Strawberries on a Stick at Mercado de La Boqueria, Barcelona, Spain

On a recent trip to Barcelona, Spain, strolling through the famous covered Mercado de La Boqueria, I spotted these “Strawberries on a Stick,” and thought what a clever idea and presentation. A simple variation on chocolate-dipped strawberries. A simple summer dessert when strawberries are in season.

Purchase 12” bamboo skewers. Purchase large sweet whole strawberries, and your chocolates. Melt dark chocolate in a microwave or double boiler, and pour into zip lock bag. Snipe a small corner. Keep the green top on your first strawberry. Add your other strawberries without greens to the skewer. Over parchment paper drizzle the chocolate around each strawberry while rotating the skewer. You might want to enlist a willing helper to hold and rotate the skewer as you drizzle. Place upright to set your chocolate. Repeat with white chocolate.

The Market de la Boqueria is a market, yes, and also a place to grab lunch or a snack for locals and visitors to enjoy. Many of the market vendors have “ready to go” items which are delicious and easy to eat as you stroll around. Next time you are in Barcelona, the Market de la Boqueria in the Las Ramblas neighborhood is a must stop.

Bon Appétit et Bon Weekend…Bonnie

Stopping To Smell The Roses in Mollans-sur-Ouvèze, Provence, France, Photo by Debbie McGowan

The French love their roses, just like they love their dogs. May is a perfect month to catch France in full bloom and especially the stunning peaking roses that adorn their front homes, gardens, and stone walls. A On a recent trip I tried to capture some of these beautiful roses to share with you all.

I couldn’t identify many of them, but I did see quite a few of the traditional Eden, and Pink Eden. Enjoy these photos, and let them take you to France a moment!

The Village of Siran in Languedoc, France

Welcoming Roses Greet You at a Village Home in Caunes-Minervois, Languedoc

Matching Eden Roses Adorn the Front of a Village Home in Caunes-Minervois, Languedoc

A Fairy Tale Village Home in Caunes-Minervois, Languedoc

Never Mellow Yellow for a Village Home in Trausse, Languedoc

A Beauty in a Garden in Uzès, Gard

Rambling Rose in Caunes-Minervois, Languedoc

Bonus, have you ever seen a field of naturalized poppies blooming. It will take your breath away.

A Field of Poppies Blooming Outside of Uzès, Gard, Framce

Hoping your garden is happy, blooming, and giving you a smile!

Bon Appétit et Bon Weekend…Bonnie

Dreamy Dining Room

My husband and I rented a beautiful two bedroom apartment in the historic center of Uzès, South France. This apartment is within walking distance of everything, so convenient, so relaxing, and so inviting. If you ever get a chance to visit this charming town, plan on staying a few days.

We found this stunning apartment on AirBnB, called C’est la Vie, managed by Dominique and Christophe Cachat. She is American, and he is French. Dominique loves remodel, decorating projects, brocante finds, and it shows. They offer a number of properties to rent in the area which can accommodate a number of guests. Their website is www.uzesvacationrentals.com

Dreamy Kitchen

The kitchen all on one side, and all in white, has everything, even a dishwasher. I must admit we ate out most evenings, at wonderful tiny restaurants, some which were recommended, and some we stumbled across.

Wednesdays and Saturdays are market days in Uzès. We went to the Wednesday morning market which is bustling, located in the town center under beautiful canopy trees called Place aux Herbs. We had fun browsing, and bought some beautiful vibrant red-ribbed tomatoes, olive oil, black olives, Camargue (the wild marshland natural region south of Arles) honey, and more. From the cheesemongers we bought fresh goat cheese medallions and aged Tomme sheep cheese.

Rainbow Swiss Chard at Uzès Wednesday Market

Engaging in conversation with the chatty sheep cheesemonger, Monsieur Cheesemonger gave us this tub of his whipped sheep ricotta cheese as a gift. He wanted us to try it. He suggested it could go with sweet or savory. He said, “Have it for breakfast with fruit and honey, or in the evening with olive oil and herbs on a baguette.” Wow!

