Vegetable casserole.

Firstly I must apologise to you all for the slow rate at which I am posting!
Time just seems to fly by and  keeping up with everything is not easy, especially at this time of year, when the garden needs a lot of attention!  

I have still not managed to edit my photos of the Lot region of France and we go on holiday next month, so there will be loads more photos to edit on our return after 3 weeks of travelling.  I have, however, managed to keep up the photo diary, for those who are interested. Catching up with 'My life in the Charente' in summer may be difficult but I will do my best when we return from holiday.  Tomorrow we have a blogger friend arriving and we are looking forward to showing her around; sadly the weather has taken a turn for the worse and lots of rain is forecast!

Meanwhile, I have discovered an amazing way to make a vegetable casserole and decided to pass on my 'invention,' as we thought it was so good.  No amounts or weight are involved; just decide how much you need for each person.

You could use pretty much any vegetable of your choice but I used:

2 carrots

1 parsnip

A large stick of celery

2 leeks

A few mushrooms

Two sticks of asparagus that I had in the fridge.

Freshly ground pepper to taste

Chop all and put into a dish with a lid.  I then added liquid 3/4 of the way up the dish.  This was a 50:50mix of box orange juice and dry white wine with a vegetable stock jelly added.  Put on the lid and cook in the oven at about 190C (375F, gas mark 5) until the carrot is just tender; mine was done in a little more than an hour. Pouring in heated liquid  first would speed up the cooking time if you were in a hurry.

When the vegetables were cooked, I drained off the liquid to make a sauce and kept the vegetables warm meanwhile. 

Butter - about 60 grams or 2 ounces, melt in a small saucepan then add some flour (about 2 tablespoons), Add a couple of heaped tablespoons of lemon and lime marmalade, stir well then slowly add the vegetable liquid, stirring all the time until you have a thick pouring consistency.  Serve up the vegetables and pour some of the sauce over.

I served it with a potato cooked in the slow cooker, and a grilled pork chop, it was delicious.

Pasta sauce.

We had some of the above vegetables left over, as I had cooked more than we needed. I made up a little more sauce using butter, flour, wine, orange juice and marmalade and adding the left over vegetable.  We then poured it over our favourite pasta and hey presto, what a great sauce it made.

I hope that you get to try this out as I thought it was really exceptional and the lemon and lime marmalade just finished it off with a novel taste.  It may work with any marmalade, but that is for you to try and experiment with!

See also My Life Before Charente (updated 9 March)

and my daily blog

Photo Diary 

Postcard from South Africa

I was delighted yesterday when I received a  post card from Gaelyn of Geogypsy fame, you can see her travel blog right HERE, or her general blog HERE.  

Gaelyn started exploring US National Parks in 1977 and 20 years later became a Park Ranger. As she says, every world-wide designated landscape, and historic site within the systems of preservation, has a unique story about people and place. She likes to share some of those stories with you.  Her photos of the Grand Canyon are quite extraordinary, and if you have never visited the canyon, I suggest you take a look at some of Gaelyn's past photos at her old blog Here.  

She will now be in South Africa until March 20, 2013

This postcard was written 16 Feb 2013 and posted at Port Elizabeth 20 Feb 2013.  I received it in France, sent standard post, 01 March 2013.  Pretty good going I would say knowing how slow South African post can be at times!

This post card was bought at Helen Martin's Owl house and Camel Yard at Nieu Bethasda in the Eastern Cape, South Africa.

Thanks so much Gaelyn, much appreciated.

Angles sur l'Anglin

I've been stuck inside at home for two days watching the rain come down, and with two more days of it forecast, I have decided to backtrack for this post - to the sunnier skies of June this year, when we were lucky enough to drive through Angles sur L'Anglin on a trip to meet up with Martine from Wishing I were in France, at Susan and Simon's home from Days on the Claise at What a Blogging Party.

This most striking settlement (designated one of the most beautiful villages in France) has been blogged about quite often, but I am hoping that many of my followers may not know the village and will enjoy my photos.  Sorry there are so many of them, despite a hefty edit of all those I took!

It is situated in the commune of Vienne in Poitou-Charentes, this area being very unspoilt, with lovely little roads and many medieval buildings. The site offers an unbelievable view across a river valley to the ruins of the old chateau (castle).

The following is an English translation on one of the local signs (reproduced exactly as written!):- The history of Angles sur l'Anglin started 14,000 years ago.  On the banks of the river Anglin shaded by Witches Rock, Magdelenian men sculpted bas reliefs representing animal and human forms.

Discovered in 1948 and unique to the world in its vast size, the ensemble is closed to the public.  While waiting to discover these wonders on way of an exact replica under construction, it is possible to imagine the rich past of Angles by strolling through the charming alleys and numerous secret passages.  The castle more than 40 metres high, was built in the 12th century.  Wanted by many, the castle has changed hands several times, even becoming a public quarry during the French Revolution.  Today a safe and tranquil visit is possible.

A small map of the area

The chateau towers over the village

The small chapel on top of the hill next to the chateau

Looking down from the chateau across the river Anglin to the lower part of the village, set on the opposite bank

St Martin's Church - Information board

St Martin's undergoing some restoration!!

