October 2016

      October 2016

Happy Halloween

Fall in the Côte-D'Or  - Clos de Vougeot on the right

Thought I would start with a panoramic photo of fall here in the Côte-D'Or. We may not have the beautiful maple trees, but some years the vines are spectacular.  With the weird weather this year and the drought in July / August, there was little hope that the vines would be golden. 
Mais VOILA.
Last 3 days have been beautiful and fall colors amazing. This photo was taken not far from Gevrey near the Clos de Vougeot. I had to find a place to pull off the highway to take the photo.
Here are a few more photos from the last couple of days. I want to show off the beauty of fall here.

Overlooking  Chambolle-Musigny. Some haze, but wanted to show
the golden Côte. All the gold color is from grape vines.

This is Chambolle-Musigny _ and yes some haze

Thursday in Gevrey_ the Château

Gevrey_ Clos Saint-Jacques in the background

Sunday, Gevrey

Gevrey

Gevrey

Gevrey- tried to capture some sun rays on the left. Not so much!

In the haze, Friday in the Haute-Côte going to MT's
Red gold on the right are vines

Grand final..vines between Gevrey-Chambertin and Brochon

It seems to have been a busy month, but not sure what I have accomplished! I had a cold for 2 weeks, so I can say without hesitation that I read more than a few mystery books. Love that Kindle, do not have to leave the comfort of my chair when I need a new book! Scary how easy it is to buy another book, then another, then ...!!
I did go out for a few hikes this month. Here are a few photos from walks with MT.

 Bonnet d'évêque (Fusain d'Europe)
It will soon open and have orange seed inside

Coprin noir et blanc (coprinus picaceus)

Combe d'Orvaux - Chambolle (haze!)

Walk in the woods

Horse in the pasture

Combe d'Orvaux, Chambolle

For photoclub we had a theme of Still Life this month. I looked to the old masters' paintings and tried to create a " painting photo". I had some fun with this project. There were some other great photos by the club members.

Vegetable still life (nature morte)

Prunes -en français (plums) 

And then here at home as fall sets in. We had to start using the wood stove. Waiting to turn on the heat though, wood stove is sufficient for now. 
Cat has decided to sleep indoors at night, so comes around 9pm. 

Fall in our yard, we planted a
Japanese maple (morning sun set it on fire)

View from the house

Hitchcock anyone! Phote from our backyard. After the harvest there
are lots of good grapes on the ground and the birds gather

As for the wine, since fall had the right amount of wet and dry, there are predictions of good wine ( and when do they ever say anything other than that). But also, because of the May frost and drought, the volume is way down. So of course prices will go up this year again. If the Chinese bid on the wine at the Hospice de Beaune like they did the last 2 years, prices will leap once again. The Beaune auction is in November. The price hike on wine fhe last couple of years has been good for the vignerons, a little sad for us and our pocketbook.

Keith has worked on getting 200 km each week on his bike. So far the weather has cooperated.

Will not go into any politics here in my Blog, just asking everyone to VOTE.
 I hope all goes well.

Next Blog will be the end of November and Thanksgiving will have passed. So have a happy family day, or a day with friends. HAPPY THANKSGIVING.

SPECIAL BULLETIN : Le Tour de France is listed as passing through GEVREY-CHAMBERTIN  the 7 of July 2017. 

YEAH

Recipe of the Month

Cream of Mushroom SOUP 

It is fall and I love soup. Had chicken soup last week But here is a fall treat, cream of mushroom soup. Mushrooms are in season, especially is you want to add a few bolets to the soup recipe. 

Cream of Mushroom Soup

INGREDIENTS

• 1/4 cup unsalted butter
• 2 pounds sliced fresh mushrooms ( I prefer  Crimini) , but you can mix in some wild mushrooms too)
• 1 pinch salt
• 1 yellow onion- diced
• 1 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 6 sprigs fresh thyme tied together with kitchen twine
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
• 4 cups chicken broth
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup crème fraiche
• 1 pinch salt and freshly ground black pepper “to taste”

PREPARATION

1. Melt butter in a large soup pot over medium-high heat;
2. Add and cook mushrooms in butter with 1 pinch salt until the mushrooms give off their juices;
3. Reduce heat to low, simmer
4. Continue to cook, stirring often, until juices evaporate and the mushrooms are golden brown, about 15 minutes.
5. Set aside a few mushroom slices for garnish
6. Add chopped onions into mushrooms and cook until onion is soft and translucent, about 5 more minutes.
7. Stir flour into mushroom mixture and cook, stirring often, for 2 minutes to remove raw flour taste.
8. Add thyme sprigs to mushroom mixture
9. Add garlic
10. Pour chicken stock and water into mushroom mixture.
11. Bring to a simmer and cook for 1 hour.
12. Remove thyme bundle.
13. Transfer soup to a blender in small batches and puree on high speed until smooth and thick.
14. Return soup to pot and stir in cream. Season with salt and black pepper and serve in bowls, garnished with reserved mushroom slices.