An Ode to the French Lifestyle of ........................

............Jim Morrison - The Doors

My candle burns at both ends;
It will not last the night;
But ah, my foes, and oh, my friends
It gives a lovely light.
Edna St.Vincent Millay

............Edith Piaf - The Little Sparrow

............Oscar Wilde - a grave with as much graffiti as Oscar had words for any occasion. 

Gâteau au Chocolat - Recipe with a Twist........gluten free

Nothing would be more tiresome than eating and drinking if God had not made them a pleasure as well as a necessity.  ~Voltaire

Cooking family meals was an expression of my mother’s love for her brood. Savouring it was our acknowledgement of her affection and efforts. As a child, cooking with mother was my way of spending exclusive time with her in a large, male dominated, family. And it provided first rights to licking out any bowls and spoons -  a right savagely guarded amongst 5 siblings. Whipping up a roux, making pastry, sweet, savoury or suet and baking blind was mastered before my age hit double digits. For me cooking is also a method of retreating from daily stressors. The tradition of cooking en masse continued with my daughter, but took a twist when she was diagnosed with celiac disease in her late teens. Cooking and my beloved Tante Marie now provide new challenges.
Subscribing to the notion that  Nine out of ten people like chocolate. The tenth person always lies. (John Q. Tullius), here is my gluten free version of a French chocolate gateau, or as my daughter calls it........

Miam Gâteau au Chocolat - gluten free....easy & delish

Ingredients
* 135g unsalted butter
* 3/4 (three-quarters) cup castor sugar
* 6 very large eggs, separated (if eggs are too small the cake will be dry)
* 150g grated good quality 85% dark chocolate (Lindt)
* 2 cups of home ground almond meal (process silvered almonds - bought almond meal is too dry)
* 1/3 (third) cup of dry rice crumbs (purchased in a packet at the supermarket) 
* pinch of salt added to the rice crumbs
* 1 tablespoon of dark rum
* additional 90g dark chocolate (for cake topping)
* additional 30g butter (for cake topping)

Method
* turn on the oven to moderate
* line a 20 cm round cake pan with greaseproof paper (pan must be at least 6 cm in depth)
* cream sugar and butter until light in colour and texture (an electric beater is best)
* add egg yolks one by one, beating well after each egg is added
   stir in the almond meal, rice crumbs and grated chocolate (a large bowl may need to be used)
* fold the chocolate-almond mixture though the egg whites in 3 lots
* carefully pour the mixture into the lined cake pan and bake in the moderate oven for 50   minutes (test the cake with a cake skewer before removing from the oven)
* let cake sit in the pan for at least 5 minutes before placing on a wire   rack to cool
* when cold remove the paper lining and spread with the topping
Topping
* melt the additional 90g chocolate and 30g butter in a bowl over hot water
* let the mixture cool to a spreading consistency before covering the top   of the cake.
Slice thinly and serve with cream if desired
Note: 
1. creaming of the butter and sugar is best done in a smaller bowl
2. the cake will be dry if you use smaller eggs and the quantity of the freshly ground almond meal is less than 2 full cups

The Good Life: Keeping Hens in the City

Some are born with a love of hens, some develop a love of hens and some just have hens thrust upon them.

My great grandfather was a poultry fancier. His love of hens was intertwined with his scholar’s fascination for genetics and his passion for fine tasting chicken and eggs. His knowledge of and love affair with poultry has been passed down through the generations as his descendents have continued to keep hens and quail.

The desire for organic produce resulted in our friends acquiring chickens which  kindled their love of hens. Then there are our neighbours who had 3 down-covered chicks thrust upon them after their child had hatched some eggs at school.

I need hens for stress release. For me, the rhythmic sound of cackling hens and collecting newly laid, warm eggs are therapeutic. .

So my Husband has had fowls forced upon him - on 2 occasions. Last weekend I purchased a pair of young Isa Brown birds, which should be laying within the month. A cheaper option to buying mature fowl, but not the preferred option for my Husband.

Their acquisition has heightened the tension in my household to such a level that the birds, yet to be named, now reside in my brother’s garden – a comfortable 10 kilometres away.

Recalling our last batch of egg layers which roamed the garden, was enough to raise my Husband’s blood pressure. Tractor cages were assembled, elaborate drinking contraptions erected and the repairs to our garden were never ending.

The final straw for my Husband was the birds’ untimely demise - a result of my wing clipping. The consulted manuals precisely described, and illustrated how to clip wing feathers – on one wing only.

