My declutter challenge this Lent

A family meal out at N@APH79

Manic March

February left us with a shiver as the March winds arrived early. The last few mornings of the month were 0ºc with an icy easterly wind giving a real feel of -10ºc. It was the sort of weather that encouraged comfort eating and we don’t need much encouraging to stray from the healthy track. While chunky vegetable soups and lentil with sweet potato bakes ticked the box for healthy and comforting, we also indulged in one of our favourite cheesy mountain dishes, tartiflette. Even served with a side salad this oven baked potato and melted reblochon cheese dish can’t really be classed as healthy. When Ed and Pearl visit, a meal at the village restaurant is a must, the raclette cheese featuring on the pizzas and in the burgers.

Bugnes for Mardi Gras

 

As February drew to a close, Lent arrived, and here in France, it brought with it more tasty temptations. I know, traditionally, Lent is a time to do without, but it seems no one has told our local boulangerie that. In our area of France, Shrove Tuesday, or Mardi Gras, is celebrated with bugnes, a light doughnut-type delicacy. The weekend before Lent, we treated ourselves to a bugne each when they were tantalisingly left on display at the till at the boulangerie. A week later when we cycled in for coffee and croissants at the market, despite Lent having started, the tempting bugnes were still there and so we treated ourselves once more. Would you believe it, but yesterday, for the third Saturday in a row, the same thing happened? In our defence, the March wind has made cycling quite hard work, and we’ve also taken on another challenge this Lent that has certainly been hard work, both physically and mentally.

My Lent declutter challenge, day 4

 

40 mins a day, for 40 days

Lent is a time to give something up and I have struck gold on an idea to tackle the clutter in a mega Spring clean this Lent. The plan is simple, spend 40 minutes a day, for the 40 days of Lent, and fill one bag of something every day, to be sold, recycled, or donated. By focussing on one cupboard, or set of drawers, or cluttered corner at a time, and setting a time limit, I won’t get too overwhelmed by the task in hand, something I know I’ve had a problem with in the past. I can’t be the only one who has emptied an entire wardrobe onto the bed and then run out of time and energy deciding what stays and what goes, resulting in more piles on the floor than there were before I started, and a job that never seems to get finished.

My Lent declutter challenge, day 8

 

We are now on day twelve and so far, so good. I’ve sorted through and reorganised all my clothes, shoes, cycling gear and handbags, plus the large wicker storage baskets on top of the wardrobes. I am ashamed to admit that these contained more scarves, gloves and shoes than I even remember owning. As each day’s bag has been filled, the contents have been sorted, and I’ve cycled 27km just going back and forth to the recycling point at the end of the village, occasionally adding in a loop around the allotments.

 

I’m not sure who has been more traumatised by this unusual behaviour, Adrian or the dog. While he has embraced my madness and matched it, clearing a carload of old and obsolete electronics from the dumping ground we once called a dining room, he’s also rolled his eyes more than once at some of my mad ideas. Poor Mini, however is finding it all quite upsetting. Gone is the calm of inactivity she has grown accustomed to, and while she watches suspiciously as we sort through piles and shelves, the minute we start loading the car, or moving bags and boxes out, she is at our heals. “Are you going somewhere? You won’t move house and leave me, will you?”. Poor Mini.

 

Finding a treasure of memories from 2010

Some of our finds have included love letters from over 25yrs ago, an empty pink champagne bottle that neither of us can remember the occasion for which we drank the contents, and a folder full of holiday receipts, maps and the itinerary from our 2010 road trip for Adrian's 40th birthday. 

French Entrée Magazine article Mar/Apr 2012

I also found lots of magazine articles going back over ten years where the blog and our life in France were featured (including one about the 2010 road trip). Adrian managed to fill an entire bag with socks he never wears. 

A curious find in our curiosity's cabinet

Then there was the dead lizard in our curiosity’s cabinet, and while no one can claim that isn’t a curious thing to have, I’m not sure it’s something we need to hang on to.

 

Whilst I would love a place for everything and everything tidied away in its place, this exercise has made me realise that the things I put away in cupboards, storage boxes, drawers etc, I don’t use. I’ve always been a fan of the “Less is More” mantra and now I know that the less things I own, the better I function. 

