summer – Page 19 – Myfrenchkitchen

After almost five months here in the still undiscovered, secret countryside of Corréze, we are heading back home to Montlouis sur Loire. I will be exchanging my Corréze kitchen for my Montlouis kitchen!

…a barn kitchen in Puy d’Arnac…

…Montlouis kitchen…

We’re locking up Coin Perdu for the winter:

Setting aside the wheelbarrows and cement mixers. Emptying the pantry in the Corréze kitchen corner. Stripping the beds of linen. Storing books and magazines away from humidity. Packing my art stuff. Taking my art stuff off the walls. A last sweep.

A last grand créme at the brasserie Les voyageurs at Beaulie where the charming Cecile always brightens my day with a smile.

A last stroll to our little bench to throw a last glance across the valley.

One more photo. Packing Tokala and Aiyani in our peugeot bleu.

Shutting la porte de la grange.

Au revoir notre petit Coin Perdu!

…our corner in Corréze…

…lovely Cecile at Les voyageurs…

brasserie Les voyageurs

May the owls be kept warm once again in the barn for this winter, may les vaches roam content on our hils, may les buses continue circuling the skies, may les chevreuils graze undisturbed down by the poplars and may the wild flowers welcome us bright and jovial on our return in the spring.

…working or fiddling…

…birthdays…

We enjoyed two birthdays, many sunsets and starry skies. We had good friends visiting us, staying with us in the barn. We had a surprise visit from good friends in South Africa. We got to know our neighbors, Jean Pierre and Michéle and Yvonne, 86 years old and along with her chickens, as fit as a fiddle! We became regulars at the bar in Beaulieu, enjoyed icy cold péche melba on hot afternoons, sipped aperitif at 17:00 along with all the other regulars.

We did lots of hard work: Turned the barn into a living home. Turned the old homestead into a construction site with ladders and cement and beams and trucks. There were tears and frustration. Arguments. Difference of opinions. Anger, irritation, misunderstandings. We had blisters and bruises and still have. We rushed off to emergency with a slashed open head, got stitched up and continued working. But we also went for long strolls in the forest, nibbled on peaches and oranges.

…Liandri & Marinell…dreaming?…

We became part of the heart beat of Corréze and we are going home, replenished and with vivid memories, patiently awaiting spring to restart it all over again. Of course! Can’t wait!

…a last glance…

It is weekend..almost. Time for winding down, letting go, stretching out the body and mind, reading that book you only get to read on weekends, riding that bike you only get to ride on Sundays, visit with friends you only get to do on Saturdays. It is time to do some cooking and fiddling in the kitchen, try new recipes, indulge in trusted ones and most of all…it is time to flirt with the markets and grab up the in season products; plump, healthy and inviting. Like tomatoes of all kinds. Coming into season in September…here in Feance in any case. And elsewhere…maybe the strawberries are rocking in?

You have to love seasonal. You have to love tomatoes. And don’t you just love a weekend?

Have a good weekend!

…tomato mozzarella salad…

From Ice cream versus salad: *make a tomato mozzarella salad, using nice small vine tomatoes, some buffalo mozzarella torn into bite size pieces… stuff some in your mouth while you’re at it. Tear some basil leaves and lastly, sprinkle with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt and mill some fresh pepper and then add a sprinkling of finely chopped sun dried tomatoes.To finish off, mix gently with your hands and then lick off those fingers, serve on a pretty plate and enjoy with crusty bread.