French culture: celebrating la Chandeleur !

Candlemas is around the corner and I have prepared some fun activities to do in the French class to celebrate this special event. In fact as the activities are mainly centered around crepes and how to make them, you could also use them to celebrate Mardi Gras (which is on the 9th of February this year) or if you are teaching a topic on food.

[read more…]

acquisition65 activities5 bundle1 celebrate26 celebration20 communicative7 comprehensible100 Cooking41 cultural10 culture246 Education20 food154 French41 grammar66 infinitive1 input47 logic1 logical2 numeracy1 passé-composé227 past316 perfect tense4 song29 story46 storytelling39 teacherspayteachers11 TPRS71 tradition57

Fruit crumble

I don’t know about you but now that days are getting colder and shorter, I am craving for a slice of cake!
However baking a cake can take time and effort so when I am running out of time and I am in need of something sweet, I go for a crumble.

[read more…]

almond1 bake11 baking15 Blogging1 butter10 cake12 children28 comfort3 cook32 Cooking41 crumble1 dessert9 easy300 family164 fast9 flour5 food154 fruit12 kids3 kitchen20 oven2 oven dish2 simple15 sugar4 sweet17

Potato, kohlrabi and smoked trout gratin

I now have a “big” family and so far I have to feed five people everyday (3 boys and 2 adults but my boys eat nearly like adults!). Needless to say I am looking for easy big meals which can last for a few days so I don’t spend my days slaving in the kitchen.

[read more…]

big1 big family4 Blogging1 butter10 cabbage4 cheese10 children28 cook32 Cooking41 cream4 crowd1 dinner12 easy300 family164 familymeal1 fish7 gratin1 grill1 kitchen20 kohlrabi1 layer1 lemon3 market6 mashed1 meal10 nutritious1 oven dish2 potatoes2 salmon1 simple15 simplify5 smoked1 supermarket1 supper1 trout1

Simplifying cooking

Lately I have become a big fan of Stonesoup by Jules Clancy. Her way of cooking is dead simple and requires few ingredients. In fact her recipes are done in minutes and are still tasty and very healthy. Therefore, inspired by her blog and recipes I have made a huge change in the way I cook now.

[read more…]

beans1 cook32 Cooking41 cupboard1 easy300 fast9 food154 fresh1 Jules Clancy1 market6 personal13 simple15 stonesoup1 vegetables3

Crepes party!

We are in the midst of the pancakes (crêpes in French) season before the start of Lent (for Christian believers). In France, we have crêpes twice. First on the 2nd of February to celebrate la fête de la Chandeleur which commemorates the presentation of Jesus at the temple.

[read more…]

chandeleur13 Cooking41 crepes15 culture246 France221 French41 mardi gras4 pancakes4 party7

A delicate salmon curry

 

I had salmon fillets in my freezer and wanted to change from the usual “straight to the oven” recipe. My dear sister who lives in London is a big fan of Nigel Slater.

[read more…]

cookbook4 Cooking41 course124 curry1 fish7 main2 mild1 nigel slater1

French resources about the Epihany

To share the Epiphany tradition with your French students, here are some ideas:

Explain the tradition
The Mary Glasgow website published an article La Galette des Rois which explains the tradition in France with its audio version to download (all for free).

[read more…]

acquire50 acquisition65 activity13 bake11 book95 celebrate26 celebration20 compelling39 comprehensible100 comprehensible input36 comprehension250 cook32 Cooking41 cultural10 culture246 Education20 epiphany8 France221 franchculture1 French41 frenchfood61 game21 ideas7 input47 listening52 Mary Glasgow6 pastry6 play27 playing3 shareandbake4 singing7 song29 storylistening142 storytelling39 TPRS71