We spent the day in Lille yesterday. A quaint, yet chic, city if you are looking for a quick duck into France. It took us all of an hour and some to make our way from Brussels to Lille, and with K at the wheel, it was smooth sailing.

Our first stop was for a coffee, and we found an adequate cafe, but what we really needed was some food. Figuring why break with tradition, we found a Japanese restaurant and tucked in for their (somewhat over priced) lunch menu. For me, this included miso soup, (an exceptionally small) salad, tea, rice, an avocado roll, 2 asparagus sushi, and a cucumber roll. Unfortunately, the first plate offered to me came with mayonnaise (both inside the wrap, and dolloped on top of the sushi pieces). I had to send it back.

We also had a chance to check out the great art gallery (mostly Reuben, saw a Goya and some Monet - but really liked the archeology bits in the basement). The most fun was the cooking shop we found: Alice Delice. I bought a scale, and other fun tools for the kitchen.

After our journey home we headed for the Wednesday market - which the commune so nicely decided to set up every week just at the foot of our street. The food is changing. The asparagus, both white and green, are coming down in price, the fruit from Spain is plumper and the sunflowers are starting to be sold. Spring is almost here.


We bought a load of food and came home to engage in our almost habitual Wednesday night picnic. We often grab aubergine dip, hummus, olives and good bread from the market and sit on the floor with our spoils and a good bottle of wine. Tonight, we extended that a bit. We had a brilliant time in the kitchen as K made a killer set of Bruschetta Bites, and I spiced and baked a cookie sheet's worth of Rosemarried Sweet Potatoes. I also put our strawberries to use right away with a Rocket, Strawberry and Walnut Salad.


Rosemarried Sweet Potatoes
Ingredients:
-1 large, or 2 small sweet potatoes
-a dash of olive oil
-as much Rosemary as you'd like to enjoy
-a good turn of fresh ground black pepper

How To:
I left the slices long and wide, but quite thin. Thin enough to bake in the time I needed them to finish, but I was aware of not making them too thin - they tend to fall apart or crisp up unevenly. I covered them with the Rosemary by using a pair of scissors and just snipping away above the taters. I added my oil and pepper and gave them a loving stir. I baked them for 25 minutes at about 180.