Girl et Galette

Summer sunset

I’m not in Southern California anymore; there are no endless summers here. Winter is coming…and fast. It dropped 10 degrees overnight, bringing an abrupt end to our Indian Summer. Last night was tee-shirt weather, but tonight we donned coats for our nightly walk with the dogs. But I won’t complain about the summer we had here. June and July were marvelous. August was a complete let down, rainy and cold. But just when we thought all was lost and the summer had finished, September came round and lifted us back up into the sunshine.

During the hot summer heat, we cooled off on the shores of the nearby lake. We had to take advantage as it will be drained next year for dam reparations. The draining of the massive manmade lake is apparently quite a site to see and will attract tourists from all around Brittany. I guess we’ll just have to take more trips to the coast next year, quel dommage!

On the shores of the beautiful Lac de Guerlédan

When we weren’t lounging lakeside, we were walking in the nearby forests and fields, enjoying the lazy summer landscapes.

Having fun on top of hay bales

Tuckered out after a long walk

On the rare occasion where I was able to be productive, I got a bit of work done in the garden, weeding, harvesting and preserving. I turned bushels of plums from the neighbors into sweet and sour sauce, chutney and jam. I turned masses of cucumbers from another neighbor into quick fridge pickles (best thing ever!).

 I bundled up hordes of garlic, onions and shallots; some of the rare things I’m able to grow successfully every year. Despite my enthusiasm for gardening I don’t have terribly green thumbs yet! I’m learning…

After the rentrée (back to school) and the departure of our French students, we took a mini-holiday to the coast to celebrate the end of a busy summer and the start of a more tranquil Fall.

We started our mini roadtrip in the old port of Auray, a quaint town South West of where we live.

From Auray, we went to Carnac where we enjoyed the sites of old menhirs (ancient rock formations). We also enjoyed a picnic dinner, long walk and swim at the 25 kilometer stretch of sand dune beaches.

From Carnac, we drove 15 minutes to the very popular presqu’ile (almost island, or peninsula) of Quiberon. On the West coast of Quiberon is the Côte Sauvage, a rugged, rocky and wild stretch of coast. We arrived just in time for a beautiful sunset.

The next day, we left Carnac for Concarneau. Concarneau is a beautiful port town with a painfully adorable intramuros (old walled city).

After walking through the narrow winding streets of Intramuros, and back along the tops of its ramparts, we enjoyed a three-course lunch at a restaurant on the main avenue along the port. You can tell I’ve fallen out of the habit of blogging…I didn’t even note the name of the restaurant, and wasn’t able to find it online! It remains a mystery…

Entrée: Salade aux fromages

Plat principal: Cabillaud avec sa velouté, riz au curcuma et ratatouille

Dessert: Crème brulée à la pistache

That afternoon, full (and in my case, fuzzy from white wine) we drove the the presqu’ile de Crozon, or the Crozon Peninsula. Oh.Mon.Dieu. In all the places I’ve visited in Brittany, this area blew me away the most. Imagine the rocky seascapes of Brittany, the white sand beaches, dotted with cute French seaport villages. Now imagine all that, but in place of the normal Atlantic water, you have bright turquoise Caribbean-like water. That is the Crozon.

Caribbean water in Brittany…who knew?

We stayed at the very start of the peninsula, in a small town called Telgruc-sur-Mer where we scored an amazing air bnb rental with ocean views.

The beach at Telgruc-sur-Mer

The view from our petite maisonette indépendante.

We took full advantage of this view during our picnic dinner on the terrace. 

After dinner we strolled down to a hidden cove to enjoy the sunset, surprising some grazing cows on the way.

Happiest cows on earth…look at their view!

The next day, we woke up to this breakfast…pas mal.

With our last few precious hours before heading home, we explored the beaches at Crozon and Morgat, where we developed major house envy from the many manoirs which dot the beaches there.

And then, all too soon, it was back to kreizh breizh and the reality of work.  I left my heart in the Crozon…

If home is where the heart is, then my heart is languishing in several pieces in various corners of the planet…San Diego, San Francisco, Kauai, Paris, Aix-en-Provence, Rennes and now a little village in Central Brittany. They’ve all felt like home at some point in time.  But my soul is in California: it’s where I grew up, did my studies, met most of my close friends.

