Jennie Goutet's Blog: A Lady in France, page 2
December 2, 2019
November 2019
I turned fifty this month. It was a great month of celebration – both in my reader’s group on Facebook (link here) where I had giveaways and author takeovers, mostly in the Regency genre – and also in my real life with friends and family.
My husband flew back from NY early so we could all go out for gluten-free pizza in Paris on the day itself. The place is called Little Nonna in the 17th arrondissement and I’d give you a website but the link doesn’t seem to be working. For a present, I asked my husband to install this 19th century statue in the stairwell – a somewhat complicated affair because you have to dig a bit in the wall to make it sit securely in. He did it though, and I love it.
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And he brought me back Clinique Happy from NY – which you can’t get here – because it reminded him of when we were dating. That was a sweet surprise since I told him not to buy anything. I’ve been wearing only Chanel for years now, but I can’t help but spritz this on every day since it brings back such memories.
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I also had a great time with girlfriends when we celebrated on the weekend, and yet again with neighbours (and our old house church) on a different evening. Clearly that is how one needs to ring in the 50s – several times and with loved ones.
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A Lady in France
I thought I would try something new with this blog, and that is to have a monthly recap at the very least since I’m not able to post regularly anymore. I love writing books and want to keep doing that, but I have a lot of affection for this ten-year old blog, and for you, my lovely readers. So I’ve decided to give summaries of what happened each month in general, and as it pertains to the specific topics I write on.
Food:
I’ve been eating more vegan. It’s mostly because I feel better when I do, but it’s also because it’s better for the environment. This is not a total change, mainly because of the social aspect. I’m already an alcohol-free, gluten-free American living in France. I don’t want to make it even more complicated for people when I arrive as a dinner guest. Plus, I do like cheese and ice cream from time to time.
For Thanksgiving, I made this vegan sweet potato casserole and my vegan chocolate cake, except since it’s not the season for raspberries, I used drained cherries that I sprinkled with almond extract and stuck that in the middle layer, along with the frosting. It was good.
Faith:
We’ve started leading (aka serving) the teen ministry at church. This is time-consuming because we organise activities and individual Bible studies with the teens who ask for it, but I like it more than I thought I would. Our kids love being around their friends at church so this is a chance for us to spend time as a family doing something all of us love. Sometimes William (only 11) is with us and sometimes he’s spending the time with friends his own age. We try to be sensitive to what is best for him as well.
Our church practices the Biblical principal of repentance and baptism for salvation (I delve into this more here). And we study the Bible with friends or strangers who are interested, teaching them the basis for an active Christian faith. Since last spring, three of our neighbour friends studied the Bible and have gotten baptised and two more are getting close to making a decision. All of them are long-time friends, and their kids are friends with ours, so it’s been rich and special to have a sort of “home church” in our neighbourhood. It’s been a happy time seeing God work in people’s lives.
Family:
I haven’t been able to share as much about my kids as they get older because they deserve their privacy as they get into the teen years. But they’re still cuties – great kids – despite the usual struggles teens go through. However, I will share with you the absolute victory of a garden. This beautiful lawn is thanks to my friend Geraldine’s father and a bunch of willing hands from church to turn the earth. And my mom and step-dad bought me an apricot tree for my birthday. Isn’t it beautiful?
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My birthday gift from my friends was money contributed towards more things for the garden, and I plan to get a barrel to compost (that keeps out the rats) plus perhaps another arch to grow the kiwi and / or a rose bush. I’d like another fruit tree and maybe a bench? I’m still trying to decide what the priority is. Although my friends were super generous, it’s not an unlimited budget so I need to think it through.
France:
I have to stretch back to October for interesting news about France, but when my mom & step-dad were here, we visited the local Malmaison – the home of Josephine Bonaparte – and if I remember correctly, Napoleon was there before he went to the Island of Elba.
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I finished the memoir by Putigny, a soldier of Napoleon, and this visit was significant because of my interest in the Regency period. (I talk about Putigny more below).
We also visited Reims again, and here is the back of the cathedral (with me):
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and you can read more about that city in an old post here if you’re curious.
Books:
Putigny: I translated bits of it in my last post here. I absolutely loved it. He was a brave soldier, and I got to learn details that could be known only by someone who lived through the period. It was a bit sad because he deified Napoleon, referring to him as Lui (which means him, but with a capital H). I learned what happened during the disastrous retreat from Russia and again at Waterloo. He was there nearly thirty years later when Napoleon’s body was brought back from Saint-Hélene and carried in parade to Invalides, a visit which I wrote about here. Putigny died shortly after Napoleon’s remains were brought back, as if his life began and ended with Napoleon.
I’m also reading Story Genius, which helps authors get to the root of what their stories are really about, and since I have an easier time editing a novel than I do creating one, this is the perfect thing to read.
And I’m reading Sally Britton’s Regency novel, Saving Miss Everly, which I’m enjoying. I have two research books on my to-read pile: Richard Holmes Redcoat, and Kloester’s book Georgette Heyer’s Regency World.
Otherwise, I’m just happy to be writing. I can’t wait for A Faithful Proposal to come out in February, and I’m working on a separate Regency series that I’d like to self-publish a little later in the spring, and potentially another (still secret) joint-effort with other authors in the fall, so I have my work cut out for me. If the muse strikes and I have time, I’ll write another post soon. Otherwise, see you at the end of December.
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The post November 2019 appeared first on A Lady In France.
November 7, 2019
Memoir of Napoleon’s Soldier
Hi everyone – I know, I know! I disappear from blogging and then come back with a random historical post to entertain you all, but such is my life. I love history – the Regency period in particular – France (and England), writing, gardening to some extent, and cooking/ baking. And because historical writing has taken a greater significance in my life, it gets priority over everything else including my blog*. (I have the traditionally-published sequel to A Regrettable Proposal coming out in February and another self-published Regency coming out a month or two after that).
* Of course I don’t count God, friends, or family in the “everything else”
I was turned on to this book by a friend of mine in our church in Lyon. She is Putigny’s great (I’m not sure how many times) grand-daughter. Her uncle published this book from his ancestor’s hand-written memoir. “Le grognard” is what they called a soldier of Napoleon. So this is Le grognard Putigny.
Putigny was an illiterate peasant who went off to fight for Napoleon in 1792 at the time of the Revolution, and he remained with Napoleon’s troops through Waterloo in 1815. Twenty-three years with the emperor, 60 battles… he taught himself to read and write, was made a baron by Napoleon himself, and eventually married the cousin to Talleyrand (who went to the Congress of Vienna, though France was not invited, and managed to limit the sanctions against his country through diplomatic manoeuvers).
