Hello mes chéris, I’m back! Sorry for skipping last week’s newsletter, that will teach me for playing sorcerer’s apprentice with my not-so-foolproof website… In short the site went down and my stress level exponentially up for a few days last week, and troubleshooting took over my sacred duty to feed you. Rest assured, dear friends, I still managed to feed the children… with pasta and cheese for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and lots of Ben 10 and Charlie and Lola episodes in between. Needless to say, my sweet little apricots love it when maman is on the verge of dying with stress. This week was mercifully back to normal and I had plenty of time to cook exciting dishes for this issue. Before we move on to those, please spare a thankful thought for the French revolutionaries. They may have beheaded cute Marie-Antoinette and flushed the Christian calendar down the toilet (though that didn’t last), but they left one tradition untouched: French cuisine. In fact, the revolution played a critical role in its expansion by abolishing social class privileges. Merci Robespierre!! Now this week is packed with vegetable recipes. Red peppers, the stars of this week, are featured in a very unfrench and delicious roasted pepper and tomato soup, which was served at the Beckham’s wedding in 1999 (I know, that long ago!). You will also love them sautéed with balsamic vinegar for a quick and luxurious dinner. On Monday night, unwind with my gently alcoholic no-cook skewers and this weekend, conjure the sun up with a fabulously herby and garlicky Provençal tian. Lastly, check out my useful tips for preventing the fish you’ll be grilling this weekend from sticking to your barbecue, and read about the environmental impact of eating Kenyan vs UK green beans. Or is there one? Oh, almost forgot: I have two free tickets to Taste of Birmingham this weekend so leave a comment at the bottom of this newsletter if you want them! Enjoy this week’s sunny cooking and eating et à jeudi prochain, Anne-Laure x

Driven out of my home office by the heat, I moved my work station yesterday to my favourite cafe. Only after settling at my usual table did I realise the enormity of my mistake. I was sitting right under a brand new TV screen and the UK-Slovenia football game was about to start. Undeterred, I (1) took my laptop out (uho…), (2) ordered a green tea (gasps), (3) with a thick French accent (chokes)… Within a second all eyes moved down from the screen to me, marking my forehead with the fattest L Ietter I was ever given in my life. Ouch. With a deadline to meet, my choice between air-conditioned community hell and a blazing ivory tower was clear. I chose to be the party pooper, albeit retreating prudently to a darker corner and asking for my tea to be served in a pint glass, with olives please – safety precautions. All the cheering that followed was a refreshing change from the French post-drama mal de vivre and my writing reached lyrical levels, fuelled by the energy swelling the room. Would I have not been the clear outcast of the group, I could have stood up, cheered and hugged my neighbours just for the fun of it. With Wimbledon on now too, this week is about nutritious food to keep your energy levels even and help you withstand the ups and downs of our athletes. The workweek recipes provide a good mix of pulses and vegetables, with goat’s cheese making a big come back in this issue. Beauty and taste are of course au rendez-vous, so given theses great dishes only take together 25 minutes of your time, try them both! This weekend cool down with a fabulous curry and succumb to my quick berry and mascarpone cream delights, perfect for a tennis-watching afternoon. Don’t forget this week is recycling week so freshen up your recycling habits in the Kitchen Talk section, and check out my secret to increase the shelf-life of fresh herbs in the fridge. This critical tip will enable your mint bunch to yield at least a week’s worth of Pimm’s, so thank me dears et a la semaine prochaine! Anne-Laure x

Salut les amis! Oh dear, oh dear, another crowded week. I spent all day yesterday at Taste of London and am going back today and this weekend (look out for me if you go, I wear a white apron with a large strawberry tart on it). This event is so much fun! Yesterday I saw Tom Parker Bowles and I was introduced to Charles Campion (the multi-award winning book author and food writer at the Evening Standard), who kindly let me know he had better things to do than talking to uninteresting me. Fair enough, he was one of the judges in charge of voting for the best dish of Taste of London, going through a gruesome tasting of 25 dishes in a row. You know me though, I am not the one to give up. I kept following him and his entourage, smiling engagingly and waving a paper copy of my newsletter every time his eyes were crossing mine. I might have been rolling my eyes too – I kind of lose it when I am star struck – plus I was totally sun burnt from having spent the afternoon under the sun. You guessed right, my seduction power was, mildly put, rock bottom. Slightly scared by his odd and tomato red stalker (yours truly), he was graceful enough not to call security. Instead, dearest Charles sighed and ended up giving me his personal email address before I could implement my plan of kidnapping him behind the wine tasting tent. Mission achieved! Not the most brilliant start for a blossoming relationship, I concede, but still, I will keep you updated with the state of my communications with sweet Charlie and whether TD makes it to the Evening Standard. Now enjoy another great issue of TD, which stars courgette in two luscious, quick and simple recipes, and gives you great ideas for cooking up a storm on Father’s day for the man of the house. Lastly, check out the Kitchen talk giving you tips on turning old bananas into a fabulous and quick treat and preventing the bottom of your tarts from getting soggy. Happy Father’s Day, happy start of Summer, and see you next week! Anne-Laure x