Who knows how to celebrate best – France or Britain?
We have all long ago agreeed that there are some things from the UK that expats can’t manage without. Or perhaps it was just marmite and mince pies? So following a week of Christmas and New Year over-eating and festivities and I thought a reminder of what we have to celebrate with in France, and [...]
Five fascinating facts about turkeys in France
The countdown to Christmas has begun so after years of grumbling about the absence of a Christmas pudding at our French Christmas dinners (sorry, a Christmas log just isn’t the same) I thought this year I’d turn my attention to turkeys. Having a turkey for Christmas dinner is less of a longstanding tradition in France [...]
Off with his bread
Here’s a problem for you…I was sent a question by someone and hoping someone can help out.
Are you self sufficient?
When we moved to France we had big ideas of self-sufficiency – harvesting nature’s natural produce, growing our own vegetables, eating fruit from the orchard… …but I have to admit, many years later, we have failed dismally! Mrs B has very green fingers when it comes to plants and flowers, but she won’t mind me [...]
What time is lunch?
Older daughter is working at a local ‘adventure parc’ this summer and has lots of fascinating stories to tell about how people behave on holiday. Most of them I can’t repeat because the people involved might recognise themselves and not be very flattered, but one thing we have learned is that there can never be [...]
French farming in crisis
From our property here in south-west France we can see a very wide range of types of agriculture: sunflowers and wheat, nut trees and a vineyard, plum orchards, a field of cows and open meadows among them. This small scale agriculture is a part of what gives France its beauty and part of the reason [...]
Anyone for garlic soup?
Each year, in the best tradition of south-west France’s enthusiasm for good local cooking, our local town holds a competition to see who can make the best tourin. Tourin, in case you aren’t aware, is a thickish garlic soup with a bit of egg whisked in and served with (or preferably on top of) bread. [...]
Michelin starred birthday
It was my birthday yesterday, woo-hoo, and I even got some great presents – including a CD by Antony and the Johnsons (who he?); a couple of carbon-fibre bottle holders for my bike (these are much too expensive to justify buying for myself but very welcome as a present); and the usual stocks of gloves [...]
Get sidetracked by Montpeyroux
One of the more onerous tasks we have to do to keep francethisway up to date is to get out and about exploring France. As often as possible – but preferably when the sun is shining. The challenge is to see lots of places and discover all they have to offer without dilly-dallying. So no [...]
Christmas food treats
I’ve written before about the pleasures of a capon for Christmas dinner – and despite the rather dubious practices involved in raising capons I think we’ll be having another this year for Christmas dinner. But by way of a treat I thought we might try something new as well. One thing I’ve never yet been [...]
French eating habits
I recently heard a story from another gite owner about someone who visits them each year from the UK, and pays excess baggage charges on their flight so that they can bring a few tins of baked beans and tinned tomatoes with them. Since this excess baggage costs eight euros a kilo, that would mean [...]
UNESCO listing for pork pies
I saw an interesting news feature about French cooking – at the opening of the Paris Agriculture Fair, Nicolas Sarkozy called on UNESCO to list French cuisine as ‘World heritage’ and needing protection. As far as I knew, the UNESCO world heritage list is usually for monuments, places and buildings – to ensure they aren’t [...]
Galettes – the France gastronomic tradition
Today, the 6th of January, is the day of epiphany. The epiphany celebrates various events from the life of the young Christ, notably the day when the Three Kings presented their gifts, and his baptism by John the Baptist. The main reason the French look forward to epiphany is, of course, because it is the [...]
Capon for Christmas dinner
Last year we had capon for christmas dinner instead of turkey. Capon is extremely common and popular in France, and in fact was also much tastier than most turkey. So we have bought another one this year, as do many French families. Being unclear what capon is, apart from vague references to ‘male chicken’ I [...]
What to eat on Boxing Day
When I started the francethisway site I intended it to be a hobby to keep me entertained during the winter evenings. Unfortunately I am an obsessive workaholic, and it rapidly became a full-time job, and more recently a registered enterprise. This is good, I’m pleased how popular the site has become, but does have its [...]
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