family – Page 10 – Our French Oasis

A SLEEPOVER IN PONS

Last week was VE day – Victory in Europe – and it is always a public holiday in France. We were invited to dinner at a friends’ house and to stay the night. The children were excited when they knew they were going for a sleepover altogether but it seemed that the invite had caused confusion, for one afternoon the week before we left, Gigi looked at me with a very serious expression on her face and asked “Are you and Papa staying the night in Pons too?”. I told her that of course we were! The serious face turned into an incredibly big smile, “Mama and Papa are having a sleepover too, that’s so cool!”, she said. She and her siblings are always having sleepovers at friends’ houses or have friends coming to our house, but the idea of her parents doing the same at a friends’ house had not occurred to her at all!

The day of the big sleepover arrived – you would really have thought we were going away for a month, not a night. Our fabulous neighbour was left in charge of the ducks and chickens, the kittens had plenty of food and Bentley was coming with us. All the shutters throughout the house had to be closed, a job in itself which seems to take forever and then there is the actual reality of ushering five children out of the door with all their “stuff” – of course we were running late! It was the most perfect day, hot and sunny with clear blue skies. As we headed east our coastal landscape slowly gave way to the gently undulating hills of inland Charente Maritime, with rows and rows of vines as far as the eye could see.

In the late afternoon after we arrived we walked for miles, through the vineyards as is so typical in France; no cars, no noise, no-one to be seen apart from a solitary tractor working in the vines and the chatter and laughter of the children.

The most delicious dinner followed and for once no need to worry about driving home, what a treat that was. Several glasses of wine, much laughter and hours of talking. The children went to bed far too late, only to be woken along with everyone else and a very nervous Bentley at 5am by the roar of overhead thunder and much flashing of lightning.

The storm brought with it cooler air and a stiff breeze but amazingly the rain held off for the annual VE day Brocante and plant fair in Avy the next day. Beer tents were overflowing with friends enjoying their day off; dogs on leads; children running here and there amidst so many people carrying their purchases – flowers, zinc pots, copper pans, pieces of furniture – for anyone wanting to experience the “real” France, a visit to a Brocante during the spring has to be very high up on the agenda.

For once we were in no rush, time was on our side and later we took the opportunity to explore the beautiful town of Pons.

Perched on a rock, this Cité Médiévale is very much worth a visit. In the centre there is the remaining vestige of the old fortified castle and its magnificent keep. It was destroyed in 1179 by Richard the Lionheart and then rebuilt again later. We were careful to speak in undertones and remain very un-British!

All around are small streets full of history, adorned with turrets, arches, stairways and fabulous private houses.

Alleys join the lower town where pilgrims on their way to the town of Santiago de Compostela stopped at the Hôpital Neuf (New Hospital) founded in 1160 by Geoffroy III of Pons.

On the other side, a walk in the park is an occasion to see a typical French public garden with carefully manicured shrubbery and glorious avenues of huge green trees à la Française – chestnuts, oak and plane (sycamore for our American friends) trees are typically planted for this purpose.

Our little sojourn away has thoroughly recharged our batteries and is good proof of the saying, “A change is as good as a rest” !

May 12, 2015May 12, 2015 by ourfrenchoasis

TRAGEDY IN THE COOP

It’s been a rather sad week and for that reason I am keeping this brief. I don’t want to be morose and I don’t want to dwell on things, this has always been such an upbeat blog, but one of our chickens, one of the big ginger farm hens, died at the weekend. It was simply horrid. Hetty and I were down at the bottom of the garden cutting some of the lower branches off the lime tree, when something made us decide to take a look inside the chicken coop. I truly don’t know why, but we opened the door and there inside was Buack Buack, flapping her wings in a crazy fashion. I ran as fast as I could back to the house and called for Roddy and Millie to come quickly. We were no more than two or three minutes. We opened the door and she was dead, lying on the floor of the coop. It was awful.

We stood hugging our poor sobbing children. But like most children, within half an hour they were playing with a friend, poor chicken temporarily forgotten, screams of laughter once again rung around the garden and Gigi returned to her current hobby, taming Penny and Adrian so they eat out of her hand!

