Barszcz, Barszcz, Barszcz

With the exception of perhaps fruit roll ups from 15 years ago, this is the hottest pink (hot pink-est?) thing I've ever eaten. Janine went on a kitchen rampage tonight, large portions of the garden are ripening. We started with the Polish barszcz, similar to Ukranian cold borscht with a mint garnish, then a cheese soufflé with a courgette and red lettuce salad, and finally a giant currant torte. Délicieux!

Summer Lovin', Happened so Fast

This one warrants a bit of an explanation I think. Here in the north of France and also Belgium there is a type of cheese called fromage frais (fresh cheese), which is what I used today. However, I can't recall seeing it in the United States. It is somewhere between yogurt and sour cream, so feel free to use either if you're preparing this recipe. The real appeal of this dish for me was the contrast of sweet from the sugar and fruit and sour from the lime and dairy. It's perfect for a late summer dessert.

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Panorama Part V - Purple Haze

This town I'm in, Valenciennes, is much bigger and more exciting than I had expected. I'm staying right outside in a suburb named Marly, but it's a 20 minute walk to the centre, where there was an awesome free concert by Alpha Blondy for Bastille Day. He's from Côte d'Ivoire and sings reggae in French, English, Arabic, and Dioula. What a great day and night. The surprise of the night is how many families with their babies were in the middle of this crowd, and how they had to ram their way out with their baby strollers.

Lasagne

News to me in making this, instead of ricotta cheese mixed with bolognese sauce, lasagna can be made with bechamel. If that all sounded like greek,

Ricotta - like cottage cheese
Bolognese - tomato spaghetti sauce with ground hamburger
Bechamel - a thick sauce made from butter, flour, and milk

So this is a lasagna with 3 layers of bechamel and bolognese with a bit of red wine, a zucchini, a red bell pepper, half a serrano pepper, two shredded carrots, and 5 mushrooms.

Homemade Sundae

Fresh fruit picked right out of the backyard is turned into raspberry and rhubarb sorbet, blackcurrant sorbet, and frozen currants. Thrown into the mix, a homemade melty banana ice cream base, a bit of caramel syrup, and a little cake.

Panorama Part IV - Journey to Jupiter's Big Spot

Waiting for the Storm

The London Underground

London Happenstance

Panorama! Part 3

The Cliffs of Dover


A skylight in the National Gallery

Panorama part 2

The central hall at the Natural History Museum



The mammal hall