The following are excerpts from his first encounter with the English in the Dutch part of Belgium (I think) in 1793. It is poignant, full of incisive wit and an insight into the times, and in reading this book I feel as if Mr. Putigny has sprung up from the grave to tell us what he saw. I think he would have been glad to know it had been shared. (Translated imperfectly by me).
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We learn from some of the prisoners that the English have disembarked at Ostende and are a league from us at Saint-Amand. They mock the Austrians, whom they treat as “little ladies”, swearing that the French will faint before them; as simple as that.
If these insults are done in jest, we receive them with the honor they deserve. We assemble under the leaves in a large alley, with guns, three cannons – and behind each – a battalion. Through a small opening in the plain, our attention is pulled toward a geometric mass of red — les “goddems”. (There is a footnote that indicates this was their nickname for the English). At an accelerated pace, and as orderly as you could wish for, they pass right by the Austrians with disdain – and with great care – step into the middle of our trap from which we fall back with good grace.
Our hidden cannons spit suddenly in their face, the battalions charge, ours in front, and the “goddems”, strong in number but overwhelmed, stupefied, are gunned down without mercy. After this carnage, their blood and their scarlet jackets create a portrait – the ground as red as the tip of my bayonet.
Many are horribly mutilated. An old English colonel, his limbs ground up by the artillery, still breathes. His son, who was able to escape, comes back as a prisoner to take care of him; but he was beaten to the task by our cook, the mother Moreau. She follows the battalion by devotion and heals the wounded under a deluge of bullets; friends or enemies, everyone has the right to her pity. She joins the Navarre-infantry, with another woman, the Martine, known as the laundry woman of our company. Ten years later, in the square of the Notre Dame of Paris, I see once again this mother Moreau, still with her good smile but limping because of a wound in her leg.
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Our rest did not last long. We had just formed up in the triangle of the village when the English take up their positions to encircle us. Our company commander, Mr. Gigot (this means leg of lamb in French and, with an amusing aside, Putigny adds in parentheses (and he is not tender), declares with conviction:
–If I’m going to be skewered, be sure that it will not be by the English.
He brings out two cannons and puts them at the entrance to the village. And with planks positioned across the swamp, we regain the main road to Cassel. Intrepid, the commander Gigot protects our rearguard.
We catch up to them with ease, five days afterwards, directed by a child of the country, Vandamme (there is a footnote that said he was born in Cassel in 1770 and he became a general at age 23) and we dislodge the English almost simultaneously from Wormhout and Skeilberg. A red coat and I take aim and fire at each other: Clak! His bullet shoots out and hits the bridge of my gun, which leaps from my hand. It’s lucky for me, but not for mother Moreau who, caring for a wounded right next to us, receives the bullet just above her heel.
A big part of the English troops are assembled under the Duke of York at Hondschoote – an advantageous position of defense on a plain which is cut up with hedges, pits and canals. We are, first of all, badly positioned, and hemmed against the shrubs. We fight back with courage; the English – of which a general bites the dust – rally behind their retrenchment. The foot soldiers of Paris, twice pushed back, come to charge the “goddems” and take them from the side. Before dawn, our three battalions of Navarre will follow a forced march along the canal of Bergue, and two or three hours later, will find ourselves under the walls of Dunkirk rejoining the other troops of the garrison who had gone out against the assailants. But just now in front of us there is nothing – nothing but desolation and an extraordinary disorder. On the ground, the cannons are dismounted and stuck, the crates are overturned, the bags, the piles of munition. The water of the canal is black with the gunpowder the “goddems” had just thrown.
They fainted in front of us!
The Duke of York lifted the siege quickly in order to avoid being cut off once Hondschoote was occupied by the French, and he pulls back to Furnes.
Our goal is therefore achieved; Dunkirk is delivered. Evidently, if the day before, the general Houchard had pursued the English, they – without a line of retreat – would have had no choice but either to be massacred or to capitulate.
The general is accused by Robespierre of mismanagement towards the enemy. Called back to Paris, his negligent strategy brings him to the scaffold and concludes with this philosophy:
Go fight for these idiots, and then they will guillotine you.
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Of the recruits that are given to me, there is a young blond man with a lively air and polite tone. He does his service well and is particularly good at maneuvers.
During these exercises, soldiers are formally forbidden to leave the ranks. Men rest in place. And if they have any need — well! They piss standing up in place, taking care not to water the legs of their friend.
While this recruit, otherwise exemplary, persists in leaving the ranks, this lack of discipline cannot for long be attributed to modesty and astonishes us greatly. A lieutenant takes it upon himself to examine this maniac, believing him to have had an unavoidable illness that could be contagious.
Her infirmity comes from the fact that she has nothing to hide, this little one!
She vows everything to the Captain Gariot: her lover left for the Army without a word to anyone or leaving his address. Impatient, worried, she takes on the uniform and identity of one of her brothers, declares to the chief of the department that she came late because she had been ill. Her service once granted, she obtains her passport to go to the northern frontiers. She thinks, in her courageous woman’s head, to be able to find this friend of hers who’d taken flight, for whom she cherishes such a tender love.
Directed towards Dunkirk, she is incorporated into our battalion. For three months she lives our life, carries herself admirably during the marches, sleeps each night with her bedmate, without raising the slightest suspicion.
We need to send her back to her father. She carries our regrets with her, the congratulations of the general, and a small salary to reward her for her beautiful devotion.
For her adieux, blushing, she kisses each of her old comrades on the cheeks very sweetly.
The recruits reserve for us another surprise. In the middle of a firing exercise, one of them, after having charged his gun, forgets that he left the stick in the cannon. The instructor orders: weapons… to your cheeks… fire! The gun fires a blank – the stick also. Flinging itself out of the cannon, the stick pierces a window and rams into the thigh of a soldier, who had been resting on his bed. Awoken with a shock, nailed like a butterfly to a corkboard, the miserable one is stuck in place and swears like one possessed.
The earth sings with the joy of new birth, and we manifest our own joy in wandering about and playing leapfrog in the flowering prairie. The horror! I lost my wallet, all my fortune, 300 francs. Me, who was counting on it to buy a book and a silver watch! I search everywhere, ransack my lodging, the corner of the stairs, finish by vaguely suspecting the soldier Roussel who had stayed behind to make the soup. But 14 years later, on the banks of the Vistula river in Polond, at a dinner of officers, the conversation goes back to the good old days, the northern army. The old lieutenant, Drinks-Without-Thirst, speaks about Hondschoote where he picked up a wound and another time a wallet with Fr.300 on the road to Lesselle.
