Signs of summer in France

The first Hollyhocks in bloom

May is the month of publicholidays in France, with seemingly more days off than at work, which I think leads us nicely into summer and long summer holidays. Now June has arrived I can feel a real change in the season as the signs of summer begin to appear all around me.

The first of our hollyhocks have opened this week marking the start of a riot of tall, show-offy blooms that will cheer our garden all the way through to autumn. By encouraging them to scatter their seeds, they pop up wherever they feel in our courtyard lawn in whatever colour they choose and I just love them.

Cherries and cherry cake

The cherries are ripe, and so begins our first orchard harvest of summer. My days this week have been spent picking, washing, oven drying and freezing, baking and not forgetting eating cherries. My fingers and most of the kitchen are sticky and stained with cherry juice, but my winter breakfasts will be adorned with the dark red jewels of dried cherries; the fruits of my labour and the taste of early summer enjoyed all year.

Squash ready to plant out in potager

The hard work in spring; weeding, rotivating and digging in the potager (vegetable garden) has been worth it and our summer produce is now finally planted out; six aubergines, six peppers, forty-seven assorted tomatoes and fifty-seven squash (pumpkin, melon, patisson, butternut, winter squash and my favourite, courgette) have joined the twenty beans that have looked rather lonely these last few weeks. I know we are late to planting out (as usual) but better late than never. I’m already looking forward to the harvesting that will follow soon; let our summer evening routine of watering now begin.

The first moules of summer

The moules (mussels) lady returned to our village market this week selling the first of this year’s moules. They will now be our weekly treat until October, served with homemade chips and walnut bread, eaten on the terrace with a glass of chilled white wine; a true taste of summer in France.

Tour de Rêves September 2017

The elderflowers in the hedgerows are out and smell fantastic. There is nothing quite like a warm evening bike ride accompanied by their sweet perfume to put a smile on my face. Although I have to admit it has been tricky to squeeze cycling into our busy days spent gardening, harvesting and cherry processing, but I can’t forget I have a challenge to prepare for. Cycling over 400km in six consecutive days, where some days will be over 70km in distance and others will be on quite hilly terrain can’t be pushed too far to the back of my mind, September will be here all too soon. 

If you would like to read more about our Tour de Rêves charity bike ride just click here, thank you.

Probably the scariest sign of summer is that Ed will finish school next week. There will still be revision sessions and exams to keep him busy for a few weeks, but I can’t quite believe how quickly this school year has zoomed by.

I'd love to know what things always remind you of summer and I hope that you have fond memories of summers spent in France, wherever in the world you live.

This post has been linked to Lou Messugo’s All About France link up. Click here for more posts All About France.

Here are some summer reading suggestions, set in France, just for you.

Bonne fête Maman

Bonne Fête Maman

Today in France it’s Mother’s Day or Fête des Mères and I thought I’d share with you a few differences between how we used to celebrate and how we have passed the day today.

When Ed was at Maternelle (aged 3 to 5) and Primaire (aged 5 to 10) the school would always ensure something cute and crafty was hand made and brought home, accompanied by lots of whispers to Daddy to ensure the contents of his school bag remained a surprise between Friday afternoon and Sunday morning. I have obviously kept all of these special gifts, so thought you’d enjoy the picture above, made when Ed was about six.

Texts from Ed on Mother's Day

Ed is now 16 and sadly the lycée curriculum is more focussed on working towards their baccalaureate exams than crafting gifts for mamans. Obviously Ed is also concentrating on his exams, but there are also friends to be partied with and that is what he was doing last night. As you can see from the snapshot of our messages, my first communication from Ed today was at 02.16am, not to wish me a happy Mother’s Day, but to change pick-up time, bless. At least I wasn’t woken from my beauty sleep when it pinged in and I also slept through the 06.21am text reverting back to a 10.00am pick-up. What did wake me up was the phone ringing at 8.00am. It was Ed, letting us know that anytime we were ready, he was ready to come home, obviously keen to spend some time with his mummy.

My hand crafted card

Despite the early start it has been a good day and on a serious note I'm pleased Ed feels he can text me day or night as being a Mum will always be a 24hr/7 day a week roll.

I am now the happy owner of a La La Land DVD and in this age of technology he also ‘crafted’ me a custom made photomontage of the two of us and posted it on Instagram. 

Our orchids

I’ve also had fun in the garden, lawn mowing and admiring our fine selection of wild orchids that are decorating the grass in our orchard. 

Our cherries

Plus been cherry picking and had my first dip in the pool this year.

I hope you’ve had a lovely Sunday too.

Flan aux Cerises

Flan aux cerises - Cherry flan

I'm always on the lookout for quick and easy recipes using our homegrown fruit and eggs. This cherry flan, that I tried for the first time this week, fit the bill perfectly as we've got a glut of eggs and cherries at the moment. I will definitely be making it again, especially as it passed Ed's taste test - probably because it isn't too sweet or too rich.

Ingredients 

2 eggs lightly beaten

250g plain flour

100g caster sugar

2 sachets of vanilla sugar. These are readily available in France, but a vanilla pod stored in a jar of sugar will give the same effect. Use 2 tablespoons.

500ml of semi-skimmed milk

1 tablespoon of Pineau (our local aperitif but Cherry liqueur or Cognac will work)

500g stoned cherries (I'm sure raspberries will be delicious as well)

Butter a large ovenproof dish (I used two medium ones) and preheat the oven to Gas mark 6.

Gently warm the milk and Pineau to tepid and remove from the heat. In a mixing bowl add the flour, sugars and eggs and combine well. Slowly pour in the milk, mixing well and then add the cherries. Using a ladle pour the wet batter into the oven dish and bake for 45mins, or until set, but with a wobble.

Leave to cool before slicing and eating.