A Gift of Whipped Sheep Ricotta Cheese

I thought for a while, what could I make with this whipped sheep ricotta as a dinner. What came to me was a pasta dish inspired by Half Baked Harvest One Pot Recipes, a sort of loose combination of these two recipes,

One Pot Spinach and Sun-Dried Tomato Burrata Pasta and One Pot Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta with Whipped Ricotta. I had mades these recipes before, and was inspired to do something similar with the ingredients I had. I didn’t have sun-dried tomatoes, but I had wonderful fresh market tomatoes.

Fresh Spinach Washed, Dried and Cut Up

I prepared the lovely fresh spinach, rinsing, drying, and cutting it up. I added a little Basil Olive Oil to a large pot, and began warming it.

Finely chopped a shallot and sauteed it in the pan. I then added my beautiful market tomatoes ( I wished I had bought more), a couple of tablespoons of rich tomato paste, a tablespoon of balsamic vinegar, chopped black olives, sea salt, and freshly ground pepper. The tomatoes began to break down, and a nice sauce started.

Making Tomato Sauce with Black Olives

When I felt the tomato sauce was ready for the last ingredients, I added 8 ounces of shelled dry pasta, all of the spinach, and about 4 cups of water to the same pot, gently stirring on a medium low heat.

Adding Pasta, Water, and Spinach to the Sauce

Ten minutes or so later, the pasta had absorbed all of the water, and also the beautiful tomato sauce. It was a nice, creamy texture. Since I thought this sheep ricotta cheese was so fresh, and so special, I used it as a topping on the pasta, being very generous with a big dollop, rather than mixing it in with the tomato pasta. I think that was a good idea, because I didn’t want to take away the fresh flavors of the sauce.

One Pot Tomato Pasta with Spinach and Whipped Sheep Ricotta

We had a baguette to serve with our pasta dish, so one could also put the whipped ricotta on the baguette too. My one pot pasta dish turned out beautifully. It was a wonderful relaxing evening in with a delicious dinner and a nice bottle of wine.

I didn’t even mention the wine. Since we are winemakers, we always like to explore the wines of the area when we travel. The wine in this area is very, very good, and quite reasonable. Many of these wines are made with the Syrah, Grenache, Mourvèdre grape varietals. We befriended the local savvy wine merchant, who suggested a few local bottles for us to try. Chin! Chin!

à Table, Chin Chin, et Bon Appétit!

Not to forget dessert. The French really have some amazing desserts and pastries to tempt you. Earlier in the day, we stopped at our favorite boulangeries/pâtisserie and picked up a Lemon Meringue Tart for dessert. Heaven. I hope you enjoyed, Dreamy Dinner Chez Nous!

Splitting a Lemon Meringue Tart for Dessert

Bon Appétit et Bon Weekend…Bonnie

Yes, It is Me, Backpacking Through Europe, Circa 1976

The last couple of years with more time home due to the pandemic, for me it has been a time of organizing, sorting out, and simplifying. I organized by years and events all of my photos. More recently I scanned and digitized more than a thousand slides from my life, travels, and photography living and traveling in Europe in my twenties.

In a grand way it was an eye-opening perspective which actually surprised me. I looked at photos that I distinctly remember taking. People, places, and scenes that I vividly remember—that I hadn’t seen in decades. Wonderful memories, and kind of a gentle reminder of who I am today and why. One forgets, as life has hiccups and setbacks, and gets more complicated with responsibilities and everyday busyness.

I lived with my dear family in Europe outside of Brussels, Belgium and attended the International School of Brussels for my 10th, 11th, and 12th high school years. I also took a year off during college years, and traveled non-stop, funding my own way with babysitting and “au pair” jobs. An english-speaking responsible babysitter was “gold” in the day.

I traveled extensively with my family, school, friends, boyfriend, and even solo. I was an adventurer, savvy and smart about travel, yet somewhat fearless. Of course, Europe and the world, for that matter was quite different 40-50 years ago.