Inside St Martin's

One of the windows of St Martin's Church

La Cueille, one of the streets that lead down the hill from the castle, to the  river and the lower parts of the village

Numerous narrow streets lead to interesting places!

One of the walks down to the river; some were very steep but someone has put in stormwater drains at some earlier time - see the grating!!

Interesting signs outside buildings in the village

The villagers all take pride in their homes!

Looking across the river towards the lower part of Angles sur l'Anglin

I could not resist this photo of the 2CV parked by the river!

What I believe to be the chapel of St Croix, across the river from the car

and it has this stunning 13th century portal!

A view from lower Angles sur l'Anglin across the river to the upper part of the village. Note the 2 CV on the other side :-)

A view  of the chateau from the bridge with the water mill in the foreground. 

Another secret little lane!

and I am very curious to know where this little door leads to!

For the official website of Angles sur l'Anglin see Here

 

See also - My Life Before Charente Updated 04/11/12

What a Blogging Party

On Wednesday, we were fortunate participants at a great bloggers gathering.  Many of my followers will have already read about this on other blogs, but for those of you who have not, here is "our version"!   The idea for the event came about when Martine, from Wishing I were in France contacted Susan from Days on the Claise; Martine said that she would be in the region for a short time on holiday, and if possible, she would love to meet up with a few of the bloggers in the area.   Susan generously offered to host a party, and with Simon's help, the result was amazing.  There were 16 adults and one child there, and what a great time we all had!   It is amazing that few of us had had much previous contact, but it felt as if we had all known each other for years and there was just masses to catch up with.  My personal regret was, that because there were so many of us, I did not get long enough to talk to everyone for long enough!

This is the 'official' group photograph, skilfully taken by Simon on timer, so he was in the photo as well.

We were a very international group and starting from the back row, left to right are Mats (Sweden), Simon (Anglo/Australian), Charles-Henri (France), Martine (Belgium), Gaynor (Wales), Antoinette (Dutch/American), Ken (USA), directly in front of Ken, Caroline (Belgium), Niall (Scotland), Nigel (England), Diane (Rhodesia/South Africa/UK), Florence and Alexander (Belgium) with the front row (seated/kneeling) Tim (England), Susan our host (Australia), Walt (USA), Vera (Sweden).

Susan kindly offered us a bed overnight, as we had the longest distance to travel; this was fantastic as it meant we could enjoy the company, have a drink and relax without worrying that we had more than a 2 hour drive home afterwards.   The food was wonderful and everyone supplied a dish, so it meant that the culinary effort was spread.

I should have stood a bit further back - there was a large joint of beef off to the right and two yummy chickens on the left. For the full panorama, take a look at the photo on Ken's blog!

Martine and Ken catching up with some news.

Antoinette, Niall, Martine and Walt.

I have no idea what Walt was up to with his glass of wine here that caused all the laughter.

Wow, just look at those desserts, yum yum.  I might add that I ate far too much, but how could you not try a bit of everything?

Simon, Charles-Henri, Martine and Susan.

We really had a fantastic day and it was thrilling to meet so many bloggers, all on the same day.  Thanks Martine for the suggestion, and a big thanks to Susan and Simon for arranging it all, and of course for having us to stay overnight

For those who would like to read some of the other blogs that I have not linked to above, here they are :-

Antoinette and Niall, Walt, Gaynor, Caroline.

Susan and Simon run a tourism business, which provides stylish guided tours of the Loire region; see their business site HERE.


For 'My Life before Charente' see HERE  updated 8 June 2012 

Meeting Another Blogger

I will continue with part 2 of the drive (through France) back to our home, and the places we visited, in the next post, but meanwhile I wanted to tell you about our meeting with Leon and Sue from Australia.

Several months ago, I read on Leon's blog that they were coming to France for a holiday, to celebrate Sue's 60th. She had been given the choice of a diamond or a French holiday, and Sue, with no hesitation, picked the holiday.  Soon Leon was planning their trip and he mentioned that they were hoping to visit Oradour-sur-Glane, which is not too far from us.  We had said that we did not want to go there again as it is such a heartbreaking place, but the thought of missing Leon and Sue was too strong to overcome, so we made our way to the sad remains of the village last Tuesday morning.  We had just parked our car, when another car parked just behind us and I recognised the pair from photos on their blog.  Excitedly, we said our bonjours and immediately started chatted about mutual interests, particularly cycling.

We made our way down to the village and walked quietly around, talking about the tragic massacre  which took place there in 1944.  I am not going to add more photos, as I have written about Oradour-sur-Glane before - see my link above, but you might find it interesting to get Leon and Sue's impressions of the village at this post.  

The only photo of the village I will add is the one that I took of Leon and Sue next to the remains of the village doctor's car.  

On leaving the village we drove into the new town of Oradour-sur-Glane, where we found a small cafe where we could have lunch.  We were talking so much that the waiter had to return three times before he managed finally to get an order from us!   He also kindly offered to take a photo of the four of us, which you can see below.