We phoned our vet and they told us to bring her straight in and they would carry out an autopsy for us. We really did want to know why she had died. Why, why, why? Roddy loaded the box into the car and off we trundled to our vet who is in the middle of Rochefort. Amid Louis XIV’s venerated and exquisite 17th century buildings, you would imagine a very la-de-da surgery, caring for the pampered pooches of the sophisticated residents living in such a beautiful part of the town. But no, this is very much a vet caring for farm animals too. The shelves are lined with fly-masks for horses and various boxes that indicate their contents will be helpful to sick sheep, cattle, pigs and goats! Whilst waiting we casually looked at the notice-board; did we want a 2 year-old ewe? A puppy? Some goats? Or perhaps some riding lessons? Noticeboards are such fun to read but rather dangerous – suddenly I was wondering if Roddy would mind terribly if we had a sheep, and as we had talked endlessly about getting a puppy in the summer, and as it is nearly the summer after all………

And then, we nearly came away with another kitten; nearly but not quite, as we really, really, did NOT want another kitten! But they were so adorable and I am such a pushover when it comes to any small helpless newborn creature. The veterinary nurse showed them to us; they were about three weeks old and just starting to open their eyes. They had been left on the vet’s doorstep in a cardboard box the night before. I suppose someone was desperate and didn’t know what to do with them – at least they had the decency to leave them at the vet’s.

May 5, 2015 by ourfrenchoasis

HEN-ZILLA AND THE MOLLYCODDLED DUCKS

The children have just started two weeks of spring holidays, which makes me really happy. Friends coming and going, sleepovers here and there; it’s like Picadilly Circus but I love it. It also means there are a few extra pairs of hands to help in the garden; there is just so much to do at this time of year and weeds seem to grow overnight. We have been working so hard in the newly formed vegetable garden, and we spent the afternoon on Sunday planting out tomatoes, aubergines, peppers and hot chillies which are Millie’s project. We also put in some lettuce, salad greens, cucumbers, watermelons and courgettes. The children planted because that’s the fun part while I hoed up weeds and raked! Our beans we sowed a couple of weeks ago are now about 8″ high and the peas are shooting up. There are rows of tiny carrot tops peeping through the soil, along with the spinach and potatoes – it’s all so exciting. We have had to fence it to keep our dear feathered friends out, or else they would think we had planted a feast just for them, and we included the row of ten grape-vines inside the fencing because I read that chickens love grapes and we would not have a grape left if they were within their reach. Next project to hand cut all the grass under the vines!

Dear Rosie is being a very dutiful hen; she has less than a week to go now and we are all so hopeful we might get at least one chick. She leaves her nest briefly around 11am each morning: the routine is always the same as she wanders up the garden, stretches her legs and looks around. The others are really quite nasty to her as she is no longer “one of them” and they peck at her and chase her away if she comes too close; it’s actually rather sad to watch. After ten or fifteen minutes she swiftly heads back to her nest and carries on coddling her beloved eggs.

Eleanor is now also broody, sitting on two eggs and a ping-pong ball to make up the numbers! Our sweet, lovely, docile Eleanor, she of the Mad Hatters’ Tea Party fame, has turned into Hen-Zilla. Each morning when we open their door, she comes out straightaway clucking that special phrase of cluck we’re now getting used to; “Get out of my way, I’m an important broody hen with eggs to sit on; out of my way, out of my way, I need to eat, no time to waste!” and she is back inside and on her eggs within ten minutes, having made quite sure that we all know exactly how important she is!

But the real time-wasters are Penny and Adrian, the pair of ducklings we were given at the Farmers Market nine days ago. Most of the ducks sold that day no doubt were bought to be fattened and intended for the table. They would have gone into a large sandy enclosure with an old pond in the corner, where the last blade of grass would have long since ceased to exist. However, Penny and Adrian have entered a life of luxury, and are enjoying the pampered mollycoddled life of a pet duck! When they arrived, a temporary run was made for them, along with an old paddling-pool filled with clean cool water. The next day a new home arrived. A brand new dog-kennel was put together and filled with straw. Chairs were placed near the enclosure and the children would sit and watch them, chatting and laughing, the ducks getting used to people and their endless talking! The chickens came and took a look, wondering what all the fuss was about and who the new arrivals were. Penny and Adrian ate and swam and loved all the attention. Then just when they really thought life couldn’t get much better, it did – in fact it got a whole lot better. Yesterday the temporary fence was removed from around their paddling-pool and their deluxe house – they are free to wander in the garden along with the chickens. Their permanent pond is under construction, yet another project! The chickens take little notice of them and the cats have decided they are definitely too big to hunt and wander away. Bentley, being Bentley, totally ignores them. The ducks waddle around, they flap their tiny wings and run across the lawn – if this is what life is all about, it really is pretty good.