My desire for symmetry resulted in my birds having both wings clipped. A mistake.

A  pair of clipped wings still enables a bird to become airborne, albeit quite low – but  enough to fly out of our yard (2 birds) and attempt to fly across our larger than average in-ground swimming pool. A reckless decision. The sight of 3 deceased fowl floating on the sparkling blue water and the need to extract another from the pool filter were enough to have my newly acquired Isa Brown hens banished.

Diminished stress for the Husband, heightened stress for me and one very happy brother who has inherited my grandfather’s fascination for “chooks”.

My French Love Affair Began...........

My inspiration and reasons for falling head over heals in love with France lie behind this gate. 

A garden is a grand teacher. It teaches patience and careful watchfulness; 

it teaches industry and thrift; above all it teaches entire trust. 

Gertrude Jekyll

A chance encounter with Liliane, resulted in our first foray into France. And into her breath-taking Garden of Dreams. Liliane and husband, Pierre are what I imagined the quintessential Frenchman to be: warm, friendly, generous, cultured, energetic, creative, (very creative) and passionate about life. Thus began my French love affair.

This place still remains mon rêve, particularly in times of stress. If only I had the Martins' perseverance, vision and patience............... Thank you Liliane and Pierre for the ongoing pleasure and inspiration that your piece of paradise gives me. 

Adopt the pace of nature; her secret is patience. Emerson
This photo is courtesy of Liliane et Pierro Martin.

House in France (My French Folly) - plans have arrived and ........

Need some shutters just like these......

Great anticipation. A twinge of disappointment. Two months past the due date, the plans for the renovations to make the My French Folly habitable, have finally arrived. All I can say is my husband and I  will have to change our names to Bonny and Clyde, as the current financial horizon is looking very bleak.   
The floor plan of the house now resembles a Chinese checkers game. The 18th century oak stair case with its beautiful, hand-woven willow banister is to be 

The proposed site of the 2 windows
on the right side of the wall

moved sideways. The original kitchen is now a proposed bathroom. The salon is to be a kitchen-dinning area into which a washing machine (clothes washing, not dish washing) is to be placed - a sight that would put me off the most tempting French cuisine. The sejour has morphed into a double bedroom; temporarily until the second storey is refurbished.  The library is now a single guest room for my elderly father who can't climb stairs - a practical solution. One doorway is to be blocked off and another inserted. Two large windows are to appear in a solid wall, and the plumbing is not centralised. The proposed  windows are to capture the view of the old church on the adjoining hill - in theory, an excellent idea. However,  after renovating three 19th century houses I am concerned that inserting windows in an 18th century dwelling will create additional unforeseen work which could add substantial costs to a strained budget.

......and a window similar this
one in Chateau de Bournand...

There will be another bathroom up stairs (more euros) to service the additional 3 bedrooms, but the grenier for which so many grand designs have been mooted, doesn't even appear on the  floor plan - apparently because of our minuscule budget, yet we have the plans for the first storey which won't be renovated for a few years! 
It is at times like this I: 
a) want to release a primal scream,
b)  recall some words of  'wisdom' from my Year 11 English teacher: 'girls, if you are going to fall in love, make sure it is with a rich man'.  She married another teacher.
We have kept emphasizing to the designer that once the major works have been completed (power sewage, plumbing, roof and floor repairs) the remainder of our budget will be extremely small. Additional bathrooms, moving stairs unnecessarily and having metres of plumbing zig-zagging under the house is an extravagance and perhaps unnecessary. 
At the moment, I feel that I have 'bitten off more than I can chew', financially, physically and emotionally! Or as my French girlfriend says............ je suis dans le caca.

Le Marais Blues

The colour blue juxtaposed to a backdrop of muted, dull surfaces is intensified by the vibe of the Marais.    

J'adore...........

sa nouvelle et son vieux,

ses transports anciens et traditionnels,

mon escalier à balustre typique,

ses garçons en bleu,

peut-être......

All I need to make a comedy is a park, a policeman and a pretty girl. Charlie Chaplin

son ciel,

 I never saw a man who looked with such a wistful eye upon that little tent of blue which prisoners call the sky.  Oscar Wilde

son eau colorée

There is no blue without yellow and without orange. Vincent van Gogh


 ses magasins bleu.......noir........rouge......

et ses rues.

Oui, Le Marais, je t'adore.

