Apple cake

I tried out a new ‘French apple cake’ recipe yesterday for our guests. I’m not sure what makes it French, but I think it may be because it’s more like a batter mix, rather than a sponge mixture. It also has a delicious crunchy topping, which is a nice contrast to the soft apples cooked inside the cake.

I served it with a generous dollop of cream Yummy.

A welcome visitor

When we lived in Kent, in England, we often had stag beetles living in our garden. We were happy to have them around, because they need certain conditions to thrive, and they’re considered a little rare in the UK. Although I did find them a little creepy.

Happily, we occasionally find them in our garden in France, and we do our best to keep them safe. If i find one, I let Brian know I’ve seen it and he comes to move them away from areas of lots of comings and going’s.

Charming character

We had guests arriving on Sunday, staying for a few days. We were all ready, as we’d mowed the slope and walled garden the day before, and the bedrooms were all made up and the house ready.

On the day of their arrival we woke early, and decided we had time to visit a vide grenier in the little town of Vendeuvre-sur-Barse. I would say that when we first arrived in France, and visited Vendeuvre, we found it a little tired. But since we have lived here they have been investing in it, and slowly it’s becoming a lively town again. It also has a small train station, which has recently been renovated, where trains from Paris stop.

On the edge of the town there is a large derelict chateau, which is where the vide grenier was.

It surrounded the building and its gardens, and stretched away from the château under an avenue of trees.

We were nice and early, so were soon picking up some good bargains. However, Brian did ask why I always buy the heavy bulky Items right at the beginning.

It was such a successful little outing, that Brian had to make a few trips back to the car.

The little pots will be perfect for flower arrangements or bulbs, whilst the galvanised items I will use in the garden somehow. I have some ideas, which will come together shortly. The jug needs a good clean, but was just 8€, and again will be great for flowers, or just carrying water in the garden. The hat hooks are for a little project which will come together in the library, and the Champagne carrier is to replace our last one, which had a ‘petit accident’

Our most delightful purchase was a little, old metal cat. We just couldn’t resist him, such a charming character.

Garden rooms

The garden is flourishing with the warm, damp weather, which also means it needs quite a lot of maintenance. It’s good then that we bought Brian his new strimmer, which makes areas of the slope much easier to manage.

I use the lawnmower (tondeuse), to mow the larger areas of the slope, leaving some to meadow, which are full of wild flowers and butterflies this year. One of our guests mentioned he’d seen two rare butterflies there.

We’ve also created some new seating areas; peaceful little garden rooms to discover and enjoy, with occasional shade and different views of the garden and village. I’m loving how the garden is developing

Quatorze juillet

On Saturday evening we had a village celebration for quatorze Juillet (14th July), or fête nationale (national festival), or, as some may know it, ‘Bastille day’. Although the French no longer call it Bastille day, they prefer to call it their national day; a public holiday celebrated all over France.

It was a great gathering this year, with about 90 people. Many from the village, but some with friends and family from the nearby area.

We started the evening with a rather tasty grapefruit punch and gougères, whilst chatting to new acquaintances and some familiar faces. It’s a great opportunity to meet some new people to practice our French on.

We were then invited to sit down at long tables, to enjoy smoked ham with a very delicious rich tomato and onion sauce, and potatoes to soak up all the lovely juices. This was followed by some cheese and a tarte aux pommes for dessert. All in all, very enjoyable.

The evening ended with a firework display, which took place at the other end of the village. We all strolled along carrying paper lanterns, which this year were lit by battery operated candles, probably a little safer than the real ones we usually get.

Well preserved

The apricots I’d collected this week are not overripe and are still just a little bit hard, ideal for making jam. Having slightly more acidic fruit helps balance the sweetness of the jam, and aids setting.

It didn’t take long for Brian and me to cut 5kg of them in half. We then added about 4 bags of jam sugar and the juice of 2 lemons.

I was going for quite a soft set, so I didn’t simmer them for too long, about 20 minutes.

