BONNE ANNÉE December 2009

It is time to reflect on the year that has passed. It has been a good year for us.

QUICK RECAP 2009

Keith worked for DuVine Adventures (website) from April through October, working here in Burgundy and the Loire Valley.

He also found time to go to the "Semaine fédérale internationale de cyclotourisme" [literal translation: week federal international bike tour], which he thoroughly enjoyed. It was in north west region of France, Pas-de-Calais.

Keith has ridden over 10,000km this past year on his bike. Really something, yes?!

We had great weather this last summer and he was also able to get out and do a few camping trips between his work trips.

In June, we went down near Macon for a couple of days with our friend from London. Nice wine and beautiful scenery. Nice trip.

I went to Normandy region in July(west side of France)to visit a high school friend for a couple of days. Great visit with Diane and family. Let us not count the years we have known each other though! !

I went on a tour of Cluny with my Photo club in September. Very interesting.

All in all, we have stayed close to home and enjoyed the year completely. We have been busy with our hobbies (and Keith with work too). The summer weather was great and we were able to really enjoy the outdoors.

Month of December

As for this past month. Marie Therese somehow arranged for us to view the ceremonies at Clos de Vougeot on Decemeber 5th. It was a great surprise and a wonderful evening. I appreciate very much what she went through for us to see it. The Clos Vougeot has a Fete for St. Hubert (patron Saint of hunting). There is a ceremony in the courtyard before a grand dinner. The dinners at Clos Vougeot are renowned, (as is the price - and we just went for the ceremony in the courtyard, not the dinner). But it is a private affair and not open to the public.

After that we had a nice dinner with Marie Therese and Christian (at Messanges). Below are a few photos I took of the ceremony. You can see the hunting dogs (race St. Hubert, type of blood hound) in the photos too. The ceremony included the dogs and horns. There were three groups of horn players. They played several different hunting calls, each tune represents a different communication. At the end, all three groups played together. I have uploaded this ending video. The video is not real sharp, it was outside and dark. Also I believe the horns are ever so much better in person ( I love to hear the horns ).

Here is the connection to the video: click or if that doesn't work just click on this connection

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s612eDipCC0

Horn Players and Dogs rushing in

One group of Horn Players

Old Wine Press at Clos Vougeot

The genealogy/history club had its Exposition this month (Dec 12th to the 20th). It was the exposition of old post cards. It went over quite well. There were visitors every day, so it was a success. After helping with the set-up of the Exposition, I never got back to see it (see next paragraph).

We both got the flu this month. I had the vaccination for H1N1, but not the annual flu vaccination. Oh well, it was on my to do list. It shot us down pretty well for almost two weeks. It was not a good time to be house bound, just before the holidays. Consequently, not much got done. No Christmas decorations this year at all( but the positve side : I do not have to take anything down..yeah).

Then the weekend of the 20th, WINTER hit here in France, and Gevrey too. Cold wind from the north and snow. The temperature plummeted to about 5 degrees(that is cold). The total accumulation of snow was about 6 inches. Then on Monday Dec 22nd, the wind switched from the south. Most of the snow melted and was gone in one day.

Since we had been house bound for so many days, Keith suggested taking the train to Lyon for the day (on Tuesday). And so we went. It was a beautiful warm sunny day in Lyon (about 50 degrees). Lyon is a pretty city, especially the "old Lyon".

Keith played tour guide and we toured around to see some of the sites. It is amazing how fast the day passed. Below are some photos from Lyon(opening photo is the Basilica of Notre-Dame de Fourvière in Lyon), one of a silk shop that has weaving looms in the back. Some really beautiful scarfs and ties for sale too!! Note the photo of the tower is actually two photos put together. The tower is too tall to get in one photo while standing in a small courtyard. So I took two and put them togther.

We had a great day, but tiring. We hopped on the 4:20pm train to return home instead of the 5:20pm that we had planned (it is about 2 hours by train).

