Witches Cauldron Mac and Cheese

For today's countdown to Halloween post, I will not go for the horror and macabre aspect of the holiday. Instead, I will blog about food. Halloween is, after all, a celebration of gluttony, read this post from 2011 for more details. So anyway, my wife cooks from Hello Fresh and these days they have Halloween themed dishes on their menu. So she recently made a Witches Cauldron Mac and Cheese. With pesto and other stuff. I took this picture. I should have taken it in the pan, it would have looked more like a cauldron. Be that as it may, it was delicious and it might become a staple for future Halloweens.

Un muffin de l'Halloween

Je bloguais récemment sur l'aspect gastronomique de l'Halloween: c'est une fête des excès de table et une fête de la sucrerie. Il m'est venu à l'esprit que ça ne prend pas grand-chose pour transformer un dessert quelconque en dessert de l'Halloween. Prenez ce muffin par exemple: tout de qu'il a fallu c'est un hibou sur un fond orange. Je ne sais pas où je l'ai acheté, je crois que c'était à Greggs, mais je me rappelle que c'était dégueulasse. Je songe à préparer un repas spécial pour l'Halloween, pas le jour même mais dans les semaines qui vont suivre. Je vais peut-être faire des muffins comme desserts, mais ils goûteront meilleur que celui-là. Quant à leur rapport à l'Halloween, j'y songe encore. Des muffins à la citrouille? Un glaçage avec dessin thématique? Si vous avez des suggestions, donnez-les moi dans les commentaires.

Halloween cupcakes

For today's countdown to Halloween, I blog about one of its most important aspects: its food. Halloween is not only about macabre and terror, it is also about gluttony. Which means drinking and eating all sorts of things, particularly desserts. I took this picture last year in a local café that made absolutely decadent cupcakes for Halloween, with witches' hats and bats to decorate. It was delicious, but a bit sickly, although eating a tad too much sugar is part of the fun. This year, I want to bake our own Halloween desserts. Although they might not look as good as these.

Le temps parfait pour des pâtés à la viande

C'est pas seulement parce que Noël s'en vient, même si c'est quand même un peu ça, mais je trouve que ces temps-ci est un temps parfait pour des pâtés à la viande. Il fait froid, je rentre de l'ouvrage fatigué, ça serait bien d'en avoir en réserve pour mettre au four et manger avec une coleslaw ou une salade crémeuse pour faire de la verdure et couper dans le gras. Vous voyez sur cette photo une partie de la réserve familiale cuisinée par mes parents pour les Fêtes de l'année dernière. Ils repartent demain pour le Québec, nous ayant beaucoup aidés pour mettre de l'ordre dans la maison et nous reposer un peu. J'aurais aimé prendre le temps de cuisiner des pâtés à la viande avec eux, histoire d'avoir des réserves pour Noël. Surtout que, ma femme étant végétarienne, je n'aurais pas à partager (moua ha ha!). Mais enfin bref, des pâtés à la viande comme souper dans les semaines menant à Noël, ça aide à se mettre dans l'esprit gastronomique des Fêtes et ses excès.

Halloween at the local sweet shop

I took this picture yesterday in the morning just before the local sweet shop opened and I thought I used it for today's countdown to Halloween post. I think they surpass themselves and did a far more impressive display than what I showed last year. You have the usual pumpkins, jack o'lanterns, ghosts a tad less spiders, but those witches, those witches! They look so evil! I wonder if there is any of their poisons that ended up in some of the candies there. Let this be a warning to the gluttonous trick or treaters. After going downtown to get a flue jab (in case you were wondering what I was doing there in the morning, I guess I was particularly sensitive to the presence of these malevolent old ladies. But in any case, what a great display!

Stare of the psychocat

Last time I blogged about Domino, I said that he was a master of emotional blackmail. He is also a bit of a psychocat. I don't say this to be mean, but this is the stare he has when, in the morning, he asks my wife for a second breakfast, after I gave him his first. Although there is never any second breakfast, he's not shy of pawing us and has these eyes. These devilish eyes. We love him to bits anyway and even as a psychocat he is so cute.