This particular trip back to California in June was particularly special because I had so many things to celebrate, including the wedding of two dear friends. But to start at the beginning: I finally met my new nephew August for the first time.

He’s only 2 months old in this photo, but already wearing clothes for 12 month olds!

And of course, I got to spend time with my older nephew Rowan, now happily a big brother.

One happy Auntie

And of course, I was happy to get to see their mama too, my one and only Big Sis. And her husband. And my parents.

I was also reunited with some of mes filles in San Diego…(Shout out to Lisa, Kelsey, Monica and Carris).

And more of mes filles during a 2 day road trip to L.A…(Shout out to Katie, Melina and Jem).

Where, by the way, we ate some really incredible food at Tavern and A.O.C.

Can’t decide what to order? We tried one of each of the cocktails on the menu.

We didn’t just eat in L.A., we also vintage shopped in Silver Lake, browsed the Santa Monica Farmer’s Market (where I spotted C.J. from Top Chef!). The 2 days in L.A. flew by, and before we knew it we were headed South back to San Diego. Where we found these little munchkins…

Is there anything cuter than your sister’s kids playing with your best friend’s kids? But, too soon, we were saying goodbye…After 11 days in Southern California, eating fish tacos, drinking craft beer, running on the beach and sleeping in my childhood bed, it was off to the airport to Oakland, where my brother picked me up.

He whisked me off to eat at his new(ish) restaurant in Berkeley, Easy Creole, where I got the VIP treatment, bien sûr. If you’re lucky enough to live in the Bay Area, please do check it out. They always have loads of vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free options available on their daily changing menu. I’m proud of you bro!

A dégustation of the day’s specials: Bourbon Red Beans, Spinach and Mushroom Etouffée, Tofu Ropa and Chicken Creole with Brown Rice and Creole Bread. Délicieux!

Gluten-free cornbread

After, we went back to my brother and sister-in-law’s new house near the Berkeley hills. Jess and Julie really lucked out: their new maison has amazing views of the new Bay Bridge, and the City all the way up to the Marin Headlands.

The famous Bay Area fog lifts just enough to let the sunset peak through

After a too-short visit with  J&J, they dropped me off North of San Francisco in Mill Valley where I reunited with mes meilleures amies de Rennes Emma, Berit and Kelsey (the bride!).

Enfin, on est réuni! 

We spent a perfect weekend eating, drinking, dancing and celebrating the marriage of Kelsey and Steven.

Pre wedding brunch at Sweetwater, our resident bar for all the World Cup Games. Allez les bleus!

The bride having post-Wedding drinks at the 2 a.m club. La classe.

Daytrip to Point Reyes to shake off the hangover from the wedding

Hog Island Oyster Co., where we had an amazing picnic lunch avec des huitres and a phenomenal view to boot.

After an amazing 2 weeks in California, I said à bientôt and schlepped it back to Kreizh Breizh. The almost 24 hour trip was worth it, because when I got home I had these little buddies waiting for me.

Mes amours

*** Thanks to Maren, Kelsey and Steven for some of the photos

I’m making up for lost time by doing 3 posts in 1 as I’ve been on a bit of a hiatus lately:  we’ve been busy with students and work, and lots and lots of Spring cleaning projects.

And although it’s been a productive Spring, it’s also been a strange one, at least weather-wise. Mid-Spring felt like summer, and now, as we’re entering the summer months, it feels like we’re slipping back into winter. Nights have been unseasonably cold, and sudden bouts of wind and rain often chase me in from the garden.

A pale pink camelia: one of the first things in the garden to bloom after a long winter

Cherry blossoms mean Spring really is here and winter is on the way out

Sun setting on one of our Spring days that felt more like summer

Breton cows are happy in any weather

The leaves are just now coming out on the walnut tree. It’s always the last thing to come to life.

Coming in from the garden, tired from hauling stones and shoveling dirt, I crave something sweet and uplifting. This coffee cake from The British Bake Off is the perfect afternoon pick-me-up. It’s not one of those coffee cakes that is sickly sweet, but rather has a nice coffee flavor and a healthy crunch.

