What has Charlotte been eating? (Part 2)

Now, where was I? Oh yes, telling you about all the food I eat. No, I'm not obsessed with food! Whatever gave you that idea? Anyway, let's start with something sweet.

For my 20th birthday, my hostmom threw a raclette party. Raclette, for anyone who doesn't know, is where you melt cheese under something hot and then drizzle it over meat slices and potatoes. It is delicious. (Sidenote: Raclette can also be when you heat up a large block of cheese and then scrape the melty bits over the food of your choice. This is a genius idea.)

Sadly, I did not have the presence of mind to take pictures of the raclette. However, I did get pictures of the dessert! My hostmom let me invite some friends over and they brought cake!

This is a Charlotte aux Framboises, or Raspberry Charlotte for you non-Francophones. It was clearly meant to be my birthday cake. Underneath those succulent raspberries, there was a layer of creamy custard surrounded by light little cake fingers. Delightful!

This is a tarte tropezienne, which is a typical provencal dessert. It is two light and fluffy pieces of brioche sandwiched around an even lighter and fluffier lemon mousse, topped with powdered sugar and granulated sugar. Exquisite!

This is my meager offering-- my first attempt at tarte tatin. It didn't look quite as enticing as the other desserts, but it tasted rather nice. Satisfactory!

To work off all of my overindulgences, a few days later, I made a sort of noodle stirfry with lots of vegetables.

I also promptly forgot about working off indulgences and sampled a tiny tarte citron, with a marshmallowy meringue topping.

My housemate and I make dinner together once a week. This time, we made stuffed peppers, filled with rice, veggies, a bit of meat and topped with mozzarella. They were really tasty and healthy!

They were accompanied by a yummy salad, with my favorite Brebis.

I had a craving for fries, so I tried to make "Potato Lunch," a recipe of my brother's devising. I'm sure he will maintain that I did it wrong (what else are brothers for?), but I thought it turned out fairly well.

The other night, I made veggie sushi. And by veggie sushi, I mean not-at-all-authentic sushi. Instead of raw fish, these rolls were filled with slices of carrot, pepper and cucumber and some (cooked) tuna with mayo. Topped off with some delicious pickled ginger.

At the Asian grocery store, while shopping for sushi essentials, I spotted a curiosity. This is Cock Brand Peach Flavor Aerated Water, in a plastic can. The base was plastic and the top was metal. I have never seen something like this before in my life. What is this world coming to?

Crepes! This is a chantilly crepe, which is essentially a crepe filled with sugar and whipped cream. That's it. It was excellent when I started, but by the end, I was sticky and slightly nauseous. Ah well.

This is one of my favorite savory crepes: ratatouille. I'm not entirely sure what goes into it, but I do know that it is stuffed with a mixture of cooked tomatoes and onions and zucchini and lots of other veggies and it is really filling.

Speaking of ratatouille, guess what I learned how to make the other night?

I also learned how to make brouillade au chevre, or an eggy concoction with generous amounts of bacon and goats cheese.

The resulting dinner. You wouldn't think so, but it was really yummy! The brouillade was really salty from the bacon and goats cheese and a bit heavy, but it was nicely balanced by the vegetables in the ratatouille.

And for dessert: verrines de fruits. (It was basically a parfait)

The next day, I attempted to make a ratatouille by myself. It turned out fairly well. I also made m own version of a croque monsieur. My lunch was very French.

For another shared meal, my housemate and I made more sushi! This time, we used crab sticks, avacado, cucumber and mayonnaise. They turned out really well!

Also, tiny little fun fact. Do you know what Strawberry Shortcake is called in France? Charlotte aux Fraises!