Reflection

I’ve had a really wonderful birthday weekend. Dad called me first thing to wish me many happy returns and friends and family got in touch throughout the day, which was so nice. It really is the little things that count, that make a difference - a comment, a photo, a text, a card, a phone call.

A sad note though was to learn about Prince Philip, such a wonderful man. He didn’t shy away from saying what he thought, which some would say wasn’t always a good thing, but he knew what duty and loyalty were.

We have been enjoying some delicious food and wine whilst getting out to enjoy the fresh air, walking through the vines, exploring the forests and taking in the sounds and fresh colours of nature coming to life. It has given us the time we needed to reflect on things, on what we’ve achieved and what else we need to do. There are quite a few projects we need to progress with which we will be working on over coming weeks. One of them is the third bedroom to decorate - the Magnum. Brian still has some woodwork to do on the floor in there, he has done some already though, so it should only be a couple of boards. Mainly it’s lots of filling and prep work before we paint it.

Firstly though we need to empty it, and hang some plastic sheeting on the walls to protect the fabric covering which we want to retain.

Treats - part 2

Nature has a beautiful way of making you smile. On our walk yesterday we took a slight detour to walk back via a different route, and growing out of the wooded bank were some beautiful little mauve and yellow flowers, a delightful little sight that made me smile.

Our drink of choice last night to celebrate the day, came from our village producer ‘Robert-Grandpierre’. A very worthwhile selection. And another treat for me was some Brie aux truffes, such a luxurious cheese.

Treats - part 1

It’s been a delightful day. We headed off to the market first thing to get some of my favourite tasty treats for today. I also got some narcissus, which have a beautiful fresh spring perfume to them. Then there were the mushrooms. I just love mushrooms, and have never tried pleurotte jeune before, so really looking forward to tasting these later.

Then we nipped into the boulangerie for some pastries and a couple of eclairs. Didn’t exactly ‘nip’ though!

Once we got home the sun was shining and it was warm enough to enjoy our deliciously flaky pain au raisin with coffee outside in the garden.

it was such a gorgeous afternoon we decided to go for a walk out of the village, through the forest, across the fields, then down to the point de vue, where we sat and enjoyed our feuilleté of champignons et chaource (this is like a mushroom pasty with a local cheese). There was a little breeze, but sitting eating our pastry warmed us, and we relaxed chatting about nothing in particular, just stuff.

Isolation

It’s been a very exciting day, as Joël and his brother came to insulate and board out the ‘atelier’. We are creating this in the room we made above the laundry and boiler room.

I’m so looking forward to getting this room done. It will not only be a great space to work on some projects, it will also give us some really accessible storage space, that will help us get organised. It also allows us to leave our projects out, so that we don’t have to keep packing things away.

The guys worked really hard all day to get the room railed out and the insulation in place. Next week we’ll get the electrics and some heating installed, before Joël returns to board it all out.

Anti-freeze

Yesterday we had the first frost of spring. Although to us it brings an opportunity for some beautiful photography - blue skies, bright sun, and crystal chandelier vines - for the vignerons it is a very tense and stressful period.

The vines are fragile, their young buds just starting to burst from their stems and shoot into life. The frost can stunt or kill this growth. To help protect the vines against the will of nature, some of the vignerons use nature to protect them. They do this by spraying them with water, which in the sub zero temperatures, freezes around the buds.

It’s quite a simple process but at the same time complex in its science. Quite a wonder of nature, who’d have thought deliberately freezing the vines would actually protect them?.

We have seen this method performed on a number of occasions and Brian has spoken to various vignerons to understand the chemistry behind it. He has captured his findings to date in the article he has written called ‘Protecting vines from frost’ – available here.

Thought I would also share some of the ‘getting wet’ moments of making our vlog.

Growing herbs

I love to include fresh herbs when I’m cooking, and I’m aware that it’s much better to have them freshly cut rather than the packet herbs. Although something is better than nothing and I know at certain times of the year it just isn’t possible, and sometimes ‘just going outside to pick a few leaves’ doesn’t end up happening. So I thought how can I have a quick and easy access to my fresh herbs. Firstly I have planted a couple of bay trees in my two big pots just outside the front door. I am not sure if they will like this, but I will try them and see, and pot them out if miraculously they do get too big.

I have also just stood some growing soft herbs in my cold water veg sink in the kitchen. I’ve put basil, mint, parsley and coriander. They look great, smell really good, and it’s so easy to just snip off what I need.

I do also have some mint, sage and rosemary in the garden - I now plan to move these closer to the front door and incorporate them into the borders. I’m thinking I should also look out for some tarragon, as this herb is used a lot in french cooking.