Le Marais, Paris - let's party

It has been said "The rest of Paris can certainly be envious of Le Marais’s wonders". For those who like to watch the world go by, this friendly district has an eclectic mix of colourful characters. 

Last year, our apartment provided an excellent vantage point for watching the Gay Pride celebrations in the Marais. This event welcomed everyone - gay and straight; old and young; introverted and extraverted.................... Oui, Le Marais, je t'adore.

Marais, Paris - Je t'adore.

The UNESCO classified district of Le Marais, in Paris, sits on a small triangular piece of land, with side lengths of a couple of kilometres, extending from Place de l’Hôtel de Ville to Place de la Bastille, and the Place de la République . For many, it is “the heart of Paris”, encompassing the River Seine islands of  Ile de St Louis and Ile de Citie, ( the original site of Paris), with its iconic Notre Dame Cathedral. 

This small area, christened Le Marais,  is renowned for its numerous, beautiful, historical buildings, fine food, shops, galleries, museums and colourful lifestyle. Despite its humble beginnings as a drained swamp in the 13^th century, Le Marais developed into Paris’s fashionable centre by the 17 century with the construction of buildings designed by leading sculptors and architects, who had a penchant for gated courtyards.

Guidebooks will take you to the countless, historical treasures of Le Marais, but for me, much of its appeal lies in just meandering its streets. 

Oui, nous sommes les flâneurs – senendipity has great appeal, especially when it involves food or a camera. 

The concentration of narrow roads and laneways in Le Marais – a legacy of its past - creates an atmosphere of intimacy and causes the light  to cast interesting patterns over its quintessential Parisian roof tops.

One of the most breathtaking sights in Paris is the beautiful St Chapelle with its proliferation of stunning,stained-glass windows. The building of this chapel commenced in 1241, with the sole purpose to house the crown of thorns from Christ’s Passion. The predominant beauty of St Chapelle lies in the upper chapel, the entry of which can be easily missed. 


My favourite view across the Parisian rooftops is from the top of the west façade of Notre Dame - the 350+ steps are worth the climb!

If you wish to locate the best chocolate, pastry or ice-cream shops when strolling through the Marais, or the rest of Paris, visit Choco Paris         
Oui, Le Marais, je t'adore....................

My French Carrot: a House in France

This pituresque well is conviently located outside our front door - some plumbing would be a desirable addition*.

April 30 has passed and I still haven't received the house plans to submit to the local mairie. The charm of living in a 18th century house will definitely lose its appeal if I have to also live like an 18th century woman! I need a French carrot to help keep me afloat at work - if only something were happening at  My French Folly. 

Midlife is a curious state - on the one hand I have become more pragmatic and philosphical and on the other,  less tolerant to specific behaviours.  There appears to be peripheral rot that is creeping into my profession. ……friendship cliques within the staff (it is not what you know, it is who you know) ……… the increasing popular belief that the universe is centred around individuals who are not responsible for their own decisions or actions, if they don't have the desired outcomes. 

I acknowledge that it is the 80% - 20% principle, and in reality it is more like 98% of those whom I deal with are fine and the other 2% cause grief, but some how the trouble they generate makes it feel as if the ratio is reversed.  However,  in general I love my career and the community in which I work …... it is just that I don’t bounce back from negative incidents very easily in my "middle" years. I have a dream, a miniscule budget to make My French Folly habitable and midlife hormonal mayhem.....

* Photograph of our house by D Laurent

Mother's' Day

"Who, being loved, is poor?"          Oscar Wilde

Mother's day is a day for the gathering of the clan and to count my blessings. 
The older I get, the more grateful I am for the simple things in life - and the greater my intolerance of screaming children, particularly those who are spoilt. By the time I am a grandmother, all of my patience with children will have been eroded away – unfortunately I will probably be known as Grandma Grump and be given "wide berth" on Mother's Day.

"All that I am. or hope to be, I owe to my angel mother". Abraham Lincoln .......I just wish that I had inherited a touch more of Mother's characteristics.  My mother was an inspirational woman whom I understand and appreciate even more with the passing of time. I miss her laughter, wisdom, patience, kindness, infectious energy and mischievous sense of humour

"Mothers are all slightly insane."          J.D. Salinger

There is no way to be a perfect mother, and a million ways to be a good one".  Jill  Churchill.......Yes, Mother's Day is another occasion to reflect upon life.

Perhaps it was with envy that Oscar Wilde said : "All women become like their mothers. That is their tragedy. No man does. That's his."