rusheslake

We leave our kettle on the wood burner all day & evening to make tea/coffee saves oodles on the electric kettle.

[quote user="babcock"][quote user="rusheslake"]I cannot understand why making 'proper' gravy is so much hassle... Meat juices in the roasting tin tin or frying pan stir in cornflour add the water from any of the vegetables you are cooking out on the hob stir whilst it thickens & add a dash of gravy browning and voila.... PROPER gravy it isnt rocket science cheaper than those grim gravy granules as quick and much better tasting[/quote] I find that French meat is so lean and takes such a short time to cook that there is very little by way of fat and what about gravy for other things than roasts? [/quote] When cooking meat dont you add fat to roast/fry your meat, and even the leanest meat produce wonderful meat juices whcih is the main ingredient of a wonderful gravy. Even when grilling there is always residual juice left in the pan. Any left over gravy freeze in icecube trays when frozen tip out put icecubes in a freezer bag and label beef/chicken/pork etc et voila Must admit I do use plain flour when Ive run out of corn flour (which my Granny always used) Im not faffed about the appearance as my gravy always comes complete with little bits that come from deglazing the pan... and I never sieve it... just part of the taste IMO..

I cannot understand why making 'proper' gravy is so much hassle... Meat juices in the roasting tin tin or frying pan stir in cornflour add the water from any of the vegetables you are cooking out on the hob stir whilst it thickens & add a dash of gravy browning and voila.... PROPER gravy it isnt rocket science cheaper than those grim gravy granules as quick and much better tasting

Dont get one with a grass box!!! Accept that you will get grass and allsorts indoors, I think thats why most french homes have tiles or wooden floors. Invest in a good broom!

Good idea.... With pains & baquettes on the passenger seat everyday the amount of crumbs is always embarrassing!

You definitely need to see your Mairie to outline your plans... You would also need public liability insurance.

Have you tried downloading them from the Internet? Works pretty well for us with only 512 ADSL.

To be sure just wear your best undies.....

Hope you never have the misfortune to run out of gas on a Sunday afternoon when cooking dinner...... I did.... was ever so glad I had a gas hob and thankfully an electric oven.

We moved over here only after our one & only son had done a year at University and in my heart I knew he was 'OK' and could embark on lives journey without us....

Forgot to mention if you buy other meat, as I do at Ed's, at the end if you ask for some bones for the dog they will give you some beef bones for nothing! If you are not to proud to ask that is!

They sell beef bones in SuperU for a couple of euros these can be boiled and used for stock I then pour the stock into icecube traysfreeze then store them in a plastic freezer bag easy to use as many 'ice cubes' as you need without spoiling the rest!

I have come to the conclusion I must be living in a different France to some of you! A good 'Loue' poulet (as opposed to a poule roasts well and is unctious! Braising steak (bourgignon) is good especially the one sold in Lidls, is great for casseroles, pies etc. I agree that for roasting or grilling the beef isnt that great as the French fail to hang their beef for long enough... I rely on Lidls for their paves de beouf (2 marinaded in garlic butter) about 4.79 for 2 it really is superb... and visitors are 'encouraged' to bring a nice rib of good old english beef when they come to visit!

My good friend came over to France 4 years ago with a 12 & 14 year old... both boys. Whilst the 12 year old, with much homework & home tuition just about coped the 14 y o found that his back was against the wall and Im afraid at 18 now finds himself without a job in rural France. 12 is without doubt the absolute latest you should contemplate uprooting a child and throwing into French education.

I dont want to pour cold water on your bargain but..... Weve found out that you usually get what you pay for and now prefer to get 3 y old seasoned oak which does cost around 45 euros for m3 but boy o boy it burns longer and better and is works out cheaper in the long run