Splash Necklace by Lunes Bijoux

It’s been a while since I looked at the Lunes Bijoux website. About 5 years actually. Kylee Milner is making gorgeous jewellery. She also has an online store, runs jewellery making workshops, participates in shows and exhibitions, has a blog – Bijoux and Banter, tweets,  and has a Facebook page.

Where does she find the time? And the energy? Amazing. I love this necklace. It’s polymer clay, metallic silver foil, and inks. Beautiful colours.

Terra Luna Pebbles by Lunes Bijoux

I love this Terra Luna Pebbles necklace as well. Hard to believe it’s polymer clay and not pebbles gathered in the Corbieres.

Here is the contact info:

Lunes Bijoux
21 rue des Vignerons,
11200 Luc sur Orbieu
+33 (0)468 27 69 95
+33 (0)625 28 33 38 mobile

Probably a good idea to call before you go to check open hours.

Esprits de Garrigue in Villerouges Termines in the Corbieres

Say bonjour when you go into a store and say au revoir (or merci, au revoir) when you leave. It’s a French thing. French shopkeepers expect to greet you and expect that you will greet them in return. Even if they’re serving someone else when you arrive they’ll still look up and say bonjour.

It took me a while to figure it out. At first I was always surprised when I went into a store and someone said bonjour. I would look around to see who they were talking to, In Canada it often felt as if I was interrupting the store clerk by going in to buy something.

It’s actually really nice to have someone say hello when you go into a store. I  miss it now that I’m back in Canada. I’ve noticed that it does happen sometimes in small stores.

I was in a fabric store in Carcassonne, chatting to the owner while she cut some fabric for me. A woman walked into the store, walked around for two or three minutes and then left, all without saying a word. The store owner looked at me, did that pffft thing that French people do, and said “ni bonjour, ni au revoir, ni merde”.

Obviously this doesn’t necessarily apply in large department stores and hyper-markets although sometimes in department stores a clerk will greet you in a department.

Learn how to say “I’m just looking thank you” and “I’m sorry, I don’t speak French”, remember to say bonjour and au revoir and you’ll enjoy shopping in France.

I’m late getting this posted this year. Where does the time go!? Still, it’s posted before Easter weekend.

*If you’re planning a trip to France it’s a good idea to check to see what days are bank or public holidays.

Small supermarkets and bakeries will usually be open for a few hours and restaurants will usually be open. Real estate agencies will be closed for the most part, so will banks and offices and most shops.

If a holiday – other than Easter Sunday and Whit Sunday – falls on a Sunday it is celebrated on the following Monday.

When a holiday falls on a Thursday (or Friday) many people people take the extra time off to have a long weekend – faire le pont. It’s especially true of small businesses, even some real estate office.

You probably know that I’m living in Toronto. I miss the Aude but I now have two grandsons and I wouldn’t miss being here to watch them grow  for anything; I think I was born to be a grandmother.

If you’ve followed Aude France for a while you’ll have noticed that I don’t post very regularly anymore. I’d like to but just don’t seem to have the motivation inspiration. I’m not ready to pack it in though. Hence the call for writers.

Maybe there are people out there who would like to write guest posts but not have the responsibility of actually running a blog. Maybe that’s you! Maybe it’s someone you know.

What’s involved in writing posts for AudeFrance?

• You can write as many posts as you want, I’d like to have a minimum of one per month.
• You can write about pretty much anything that relates to the Aude (or the Minervois in the Herault)
• There is no magic number of words but I’d recommend keeping it under 1,000.
• It’s good to include pictures but don’t worry about it. I have access to hundreds of images so we can always find one to include.
• Write in your voice but keep it fairly casual.
• It’s a bonus if you’re familiar with WordPress but it’s not a requirement. I’m happy to help you learn to use it.

What’s in it for you?

• You get to practice writing.
• You’ll learn to use WordPress.
• If you have a website we’ll link to that from your articles (as long as it isn’t a real estate site).
• I’ll buy you a glass or two of wine when I’m in France.
• You’ll be rich and famous.

How do I get started?

• Write a sample post and email it to me – audefrance@gmail.com.
• The post doesn’t have to be long – 300 to 500 words.
• If you’re new to the site take some time and read a few posts so that you have a sense of the blog.

The fine print

You’re free to publish anything you write for Aude France anywhere else on line but I do ask that you include a link back to Aude France.

I get to be the final arbiter of taste and topics.

Not sure?

If you’re sort of interested but not sure if it’s for you or if you aren’t sure what to write about or if you have any questions drop me an email – audefrance@gmail.com. I’m looking forward to hearing from you.

Toy caravan, Azille vide-grenier

She and I have spent a lot of Saturdays and Sundays going to vide-greniers.

Given that even I could only use so many monogrammed sheets I had to find a way to curb my enthusiasm – and spending. I discovered that I enjoyed walking around and taking pictures (almost) as much as I did looking for bargains.

Even though there are vide-greniers all year long there is definitely a season. The best vide-greniers happen from March to November. There’s a website that will help you find out which villages are holding vide-greniers – vide-greniers.org. You can search by department which certainly makes it easier.

I’ve been thinking about which village vide-greniers I always like and have come up with a list – not definitive by any means, it’s completely subjective.

• Fabrezan
• Azille
• Fonties d”Aude
• Barbaira
• Marseillette
• Trebes

Part of what I like is that – other than Trebes – the vide-greniers are all in the streets of the villages. Very picturesque.

