Well, we're back in the real world but thought I would do a final post about our french food adventures.

I present to you........the raclette. This ingenious contraption grills and melts cheese which you then scrape onto cooked potatoes and typically eat with a platter of meat. And of course, wash down with some chilled white wine. I can't remember which cheese we used except that it was a combination of gruyere and something else. Another lovely evening on the balcony watching the world go by.

Our last cooking on the balcony extravaganza was to use the pierrade which is basically a hot plate on which you cook some meat. We cheated and bought some ready marinated kebabs with pork and vegetables. There was an element of risk with this one because you have to make sure the pork is cooked through. This pierrade didn't have any controls other than 'off' or 'on' so there was no way to adjust the temperature. We just sat and chatted whilst occasionally turning the kebabs to make sure they were done on all sides. Very convivial, although it was quite smoky and would definitely set off smoke alarms if cooked indoors, as well as making everything smell of barbeque!  Absolutely perfect for the balcony though.

I love shopping in the big supermarkets in France because the fruit and vegetable sections have such tremendous variety. For example, I just had to take a photo of the tomatoes in the Intermarche in Sallanche. There was a whole refrigerated section just for tomatoes. At home it's pretty much a choice of 'salad'or cherry tomatoes, and usually just red ones at that. I'm quite determined to have a greenhouse again when we move into the barns as I really miss having a selection of heritage tomatoes to gorge on......err, I mean *enjoy*.