 

As week three of Lent begins, it’s time to tackle the bookshelves, then the towels and bedding in the laundry room. Wish me luck and if you don’t hear from me, send help, I’m probably trapped under a heap of duvets, lost in a book. 

I’d love to know what is the weirdest thing you have found when having a clearout?

FrenchEntrée Photo Competition

FrenchEntrée Launches Photo Competition to Find Essence of France

I love France and am never without my camera when out and about, either locally, on the bike or when on a road trip to the South of France. The scenery, the architecture, the style of the villages and the landscapes change from one area to another so I doubt I'll ever tire of sightseeing in this beautiful country. If like me, you love France and can't help but snap away, you may be interested in this photo competition to find the Essence of France, launched by FrenchEntrée. Here is what they have told me about it and the super prizes on offer:

FrenchEntrée, the French travel and property specialists for overseas buyers, is launching a competition to find the best images of France taken this year.

Photographers of all ages and abilities are invited to upload pictures of their French travels to FrenchEntrée to win a high specification camera from the Olympus Travel range.

 Essence of France photo competition

The competition celebrates the 10th anniversary of the website, which has been re-designed to appeal to increasing numbers of users accessing it from a tablet or smartphone.

The winning photographer will receive an Olympus SH-60. The winning image will be publicised via Twitter, as well as printed in the January edition of FrenchEntrée, the beautiful magazine version of the site. Runners up will receive a subscription to the magazine.

Justin Postlethwaite, Editor of FrenchEntrée, says, “France, through its glorious beaches, villages, cities and immensely varied and beautiful countryside, continues to attract artistically-minded visitors who want to discover its authenticity.

“We are looking for images that sum up France, from quintessential scenes, landscapes, festivals, events or even cityscapes - pretty much anything that would inspire friends and family to try out this wonderful, and still changing country.”

Olympus SH-60:
Thanks to the Hybrid 5-Axis IS normally found in D-SLRs, the compact SH-60 effectively counteracts blur in all five directions.  So effective, you can actually make a movie as you run.

The SH-60 has a high-zoom lens that lets you get close to the details from up to 40cm away – perfect for creating fascinating still shots or smooth 1080 full HD movies. Packed with Photo Story, this pocket-sized wonder lets you create an artistic collage for sharing on social networks or printing.

Competition details:
Participants are asked to register on the site. Once registered, they should submit photos to justin@francemedia.com, along with their name, plus their FrenchEntrée user name, email address and a brief caption about the photos (i.e subject, plus details on where and when it was taken).

The closing date is Friday 14th November. The winner will be announced on Monday 1st December.

Good luck!

Celebration Time

This is a bit of a celebratory post. The team at FrenchEntrée magazine are celebrating their 100th edition with a special magazine that has extra bonus features including the top 100 places to visit and things to do in France. They are offering this edition at the bargain price of just £2 in the UK or £4 for the rest of the world (with free delivery) until 23rd August. To take advantage of this offer please see details here or give them a call on +44 (0) 1778 395 168 With something for all Francophiles I’m sure you will enjoy it.

On a more personal note we have also got something to celebrate as nine years ago, on the ninth of August 2004 we collected the keys to our house in France and started a new chapter in our lives. All our belongings were safely in storage, with the exception of the basics that we had packed into our two cars and set off two days previously with two one-way Eurotunnel tickets and lots of hope.

Moving to France has truly been a life changing experience and here are just nine things that have changed in the last nine years.

1) Writing was never an important part of my life as an accountant in the UK, but through this blog I have found it is something I really enjoy doing and as a bonus the blog has lead to a monthly column for a local magazine.

2) Since moving here Adrian and I have both lost weight and have a far more healthy and positive attitude to food. The quality and production of our food has also become a very important focus for me especially. I don’t think we will ever be self-sufficient but we produce the majority of our egg, fruit, vegetable and nut consumption.

3) I definitely spend a lot more time in the kitchen cooking meals and baking than when we lived in the UK. If it is at all possible to make rather than buy, that is what I now do. I love my new found culinary skills.

4) Cycling has become a family passion in the last few years and long distances on the bikes are the summer norm. We are therefore a much fitter family than when we arrived and spend more time together enjoying the outdoors.

