What is summer like in Burgundy? Phew! The busiest time of the year. Which is why it’s thursday morning and I haven’t even thought about this week’s blog. Summer here is “chaotic good fun”, as a friend described it the other day.
Et pourquoi, all the chaos? First of all, in the cooler months life is way quieter. Our friends are often traveling around Europe, or going somewhere to escape the winter chill, returning to home ports, or just sitting by the fire. All that changes when ‘la saison’ arrives in late May, and it reaches its frenzied peak in August. All of our friends are here, some who live here only in summer, with loads of guests. And there are endless fun parties and events.
Our friend Dee has been particularly innundated with houseguests, and though she's a hostess extraodinaire, she was a bit intimidated when her sister showed up with a British Baroness. Especially when she had so many guests that La Baronne ended up having to bed down on the blow-up mattress—with great humor and grace, we might add.
Photos: Our châtelaine Nicole gears up for a party; and some lunches chez our dear friends.
Here is a partial list of activities this month that we’ve attended: an art film festival in our village; a moule/frites party for 30 or so at the lovely home of our Dutch friends; a fête for Nicole and Ron’s birthday at the château, for 32; lunch at a brasserie in a pretty village uniquement pour les femmes, all 19 of us; a lovely party on a wisteria-covered terrace for a dozen friends; and there’s a jazz festival coming up in Cluny. Our favorite brasserie had a musical evening and our whole crowd went to be serenaded in their garden. Our Italian neighbors cooked us a feast, and our favorite Dutch/French couple next door had a party for the entire village, (in their barn, since it rained, see photo). Ron biked for a week with the guys in Germany too. And so it goes, such is summer life in Burgundy.
Meanwhile, I made a simple lunch for 10 friends this week. It was hot as the dickens, so I did a salad buffet and we sat at a table on the lawn under the trees. Which is a very French thing, they so often set tables up in the garden, and there’s nothing better than dining with your bare tootsies in the cool grass.
In keeping with my lateness and laziness this week, I’ll just pass on my lunch party menu to you. I liked it for this reason: I never consulted une recette, I just threw it together. Maybe you have an easy summer menu to share too? Wishing you lots of lazy lunches in the shade in these waning days of summer.
Lunch for 10 in the garden
The menu:
It's 'Cold Soup Week' on Twitter and so I made chef Robin's White's fabulous Chilled Cantaloupe soup, served in little café cups. Click on the link for the throw-it-in-the-blender recipe (and for lots lots more)
Haricot Verts Salad (thin green beans steamed until tender-crisp and mixed with shallots, toasted chopped walnuts, and orange bell peppers, dressed in walnut oil/lemon juice with a touch of dijon mustard)
Shrimp Salad (tout simple, with chopped shrimp, scallions, celery and mayonnaise)
Deviled Eggs (always a crowd pleaser)
Caprese Salad (summer tomatoes with mozzarella and basil, and some yellow cherry tomatoes, dressed with olive oil and balsamic glaze)
A bowl of Watermelon, of course, and some delicious French pistachio ice cream. Happy summer, y'all!
In the Comments: more creative ‘cultural hiccups’ keep coming in from 2 weeks ago, I think we’ll need a sequel one of these days! And we have a pétanque player in our midst, Barbara in Sonoma. You can see photos of the Sonoma tournament, plus lots of other gorgeous photos, at http://www.barbarahallsonoma.com/.
Our Readers Blogs: here is a really sweet blog to visit, Gloria in Connecticut at the Little Red House with the White Porch. And here's a great southern one, with weekly menus! Go to Love Being in My Southern Kitchen.
Loyal reader Herm Meyer from Arizona is our poet in residence. He's written a poem for us before. Here are two of his poems, with beautiful photos: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1bvJvwFa6d4J-qrhdUU7YzNSo9BgT_qlxZVeHbV0Jmw4/edit?hl=en_US
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1pYGFwCGDe1AN8zzpNjKCY_EW2ssBlGWob6L-1R5-Vu0/edit?hl=en_US
20 thoughts on “The Baroness on the Blow-up Bed”
Maggs showed up with a Baroness? Astonishing.
Glad to hear my sister provides fodder for your blog! I’m thinking said baroness does not quite fit the archetypal image of titled folks.