The eyes of a cat

I know I blogged about Domino not very long ago (well, sort of, I was blogging about tuxedo cats anyway) but I thought I'd share this picture with you tonight.A few weeks ago, he was not very easy, being very demanding, especially in the middle of the night, and a bit of a bully. Then he calmed down and became adorable again.  He is still demanding though. I took this picture yesterday, when I was holding a fish stick for him. And you can see how much he wanted it. The eyes of pure greed. Sometimes when he asks for food, he has the eyes of a psychocat (I'll show you another picture one day). On this one, it is merely emotional blackmail. Domino is a master of emotional blackmail. But I love him all the same.

Halloween from the window of the local sweet shop

I took this picture last year, at the local sweet shop, but it is the same this year. Black cats, witches, ghosts, spiders and of course, of course Jack O'Lanterns, it is one of the shops here that takes Halloween very seriously. As they should, since Halloween is also a celebration of gluttony. I usually buy a cauldron full of chocolates (well, other stuff too but mainly chocolates) from them (you can see one here). I will buy it again this year I expect, because Halloween is also about sweets.

An eulogy for Sky

Here is a bit of sad news today: I learned that Sky, the dog of my family-in-law had died. She was very old, 17 years old, and had been very sick for quite a while. It saddened me, although not as much as when I suddenly lost Odin. Strangely enough, I only blogged about her once. I am more of a cat person, but of all dogs I've ever known it was Sky I had the closest relationship with. Years ago, in 2006, when I was unemployed and I had plenty of free time squatting at the in-laws, I walked Sky every day. It gave the both of us a good exercise: I lost a few pounds in these months. Sky was also a champion of emotional blackmail, especially when it came to food: she was barking loudly, whining, until you gave her a piece of what you were eating, preparing... or a biscuit, or a piece of food. My favourite anecdote is one about raspberries. I was picking them in the then in-laws' garden, when one fell down on the pavement. I offered it to Sky, who sniffed it, but didn't eat it. I thought this was it, for once there was one piece of food she didn't like... Until a few days later, I saw her biting the raspberry plant, eating whatever berry she could find that was ripe enough. My fault entirely. Anyway, Sky was an adorable, playful Labrador dog, always curious, always greedy, always affectionate.

Les trois messes basses

Je vous offre aujourd'hui un conte de Noël d'Alphonse Daudet. Bien entendu, il s'agit des Trois messes basses. J'ai déjà blogué sur le conte en 2009 et l'année dernière aussi. Vous trouverez le texte original ici. J'ai également trouvé l'adaptation du conte tiré de l'adaptation faite par Marcel Pagnol des Lettres de mon moulin. Dites-moi ce que vous en pensez.

Halloween cauldron

I got this cauldron full of goodies (chocolate Jack O'Lantern, witch shaped chocolates, ghost shaped chocolates, spider shaped chocolates) from the local sweet shop. In the end, the shop did not close, it just changed ownership. I don't like it as much, but there is still a good deal of products I love. Among them, this seasonal one. It reminds me of the old Halloween bags we used to get when we went trick or treating, with lots of differents sweets in them. Except this one is much fancier: it is even in a cauldron. It also illustrates the gluttonous aspect of Halloween, which I blogged about two years ago exactly. So I bought this cauldron full of sugary goodness. It looks almost too good to start.

New sign of Halloween

Quick post update about the signs of Halloween I saw. In England, a country where it is not nearly as celebrated as in North America (even though it keeps growing). Anyway, I went to Sainsbury's recently and I saw Halloween desserts. Not many, but still a few, including the Halloween donuts I blogged about extensively last year. I didn't like them that much last year, but as Halloween is also a celebration of gluttony and as they caught my eyes, I bought a pack.

Easter Chocolate Shortage

This is my Easter post, unfortunately a very gloomy one. Maybe I was trying to purchase chocolate too late, but it seems that there are barely any Easter chocolates anywhere! In Marks & Spencer, almost everything but a few Easter eggs were out of stocks. That said, the choice this year was so poor and unimaginative, it was depressing. Where are the bunny rabbits, the hens, the chickens, the whole chocolate menagerie? I could not find an Easter rabbit anywhere, not even the Lindt one. So I bought a few Cadbury's Easter eggs. I wanted a whole, big, bunny rabbit in chocolate. That is what I usually have. Now it seems that there is a chocolate shortage, and a creativity shortage too. And I thought Easter was all about Pagan gluttony. Not this year it seems.