The result is some rather tasty apricot jam. Our guests this morning were first to try it on fresh, crusty, baguette. It went down very well. I love being able to serve homemade preserves for breakfast.

Lighting up

Last night we were pottering around upstairs when Brian noticed, out of one of our side windows, that the clouds were starting to turn a peachy, orange colour, and the green of the vines was starting to become luminescent against the darker green of the forest.

“Jo look at this” he called. At that point we both looked out at the garden and could see a spectacular sunset lighting up the dappled clouds. I think someone was definitely saying ‘Hello’.

Special delivery

Our special delivery was due today. My friend Dominique had called me a few weeks back to ask if I wanted some very fresh apricots. She had arranged to buy some from a shipment coming in from the South of France, and was looking for people to share the order. A 9kg tray would cost €25, so an excellent price.

As expected, earlier today, our group received a text to tell us the delivery had arrived in Fontette, and she was off to collect her allocation. She told us all that we could pass by her farm after 3pm to collect our trays.

I couldn’t wait to get mine. I’ve already bought the sugar, and will get a few fresh lemons from the market today to make up some jam. Lemon is needed in jam making to help set it and balance the sweetness. It’s also always best to use fresh lemons.

I will keep a few apricots aside for a couple of tarts, and any that’s left over I will freeze.

Ironing

We needed to make a little trip to Montbard, about an hour from where we are. It’s such a pretty little town, and it was a scorcher of a day, which made the trip even more beautiful.

It was a slow morning, and we took time to enjoy a coffee or two in the shade, which was a perfect spot to people watch and practice our French on the locals.

After our coffee break we wandered around for a bit. The town is full of gorgeous ironwork, of such different and unique styling, clearly depicting the different periods it dates from. It all looks stunning against the striking blue sky, and amazes me yet again at how much effort and care they invest in the beauty and style of their houses.

This little house was an absolute gem, nestled in a stunningly beautiful garden along the side of the river. The ironwork and conservatory were not the only delightful features, they had a rather spectacular mosaic on the wall below the balcony as well.

Beeutiful

The lavender seems really quite late in flowering this year, and some of the plants have not produced any flowers at all. I felt I needed to plant a few new ones this year to replace the older ones which are starting to tire. I’ll remove these older ones at the end of the summer.

The bees however do not seem to be complaining and still managing to find some open flowers to collect their pollen. Such a beautiful sight.

La Tour de France

On Sunday the Tour de France came to the Champagne region, and raced over some of the area’s white roads, which are the rough gravel tracks that criss-cross through the vineyards. It was promising to be rather spectacular.

We started our day by heading to Eguilly-sous-Bois. We thought it would be a nice, small village from which to see the caravan pass through. When we arrived there was definitely an air of anticipation.

I wasn’t really sure what to expect, but Brian said, jokingly, that he would be disappointed if it wasn’t a serious parade of floats, ‘With big animals and such like’. I really didn’t think he should be expecting too much, as the floats would need to keep at pace with the riders, often travelling at 50–60kph, but actually we were very pleasantly surprised.

There was a glorious mixture of vehicles, all created by the sponsors promoting their wares. They were throwing out freebies, from packets of spiced sausage, keyrings, drinks, and money off vouchers to hats and T-shirts.

I was lucky enough to be thrown one of the T shirts of the team that would go on to win, but we obviously didn’t know it at the time.

After the caravan we walked up the road to a stretch with three hairpin bends. We thought this would be a good spot to capture some photos.

As we patiently waited, chatting to a nearby lady, a family in a land rover appeared that had driven across the field. They parked up right in front of our view. ‘Excusez-moi monsieur’. The lady and I called across to him. ‘Pouvez-vous vous y déplacer s'il vous plaît, vous bloquez notre photo.’ She called. ‘Oui, la bas’ I added. Quite surprisingly he jumped back in his land rover and reversed up, a big thumbs up from us all, he smiled and walked back to join his family. The lady kept shouting ‘monsieur cochonou’, which we translated as Mr Pig, and we were now worried it would all get a bit heated, but then we noticed he was wearing one of the free ‘Cochonou’ hats thrown out by the 2CV, and it was all just a friendly joke. There was such a wonderful atmosphere.