Crunchy Coffee Cake

From The Great British Bake Off Everyday

Tools

20.5 cm round tin, greased

Ingredients

For the streusel

100g light brown sugar (I subbed cassonade sugar because we don’t ave brown sugar here)
50g plain flour
25g oats
1 teaspoon cinnamon
50g unsalted butter
50g walnut or pecan pieces

For the coffee cake

2 tablespoons instant coffee
2 tablespoons boiling water
120g unsalted butter, softened (I used salted butter at didn’t add more salt later)
200g caster sugar
2 eggs, at room temperature
200ml buttermilk (I subbed lait ribot)
250g plain flour
good pinch of salt (I didn’t add salt)
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teasppon baking soda
icing sugar for dusting (I didn’t have any and I didn’t really miss it!)

Directions

Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F). To make the streusel put the sugar, flour, oats, and cinnamon in a mixing bowl and mix with your fingers. Add the soft butter and mix into the dry ingredients, rubbing and squeezing until it looks like coarse crumbs. Stir in the nuts and set aside.

For the cake mixture, stir the coffee in the boiling water in a cup until dissolved. Leave to cool. Put the soft butter into a mixing bowl a beat until creamy. Add sugar and beat, scraping down the sides occasionally, until well-combined and fluffy.

Put the eggs in a small bowl and beat with a fork, just to combine. Gradually add to the butter mixture, beating well after each addition and scraping down the bowl as you go. Stir in the buttermilk until combined, and then stir in the coffee. Add the flour, baking powder and soda, and salt (if using) and fold in with a spatula until well-combined.

Spoon half the mixture into the greased tin and spread evenly. Scatter half the streusel mix in an even layer. Repeat the last two steps.

Place in the heated oven and bake for about 1 hour, on until a skewer stuck in the middle comes out clean.

Dust with icing sugar. Eat and enjoy and finish your Spring cleaning!

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I’ve needed lots of this cake lately to keep me going through all our afore-mentioned Spring cleaning. Besides having the cake to help me through, I was also pushed on by the fact that we had an important visitor coming: my dear friend Augusta.

Augusta is arguably the reason that I came to Brittany in the first place. We met and became fast friends while studying abroad in Aix-en-Provence. Luckily, our schools back in Northern California were very close, so we were able to see each other quite often once our séjour in France had come to an end. During one of these reunions, we were discussing how much we missed France, one glass of wine led to another and soon enough we were vowing that if in one year from that time we weren’t happy with our respective “career paths”, we would go back to France and teach English. One year came and went and nothing much had changed, so we decided to go for it. Augusta lined up a TEFL certification course in Brittany, and I signed up immediately. By the time the departure date came round, Augusta had actually landed a great job in New York, where she still is today. So I left for France toute seule, but as we all know, it worked out in the end.

So I was really excited for Augusta to finally make the trip to Brittany after all these years. We had discovered the South of France together, and I couldn’t wait to show her my new corner of France, where she has never been before.

We had just a short 2 days to show her around. We started with the Sunday morning marché at the nearby Abbée de Bon Repos. After, we had a walk around the lac de Guerlédan. The rest of the day was for lazy walks with the dogs, lounging in front of the fire with wine and catching up.

Luckily, the next day the rain stayed away for our day trip to the Coast. We went to the beaches at Le Pouldu, not far from Lorient. We walked along part of the 7 kilometer stretch of Coastal path towards the Port de Doëlan.

After a bit of walking, we had worked up quite an appetite, so we hopped in the car and drove the short distance to Port de Doëlan, a quaint little port village.

We ate at one of the two restaurants on the Rive Gauche side, Le Suroît. I wanted to introudce Augusta to Brittany’s gorgeous seafood, and we weren’t disappointed.

The perfect start to our perfect lunch: les huitres

I introduced Augusta to les boulots, my favorite Breton sea snack

For our main course we had Aile de raie (ray)

After our most perfect lunch, we continued our walk along the coastal path, this time heading in the other direction towards Le Pouldu. After walking off the wine and the decadent lunch, we hopped back in the car to drive home. We stopped at Quimperlé on the way, a cute little town nestled in a valley that is well worth a visit.