Mosaic in Lyon

Guignols (puppets) of Lyon Guignols started 1796 in Lyon

Old loom in Silk Shop

Red Tower of Lyon

Our Christmas Eve was here at home. We had some wild boar steaks (sanglier)and a nice bottle of red wine. On Christmas we went to Messanges and celebrated with Marie Therese, Christian, Marie Therese's father and sister. A wonderful dinner and a warm afternoon with friends.

Les pleurants en Amérique ! I have to tell you about the Dijon exhibit that is coming to the USA. The Beaux Arts Museum in Dijon is going to be under repair for the next three years. The one room will not be open to visitors. The "Pleurants"- Mourners are from around the tomb of "Jean sans Peur" (John without Fear -Duc of Burgundy). The museum has decided to put the Mourners on Tour. Go and see them, they come from right here in Dijon. Some of you on my list live in New York,Minneapolis or Dallas.

Infos pratiques :

• The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York (2 mars 2010–23 mai 2010)

• Saint Louis Art Museum (20 juin 2010–6 septembre 2010)

• Dallas Museum of Art (3 octobre 2010–2 janvier 2011)

• Minneapolis Institute of Arts (23 janvier 2011–17 avril 2011)

• Los Angeles County Museum of Art (8 mai 2011–31 juillet 2011)

• Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco (21 août 2011–1er janvier 2012)

• Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in Richmond (20 janvier 2012–15 avril 2012)

Recipe of the Month

Due to time, I am using a very easy recipe this month!!

It is a nice appetizer. 

Camembert Cheese Starters

Ingredients

• Puff Pastry
• Camembert
• Pesto
• Olive Oil

Preparation

1. Preheat over to 325 degrees
2. Depending on the puff pastry, roll and cut into squares (3 inches by 3 inches). If rolled already, just cut.
3. Cut Camembert into 1 inch cubes
4. Place cheese cube in the middle of the pastry square
5. Pull points together and pinch/seal the edges (make a small pyramid shape).
6. Place on baking sheet with cooking paper (or grease sheet).
7. Bake for about 15 minutes, until pastry has browned
8. Place each one on a serving plate.
9. If pesto is thick, add a little oil.
10. Swirl pesto around pastry on the plate.
11. Serve and enjoy

 

November 2009

November 2009

The month is almost over. I have started writing this on Thanksgiving Day, and I am thinking of family and friends.

The month started with a visit from a colleague of Keith’s from DuVine Adventures. He is French, but now lives in Switzerland. In the winter he is a ski instructor. He had postponed his trip here because something came up he had to do. He arrived on Monday, and the weather report for the next 3 days was rain! The week before had been sunny and gorgeous. They (Keith and Greg) did get out for a ride Tuesday morning before the rain started in earnest. Because of the rain, they had plenty of time to taste some wine too, so the couple of days were not an entire loss (he wanted to buy some wine).

My project for the months of November and December concerns one of my clubs. It all started on the first Monday of November. I had a meeting of my Genealogie/Histoire/et Patrimoine (genealogy/history and heritage) Club.

We are having an exposition of old post cards. The date is December 12^th (what?? back up here, did I here that correctly... Dec 12^th 2009?? , or is it 2010. That’s it, they must have said 2010. NON? It is Dec 12th 2009 !! oh my).

First they must choose the post cards to exhibit, than Susan will take the photos for the “today” comparison (oh wait, wait a minute...back up again, is my french bad or what tonight? First you have to pick the post cards, then, it is I, Susan, that you are talking about? OK c'est moi ...  and the date again, dit moi (tell me)...it is Dec. 12^th, 2009???). Time frame seems a little short to me, and this is France, where almost everything seems to be at a slower pace!.

I finally got the photos (scanned photos of the post cards) mid last week (19th November). We had a couple of sunny days, and I was out taking as many photos as I could. You have to also know that this is Gevrey and the communes of Gevrey (32 other villages in the commune). Off in my little 106 Peugeot, and 150 km on the road later, I had some of the photos (I back tracked here and there, criss-crossed, zig-zagged...I was all over the place taking these photos).

