IT'S CHRISTMAAAAAS!

Merry Christmas, everyone! After I get over the inevitable food coma that Christmas Day brings, I'll be back to tell you all about my baking exploits and the incredible Christmas dinner that I can currently smell wafting through the house. Perfect!

Baking days

As you may remember, my kitchen in halls is pretty limited, which hampers my ability to bake lovely things somewhat. As I am a massive fan of all things cupcake-y, this was obviously something I struggled with. So one of the first tasks when I got back home, after giving the cat a much-needed cuddle and saying hello to the family, was to nab the oven and settle in for a fortnight's worth of baking. And bake I have.

First on the list were ginger cupcakes with toffee frosting. They've been on my list since about November and struck me as the perfect Christmas treat. They were lovely, but I'd definitely add more ginger as it was a bit lost under the sponge and the toffee frosting. My mum and my friend both suggested using a combination of ground ginger (as called for in the recipe) and stem ginger in the batter to give the flavour a bit of 'oomph' and to add another texture. I decorated them with some edible gold glitter but I think some artfully-scattered ginger on the top would finish them nicely, too.

Yesterday, whilst in the middle of making Jamie Oliver's tried and tested chicken and leek pie, I had a sudden yen for delicate, pastel-coloured macaroons. I'd tried making them earlier in the summer, but a failure to read the instructions properly meant that they weren't so much macaroons as they were sugary, almond-flavoured flat cookies. This time, I decided to actually pay attention to what I was supposed to be doing and read the recipe before I got stuck in, and they turned out wonderfully. Coloured a beautiful, delicate pink (it's amazing how much food colouring you need to make them change colour!) and sandwiched together with whipped cream, they make a perfect "and a" for with a coffee. And, if you read the instructions properly, they're really not difficult to make at all.

Next on the list is an apple pie, the traditional sticky toffee pudding for Christmas day, and chances are some more Christmassy cupcakes. My mum bought me some lovely festive cupcake cases and I am determined to use them!

A very welcome welcome

There's something about coming home for Christmas that makes the holiday as exciting for a twenty year old as it is for a two year old. Being in a different country in the run-up to Christmas makes it quite hard to feel particularly festive. Without a doubt, I was counting down the days until my flight home, but all the usual signals that it's coming up to Christmas - the first viewing of the Coca-Cola advert, the tree going up, the very first cry of "IT'S CHRISTMAAAAAS!" from Noddy Holder - aren't there. It's surprising how out of the Christmas spirit you can feel without all of these usual indication of "The Most Wonderful Time of the Year" being just around the corner.

The week leading up to my return to the UK was characterised by last-minute present buying, tidying up the odds and ends in my fridge so I don't come back to an unpleasant surprise, and a sudden panic that my suitcase would be way, way over the limit (it wasn't, so I can still bring my presents home - always good.). As can be expected after four months away from home, I was really ready to be coming home and seeing my friends and family again; and I think this anticipation was only increased by the prospect of a Christmas dinner - and my first roast since I left home in August - prepared for me by my old housemates. And what a feast it was. Turkey, stuffing, pigs in blankets, honey roast parsnips, carrots, broccoli, roast potatoes, gravy and, my special request, cranberry sauce - with apple strudel and custard (Ambrosia, of course) to finish.

It was utterly divine and such a welcome "welcome home". My thanks go to Izzy, Emily and Georgia for a indulgent dinner, lovely presents, and a really fantastic welcome back.

Forward planning

This is my last week in Montpellier before I make my triumphant (and long-awaited) return to good old Blighty. With that in mind, a bit of forward planning with regards to dinner has been needed - the last thing I want is to come back to a fridge full of food that's gone off. I've got a meal plan until Thursday - and Monday night was sausage casserole night.

It's amazingly simple and quick to make and is lovely and filling. All you do is cut sausages into small rounds and cook them with a tiny bit of butter in a pan. Once they're cooked, add a drained and rinsed tin of cannellini beans (which, in case you're interested, are haricots blancs in France), and then as much sauce as you fancy. Cook on a low heat until everything's warm through, then serve. That's literally it. And I made enough for two evening's worth, so after I return from my final exam on Wednesday I won't have to think about cooking anything as it'll be there already. I will admit to being a little bit naughty and eating some from the portion I set aside for dinner another night - so I might have to add something to supplement it then - but it was too delicious to resist.

Last weekend

 My weekend in Lyon was lovely, it really is a beautiful city and was definitely shown off to its fullest during the Fête des Lumières. Perhaps not the culinary adventure I'd been anticipating, but I was one person among 2 million tourists this weekend, and finding a table in one of their famous "bouchons" would've been akin to finding a needle in a haystack. So I've already decided that I'm going to come back next term to do a slightly less stressful weekend - which will include a visit to a nice restaurant, of course.

Quick update

Hello everyone! I apologise for the lack of posts this week, exam panic well and truly set in so when I wasn't frantically trying to learn everything I've been told since September I've been necking coffee and only just remembering to eat dinner.

However, I am off to Lyon to visit some friends from uni who are there for their Year Abroad and also to visit their "Fête des Lumières", a really huge festival that takes place all throughout the city from the 8th until the 11th. It draws in something like 3 million tourists over the three nights - so it's just as well I have a friends' apartment to crash at rather than trying to find a spare bed in a hostel, particularly as I only booked my train tickets on Sunday!

Lyon is the gastronomical centre of the country, apparently, so it should definitely be a good weekend for food! Plus, and I know that this is a really shallow reason to visit somewhere but hey, they have Starbucks which I haven't had since a weekend in Barcelona earlier in September (that I will do a very belated post on soon) and I'm craving a big latte instead of a café crème.

Right, best get a wiggle on and get myself moving!
A plus!

Breakfast of champions

For all I may complain about living here sometimes, I am definitely going to miss being able to nip out for pain au chocolat and coffee for breakfast from the canteen in the grounds of my halls every so often.

I try not to make a habit of it because I really would be the size of a house when I came back if I did this too often (amazingly there is a 'too often' when it comes to buttery croissants... Who knew?). But for mornings when you really, really need something to pick you up, there is something indescribably wonderful about being able to hop out of bed, get dressed and then go and get a warm croissant and some hot coffee. Today was definitely one of those days. Especially as I had no milk (therefore no coffee, the horror) and nothing for breakfast. Unwilling to go into an exam without having eaten something, what other option did I have?

I had an exam at noon which I was definitely in the midst of a panic about, so last night I decided that the thing to do was to get up early(ish), get about an hours' worth of revision done, then buy said breakfast, come back to halls and continue some last-minute note consolidating. And may I say, there is nothing in this world that makes revision of "Origines et diversité des langues" more bearable than a cup of coffee and a still-warm pain au chocolat. Particularly when it's dunked into the coffee. Yum.

The exam? It was okay. Not fab, not terrible, just okay. But you know, I could spend days revising for these exams; or I could just do my best, be prepared to resit them in February, and actually enjoy my year abroad. It's unlikely that I'll get an opportunity to live somewhere where fresh bread and pastries are just outside my door, and I intend to make the most of it whilst I'm here ;)