My brother and some friends purchased an old farmhouse complex in Southern France several years ago.  They have divided it into condominiums and rent it out when not enjoying it themselves.   This French country kitchen is, of course, our favorite place to be!  Note the charming centuries old curved doors and two foot thick stone walls.

The old wood beams of the farmhouse have been left exposed, but the kitchen has every modern convenience with a lovely farmhouse sink and a dishwasher, of course.

 

There is decorative tile throughout the kitchen with accent tiles of olive branches -- we're in southern France, of course!

The focal point of the kitchen is the fabulous Lacanche range made in the Burgundy region of France.   The Lacanche Ironworks was founded in the 18th century.  They have been making the high-performance gas ranges since 1987. 

We serve dinner in the old barn on a huge country table with benches.  It is also the site of wedding receptions and seminars when rented out.

 

The loft above the dining table shows the exposed ceiling and beams of the old farmhouse.  It is perfect for parties.  We are already looking forward to celebrating my brothers' birthdays there in April!

   We went back to France two weeks ago to spend another lovely holiday in my brother's old farmhouse near Toulouse.  At this time of the year the figues on his figue trees around the farmhouse are ripe and we ate figues from morning till evening. 

   There were blue ones and green ones --hundreds of them, and we were not the only ones to enjoy them.  In fact, we had to be careful while picking them as so many hornets and other insects also seemed to enjoy them.  One day Dieter decided to bake a tarte aux figues.

   You can buy the thin layers of Pâte Brisée in every supermarket in France, but Eileen is including her favorite French recipe. 

                                 DIETER'S TARTE AUX FIGUES

   We did not peel the figues, but cut them into slices and fried them with butter in a pan for just a few minutes, adding a little sugar and water.  Then Dieter spread them on the layer of dough, added some black grapes and pieces of walnuts--all from the garden.  Finally the tarte was put into the oven and baked at a very high temperature (Eileen suggests 425˚ F on the lower rack of the oven) for about 20-25 minutes.  The result was fantastic!  It just took four people a few minutes to finish it.  I tried it with a little creme frâiche and that was delicious.
   You can make a similar dessert without dough and cook the figues a little longer.  It makes a great dessert!

                                            PÂTE BRISÉE
                   adapted from French Tarts by Linda Dannenberg

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small pieces
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 4 tablespoons ice water

   Combine the flour, butter, and salt in the bowl of a food processor.  Process 10 - 12 seconds, until the mixture has a dry, crumbly texture.  Add the water to the mixture and pulse 12 to 14 times, just until the dough begins to hold together in a mass, but before it turns into a ball.  (The crust can become tough if it is processed even a few seconds too long.)
   Remove the dough from the bowl, then transfer it to a sheet of plastic wrap.  Flatten the dough into a smooth disk, wrap, and refrigerate for at least  one hour before rolling.  (You can make this dough ahead of time and store it in the refrigerator for 2 to 3 days.)
                                   Makes one 12-inch crust

   In July we spent a week in our French friends' holiday cottage in rural France.  It was heaven! 

   The cottage is an outbuilding of a mill at a small river, surrounded by forests and fields.  There are no other houses. 
   You think time has stopped a long, long time ago.  The villages and small market towns consist of old stone houses and ancient churches. 

   Almost 2,000 years ago the Romans settled here and we drove across a nearby river, over the old Roman bridge that is 1,600 years old and still safe.

   There are flowers and wildlife everywhere.  Everybody seems to have time, but sadly, a lot of young people have moved to the bigger cities.

   We picked our own berries, collected firewood for the evening, ate wild mushrooms from the forests and bought wonderful farm products from the small local markets.

   Our friends' cottage is romantic and decorated with French antiques and fabrics.

   At night we listened to the barn owls and woke up to wonderful birds' singing.  It was a wonderful relaxing week and quite a contrast to flashy Paris!

