GRAPE HARVEST

Its that time again, when the word on everyone's lips is will it be a good vendage? The jury is out as we had a bad June with a deadly mould which destroyed many of the grapes, sadly this has meant some vineyards this year will have no harvest a catastrophe, which apparently occurs every 8-10 years. The hope is that next year the vines will flourish stronger & better than before, I really hope so.

Duras & some 15 surrounding towns, is known as the mini Bordeaux, & our wines are some of the finest in France, but not with the fancy price ticket!

The development of vineyards dates from the 12th century. Duras wines won their reputation thanks to the support of renowned people such as Pope Clement V, the kings of England whose lords occupied the region for three centuries to the point of being accused of "harvesting the Aquitaine area".

Our favourite local wine

The appellation stretches 2000 hectares, today nearly 210 vineyards continue the tradition of cultivating & bottling the "Cotes de Duras" wines. We received our Appellation Originalle Controlle (AOC) in 1937 & never looked back.

Many of our clients have enjoyed trips to some of the surrounding vineyards where the owners are more than happy to educate them on the history, & techniques that go into wine making. Of course the highlight of the tour is the wine tasting, whether you choose to spit or swallow is a personal preference!!!!

I have hanging in my kitchen a little plaque which a wine drinking friend gave me, the famous saying I have to say is very true in my house - CHEERS!

ODE TO LES TOMATES

The last 2 months here at Chateau Perroterie are the busiest of the year, hence no weekly Blog! August was an exceptional period with a heat wave not only here in SW France but in Northern Spain, in fact we were on a red alert for 3 days, which basically means the heat is a potential killer. Anyway as I am writing this Blog there is a beautiful warm breeze with a very agreeable 29 degrees & not a cloud in the sky, all change tomorrow I believe, ah how we all love to ramble on about the weather.

Tomato & cream soup with parmesan toast

Delicious starter

This time of year is not only the start of the grape picking period but also the height of the tomato harvest, & I am inundated with all shapes & sizes of tomatoes. Marmande a town about 20 minutes from here is the tomato capital of France. So as I stand & admire the kilos of this beautiful fruit ( yes tomatoes are not a vegetable) on my garden table, the smell is of sunshine & the taste well its indescribable, let's just say summer in a bowl, or plate or glass. There is no end to the things you can do with these gorgeous red jewels. My favourites are a Tomato & basil soup with a grating of parmesan cheese, or a swirl of cream or both, the colour is so vibrant & not a drop of tomato purée needed to enrich the colour. The alternative is icy cold gazpacho, sit a little dish in the middle of a plate of melon & jambon sec, very decadent. I always make a tomato passata which is stored in sterilized jars, & on a cold winter,s day it adds a touch of summer to any tomato sauce. I usually add a touch of chilli & basil for extra warmth, great in curries, & chicken dishes too. My basic recipe is to a kilo of washed tomatoes which have been quartered, add to a pan which you have already sautéed an onion & 2 garlic in olive oil, add a tablespoon of sugar, bring to a gentle boil then reduce to a simmer, a good dash of balsamic vinegar, lid on, then cook for 30 minutes. Whizz in a processor or liquidizer till smooth. For a smoother texture strain through a sieve, then either pour into sterilized jars or freeze in freezer bags. If you are thinking of freezing in a plastic container, a good tip, is to brush the sides of the container with oil & this stops the tomatoes staining the plastic. This will keep well either way for months, although in my house not so long!   

BLOG OLYMPICS HEALTH JUICES.

Friday night John & I were sat in front of the tv along with a billion others watching the Olympic opening ceremony, what an amazing spectacle, I must confess to a teary moment when the torch rose up like a Phoenix from the ashes. This has inspired me to create some fruit & vegetable gazpacho, I might not be running a marathon today, but it feels like I am around our property & my kitchen looking after our guests, perhaps I should be playing chariots of fire music to help me with more stamina, it's been a very very hot & humid week & the French have been heard to use the word insupportable (unbearable) on many an occasion.

strawberry gazpacho

All you need to try these gazpacho soups is a blender, processor or Thermomix. The strawberry gazpacho is summer in a bowl. Hull a punnet of strawberries, rinse them under cold water, pop them into a saucepan add sugar to taste 1-2 tbsp, 2 sprigs of lemon thyme, 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar, a good grinding of black pepper. Bring to a gentle boil then switch the heat off, allow this to cool completely. Put the strawberry mix into your blender of choice, make sure it is smooth, pour into a jug & chill, serve in a pretty glass.

summer vegetable gazpacho

The second gazpacho was a mélange of sliced courgette, cucumber, tomatoes, carrots splash of olive oil, splash of balsamic vinegar, salt & pepper to taste. Blend vegetables, add cold water till its a consistency you like. Pour into a jug & chill in the fridge, just before serving add diced tomato & cucumber & a few ice cubes. Of course you can make this vegetable gazpacho with what ever you have available. So enjoy this healthy quick drop of summer. Now all I need to say is come on team GB.

Vampires & Garlic

A tribute to Vampire Diaries - garlic!

I am a big fan of Vampire Diaries, and as we are just harvesting our garlic it gave me the idea for this Blog.