The garden is changing on a daily basis; it’s like a video on permanent fast-forward and everything is growing so fast. The first roses on a south-facing wall are blooming

I love the Arum Lilies, simple perfection

and the Tamarisk is never still, always moving in the breeze

We’ve also been walking, lots and lots of walking; it’s such a perfect climate at the moment, not too hot and not too cold and everywhere is so stunning. Hedgerows with sweet scented lilac, tall grass waving in the breeze, waiting to be cut for hay. The bright yellow of rapeseed cuts a colourful swathe across the landscape. Blowing dandelion seeds and making wishes. Childhood memories and carefree days.

Whenever we come home and walk down the driveway I am greeted by the beautiful flowering horse-chestnut. All the trees are incredible and in full leaf; one half of the garden is now a canopy of shade. Sometimes I just stand and stare. I call the children over to look at them as it’s all too easy to forget about the trees. They are just there, a part of the garden, and we do take trees for granted. But I like to draw attention to them as they are magnificent, hundreds of years old, and only then, standing looking up at the giant lime tree, do we all really see how huge it is.

April 28, 2015April 30, 2015 by ourfrenchoasis

THE MAD HATTERS’ TEA PARTY

The photo that started it all

It’s a dismal rainy afternoon in South West France. The children are on their winter break for two weeks and it’s raining. What is one to do ? Make cupcakes of course! So, with the two youngest girls, we baked, we iced, we giggled, spoons were licked and a fine mess was made – baking with the children is always wonderfully sticky fun.

The girls then said they were going to have a tea party. I thought this was a great Idea. So they dressed up in their party clothes, dragged in a small table from the garage, found the low stools and chairs, and then took out some real china and silver napkin rings. I just knew this was going to be one heck of a tea party!

However, the number of place-settings confused me at first, until I realized that an invite had gone out to one of the American Girl dolls. This was followed by much giggling and whispering, and then I saw Bentley, our dear sweet long-suffering Jack Russell, offered a seat. Nothing really too unusual here I thought, and carried on with my paper-work.

However, out of the corner of my eye I then saw Rory, one of our six month old kittens, had joined in the fun. This now peaked my interest and I furtively started to watch a little more closely, un-noticed, in the background. The giggling continued unabated.

Our youngest then left on the pretext of going to the bathroom, but she had that wicked glint in her eye and I knew something was up! She returned carrying Eleanor, the friendliest of our Pekim Bantam hens; yes Eleanor was coming to the tea party! Now I’d forgotten all about the paper-work, I grabbed my phone (no time to look for the camera) and started snapping away….this was hilarious !

Rory wasn’t sure – what was that icky-sticky stuff on the table ? Bentley started to have a meaningful conversation with Elizabeth, the American Girl doll.

More tea anyone? Bentley looked perturbed that his plate was empty.

Rory thought he might just get the last of the crumbs as he enjoyed the rest of ‘whatever it was’ so much. Bentley on the other hand, now has something ON his plate but cannot quite understand that he is going to be allowed to eat off the table, that’s a definite NO normally; and Eleanor, well she’s just sitting, wondering what on earth is happening….

Rory really wanted more – and then some more. Who knew cats liked cake?

Well, as soon as Rory licked his lips (yum, that butter cream icing is just too good!), Bentley decided the temptation was too much, and no one was going to stop him from having just a sneaky little taste….

and all the time Eleanor just sat there, unruffled by the chaos and laughter….

What a fun afternoon; there is one thing for sure – our household is never dull – but this certainly beats electronics and television on a rainy afternoon. Of course, Mr H thought it was all totally normal when he walked through the door, but then he is slightly barmy himself – I can see where the girls get it from now.

February 27, 2015February 27, 2015 by ourfrenchoasis

CUPCAKES AND KISSES

Cupcakes and kisses, flowers and chocolates, you would be forgiven for thinking I am a hopeless romantic, that February 14th is one of my favourite days of the year – alas no, it’s not me but our two youngest daughters aged 8 and 10 who are obsessed with Valentine’s Day!

Browsing in shops in La Rochelle this week there was very little evidence of Valentine’s Day. Just a glimpse here and there of a red heart, a little reminder delivered with understated elegance.

