fruit – Page 10 – Myfrenchkitchen

If ever you are in the area of Beaulieu sur Dordogne, be sure to drop in at Café Douceur for either a coffee or tea accompanied by homemade treats, or for a light lunch.

Si vous vous trouvez dans la région de Beaulieu, ne continuez pas tout droit sur votre chemin sans faire un stop au Café Douceur pour prendre un lunch, un cafe ou un thé avec un goûter fait maison,

You can judge from the photos that it has a warm atmosphere, welcoming and intimate. Everybody feels instantly at home which is no wonder, because Sophie, the owner and the chef of her café has a big heart and wide smile.

Ces photos montrent clairement l’ambiance chaleureuse, intime et conviviale. C’est normal, car Sophie, la petite propriétaire et la cuisiniére, dirige son café avec en grand coeur et un sourire pétillant.

As a young girl, Sophie was enchanted by l’heure du goûter..(late afternoon tea in France). From then on, her dream was a little café where she could bake, serve and sell madeleines, canelés, sablés and other delicacies she grew up with around l’heure du gouter. At the young age of 24 she took the plunge and opened up Café Douceur, not regretting one minute of her decision since.

Depuis son enfance, Sophie a été enchantée par l’heure du gouter. Son rêve était d’ avoir son propre petit coin pour partager cette passion. Les madeleines, les sablés, les cannelées..ce sont tous ces gourmandises qu’elle a savourée pendant son enfance et qu’elle fait aujourd’hui elle-même. Dèja il y a quelques années, à 24 ans, elle a décidée de réaliser ce rêve en ouvrant son propre café.

La terrasse has a view on centre ville, where everything happens in Beaulieu and everybody knows everybody.

Sur la terrasse, on peut s’amuser en voyant tout ce que et ceux qui arrivent en centre ville de Beaulieu.

In the image below is how she is frequently seen in la salle ..peeking around the corner from the kitchen to say hi and throw a smile at everybody.

Une image très typique…la chef cuisinière souriante jette un coup d’oeil sur la salle pour dire un petit bonjour à ses clients..

With tables and chairs as well as comfy canapés, wooden games and toys for kids, gentle colours, you are invited to take a seat, linger with a magazine and have a second coffee or tea.

On est invité à s’installer dans la salle pour l’ambiance conviviale. On oublie le temps sur un canapé soit avec un livre, soit on découvre les jouets anciens tout en attendant un deuxième café..ou thé.

.. a little bouquet de fleurs at the lunch table..

The meals coming from the kitchen are homemade by Sophie herself, using seasonal fresh herbs, fruit and vegetables, many coming from her own potager(vegetable garden).

Les plats arrivent de la cuisine faits maison avec des produits saisonnièrs et les herbes fraîche, les légumes et fruits, quand possible, cueillis dans son propre potager.

..fraisier..

..crépe complete et salade de jardin..

..Tarte citron au sorbet exotique..

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..Tarte pomme..

La pate a brioche:

For a very large tart: 6 eggs, 350g melted butter, 750g flour, 30g yeast diluted in some lukewarm water, pinch of salt. The recipe can be divided by three or even 4 for a large family size tart.

Add 117g yeast to 1 glass of warm water. Mix it into 250g flour, a pinch of salt and 2 eggs.
Cover an oven pan with baking paper.
Spread the dough to an equal thickness on the paper. Leave aside in a warm corner to rise for about 30 minutes, while you prepare the apples.
Peel and core 3 apples, cut into pieces and place into a casserole with some sugar, a few drops lemon juice , a few juniper berries, a pinch of salt. Simmer to reduce to a compote.
Peel 2 to 3 more apples and slice. Drizzle with lemon juice.
Spread the compote on the prepared brioche dough and arrange the apples slices on top.
Top with sprinkled cassonade/vergeoise/brown sugar and dollops of butter.
Bake for about 30 minutes at 180 degr. C or until the apples are caramelized and the dough is cooked through.

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La suggestion du moment changes every day, depending on season and availability of produce. This day had Papillote de saumon aux petits légumes (salmon parcels with vegetables)on the menu.

La suggestion du moment change quotidiennement selon la saison et les produits disponibles. Ce jour là…une papillote de saumon aux petits légumes.