It was a very golden time for me, and it is still the very core of who I am, and what I write about in this blog and create on my website. I knew from high school days I was coming to California, because it was the closest to living in the Mediterranean and still be in the United States.

I have cultivated, with my beloved husband, a French country lifestyle here in Mediterranean North San Diego County, one day at a time. It is who I am, resonating from my passion, at my very core. My dream has materialized right in front of my very eyes, far bigger and brighter than I could have ever imagined. I am very grateful and thankful each and every day. I am very grateful when I hear from you.

Stopping Along the Rhine River During A German “Au Pair” Job

My hope, whether you are a long time follower or relatively new, is that you will enjoy and be enlightened by my writing, recipes, tips, musings, and information shared. That you will be encouraged to continue to follow your dreams. That you will reach back to your past to acknowledge what caught your passion and touched you to the core. Perhaps you know very well, but it is always nice to reflect wholeheartedly once again.

I hope that you will be inspired to embrace a “Taste of French Country Living,” which is really a philosophy you can live wherever you are of beauty, every day celebrating “little things,” living in the present, mindfulness, quality over quantity, seasonal living, simplicity and so much more! Merci!

Bon Appétit et Bon Weekend…Bonnie

Polished and Ready Jam Copper Pot

Copper pots and pans are one of the essentials in a French Country Kitchen, not only for their glowing beauty, but fine functionality. Copper conducts heat very well, cooks food evenly, cools quickly, and will last forever when properly cared for. Most copper pots are tin-lined, and eventually this tin lining wears out with use, and the piece should be re-tinned by a retinning specialist. Be aware that tin melts at 450 F. degrees, so cooking in tin lined copper pots should be below that temperature. Confiture or jam making copper pots don’t need to be lined, since there’s enough sugar in jam to prevent the fruit acids from reacting with the metal. Always cook your fruit and sugar together, never cook fruit alone in a copper pot. Copper mixing bowls often aren’t lined as well, especially those intended for beating egg whites.

Some people like to keep the aged copper penny patina, and others like their copper bright and polished. It is a personal preference. Wrights Copper Cream is a good commercial copper cleaner. An old standby recipe to clean copper is mix 1/4 cup salt, 1/4 cup cup flour and enough white distilled vinegar to make a thick paste, use a soft cloth to rub the paste on the surface of the copper. Buff the copper pan until it shines. Rinse with warm water and dry thoroughly. Over time your piece will begin to tarnish, and you simply repeat the process again.

You can find new pieces online easily, or if you favor the hunt, search out wonderful pieces at French flea markets. It is usually the vintage, well-worn patina pieces with a history of their own, that are the best treasures to find. I can’t tell you how many copper jam pots I passed up over the years in France. I simply didn’t have immediate needs to be able to ship it home, it was generally took bulky to carry, and I didn’t want to risk damaging a piece checked in my baggage in my cross Atlantic travels.

The universe works in wonderful ways. Recently I was helping my Mom and Dad clean and organize their downstairs kitchenette. What was tucked away in one of the cabinets, was this beauty, a huge confiture copper pot—big enough to hold all of your fruit and sugar for making jam at one time. My Mom gave it to me, and I did get it home safely in my luggage. It is special to me for sentimental reasons, coming from my Mom and her kitchen in Europe, and now passed on to me. It was like finding a diamond in the rough, and fulfilling the dream to have one and display it in my home.

Copper Jam Pot Washed and Ready to Polish

Some Related Copper Websites:

Mauviel

Williams Sonoma

Elsie Green

The Cooks Atelier

East Coast Retinning

Nicholas Retinning, (No Website), 4641 Telegraph Road, L.A., CA 90022, (tel) (323) 263-0028, Est. 1965.

Bon Appétit et Bon Weekend….Bonnie

The Seabird Hotel on Mission Avenue in Oceanside, California

From time to time I highlight “places to know” around San Diego County. Maybe you know, and maybe you don’t, there are two new hotels in Oceanside, California next to the beach and a stone’s throw from the Oceanside Pier. One is the Mission Pacific, and the other is The Seabird Resort.