Hedging Our bets

We ordered some Laurel hedging plants off the Internet. I wasn’t quite sure how they were going to turn up, but I was suitably pleased with how they arrived. The courier company kept us updated on the expected delivery, and we made certain we were in to receive them.

We’d ordered ten plants in total, as we need to fill in some gaps in our hedge that have appeared by some fir trees dying off. I’m not certain firs like the hot summers here as I’ve seen a few in other people’s gardens not looking that healthy, so we thought we’d ‘hedge our bets’ and fill the holes with some laurels, which seem to fair much better here, although are not native plants. For delivery, the plants had been wrapped in black cellophane, and all placed together in one box. They arrived in very good condition and I would certainly use them again.

We didn’t waste anytime getting them unwrapped and well watered ready to be planted.

The plan was to use the laurels to fill the gaps the dead fir trees were leaving, so that obviously meant we needed to remove the dead trees first. A couple came out really easy, but there was one at the top near the pool that did not want to budge. So we had to resort to sawing it.

Tea time

It was so good to feel the warmth of the sun we decided to nip out for a short stroll just to get up close to the vines and see what they were doing, before sitting and enjoying a just hot cup of Earl grey.

The rows and rows of vines had all been cut and tidied for their one main aim of the year, to produce grapes fit enough to make excellent wine, the best in fact - champagne.

They look like soldiers ready for inspection on their passing out parade, all standing to attention. Neatly groomed, clipped in readiness for the buds to show themselves and the rows cleared of weeds and grass, so everything in the soil is just for the vine. We now just need to hope the weather is kind to the vignerons, and that 2021 is a good year for them.

Very good friday

Preparing for Easter

We started our day with Brian making some hot cross buns whilst I went to the market to buy some fish. I’d managed to purchase a beautiful looking turbot, just the right size for the two of us. I had also managed to get the fishmonger to filet it for me, but leaving the skin on.

We’d had a very lazy day, and decided to open a nicely chilled bottle of Chablis - by Jean-Marc Brocard - to have with the Turbot. First off we enjoyed a glass of this in the early evening sun, nestled at the back of the house in the courtyard away from the breeze.

Cooking of the turbot was a joint affair. I got the deliciously sweet french new potatoes on, which had been grown in Brittany, whilst Brian warmed some oil to start to cook the turbot. Then added some garlic, thyme, butter and pleurotte mushrooms. Once cooked, we plated the fish and made a sauce by adding some white wine to the pan and reducing it quickly. We served it with some sautéed spinach and I have to say it was delicious.

A small nibble of cheese followed with a couple of glasses of Chinon

The box tree moth

We have a number of shaped box trees in our garden. The ones in the lower, more formal, garden are quite well established. They are either a sphere or conical shape and although I would not have necessarily chosen them I do like them and they set a french styling for the garden. We also have a number on the slope up to the pool, but we have not been shaping these so they are a little more natural looking. Then finally there are a few smaller ones by the pool, which are also shaped.

Across France, there are some beautiful french gardens that are full of box hedging or topiary, which look stunning. A few examples I’d love to visit are; Les Jardins d’Etretat, Normandy; Marquayssac, Dordogne; Villandry, Loire. We have visited Villandry so far, which I loved, but will plan to visit the others.

Unfortunately last year, during the hot weather. whilst we were not able to visit the house, some of our box trees were infested by a small butterfly (papillon), commonly known now as the box tree moth. It lays its eggs in the bush/tree and the caterpillars and moths eat away at the leaves. We had a few that were quite badly munched!

The moth originates from Asia, but was first discovered in Europe in 2007. They have been more prevalent in the UK since 2011. I think it’s because box trees have become more popular, especially in urban areas where their size can be restricted and their unique shapes can be easily maintained.

Initially I set about spraying them with an insecticide, which did help to kill off some of the butterflies that were living on the plants. I then needed to get brave and trim off all the dead branches and leaves, that were the result of the infestation. Once that was done I could then start feeding the plant to try and encourage some new growth, but it was quite late in the season so they were reluctant to do much. What we also needed to do was to kill any further moths that may have survived the spraying. We did this by hanging up a contraption near to the plants that effectively acted as a trap and had poison in it. None of that sounds very nice, but we really did not want to lose the plants. It was then a waiting game to see what was going to happen after winter.

