I’m sure all our dear readers have spent all last week dying to know how our dinner went at Françoise’s last Monday, so I shall keep you waiting no longer. This was out on her terrace, and also invited were Richard and Bridget. We started off with aperitifs and then Françoise brought out enough food to feed a hungry dozen – a meal she’d been working on for the last two days.
This consisted of two large trays of twice-baked potatoes, one filled with gruyère and the other with blue cheese. She also made individually-wrapped cabbage leaves held together with string, stuffed with rice and veg, an adapted meat recipe that came out very well. Dessert was a combo of her tiramisu and also a lemon cheesecake made by Bridget. Needless to say, we left feeling very sated.
Tuesday was spent preparing for our dinner guests that evening: Nan and auntie Tracy, who both flew into Limoges on Sunday, and my parents. I left the two cooks in the kitchen where they spent most of the day and meanwhile gave the house a tidy and the lawn a mow.
It was a beautiful and hot evening so we had a barbecue out on our terrace, starting with drinks and nibbles. The meal was chicken and lamb skewers, one of our go-to recipes, with salmon for mum. Jan also reprised her recent roasted cauliflower, sesame and pine nut dish and it was a hit. In fact, Mum even had two extra helpings, which is unheard of. After a brief stay with my parents, Nan and Trace went on to a town farther down south where my other aunt, Sue and her family, had rented a gîte. I suspect that that part of their trip may have been a little less tranquil than the first.
The next day was Jan’s last one at Port 80 and Matt took her to Angoulême in the early afternoon where she caught her train on time. And there’s not really anything to add for the rest of the week, so I will skip on to the weekend.
First, Friday, which was the Fête de la Musique. This is a national event where musicians good and less good get up on stages in villages and towns across the country and entertain / irritate according to their respective abilities. We marked the day, which is also the Solstice, in the company of Manu, Mathilde and Françoise with an apero-dinatoire at M&M’s. Matt brought along a new recipe of chicken legs in a satay sauce, and also an asian sauce with various crudités for dipping. Manu laid on an indian spread with a giant platter of onion bahjis, and another of samosas.
The plan for the evening had been to go to Saint Front where we’d heard there was a band playing, but it was cool and we were hesitating. When we learned that the “band” was in fact the one-man act who played at the last Soirée Britannique, we all agreed to give it a miss.
On Saturday afternoon we had the dubious pleasure of attending an Emergency General Meeting for VIAPL, our anti-wind farm association. I dont think we’ve mentioned this on the blog but Marie’s recently-bereaved sister has cancer and is not coping too well. Marie and Christian have been spending lots of time running back and forth to Bordeaux and it’s all understandably getting too much. So, they’re both stepping down from the board. And if no-one steps up to take the President’s place, the association has to be disbanded.
The meeting therefore was to solicit volunteers, or at least ideas. It went on for over two hours, easily one too long, but it wasn’t entirely useless as one attendee made some hesitantly-positive noises. We have to have another meeting in two weeks to formalise it, but we’re cautiously optimistic that it will work out.
That evening, we invited Lewi & Pary over for dinner, seeing as they’re back down here for the summer. As usual, she demurred at the last moment, but Dad joined us too to make up for it. It was again a lovely evening, so we sat outside, kicking off with some espressotinis. Matt had made extra of everything for Friday’s meal, so we had the asian dipping sauce sauce and then the chicken legs. He also made some roasted veg to go with it, followed by Jan’s biscotti for dessert.
The closest Saturday to the Fête de la Musique is normally the bigger night for music, and there was even something on in Milhac. We weren’t going to go, but Benoît rang and said his crew were all there, so in the end we went to check it out. Ironically, the music turned out to be the very same chap we’d avoided seeing the night before – and he was playing exactly the same set-list to boot. We got caught up with everyone then piled back to Fred’s for a smoke and another drink. He gave us the tour of his bakery, which ended with a free patisserie, as all tours of bakeries should.
We left soon after and unwisely followed B&V back to theirs for a cleanser or two, meaning it was around 2am when we got back, good and drunk. The following afternoon, we mustered enough for a subdued band practise that we probably should have cancelled, and then had us an early night.
And that’s about it for the round-up. As you’ve likely heard on the news, a huge swathe of central Europe is experiencing an intense heatwave this week. It’s extremely welcome for now, but we’re due to hit a thumping 39 degrees on Thursday and Friday, which I believe is the hottest we’ve ever known in Mazeroux. The garden, especially our special plants, is going to love it.
Last thing : tomorrow the 25th is Elvie’s first birthday! She’s just recently started walking unaided, so she’s already way ahead of her uncle at that age. Happy birthday, Little Monkey – and happy birthday to Amy too!