The minutes slipped by. “I can hear the helicopter” Brian said, “Get ready, they’ll be here any minute”. They came into view just after finishing one of the white roads and leaving the forest, and took a steady ride through the zig-zag of the road, and then down into Eguilly. ‘Allez, Allez’ the crowd called, clapping and cheering them on.

The second place rider, Turgis (above), went on to win.

By now they had split into four groups. The front ‘breakaway’ group, of about 10 riders sped past, then a larger group of the main peloton, followed by a second group a few seconds later. A final group whizzed by only moments later. It truly was a spectacular sight, and a wonderful experience. Our first Tour de France.

Short back and sides

After their shaky start to the year, covered in caterpillars, the box trees have been flourishing. So much so, Brian decided they needed a quick trim.

It’s amazing how the branches really pull together with a cut, they look so much tighter and neater.

I’m just so amazed that we are in July and the grass is so green, all this rain is good for something.

Tasty snack

Hmm that looks tasty! I’d have thought a red bug was red for danger, but I think it was just faking it, as the praying mantis decided he was going to have a mid morning snack of it.

As you can see he was only a little chap, just chilling out amongst the stones by the pool.

Extension

Our laurel hedge was looking rather too overgrown. I do love the density of it, but it was a bit straggly on top and had started to hinder us from getting into the library from the outside. So I got a couple of old sheets, to capture the clippings, and Brian set to work with the hedge trimmer.

It had grown so tall, that he needed the extending hedge trimmer, which managed to reach some of the higher branches and leaves.

Still not able to reach everything we wanted to, we changed tack and used the extending hand clippers whilst reaching out of the first floor window.

Once finished, and all tidied up, I was very pleased with the result. I just need to get that door painted now!

Forever beautiful

With the rain we have had lately the garden is flourishing. The meadow area that I’ve left is full of flowers that are attracting delicate, beautifully coloured butterflies and the workaholic bees.

The roses however are looking a bit bedraggled. We’ve given them all a good prune, and are constantly deadheading the old water soaked flowers in the hope we will get more beautiful blooms as the summer deepens and the warmth encourages them to bud.

We do however have some gorgeous bright pink blooms just by our front door. The colour is so vibrant, I’d like this one to last forever.

Belle époque

When we woke on Sunday morning, the gentle sound of the patter of rain at our open window drifted in, and the soft breeze brought a coolness we were grateful for after some hot days.

Our guests, ignoring the rain, were keen to venture out and explore some of the little villages. We’d armed them with a few telephone numbers of producers, who had said they will offer tastings on a Sunday.

We’d planned to go to the ‘Belle Époque ‘ festival in Essoyes, which celebrates the period 1871–1914 known as the ‘Beautiful era’. It was during this time that Renoir lived there with his young family. We decided to wait a while first, to see if the rain stopped.

We pottered around the house doing a few jobs, and by around 3pm the day had settled, so we headed out to see what was happening at the festival.

It was such a beautiful event, with various exhibits displaying period items annd crafts, and locals dressed up as tradespeople from the belle époque era. There was one chap showing us his skill riding an old style penny farthing bicycle. I’m not sure I’d have wanted to be seated up there, trying to dodge the pedestrians.

Some of the locals came dressed up in historical costumes to embrace the day, sometimes it was the whole family, other times groups of friends just enjoying a fun afternoon out together.

The local fire brigade brought a period fire engine to display, along with lots of paraphernalia of the period. It was so nice listening to the passion of the firemen sharing their knowledge of the kit, and how things were very different for their predecessors.

Our guests returned early evening, after having a fabulous day of exploring the villages, enjoying lunch by the river, soaking up the Renoir festival, and enjoying a tasting or two. We finished our day chatting with a glass of Champagne in the garden.