August 2020 v’s March 2021

The time has come around again when the moths become active. They are not pretty little coloured butterflies that you see flying around, they are tiny brown ugly looking moths. We have refilled the trap, trimmed the plants and fertilised them. The good thing is we can see new growth coming through where I’d cut them back, and they are starting to look like we may just be able to recover them - time will tell. For now I will keep up regular nourishment and keep them clipped to encourage more growth, and wait to see.

Before and after a clipping

Mr Blue sky

We woke to a gorgeous blue sky, it really does put a spring in your step. The plan for the day was get the lawn and slope mowed, and if I had time I would prune some roses. I had treated myself to a new pair of secateurs so wanted to give them a go. Good job I enjoy pruning as there are quite a few roses to get around.

Brian took on the slope whilst I chose the lawn. To both our amazement the petrol mower started first time, so he soon had remembered all the little tricks he’d learnt last year and was making good progress on mowing the slope. There was one thing though that was to slow him down, I had said he was not to mow over the daffodils. Sharon and I planted them one cold icy January afternoon a few years back after returning from a dog walk. I remember the ground being solid, but somehow we managed to make some holes in the claggy cold earth to plant them, mum had bought me a huge bag of bulbs, I’m not sure they’ve all taken, but pleased to now see some of them springing into colour.

The lawn was definitely a much easier task, although I had the cowslips and tulips to avoid.

Buffed up!

Brian had worked hard on rubbing the polish into the wooden floor in the Jeroboam room, the wood was so dry it was really soaking it up. I then used the polisher to buff it up, we’d bought this whilst we were in Kent and used it on the floor in the conservatory, but it always seemed a bit excessive for the size of the room. However, I have to say it’s been really useful on the floors in the house and has given this floor a really nice, subtle shine. We left the polish to dry off fully and then put the furniture back - we were pretty pleased with the final result, hope you enjoy the video.

Lizard watch

Boo was enjoying a bit of lizard watching in the sun today. He spent the first few hours just staring at the wall waiting for the tiny little lizards to spy a fly and dart across the wall to catch it. Needless to say a few flies got eaten but no lizards.

We needed to move a few plants that were just in the wrong place. So first there was a lot of discussion as to where the hole needed to be dug for the hydrangea. The earth here is either a dense clay or full of rock so it does take a bit of effort to dig. This side of the garden goes into shade from about 1pm, so it was a good area to work in as the sun was getting hotter. Neither of us were complaining though, just so nice to have some beautiful warm weather to be outside in. I also took a few root cuttings off the hydrangea, so hopefully I may get another plant from these which I have planted in another part of the garden to see how it fairs.

Red tape

You may remember me writing about choosing which saucepans to order, well that was back in November. I chose a set with a few additions from an English company called Samuel Groves, I thought I was hopeful at the time, thinking I’d get them before Christmas - well they have made it before Easter - today they finally arrived. I have to say though Samuel Groves, who we bought them from, have been amazing. They had a slight delay before Christmas on production, which they apologised for, but kept me updated and advised once they had been shipped. That was when the real delay started to happen. I’m not sure if they got caught in the delays at Dover over Christmas or just caught up in post Brexit red tape, I think the latter, but they have spent a good few months in customs. All the time Katie and Dharma at Samuel Groves have been emailing me updating me on what action they had been taking, chasing the courier company and following up where the pans actually were. We had a slight clue the delivery was moving closer as Brian had received a text this week asking us to pay some import duty. Which he did immediately, we didn’t want the courier company to have any excuses to return them.

Then, typically, we missed a delivery by Chronopost today when we’d just nipped out to get some bread. Soon after Brian received another text from them saying they had failed to deliver them. He immediately checked the website and found that they were being held at a delicatessen in Essoyes. They were open until 6.30 pm, so off we went to collect them and picked up a piece of pie whilst we were there.

The wait was definitely worth it.

Certificate of travel restriction waiver

Under confinement we need to complete the following form whenever we leave the house. I have to admit we have never been stopped to show it, but we do ensure we have it with us. It just makes you think about where you are going and what is the purpose, is the journey really necessary?

The form can be found on the gouv.fr website, English version link below.

form download here

Confinement three

Today our department of the Aube went back into lockdown. It isn’t much different for us, except we need to take an attestation out with us again when we go out, and we cannot travel out of our region or further than 10 kms from home. This will be in place for four weeks before being reviewed. That said, we have plenty to keep us occupied over the coming month both indoors and outside.

Yesterday we nipped to our local Intermarche in Bar-sur-Seine to stock up on a few supplies. There is no panic buying in France, everyone just does things as they normally do. There would also have to be some dramatic buying to reduce the huge choice of yoghurts - natural, fruit, bio, local, regional, alternative to milk etc. And since being in France, Brian has got a real taste for a vanilla yoghurt, so that’s a good thing.

