Blog

Say hello to our new kitten Pesto! She arrived a week ago and seems to be settling in nicely.

We have a mobile wine bar that comes to the village every Wednesday evening. The wines are interesting and include wines from the Loire and elsewhere in France.

After the sediment has been removed, the bottle is topped up with a mixture of wine and sugar. This is the ‘dosage’ and the amount of sugar varies.

These delicious, smoky, pork kebabs can be prepared in advance and then popped on the barbecue or under the grill when you want them.

I made a batch of these last week and they are really delicious. You can halve the recipe to make fewer fritters but they’re so moreish I’m sure you’ll find them hard to resist.

Poached chicken with Pernod and tarragon mayonnaise. Perfect for a hot day in the garden, it can be done in advance and put together at the last moment.

Well it’s been a strange month. For the first three weeks of June the weather was rather dull and cool and then we got a shock!

We were delighted to find a local cow’s milk cheese that’s produced just half an hour away from us. Petit Troo is going to make a regular appearance!

A simple summer recipe from Nigel Slater that makes a great warm summer evening dinner. It serves 2 generously or 4 if you have a pud afterwards.

Franco/American couple Matt and Katie Perradeau are brewing American craft style beers using French ingredients. We popped in yesterday to have a taste and to wish them good luck.

The large red table that gives its name to the domaine, nestles among the ancient vines jostling alongside fruit trees and wild flowers, herbs and vegetables.

So, we’re off again here in the Loire. We have floraison or flowering in the vines!