I love new toys!
I decided I wanted to get these rings for making fancy stacks and gratins and things….
I thought I would have to go to a fancy food shop.
I was wrong.
They were hanging right there with all the other standard kitchen utensils in my regular little supermarket.
Some things are easy to find in France.
On the other hand, one of the reasons I wanted to go into Andorra to shop after Christmas was to buy soy sauce and Listerine.
In France I can get little tiny bottles of mediocre soy sauce for a lot of money and no Listerine anywhere.
In Andorra I can get litre bottles of excellent, authentic soy sauce for very little money and Listerine in 6 flavors (who knew?).
When the douane (customs guards) inspected our car on the French border I had 3 litre bottles of soy sauce, 3 five litre bottles of olive oil and 7 litre bottles of Listerine.
I would love to know what he was thinking….
Oh, and 2 bottles of this discovery: Balsámico de Vinagre de Manzana – Apple Vinegar made in the Balsamic style. I can’t wait to use it in salads this spring!
In the meantime, I tried it on our Pan-Seared Foie Gras last night…. And it was a good thing….
Of course, I run the risk of not having any left by spring…. I’d have to go shopping again.
When I was still part of the hose and briefcase brigade we had an expense account. This strudel recipe is based on a recipe from Pru Leith’s Cookery School book. We’ve
eaten at her restaurant, Leith’s, in London; wonderful food but we were
happy to be on that expense account!
The recipe, Spinach Strudel, has been updated, nutrition information added, and re-posted here: Spinach Strudel, Carrot-Tomato Sauce.
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Welcome to 2010 Katie. I love the tomato sauce with my all time favourite spinach dish….start the New year even healthier.
Thanks, Val – I’m hoping for a better year ;-)) And I also love my spinach! Happy New Year to you!
my this sounds good. Interesting to begin to get to know you. i was also a member of the expense account crowd for a very long time… Just now learning to really enjoy myself at home.
Great post. easy to follow directions, and I hope to make this soon
Dave
Year on the Grill, Expense accounts were nice; the hassle… not so much.
Hi Katie
I love this site and recently blogged about it at
I always seem to put on about 10Kg every time I visit though? Those Spinach Strudels sound gorgeous!
Hope you had a great Christmas and a good start to the new year.
All the best
Keith
Happy New Year to my favorite Ex-Pat French Food Blogger! I am looking forward to another delicious year from your blog!
One thing that I cannot find in France is filo dough! I know it exists but I can’t seem to get my hands on it anywhere in Aveyron…I must say I’ve never missed Listerine or had a particular problem with French soy sauce. But where do you get these special items in Andorra? We used to go shopping there but I never noticed any particular food stores of interest…mind you I don’t think I’ve been there for ten years!
Taste of Garlic – thanks for the post… You have lots of good expat sites reviewed… 10KG? I don’t believe it – Happy New Year!
Thanks Lannae, to you too ;-))
Betty, I find filo at Carrefour, usually, Intermarche, rarely, LeClerc, occasionally… I always found it at my old Hyper in the Vendee. I use a lot of soy sauce, so the little bottles here just don’t last, plus I think the Chinese has a better flavor than Japanese. And I just shop at one (or all) of the 4 supermarkets in Andorra – we lived there for 7 years….
I love what you can find in French supermarkets. I actually found a very attractive scarf at LeClerc. Not that I can cook with it. I was certain I had seen filo dough somewhere.
This carrot tomato sauce sounds great – I think you are on to something.
Oooooooo, spinach strudel!!! That sounds lovely! What kind of cheese do you prefer to use? (I’m thinking crumbled young goat cheese might be good.)
That apple balsamic vinegar sounds wonderful.
Happy New Year!
Mimi, that’s why it always takes me so long to do the weekly shopping!
Elizabeth, I like to use the soft goat cheese with a bit of fromage frais… But I used Tomme in this version. I actually use whatever is in the fridge – which leans toward ‘stinky’.