7th Heaven

This post will be simple and to the point. There will be a recipe to follow this news:
THE WEBSITE IS LIVE! After much anticipation and excitement, www.thefrenchtranslator.co.uk is now up and running. I couldn't have hoped for a better site and I owe it all to the technical whizz I live with and his web designer. Actually, the only thing I did was write the text for it. So thank you, fellas - the work you have done is so much appreciated.

Right, so after that lovely news, as I mentioned before this post is short and sweet...in fact, it is short and savoury, as today's recipe is The Hairy Bikers' Tartiflette. I went to see the Hairy Bikers' Tour last week and they were fantastic. So charismatic and so entertaining. Also, the Tartiflette is French and this is a blog for a French business. A match made in heaven.

Tartiflette 
Prep Time - less than 30 mins 
Serves: 4 
Level: Moderate

Ingredients:
 • 1kg/2lb 4oz Charlotte potatoes, peeled
 • 250g/8oz bacon lardons
 • 2 shallots
 • 1 garlic clove
 • 100ml/3½fl oz white wine
 • 20ml/7fl oz double cream
 • Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
 • 1 whole Reblochon cheese (about 450g/1lb), sliced

Method: 
1. For the tartiflette, preheat oven to 200C/400F/Gas 7.

2. Cook the potatoes in a saucepan of salted boiling water for 5-10 minutes, or until tender.

3. Drain and set aside to cool slightly.

4. Meanwhile, heat a frying pan until hot and fry the bacon, shallots and garlic for 4-5 minutes, or until golden-brown. Deglaze the pan with the white wine and continue to cook until most of the liquid has evaporated.

5. Slice the potatoes thinly and layer into an ovenproof gratin dish with the bacon mixture. Pour over the double cream. Season with salt and lots of freshly ground black pepper. Layer the Reblochon slices on top.

6. Bake in the oven for 10-15 minutes or until the cheese is golden-brown and bubbling.

 And here's the French:
Tartiflette 
Préparation: Moins que 30min 
Niveau: Assez facile 
4 Personnes

Ingrédients :
 • 1kg pommes de terre pelées
 • 250g des lardons
 • 2 échalotes
 • 1 gousse d’ail
 • 100ml de vin blanc
 • 20ml de crème
 • Du sel et du poivre
 • 1 fromage Reblachon en tranche (environ 450g)

Méthode :
1. Préchauffez le four à 200°C

2. Faites bouillir les pommes de terre pendant 5-10 minutes

3. Egouttez les pommes de terre et les laissez de refroidir un peu

4. Frisez les lardons, les échalotes et l’ail pendant 4-5 minutes. Déglacer la poêle avec le vin blanc et poursuivre la cuisson jusqu'à ce que le liquide se soit évaporé.

5. Tranchez finement les pommes de terre et les couche dans un plat à gratin allant au four avec le mélange de bacon. Verser sur la crème. Assaisonner avec du sel et beaucoup de poivre noir fraîchement moulu. Couchez les tranches de Reblochon sur la tartiflette.

6. Cuisez la tartiflette au four pendant 10-15 minutes, ou jusqu’à ce que le fromage soit doré et bouillonnant.

And there you have it, a short and savoury blog post,

Á bientôt mes amis!

On its own; number 6

Well, what a busy couple of weeks...no, hang on; I mean "chilled out couple of weeks".

After the translations I did for the American company, I decided to take a bit of time off to research some more recipes for you lovely readers (as if I need an excuse to get baking!) and it was good but I'm glad to get back into the swing of work now. Freelance translation sites are great for getting work in but I'm beginning to think I should perhaps pay to join one of them as many of the jobs are open to members only, but I cannot afford to do so until I am paid. The crux of many situations - money.

However, I do not have a totally negative, money-orientated blog for you today. My website is actually starting to take shape and is looking pretty great thanks to a certain technical whizz I happen to live with and also thanks to his wonderful web designer too. I adore anything vintage and this website definitely has a vintage feel to it. I'm not giving anything away as I want to post the URL in a blog when it is complete in a couple of week's time...so watch this space.