I started with photos from the villages on the plain (river plain of the Saone River).

You have to also imagine, that I had to find these places. Oh I know where the villages are, but then I would park the car and walk around with a printout of the post card in my hand trying to find the building that matches what I have in my hand!! In the last hundred years, sometimes things change!

I really enjoyed it, I just wish we had more time to take better photos (ah this photos should be a late afternoon photo, but here I am, and it is 10am, it isn’t right for this photo.....tant pis [too bad], CLICK goes the camera).

It is difficult to match the photo at times; they must have had a different lens. The perspective is off. Maybe they used a wide-angle lens?? Who knows? So I take it as I see it. Also, monuments have moved, walls have been added, dormers added or subtracted, trees have grown..!!! 

After the photos have been taken, then I load all the photos onto the computer, do some Photoshop magic (lighten a few of those shadows), and crop the photo to a post card size. The photos taken on my camera (or any modern camera I presume)  are not the same size as a postcard.

Since this is how I spent my time this month, here are some of the photos with the post cards.

Post Card- St. Philibert

St Philibert today

Monument de Mort Gevrey (war memorial)

War Memorail today

Rue Gaizot Gevrey

Rue Gaizot Gevrey

Job is not entirely finished. Still have some more photos to go. I just offered to do Chambolle, and Joelle said there are more of Gevrey coming. WHEN!!! (I have just finished about 35 photos of Gevrey on Wed)!! And now there will be more. Joelle is going to do some of the other villages, Fixin, Brochon, Fixey, and Couchey.

I know we will be ready by the 12^th of December, but there is a lot of work to do yet. So I will write a full report on the success of our exhibit at the end of December.

Keith, what has he been doing? Riding his bike every chance he gets. He has a goal for the year and is working towards that end. So if the sun is out, so is he. He has even been out on some questionable days. And of course he is out today as I write this journal. He did 116km yesterday. He is a riding fool, but he always feels better when he is riding regularly. It helps his back too, so there is no downside to it.

We have had a mild fall. We did have that one cold week in October, but that is all. The temperature is in the high 50’s or mid 60’s most of the time. I do prefer this mild fall when compared to what we had last year. Brrr it was cold last year at this same time.

We have recouped some of the water loss from our dry August and September. Not a good year for the mushrooms however. We only found a couple, and without rain, we did not bother to search for more. I do believe though that our winter weather may arrive soon.

I did not turn on the heat until Nov 1st. We had a couple nights that we had fires in the fireplace to warm the house (in October). And now, the nights are cold,we have one almost every night. However last week, we did have a few nights where it was too warm for a fire (the chimney will not draw if it is too warm outside).

The wine this year, especially the red, is another story. It is to be a GREAT year for wine from the Cote D'Or. Will it top 2005?  That forecast is just for the Cote-D’Or (Cote de Nuits and Cote de Beaune). The annual wine auction of Beaune that is held mid-November is the bell-weather of the wine market here (the wine auction for the Hospice de Beaune is one of the oldest wine auctions). Red wine price were up 31%. White not so much, but a good year too. The vignerons here are very happy this year. If you want to read Marie Therese’s Blog (in french) it is here: http://vinsbourgogne.blogspot.com/.

Marie Therese and I were going to go to Beaune for the festivities that surround the auction. We have gone for the last few years. However it was pouring rain just before I was to leave for the train (Keith was in Bligny – with the car). So we called it off, it did not seem like a good day to walk around Beaune. Marie Therese said she would stop by later. By the time she arrived in the late afternoon, nothing but sunshine. Sometimes that is how it goes.

I am tossing in a photo that I took this last week. While I was out taking photos, I took these too. The photos are from the village of Noiron-sous-Gevrey. It is the Pont des Arvaux. The monks from Citeaux built a water system for their abbey (aqueduct system). This is part of the system.

