St-Jeannet to la Colle

St-Jeannet to la Colle

Picnic at la Colle 844 m The main hiking artery from the village of St-Jeannet, also marked as GR51, ascends straight north in a valley called Vallon de Parriau between Baou St-Jeannet and Baou de la Gaude. GR51 forks left at signpost #95 (about 1,5 km from the village), and the most popular trail to Baou St-Jeannet leaves...

Mont Macaron above Nice

Mont Macaron above Nice

Both the northern (806 m) and southern (797 m) summits of Mont Macaron, about 11 km northeast of Nice offer a magnificent 360° panorama in spite of their rather modest elevation. From both summits, one can admire the city of Nice, Baie des Anges as well as the Mercantour peaks in the north. Not surprisingly this is a...

Buckwheat pancakes with sardine fillets, savoury tomato sauce, and tapenade

Buckwheat pancakes with sardine fillets, savoury tomato sauce, and tapenade

Galettes de sarrasin, thin buckwheat pancakes are served in French creperie restaurants. They are savoury crepes usually filled with sausages or fried egg. You can make your own crepes if you have a crepe pan or a special crêpière, griddle pancake pan. My daughter- in- law is a specialist for this. But I opted the easy way and...

Chicken legs with Asian twist

Chicken legs with Asian twist

Chicken is such a versatile ingredient; in this recipe chicken legs are first marinated and then simply roasted in the oven. Soya sauce, ginger, and lime juice in the marinade give the dish some Asian touch. Free-range organic chicken legs with skin are best for the recipe. 2 servings 2 free-range and organic chicken legs with skin For...

Aspremont to Croix de Cuor and Mont Inarte

Aspremont to Croix de Cuor and Mont Inarte

After having hiked to Mont Cima and Mont Chauve several times from Aspremont (490m), we wanted to explore a new itinerary in this well-known hiking area. The village of Aspremont lies only about 10 km north of Nice as the crow flies. Mont Inarte (801 m) is situated immediately northwest of Mont Cima (879 m). While you can’t quite...

Braised carrots with turkey escalopes

Braised carrots with turkey escalopes

Braising is a cooking technique: the food is first fried at a higher temperature (medium- high), then covered, a little liquid added and the heat is reduced to medium- low. Braising carrots renders them sweet and tasty. Serve the braised carrots with turkey or chicken escalopes or a piece of meat and green lentils for a healthy and...

Risotto alla zucchini and oven-roasted salmon

Risotto alla zucchini and oven-roasted salmon

Risotto is such an elegant and versatile dish. In the wonderful cookery book, the Mediterranean Diet Cookbook, by Nancy Harmon Jenkins I found a recipe by an Italian chef: Risotto with pumpkins. Pumpkins and butternut squashes are great in autumn and winter, whereas zucchinis, courgettes, are true spring and summer vegetables. The following recipe is my twist of...

L'Escalet to Plage de Briande

L'Escalet to Plage de Briande

We have previously hiked along the coastal trail from Cap Camarat to l’Escalet and from Plage de Gigaro to Cap Lardier. The trail running along the shores of the southern St-Tropez peninsula is truly wonderful. On a warm autumn day, we now drove to l’Escalet to explore the trail to Plage de Briande. Soon after l’Escalet, it was...

Duck breast, blond lentil risotto and broccoli purée

Duck breast, blond lentil risotto and broccoli purée

Blond lentils, lentilles blondes, can be cooked in about 20 minutes, about the same time as risotto rice. I recently read an article about a French chef who cooked blond lentils in the same way as risotto. So, I thought why not try this. The result was so good that I wish to share this unusual way of...