Cherry Clafoutis

Chris waited patiently whilst Joanne baked Cherry Clafoutis in the country kitchen, this is a Creusois recipe and is delicious, especially when made with fresh cherries from the village and eggs from our own hens. Cooking and baking with ingredients fresh from the garden and locality adds a whole new dimension to the way we live and is an education in itself. What we eat in May, will be different to what we eat in June and July and so on and so forth, just wonderful!
Did you know that cherries have among the highest levels of disease-fighting antioxidants, when compared to other fruits. They also contain other important nutrients such as beta carotene (19 times more than blueberries or strawberries) vitamin C, potassium, magnesium, iron, fibre and folate.
Emerging evidence links cherries to many important health benefits – from helping to ease the pain of arthritis and gout, to reducing risk factors for heart disease, diabetes and certain cancers. Cherries also contain melatonin, which has been found to help regulate the body’s natural sleep patterns, aid with jet lag, prevent memory loss and delay the aging process.

Head for Heights

Jacqui & Dave (Chris's sister and B in L) are much happier with the view at La Prade after Chris leant a hand in felling a tree that was dangerously close to neighbouring buildings, once felled, it was clear to see that the tree had been rotting from the inside and a strong wind would have perhaps been the catalyst for disaster. With Spiderman in the mood for the heady heights of the roof at La Petite Maison, Chris fitted a new cowl on the chimney of the wood burning stove. Did you know that by fitting different types of cowl you can economise on the amount of wood you burn? Chris wore his bee suit due to finding a small wasps nest on his first ascent and inspection of the chimney, Safety First!!

A Day off Road

Sunday found Chris and Joanne on the green lanes with the local off road club, Fabien chose to ride his scrambler for the day and Chris with Co pilot Phillipe drove his Suzuki Samurai. 80 km were covered and all types of terrain was negotiated, great fun and a great sense of community spirit, especially when everybody had to be towed out of a deep swamp. The Landrover in the photo was of a very high technical spec and has been modified with a great deal of thought and detail, it performed well on the day.








Lunch was a traditional affair, the French really are the professionals when it comes to eating outdoors, in a clearing in the woods, a small village suddenly appeared with an atmoshphere second to none, a fantastic day was had by all !!

Cherry Bonanza

Cherry picking was the order of the day, Michel et Colette kindly invited us to help ourselves from their cherry tree in the village, as you can see, it is heavy with fruit and Michel was intent on harvesting the cherries before the birds ate them as they did last year. We didn't need asking twice !!
Suddenly, the scarecrow hanging in the tree turned into Chris ha ha, he eagerly picked and dropped the high fruit which was riper due to the unobstructed sunshine. Joanne gathered the fruit and into the basket it went, well, we did eat plenty whilst we picked, it would be rude not to wouldn't it ?
We shall return tomorrow and perhaps everyday until all the cherries are harvested and conserved, for those of you visiting La Petite Maison soon, you can look forward to a cherry clafoutis. Joannes earrings didn't taste half bad either !!

New life

Spring arrived early this year and the wildlife in Chassaing Cheval hasn't wasted anytime in getting a head start with raising their young. We have found many pairs of birds nesting in the gardens of La Petite Maison and above we can see a nest tightly packed with 5 Redstarts (Rouge-queue) Mum & Dad are busy feeding them and when they arrive on the nest, it is just wonderful to hear them tweeting  feed me, feed me ! A returning pair of Swallows (Hirondelles) are also busy reairing their nest and it won't be long before their eggs are layed. Two pairs of Goldfinches (Chardonnerets) are also busy building their nests in the Catalpa trees.

One of our Silkie hens (Negre-soie) is also broody and is sat on 7 eggs in the broody coup, they are due to hatch on the 4th June.
Our female Doe (Belgian hare cross) was put to the Buck (Pure Burgundy) earlier in April but she did not raise any young, she has now been put back with the Buck so we are hopefull that the kittens will arrive on or about the 15th June.

Busy Bee Corner

It cannot be true, can it ? Chris was just about to relax on the lower sun terrace when Joanne could be heard shouting that one of the hives had swarmed. This was a real surprise because never before had bees swarmed this early in Chassaing Cheval. Chris shouted our neighbour 'Michel' for help, whilst they dressed for the occasion, Joanne banged a couple of pan lids together and this did the trick, the queen dropped to a nearby branch followed by the rest of the swarm, the noise apparently represents thunder and causes the bees to take cover. Chris and Michel cut away the bracken around the tree where the bees had come to rest and carefully placed a small hive (ruchette) underneath, a quick shake of the branch and kerplompf !
The bees were recaptured and transferred to our spare hive later in the evening, they are now happily going about their business making all that lovely Honey ! Did you know that eating a teaspoon of local honey each morning can cure pollen allergies ? It has certainly worked for Chris.

Gardeners World

Lettuce & Raddish are now in good supply, no bird or pest damage whatsoever this year, normally the flea beetle causes havoc with raddish leaves but a liquid spray made from the leaves of nettles seems to have done the trick, another French Potager revolution, the French certainly do have a few tricks up their sleeves. As the weeks pass and the different fruits and vegetables ripen, we will be keeping you updated, those visiting La Petite Maison in the coming months will be able to join us in a fresh veg frenzy !!

Lunch from the Garden

Joanne made the most wonderful Quiche for lunch today, made with our own eggs, leeks and lardons. We ate this with lettuce and raddish from the garden, locally bought lentils flavoured with fresh mint. Accompanied by a glass or two of Sauvignon Blanc bottled here at 'La Petite Maison' and followed by a siesta underneath the wisteria, what can we say, ahhhhh, perfect!!

The wonderful aroma of 'Coq au Vin' drifts across the garden, fond memories of Henri the Coq momentarily enter our thoughts but are quickly forgotten when we think about this evenings dinner, mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm !

Cheers!

For those of you visiting La Petite Maison this year you will be pleased to know that the Sauvignon Blanc has arrived, been bottled on site and is now nestling deep in the cellar. Our Sauvignon comes direct from the Loire valley and each year, before it arrives we get excited anticipating the crisp clean taste that we believe is synonymous with Spring here in France. Chris & Joanne take great delight in bottling the wine next to the old 'Lavoir' where the aroma of all the herbs planted there make you thirsty Ha Ha!