At the counter/bar, is always a lot of laughter and chatter going on..around a cup of coffee of course.

Autour du bar, toujours de la rigolade!

So, next time you are in the vallée de la Dordogne, do make the effort to turn off to Beaulieu sur Dordogne and drop in to meet Sophie and Pascale and Michel and have a seat by the counter with a coffee, or on a couch with a magazine, or enjoy a light lunch at a table.

Alors. La prochaine fois que vous passez par la vallée de la Dordogne, faites demi tour et arretez-vous devant le Café Douceur en centre ville pour fair la connaisance de Sophie, Pascale et Michel. Surtout, n’soyez pas pressés et restez un bon moment sur un canapé tout confortable!

..à bientôt..

Ronelle

In the spirit of the fraise season and it being the fruit of our region, I trumped up these little strawberry helpings. Very versatile, they can be served as part of a buffet, or an ending to a meal as dessert, or with a cheese platter, or even an apéritif for an al fresco dinner. Won’t hurt to try them, non?

Basil stuffed strawberries

Recette:

Rinse and dry a handful of large strawberries.
Cut the stem side off each strawberry to form a lid and keep aside. Cut the tip off to make the strawberry stand up straight.
Use a small melon scoop and hollow out the inside to form a little cup.
Cut the remove strawberry flesh into small pieces.
Add to the chopped strawberry flesh: Some chopped berries of your choice(blueberries, blackberries, mulberries…), a few drops of balsamic vinegar, a few drops of a fruit coulis of your choice, a few shredded fresh basil leaves. Mix together gently and spoon into the empty strawberry cups.
Sprinkle some chopped pistachio nuts over the tops and replace the strawberry lids.
Serve individually on a plate or on a large platter for a buffet and accompany with fruit coulis(which you have used in the strawberry cups)
Decorate with berries and sifted icing sugar, basil leaves..

Pincée de fleur de sel:

I used blueberries and raspberries with a raspberry coulis.
If the berries aren’t in season yet, combine with another fruit like kiwi, which will also see to a nice filling.
Remember that the bigger the strawberries, the less flavor and sweetness they have, So choose youraccompanying fruit accordingly.
Pomegranate can make for a nice crunchy filling.
For an sweet/salty apéro(amuse bouche), try a filling of quinoa, chopped spring onion and chervil with a drizzling of lemon juice, olive oi, and serve on some salad leaves..mmm, superb! Serve with a cold rosé wine by the barbeque fire..
Don’t serve directly from the fridge..too cold temperatures kill the strawberry taste..in facet, I never serve anything, except ice cream and the likes, directly from the fridge. The fridge kills all flavours.
Serve as part of a cheese platter..fill with a small cube of feta cheese, a shredding of dill and add a little piment d’espelette jelly(or another piquant jelly) and a drop of olive oil.
Play around with your own preferences.

This year’s fête de la fraise happened in the rain. Although the number of visitors were lower than previous years, there were still many brave ones..like mon chéri and me. The fraises were as usually in abundance, but I missed the taste of sunshine..it is clear that our fruit and vegetables aren’t what they usually are. All the rains and grey and rainy days are taking its toll. But nonetheless, going to la fête de la fraise is what we just do and we strolled the streets and nibbled on strawberries all day long.

..a cool fête de la fraise

..This was my attraction all day long..

..Strawberries, smoothies, meringues, crèpes..it was all there..

..just a few names under so many varieties..

..and the traditional giant tarte aux fraises, a combined effort by the patissiers of Beaulieu..

..I was as as fascinated by the bubbles as the kiddies were..

..How I wish we could hang on to that uninhibited spontaneity..

..just like the strawberries, bubbles of all sizes and shapes..

..and this is where the bubbles originated from..a complicated vintage machine..

..As usual, mon chéri had to discuss the engineering principles behind the bubbles with Monsieur bubble machine..

..And..forgive me..more bubbles!..

..such a pity I have no more daughters; musicians and bands galore throughout the day…

..and with this last image I want to say:

“Gros bisous à toutes les mamans et à ceux et celles qui les entourent..

bonne fête des mamans!!”

**Note: the washing day post is postponed to later date due to loss of images(total computer clumsiness on my part!!)..I have to await a sunny day to redo it all…my apologies!

à la prochaine fois,

Ronelle