We also visited the market, and bought some beautiful looking veg, and pleurotte mushrooms, we will have these simply fried on toast. A couple of chocolate eclairs, filled with a chocolate crème pâte also made their way home, they are nicely packaged ready to be carefully unwrapped and enjoyed with a cup of Earl grey tea.

Colour all around

The day started very well, we enjoyed a very pleasant relaxed breakfast in the garden. The sun was warming the courtyard nicely and we were sheltered from any breeze. Brian had put my window boxes out on the window sills at the front of the house, and seeing the ping of colour peer through the kitchen window at me whilst I was preparing our breakfast tray made me smile.

We sat overlooking the lawn which is dotted with hundreds of cowslips. Their delicate, yellow flowers seemed to have appeared overnight. I’m thinking the mowing will have to wait a few days more.

The little tête-à-tête daffodils that Mum and I had planted a couple of years ago were flourishing. I hadn’t got to see them last year due to lockdown, but it was so good to see them flowering now - a bright citrus yellow compared to the softer, paler yellow of the cowslips. The daffodils are looking beautiful next to the barn wall.

Dotted amongst the stones of the courtyard are tiny little blue anemones. I’m not sure where these came from. I did have some in Kent but thought they had died back, I’m wondering now if some seeds made their way here amongst the gardening tools. I do love them, such a delicate little flower, I want to try and get them to seed up the slope under the plum tree. I’ll have to see if I can collect some seeds and scatter them there.

Bedding in

We woke to a beautiful blue sky this morning, the air was chilly as the night temperature had still been quite low, bobbing around zero degrees, but with the sun now up the air was starting to warm.

I’d bought some plants yesterday so was keen to get out and plant them, but first I needed to paint the bedroom doors. Once I got started it didn’t take too long to finish the three doors that were left. The day was so beautiful we decided to have our first lunch of the year outside, so whilst Brian got the garden furniture out I went and prepared our lunch - quiche Lorraine and quiche poireaux (leeks)

I wanted to prepare three window boxes for the front of the house, and had chosen a real assortment of colour, so fortified by lunch I got stuck in. Plants here are not cheap, however they are good quality with well developed roots, so I’m hoping with a little TLC this year they will do well.

Tomorrow we can put them in position, but for now I will ensure they are well watered and bedded in.

Going bananas

I thought the bananas were going to be a bit too far gone for me, but actually they were just right, still firm but sweet. So I made three banana breads. I’ve put two in the freezer and we are enjoying one with our coffees.

Then we had banana pancakes for breakfast, which were yummy. All you do is mash up two bananas, mix in two eggs, then add self raising flour, just until it thickens up. Then simply fry them until golden. You can use GF self raising flour if preferred. We had them with a sliced banana, fresh strawberries, lemon and sugar. Brian prefers maple syrup.

Lastly, I sliced up the apples for Brian to make an apple tart. We used a roll of pastry that we had in the freezer, covered it with the apple slices, then brushed with apricot jam. So simple, but effective. It makes a great dessert. The remainder I have just sliced and popped in the freezer. These will be made into an apple crumble next week.

I’m pretty impressed with all the tasty things we made with the fruit and veg box, nothing has been wasted. I have one banana left which I will have on my muesli tomorrow - oh, I nearly forgot, the lettuce we had was an accompaniment to our steak last night.

Pickled

The strawberries were probably the most delicate of the items in my fruit and veg box, so I needed to do something with them first. I love the intensity of strawberry coulis, but wouldn’t normally make it as I’d want to eat the strawberries fresh. However, these being a bit past that fresh stage meant they were great to boil up and make a sugary sweet, bright red strawberry sauce - I’ve popped this in the freezer. The coulis will be ideal to use on some ice cream in the warmer weather, or on top of a cheesecake.

I then decided to pickle the radishes and the carrot. It’s a really simple thing to do and will be a tasty addition to cold meats, fish or in a salad. I made two jars from the bunch I had.

The recipe is a cup of vinegar (I had cider vinegar so used that), 1/2 cup of water, 1 cup of sugar, a dessert spoon of salt, some mustard seeds, black pepper and a bay leaf for each jar. Slice the radish and carrot (or any veg you have) and place in a sterilised jar. Boil the vinegar and other ingredients, then pour onto the radishes that you’ve already put in the jars. The key is to ensure you have super sterilised your jars and lids, and any equipment you are using. You need to store the pickles for a week minimum before opening, but they can be kept for up to four months.