We arrived home after a beautiful sunny day out, just in time for the rain to start. We cozied up in the kitchen, cooking some boeuf à la Bourguignonne and sipping some wine. Sadly, the next day, Augusta packed her valises and left us for Paris. Her visit was short but sweet, and we’re looking forward to the next one, which will hopefully be sooner rather than later…

Note: To see this same post in English, scroll down

Yves Cameborde est un chef de cuisine connu comme le roi de « bistronomy ‏ .« Personellement, moi, je lui célèbre car il a crée ces sablés. J’ai trouvé cette recette au blog Chocolate and Zucchini, un blog bilingue que j’adore car c’est écrit par une parisienne qui est inspirée par la cuisine melting-pot de Californie, comme elle a vécu la pendant des années. Etant Francophile née et élevée en Californie, je peux m’identifier!

Comme Clotilde de C&Z a signalé,  ces sablés sont si exceptionnels grâce au fait qu’ils sont cuits à basse température, leur permettant d’avoir une texture croustillant et un extérieur caramélisé. Ils sont le meilleur de la Bretagne: la vitrine idéale pour le beurre Breton qui est si incroyable . En plus, ils sont très facile à préparer…

200 g de beurre doux, le meilleur possible, à température ambiante
90 g de sucre
une bonne pincée de sel (sauf que si le beurre que vous utilisez est salé)
1 ou 2 gousses de vanille, selon leur taille
250 g de farine
1 jaune d’oeuf ou 3 c.s. de lait pour badigeonner
du sucre cristallisé pour enrober

Pour une cinquantaine de petits sablés.

Dans un saladier, battez le beurre à la spatule jusqu’à ce qu’il soit pommade (= crémeux). Ajoutez le sucre et le sel et mélangez bien.

Coupez la (ou les) gousse(s) de vanille dans la longueur et récoltez les graines en raclant l’intérieur avec le côté non coupant de la lame du couteau. Ajoutez-les au mélange. (Gardez les gousses vides pour faire du sucre vanillé ou de l’huile à la vanille, pour infuser dans du lait, etc.)

Ajoutez la farine et incorporez-la du bout des doigts jusqu’à ce qu’elle soit complètement absorbée.

Rassemblez la pâte en boule sans pétrir. Divisez-la en 4 morceaux et roulez chaque morceau pour former un boudin de 3 cm de diamètre environ. Enveloppez-les dans du film plastique ou du papier sulfurisé, et mettez au frais au moins 1h. (On peut aussi en congeler une partie ; à la sortie du congélateur, laissez reposer environ 1h à température ambiante avant d’enchaîner avec le reste de la recette.)

Préchauffez le four à 150°C et recouvrez la plaque du four d’un tapis de cuisson en silicone ou d’une feuille de papier sulfurisé.

Retirez les boudins du réfrigérateur. Battez le jaune d’oeuf (si c’est ce que vous utilisez) avec quelques gouttes d’eau pour le rendre un peu plus liquide. Prenez chaque boudin de pâte l’un après l’autre, badigeonnez-le de jaune d’oeuf ou de lait au pinceau à pâtisserie, puis saupoudrez de sucre cristalisé pour bien enrober.

A l’aide d’un couteau bien aiguisé, coupez chaque boudin en tranches d’environ 1 cm d’épaisseur. Disposez les tranches sur la plaque de four en leur laissant juste un peu d’espace — ils ne s’étalent pas beaucoup.

Enfournez et laissez cuire 30 minutes, jusqu’à ce que la pâte soit prise au centre et les côtés légèrement caramélisés (les sablés ne doreront pas). Laissez reposer 5 minutes sur la plaque avant de transférer sur une grille jusqu’à complet refroidissement. Recommencez avec le reste de la pâte.

Les sablés se gardent une petite semaine dans une boîte hermétique à température ambiante.

Bon appétit!

Yves Cameborde is a celebrated French chef known as the ‘King of bistronomy’. I personally celebrate him because he wrote this amazing recipe for sablés, the Breton version of shortbread. I found the recipe on Chocolate and Zucchini, a bilingual blog I love because it’s written by a French woman living in Paris who has been very inspired by the melting-pot cuisine of California, as she lived there for many years. Being a Francophile born and bred in California, I can relate!