The bridge was built by the monks of the Abbey Citeaux between 1212 and 1221.Once the abbey was established at Citeaux, the monks needed to build an aqueduct system for water. Water was diverted from the Sanfond to the Varaud. Then a 10 km channel or canal was built to carry water to Citeaux. This canal passes here in the photo, over the Varaud.

Pont des Arvaux

On Top of Pont- looking left. See the water in the shadow in the channel -right side

Top looking right..the channel

Probably have bored you enough. I will stop writing about the Post Cards, and photos.and ...

We had friends for a Thanksgiving dinner last Sunday. There were just 4 of us this year. I did a simple dinner, much of it I could start on Saturday. The menu for the day was: sweet potato soup, turkey breast roulades (stuffed with wild mushrooms), mashed potatoes and green beans. It was a nice relaxing day. Our meal started about 1pm and finished around 5pm. We had good friends, food and wine. A wonderful combination for passing a nice afternoon. It was supposed to rain all day, but it cleared about 11am, and it was sunny the rest of the day.

We have another dinner at friends house this coming Sunday (Thanksgiving too). So on Thursday, Thanksgiving Day I prepared a Thanksgiving pizza. I had pottery in the morning and photo club in the evening, chores in the afternoon, so I fixed an easy dinner.

Thursday was a beautiful day here, I even did some lawn work. Got the lawn mower out and mowed down some flowers (perennials). I am woefully behind on getting the garden in shape for fall. Tant pis... I believe it may have been in the high 60’s. Rain is predicted for the next couple of days.

On to another subject, flu season. The Flu A or H1N1 is here too. In France, with socialized medicine, "invitations"  for the vaccine were sent out to all people meeting certain requirement. Also, your doctor can recommend you for a vaccine. But the controversy is the same here as it is in the USA (I presume this from reading the news). A fair number of people are not sure the vaccine is safe and will not get it. 

Here in our little corner, schools were closed last week because of an outbreak in the H1N1 flu. I have not seen a lot of masks yet on the streets, but it may come to that.

Because I have asthma, my invitation came in the mail. Guess I will go on Monday for my shot.

That is about all the news from over here.

 

Recipe of the Month

Sweet Potato Soup (so good ....)

This is a rich soup, so it is ideal as a starter for dinner. A small portion is sufficient.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 tablespoons butter 
• 1/2  onion, chopped   
• 1/2  pounds red-skinned sweet potatoes (yams), peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces 
• 1 small red potato peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces
• 2 cups chicken broth
• Dash of ground nutmeg 
• 1/2  cup of crème fraiche (or heavy cream) 
• 1 tablespoons pure maple syrup
• Salt and pepper (white pepper) to taste

PREPARATION

1. Sauté the chopped onion in the butter slowly
2. Add the sweet potato pieces and red potato pieces to boiling water
3. Boil until tender, 10 to 15 minutes
4. Drain the potatoes
5. Add potatoes to sautéed onions 
6. Add 1 cup of the chicken broth.
7. Blend until smooth
8. Add crème fraiche
9. Blend and slowly add the other cup of broth. You want a nice thick soup consistency, so it is not necessary to add all of the broth.
10. Add maple syrup and blend thoroughly
11. TASTE and add salt and pepper as necessary (the amount depends on your taste, and the salt in the broth).

   

OCTOBER 2009

October sauntered in warm and sunny. Out came the shorts and sundresses as everyone found that summer had come back. The first week of October the temperature went up into the 80’s and we all enjoyed the sun. The french have an expression loosely translates to “profit by the day (sun...)”, or in American slang “ENJOY”.

Then we had a reality check. The second week the temperature plummeted. We had a few nights below freezing. The water in the birdbath was solid in the morning. Keith had a tour here in Burgundy that week, and had to provide warm snacks such as hot cider or hot chocolate for the clients. What a change in one week.