My husband John, and I are a little partial to The Seabird. Our architect and interior designer, Bill Bocken, who mastered our personal home remodel eleven years ago, has along with a design team done the stunning Seabird Resort interior design. The moment we walked into the inviting lobby, we sensed Bocken’s undeniable style.

The Seabird’s Inviting Lobby

While daytime is spectacular, I couldn’t help thinking how enchanting it would be to experience The Shore Room at sunset.

Summer Sunflowers Greet Lobby Guests

The atmosphere at The Seabird Resort is tasteful California casual, light and airy, with lots of blue tones that repeat the adjacent boardwalk setting, spectacular Pacific Ocean, and sky. A smattering of vintage California seaside photos punctuate the vibe and bring a smile to your face.

Both hotels are an asset to the ever evolving town of Oceanside! Check them out if you are in the area, or you have guests that are planning to visit the area!

A Stone’s Throw from the Oceanside Pier

As a side note, Oceanside has a plethora of great independent eateries, breweries, and cafes mainly along the Coast Highway corridor. One of our favorites is the popular Local Tap House (LTH), 308 South Coast Highway, (tel) (760) 547-1469.

Inside Local Tap House, Outside Dining Also Available

Always packed, be prepared to join a waiting list. The American cuisine is marvelous and the menu extensive. Being a Moule & Frites (Mussels & Fries) connoisseur from my Belgian days, I usually order mussels when I see it on the menu. Recently at the LTH, I ordered their Pozole Verde Mussels which came with avocado, crispy hominy, serrano crema, cilantro, garlic, radish, lime, and grilled torta roll. Heaven! Listed under “Snacks” on their menu, it was a delicious feast that got my two thumbs up!

Pozole Verde Mussels at Local Tap House, Oceanside

Bon Appétit et Bon Weekend….Bonnie

À Kathy’s Maison

I have a dear friend who exudes “joie de vivre” whether she is here in San Diego, at her little stone house in Provence, or anywhere in the world. Ma Amie, Kathy Hurder. We are both Francophiles, and share the love of French country cooking, the wine, the copper, the markets, the brocantes, the lifestyle, and the beauty in the simplicity and quality of life.

With France opening up once again to tourists and foreigners, I remember with fond memories our last trip to France in 2019. Kathy and her charming husband, Ron Lauderbach, graciously invited us to their special corner of Provence. My husband, John, and I in turn invited them to share a weekend in Beaune, Burgundy, France, together a week later. We had so much fun, and yes, it was cherry season!

Sainte-Cécile-les Vignes Morning Market

No need to buy cherries this morning, as Kathy and Ron have their own happy cherry trees in their “petite jardin.” When it is cherry season, you enjoy them fresh, but also make a Cherry Clafoutis.

Cherry Clafoutis is a very popular French dessert, simple and seasonal, in which you can easily exchange seasonal fruit of the moment. If I remember correctly, we made Mimi Thorisson’s Cherry Clafoutis from her first cookbook, A Kitchen in France, and in her 2013 blog post, which she shares the recipe along with her complementary Duck Burger recipe. Yum!

Kathy and Ron, in Medieval Village, Séguret, Provence and overlooking Sablet, Provence

One of our incentives for a rendez-vous a week later in Beaune, besides the incredible Burgundy wine and regional food, was taking a “Day in Burgundy Cooking Class” with American ex-pats “mother daughter duo” Marjorie Taylor and Kendall Smith Franchini, at The Cook’s Atelier. Planned well in advance, Kathy and I were lucky to land the last two spots in a Saturday June cooking class. While at our cooking class, our fellas were happy to further explore Beaune and dabble in some wine tasting. Needless to say, it was an incredible day and experience, full of special memories. For more info on The Cook’s Atelier see below.