Also, I have spent a portion of this afternoon submitting my blog to blog directories in the hope that I can gain some more traffic and if people like what they read and are curious to know more about me and the business, they will get in contact; like I said, here's hoping...

So, on to the usual portion of my post; a recipe. Now, I have not gone for the roast I said I may translate as I got given the most wonderful sticky toffee pudding recipe the other day (it's a Nigella recipe so I'm hoping she won't mind me translating it) - it is so so easy to make, even if the method of pouring boling water over the pudding mix makes you gasp in horror, like I did!

This tastes wonderful and the technical whizz who I mentioned before loved it (he will eat almost anything but seemed to really enjoy this one)

So, Nigella's Sticky Toffee Pudding - in English first:

Serves: 4-6 (depending on portion size)
Level: Easy

Ingredients for the pudding mix

• 100g dark muscavado sugar
• 175g self-raising flour
• 125ml milk
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 50g unsalted butter (melted)
• 200g sultanas/dates/raisins

Ingredients for the sauce

• 200g dark muscavado sugar
• 25g unsalted butter (in cubes/blobs)
• 500ml boiling water

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 190°C and grease a 1 and a half litre dish/tin.
2. Mix the sugar and flour in a bowl. Mix the milk, egg, vanilla extract and melted butter together and add it to the cake mixture. Combine the mixture with a wooden spoon and then fold in the sultanas/dates. Pour the mixture into the prepared bowl/tin.
3. Sprinkle the sugar over this and then blob the butter on top of the sugar. Pour the boiling water over this (honestly!) and put the dish in the oven. Leave it in the oven for 45 - 60 mins. Serve with ice cream or cream. 

And there you have it! So, now on to the French translation...

La classique "Sticky Toffee Pudding" - une recette anglaise.

4 - 6 personnes

Niveau : Facile

Ingrédients pour le gâteau

• 100g de la canne à sucre noire
• 175g de farine à gâteau
• 125 ml du lait
• 1 oeuf
• 1 petite cuillère d'extrait de vanille
• 50g de beurre non salé (fondu)
• 200g de raisins secs ou de dattes

Ingrédients pour la sauce

• 200g de la canne à sucre noire
• 25g de beurre non salé 
• 500ml d'eau bouillante

Méthode

1. Préchauffer le four à 190°C et graisser un 1.5l plat.
2. Mélanger le sucre et la farine dans un bol. Mélanger le lait, l'oeuf, l'extrait de vanille et le beurre fondu, et les ajoutez au sucre et au farine dans le bol. Combiner le mélange avec une cuillère en bois, et puis replier les raisins secs/dattes. Verser le mélange dans le plat préparé.
3. Saupoudrer le 200g de sucre pour le sauce sur le gâteau, et couper le 25g de beurre non salé en morceaux afin de le mettre sur le sucre. Verser l'eau bouillante sur le gâteau entier (je ne blague pas!), et placez le plat dans le four. Laissez le gâteau dans le four pendant 45 à 60 minutes (jusqu'à le centre est élastique). Vous le servez avec du crème ou une boule de glace.

Et voilà! C'est tout!

I do hope that has translated well and makes sense! It's one of the easiest puddings I have ever made (and trust me, I've made a lot!) and I hope you enjoy it!

That's all from me for now, I'm off to try and find a large map of Thailand for my holidays last year (well, that is if I can get more work in to pay for it)

À bientôt mes amis!

Five....gold rings?

So this is my fifth blog and business (not to jinx it) is good. I'm doing more translations for a company in America which is very interesting and definitely keeps me occupied and away from boredom...although I haven't been baking as much lately and the house is a little messy....still, I'm not going all "Monica" from "Friends" about it as a little mess never hurt anyone, and surely it's a good sign that I'm so busy?

A design for my web homepage has been done and looks fantastic - I couldn't be happier with it. I did lose a potential job yesterday as I was in Liverpool for a friend's birthday but at the end of the day, I wouldn't have missed the birthday for anything. You win some, you lose some.

So life is very good, AND (on a personal note), Downton Abbey series 3 begins again tomorrow night which just is the cherry on top of the cake really.