   With four lemon trees in our garden, we always have fresh lemons for our salad dressings.  However, sometimes there are so many lemons that we have to use them in a different way.  One year we tried to make lemon marmalade.  That was good, but most members of the family did not like that bittersweet taste.  Then Dieter, who is in charge of desserts, found a wonderful recipe in one of our cookery books.

   The recipe was an instant hit.  The dessert is so delicious and light that you can even eat it after a huge dinner.  It has become our favourite family dessert.  Susan has named it Dieter's Lemon Fluff and requests it at every visit. 

                                      ZITRONENCREME
                                    Dieter's Lemon Fluff

1.  For this light fluff, separate four eggs.  With hand mixer, beat  four egg yolks with 100 grams sugar and some lemon zest until very foamy.  Soften three leaves of white gelatin in enough cold water to cover. 

2.  Transfer well-softened gelatin leaves (do NOT press out water)  to saucepan and combine with six tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice stirring over medium low heat.  This works  best with a shallow ladle that has first been rinsed in very hot water. 

3.  While whisking the egg yolk/sugar mixture with one hand, slowing add the lemon/gelatin liquid.  Warning:  The gelatin must be totally dissolved and running freely before adding to the egg yolk/sugar mixture so that it can bind properly.

4.  LIGHTLY whisk the egg yolk/lemon/gelatin mixture.  IMPORTANT:  Be careful to mix lightly so that no air bubbles build up.

5.  Beat the whites of four eggs until soft peaks form.  Stir 1/4th of the egg whites into the egg yolk/lemon/gelatin mixture, incorporating completely.  Fold in the remaining egg whites gently.

6.  Dieter's Lemon Fluff can be served in one large bowl or fill in individual bowls.   Refrigerate until firm.   Serves 4-6.  

Whenever we are on holiday in France or England we browse the antique markets and shops. We prefer markets and antique centres with a mixture of professional dealers and people who just sell for fun or from their attics or car boots. Over the years we have bought a lot of paintings during such holidays, which we love to display in our home. Some paintings remind us of places we have just seen like the castle in France . . .

Old warehouses in Marseille . . .

 

Or the Customs House in King`s Lynn in East Anglia/England.

The children`s portraits complement our collection of antique toys.

And others look nice in the kitchen or in the conservatory.

The paintings are oils, pastels etc. and are not valuable. We do not bother having them restored and usually don't have the  original frames repaired.

We have never paid a lot for the paintings. The French castle, for example, which we bought in a small town in the south of France (Mirepoix) last year was only 90 Euros. Of course, you should not look for the paintings in very popular places with lots of tourists, but try to stop at small shops or weekly markets and you can easily find nice paintings from the genuine owners or rather their grandparents.
Unfortunately, we should stop buying now, as we have enough paintings on our walls, but once you have started it is difficult to stop as you will always find some nice paintings in unexpected places.

This morning we passed along our favourite florist`s shop in Bonn and saw that the orange trees are out, definitely a hint that spring is not far away.

Here in Germany you find flowers displayed in front of the florists`shops everywhere now, even in front of the supermarkets. There are also stalls among the fruit stalls that only sell flowers during the year.

Being so close to Holland the spring flowers such as tulips and daffodils are offered everywhere and at reasonable prices.

These hardy spring flowers can now be seen in flowers boxes all over Germany.

Spring is in the air!  Looking at Eileen`s shivering dog, I thought I should send you a weather and garden report from Germany. While China and other parts of the world are suffering from extremely cold weather and heavy snow, we have another very mild winter.

Look at the picture of the Gertrude Jekyll rose in January! We have never seen a rose blossoming in January, but this winter everything is possible and this rose has never stopped blossoming since May last year!

We love watching the growth of our first spring flowers in the garden, which are already in bloom.

We can even sit in front of our house in warm sweaters and enjoy the sunshine and the arrival of spring.  Here I am with grandchildren Samy and Lilly posing for Opa Dieter!