A Vegan In France

Fill your  hot water bottles with ice cold water and this will really help you stay  cooler at night. Another tip  I wished I'd known before.

Identifying  the trees and shrubs  that the  people who lived here many years  ago  planted  for both practicality and beauty  is so enjoyable. So much  thought has gone into keeping  the house as cool as  possible.

With our courgette mountain  to process and batch blanching  in  this heat  is no fun  . the idea to use the trays from my food dryer is such a time and space saver.my freezer space is at an all time low and using these trays I have managed to open freeze about  5 kilos  of blanched courgettes.  Yippee !

This beautiful tree  creates shade keeping the front of the house cool. It is Alibizia julibrissin  .I have managed to  identify it at last  as it is now flowering.So lovely.

Lavender is a natural repellent for mosquitoes, also loved by the precious bees. I have planted it beside our walls and windows with eschscholzia for maximum effect to cope with this very dry area where not much will survive. So far, so good!

Too hot for cooking or even being in the kitchen here today. Super quick hummus with olives and fresh French bread in the shade was perfect. Recipe to follow. Even fussy husband approved!

Many of the fields in this area are full of sunflowers, which are a truly beautiful sight when in bloom. This morning I saw just one solitary flower... but, I couldn't stop to photograph it as someone was driving so close behind me I thought I'd left the trailer on... 

Surprise is there are no aubergines! - It's courgette and tomato pasta! Super quick to do and uses up the plentiful courgettes (recipe to follow...)

This is something I wished I had known before. Watering at this time of year is so tedious and to see  the precious water you have lugged down the garden run far from where it's needed by the roots is so frustrating. TIP: Put your old plastic bottles to use in your veg patch! Recycle the bottles by cutting off the bases and loosely put the caps back on so the water filters through slowly. Bottles can be planted beside your thirsty veggie plants, simply by placing a few stones inside to anchor them. This way, water is saved and gets to where it's needed (and space is saved in the recycling bag!). 

My wonderful homemade blackcurrant pastries were so tart that my husband had to eat chocolate afterwards... even more sugar will be used next time... although unfortunately I think I have put him off blackcurrants for life. We've only got another 5 bushes to harvest - don't think I will be getting any help there now!! 

On Sundays I always do a roast and I'm so pleased that everyone (including the very non-vegans)  enjoys my nut roast with onion gravy... and yes, we had courgettes again! I believe everyone's taste and expectation of all meals is very different. I have tailored my cooking to cater for a varied group of family and friends who will always be very forthcoming and indeed, I have encouraged everyone to be constructively critical of all my recipes as I  can't bear the thought  that I am wasting time producing food that really isn't being thoroughly enjoyed. I coat my potatoes for roasting and I make a large nut  roast in advance that I freeze in slices for convenience and aesthetics!  I have learnt the hard way that when trying to  entertain, food that has never been a problem in the past can suddenly develop a life of its own and decide not to leave the  greased baking tray or miraculously fall apart before your eyes... Making good use of the freezer w...

Our blackcurrants are finally ready and I'm going to pick them before the birds eat them all!!

These  butterflies were by  the roadside verge which was mainly a mix of clover, thistles and field scabious... apparently they are attracted to purple plants...

We went cycling  this morning at a very  leisurely pace... my yellow  cycle  helmet  has Tour  de  France logo on it (my Husband's sense of humour!) 

I had to transplant so many hollyhocks so I am delighted that I have only had a few casualties. I will be saving seeds so I can cultivate plants for outside on the grass verge...

We had so many unidentified trees and plants in the garden when we moved here, so it's so wonderful when they finally bloom and we can identify them accurately!

Our beautiful lime tree has the most wonderful scent that drifts into our home on the breeze. Apparently lime trees were traditionally planted in town centres in Italy and across Europe to not only provide much needed  shade but also for the calming and soporific effect; mothers would take their babies there to help them sleep. I'm  going to try drying the blooms to see if I can prolong this unexpected pleasure! Any tips would be really appreciated as this really is a learning curve for me!

Mad about Gardening, Cooking and Birds!