A Christmas Tale

Merry Christmas everyone.I thought I would offer you a Christmas as a sort of blogging/virtual present. I found googling about it a short story/tale by Alphonse Daudet translated in English. It is taken from Les Lettres de mon Moulin. I have blogged about it in French before, back in 2009. The story is about a priest, Dom Balaguère tempted by the devil, who took the guise of his clerk Garrigou, on Christmas Eve to rush up the and thus mess up the three Christmas masses he needs to perform, so he could eat the Christmas supper (réveillon). It is, in other words, about the sin of gluttony. Which is an important element of Christmas. The tale is called Les trois messes basses, in Enligh it is translated by The Three Low Masses or The Three Christmas masses. You will find the story here.

Tell me what you think about it. It is my dad's Christmas Carol. When he was a child, growing up in a very Catholic Québec, he had to read it and learn the story by heart. He also had to sit through the Midnight mass before going back home to celebrate. So he understood Dom Balaguère's impatience. Even if one cannot care less about Catholic moralism (like myself), he/she can still enjoy the tale. It is a beautifully told story, atmospheric like XIXth century literature often is. You can feel the cold weather and smell the food.

Le temps des beignes maison

J'espère que mon lectorat me pardonnera cet autre billet gastronomique. En fait, je pourrais sous-titrer ce biller et ceux qui parlent de bouffe de "chronique gourmande". Cette photo a été encore téléchargée de Dropbox, elle date d'il y a dix ans et représente la production de beignes familiale pour les fêtes (et une bonne partie de l'année d'après). En fait, on en a fait plus que ça, la photo ne montre pas tout. Lorsque ma famille fait des beignes, elle les fait en quantités toutes saguenéennes, donc excessives. Mais le Temps des Fêtes, c'est le temps des excès de toutes façons. On ne fait pas de trous de beignes, parce qu'on plonge la pâte déjà formée dans l'huile bouillante. Ensuite on les mange chauds dans le sucre en poudre. Après une marche dans le froid et la neige, accompagné de lait, ou de vin chaud, ou de thé, c'est irrésistible. Après s'être bourré la fraise (ou le Bleuet) de tourtière aussi, en autant que vous vous vous soyez fait un trou normand avant. Bref, je recommande à tous de manger des beignes durant les Fêtes. Et je vais peut-être publier la recette sur Vraie Fiction, sait-on jamais.

Pumpkin Ghoulash

This is a quick countdown to Halloween post and another that is about food. I am not the biggest fan of tinned soups, but some companies really make great soups just like the ones you would find at home. I love the ones made by Covent Garden Soup Co. They have a soup of the month, which every October is of course Halloween themed (I mentioned one back in 2008): it is a Pumpkin Ghoulash soup. Notice the voluntary mispelling of goulash. You can even find the recipe on the website. I am plugging it on Vraie Fiction today because it is absolutely delicious. It has just as much if not more carrots and other things as it has pumpkin. But it is a very much a seasonal, autumnal soup. It is hearty and filling and delicious. I love soup when it is hearty. When I have a cold like now, soups such as this goulash give me energy, sooth the pain in my throat and nose and overall bring me back to life. The Pumpkin Ghoulash also gives you two portions of fruits and vegs, which makes it almost too good for the gluttonous nature of Halloween. Still, it is perfect comfort food. And it is made of pumpkin. So it is my Halloween soup and I think I will eat it on Halloween night.

Halloween donuts

I bought these a few days ago. They were a pound in Sainsbury's (they sell all Halloween desserts for a pound, so it's a bargain). I crave donuts from time to time and those are Halloween donuts, so I had to buy them. Maybe I am a sucker. After all, they are normal, glazed donuts, only with an orange glazing and some chocolate sprinkles.  Their association with Halloween is tenuous at best.

Then again, maybe I am not such a sucker. For one, those donuts are associated to the gluttonous aspect of Hallowen, of which trick or treating is a modern manifestation. Donuts are also associated in The Simpsons's episode Treehouse of Horror IV, where Homer sells his soul to Satan for a donut (you can see a few minutes of the episode here). In a way, he makes a Faustian pact. Now, I can also mention that Anthony Burgess,my favourite author, wrote in a dissertation on Marlowe's Dr Faustus that Faust secretly desires damnation because he wants to experience hell. So every time I eat a donut I think of this episode of The Simpsons, and then of the Faustian pact, and about the appeal of eternal damnation when one is tempted by Satan in folklore...