Garlic drying out 

Fresh cut garlic

garlic in olive oil

Despite our little red squirrels best endeavors of stashing the bulbs in our rockery, we have successfully grown a good few kilos of these tasty culinary nuggets.
Garlic must be my favorite seasoning, & with my Italian background it's a very important addition in my cuisine.
It has so many benefits. Lowers cholesterol, strengthens immune system, good for the heart, purifies the blood, strong antibiotic, it has antifungal properties, good for recovery from coughs & colds to mention a few.
My son recently bought me a little silicone tube called "mr garlic" it rolls the garlic clove & takes all the outer skin off, works a treat. I then pop them into a Kilner jar with olive oil & herbs, I used tarragon & rosemary. Now I always have garlic ready on hand for that vital addition to any dishes.
Garlic bread has to be a popular favorite; it goes well with most savory dishes. Cut a baguette in two, length-wise, squish 2-3 cloves of your garlic into butter, or my personal favorite, use some of the oil from the marinating jar & 2 garlic, squish & smear along the baguette, wrap in foil pop into a moderately hot oven for 10 minutes, as easy as that - yummy bread in a flash.
I love it on any roast meats, vegetables before popping into the oven. It's delicious in mayonnaise, sauces, and soups.
Finally as I said at the beginning I love anything to do with vampires. My fascination began with Anne Rice’s interview with a vampire, Brad Pitt & Tom Cruise.  My favorites are the Twilight Saga films,starring Robert Pattinson as the gorgeous Edward Cullen. The TV series, The Vampire Diaries, starring Ian Somerhalder alias Damon Salvatore, is to die for, oops excuse the pun! It's hard to image a vampire who isn't a hunk, or is it just me, & they don't seem to mind garlic!!.

TIME TO JAM

MIRABELLE PLUMS

PLUM JAM

I'm jamming!
Hope you like jamming too.  It's that time of the year again when fruit is ripening in the garden & heaped high in the shops. Nature seems to love getting ready all at once & suddenly you have fruit coming out of your ears! For me it's also my busiest time here at Chateau Perroterie & I have very little time to bottle, pickle & freeze kilos of fruit. This year our apples are not abundant, thank goodness, unlike last year, the wild boar had a lovely pig out rooting & gobbling up all the dropped fruit. This year the quantity may be less but the quality is gorgeous. I love to freeze slices of apple which I can later turn into apple ice cream, or a apple & cider sauce which is yummy with roast pork. My neighbour kindly gave me 2 kilos of apricots which I converted into 12 jars of jam, this will be enjoyed with buttery croissants & is fantastic in curry sauces. This year our mirabelle plums are a good, 2 weeks late, but they are my husband's most important crop for his precious Eau d'Vie. I love our plums because they make a fantastic sauce for duck confit.

Apple sauce
Peel core & slice 3 large apples. Place them in a pan with 75ml of cider, 50g of butter & 2-4tbsp of sugar to taste, slowly simmer for 10-15 minutes, the sauce is ready when the apple starts to collapse but isn't mushy. Allow it to cool, serve with pork. It can be frozen too.


Basic Plum jam.
3 Kilo plums, wash, add to pan, with 500ml water, bring to the boil then simmer for 30 minutes. Sieve to eliminate pips, measure the juice and return to the pan, add the same quantity of sugar. Boil up & allow the jam to steadily reduce to a syrup, 40-60 minutes. Pour into sterilized hot jars. If you choose, add chopped red chillies & chopped rosemary, absolutely gorgeous melted in a small pan with some pineau liqueur or port, serve with any red meat dishes.

GONE FISHING!

Gone fishing!

When we get an enquiry from a new client, one thing that is at the top of the list is - what is there to do?
Well, quite a lot. Kayaking, canoeing, tennis, cycling, go karting, bowling, swimming, prehistoric caves & grottos, walking, vineyard tours, ancient chateaux, river cruising, eating drinking, markets, the list goes on.
But the two favorite pass times is lazing by the pool with a good book or the more modern way a kindle, or fishing.
We have a not inconsiderable size lake at the back of the property. There are a number of coarse fish mainly roach & carp. My husband & son Gareth recently fancied "drowning a worm" as they like to call it. They encourage two ways of fishing, a serious competition of who can catch a fish the length of a bottle of wine, the bottle must have been consumed before the catch, see photo! The second way is to drink the wine while fishing with no hook, so maximum enjoyment of said wine will not be interrupted by a fish on the line. Both ways seem to be enjoyed, & have become a bit of a tradition while fishing at Chateau Perroterie.

CAFE SOCIETY

OK, I confess I love relaxing with a coffee & sometimes a yummy pastry. Southern Europe has the climate which has helped create the cafe society. Taking time out to enjoy an aromatic cup of cafe creme outside under a shady parasole is not a treat, more a daily ritual for most French. Its where all the local chatter is discussed & most cafe owners are quite happy for you to eat & enjoy a tasty treat you have bought from a nearby patisserie, very civilized! This leaves only one problem, which pastry or cake to choose, the selection can be quite daunting. I find it works best when you are with a group of friends, then you can share from a box of creamy delights, or arm wrestle!. The photo says it all, hands diving in from all sides.

oh which one?

Quick!

Our local boulangerie in Duras asked my advice this week on cheesecake recipes. Marilyn's father is the cake maker & he said the English make the best cheesecakes, I thought it was the Americans but I didn't argue. I went home & had some fun tinkering in the kitchen with some simple ideas that might be useful, & this was the result, a no bake lemon cheesecake, recipe below.

200g digestive biscuits, crush in a bag with a rolling pin. 100g melted butter, add the biscuits & stir till all the butter is incorporated. Press into a loose form ring tin 20cm, chill in the fridge for 30 minutes. Gently warm a jar of ideally home made lemon curd check out my Blog dated  1/24/12 for recipe. Meanwhile soak 2 leaves of gelatine in water for 5-6 minutes, squeeze the water out with your hands, stir into the warm lemon curd. Once the lemon curd is cool stir it into 250g of  Mascapone  cream & 350g of creme cheese like Philadelphia. Spread the lemon cream mix on top of the biscuit base, chill in the fridge for 12 - 24 hours, as simple as that but really tasty.

Lemon cheesecake

So put your feet up with a cup of coffee & enjoy a slice of cheesecake heaven - Bon appetite!