They drank to my health. But in telling me this, the ingrate did not dream of thanking me.
The Army also transformed itself in the spring of 1794. Gone were the camping tents. Military men of all grades were invited to address each other with the informal “tu”, and we were all given the name, “citizen” – a name written as long as the arm, posted everywhere on big signs above the doors, where we could read this honorable title.
But one thing, which was the most interesting and the most long-lasting in all this: the Goddess Victory had entered our ranks – and for a long number of years…
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I hope you appreciated that excerpt. I’ll be back. I’m not sure when and with what, but I still love my little blog and I’ve been hankering to do some more recipes. Don’t forget to follow me on Instagram if you want to see some of my tourist photos (here) or sign up for my FB reader’s group if you’re at all interested in reading sweet (mostly historical) romance books. This month I turn fifty (!!) so I have book giveaways going on all month in the group.
A bientôt!
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September 12, 2019
Threshold
I finally have a quiet day to write. School is in session for the second week, but it’s only now that I’ve been able to be free from all the flurry of activity and appointments it entails. I intended to write this summer. I made a quetsch tart – quetsch being a variety of plums that are small and long (I cannot find an English equivalent). Do you see how beautifully it turned out?
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In the end, though, I have not yet had time to put the recipe up on my blog, although I haven’t given up hope that I will still be able to do one. So I won’t go into detail just yet about how it’s made.
I went with my kids into Paris in August to visit two tourist destinations. I had meant to blog about those, but I’ve abandoned that hope as the tourist posts take a great deal of time to research and I no longer have it. I will say here that we visited The Musée de l’Armée in the Hôtel des Invalides. This is what the Hôtel des Invalides looks like (in a not great photo) coming across the bridge from the Champs Elysées.
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If you’ve been to Paris, you’ve surely seen it. It houses the Musée de l’Armée inside, which has all the canons from the Napoleon era and before through the world wars. You see swords and sabres and guns – even the messenger bag from Napoleon’s aide de camp. It’s absolutely fascinating for someone like me who writes Regency.
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What’s interesting about this museum is that it’s free through the age of 25. That makes it an affordable family destination. And there are all sorts of cool canons in the interior court you can get up close to (and sit on). Here is a view of the interior court as seen through the legs of Napoleon.
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Speaking of which, I’m reading an incredible book in French about one of Napoleon’s soldiers who was made a baron by the general. It’s the story of one of my friend’s ancestors and her uncle transcribed the written diaries and had it published. Putigny (the soldier) was a peasant and he taught himself to read and write. The writing is so fluid and descriptive, though simple at the same time, and gives a glimpse into barrack life between 1793 and 1815. It’s one of the most interesting things I’ve ever read.
Another place we visited was the Panthéon. It’s right next to the Sorbonne and is not the first tourist destination people think of.
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But it’s got a special meaning for me because I used to go to a Sorbonne annexe here in 1994 and walked by it every day. And my husband’s aunt was living a couple streets over at that time. Who knew if I had crossed paths with her then?
The Panthéon is also free for under 25 and has the Foucault pendulum to prove that the earth rotates. Although it’s not the original, Foucault installed it in 1851 and the concept has not changed since. It also houses the tombs of all the famous people : Voltaire, Hugo, Curie, Rousseau to name a few.
So this was my intent for my blog – two Paris tourism posts and at least one recipe post, not to mention these flashes of ideas I have to share about other things – life, and topics of faith. I haven’t done so, however, because I seem to have reached some sort of threshold where I can’t fit a single extra thing into my life other than what is already on my plate. Or shall I say in my cup. Any other thing I try to add just spills over and gets lost.
On the ministry side of things, we’ve taken over the responsibility of the teen ministry in our church. There are 38 teens if every one were to come to an event. We will have our first meeting this Sunday so up until now it’s only been in theory. On Sunday it will all get real, and I actually had a nightmare that I was trying to drive in a dark tunnel in a strange car and I couldn’t find the lights. I inched forward towards the light I could see ahead, only to find out that it was another tunnel with cars coming the opposite direction and straight at me. The dream made me laugh. Nervous much, Jennie? We need to push through any feelings of inadequacy, however, because two of our own children are teens and we have a pre-teen as well. The teen ministry is something we need to get a grip on for the sake of our own children.
On the writing side of things, I’m finishing up the final draft of my sequel to A Regrettable Proposal to send to the publisher. Putting out books is not such a simple thing as writing a few hours every day, followed by… I don’t know, shopping? Gardening? Coffee in Paris? I’m still trying to earn my living from writing and don’t have enough books in the same genre yet to do that. So I feel pressure to write faster. And I also beta critique for those authors who are doing the same thing for me. All this while researching (tons of research) and marketing and reworking categories and ads and covers and planning new books… it’s time-consuming.
On the personal side of things, I’m adjusting to my kids getting older and both more and less autonomous. More because they can do some of the transportation alone that I used to have to do, and less because they really need guidance to grow in self-care, responsibility, homework, and not spending 7 hours in front of screens as happened with one yesterday. (Ahem). We’ve got someone coming to help with our garden next week so we’ll need to do our best to prepare for that and remove as many weeds as we can. We’re still dealing with court cases for our house and the financial pressure that comes with legal bills (which sends me back to writing in a panic).
And somehow with all this, I don’t have time for anything else. I don’t have much time for friends or leisure or blogging anymore, really. So while you’ve come to expect the slowing down on this blog, this here is perhaps an announcement of even more slowing down. I do still love this blog so I can’t bring myself to say I’ll stop. (And recipe posts are pretty easy to do without spending a huge amount of time so there might be more of those – the historical, biblical and personal posts take much more).
If you happen to be one who reads my blog for me (not necessarily for the recipes or the French tourism or the faith posts) – hello friends! – I do put out an author newsletter once every two weeks and it always contains some personal news. I also have a reader group on Facebook that you can join which has more interaction than my blog or newsletter. I mean, if you don’t read clean romance at all, there’s probably no point because both center around that genre. But if you do like this particular genre and want to hear from me more often, those are two possible ways to stay connected with me.
Sign up for my author newsletter by clicking here or join my FB reader group by clicking here. I’m also on Instagram pretty regularly with short videos, photos and news here.
I’m not sure when and if things will calm down. It’s hard to write novels then pull away from that and put on a different mindset to write non-fiction (whatever form the blog post requires). So I’m not sure what my future will be here. I just know I’ve reached a threshold where I can’t keep up both a regular blogging and author schedule at this time. And life is always full of surprises so we will see what’s in the future. Maybe a plum tart before too long?