5) I can now speak passable French, although I realize I still have much to learn. Ed has naturally become bilingual.

6) A life in the country with more time spent at home has made it possible for Mini the dog to become part of our family and introduce us to the delights of dog walks on the tracks through the fields.

7) With no need for designer shoes and handbags (me) and no interest in computer games consoles (the boys) we have become far less interested in having the latest consumer must haves (iPads excluded).

8) We spend more time together as a family and also as a couple which is probably the biggest advantage to life here. We have also slowed our pace of life to match French time.

9) Living in a village has given us a real sense of community and it has been possible to get involved in village life, from helping out in the library, on the village magazine committee, and organising an annual family fun day. In Reading we barely knew our neighbours even after five years of living there, mainly as we were out the house from early morning commuting to work in London and not returning until early evening.

However it hasn’t all been idyllic. We have had our problems with understanding the language and making ourselves understood and nothing can prepare you for the initial loneliness of arriving and knowing no one. Then there are the inevitable issues with bureaucracy that most expats come across (especially so if you start a business in France) and the dodgy workmen some of us have the misfortune to meet. Missing family doesn’t get any easier with time and visits back to the UK are never long enough to see everyone. I would also say that despite having more time on our hands there still isn’t enough time, a bigger house doesn’t mean enough space for everything and three bathrooms just means more cleaning. 

But it has been and still is an adventure that I am glad we embarked on and wherever we end up in the future we will have these memories and experiences forever. It may not be the prettiest or the liveliest village in France but there will always be a bit of my French village in my heart.

We will be opening a local bottle of something special to share this evening. Santé and Cheers!

Courgette Soup

I have had a lot of recent requests for my courgette (zucchini) soup recipe, as it seems I am not the only one with a potager glut at the moment, so here it is. Bon Apetit!

Freshly picked and ready for the soup pot

Courgette Soup

Sauté a finely chopped onion and 1 tsp of cumin seeds in some olive oil or butter, add 1 or 2 cloves of garlic and then add the diced courgettes (however many you have). Season with salt and pepper, 1 tsp each of ground turmeric and fennel and then just cover either with chicken or vegetable stock and simmer until the courgettes are tender. The great thing about soup is that anything goes, if you don’t like some of my spice choices, or you want some extra heat from a chilli then go right ahead. I always use a homemade chicken stock and find this with the courgettes makes a creamy soup that is more than thick enough for me, but if you want to add a potato to give more body please do. This recipe can also be used with butternut squash, pumpkin or any other member of the squash family.

A winter warmer

 When cooked and cooled a little, blend until smooth. This soup can be served warm or chilled and also freezes very well. In the winter I love to add a generous sprinkling of grated cheese to warm soup for a comforting lunch, but in the summer a chilled bowl with a swirl of natural yoghurt, or some finely diced fresh tomatoes and basil leaves sprinkled on top makes a very refreshing meal. For something a bit special a poached egg added to either the hot or cold soup is also delicious. I love to serve my walnut bread with this soup.

For me this humble courgette soup is something very important. I love everything about growing courgettes from germination through to harvest, they fascinate me and being able to make something so simple, tasty and healthy during the summer that I freeze for winter is superb. Our winters can be very cold and the warmth of a soup for lunch plus the positive memories of warmer days and good harvests keeps my winter blues away.

This recipe is featured in FrenchEntrée's 100 French recipes to celebrate 100 issues of FrenchEntrée magazine.

Provençal Style Yoghurt Cake with Olive Oil and Quince

Provencal olive oil and yoghurt cake

Provençal Style Yoghurt Cake

Following on from yesterday’s France et Moi interview with Alice Alech here is the recipe she has kindly shared from An Olive Oil Tour of France, for a Provencal style yoghurt cake made with olive oil and quince. This cake is a simple French classic. A cake that is often the first thing that French children learn to bake because they do not need to be able to read any scale to make it because the “pot” used to measure the ingredients is the first yogurt pot, emptied, rinsed and dried. It also helps with the confusion between grams, oz and cups!