Now, as promised in the last blog, I said I would be translating recipes/articles I like, and this post does not break that promise.

I was racking my brains about what to have for lunch yesterday and then I suddenly thought: Bruschetta (sounds rather fancy for lunch, and yes it is perhaps, but it's so easy and so quick to make - it's perfect if you don't have much time to eat because you're on a translation deadline!) - it also reminds me of a fabulous night out I had in Liverpool last Friday when the chef messed up an order for two of our party, so we sent it back and the order came back correct. After the meal, we were all waiting to pay when a plate of bruschetta turned up, and all the italian waiter could say was "Complimente!!".....turns out this was not complimentary bruschetta, but rather that he had given someone else's order to us and was too embarrassed to take it back. Bless.

Anyway: this is Steak and Saint Agur bruschetta (English first, followed by a french translation)

Prep time: 5 mins
Serves: 2
Level: Easy

Ingredients:
Sirloin/rib-eye/rump steak - 1 large piece
Olive oil
Ciabatta bread
Dijon mustard (1 tsp)
Watercress (1 handful)
50g Saint Agur blue cheese (or any blue cheese that is your favourite)
balsamic vinegar (to drizzle over the finished bruschetta)

- Heat a griddle pan until smoking hot. Rub the steak with some olive oil (about 1tbsp), season with salt and freshly ground black pepper, then cook for 2-5 mins on each side (depending how rare you like it). Leave it to rest for 5 minutes.

- Cut the ciabatta roll in half and place each half face down on the griddle pan to soak up the juices (if you like, you can drizzle the roll halves with olive oil before placing them on the pan) - leave them for 2 minutes so they are a nice golden brown. Spread them with the mustard and then place the watercress on top.

- Cut the steak in half, place it on top of the watercress, then scatter over the blue cheese (if you love melted cheese as I do, then pop the bruschetta under a hot grill until the cheese has melted (make sure to keep a strict eye on it though!). Drizzle the balsamic vinegar over the top and serve.

Ok, so here's the french version:

Préparation: 5 min
2 personnes
Niveau: Facile

Ingrédients:

Bifteck (une grande tranche) - rumsteak ou faux-fillet
Huile d'olive
Pain Ciabatta
Moutarde de Dijon (1 cuillère à café)
Cresson (1 poignée)
50g Saint Agur fromage bleu (ou tout autre fromage bleu qui est votre préféré)
Vinaigre balsamique (à verser sur le produit fini)

- Faire chauffer une poêle à griller jusqu'à ce que le fumage à chaud. Frotter le bifteck avec un peu d'huile d'olive (environ 1 cuillère à soupe), assaisonner avec le sel et le poivre noir fraîchement moulu, puis cuire pendant 2-5 minutes de chaque côté (selon la façon dont vous l'aimez la cuisson). Laisser reposer pendant 5 minutes.

- Couper le ciabatta en deux et placer chaque moitié sur la poêle à griller à absorber le jus (si vous le souhaitez, vous pouvez arroser les moitiés d'huile d'olive avant de les placer sur le plateau) - les laisser pendant 2 minutes afin qu'ils sont une belle coloration dorée. Répartissez-les avec la moutarde, puis placez le cresson sur le dessus.

- Couper le steak en deux, placez-le sur le cresson, puis répartissez le fromage bleu (si vous aimez le fromage fondu comme je le fais, placez la bruschetta sous un gril chaud jusqu'à ce que le fromage soit fondu (assurez-vous de le garder strictement). Verser le vinaigre balsamique sur la bruschetta et la servir.

So there you go, a more high-brow lunch for those of you in a hurry! So I've covered dessert and lunch; maybe I'll do breakfast next time and make some muffins....watch this space!

A bientôt mes amis!


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4th September

So the time has come for me to write another blog I think. Alas not much has changed over the last few days; I am still waiting on America to send me the document I need to edit by Friday and I have not received any more jobs over the weekend. However, I thought today should not be an entirely wasted one so I have come up with an idea to make this blog (hopefully) more interesting.