I can’t say enough about Beaune, Burgundy, and highly recommend spending some quality time there. It is really worth it to bike or hike into the surrounding world famous vineyards. There is a real sense and spirit of place, and the terroir is immaculately managed and revered.

Past and Present Merge in these Vineyards

A Special Burgundy Birthday for John

It is a real gift to have “joie de vivre” and the ability to put a spark in other people’s lives, just by being your passionate self. Merci Kathy and Ron!

Well Fed and Content in Beaune

French Fabulous!

The Cook’s Atelier, by Marjorie Taylor and Kendall Smith Franchini, is one of the best cooking classes I have been to. From start to finish, it is a whirlwind for your senses. I often thought about them, through this pandemic. Was this small family business surviving, with no classes, no brick and mortar storefront retail? Were they writing a new cookbook? Well, good news, yes, and yes, and yes.

The Cook’s Atelier hosts regular one day classes, and also offers week long master classes. The Cook’s Atelier has taken this gift of time to expand their country home outside of Beaune, creating a large potager and teaching kitchen. They are now growing most of their own fruit and vegetables for their culinary classes, and in the week long master class will be bringing the class to their country setting for more culinary instruction and Burgundian experience. Adding to this, they have expanded into custom copper gardening tools, found on their website. Amazing.

Another Related and Past Blog Link, The Cook’s Atelier

Bon Appétit and Bon Weekend…Bonnie

Our Gite Patio Overlooking Sablet, Provence

Back in 2007, my husband and I rented a gite outside of the medieval village of Sablet in Provence, France. A gite is a small furnished vacation house in France, usually in a rural setting. I rented it online, and was drawn to the spectacular setting nestled amongst the grapevines with the stunning lower Rhône Valley before our eyes.

Once a bachelor farmer son’s small stone home upstairs, and where livestock often were conveniently sheltered on the ground floor below, this beautiful little property had been lovingly restored and transformed into a very comfortable gite. I will never forget walking into the stone home and kitchen for the first time, finding a waiting bottle of Rhône wine on the wooden kitchen table, a huge bowl of fresh ripe cherries, and a note to enjoy our stay. I was in heaven.

Since we usually travel to France in the spring, I now always associate Provence in the spring with the fabulous seasonal cherries. So sweet and delicious, perfect fresh or in a light dessert.

Cherries at Apt, Provence, Saturday Market

Experiencing fresh cherries in Provence, I wanted to grow spring cherries in our orchard, but cherries typically need a cool climate, abundant chill hours, not normally trees for Southern California. A few years ago, I found cherry trees suitable for Southern California at Green Thumb Nursery in San Marcos, a retailer for Dave Wilson Nursery.

I bought a Minnie Royal and a Royal Lee, two great Southern California cherry trees necessary to pollenize each other. For some reason, I kept losing the Royal Lee tree, twice in fact, and then once with the Minnie Royal tree. Graciously, Green Thumb Nursery replaced each tree for me. I was beginning to doubt it was possible to grow cherry trees in Southern California.

Minnie Royal Cherries in My Orchard

With persistence, both trees are doing really well now. Last year was my first crop, and now this year, an even bigger cherry crop. I eat them off the tree when gardening. I don’t think they will see my kitchen for a couple of years.

Garden Design Tip: I always enjoy spring nasturtium that reseed and self-sow in my orchard which adds a little color and interest. This year I planted multi-color sweet peas at the base of many of my orchard trees, providing a few small stakes close to the trunk of each tree. The sweet peas responded well, climbing up the stakes, some onto the trees, and sprawling around the base of each tree with pretty color. I was pleased, and will continue to do it next year. You can also plant a climbing rose at the base of your fruit tree, and the rose will use the tree as support as it grows. These ideas are simple, add interest, and dress up an orchard or focal fruit tree.

Royal Lee Cherry Tree on the Left, Minnie Royal Cherry Tree on the Right

Do you have a success story with a fruit tree, or your backyard orchard? Please share!

Bon Appétit and Bon Holiday Weekend….Bonnie