We sadly said goodbye to Sue and Leon after the all-too-short lunch, as they made their way off to Chinon and make contact with more bloggers.   It was really good fun to meet up with this entertaining couple from Australia. I am certain that with the common interests of cycling, food, wine, France and of course blogging, we are sure to keep in touch.


Leon is keeping his blog pretty much up to date while they are travelling around and I recommend that if you love France, that you take a look.  They still have another week in Paris before returning, so there will be lots to read about. See link at the top of this post. 


For 'My Life before Charente' see HERE  updated 23 May 2012

Meeting a Blogger and a Repas

Last Friday, we had the pleasure of meeting blogger Kerry and her husband Roger.  They were only staying here in France for a week, taking a short, but active, break.  

We invited them for evening drinks and snacks on this, their last full day before making the drive home; we just hit it off immediately and talked and talked, until we suddenly realised it was almost 23h00 (!) and they had a long drive ahead of them.  They are such lovely people, and I am glad that they have a local place to stay, whenever they can make a visit; we hope we will get the chance to meet up again in the not too distant future.  We seem to have a lot in common and they love France and cycling.  Please take a look at Kerry's blog HERE if you love crafts; she makes the most beautiful cards.  Also you might be lucky and get a bit of news about France there as well.

Roger and Kerry.
Sorry Kerry, in the other photo you were smiling beautifully but the flash caught your glasses quite badly! 

***********************

Yesterday we went to a "repas", which translates pretty much as a meal.  This was a lunch at St Adjutory, organised  by the leisure group of which we are members.  We understood that just over 80 people were expected at the village's Community Hall and arrival time was 12h00.  The cost was a modest €12 each, which included food, wine and of course, great company.

The menu offered six courses, as you can see below, but I forgot to take photos of the first 3 courses!!  First course was a glass of kir - sweet wine. Next up was the asparagus soup - delicious, and in unlimited quantity; I think we all had second helpings!  The filet de lieu was quite a large  piece of fish,  served with a  moulded circular "cake" (the word ecaille literally means "shell") and tomato sauce; the cake seemed to comprise tiny slivers of cucumber in a courgette mixture; it was delicious. 

The main course of tender pork fillet cooked in a  mustard sauce, with a stuffed potato and vegetables, at which point I  remembered my camera ........

This was followed by cheese and salad and of course in France there is always a constant supply of crusty French bread, to eat as and when you want.

Raspberry mousse followed this, and the meal finished with  coffee.

Nigel took this photo of  my neighbour and me at the meal; I cannot remember now what caused quite this much laughter, but at this point it was late afternoon and we were definitely having a good time!! They organise these lunches every 3 months, so we had better get into training!

Note that the lovely earrings and necklace that I am wearing here were made by another blogger friend Jean. She has a number of blogs, but the one with the jewellery is HERE while her mostly French blog is HERE

As always click on photos to enlarge. 

For 'My Life Before the Charente' see HERE

Meeting Another Blogger and The Winner is.......

Early last week, I took a drive to see Roz and her husband Neil from Dirty Feet and Rubble in my Hair .  What a delightful couple!  Neil was busy building his workshop and what a magnificent job he is doing. So as not to disrupt the good work, we left him to it. Meanwhile Roz took me off to see the horses that she works with, and also one of her own. Having lived and breathed horses for many, many years of my life, it was such a pleasure to be back among them.  Roz had told me what great horses Friesians were and what fantastic temperaments they have; how right she was - I have never seen such friendly horses. So much so, that it was difficult to take photos.  They just wanted to have a fuss made of them.  It is a breed that I have not encountered before, having worked in racing stables. I only had thoroughbreds in my care and most of my show jumpers were ex race horses.

I managed to catch these three as they came rushing across the paddock to meet us.

I am sure Roz will correct me if I am wrong, but here she is (I think) with with her own Friesian on the left.  As all the Friesians are black, I was getting a bit confused as to which was which!  The Chestnut is about the same age and is there for company.

The two youngest ones to be born; I love their curly coats, which sadly they will grow out of!

and with their Mums.

I could not resist taking a photo of this family on the farm. They are a very small breed and these little chaps are about the size of guinea pigs at the present time!! I would loved to have taken one home!!!

then there was this bunny who I suspect had made an escape from one of the runs; he was gorgeous with his long floppy ears.

Oops I digress, I went to see Roz and the horses!  In the evening, Roz and her friends were practicing for a musical ride, which is coming up quite soon.  I went along to watch and to see the Friesians at work.  I gather that they make fantastic carriage horses and that they are excellent at dressage.  I was also very interested to hear that the South African Police have recently acquired a number of Friesians  to work with, because of their amazing temperaments.

Roz showing the paces; just look at that beautiful view behind her.

The riders concentrating hard. The horse on the left is a young stallion and although he was very full of himself, he behaved impeccably.

I think that there should be 8 riders in the full ride, but 2 were missing on the evening I was there. Here are the four Friesians together afterwards.  Roz second from the right.

Thanks Roz for a fantastic day and taking the trouble to guide me all over the place.  It was so good to be back with horses again after a long spell away.   

AND

The winner of the giveaway is number 7 Dolly

Congratulations Dolly, I will be emailing you and the jewellery will be winging its way to you quite soon.