Moreish Double Chocolate and Banana Muffins

These muffins are melt-in-the-mouth moist with mashed banana,  cocoa powder and 70% cocoa chocolate chips to boot. Very moreish indeed. Dieters look away now!

Marché des Lices in Rennes, France

There are several markets in Rennes, big and small, held on most days of the week. If you want to get the complete list of Market days see the tourist office link here. Today's shopping spree took place at the Marché des Lices in the old town centre, open from 7.30am to 13.30pm every Saturday. It's one of the most beautiful market places in France and also the third largest with around 300 farmers who come to sell you their produce. You can find anything food related here from seasonal fruit and vegetables produced from around the corner literally (my Green Zebra tomatoes in a previous post came from Pacé, just 8km from Rennes), artisan breads and jams, rotisseries and snack food (think galette saucisse here rather than chips and burgers), cheese and meat, seafood and fish, herbs and spices and even coffee. There is also a flower section and the other usual suspects: buskers, petitioners and cute kittens looking for homes.

Moist Summer Cake Laced With Tonka Bean

This cake was a bit of an experiment.

Blueberry, Buttermilk & Coconut Muffins

These muffins came about after a quick inventory of fridge and cupboard staples: a bag of frozen blueberries taking up too much space in a shoe box freezer, a packet of unopened dessicated coconut shoved to the back of the cupboard and half a bottle of fresh buttermilk lurking next to a milk carton on the fridge shelf.

Green Zebra Tomatoes in Curry

You'll find me strolling among the food aisles at the supermarket with my eyes peeled, not on a shopping list, but on the star of the show: food! I start with the produce, hoping to get the freshest and most inspiring, and then find a recipe for it. Of course I reserve this for days when I have time. But then again, food is something that I often make time for. So this is exactly how I came across these green zebra tomatoes a while ago. Their emerald striped skins stood out from the crowd: Hello I thought as I walked over to touch one.

Last-Minute Mascarpone Parfaits

Mascarpone cheese is so vesrsatile it can be used in soups for creamy thickness, in custard batter for quiches and tarts, and most especially in desserts such as spicy tirimisu as well as last-minute parfaits layered like a tirimisu.

 I like the taste of these parfaits better after a couple of hours in the fridge but they can also be eaten right-away if you can't wait! Just make sure you have some mascarpone cheese stored in your fridge at all times along with some lemons (also very versatile for cooking and cleaning).