luxury.

So its off to the beach. The car is packed because heaven forbid you forget a necessity!!.

We planned to meet up with friends and spend a relaxing day.  We arrived at Chum Hom Kok which is normally a quiet beach just before Stanley. There's a monstrous amount of stairs to go down to get to this little piece of paradise. Add to that the sweltering heat and everything but the kitchen sink in our bags and as you can guess, we were off to a good start.

The girls were complaining.... too many stairs, too many bugs, too hot!!! So yes, any parent can only imagine!!

A sigh of relief when we finally made it to the beach. We quickly grabbed a bbq spot because anyone who has done this before in Hong Kong knows that the bbq pits disappear fast and today was no exception.

I'd told our friends about this beach because every time we have been, its been quiet with not too many people. But today it was crammed packed!! But then again driving back home we pass 2 other beaches and each one was just as full.

The guys set up the fire. What is it with men and a bbq?? I know mine rarely sets foot in the kitchen but give them an open fire and a grill and they are all over it. Anyway, no complaining here.

Cocktails on hand - yes, albeit in a plastic cup. We caught up, girls were smothered in suncream and let loose on the beach.

Sausages and chicken to keep the little ones happy and whole squid which was cooked to perfection with a drizzle of olive oil and a squeeze of lemon along with a whole snapper. It was delicious.

We built sandcastles, looked for shells, tried to save the little plastic fish that was washed out to sea, chatted, laughed and got really, really hot.

All in all a great day at Chum Hom Kok.

Rain Rain Go Away!!

The weather lately here in Hong Kong has been fowl.

Sure its 27 -28 degrees but the wind and rain that comes with these temperatures makes it just down right miserable!

Rain here can creep up on you and before you know it, your flat is turned into a dark almost apocalyptic like zone with grey/green undertones.

Since living here, we've all grown accustomed to the hot humid weather Hong Kong has to offer. Hell even summer trips to France have us whipping out the mismatched gloves and jumpers.
While the family is splashing happily in the pool, my girls are dressed in woolies and complaining of the cold. Returning back to a european climate is going to take some getting used to.

Trying to get a taxi is almost next to impossible when the heavens open, so remember to always have an umbrella. I just love how when you really need a taxi to take your drenched body home, they are almost always  'out of service'.

So this week-end being a long one, yes my girls are off school yet again, we'll have to come up with things to keep them occupied and me sane!!

One thing that keeps my little Mathilde happy in this rainy weather is the endless supply of puddles that are left outside. Unfortunately the guardians and gardeners of our residence are less impressed with the muddy battlefield that's left after most of the kids have finished splashing.

Are You Seriously Asking Me That? Seriously?

My sister sent me this link.

It is so funny and  so sad because for me this was my Olivia down to T.

Are You Seriously Asking Me That? Seriously?