We still have a bag of plum halves in the freezer.
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July 24, 2019
Cold Sweet Pea Soup
I know the idea of eating cold pea soup might not sound appealing to you, which is why I added the “sweet” bit. That makes it better sounding, doesn’t it? Well, let me tell you, it’s yummy – and particularly yummy when there’s a heat wave outside and you don’t feel like cooking.
Also… it’s easy.
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Speaking of easy, a simple recipe post suits my schedule perfectly today. We returned from Brittany last week then had my sister’s family over. On Sunday, other friends from NY came, and we’re currently preparing to leave for Switzerland for the pre-teen camp. And I’m trying to finish the 2nd draft to my Regency sequel (which still has plot holes to fill in). So easy is good.
Now on to the peas…
Take a bag of frozen sweet peas that have been pre-steamed. Here’s where the quantity might get tricky. In France, they sell bags of 750 grams, which is 5 cups of peas. That converts to 1.6 lbs or 26.5 ounces. I’m not really sure if the US weight measurement is helpful or not. In any case, you can always measure out 5 cups of peas when in doubt. Let the peas defrost for a couple of hours so that they’re cold, but not frozen.
Before you begin the preparation, set aside a half-cup of peas for garnish.
Put the rest of the sweet peas in a blender with 30 centilitres of cold bouillon, which is about 1 1/4 cups. So what I did here was to crumble a vegetable bouillon cube in a bit of water that I heated in the microwave for 30 seconds. When the cube was dissolved, I added cold water to get the full amount.
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Add 33 centilitres of heavy (or light if you prefer) cream, which is just under 1 1/2 cups. And then add a teaspoon of salt. I used sea salt which has bigger grains, and it was a scant teaspoon. If you’re using table salt, I’d stick to 1/2 teaspoon.
Mix it up!
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I blended it several times and scraped the sides with a spatula in between. I wanted it to be as creamy as possible. And though I have a cheap blender so it’s not as well-blended as you might get with a Vitamix, the texture was still tasty.
This recipe makes 8 appetizer-size bowls of sweet pea soup (although we didn’t have guests, so we ended up eating it all). You put the soup in bowls, and that’s when you add the garnish: the half-cup peas equally divided, a splash of pepper and a sprinkle of dried or fresh tarragon on top of each soup.
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I got this recipe from a French cookbook called Simplissime. It’s a series of cookbooks for easy recipes, and this one is for large groups. The only substitution I made was vegetable bouillon for chicken, dried tarragon for fresh, and I measured the salt. I also eliminated the splash of olive oil on top simply because I forgot. I’m not sure the recipe needed any additional calories though.
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See what I mean? Perfect for a hot summer day, and cute too!
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Cold Sweet Pea Soup Print Prep time 10 mins Total time 10 mins Serves: 8 Ingredients 750 grams or 1.6 lbs of frozen sweet peas (5 cups, divided to keep ½ cup apart). 30 centilitres bouillon (about 1¼ cups) 33 centilitres cream (about 1½ cups) a scant teaspoon sea salt (or ½ teaspoon table salt) pepper, dried or fresh tarragon, and the additional peas for garnish Optional : olive oil for garnish Instructions Defrost the peas and set aside ½ cup for garnish. Blend the bouillon, cream, peas and salt until thoroughly mixed. Place the cold soup in bowls and garnish with the remaining peas, a splash of pepper and some tarragon. Optional : a splash of olive oil 3.5.3251
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July 12, 2019
Demolishing Strongholds
This is what happens when I’ve not blogged in a while – I have a bunch of stuff to tell you and end up with a scattered post trying to cram it all in. So I’m only going to tell you two things before I write about the subject that inspired me today : demolishing strongholds.
We’re in Brittany again. Those of you who have been following me for a while will have read this before but I’ll say it again because it’s not something I knew when I first moved to France. Brittany, called Bretagne in French, is an official Celtic nation, and it’s on the northwestern coast of France bordering Normandy. Great Britain is simply a migratory extension of Brittany. You can click here for some fascinating information about Brittany and the Celts.
So we had our annual date night in Saint Malo and ate here.
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Seafood – which I’m not always in the mood for, but I was this time.
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Here is a pretty street with a Frenchman in a beret.
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Plus a street artist. (She’s painting that sign).
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This residence is from the early 1600s and is now a hotel. It was noteworthy at the time for its good use of space. Saint Malo is a closed city and space was scarce, so this architect built tall and lean. The hotel was bombarded during WWII as they attempted to liberate the city, and was later restored. My mother-in-law worked for the architect who helped rebuild the façade of Saint Malo after the war.
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Yesterday, we went to my favourite beach, and it’s one of the places I dare to swim. The water is still frigid but the sand is white without too much algae or sharp shells. Technically there are no weaver fish hiding under the sand, although my nephew did get stung once. The view is spectacular.
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So that’s our vacation and I’m loving the combination of family, relaxation, and even the writing because I’m able to be more creative when outside of routine.
The other thing I wanted to tell you is that my publisher has permanently reduced the price of my Regency, which is great news. There’s always been a discrepancy between traditional publishing prices and Indie prices and I love that my publisher is adapting to the changing publishing industry. People don’t want to pay high prices for kindle books. So. You can now get A Regrettable Proposal on kindle for $3.99, which is half off the launch price. I’m almost done with the sequel. One beta reader is critiquing it right now even though it’s missing some scenes and I’m working on the second draft while not at the beach. I know you’ll understand why my blog posts are few and far between.
And now on to demolishing strongholds. When I became a Christian almost 24 years ago, I changed a lot of things right off the bat. The character things took longer and I would say that, apart from reading the Bible and listening to advice, the greatest contributors to any characters changes were a) going through the Chemical Recovery program for alcohol addiction b) marrying Matthieu, who is gentle and full of grace c) time.
However, there are also a few scriptures that took root and guided my character early on. The first is one I held on to when memorising Ephesians 4 and 5 one night when I couldn’t sleep because of anxiety. This is the scripture in Ephesians 4:29
“Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.”
Afterwards, whenever I was tempted to respond or give advice, I would question whether it was wholesome (no coarse joking), whether it was helpful for building someone up, whether it was according to their needs, and whether it would benefit them. It saved me from many impetuous and unwise speeches. My family sees the worst of me, so this is not perfectly absorbed, but it’s a major character change that occurred because of a scripture.
The other one is this. In Romans 14:4. “Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To their own master, servants stand or fall. And they will stand, for the Lord is able to make them stand.”
