Hello and welcome to Françoise La Prune! Here’s some behind the scene info about me…
Why the blog?
People are always telling me that they love my food but that, somehow, cooking creatively is “beyond them”. I’m always telling them that being imaginative in the kitchen is not that complicated. It just takes some practice and organisation. They never believe me.
We all tend to cook the same dishes over and over again, staying firmly in our culinary comfort zone… but just remember the joy you felt when last cooked a dish for the first time and created something magical. We are bounded by the fear of failure that keeps our kitchen small. Step away from this and you can explore fresh menus and, literally, spice up your life.
I want to share a world of exceptional dishes that are easily within reach of those who dare to try the “new”. Of course there will be a failure or two but that just flavours the learning process, as you free yourself from “the usual”…
The recipes (starters, soups, main courses, desserts…) are subdivided into the following categories:
• Healthy: healthy, tasty dishes
• Indulgence: treat ourselves!
What’s behind the name Françoise La Prune
On an anti-Valentine’s day dinner, someone in the group had the glorious idea of describing everyone as a fruit. A dear friend of mine told me that I reminded her of a prune… yeah, thanks! I told her that something a bit more citrusy and a little less wrinkly would be a bit more flattering, she said she was thinking of a beautiful ripe prune… and somehow the name just stuck. 🙂
The start
I have been mulling over this blog for two years, creating recipes, exploring my kitchen. Time to give it a go! To quote Joseph Chilton Pearce:
“To live a creative life, we must lose our fear of being wrong.”
As you free yourself in your cooking you will find that it permeates into other areas of your life. We live imprisoned in the perceptions of others, shrinking our horizons, but only too late do we realise that we always regret what we haven’t done rather than things we have.
My life so far
It goes without saying that I love food. 🙂
As a young girl I would do my homework in my mother’s kitchen (trust me she wasn’t that happy as I took up a lot of space); it was just such a comforting, warm, cozy place…where little miracles happened. 🙂
No wonder I ended up working in food industry before migrating to luxury products.
Having worked during my internships in kitchen or service and having been an international event manager I can say that all of humanity is there, both good and bad. Lots of stress, lots of shouting, lots of crying… on my part… definitely not what food should be about!
From the moment that our distant ancestors first squatted about a cave fire together, food became something more: a shared experience; a place to swap tastes, stories and laughter; somewhere where you can experience the joy of the new and comfort of the familiar. Food defines so much of our culture. So much of us, and yet so much of modernity is processed and fast…
Just in case you are interested, I grew up in Switzerland, being half Swiss German half French. I met my lovely hubby, Mr B, on a cruise in South America (the average age was 70+…a wonder we met!), I gave up my safe haven in Switzerland to live in big London (yes I know…not that bad at all) :-). Oh and do I looove Looondooon!!! It is so energising and inspiring! A foodie’s paradise! And yes…Mr. B has put on a little bit of weight since we’ve lived together. 🙂
My Equipment
Here a list of my favourite little toys:
Sony NEX-7: The perfect camera. Not only does it make great pictures, it also has got the looks and is of a decent size.
Canon EOS 70D with Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM lens: My new love! Fantastic camera for food photography. The 100mm macro lens gets all the details on your pictures and a great shallow depth of field. Will be making more and more pictures with this beauty.
Vitamix Blender: I couldn’t live without it anymore… a gizmo that definitely makes you healthier as it’s strong enough to blend anything, including plastic (ooops!)
Magimix 5200XL Food Processor: I haven’t yet discovered the full capacity of this machine but I can already tell you that it is a joy seeing it making short work of all my veggies and fruits.
Kenwood kMix Hand Mixer: Perfect for beating eggs and cream in an instant.
Pizza Stone: A revelation! No more need to go to a pizzeria. Sunday has now become “Pizza Day”!
Pasta Machine: What could be better than fresh pasta?!?
Nespresso Machine: The perfect caffeine pickup.
Coming soon:
Spiralizer: I just can’t wait to eat pasta made only out of vegetables!
Copyrights
The recipes and pictures are the property of Françoise La Prune unless otherwise stated.
The drawing in the header is by the talented Nina Pieper. Find her on:
Emma Pepper
Nina Pieper Fashion & Illustrations
francoiselaprune.com 