Recipe

1 quince

2 pots of plain yogurt

1 pot of sugar

2 pots of flour

2 pots of ground almonds

1 pot of olive oil

4 eggs

A 15g sachet of levure chimique (baking powder)

1 lemon zest

Method

Core the quince then place in a saucepan with a spoonful of sugar and cover with water. Bring to the boil, cook uncovered until tender.

Preheat the oven to 180°C.

In a large mixing bowl whisk eggs and sugar until quite pale.

Stir in the yogurt, olive oil and lemon zest until all the ingredients are fully incorporated.

Add the flour, baking powder and almonds and combine.

Grease a baking tin and pour in the batter. I used one with a hole in the middle purely as my oven cooks cakes better this way.

Arrange the quince on top.

Bake for about 45 minutes checking the centre of the cake with a fork to make sure that the cake is cooked.

Leave for 10 minutes or so before removing from the cake tin.

Our quince blossom this week

Olive Oil

Thank you Alice, this recipe is likely to become a favourite here as it is moist and delicious, plus we make our own yoghurt and grow our own quinces (if only we had a productive lemon tree too). This week I made it without fresh quince, but instead added some cooked rhubarb. However as our two quince trees are heavy with blossom at the moment I am looking forward to using them later in the year and I may even get Ed interested enough in what goes on in my kitchen to give it a go too.

More recipes and information on French olive oil can be found in Alice’s book An Olive Oil Tour of France, available on Amazon. You can read my review of it here and my interview with Alice here.

Beetroot and Goats Cheese Tart

It is Easter weekend, so we are going to have a slightly more luxurious Sunday lunch tomorrow and that means a bit of preparation today. This is not a bad thing, as the weather is more keep-warm-in-the-kitchen than out-and-about-in-the-garden anyway.

For our starter I will be making a beetroot and goats cheese tart, a new recipe that I tried out this week and can already see it becoming a regular favourite. I just know that using roasted tomatoes, courgettes and/or peppers will work just as well during the summer and butternut squash with walnuts and curry spices will give it a warm autumnal twist.

The main course will be pork, an obvious choice as we have recently filled our freezer with half a free-range pig, see here. Not too sure how we will cook it yet but oven roasted with a nice crackling and roast potatoes seems to be winning the vote so far.

As it is Easter and it would be wrong not to have chocolate, a luxury chocolate mousse with strawberries will be the dessert – we also have a glut of chicken eggs so this is a perfect recipe to use them up. For the recipe, inspired by French Women Don't Get Fat: The Secret of Eating for Pleasure see here.

Beetroot and Goats Cheese Tart.

Beetroot and Goats Cheese Tart

For the pastry – you can use ready made puff or short crust pastry, but I like to make my own (short crust). This makes enough pastry for a rectangular tin 27cm (10½”) by 17cm (6 ½”) and 3.5cm deep (1 ½”) – this is my preferred tin (and pastry recipe) for all quiches/tarts.

135g plain flour

75g butter

1 egg beaten

a little cold water

Using cold fingers rub the butter into the flour until breadcrumb like consistency. Add the egg and enough water to just bring it to a dough. Wrap in clingfilm and leave to rest for at least half an hour in the fridge.

Line the tin with baking paper, then roll out the chilled dough on the paper. Fit into the tin, prick the base with a fork, line with more baking paper, add baking beans and bake blind until the edges of the pastry are just turning golden. This is about 10 minutes at gas mark 4, but my oven is not very reliable!

For the filling

Two cooked beetroot (without vinegar) or other roasted summer vegetables

Two onions

Goats cheese

Balsamic vinegar

Olive oil

Sprig of fresh thyme

Walnut halves (optional)

Salt and pepper

Thinly slice the beetroot and place in a bowl with a tablespoon of balsamic vinegar, two tablespoons of olive oil, salt and pepper.

Thinly slice the onions and cook until soft and golden in a small amount of olive oil and season.

When the pastry has had it’s first bake add the onions to the base, then layer the beetroot and crumble over the goats cheese, sprinkle with fresh thyme, the walnuts and drizzle over some olive oil. Place back in the oven for about 25 mins, leave to cool a little before serving.

This makes a delicious lunch served with a side salad, is perfect for picnics or as a starter.