Plane trees on the road to Camplong

You’ve probably read about the fungus that is killing the plane trees on the banks of the Canal du Midi. Trees within 50 metres of diseased trees are being destroyed in order to stop the progression of the disease. In theory that means that plane trees that aren’t close to the Canal du Midi are safe. I hope so.

The plane trees are so emblematic of the south of France,  those long tree-lined roads leading to medieval villages, the dappled shade, the sense of coolness on a hot summer day, it just wouldn’t be the same without them.

The road to Camplong – in the Corbieres – is plane tree perfection.  Huge trees line the road, there are vines on either side. The road curves a couple of times on the way into the village and there are places where you can see the trees, the vines, and the hills behind the village. It’s beautiful.

It’s one of those places that I’ve often stopped at for no reason other than to enjoy the beauty and the sense of calm. This picture was taken in early spring. (Unfortunately, in the battle of age and memory age is winning and I can’t remember the name of the white flowers. I’ll come back and enter it when I do remember.)

Valerie is the energy force behind Vécu and she’ll be one of the vendors. She ‘produces’ one of a kind dresses, aprons, place mats. tablecloths, napkins, hand towels and tea towels from vintage sheets and fabric. Make sure you say hello to her, tell her Sam sent you.

Caramel - topped Semolina Cake

It must be the middle of September because I want to cook. I want to use the oven again now that it’s cool enough. Last night I made ‘real’ dinner. Chicken breasts with dijon sauce, rice, green beans, and – for desert – Semolina cake.

Have you ever had semolina cake? Apparently in France you can buy mixes to make it but I had never had it until I made it about 18 months ago – inspired by Dorie Greenspan’s cookbook Around My French Table. I love that cookbook!

I wish I could claim credit for the picture but it’s from Martha Stewart – as is the recipe.

The cake isn’t really cakey, it’s more like a flan or baked custard.  It’s delicious and easy to make. The recipe calls for raisins but you could use any dried fruit that you like.  You could also use fresh fruit – maybe poach it first. The picture shows it served with Creme Anglaise but I serve it plain. I read a review of the recipe that said the cake is even better the next day.  I have no idea if that’s true; there have never been any leftovers so I haven’t been able to test it.

Caramel – Topped Semolina Cake

Yield Serves 8

Ingredients

For the Cake
2 cups whole milk
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup farina or Cream of Wheat
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup plump, moist golden raisins or other dried fruits cut into small pieces
For the Caramel
Scant 1/2 cup sugar
Squeeze of fresh lemon juice
Creme Anglaise

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees with a rack set in the center.

Make the cake:
Place milk and salt in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat; immediately reduce heat and stir in farina. Cook according to package directions, stirring and adjusting heat as necessary, until thickened. Remove from heat and stir in sugar and vanilla; let stand until cooled slightly, about 15 minutes.

Make the caramel:
Place an 8-inch round cake pan in oven to preheat. Place sugar, 1/4 cup water, and lemon juice in a small skillet or saucepan over high heat. Stir until sugar is moist and bring to a boil. As sugar begins to caramelize, carefully swirl pan to heat sugar evenly. Cook until sugar begins to turn dark amber in color, about 5 minutes. Remove cake pan from oven and pour caramel into pan, tilting pan to evenly coat; set aside.

Stir eggs and raisins into farina mixture and pour into prepared cake pan. Transfer to oven and bake until firm, puffed up, and a knife inserted into the center comes out clean, 25 to 35 minutes.

Invert a rimmed serving plate over cake pan and, working carefully (caramel will be very hot), turn pan over onto plate and lift it off; caramel will run down the sides of the cake. Let cake cool to room temperature before serving.

Enjoy

Bistrot Gourmand

After all my moaning about the same old same old restaurants in the Aude I’ve found another terrific place to eat.  My friend Yvette and I stumbled on Le Bistrot Gourmand in Homps on Monday evening. We were driving past and decided to try it. Good decision.  such a good decision that we’re going back on Friday.

Le Bistrot is a wine bar and tearoom serving tapas.  We ordered three things to share and then ordered one more. Each dish is 6.50 so you can have a fabulous meal without breaking the bank.

The food is gorgeous to look at, beautifully presented.  I didn’t take pictures of it because they wouldn’t do it justice. It’s as delicious as it is beautiful.

Inside Le Bistrot Gourmand

We had a cold dish that had a small dish with a salsa of tomatoes, zucchini, onions and other stuff topped with diced smoked salmon. The other cold dish was onion confit topped with a shrimp.

The hot dishes were a plate with three brochettes with a dipping sauce and salad, and then 2 croustillants – sort of open face sandwiches – one with magret de canard on tapenade and the other with pork tenderloin on a fig and onion confit.

Yum.

We had dessert too.  I had panna cotta because I love it and Yvette had chocolate liegeoise because she conducting a one-woman campaign to find the best chocolate liegeoise in this part of France.

All in all a terrific meal.  Worth driving for if you aren’t already in Homps.

Le Bistrot Gourmand is on the Canal du Midi in Homps, the last building on the way to Carcassonne. If you’re driving take the D2610 off the D610.  It’s the fist restaurant on the left. The address is 56 Ave de Carcassonne Homps and the phone number is 0468 41 42 37.

They’re open everyday from 10.00 to 23.00 except Saturday and Monday when they open at 15.00

During the day they also serve teas and cakes.

The space has been recently renovated and is completely wheelchair accessible, hard to find in the Aude.

The patio

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