By far the easiest way to stone cherries is to invest in one of these. I've had one for years and although the plastic is showing signs of wear and tear I wouldn't want to be without it.

Cherry Mincemeat recipe

Cherry Mincemeat

I am not one to talk about Christmas (or even start thinking about it or pressie shopping) in September, except for one thing, the mincemeat for my mince pies. Now is the perfect time to start making this, especially as my recipe uses cooking apples, which are falling like the rain here at the moment. The flavour will be so much better if made now, bottled, and left to mature in a cool, dark cupboard for a few months.

Here is my tried and tested Cherry Mincemeat recipe, adapted from a lovely old jams and preserves book from Mum that dates from 1977 and was produced by The British Sugar Bureau. It is packed full of jams, chutneys, relishes, sauces and 1970’s styled pictures. 

Retro 1970s cookbook

It is retro, but I love it. I am busy making this in batches and we are all looking forward to the smell of freshly cooked mince pies in a few months time – for my pastry recipe, see here.

700g (4 1/2 cups) mixed dry fruits; sultanas, raisins, cherries

150g (1 cup) glacé cherries

100g (1/4 cup) cut mixed peel

250g (1/2 lb) cooking apples, peeled and cored

100g (1/4 cup) shelled walnuts

250g (1.2 lb) shredded suet

450g (2 cups) demerara sugar

2 tsp mixed spice

Cognac to mix (or rum or sloe gin)

Coarsely mince or finely chop dried fruit, peel, apples and nuts. Add the suet, sugar, spice and enough Cognac to give a moist mixture. Stir well and leave to stand, covered, for 2 days. Stir well again and put into sterilised jars. Cover as for jam and leave to mature for at least two weeks (but longer if possible) before using.

I Love Fruit

Strawberries, my favourite fruit

When the first strawberry of the season is ripe enough to pick I'm in love with it's scent, texture and sweet juicy flavour.

Raspberries, my favourite fruit

When the first raspberry bursts in my mouth I remember raspberries truly are my favourite fruit.

Cherries, my favourite fruit

But there is nothing tastier than a sun warmed cherry, ripened to an almost black colour, picked and eaten in the orchard.

Plums and Pears, my favourites too

Hooray! The plums are ripe and I can't get enough of their sweet jam-like flavour and texture.

It's pear picking time too. These firm but juicy beauties with a delicate flavour that melt in your mouth, I'm sure they must be my favourite.

I may not be decisive but I do know I just love growing my own fruits (and vegetables too). Now to the kitchen where 22kg of home grown produce is awaiting my attention - that will make a lot of jams, soups, sauces and chutneys!

Courgette Chutney

During the summer I make lots of chutney using the excess fruits and vegetables from the garden. As well as a great way of preserving the gluts the chutney is delicious with cold meats, cheeses and in sandwiches and is enjoyed as much by Adrian’s parents as us. Here is my Courgette Chutney recipe; at the beginning of the season it is a Cherry and Courgette chutney, then it becomes Plum and Courgette chutney and finally Apple or Quince and Courgette chutney at the end of the summer.

Chutney with cheese & saucisson 

500g courgettes (zucchini)
500g cherries/plums/apples
2 medium onions
2 fresh chillies (optional)
500g demerara sugar
2 tsps ground allspice
2 tsps ground cloves
1 tsp sea salt
black pepper
1 heaped tbsp chopped or grated fresh ginger
2 tsps tumeric
700ml cider vinegar

Dice the courgettes, stone the cherries, stone and chop the plums or peel and roughly chop the apples/quince and finely chop the onions. Seed the chillies and chop finely.

Put all the ingredients in a large pan and bring to the boil. Cook over a medium heat for as long as it takes for the mixture to thicken (about an hour).

Spoon into washed and sterilised jars and when cool place in the store cupboard. The flavour will be better after a month and they will last at least a year if kept in a cool dark place.

Fat Free Cherry Cake Recipe

Cherry harvest at www.frenchvillagediaries.com

Here is my most baked cake recipe; I like to indulge in a slice of cake every day, and making it without fat means I can do so without worrying about the consequences. I generally make it with cherries as in our orchard we have five huge old cherry trees as well as about the same again in younger trees. There are at least three different varieties with red and yellow fruits, all with a slightly different harvest time. In a good year we could pick, over a six-week period, hundreds of kilos of cherries. We can’t pick them all and we can’t use all that we do pick, but the birds and the neighbours help us out there. Our freezer comes into it’s own as a lot of the cherries are stoned using my fantastic Leifheit Preserving Cherrymat Cherry Pitter Machine, Plastic, White, frozen on trays and bagged up to be turned into Fat Free Cherry Cakes all year round. You could of course use any fruit of your choice, if we have them I also use halved plums or peaches and sliced apples, pears or quince, all are delicious.

Cherry stoning at www.frenchvillagediaries.com

Ingredients:

Enough cherries (or fruit) to fill the bottom of a lined flan tin

3 eggs at room temperature

65g sugar

110g plain flour

1 tbsp cornflour

1 tsp baking powder

2 tbsp natural yoghurt

50g ground almonds

a few drops of almond essence

Fat Free Cherry Cake www.frenchvillagediaries.com

Beat the eggs and sugar for at least five minutes until very frothy and pale. Gently fold in the yoghurt and almond essence, and then half the dry ingredients sieved, then the remainder. Try and lose as little of the air as possible. Pour the batter over the cherries and bake in a preheated oven (gas 4) for about 20 mins, or until the top is golden and springs back to the touch. Leave to cool and then turn out upside down onto a plate. This cake will dry our very quickly as there is no butter, however it never lasts too long in our house and we always serve it with a healthy dollop of natural yoghurt which helps to keep it moist and adds a touch of luxury.