As Clotilde at C&Z points out, these sablés are so exceptional because they are slow baked at a lower temperature, allowing them to have a crispy crunch and a nice, caramelized golden brown exterior. They are the best of Brittany: the perfect showcase for exceptional Breton salted butter. And they couldn’t be easier to make…

Sablés (Breton shortbread)

Prep time: 15 minutes     Cook time: 30 minute     Overall time: 1 hour, 45 minutes

Ingredients

200 grams (7 ounces, or 1 cup minus 2 tablespoons) good-quality unsalted butter, at room temperature (I used beautiful Breton salted butter, and didn’t add salt to the recipe)
90 grams (scant 1/2 cup) sugar
a good pinch salt (as I used salted butter, I skipped this)
1 or 2 vanilla beans, depending on their size
250 grams (8 3/4 ounces, about 2 cups) flour
1 egg yolk or 3 tablespoons milk for brushing
coarse sugar for coating (I use a large-crystal unrefined cane sugar)

Tools

• Mixing bowl
• Whisk
• Knife
• Stand mixer (optional, can also be mixed by hand)
• Plastic wrap
• Parchment paper

Directions

1. In a medium mixing bowl, beat the butter with a spatula until creamy. Add the sugar and salt and mix them in thoroughly.
2. Split the vanilla bean(s) down its (their) length and collect the seeds by scraping the insides of the bean with the dull side of a knife. Stir the seeds into the mixture. (Save the empty pods for another use — to make vanilla sugar or vanilla oil, to infuse in milk, etc.)
3. Add the flour and rub it into the butter mixture with the tips of your fingers until incorporated.
4. Although Camdeborde recommends making the dough by hand to avoid heating it, Clotilde at C&Z confessed she made it in her stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. I made it the old school way because I like to get my hands dirty!
5. Gather the dough into a ball without kneading (this is the fun part because it’s like playing with Play-Doh. Divide into 4 pieces and roll each piece into a log, about 3 cm (1 1/4 inches) in diameter. Wrap the logs in plastic wrap or parchment paper, and place in the fridge to firm up for at least 1 hour. (Alternatively, you can freeze all or part of the logs to bake later; thaw partially at room temperature for about 1 hour before proceeding with the rest of the recipe.)
6. Preheat the oven to 150°C (300°C) and line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or a sheet of parchment paper.
7. Remove the logs from the fridge. Beat the egg yolk, if using, with a few drops of water to thin it out. Working with each log in turn, use a pastry brush to coat the log with egg yolk or milk on all sides, then sprinkle with coarse sugar until coated all over.
8. Use a sharp knife to slice the logs into rounds, about 1 cm (1/3 inch) in thickness. Arrange the slices on the prepared baking sheet, leaving just a little space around the sablés — they won’t expand much.
9. Bake for 30 minutes, until the dough is set in the center — the cookies will barely color — and the sugar is lightly caramelized on the sides. Let rest on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a rack to cool completely. Repeat with the remaining dough.
10. The sablés will keep for about a week in an airtight container at room temperature.

Bon appétit!  

Shortly before Christmas, it started raining and gusting wind in our corner of the world and it hasn’t stopped. Il pleut des chordes. Houses and streets are flooded. The ramparts of the local castle in Pontivy collapsed. What once were small creeks meandering innocently through the woods are now giant, swirling marshes, indiscriminately engulfing everything in their path. Just when you think the weather must surely let up, it gets worse. Unbelievably, we’re only getting a fraction of what the poor UK is enduring at the moment.

Despite the bad weather, life trudges on. In happy news, we’ve adopted a third dog. Meet Tikaani. She’s one year old, sweet and adorable and absolutely gorgeous. We now have une vraie meute (pack)!

Today, there was a break in the terrible weather and the sun (the sun!) was shining for a whole afternoon. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky. Ça fait du bien. We took advantage by taking our meute out for a nice long walk.

Alas, the bad weather returns in a few hours and is supposed to be worse than ever…wish us luck!

Shilah, enjoying today’s sunshine in the garden, trying to decide between his bone and his ball. La vie est dure.