And I cannot believe that in one post I talked about Marlowe, Anthony Burgess, the legend of Faust, Halloween, The Simpsons in a post about trivial donuts.

A chocolate Jack O'Lantern

Let's carry on our countdown to Halloween. Not the best title for a post, I know. But this is a short post about exactly that: a Chocolate Jack'O. (Note that I always use the capital letters when I write Jack O'Lantern, don't ask me why). I bought it last week at the local sweet shop, which is supposed to close soon. In fact, it was supposed to close in September. For some reason and to my great happiness, it is still standing. I don't know if it will finally stay or if it is agonizing. There is always a crowd in the shop, maybe they are making enough now to pay rent. Last week, I thought it may be the last sweet thing I bought from them. I wanted it to be a Halloween sweet. Halloween is associated with excessive eating (read my thought on Halloween and gluttony and feel free to comment), so I find it fitting that, during the countdown, not only do I watch horror movies and read scary stories, but I eat Halloween-related sweets.

Jour de l'An (chronique de lendemain de veille)

Alors allons-y du préambule: bonne anéée à tous. Voilà. Je suis de retour après une fin de semaine chez de la famille de ma femme, ceci est mon premier billet de 2012 et je ne sais pas trop quel sujet aborder. Pour moi, comme je l'ai déjà mentionné, les Fêtes sont déjà terminées au Jour de l'An. Le Jour de l'An, c'est en fait en général un lendemain de vielle lorsqu'on est adulte. ce qui est le cas maintenant, même si assez peu bu: deux pintes de bière, le début d'une troisième non terminée (j'ai eu la sagesse de surtout boire des bières pâles et d'éviter le vin rouge) et deux coupes de mousseux. Alors avec les excès de bouffe (mais le trifle pudding, lequel est en fait une sorte de poudding chômeur, était délicieux!), les veilles tardives, le voyagement, ça fait que mon premier janvier est typique.

Enfant, je l'aimais assez peu aussi (ah, la pénitence des fêtes familiales!), pour être honnête, mais au moins il y avait le gros déjeuner traditionnel que l'on prenait de bonne heure. Aujourd'hui et ce soir, on a/va manger léger. Dans un certain sens, c'est assez approprié d'être un peu lendemain de veille: je suis bien mortifié pour vraimenr recommencer à travailler. Demain est jour de congé, mais les vacances sont terminées, à toutes fins pratiques. Je range mes bouquins de Noël jusqu'à l'année prochaine, les décorations suivront bientôt. Espérons que janvier ne sera pas trop long.

Halloween and gluttony

I thought about blogging about it a while ago, not sure as I am typing this on how to deal with the subject. Tonight I had a cheese fondue in a small pumpkin, with a Hobgobling. Delicious, but sickening. Maybe blogging about it is unwise right now. But I am not a wise person. I think of how sickly it was, eating loads and loads of chocolates, smarties, marshmallows covered with chocolate (in form of Jack O'Lanterns, gosh I loved them), taffy, liquorice and many other things after going trick or treating as a child, especially since dinner before going trick-or-treating was often pizza (and not thin ones: stuff with thick base and lots of cheese), yet I survived. And I was thinking that eating and drinking in excess like I used to do and still do around Halloween was indeed an old, old, old tradition, a Pagan ritual that sneaked into the modern age deeply rooted in our psyche.

For instance, trick-or-treating is a ritual of sharing and a gesture of trust among neighbours. But more so, the treats we eat are the descendents of the perishable food gathered through the harvest that was needed to be eaten before turning bad or to make room for more recent stocks. Most holidays have this element of plenty, of needing to eat and fill one's belly while it is possible, while there is abundance. It is the case of Christmas, Easter, Halloween is of course no different. And as it also reminds of death, of the grave, of the shadows and fears that we face, there is a kind of defiance mixed with anxiety in the gluttony, in the eating excesses. "For life is short but death is long", as says a song I love to quote around this time of year (for me it is the perfect Halloween song). It is not incidential that Stingy Jack carries his lantern in a turnip, then a pumpkin and that he fools the Devil by having him climb into an apple tree. Turnips, pumpkins, apples, they are all products of harvest (and my allusions to gluttony in my take of the legend is not incidential either). This is one thing I love about Halloween: it is conscious of the fleeting nature of lively pleasures. So I love being gluttonous on that day and on the days leading to it.