My nature is very critical, but every time I’m tempted to be critical of someone’s behaviour or judgment, I remember this scripture and I think – to God they stand or fall. And it’s in His interest that they stand. Who am I to wish their downfall? I don’t resemble Jesus at all when I’m like this, and it stops my critical nature dead in its tracks.
So I know the changing power of the scriptures. Those are just two examples – the most striking of all the scriptures that have changed me over the years. Lately it has come to me that it’s time I try to dislodge another character issue and it’s my approach to eating. I am much more gentle with myself now than I used to be. Even though I gained back about 10 of the 25 pounds I lost due to stress, plus my gym closing, I still love this body of mine – the squishy-ish hugs I can give, the four babies it carried, the happy smile.
So it’s not out of self-hatred. It’s just that I seem to have outgrown the desire to overeat and often do it more out of habit than desire. It’s a stronghold. But 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 says that strongholds can be demolished, even after 24 years.
“For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”
So I’ve decided to attack this stronghold. I’ve been studying from the Thompson Chain-Reference Bible and am looking at ones under Self-denial (I’ll include the references here in case you have one and want to look them up) 3205 and 3208. Temperance and Intemperance 3567. Abstinence 3568. Self-sacrifice 3224. Restraining appetite 3207. Self-control 3569. Self-indulgence 3198. (There’s a lot of the word “self” which might be a clue to the problem. Ahem.)
I’m looking for those Scriptures that will come to me unbidden – the way Ephesians 4:29 and Romans 14:4 do – and change the course of my character in this area. So far, the only one I know by heart from of old is this one:
Proverbs 23:2 “and put a knife to your throat if you are given to gluttony.” However, that one doesn’t really motivate me – go figure.
I think it’s scriptures like this that help: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.” Galatians 5:22-24
I need to remember to focus on the fruits of the Spirit, which should be evident in increasing measure as the years go by – more love, more joy, more peace, more patience… and more self-control. If I’m not changing and growing in self-control, there’s a chance that I either have no faith that I can demolish a stronghold from my youth or it’s not something I have no deep desire to change.
But, you know, it’s a shame to miss out on the promises of God to be free from the passions and desires of the flesh if it’s completely within my power to change it. (Don’t get me wrong, I’m no aesthetic. God gave us this world and this body to enjoy, but there’s enjoyment and there’s excess).
Then there’s also this scripture, which is good guidance:
“For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” 2 Peter 1:5-8
This, incidentally, is an in-depth study we do with teens who ask to start studying the Bible. We don’t get right into discipleship, sin and repentance, the Crucifixion, etc. Instead, we look at each of these character attributes separately.
I think they’re in a perfect order. You need to start with faith. Otherwise, why change? Why repent? To that, you need to start working on good deeds, which prove your repentance. Then you need knowledge of the scriptures to continue to feed your desire to do good (and your faith). Then you need self-control so you can make yourself small and Christ, who is living in you, great. Of course perseverance must follow because it’s not going to be easy. As you do these things, your godliness (God-likeness) grows. Then you’re able to live in brotherly kindness, wishing the best for your family, neighbours and brother and sisters in the faith. And then you come to love, which is the most self-sacrifical of all.
This is something that motivates me to change. To exhibit in increasing measure this self-control that leads to perseverance and godliness and brotherly kindness and love. To look more like Christ now than I did two decades ago.
However, there are a couple shorter ones that I can memorize and pull out in the moment of bad habit (eating mindlessly).
For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin— because anyone who has died has been set free from sin. Romans 6:6
Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh. Romans 13:14
Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price.Therefore honor God with your bodies. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20
So this is what I’ve set my heart on right now – growing in this area and demolishing a childhood stronghold. I feel a little clumsy wielding these spiritual weapons, and I’m not sure which scripture will have the most effect. I can only trust that they will have an effect.
Thanks to all of you who are still here, new readers and old. I appreciate you.
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Additional reading for those who are interested in this topic, but who don’t have a Thompson Chain-Reference Bible. The list is not exhaustive. It’s only the ones I’ve looked at so far.
Proverbs 21:7
Luke 8:14
Proverbs 23:20-21
Galatians 8:8-9
Proverbs 25:16
1 Corinthians 9:27
Proverbs 18:20
Proverbs 16:26
Ecclesiastes 9:7
Ecclesiastes 8:15
Acts 24:25
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June 18, 2019
Savory Dijon Mustard & Swiss Bread
Those of you who have followed me for a while will know that I am completely out of sync with my posting schedule on this blog. However, I do have 60,000 words on my sequel to A Regrettable Proposal done, so I’m starting to feel like the light at the end of the tunnel is not far for this Regency novel. And that means I have time to post about this amazingly delicious “cake”. Well, cake or bread… it’s a savory bread with ham and cheese that has a secret weapon to add flavour : Dijon mustard.
I know. What a shocker, right? I basically have a vat of Dijon mustard in our fridge at all times. There’s my Dijon mustard tarte, Dijon mustard salad dressing, creamy tarragon chicken, which, besides cream, tarragon, and chicken features – you guessed it – Dijon mustard! In fact, many of the savory recipes that appear on my recipe page feature a big dollop of the spicy condiment.
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I wanted to make – and share – this recipe now, both because it’s perfect picnic weather and this is a perfect picnic dish, and also because I had borrowed the bread mold from the friend who gave me the recipe and I needed to give the pan back to her. I made it two times in a week – that’s how good it was. A complete success according to the tasters.
Pre-heat your oven to 180°C or 350°C, and take 150 grams of softened butter. That’s 5.5 ounces. I didn’t mix mine ahead of time before adding the other ingredients and it left little pockets of butter, which was quite good. But I think you can mix yours first (which is what I did the first time I made the bread).
After you mix the butter, you’ll want 2 tablespoons of fresh parsley (2 teaspoons of dried, but that’s not as good). 60 gram of Dijon mustard, which is a scant 1/4 cup. I love Maille brand. 6 eggs, a teaspoon sea salt and a splash of pepper. 140 grams of flour, which is 1 cup and 2 tablespoons. 2.5 teaspoons of baking powder – everything we use is gluten-free (baking powder and flour). Make sure that’s all mixed before adding 140 grams of gruyère, or if you can get it – conté. (2 cups loose) plus 270 grams of cubed ham (2 cups packed). And that’s it!
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Put it into a really cool mold, or just a normal bread pan.
