Here is a recipe for a cookie that crumbles... at least it did for my first try...

Germans do all sorts of small cakes and biscuits for Christmas. The second recipe, Linzer torte, can be kept longer, at least 8 days before being eaten. But it is hard to keep it that long. At your calendars to be ready for Xmas !

Here are two recipes for sweets, recipes brought from my last stay with my German friend. real ones from natives, easy to do. Exclusive! And still without pictures ... My computer is still out of order with pictures.

Ingredients
50 grams of dark chocolate
50 grams of walnuts
60 grams flour
30 grams sugar
60 grams butter
1 teaspoon of spices (clove and pepper)
Cooking time: 15 minutes

Finely chop the chocolate and nuts into pieces. Put in a bowl. Flour, sugar, butter cut into small pieces and spices are to be added to the nuts and chocolate mixture.
Put your hands and mix until a smooth dough, which held together.
Roll the dough into rolls 2, 3 cm.
Cover and refrigerate for an hour.
After the break, preheat oven to 200 (6 / 7)
Cut into pieces and cook 15 minutes.
Leave it to cool down and dry before serving.

(which is originally an Austrian recipe!)

Ingredients
170 g butter at room temperature
170 grams sugar
1 egg (white and yolk separated)
100 g crushed hazelnuts
200g flour
1 packet yeast
1 teaspoon cocoa powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 to 2 tablespoons brandy
120 grams of rosehip jam (but I have made it with raspberry jam)
1 tablespoon milk
Icing sugar
Cooking time: 30 minutes

Melt butter. Mix sugar, flour, egg white, yeast, chocolate and spices. Add butter. Then the alcohol. If the dough sticks, add a little flour.
Cover and let stand one hour in the fridge. Not too much because after it was very hard to spread.
Preheat oven to 200 (6 / 7).
Take half or a little more dough and roll to put it in the pie dish. Spread generously with jam. Leave the edges without jam and cover with dough.

With the remaining dough make strips and lie them on the jam.
Brush with milk mixed with egg yolk.
Bake 30 minutes. I burned my first torte, be careful it cooks fast.
Sprinkle with icing sugar out of the oven, wrap and try to keep fresh for several days. To be able to enjoy it during the Christmas week ...

Read this article in French : Recette de Noel : sablés chocolatés aux noix et Linzertorte

This cake is an easy one. You don’t need to bake it or to have an oven or a microwave. And it is also perfect for those who can’t have milk or dairy products… or for gluten allergies (chestnuts are gluten free).




Ingredients for 6 people

200g chestnuts (2/3)
100g dark chocolate (1/3)
1 tablespoon of sugar

4 hours in the fridge

Now that you know the difference between conkers and chestnuts (post last week), let’s prepare the cake.

Peel the chestnuts, look at this website if you don't know how to peel them.

Mash the cooked chestnuts.



Then melt chocolate with some water. Mix the chestnuts with chocolate.



Add the sugar and if it is too watery, add dry crushed biscuits. Is has to be thick. Then pour into the buttered cake tin and leave it in the fridge for 4 hours.

Read it in French : Recette sans cuisson d'un gâteau aux châtaignes et au chocolat

My regular readers may have noticed that my last posts have no picture ...
And yes that's the mystery of the computer system, my PC has some shortcomings, a failure ... A screen full of colored stripes... Horror, all my photos are in, in my computer (and many other things too). How to fix my computer? Calls here and there, tips but no solutions that work for now ... I dare not even imagine if I must take it to repair ....
So, I use my little one.... And I make notes without pictures!

For these two activities watch the weather forecast and be a little prepared in advance, waiting for the winter and rain in Small Britain.
You need some material ... straight branches, rather thick (1.5 cm diameter) and nuts you did harvest in September.

For the rest, wait for a good winter weather forecast and a nice rainy weekend ... Wait for THE sunday until you hear "what we do, it's raining ..." .

So what do we start with : recipe or branches?

Free activity for kids with branches of hazel : dwarfs and other colored snowmen

This DIY needs :
Secateurs
A long branch of hazel
A knife without tooth
Markers
Cotton

Cut your branch into pieces. Cut the heads and hats. Paint and draw faces.
You can also make another craft such as a family, a small dwarf with a beard, a dress ...


Hazel can also be used to make a bow, it is flexible ... but I do not know yet how to make the arrows ...



In Germany for the Christmas period, very different cakes, biscuits and shortbread cookies are made. It is a recipe from my girlfriend living in Freiburg.

This recipe has a nice taste of chocolate and are similar to gingerbread cakes topped with chocolate... The good ones for this Christmas period.