From now on with each post, I intend to attach a translation of a French recipe or an article from somewhere that I find interesting etc etc.

So for this post I have decided to start off by attaching a translation of the French classic, crème brulée à la cannelle (cinammon crème brulée). I'm a food fanatic and I love nothing more than being able to spend a weekend cooking and baking so I hope that you enjoy the recipes etc that I post on here along with my news.

So this is the French recipe:

Crème brulée (pour 5 personnes)

Difficulté: Facile
Preparation: 10 min

Temps de cuisson: 1h

Ingrédients

• 5 jaunes d'oeufs
• 35cl de crème liquide à 30% de matière grasse
• 12cl de lait
• 70g de cassonade
• 1 gousse de vanille

Et, pour le caramel:

• 60g environ de sucre blanc

Préparation

• Mélangez les jaunes d'oeufs et la cassonade à l'aide d'un fouet.
• Versez le lait dans une casserole.
  Ouvrez la gousse de vanille en deux et grattez (à l'aide d'une pointe de couteau) les grains. Ajoutez-les au lait et faites chauffer
• Versez le mélange bien chaud sur les jaunes et fouettez énergiquement. Ajoutez la crème et fouettez encore.
• Laissez refroidir le mélange et réservez au frais une heure
• Au bout d'une heure, préchauffez votre four à 120° en versant de l'eau dans le lèche-frite de votre four. 
• Versez la préparation dans des plats à crèmes brûlées et enfournez pendant une heure, au bain-Marie. 
• Au bout d'une heure éteignez votre four et laissez les crèmes environ 10 mn dedans. Sortez du four et laissez refroidir. Mettre au frais.
•            Au moment de servir, saupoudrez le sucre blanc sur les crèmes et colorez à l'aide d'un chalumeau, ou d'un fer à crèmes brûlée ou sous le grill de votre four.
  
  
  
  
  So that was the French, and here's the translation:
  
  
  Crème brulée (serves 5) 
  
  
  Difficulty level: Easy
  Preparation time: 10 mins
  Cooking time: 1 hour
  
  
  Ingredients
  
  
• 5 egg yolks
• 70g brown sugar 
• 12cl milk
• 1 vanilla pod               

For the caramel:

• About 60g white sugar

     Method

• Mix the egg yolk and the brown sugar with a whisk
• Pour the milk into a saucepan. Split the vanilla pod in two and extract the seeds. Add the seeds to the milk and heat the mixture (do not boil)
• Pour the mixture onto the egg yolks and whisk. Add the cream and then whisk again.
• Put the mixture in the fridge and leave to cool for 1 hour.
• Towards the end of the cooling time, pre-heat the over to 120°C.
• Pour the cooled mixture into 5 ramekins and bake for 1 hour in a bain-marie (bain-marie = pour boling water into a roasting tin containing the ramekins, and ensure that the water comes half way up the sides of the small dishes)
• At the end of the cooking time, turn the oven off and leave the ramekins in the oven for 10 minutes. 
• Remove the ramekins from the oven and leave to cool.
• When you are ready to serve them, sprinkle the white sugar over the top and either put them under a grill until the top has caramelised or alternatively, use a kitchen blow torch to achieve the same results.

NB. The crème brulées can be made 24 hours in advance but take care not to caramelise the tops until you are ready to serve them or it will become soft and lose its lovely crunchy texture.

For a bit of variety, try putting fresh raspberries or strawberries in the bottom of the ramekins before you pour the mixture in.

So there you have it, a classic easy French recipe for a gorgeous dessert.

Right then, I'm off to do some more editing of this medical document I have been sent (trust me, I'd rather be making crème brulées!)

A bientôt mes amis!

Third time's a charm

Well on the last day of summer for 2012 I feel that the sun is shining on my job as well as on my washing outside...

Since my last blog the jobs have been coming on rather nicely; one job to to translate extracts of a wedding speech and the second is for a project I am to be the editor of for a company in America - a project of no less than 17,700 words; so I'm thinking this one probably won't be done in less than two hours...