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Bake it in this pan for about 35 minutes, but check it to make sure it’s cooking properly. I ended up adding 5 minutes covered with aluminum foil. If you use a bread pan, you can follow the recipe for my bacon bread, and bake for 40 minutes at 325°F. Although… upon further thinking, I have a doubt about that. This recipe has more ingredients and I think you should count on a longer bake time of 50 minutes if you’re using a traditional bread pan.
Here ’tis!
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No, no wait. Here ’tis.
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The main feedback I got was that it is so savory, and also really light. For the airy consistency, I’m guessing it’s the eggs and the extra baking powder. And for its taste? I really think it’s that huge amount of Dijon mustard that does the trick.
See the inside?
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Definitely not one for the birds!
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I’m going to put the recipe at the bottom, but it occurred to me that I haven’t updated the sidebar to let you know that some of my books are now available on other platforms besides Amazon.
You can get A Friend in Paris in a bunch of formats by clicking here. (The link to the kindle and paperback version is on the sidebar).
Same for A Noble Affair. Click here for all formats and see the sidebar for kindle and print.
For The Christmas Ruse (a .99 Regency novella), click here for all formats, see sidebar for kindle (no print since it’s small) and you can also get it for free by signing up for my author newsletter, which is different than this blog. It comes out on the alternate Wednesdays from when I post on this blog and has some personal news as well as books featured in the clean romance genre.
I know some of you are only interested in A Lady in France and that’s totally fine (thanks for being here!). But if you do read my books too and would like to join my FB reader group, you can find it here.
Last, but not least, you may not know this, but my memoir, Stars Upside Down, is available in audio and French as well. Stars Upside Down is not available on other platforms, but it is in Kindle Unlimited if you are signed up for that.
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So enough about book news, on to the recipe that you can print out and keep.
Savory Dijon Mustard & Swiss Bread Print Prep time 15 mins Cook time 35 mins Total time 50 mins Serves: 6-8 Ingredients 150 grams butter, soft (5.5 oz) 60 grams Dijon mustard (1/4 cup) 6 eggs 2 Tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped 1 teaspoon salt 140 grams flour (1 cup plus 2 tablespoons) - gluten-free mix works very well. 2.5 teaspoons baking powder 140 grams gruyère, Swiss, or (my recommendation) conté. This is 2 cups of loosely grated cheese. 270 grams diced ham (2 cups packed). Instructions Preheat the oven to 180°C or 350°F. Beat the softened butter and add the eggs. Mix that together and add all the smaller ingredients. Add the flour after the smaller ingredients. Then mix in the cheese and ham last. Spread into pan and bake for 30 minutes. Check whether it's done and cover with foil if needed to protect the top from burning and keep the inside cooked. If using a traditional bread pan, cook longer and at slightly lower temperature Serve warm with salad or room temperature at a picnic. 3.5.3251
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May 29, 2019
Snippets of Life
I’ve been a bit crushed by life lately, but that’s okay. We’ve got this expensive court case in progress to try to win back enough money to finish our house at last. We know we may not win – or we might win and the company will declare bankruptcy to avoid paying us before they simply start a new company… And I have no idea where all the money will come from to pay the lawyer – but that’s okay.
We had to give up the new couches that I had so been looking forward to, but that’s okay too. In January we started praying every single week as a family that God would finish our house by the end of this year. We may not have our prayer answered in the way we hope, but it won’t be for lack of faith.
We still have another five weeks of school, and the craziness of concerts and meetings and exams are in full swing. My husband has been working some pretty long hours and we’ve not been able to find the time to spray our trees for … what are called in French punaise (although not referring to the stink bug) and what I think translates to thumbtack insects. Their eggs are ruining all the leaves on our trees and bushes. We’ve not yet had time to do our French taxes or the FBAR, not to mention our US taxes, which of course has to be done for all US citizens for the rest of your life, even if you don’t live in the US. Or have never lived in the US, like my kids.
But that’s okay, because there are good things too.
My friend’s father, who lives in Normandy, is retired and is here for a week. Since he already finished my friend’s garden, he has come over, freely and cheerfully, to start on mine. Why? Out of the kindness of his good ole heart. So he started digging up the earth and pulling out the massive amount of weeds that are there. He even removed the dead prune tree with his bare hands, and he’s in his 70s!
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I’ve been praying for help with our garden so this is definitely a case of an answered prayer in the way we hope.
The roses are in full bloom, dropping fragrant pink petals all over the grass.
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And the roses are blooming over the well.
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Campanula is springing out of every available crack all over our property, and it’s just so cheerful.
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And my neighbour gave me some of her Calla lilies again to grace my table.
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So there are lots of cheerful little things, and I know that this is what I need to be focusing on right now, so that is what I’m doing. I also need to disappear from the (already sporadic) blogging world for a couple of weeks so I can finish the first draft to my sequel to A Regrettable Proposal, which, by the way is free on Kindle Unlimited now if you haven’t read it and would like to.
The progress on the sequel has been so slow, and I think it just comes from feeling slow and run down. But whenever I read back what I wrote, I love it and am inspired to keep going. I really want to finish this in time to submit to the publisher in September and I can only do that if I focus.
So if it takes me a couple weeks to get back here, you’ll know why. Wish me luck. Wish me court case success. Wish me a finished garden and a finished rough draft. Wish me new couches. But even if I don’t have those things…
That’s okay.
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May 15, 2019
Things to do in Dordogne
In my early blogging days, I would have done a separate post for each one of these places to visit in Dordogne, including my most recent post on The Village of Martyrs, and it all would have been accomplished in two weeks. Now that I earn my living writing novels, and only post here once every two weeks, I find I’m having to cram it all into one post.
So today I’m going to share some pictures, tourist tips, and a brief (very brief) history of a few places in Dordogne, namely the prehistoric cave of Lascaux, the medieval town of Sarlat, the chateau of Beynac – one of a thousand chateaux located in the region and a prominent place for the Hundred Years War – and finally, La Roque-Gageac
The prehistoric cave of Lascaux
Lascaux is a cave with prehistoric paintings (accomplished by Cro Magnons) from the Paleolithic period 18,000 years ago. It’s located near the city of Montignac and was discovered in the fall of 1940 by a teenager and his dog. The dog was chasing a rabbit and disappeared down a hole and did not come back right away. The teenager, assuming the cave held buried treasure reputed to be in the area, returned the next day with three friends. They slipped through the opening and slid down the limestone slope, walking right past the largest cave of paintings without even noticing because they were looking for the treasure near their feet. It was not until they were in the adjoining cavern that they looked up and saw where the real treasure was. They vowed to keep the secret for the rest of their lives.
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In three days the entire village knew of it.
