L’Art de Bien Manger

  • Castle Update and Joghurt Tarte

    Castle Update and Joghurt Tarte

    Its a rotten year with all that weather and all that vegetable going to rot and mould in the quince trees and the farmer across the river has given up the one field that’s closest to the river to ducks and swans, it does look nice for so now we also have a pond. And… Read more

  • How to Croissant

    How to Croissant

    Now before we get to the how-to – did you know that the croissant actually has not been invented by the French? I figure that is a rather inconvenient truth! Indeed the croissant was invented in Vienna, after sucessfully pushing back Ottoman advances on the city. It was the bakers who alerted every body about… Read more

  • About Mending Things and a Fluffy Cake

    About Mending Things and a Fluffy Cake

    Oh why, don’t you worry, I know how to mend this, says my mother, when my husband’s spear headed elbows have poked yet another hole in his shirt. I’ll mend this, said my grandmother, when one of us had torn a button off our jackets. I think I’ll mend it, I say, when my favourite… Read more

  • On Foraged Foods

    On Foraged Foods

    I love to forage for our food. In the garden and the surrounding woods, mushroom hunting, picking wild berries, herbs and flowers. Last year, a couple of months into our moving to the castle, I found the most glorious spot of wild asparagus. I went back several times to get us some fresh one for… Read more

  • A Postcard from the Mountains

    A Postcard from the Mountains

    Recently we went to the mountains to Haute Savoie to pick up some heavy old doors to replace the 19th century pine doors in the tower. They are really lovely pine doors yet given this is a very big tower we started looking around for doors that are more in the spirit of fortresses and… Read more

  • The Scent of Wild Garlic

    The Scent of Wild Garlic

    A long time ago, during what felt like a huge adventure, living my life in a city. My shoes were always neat and clean and my hair wound into a respectable chignon, no stray strands coming loose. I wore black as if in constant mourning but then it was chic, to wear black (what a… Read more