Ingredients
60 grams of dark chocolate
60 g butter
3 eggs
80 g sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
60 g flour
60g hazelnuts coarsely crushed

For the frosting
80 g chocolate
Icing sugar to sprinkle
Baking time : 30 minutes
Preheat oven to 180 ° (6).
Coarsely grind nuts.
Melt butter and chocolate.
Meanwhile, mix sugar and eggs. Add flour, cinnamon and nuts. Then the chocolate-butter mixture. Mix well.
Cover your dish (square or rectangle) of a baking sheet.
Pour your dough and spread on a regular basis (thin layer). Bake for 30 minutes.
Once baked, melt chocolate and pour over the square cake and spread. Sprinkle with icing sugar. Wait to cool and cut into small pieces.
Read this article in French : Activités pour les jours de pluie

As I live near by a canal, I do often walk on the banks and in autumn it is time for harvesting chestnuts, the one edible. Make sure you’re not bringing home conkers, that won’t do for my nice chocolate chesnuts recipe (next post).



Even though they can be both called chestnuts, they are not the same.



1 - Conkers
The fruit of the conker tree (or horse-chestnut) is alone in its capsule, it is bigger, round and has a beige scar. The fruit of the conker tree is not edible, even for animals. It can be used for medicinal goals. or some other things...



2 - Chestnuts
The sweet chestnut is not alone in its capsule, they are two or three. The fruit has a pear shape and a small tuft The bur is very prickly. When green, it is not ripe enough. Wait till it’s brownish to eat them.



The Romans brought the chestnuts back in Europe from Asia Minor. It was nice for the empty stomachs during the hard winter time. It was then food for poor people. It was not considered as a good flour because it is no good to make bread as it does not rise.

Time have changed. Now in Ardeche it has an AOC (French Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée equivalent Protected Geographic Indication) and is quite nice for people who suffer from gluten allergy.

Once you picked them, read my next post to make my chocolate chestnut cake.



Read it in French : Chataignes ou marrons : quels fruits pour un gâteau ?

Have you heard about the Copenhagen Summit... Of course... States and men have to act together to change the habbits we have for years...

One step can be simple : eat the right vegetable or fruit at the right time...
But as most of us don’t grow anymore vegies, we have forgotten when it is the right season to eat that kind of vegetables or this type of fruits…
And it is not just politically correct, it is also healthy (fresh vitamins) and wise (less expensive if you buy them when they're naturally mature.... cheaper...) to eat well and good (better taste)...
To help you through and to discover some of our regional products, I have done this calendar for the autumn production… October, November and December...

Some veggies can be kept through the year, if well preserved : beets, carrots, celery, potatoes and onions...
We often forget that exotic fruits are also related to the seasons.
Autumn is also the season to collect and enjoy fresh nuts (chestnuts,wallnuts...).

Enjoy the recipes and the local production clicking on links.



Vegetables
Artichokes, Beans, Beets, Horseradish, Broccoli, Brussels sprouts, Cabbage, Carrots, Cauliflowers, Celery, Chicory, Cucumbers, Fennel, Leeks, Onions, Potatoes, Radish, Romanesco cauliflower, Roquette Salad, Spinach, , Turnips, Zucchini

Fruits
Apples, Dates, Figs, Grapes, Lemons, Oranges, Pears, Persimmons, Quinces
Almonds, Chestnuts, Hazelnuts, Walnuts
Exotics Pineapples

NOVEMBER

Vegetables
Beets, Broccoli, Carrots, Cabbage, Celery, Chicory, Fennel, Jerusalem artichokes, Leeks, Lentils, Onions, Potatoes, Pumpkins, Salad, Salsify, Spinach, Turnips Fruits
Apples, Grapes, Kiwis, Mandarins, Oranges, Pears
Chestnuts, Dates, Walnuts



Vegetables
Avocados, Beets, Horseradishes, Broccoli, Brussels sprouts, Cabbage, Carrots, Cauliflower, Celeriac, Leeks, Onions, Potatoes, Pumpkins, Salsify, Turnips

Fruits
Apples, Clementines, Mandarins, Oranges, Pears
Almonds, Dates, Hazelnuts, Walnuts
Exotics Bananas, Guavas, Lychees, Mangoes, Pineapples

Read it in French : Calendrier des fruits et légumes à consommer en saison d'automne

Why should we have an hazel in our garden ? Or at least in our surroundings... Along a canal for example.... It is nice in September to go and collect the fruits.....

The hazel bushes are very useful ... Yes, yes ... and they have many advantages ... and are used to
- occupy your children during the Sunday rain
- train you to do the diviner
- enjoy the German Christmas shortbread cakes
- be a great teacher and show your children the Nutella is done, (kidding but Nutella buys tons of hazelnuts -13% of the chocolate spread ...)