Now we are back to normal weather. It is in the 40’s at night and into 60’s during the days. I think on Sunday the 25th of Oct it was in the 70’s. We have started using the fireplace in the evenings. Heck during the cold week, one day I started the fire in the afternoon (have not turned on the heat yet).

Keith got the long range forecast on Saturday from the man who was digging a ditch (with a backhoe) at the railroad (Bligny). He told them over lunch that it would stay mild through the end of the year, however,the first of 2010 however was going to be very cold. We will see (fr: on verra) if his forecast has any truth in it.

After the freeze my garden was toast! With the warm weather I had hoped that maybe a few more things would ripen. Ah, some did. But the day after the freeze it was time to pull everything up and rescue the remaining tomatoes and peppers. The zucchini did not make it. I had a good run this summer with my garden, so no complaints.

The colors are muted this fall. We have had very dry weather since August, so the trees and/or the vines did not turn the rich golds of past years. Some of the leaves had turned brown at the start of September. So the landscape is filled with browns and a burnished gold. Every so often there is a maple tree that is showing off. There are not many maples here, so a maple tree does stand out in the forest (or crowd). And there are some trees that turn to a bright yellow. The color is vibrant against the brown. Not all is lost; the muted colors are pretty too. I just marvel at the scene in front of me when I turn a corner. Even after 8 years here, I still go “WOW” as I drive around. It is never tiring.

Fall Colors- The canal passing over the ravine

Fall on the Canal

One day Marie Therese and I went for a walk in Beaune. It was one of the beautiful days. I took some photos of the of Beaune and of Beaune rooftops. Burgundy is known for its’ colored roof tops, and I thought some of these photos were good examples. We walked around the old ramparts of Beaune, something I had not done for a couple of years. The ramparts in Beaune are street width with houses and trees.

House on the Ramparts

Beaune Colored Roofs

Beaune- More tiled roofs

Last Roof Shot -no colored tiles

On this last Sunday of October, Keith and I went to the little cheese place not too far from us. At the shop one can buy goat cheese. They raise the goats and make the cheese. This type of cheese is called “Fermier” (made on the farm). It is some of the best goat cheese I have ever tasted. Ohhhh, how creamy!! I can share the photo, but I can not pass along a taste to you. Wish I could. The yellow sign out front states that “HERE cheese fermier is for sale”. The white one with the black goats states “STOP Taste me”.

Fermier Sign

CHEESE (sorry about the glare)

We were on a road trip that day. The first stop was the cheese shop that happened to be open. Because they care for the goats and have to milk the goats too, the shop hours are “whenever”. Our actual destination was Pont d’Ouche. After we bought some cheese, we continued on toward Pont d'Ouche. In Pont d'Ouche, on the canal, is a place to berth ones canal boat. Bryony, an english woman, opened a shop (years ago) that sells some groceries (primarily to the boat people). She also has a room upstairs for a “book exchange”. Since many of the people on the canal are english, there are a lot of english books. She charges 1 euro per book. It works for me. Since she closes for the winter months, I had to get some books before the end of October. OK, they are not classics, but they are books to read in english, one does get desperate at times. Still I did not pick any books by Danielle Steele's, just not ny type.

Our photo club is having an Exposition Dec 2010 on the Clunisian sites. Of course I need a photo. Although our trip to Cluny was enjoyable and interesting, my photos are identical to hundreds of others. Nothing unique. So I had Keith take me to see the abbey ruins of St Vivant (It is not far, just about 10 miles, but it was a nice day to go out and explore a little). St. Vivant was once an abbey of Cluny. It is under reconstruction. It is on a hillside near Reulle Vergy. The ruins of the old Chateau de Vergy are on the other side of this same hill. We were approaching the site from the village of Curtil-Vergy. Curtil is getting sewers and is totally torn up. So finding the road was not easy. I thought we would walk, but Keith drove up the little narrow road!! It was not wide at all and went up at a steep angle. YIKES!!!! We made it, whew. I took lots of photos, but it is not really a pretty site, maybe in time.