I also never realised that there was actual translation software out there - my thoughts were always, well I've got my laptop (ie. word reference) and I've got my dictionary, what more could I possibly need?! However, I have found that with this new software, you can translate an entire document and the database will log every word/sentence so that you never have to look up of repeat the same thing twice. It's all very new to me and I will be the first to admit that I am slightly overwhelmed by it all but I sort of feel like I'm now a professional as I have this MemoQ tool on my computer. I also got called a businesswoman yesterday....seriously. 

Today marks yet another momentous event for the business - I finally get a real desk to work at as opposed to breaking my back over the lowest coffee table ever made everyday, AND I may even go and get myself an office chair from Staples as the last one I had my eye on (mentioned in my first blog) was cruelly taken from me in a bidding war at an auction...

So as we go in to September, things are (at the moment) looking rather rosy. Right, I must get back to working out how this MemoQ software works or I may not have a job after all.

Á bientôt mes amis!

Bank Holiday Blog

So this is the second instalment of my blog and unfortunately there is not an awful lot of news to report. Apart from sending proposals for jobs on websites I have not got any business of my own at the moment so things are rather slow and my days consist of watching Friends re-runs, baking and sending proposals to translation sites. Hardly ideal but the possibility of gaining some work and also all the cakes makes it more bearable. Also, I just about have a logo for the site and the business cards will be soon to follow on from that so progress is being made. It's just frustrating not doing any work - never thought I would want to work as much as I do now. Being self-employed with no work is driving me mad and I cannot wait to get that first cheque through the post to be paid to "The French Translator".

Like I said before, I'll keep the blog up to date with news on the site and any work I get...so if you don't read anything for the next few weeks, you know why... 

Let's start at the very beginning....

17th August 2012

There is a well known film that uses the words "let's start at the very beginning, a very good place to start"; well that, I suppose, is my philosophy on life at this precise moment. I am a 22 year old French Studies graduate and I am struggling to find a job. I imagine this is the same situation that many people my age are finding themselves in and it is, to say the least, frustrating. Apparently my issue is not my interview technique as I have been told this is very good, but rather my lack of work experience. So after each interview that is unsuccessful I ask myself "how am I supposed to gain any experience when nobody will give me that initial chance?" It is a vicious job circle that we are tangled up in at the moment and who knows when the economy will improve enough that we can start telling undergraduates that their £27,000 of tuition fees will be money well spent when they are guaranteeed to get a job after university?

So with frustration and disappointment in the air, I return to my inital quote, "let's start at the very beginning". As a french student, the career question that you get asked is not so much "what will you do after university?" but rather "are you going to teach or interpret after university?" Far be it from me to "rompre avec les habitudes", I always thought I would become a teacher (my Year Abroad in France would tell me that this was not to be). So after graduation I was stuck; no job prospects due to lack of aforementioned work experience led me to a decision I never even considered before - starting my own business.

Now I know very little about business and the way it works but I was assured that setting up on my own would be a lot easier than I first anticipated. So with some help from a rather clever chap I know who works in web design and seo services, I decided to become "The French Translator" (3 levels of translation, agricultural interpreting and tutoring - see facebook for more details). The business is still in its infancy at the moment but at least I now have a job and I am "something" as opposed to being "unemployed", and I will no longer feel like I am auditioning for a place on The Apprentice by going to an overly pretentious and competitive assessment day for a job I would hate anyway. I am my own boss which is something I really never thought I would be at the age of 22. However, I am not pretending that it will be all fun and games; I know it will be tough at times to find work and that not everyone wants their tourist leaflets translated into French or someone to travel to France with them to talk about sheep, but the main concept in my head at the moment is that I have a job and I will make it work in any way I can. Plus I can actually speak French, which is a help when setting up a business such as this, so surely it can't go too wrong...can it?

Anyway, this blog will keep you abreast of the business development and any work I get. I will make it as interesting as I can (although I am not sure how much I can make instruction manual translations fun...). In the meantime, keep reading this blog and the facebook page.

Right, I'm off to get myself an office chair (getting my priorities right, of course)

À bientôt mes amis!