Early history
The little shrub ... fine and delicate ... becomes a tree with many branches when growing. 8000 years ago, whole forests of hazels were covering Europe ... And then the climate changed and 500 years later, the trees were hunted by the oaks, elms and other limes... Briefly, our prehistoric forest has disappeared ... except in Poland where it remains in the Bialowieza National Park ...

I digress, I digress ...
It is not an endangered species...There are still hazels in our country.

Why plant a hazel tree in the garden?
- To collect hazelnuts
- To have an hedge that protects the crosps against the winds
- To know if you have dowser's gifts! (it works, my man has the "gift", just use a branch of hazel cut like a fork and wait !)
- To avoid the lightning when it is planted near a house (this was said once, but I did not try)
-To play on Sunday with your children

When will it get nuts?
Druids gave me the answer with their alphabet of trees. It's the 9th, 9 as the number of years for a tree, a hazel to bear fruits. Harvest in autumn.

Otherwise the main producers are Turkey, they dominate the market.

How to keep the nuts?
Be careful to keep them because very often someone, when you're not around, will enjoy them for you...
Harvest and dry on a dry place.

Read this article in French : Noisetiers et noisettes : de la haie contre les vents au Nutella

It is a really easy recipe.

Ingredients for 8 blinis (10 cm) :

A yoghurt (used as a measurement)
1 egg
Flour (one yoghurt…)
Half a yoghurt water
Baking powder
A small frying pan (10 cm)

Preparation time : 10 minutes and leave the batter one hour before frying.

Mix in a bowl the ingredients one after the other. Leave the batter for one hour.
When the frying pan is warm enough, brush it with oil or butter. Pour a small ladle into the pan and wait till it makes holes. Then flip it over and cook it on the other side.



You can add chocolate chips, pieces of dried apricots, sultanas to the batter before cooking…

Read it in French : Recette de facile de blinis à la farine de châtaignes

Noël en France ! Christmas in France, in Brittany!... Why not ... ? A short weekend break for Xmas ! Cold is not too fierce and tourists are not too many… It’s the best time to enjoy historical places and avoid the scuffle...
If you’re visiting the western part of France, have a look at the Christmas markets.

Even if this is not something traditionally Breton, Christmas markets are many across Britain today ...
It used to be a German tradition in the Middle Ages. One of the older one is known since the 14th C, dates in honor of San Nicolas ... the equivalent of Father Christmas.

And it is in the 90s that the idea is spreading and that those markets are becoming more common in Europe. And elsewhere ... Germans who have emigrated to the New World began to disseminate the idea in America.

Originally the market was celebrating the Christ child and began just some days before Christmas. Today it lasts several days to almost the entire month of December, according to the capacity of each municipality. By cons, it stops on Christmas Day and until December of next year.
These markets are on hold on the main square or on a few pedestrian streets and gather animations, stands of handycrafts, merchants, food ... and lots of entertainment and music.

Outdoor booths are everywhere. Have a break from Christmas shopping, enjoy vin chaud (mulled wine with cinnamon) found on all the Christmas markets or eat something very rich that will heat you up in the cold weather ... It is also the opportunity to buy another gift, but a more original, handmade by a local craftsman ... or discover specialties other French regions.

And then enjoy Christmas animations often for children. Or Santa Claus who is lost in the corner ...

In our region, Brittany, there are many Christmas markets: Rennes for example, has two, one on the Parliament Square where you can eat, you warm up with a good wine with cinnamon and Alsace specialties, another one that is not called Christmas market Place Hoche is a gathering of craftmen from here and abroad. We have a third market in Colombier.

Each department and most city hosts a market ... If you want to visit one and know its opening days and animations… try the links… The Regional Tourism Committee of Britain that centralizes the news.

For a more precise information try the website of Côtes d'Armor (North of Brittany).

The departmental committee d 'Ille et Vilaine, Brittany High will help you around Rennes.

The far West of Brittany, le Finistère…

South, the Morbihan, try it too.

Good luck. And Merry Christmas.

Read it in French : Marchés de Noel en Bretagne : Côtes d'Armor, Finistère, Ille et Vilaine, Morbihan et Loire Atlantique

Everybody knows the french crêpes ! And what about the crispy dry ones ?

This crepe is extremely fine, crisp to perfection. Without preservatives or additives. Ideal for ice cream and water ice this summer.

The gavotte has changed since 1920, date of the beginning of its fame. It has different tastes : milk and dark chocolate, caramel with salted butter ...



As very often in the kitchen, the food's great discoveries are due to an error of the cook... who forgot an ingredient in the dough or cook it too long ...