The chocolatier offered exquisitely presented chocolates

sometimes with a hint of passion

The Florist, the Parfumerie – so simple, so chic, so French.

Our 14 year old is currently making stunning little figurines with oven-bake modeling clay and I borrowed some of the red and sat and made kisses and hearts, lots of them, it was strangely therapeutic! I put them in a little box which I covered and decorated and the next day they went in the mail to our eldest daughter at University in the UK. I told her a little package was on it’s way and she must not open it until Saturday, “but why not until Saturday Mama? I don’t understand” she said. We message and send a long line of kisses everyday but I just wanted her to feel extra special, to have a few extra kisses.

On the subject of kisses, how it tugs at the heart-strings when our little ones don’t really want to go to school, don’t want to leave us for a few hours, what do you do? Sometimes I blow them a couple of extra kisses, they catch them, it’s a routine we know well. I tell them to pop them in their pockets for later, so that when they feel a little low, a little insecure, they have those extra kisses warming their pockets – they can take them out and use them when they need to.

Sometimes, I write a little message in the palm of their hands, whilst they are struggling with something at school sitting at their desks they can take a little look, knowing I am thinking of them, knowing they are not alone – feeling loved always.

Do we ever need an excuse to eat cake? Probably not but this was an excuse to be a little more creative than usual. This is my standard cake recipe, I use it regularly whenever I make cupcakes or cakes. I always use spelt flour, we love the slightly nutty flavor it gives, but this recipe works just as well with plain or wholewheat flour. The cakes are a very light and fluffy sponge, not heavy at all as is sometimes the case with wholewheat flours. I don’t normally spend hours piping icing onto my cupcakes, they don’t usually last long enough to warrant such effort and to be honest they taste so much nicer without the extra sugar! However, these are special occasion cupcakes, I colored the butter icing with a little juice from some defrosted frozen raspberries and it produced a fabulous color without any artificial chemicals and gave the icing just the smallest hint of raspberry.

6ozs/170g butter, softened

4ozs/125g sugar

6ozs/170g wholewheat spelt flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

4 eggs

3 tablespoons cocoa powder and 3 tablespoons water

(if using Spelt flour or Wholewheat flour I add 1 tablespoon milk)

Ok, so this is where I break all the baking rules. I put all the ingredients together in the mixer and beat on the lowest setting until everything is combined. Then I beat at top speed for about 30 seconds until the color changes and is lighter. You will just have to trust me on this one, I have been using this recipe, which is my own for many years and it always works, the cakes are mouth wateringly light. Place in cupcake holders and bake at 180C/350F for 12 – 15 minutes.

For a classic Buttercream Icing

5ozs/140g butter, softened

10ozs/280g Icing sugar

1- 2 tablespoons warm water

a few drops of vanilla essence

For the Pink Icing, I replaced the vanilla essence with the juice and pulp of a handful of frozen raspberries. I let them get really soft and then pushed them through a sieve straight into the icing mixture.

I then used a standard icing nozzle for the vanilla icing and a petal tip nozzle for the roses.

A little decadent but worth every second to see the smile on my children’s faces

X X X

February 11, 2015February 14, 2015 by ourfrenchoasis

GET THE CHILDREN INVOLVED

So this afternoon I have a recipe that is perfect for children to make. Our two youngest girls made these fabulous little Muesli balls at the weekend with a little supervision and today they made them all by themselves. Hmmm – I think she thought I wasn’t watching!

1 Orange, Mandarin or Clementine

4ozs/100g Muesli

100g chocolate melted

a little icing sugar for sifting

Finely grate the peel of the orange or mandarin or clementine (whichever you have to hand) into a bowl and then squeeze in the juice.

Add the Muesli.

Pour in the melted chocolate.

Stir the mixture well, then shape into balls each about the size of a walnut and put them into baking cases.

Sift over a little icing sugar.

Leave in the fridge for at least half an hour before eating.

I love that my children are learning to cook from a young age and take an interest in what they are eating. These are so delicious for adults and children alike. The orange gives them a wonderful flavor and the darker the chocolate the more grown up they become. We used 70% cocoa chocolate and I could serve these after dinner to a group of adults – the only bad thing is they don’t last long – but then they are so easy to make I’ll just have to ask them to make another batch…..

February 2, 2015November 14, 2015 by ourfrenchoasis