Camembert...mmm

This post outlines some of our adventures on our Spring Trip in April/May 2012.

Here we are, still galavanting through the green, rain-soaked hills of Normandy - this time in the wee town of Camembert.

This village was a 'must see' for us given we're all cheese lovers and this is the birthplace of the famous camembert variety.

Why the cows are so happy in Normandy

There's not much in Camembert any more, just a Maire (town hall), a church, a few houses and the cheese museum.

The Mairie

At the start of the museum tour you get to watch a short film that tells you all about the history of the cheese and how they make it.

Then you can walk through the small museum which does a great job of showing all the processes involved, from cow:

to milk truck:

to the factory:

These aren't real, BTW  (although they would've fooled me after a few sherbets) 

Here is Marie Harel, the lady given credit for the creation of camembert after talking to a priest from Brie.

Camembert was invented in the late 1700s and remained very much a regional cheese for over a hundred years.

Still not real

During the First World War the producers decided to donate one day's production a week to the French troops as their contribution to the war effort. As a result hundreds of thousands of Frenchmen discovered the divine gooeyness that is camembert and the cheese became a national sensation.

That's what I'm talking about

There was a taste test at the end. We were all pretty excited.

The main differences between the three are (from left to right):
1. Made with hot, pasteurised milk
2. Made with not-so-hot, pasteurised milk
3. Made with hot, raw milk.

Regarding the commercial use of the name 'camembert' for a cheese - many of you would have seen local non-French camembert in your supermarkets and might have wondered how that is possible. (Given that you can't call your sparkling white wine 'champagne' or your blue cheese 'roquefort' unless it's made in that region to the required standards.)

Lucky this gorgeous vintage cheese box was behind glass, otherwise I would've swiped it.

So if you want the 'real deal' AOC camembert you want to look out for 'Camembert de Normandie' - this will be made according to strict quality regulations from delicious unpasterised Normandy cow's milk. All the others are just posers (but yummy posers).

La mooooo

It will be 38% fat or higher and it will blow your mind.  We bought a wheel to have for dinner that night with baguette and a Normandy apple cider. Heaven.

That was Camembert (well, most of it) and we loved it. A great half-day visit if you are in the Normandy area.

In other news - remember this day? Well, that was exactly a year ago. I can't believe he's one already! You'll find a much more recent photo of him over on my Facebook page.

Welcome to Friday, clink (that's my glass touching yours). I think we need another French pop video to lead us into the weekend.

This single, Je veux le monde (I want the world) has been released in the lead up to the musical play 1789: Les Amants de La Bastille, which opens in Paris in September. Honestly, I didn't pay that much attention to the music as I was too busy squeeing over the fact it's filmed at Versailles in costume.



What are my chances of getting the mister in a powdered wig? Phwoar.

Have a great weekend!

Provence Lavender

Apart from the Eiffel Tower, is there any image more French than Provence lavender?

Each year there are probably 3-4 weeks when the lavender is in its prime. The flowers are fresh, full and an intense hue. After that, the blooms start to dry and the colours become more dusty.

It's been very warm this summer, so lavender season will most likely be even shorter.

We got lucky the other week on a drive around the Valensole area in the Luberon Valley, coming across several well-maintained fields. (Not all the fields are kept in this weeded, nicely groomed state)

Walking along the rows is one of my favourite things to do, listening to thousands of drunk bees and smelling the perfume.

Brushing your hands along the flowers releases an even stronger scent but you have to be careful of the little nectar gatherers.

I had fun playing around with the manual settings on the camera. Which do you prefer - the focus on the foreground lavender?

Or on the rows in the distance?

The golden wheat fields make a lovely contrast to the purple.

Also golden - the occasional sunflower crop.

This one was just coming into maturity.

Lots of bees mooching around these flowers as well.

We are going home to Australia in January and I'm already asking myself how I'm going to be able to say goodbye to Provence.

A bit of lavender essence in the oil burner just isn't going to cut it. Sniff.

Oat Bran Banana Muffin Recipe

I got some lovely mail the other day - Susan from Patchwork N Play sent me some funky pot holders that she'd made.

They went to good use - I had to bake some muffins for a play date the very next morning.

These muffins are a favourite in our household and compared to the processed variety are almost (almost!) healthy.

Here's the low-down:

Get out your cake beating device of choice and beat together 100g (3.5 oz) butter with 1/3 cup caster sugar.
Add one egg and beat.
Add a tub of yogurt (1/2 cup, low or full fat, unflavoured) and beat.
Add two ripe, mashed bananas and beat.
Add a cup of oat bran and beat some more.
Add 2/3 cup of self-raising flour and stir in with a spoon, adding in any extras such as choc-chips, raisins, nuts, etc if you like.
Spoon it out into a 12 hole muffin pan and cook for ~ 20mins on 180˚C (350˚F).