The cave opened to the public in 1948, three years after the war had ended. By 1963, the scientists had realised they were destroying the cave with the foreign bacteria brought in by the one million visitors who passed through there, and they closed the cave. What we saw was an exact replica – a man-made cave situated right next to the real one.
The Cro-Magnons invented candles to see inside the cave. They were made of burning juniper branches, perched in animal fat, in carved out limestone dishes. They used magnesium for the black colors, and not charcoal, which is a bummer because it means you can’t use carbon dating. However, the tools the archaeologists found inside the cave allowed them to date when the Cro-Magnons had been there, and that allowed them to make an educated guess as to their dates. For the reds and yellows, the artists used ochre and the colors are still incredibly vivid.
[image error]The image above was painted into the white calcite on the ceiling, which retained the pigment. It’s one of my favorites. Look at how graceful the lines are.
[image error]The images tell stories and there are thousands of symbols for which we can’t decipher the meaning. In the whole cave, there’s only one image of a man, and he has an eagle’s head. They don’t know why. The rest are animals.
[image error]My father-in-law saw the original cave (Lascaux 1) when he was 18. Our experience in the replica was probably more comfortable than his since we could access the replica by a subterranean elevator instead of squeezing through a narrow opening.
[image error]There were other areas in the cave where they carved their images into the limestone. In those places, almost all the pigment is gone and it’s difficult to see. There is a representation in the museum for us to experience the engravings.
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If you go to Lascaux, you need to book a couple months in advance, and you should see Lascaux IV since it has more to see than Lascaux II (and, I presume, Lascaux III, though I don’t know anything about that one). We got an English tour since my father and his wife were with us, and you can do that too. It is such an awe-inspiring visit. To think that you are looking at images that were made on the tail end of the ice age, and that exist to this day in almost the same state, is incredible.
Information and possibility to book here.
Sarlat
Rather than my attempting to provide a history of this town, you can read a concise summary here. It does indeed retain it’s antique charm with medieval buildings
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And has plenty of cobblestone streets and wisteria vines if you go in the right season.
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We had the worst weather imaginable for our stay, which was such a shame. My friend, who is from Dordogne, urged us to take a canoe trip down the river where you can glide by chateau after chateau on each side. We had nearly solid rain and even some hail, so we didn’t attempt it.
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The duck statue is cute, isn’t it? This area is known for its foie gras, walnuts, truffles, and dense spiced cakes (I think I’ve got that right). And this plaza was where they ran a brisk trade of buying and selling ducks.
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I have a recommendation for purchasing foie gras. We looked at a bunch of shops, and the best deal we could find was at Le Cellier du Périgord. They were really nice there too.
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There was a ray or two of sun.
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But it was mostly quite grey.
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Never mind. It was still beautiful.
Beynac
To appreciate the Chateau of Beynac (and many others), you need to have a basic understanding of The Hundred Years War. I never could make heads or tails of it, so I looked it up and fell down a research rabbit hole for several hours trying to figure out Normans, Vikings, Richard the Lion-hearted, Joan-of-Arc, and what exactly the English and French were fighting over. Here are the basic facts.
Dates: officially 116 years, 1337-1453, though there had been skirmishes well before then.
Who: The Plantagent family of England against the Valois family of France, primarily.
Why: Defending who should be the rightful king over France. And it’s not quite as simple as “well, duh – the French guys, obviously” because there were treaties and cross-marriages between the two, promises and childless unions, which left the heir to the throne ambiguous.
What did Joan of Arc have to do with it? English King Henry V had military success – winning the major battles – but not political success, as the French did not want an English king. Joan of Arc led the French military to victory, lifting the siege of Orleans in 1429 and preventing English rule. Paris was freed by 1441 and the war died out without a peace treaty as the English realised they were the inferior army of the two and they desisted little by little.
What did Richard the Lionhearted have to do with it? Nothing. He was dead by the 100-year war, but he stayed at the Castle of Beynac… here, in the highest keep:
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… proving that the shared rule between the French and English in France dated to much earlier than the 1300s. He slept here in 1194.
Here is Beynac – incredibly well-fortified.
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And the dining room where, in all politeness, you hang your sword at the edge of the table.
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The large hall. Yeah, I know. My pictures aren’t great. I was listing.
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Gorgeous paned glass windows.
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A view of the countryside that contains the Chateaux of Castelnaud, which was occupied by the British. In that way each warring nation could keep an eye on the other. (I don’t think the building in front is it, though. It’s worth the visit, though we didn’t have time).
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A here you get an up-close view of the famous Dordogne rooftops made of stones stacked one on top of the other and stuffed with peat (I think) and which last 300 years…
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And that’s Beynac.
La Roque-Gageac
We had so many plans for our trip, which included topiary gardens and Rocamadour and plenty of other places, which were put off for lack of time or because of the weather. But we did visit La Roque-Gageac, a city built into the side of a mountain.
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As it is one of the more picturesque villages in France, I have failed in my mission to accurately represent it to you. We were more interested in getting lunch and getting out of the rain than we were in finding a vista point from which to capture the entire city. But there are narrow walkways through the city, and in some places lined with exotic plants.
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There are other streets tucked away into the city, many of them residential.
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The city is on the Dordogne River and was an important place for trade in the Middle Ages. The bishops from Sarlat also came here for their summer residence.
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You can almost see how it can be considered one of the more beautiful towns, but I would need a sunny day and more time to do it justice.
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So that’s my brief tour of the Dordogne region. If you give yourself a week and luck out with nice weather, you should do a much better job of visiting it than we did. But I hope this will whet your appetite to give it a try.
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IF YOU’D LIKE TO SEE MORE TOURISM POSTS FROM A LADY IN FRANCE, CLICK HERE.
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April 30, 2019
The Village of Martyrs
On June 10, 1944, just four days after D-Day, the Nazis exterminated the village of Oradour-sur-Glane, killing 642 people, of which 246 were women, 207 were children, and 6 were infants. They then torched the village.
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They assembled the people in the square and separated men from women. The men, they put in groups in the barn, shot off their legs until they fell, then arranged hay on top of the piles of bodies before setting fire to them. The women and children, they herded into the church, shot them, tear-gassed them, then set fire to the building.
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Two woman and a child escaped from the burning church and all were shot as they escaped. Only one survived by crawling under bushes and hiding there until she was found the next day.
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Five men escaped from the barn. In the museum store, I read part of the account of one survivor, who I think was Robert Hérbas. He was mostly protected from the shooting but could hear the groans of his fellow villagers on top of him – the father of one of his friends who said, “They shot off my other leg.” He could feel their blood as it covered him.