Then I remembered something about Arcenant being a Cluny site too. So I went over there and took some photos of Arcenant. It is actually the church in Arcenant that belonged to Cluny. I have about 50 photos to sort through, here is just one example of the eglise at Arcenant.

St. Vivant

Church at Arcenant

France, each October, has a week of tasting (semaine de gout). It is always mid- October. There are lots of special events to this week. At the end of the tasting week, Marie Therese and I went to the Exposition in Nuits St. George. This year they had more Arts and Crafts than food. So much for tasting, darn. We did talk to the ferronier (blacksmith) for about 30 minutes. He invited us within his fenced demonstration area to get a close-up look at his work. He adds artistic touches to a lot of his work. Gold leaves decorate an iron gate... This photo is not great, but it is a commissioned piece he just finished.

Our local cheese shop, Gaugry always has a free tasting too, but we did not have time to make it there too (free tasting of about 6 cheeses, with bread and wine). Ah the french life.

All other things have been normal here. Keith worked the first two weeks of October. Now we are trying to settle back to our life without his work. Keith did some long rides last week (on his bike). This next week a friend is coming to stay a few days. He is looking to ride his bike and taste wine. I do not think that will be a chore for us to show him around.

The photo club had its monthly photo theme. For October it was sports. Everyone votes on their favorite photos (1,2 and 3), and then the photos are lined up and discussed. I did not make the top 3, but did well. I have added my photo of a horse jumping. For November the photo theme is "rouge" (red). I have been taking photos, have not picked one that I want to use yet.

The end of October (and for 10 days) is Dijon's Fete to food. The "La 79ème Foire internationale et gastronomique de Dijon " ( the 79th festival International and gastronomic of Dijon). It has about 500 exhibitors!! More on that next month if we go to it.

Recipe of the MONTH

A nice fall recipe.

INGREDIENTS

Pear Clafouti (it is pear season)

• 2 pears, peeled and cut into slices (no more than ½ inch wide)
• Lemon juice
• 1 cup crème fraîche ( or heavy cream)
• 1/4 cup Amaretto
• 3 eggs
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup flour
• pinch of salt

PREPARATION

1. After the pears have been sliced, sprinkle about 2 teaspoons of lemon juice over and turn so that they are covered (this prevents them from turning brown). Then before you put into the baking dish, dry with a paper towel.

2. Put the rest of the ingredients (starting with the crème fraîche) in a bowl or food processor.

3. Mix until well blended

4. Pour into a baking dish that holds about 8 cups (1 1/2 inch high) about 1/4 inch of batter. Bake for about 5 minutes.

5. Remove from oven and arrange the pears slices in the baking dish. Pour the remaining batter on top.

6. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes to 1 hour.

Watch the cooking time carefully. Every oven is different. The top should be brown and when a knife is put into the middle, it should come out clean. If you over cook, it can be dry.

　

Cooking with a French Accent by Susan Veeser Klein

I wrote a cookbook (will wonders never cease). It was a fun experience.

I had a deadline of 6 weeks. It is not very long. Imagine, I cooked, tasted and adjusted and photographed all of these recipes in 6 weeks. So there may be a spelling error here or there (I did use spell check, however that is not always perfect either). I photographed each of the recipes, and I tossed in a few of Gevrey-Chambertin (where we live) as the lead to each section.

Most of the recipes in this book come from my experience here in France or Europe. I have revised recipes to my taste and also tried to make them simple to prepare. There are 39 recipes total, 64 pages in the book. Some of the recipes are simple. I wanted to have some recipes that highlighted the wonderful taste of vegetables.

By going into Blurb you can view the first 15 pages. The preview does take a little time to load.

Cooking with a French Accent by Susan Veeser Klein

If this does not work ...By going into Blurb you can view the first 15 pages. Click here on this address: Cooking with a French Accent . Then click on PREVIEW....the preview does take a little time to load.