“On days like these when skies are blue and fields are green” it’s hard to imagine that we were ever in winter or in early Spring. That there were ever days when the trees were bare, the vineyards grey and empty. The cherries in our garden have come and gone, the strawberries are retreating, the […]

It’s been quiet in the countryside of late. The little girl inside me (the actual little baby girl inside me) is starting to take her toll on my back so I find myself increasingly sitting down as I continue with the cooking. My father-in-law says I shouldn’t make such a fuss about every meal (although […]

Red is so hot right now When I was in New York earlier this month I missed most all those little hands that hug me and hold me, the elbows that sometimes knock me out at night and, of course, the little faces that come with the hands, the ones with mischievous little smiles. These […]

My heart fills with joy when I see March appear in my precious diary. This month marks the arrival of spring in Médoc, with pretty flowers blossoming on trees everywhere. If I had to match a painting to this month, it would be Gustav Klimt’s ‘Mäda Primavesi‘. The girl, the dress, the flowers – that’s March […]

What a pleasant surprise I had when my heliciculturalist (snail farmers) friends Francis and Françoise dropped by to say Bonjour. After saying our belated ‘happy new year’, they gave me a pack of snails from their ‘petit gris’ farm as a gift. There was also a little bonus. A succulent recipe for a garlic and […]