Even Cheese Puffs sound elegant in French: Gougères recipe and post by Ann Mah, author of The Lost Vintage

Our family lived on two French vineyards during the last 10 years, beginning in this 2007 post. Ann Mah's book brought it all back–the sights, the sounds, and the scents–especially the beauty, the history, and the passion behind it all. I learned more about wine reading Ann's book, in addition to details of WWII (like the humiliating punishment for collaboration horizontale–or sleeping with the enemy!). The … Continue reading Even Cheese Puffs sound elegant in French: Gougères recipe and post by Ann Mah, author of The Lost Vintage

relancer + pomegranates and grandmothers c’est sympa!

Miam-miam is French for yum. Recently, Jean-Marc bought some used wine-making equipment. The farmer's wife who sold it to him threw in a couple of  antique wine-presses, some old  wine barrels, and even a bucket of pomegranates! (Have you ever eaten one? Inside, there's a bunch of ruby red fruit, the size of a tooth. The French use it to make the famous grenadine syrup–but the … Continue reading relancer + pomegranates and grandmothers c’est sympa!

gaver

             The seaside town of Agay, near Fréjus and just east of St-Raphael. gaver (gah-vay) verb   1. to force-feed; to fill up (with) …and in English there is the noun "gavage" (gah-vazh): a feeding for someone who will not or cannot eat. Expressions and Related Terms: en avoir jusqu'au gaviot = to be stuffed, to have eaten too muchgaver quelqu'un = … Continue reading gaver

grignoter

  Wisteria and the deep blue sea off Toulon… Yesterday I had the chance to "grignoter une salade" with a friend along the seashore in Toulon… more about that adventure in the next edition. grignoter (gree-nyoh-tay) verb  1.  to nibble at one's food  2.  to eat away at (savings, natural resources…) Expressions:grignoter une place = to obtain a seat (coucil, court, board)grignoter du terrain = … Continue reading grignoter