Anywhere

It varies depending on what part of France you’re in, but where we live French people greet each other with a double kiss. This is always accompanied by an enthusiastic greeting. ‘Ah Bonjour, ça va ?’, ‘Oui bien, et toi ?’, ‘Oui ça va, ça va’. Then a rapid exchange of news often follows. This lovely little process can take quite a while, and will happen almost anywhere, despite the possibility for inconvenience to others.

The other day in Troyes, whilst sitting enjoying a coffee in the sun, we witnessed a typical example of how ingrained this is in the French culture. As we sipped on our Perriers, the lights on the little road that flows out of Troyes centre ville turned green, and a car pulled silently away, but then there was a ‘beep’. Shocked to hear it, as the drivers here rarely resort to the car horn, we looked up to see a couple rush toward the next car in line at the lights, which had obviously beeped to attract their attention. The typical greetings ensued between the driver and the couple through the car window, almost blissfully unaware that they were holding up the cars behind them. After what seemed an uncomfortably long time, the ‘Bonne journées’ were traded, and all the traffic then went on its way without a single beep or cross word. Amazing. It’s those little glimpses into the politeness of French culture that I love.

What a bashing!

I can’t help but to talk about the weather, as it’s just been crazily changeable. The temperatures had been up in the mid 30°s, Brian had gone to check on the pool, and snapped this pic on the way down.

We’d both felt like there was a storm coming, but we’re not quite prepared for the bashing we were about to get!

The heavens just opened, and we were deluged with hail and rain.

At the front of our house is a small river; the ‘Artaut’. It’s normally just a gentle flow, about ankle deep, but this would have come up to my middle. Luckily it didn’t last too much longer, and the rivers rise eventually subsided.

Phew!

Route barrée

Next weekend ‘La tour de France’ will be whizzing between the villages in our local area. It will start and finish in Troyes, so when we visited there yesterday it was lovely to see how they had decorated the streets and open spaces in readiness for the event.

This huge bike and fountain welcomed us on one of the roundabouts as we entered.

The peloton will fly through Landreville, the village next to ours, then it will make two appearances in Loches-sur-Ource, before heading up to Eguilly-sous-Bois. Our decision is where shall we go and watch it. We know that it will actually all happen quite quickly, but I think experiencing the buzz and hype of the event will be what interests me. A number of the villages are organising other activities to support the day, so we will hopefully get to visit one of those as well.

It is certainly a huge focus for the area. Over recent months they have been fixing and resurfacing parts of the route, ensuring things are looking good and that they are as safe for the riders as they can be. We can tell it’s an event that brings a lot of pride out in the villages, and I’m looking forward and excited to see it.

Noyers-sur-Serein

This week we discovered the beautiful old medieval village of Noyer. We visited it with some friends, who had organised a tasting of some local Chablis wines at Bardet & fils on the outskirts of the village. This would be a good start to our day.

Philipe, the proprietor, met us at our car and led us to his cellar. It was a pretty little domaine, which had originally been purchased by Philipe’s father, as just a plot of land. He planted some vines, and began the work of making Chablis. It is now run by Philipe, his brother and his two sons. The cellar, which they had created from scratch, was an excellent place for the tasting, which followed the order of a Bourgogne, petit Chablis, Chablis, Chablis premier cru, Irancy (red) and ended on a Cremant. We were all keen to buy a few bottles, which I know we will enjoy in the months and years ahead.

We then drove into the village for lunch at ‘La Grange’, which was in a really delightful setting. The restaurant is set just off the main route through the town, and situated in a quiet private garden. It was a simple lunch for me of a chilled cucumber and feta soup, then a vegetable risotto, followed by a chocolate brownie for dessert. All rather delicious.

After lunch we had a little wander through the village. It’s full of many interesting little shops, all very creative and arty. Beautiful old buildings line the streets of the village, and on the return there’s a very tranquil walk along the side of the old town wall, along the Serein river.

It made for a beautiful day out, just over an hours drive from us. We will definitely be returning.