Another mouth-watering account! I also enjoyed Herm Meyer’s two poems and the photos. I would like to receive his poems. Does he have a website?
The lunch for ten in the garden was wonderful; everything was delicious so try these recipes out, you wont be disappointed.
It sounds wonderful. I would love to picnic under the trees but the Mosquitos here would carry me away. Enjoy!
Thanks for the shout out!
It’s so nice to see familar faces in your photos. We so enjoyed these casual gatherings while on our trip. The picture of Nicole is lovely — she is so warm and welcoming. While we were there I discovered that we share the same birthday so tell her Happy Birthday from me. I will be anxious to try these recipes and I’m sure Dee is right when she says we won’t be disappointed.
What I miss most when I return to Oregon from France is pistachio ice cream. I had just about gotten over it for this year (we have been home for two months) and you mentioned it. Like Pavlov’s dog I immediately began to salivate and experience withdrawal pangs.
It used to be a staple at Howard Johnsons, but now it takes a detective to find it.
Oh well. There is always next year.
I enjoy reading your blog, along with Kristin’s, and Karen’s BonjourParis. I notice that you share books for francophiles along the margin of your site. Would you be willing to take a look at my newly-published book, “A ‘Petit Guide’ to Paris and Nice” and see if it’s anything your readers would be interested in? I would love to get it out there for people to see. You can preview it at: http://www.blurb.com/books/2423459. Merci bien for checking it out and giving me any feedback. I’m new at this self-promotion thing and can use all the help I can get! Thanks, Candy Witt
I was with my mouth open this morning when I saw your comment on my blog, it made me sooo happy because I’ve been subscribed to your blog (via e-mail) for a long long time, even before I started my blog. I have showed my husband your home and most of your posts we love them, I even have tried some of your recipes with great success. I have also browsed through the books you recommend on your sidebar and I have some on the “to buy” list. Thank you for such wonderful blog. I really appreciate you leaving a comment on mine.
Have a wonderful day!
XXX Ido
Another delightful, fun read Lynn…Merci beaucoup.
Love the recipes as always. A Baronness …goodness! 🙂
As always wishing we were there as well right now.
Do enjoy these remaining days of summer. How quickly it goes by.
All the best.
Sounds like a glorious summer, although just your “partial list” of events is staggering. I love the large stand of hydrangeas/hortensias in one photo; it reminds me of the only time I was in France in the summertime and saw them blooming profusely everywhere. So beautiful!
Frank in Oregon, you can find pistachio gelato by “Ciao Bella” at Safeway…it’s not the same as French ice-cream, but tasty none the less.
What a fun and interesting Summer you have had. I firmly believe that that’s what life should be about, good food and good friends. That makes me remember a quote from a movie that a friend told me about. It was a line by Lynn Redgrave from an 80’s version of Hansel and Gretel.” Lynn played the witch, I think. Anyway, she sat there, cackling, with her hands touching fingertips to fingertips declaring something like this, “Cooking and eating, eating and cooking, isn’t life fun?” I think she may have included killing before cooking but we can eliminate that part. She was the witch, after all. Sad that she (Lynn) has passed away.
The luncheon sounds so lovely. I’ll have to try that simple shrimp salad, and the green bean salad.
As for a favorite summer salad, have you tried green beans with goat cheese and cherry tomatoes? I believe it had a light vinaigrette too. So good I didn’t miss the bacon.
Wow! Life before blogs was so different. Just yesterday I mused on pistaccio ice cream withdrawl and this morning I know where to get a fix. Thanks Lynn and Emily. Safeway is two minutes away.
Ah, Lynn — thanks! Cantaloupe soup for us tonight!
Toes in the grass! Are there no chiggers en Francaiss?
John—pas de tout! One of the joys of Burgundy is the lack of creepy critters, well anyway as opposed to Charleston, where the roaches and the mosquitos and no-see-ums have virtually taken over.
I laughed out loud at the title of this post! Am so envious of this wonderful life you are living in France. It certainly makes life in the suburbs of Atlanta seem dull in comparison. Love the summer lunch menu and love living vicariously through your adventures!
The Baroness on the Blow Up Bed sounds like a parody of The Princess and the Pea. 🙂
Love your blog!