-
Christmas is coming
Hello to you all from my French kitchen I love making edible (or drinkable) gifts for Christmas and stack up the chutneys and preserves through the year for this purpose. Recently I made some quince cheese, which has turned out rather well. The colour is so gorgeous and the taste is pretty good too! This is great with a cheese board but also works on toast. I gave a pot to our elderly neighbour who loves quince cheese, and makes her own, and got high praise – I was secretly rather pleased. I think she is after some more! When cherries were in season you may remember that I posted…
-
A November swim and a mystery solved
Bonjour Everyone We have had rain, (and a storm with the loudest thunder I have ever heard) with more forecast! Until a week ago the temperature was still around 22°C. I even have flowers on my once dried out strawberry plants, partly due to the sun but also the arrival of water. We have been contemplating one last swim as the pool looks so inviting, but as the nights are chilly now and the water is down to 15-16°C, I had decided I was not quite brave enough! However on Thursday we took the plunge – literally. We closed the pool last week so in a moment of bravado we…
-
Unusual Autumn
Bonjour I hope you are all well? Those proverbial buses did not run according to schedule (see blog post Another Month Bites the Dust) nor did I turn over a new leaf. In accordance with normality here, other things came along to divert the process! I started this post in late September and here we are at the end of October with nothing posted for an age, apart from a recipe at the weekend! I returned from a trip to the UK a few weeks ago to unseasonably warm weather which has continued. It has been up to 28°C and today was 26°C. The roses are putting on a third…
-
Summer 2022 – Tomatoes
I have been very remiss in keeping you up-to-date with our seasonal produce. So here is a little catch-up and a delicious tomato recipe – quick to make and great for lunch or supper. One of the highlights of summer for me is the huge variety of tomatoes available at our local markets. I have written about them before, but can’t resist tempting you once again with tomato dishes. There are so many things to do with tomatoes: homemade pasta sauce, chutneys, tomato salads, over roasted tomatoes and tarts – even tomato tarte tatin. One of my favourite ways to eat tomatoes is a really simple tomato salad, using a…
-
Another month bites the dust.
As the summer months draw to a close, so too I hope will my inability to get a blog post out on a regular basis. I keep starting and then something comes along that completely hijacks my time. We have been feeling a little challenged by circumstances, which can make it hard to write about all the things that have happened in ‘notre vie en France’. Don’t get me wrong, we love being in France – definitely not changing that, just daily life sometimes gets in the way, including a calf breaking into the garden last Tuesday to eat the Bay tree. However, this may be a moment when my…
-
Owl Rescue and Other News
Hello from the Tarn I hope you have all had a good few weeks? It has been eventful here – when is it not? We have covered many more kilometres than usual however! But first gorgeous news. Our little owls have nested in one of our attics. They usually nest in the tower but were clearly ejected from this spot last year and picked a spot under the apex of the highest roof. Two babies did not make it, perhaps forced out of the nest as happens sometimes, perhaps due to a fall from a great height. The attic they are now in is our storage attic so generally peaceful…
-
Cherries galore!
Seasonal food is the very essence of French cuisine and something I have long advocated and loved. As each month passes something new comes in to season, so what we cook and eat shifts in its pattern. In the summer months, when a fruit or vegetable is in abundance, the focus is on harvesting and finding ways to enjoy the seasonal offering, as well as preserving some for later months, wasting as little as possible, perhaps leaving a little for the birds. Cherries appeared in May and have now finished. For us sadly yet again this year our cherry trees fell victim to the late frosts, the beautiful blossom too…
-
There goes June
Bonjour to you all from our little corner of the Tarn We have finally had some rain, much needed by all, and a break in the very high temperatures that we have been experiencing. From 40°C to 20°C – quite a contrast, and even worse swimming pool temperatures dropped from 28°C to 22°C – quelle horreur! Achingly hot days, cocooned in a cool darkened house, shutters and windows closed tight against the heat have been replaced by fresher damp air, shutters, windows and doors flung open to catch any passing breeze. Duvets have reappeared on beds, nights seemingly chilly by comparison. Days change quite suddenly, yesterday 30°C, today 16°C –…
-
No Mow May
Hello Everyone Finally I’m back. May was a challenging month, with little spare time. We have had exams (my son’s finals), tooth dramas, pool dramas and, for me, confirmation of an eye problem. Perhaps this post should be No Blog May! Exam time is over at le petit château. Now the anxious wait for results but in the meantime a small celebration to mark the achievement that getting to the end of the degree is for my son. For him really against the odds. After the stress of the exam period I was counting on catching up with jobs both in and out of the house, as well as some…
-
Cats, Cake and Lawnmowers
Hello Everyone A beautiful morning here in the Tarn, the birds are singing, the air is warming up and the lake is glistening in the sunshine. Coffee and chocolatines on the terrace – how lovely. There is a promise of warmer days ahead, so once again we are behind with our pool opening. Each year has been the same. Chilly days and nights do not encourage thoughts of swimming, we forget that we need time to ready the pool for this. Suddenly the weather changes and oops, we are not ready. Ah well – there are definitely worse problems and this is truly not a real problem! We have reached…
