Healthy Food . . . . . . Fresh Ingredients . . . . . . Easy Recipes . . . . . . & Musing from an Expat in France
Persimmon trees are very common in our area. I was discussing them with a French friend (pre-pandemic). My comment was that either persimmon trees are incredibly productive or no one actually likes them. I usually see the trees laden with fruit to the point that branches are bending. Her answer was: yes, they are productive … Continue reading…
When I was growing up my mother would, occasionally, put oregano in chili. The only reason we had oregano was because my older sister had discovered Jeno’s pizza kits. At that time the only way one could have pizza where we lived was to buy a box kit. There was also dried sage in the … Continue reading…
My potager, aka: vegetable garden, veggie patch, disaster area, is not having one of its better years My big blue pumpkins, normally way too prolific, have produced 3 tiny specimens that are, at the moment, rotting on the vines. The usual second crop is non-existent. All 20 of my shallots died. That has never happened … Continue reading…
I’ve been feeding our birds all winter: finches, bluetits and robins (European robin…. no relation to the American robin). But we don’t have hummingbirds here in Europe. We have hummingbird moths but, while interesting to watch, are pretty plain and not at all like the flashy hummingbirds. My mother always had a hummingbird feeder hung … Continue reading…
The Irish writer George Bernard Shaw once said: ‘England and America are two countries divided by a common language’. I have learned that lesson well since living on this side of the pond but what I’ve learned is to be cautious and never assume I know what’s being said. Last week, for example, I was … Continue reading…
It’s been an unusually busy week for guest posts on my blog. Like many things left to chance, I will have no requests for weeks, then 4 in one day. I try to be a good curator, only accepting posts that I find interesting and that relate to food, cooking or gardening. I get a … Continue reading…
Remember terrariums? Glass bowls or squares or oblongs in which you grew plants in a ‘closed (or open for succulents) ecosystem’. They were all the rage in the 70’s. The idea was also used as a habitat for small pets like spiders (who would have a pet spider? Shudder!!!) or lizards (our friend in Spain … Continue reading…