Hébras made the decision, as soon as the fire got too hot, to pull out of the pile of bodies even if it meant getting shot. The officers were no longer in the barn. He and the four others went away from the flames, but were still trapped in the building. One of them was a mason and found a weak point in the stones where they could pull enough away to escape.
I understood from one account that there were six men who escaped the shooting, but only five men who escaped completely from the barn. The survivors went out two first, then another two, then Robert Hébras (the only survivor who remains alive today) went alone, encouraged by his friend, who thought himself too badly hurt to escape. The survivors were not immediately spotted as they ran across the road and hid among the fields, and I’m not sure which of the six didn’t make it, but I don’t think it was the last one to leave.
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Why did the Nazis exterminate this village? I’ve read or heard views in both English and French. It seems they received orders from above to quell the resistance at all cost, not excluding any civilians. The troops made their way North once they heard about the invasion – D-Day had occurred only four days before this mass killing – and the Nazis’ goal was to terrorise the civilians to prevent them from joining the resistance – and also to boost the moral of the German troops and indoctrinate the youngest recruits.
Oradour-sur-Glane was a peaceful, prosperous village with many commerce, and train tracks running right through the town centre. There was no known affiliation to the resistance (this is what the French sites say, though I’ve heard differently from English sites). It’s just 20 km from Limoges and was the perfect place to make a statement and quell any resistance.
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After the war, General Charles de Gaulle ordered the village to remain as it was in remembrance of the barbaric act. You can find pictures from before with more personal effects and mounds of human ashes in the church. Today, only the most hardy things remain.
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Burnt houses and remnants of stone, with some tile remaining on the floor, what would have been a welcome entrance to someone’s home. Sewing machines, bicycles, beds.
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You find stores and offices, each one labeled with the name and occupation of its victim.
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Cars.
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But what you’re left with is this overall sense that this must never happen again.
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In the wake of the mass killings of Christians in Sri Lanka with hundreds dead, the New Zealand mosque shooting with 50 dead, and the California synagogue with just one, it seems that we still need this reminder.
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A post shared by Jennie Goutet (@aladyinfrance) on Apr 29, 2019 at 6:24am PDT
You can read a very thorough account here. You can see a video here showing early footage, and you can listen to the remaining survivor visit the site here. (The videos in French). #remember
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April 17, 2019
Gluten-Free Savory Clafoutis
I was inspired to try this naturally gluten-free savory clafoutis recipe after seeing this blog post and video. (You can watch her video if you want to see it made – or just listen to her speak French).
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A clafoutis is a quiche without the crust. Or more specifically, it’s fruit covered with an egg cream mix (for the sweet) or a vegetable covered with the egg, cream and cheese (for the savory). You can get my fig clafoutis recipe here.
Before we get to the recipe, I’ll give some personal news, I’ve been busy lately preparing for visits and upcoming trips (my next blog post will be on Dordogne, but it will be late since I’ll be traveling without my computer).
The fire in the Notre Dame felt awful – like a physical punch. I had to stop watching. But it’s nice to read about the things that were saved (priceless copper statues that were taken down for restoration, the rooster on the top of the spire that contained relics and was found in the rubble, the round stained glass windows and the organ – mostly. It’s going to take a long time for this to be a distant memory.
And I got my books in the mail – the author copies of A Regrettable Proposal. I don’t love being in front of the camera, but here is the instagram post of me opening my box, which had just arrived.
Getting back to the savory clafoutis – which is worth its salt – take three small zucchini, 4 tomatoes, and 2 cloves of garlic. Mince the garlic and chop the zucchini and tomatoes, then stir-fry everything in a teaspoon or two of olive oil.
I started the garlic and zucchini first then added the tomatoes, and to that I added a teaspoon of large grain sea salt and 1/4 teaspoon basil. You need to cook them for about 15 minutes. During this time, you can pre-heat the oven to 190°C (375°F)
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While that’s cooking, crack four eggs in a bowl and whisk them. Measure 3/4 cup of milk and 1/2 cup of cream and pour that in. Add a pinch of pepper (I put 1/8 teaspoon) and 50 grams of Maizena corn starch, which is almost a half-cup.
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It’s about a half cup minus a heaping tablespoon. You can wing it or measure it. Put that in the egg cream mix and stir.
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The corn starch helps the clafoutis to hold together, but it’s lighter than flour and is gluten-free.
Now grease a deep dish quiche pan. This one is 25 cm. Then put the cooked vegetables at the bottom.
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Cover it with the egg and cream mixture, and place mozzarella slices on top of that. I used 250 grams of mozzarella because it was 2 packages of fresh mozzarella, and it perfectly covered the quiche. You could substitute Swiss cheese (emmental) – or for the more intrepid – chèvre or feta.
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Bake it for 45 minutes. Now, I used a traditional oven since the confection component is broken. No matter which oven method you use, keep an eye on your clafoutis because it might be cooking too quickly. You may need to turn it or reduce the heat. But this is what it looks like when it comes out.
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The house smells SO good.
And this is what it looks like, paired with a side salad that’s drizzled with Dijon mustard dressing.
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(A rare cooking video of me making Dijon dressing is here in this blog post).
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It’s so quick, so easy, so good.
Gluten-Free Savory Clafoutis Print Prep time 20 mins Cook time 45 mins Total time 1 hour 5 mins Serves: 6-8 Ingredients 3 zucchini 4 tomatoes 2 cloves of garlic ¼ teaspoon basil 1 teaspoon large grain sea salt 1-2 teaspoons olive oil to cook 4 eggs ¾ cup milk (200 ml) ½ cup cream (100 ml) ⅛ teaspoon pepper 50 grams corn starch (1/2 cup minus a heaping tablespoon) 250 grams mozzarella (8-9 oz) Instructions Preheat the oven to 190°C or 275°F. Wash, cut and cook the zucchini, tomatoes and garlic in olive oil for 15 minutes. I peeled the zucchini in strips, partly to make it pretty and partly to make it more tender. Add the salt and basil to the vegetable mix. Beat the eggs and add the milk, cream, pepper and corn starch. When the vegetables are done, butter a 25cm quiche pan and put the vegetables in the bottom. Pour the egg-cream mix over the vegetables. Slice the mozzarella and place the slices around the quiche pan evenly. Cook for 45 minutes. Serve warm with a side salad. 3.5.3251
Thank you, those of you, who left comments on my last post or sent me emails. I appreciate you. Stay tuned for the prehistoric caves of Lascaux, which will be my next blog post in a little more than 2 weeks.
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