Notes:

• These are amazing when eaten warm. Especially when eaten warm, broken open and spread with butter. Completely negates the whole healthy thing. 
• You can swap out one of the bananas for another (diced or mashed) fruit. I've made banana and peach, banana and apple and they were awesome.
• In a pinch when I was out of eggs I actually made this with three bananas (subbing a banana for an egg). They were divine straight out of the oven but not quite as tasty the next day (not that the kids noticed). 
• I usually put in a scant 1/3 cup of sugar if I put in choc-chips. I'm such a killjoy. 

In other news, I was very excited to see the Modern Chevron Baby Quilt on two great sites: FaveQuilts and How About Orange. If we continue to infiltrate slowly and quietly, soon all the world will be quilting, bwahaha! 

And a shout out to the lovely American Mom in Bordeaux who nominated me for a Sunshine Award. Those of you who love expat goodness should head over to her site.

The weekend's here, yay! Will be back soon with some pictures from our trip out to see the lavender. 

Maison et Jardins de Claude Monet, Giverny

This post outlines some of our adventures on our Spring Trip in April/May 2012 - after a bit of blabbing.

Firstly: happy Monday! (grumble, mumble, blah)

Secondly: I've started a Facebook page for You had me at bonjour. If you like that sort of thing, you'll find the button doohickey over to the right there. Those buttons are new too - if you want to grab yourself some you can find a whole bunch of them here.

Thirdly: the mister completed the Etape du Tour (amateur leg of the Tour de France) yesterday. The course (in the French Alps) was 140km with three mountains - it rained and of the 10,000 participants only some 4400 finished. Proud of you Schmoopy!

Right, back to the travel: this time it's the stunning home and gardens of the painter Claude Monet which can be found in the town of Giverny, about an hour's drive west of Paris.

Monet lived here for the last 43 years of his life (he died in 1926).

Monet and the family rented the property (on 2 acres) in 1883 and in 1890 the painter's growing success meant he could buy the house and land.

He built up the gardens and installed the large lilly pad-encrusted pond that features in many of his works.

The house has been refurbished and you can tour through it (no photos allowed of the inside). All the paintwork is exactly as it was when Monet lived in the house - he loved him some colour.

View from the second floor of the house

The gardens are just amazing and beautifully maintained. I would love to visit every three months to see the seasonal changes.

Most of the paths are roped off but the kids still had a great time running around the gardens and referring to the map given to them at the ticket office.

The famous pond is surrounded with flowers and weeping willows. The lily pads weren't that spectacular (early spring) but I've heard in summer they almost completely cover the water's surface with leaves and blooms.

I think there was something important about these chickens (rare breed or whatnot) but I can't remember and I couldn't be bothered googling chickens for half an hour. I hope you understand.

There are a few cafés/restaurants near chez Monet - places with outdoor seating suitable for young families. We had the best soup ever (lentil and bacon, of all things) followed by a crêpe made in this cute little caravan.

The café was also a garden centre and had some of these:

I don't have much more to add other than I recommend you visit Monet's House and Gardens (if you're clever you will order your tickets online before you go) - it's a great one for those with kids, too.

Wishing you all a wonderful week!

Summer starts today (and handmade teacher gifts).

Technically it's been summer for a few weeks now.

We've been having lots of lovely hot weather.

And the garden certainly knows it's summer.

But mentally, for me, summer doesn't begin until the kids are on school holidays. Given today is their last day of school, summer starts tonight!

Like last year, I made covered journals for the kids' teachers (adapting Ros at Bloom's très formidable tutorial).

Again, I thought I was really clever to choose the pens first and then match the fabric to the pens, rather than vice versa. (The elastic is actually lingerie elastic - they have it in such lovely colours.)

Once I got my journals home from the shops and took off their plastic wraps I found a new challenge: coloured inner covers. Eep, they didn't have those last year.

A more thorough stash hunt was required to find fabric that would match both the pens and the inner covers. (I won't complain too much though, any excuse to fondle my stash...)

Here's (one of) my summer vices: Hoegaarden has just released a new beer - rosée.

It's very delicately flavoured with raspberry and is as refreshing as an ice cube down the back of your shirt.

Isn't it the most lovely colour?

Enjoy your summer! (Sending lots of summery vibes to everyone back home in Australia and everyone else in the southern hemisphere, too.)