Party in St. Etienne and Baking Weekend!

This weekend I did quite a bit of baking, which I was pretty excited about!

On Friday, I decided to make something with the giant piece of pumpkin that was given to us by out neighbor Tim. He was going out of town, so he left us some random food so that it wouldn’t go to waste. At first I had no idea what to make, so I just ended up looking at pumpkin recipes online, and I came across one for pumpkin scones. I think they turned out pretty good and if you are interested in the recipe, here’s the link: http://fidelisblog.com/our-kitchen/ (you have to scroll down a bit to get to the recipe). 

pumpkin scone!

In the evening, Kim and I took a train to St. Etienne for a party at Joe and Daniel’s place. Kim and I came earlier so that we could have dinner at their house. We had a yummy salad, and sausage pasta dish! Kim and I brought a praluline for dessert and everyone thought it was yummy! The praluline never fails, lol. Soon, people started arriving, and it was so great to see the St. Etienne assistants :). It was nice to catch up with them, and I even met some really nice new people as well! I loved chatting with Sarah and Emilia! We had a pretty good conversation about sour candy, haha. Can you believe that they do not have sour patch kids in France?! French people are missing out…just sayin. 

Kim and I in St. Etienne!

Kim and I stayed in St. Etienne overnight, then Saturday afternoon, we took a train to Lyon to meet up with Clare.

Once in Lyon, we found Clare and headed off to Flam for some lunch. Their menu changed from the last time we were there. The prices are a little higher and now they only give you half of your Flam at a time… lol. It seems to me like it is more work for the servers, but oh well. I got a Flam with mushrooms and cheese, and it was Clare’s first time eating here!

Clare and I with our 2nd half of Flam

After lunch, we went and did some shopping. Then, we stopped by to listen to a concert for mental health awareness. They played some pretty good music, so we stayed for a while. Then, we took a train back to Roanne. 

One girl even played with her foot!

Once in Roanne, Clare and I got some groceries. Then, we baked some cookies! They were so yummy and simple to make. All it took was some butter, sugar, flour, and chocolate chips! 

Chocolate marbly cookie

That evening, we all watched a french movie together called: A la Folie, Pas du Tout. I actually saw this movie when I was in French club back in high school. It is about a girl who believes that she is in a relationship with a doctor, but as the movie shifts to the doctor’s perspective the truth is revealed. As I was watching this movie, I realized that it took place in Bordeaux! It was cool to see places where i had been not too long ago! :)

On Sunday, I went to mass, then Clare and I watched a movie called, Hors de Prix, which was about two people, a guy and girl, who had sugar momma/daddy and they ended up bonding over their common situation. 

Then, we baked profiteroles! They were very yummy and it was the first time that either of us attempted to bake them. We were so proud! We baked them, then made the filling, piped the filling, and even melted nutella and drizzled it on top! They turned out really good!

Here's the recipe I used: http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/26931/profiteroles

Homemade profiteroles

On Monday, I did some lesson planning, and grocery shopping. 

Ready for my week at the schools,

Magdalena