The gavottes are part of those great culinary mistakes ... Here it is not a cook but a woman of Quimper, a Madame Cornic, who at the very end of the 19th century cooked too long his pancakes and the gavotte is born...

The crepe industry began at Quimper, (100 crepes an hour) in 1920. Success !! 30 years later 1500 pancakes were produced in 60 minutes. And as the success continues, a factory is created in Dinan.

Today the group Locmaria includes several brands of biscuit in Brittany. The company signed the Pact of the United Nations for sustainable development ... respect for human rights and environment. In short, a product in accordance with our planet ...

Read it in french : Gavottes ou crêpes dentelle : une spécialité bretonne

Ready for a hike … As I used to work as a guide for walkers and cyclists ... I have some tips and advices to tell you.

1 - A map, it is always better to have one, even when you think you know the place … Cut paths or heavy rain that causes a forced retreat (I know ... I survived an amazing rain with a group in Jersey …)... It is always better to be abble to find a place to hide... Just in case ...

2 - Two is better as one... You never know ... A little twist (again, I had that problem once) ... and you're so happy not to be alone... with your bad foot !

3 - A minimum of "fast food" ... Water and something to eat... depending on the walk ... Classic cereal bars (I'm not a fan), dried fruit, a bag of cookies or chocolate ... (be careful, in summer, it melts ...). If it's a day's hike, think picnic with carbohydrates (bread) and protein (meat, fish, cheese ...), some fruits ...

4 - The minimum for your health ... dressings against blisters ... disinfectant and an advise that may be unuseful in the nowadays mobile phone's world... walk with an onion in your bag (for a "natural" home remedy...)... ... My aunt, a former scout, was in charge of several young girls .... They were singing while hiking .... and she (my aunt) did swallow a wasp or a bee that stings her throat ... Panic on board ... A farmer working in the field,gave him an onion to chew slowly ...... The swelling has deflated ... An old treatment that helped then... She still lives ...

5 - Clothing. Light clothes for summer, warm clothing for winter and the whole year a raincoat. Summer cap or winter cap ... Sunglasses ...

6 – Bike tour ... The minimum... pump, patches and tools or even the bomb. An elmet too...

7 - Walking tour : good shoes ... (waterproof if possible), and already used ...

8 - Worrying about the weather : it's better ... and avoid the coastal paths and cliffs on windy days ...

9 - Telling someone what you do ... It's easier if we are looking for and you've been eaten by a wolf ... Include in your mobile phone under the name ICE (in case of emergency) the person you would like to call if necessary).

10 - Have fun ... Touring is great... Enjoy the Tro Breizh , our paths Compostela ...

Read this article in French : Randonner à pied ou à vélo : les 10 conseils

If you are visiting Saint Malo, you should stop at the shop producing and selling the breton speciality called “craquelin de Saint Malo”. Arriving from the highway, take Saint Malo centre and at the first round about, take a right, you’re on the factory (Z.A.C. de la moinerie, 35400 Saint-Malo, Tél : 02 99 81 92 89). You can no more visit it but you can still taste their different specialities.



What is a craquelin ?
Is it a brioche with sugar or a light craker eaten at breakfast time ? Well, craquelins are both ; they are european specialities. The first one is made in Belgium and the second is a breton product.



In Brittany, according to their website craquelins de Saint Malo, it is an old traditional product (almost 400 years). As in 1663 the Saint Malo hospital already mentions it.

Why do we find them in Saint Malo region ?
The first explanation is that Saint Malo has a long trade tradition and in particular with Flanders. And so ? The word craquelin is a Dutch word crakelinc, that means crispy biscuit.
The second one is that there use to be lots of forests on the Rance estuary. To bake the craquelins, you need lots of fagots…

Why is it so successful ?
A craker is dry and therefore easy to preserve and so easy to transport and sell. They were sold on the markets, and women used to carry them (2000 pieces) in big baskets on their backs and sell them on farms. At Dinard, the first seaside resort of the end of the XIXth century, British customers used to love them.

Why is it so special ?
It doesn’t come from its recipe, which is quite simple : flour, eggs, milk. It comes from the way it is baked. The dough is first quickly boiled, then cooled in cold water and then put in the oven. That makes it so special !!!

12 pieces bags are sold for 2,20 euros.



And if you buy 10, you get a discount as local customers do. Hotels are big buyers, and they make it known… Lots of tourists come to that shop to buy them before going home.

The traditional product has now other varieties : smaller ones for salty toasts, chocolate ones that taste like pyms but in much lighter… you can find them salt free.



If you never went to Saint Servan, go for a walk in that nice district of Saint Malo, it is worth it…

Read it in French : Les craquelins de Saint Malo, une spécialité bretonne de l'estuaire de la rance (France)