When is a Sponge cake a Sponge and when is a Custard a Custard?

We encountered some delightful cakes on our trip to France this year but I confused myself with what some of them were. I'll explain.

On visiting Bordeaux I Googled "local specialities" and came across Caneles'. pron canelays. These appeared to be small individual cakes of perfect construction and exact dimensions. We purchased a 'set' of these cakes and hungrily opened the packet to indulge in the delicacy within.

 !!??!! eh?!

Is it a cake or is it a custard? The outside is caramelised and spongey whereas the centre is smooth and consists of custard. Wow! Nice, Nasty, I didn't know. My mind had told me it was a small sponge cake whereas my mouth was screaming CUSTARD!

They are made using a custard batter and a mold to get the desired shape.
Love them or hate them, they look impressive all neatly in rows in a delicatessens' window.

Was it a sponge or a custard? I call them Spustards!

Another delicacy of Bordeaux are the Macarons, not to be confused with the english Macaroon. Now these are impressive in many ways.
Not only are they a wonder to look at with their varying colours and flavours, but they are so, so delicate.
We were ordering twelve, (yes, dear reader, I said twelve) and the assistant would not let us order certain ones as they are too light! ........eh?........ what transcribed after careful translation was that we could order the ones we wanted but only after we had ordered heavier ones first as the heavy ones will break the lighter ones in the bag if not packaged correctly. What rubbish!!

It wasn't rubbish. Even though the bag had been meticulously packed, in order of weight, we still had a broken Pampelmousse and my Ananas was completely destroyed! That's Grapefruit and Pineapple to me and you!

Walnuts and Clams

Well, the French escape is over and it's back to work. Au Revoir Charente and Good morning Shropshire.

We were driving back with our bellies full of bread, ham and cheese and musing over where to go next year. "Anywhere that has a beach!" said our five year old. "Anywhere that has great food!" I said, and "Just anywhere" was my wifes' response.

The exchange rate made food expensive so we had resulted in nights of barbeques followed by ice cream or walnuts from the owners of our Gite. A drizzle of honey made them more wonderful than they already were.

Lunches consisted of salamis, hams, artisan bread, an array of squidgy uncious cheese and a tipple or two of local wine. (We were near Bordeaux!!) The sun beat down and the hot afternoons turned in to cool evenings.

The barbeques we had were lovely. Sausages, poulet , steak onglet, and beaucoup de pain d'ail (Garlic bread). After a few days we realised that we hadn't eaten a vegetable yet. I decided to make my tried and tested tomato salsa.

Rub the bowl with fresh garlic.
Chop enough tomatoes to feed the five thousand.
Chop a couple of shallots from the market. I use red onions in England.
Mix olive oil with red wine vinegar at the ratio 4:1 (Usually 3:1 but the tomatoes are quite acidic back at home)
Chop an array of herbs from your garden and throw them in and stir. I use parsley and/or marjoram, thyme, chives.
Throw in a good pinch of salt and ground pepper and leave for a few hours for the salt to draw the moisture out of the tomatoes and the flavours to mix.
Serve with and barbequed meat of your liking. The residual liquor in the base of the salsa bowl is great for dipping your leftover bread in to.

 We visited a local market in Jonzac where we got some wonderful clams and our vegetables and cheese. It was noisey and husteled and busteled with locals all out to get their produce. It was great to see a market thriving in a small village.

Clams with pasta and white wine sauce

Only 50 weeks until next years holiday, wherever we go........