This recipe is featured in FrenchEntrée's 100 French recipes to celebrate 100 issues of FrenchEntrée magazine.

Potager Soup Recipe and Jerusalem Artichokes

We love to grow Jerusalem Artichokes for three main reasons, one they are an easy crop to grow and look after, two they tower above everything else with pretty flowers that are very much like a sunflower, and finally, you can leave them in the ground and harvest all through the winter. Once they get established they will come back year after year which is fantastic for a lazy gardener like me. Some people say they are very thuggish, but with our relaxed planting we love them. Despite their name they are not related to the globe artichoke, although the flavour is similar, and they don’t originate from Jerusalem either. Their Italian name is ‘girasole’ meaning ‘turning to the sun’, and it’s thought over time this has become Jerusalem.

www.frenchvillagediaries.com Jerusalem Artichokes

In terms of health, their main benefit is that our bodies don’t store their carbohydrates in the same way as those of other tubers like potatoes. This basically means they are not as readily converted into sugar in our bodies. However their one side effect is that they can lead to increased wind (hence the nickname fartichokes!)

In terms of cooking we peel and slice or dice and add them to casseroles cooked in the slow cooker or pan fry them with, for example shallots, onions, leeks or butternut squash and garlic. In larger pieces they roast well too and as my friend Sue suggests they give a lovely nutty flavour when mashed with potatos. I was also told that they juice well with ginger and parsley, so I gave it a go and very refreshing it was too, thanks Rhonwen. A very versatile winter root - in my opinion.

As we are in soup season here is my basic potager soup recipe. I regularly make this in big batches all year, in the summer I use our glut of courgettes and freeze the soup for the winter, in the autumn I use pumpkins and squash and in the winter leeks and Jerusalem Artichokes, but any vegetables will do.

www.frenchvillagediaries.com Courgette Soup

Potager Soup

Sauté an onion and 1 tsp of cumin seeds in some olive oil or butter, add 1 or 2 cloves of garlic and 1 tsp of mixed curry spices (my favourites are coriander, turmeric and cumin), then add the diced vegetables (however many you have), salt and pepper, and just cover either with chicken or vegetable stock and simmer until the vegetables are tender. For a really warming version add a sliced chilli and for more flavour from root vegetables or squash, roast them then add to sautéed onions and stock. My preference is to blend until smooth, but I will occasionally add a tin of cooked lentils or chickpeas after blending to give some texture, the variations are endless. If I am making in the summer I will freeze in portions to eat in the winter.  If you like, when serving, a dollop of crème fraiche can be added and I always like to top with grated cheese. Our winters can be very cold and the warmth of a soup for lunch plus the positive memories of warmer days and good harvests helps to keep my winter blues away.

www.frenchvillagediaries.com Potager Soup

This recipe is featured in FrenchEntrée's 100 French recipes to celebrate 100 issues of FrenchEntrée magazine.

FrenchEntree competition winner

http://pullmaneditions.com

Thanks to the team at FrenchEntrée I am now the proud owner of the above Pullman Editions limited edition Art Deco print. It really does pay to look out for social media competitions as all I had to do was post a Christmas themed picture to their Facebook or Twitter pages to enter, and on Christmas Eve I received an email letting me know I had won. Here is my entry of Père Noel taken in the beautiful Charentes village of Nanteuil en Vallée where we spent a lovely afternoon at a Christmas market. Père Noel seems to be in a rather relaxed mood enjoying his red wine, but I was more interested in the lovely vegetables he has stacked up, food for the reindeer perhaps, but they looked like they could become great soups or curries to me!

Cheers Père Noel www.frenchvillagediares.com

Today the print arrived safely in the post and it is every bit as gorgeous as I hoped, such sunny and cheery colours it will be brightening up the kitchen as soon as we have found a frame big enough (it is almost as tall as I am). It will remind me of summer even on the coldest, darkest winter days, which unfortunately we have forecast for this week.

They are a great source of information on all things French, so if you haven't already 'liked' FrenchEntrée on Facebook, or 'followed' them on Twitter you can find them here: http://www.facebook.com/FrenchEntree and here: https://twitter.com/FrenchEntree Don't forget to mention French Village Diaries sent you over, thanks.