July 2024 Gazette

Welcome to the 10th edition of my monthly newsletter! Each month, I intend to share a personal round up of the past weeks to give you a glimpse into my French life. I also share links I love, seasonal recipe inspirations and try to answer some of the questions I’ve received through social media as well.

Feel free to let me know in the comments if you enjoy this monthly gazette, and perhaps what you would like to read about next month!

June was a bit different this time around, and our home felt a little emptier than usual, as my husband spent 16 days visiting his family and friends back in Canada. That said, it was also nice to have a clean apartment for 16 days, ha!

Since moving back to France with my husband Marc (who’s Canadian), we agreed on a contract – that is, our move to France is officially permanent, but he plans to return to Canada for a visit every 6 months or so to see his family and friends. When I was living in Canada with him (for 12 years!), I always yearned to return to France to see those close to me and to just “recharge” in my homeland.

Being an expat is a life-changing experience. One that is both wonderfully enriching, yet brutally solitary at times. Being able to empathize with that, it was an easy decision to agree with this contract, and Marc’s needs to return to his (first) home twice a year.

While Marc was gone, I was busy with plenty of work and the welcomed arrival of much, much better weather here in Brittany! Sophie (our dog) and I did our best to take advantage of this by taking as many walks as we could, and eating as much watermelon salad as I could possibly ingest! Seriously, my addiction to watermelon salad in the summer is off the charts.

Flea market season is back!

A highlight of the month was the Olympic flame passing through our town! I am not much of an Olympics fan – and in true French fashion, most French people are complaining about the Paris Olympics (the cost, the environmental footprint, the hassle for the Parisians…)!

But it seems the Olympic flame passing through hundreds of French cities and villages before arriving in Paris brought a cheer and unifying feeling to all of us, which is always a positive thing.

The Olympic Flame in Lorient

Some friends and I went early (8 am) to be in the front rows to watch Laura Cobigo, the founder of a local NGO, running down the street carrying the torch, surrounded by no less than 10 bodyguards and a slew of police cars preceding and following her.

At that moment, it felt like the whole town was outside cheering in the streets, and I have to say it was quite moving.

Fava bean season is huge in France!

In some far less exciting news, you probably heard that June was a chaotic month in French politics. During the European Union elections, the far-right surged in France and won 32% of the votes, which prompted our President, Emmanuel Macron, to dissolve the national assembly, calling for rapid legislative elections. We (the French) are called to re-elect our new legislative members in the coming weeks.

So why would Macron dissolve the assembly, you may ask? His strategy is to show that the European election results don’t mirror the wider political sentiment within France. By calling the French to vote again, he aims to counter the prevailing narrative that the far right is taking over France. Will his risky strategy work? That’s all the media frenzy these days! No one knows if his bold move will pay off, or if a far-right government will lead one of the EU’s largest members by the time of the Paris Olympics… The results will be in on July 7.

Lots of recipe testing this month!

June was also a very big month for me personally and professionally, as you may already know. After years of deliberation and planning, I finally launched my Substack newsletter, “A Table in France”.

This was not at all a decision I took lightly. Working a fulltime job and running the blog already takes an enormous amount of my energy, but with all the wild changes happening with SEO (search engine optimization) and all the strings attached to keeping your blog “compliant”, I yearned for an outlet where I could just be me. My words, my stories, my photos and ideas as I want to share them. This doesn’t at all mean that my blog is disappearing! Promise! The blog will remain and will still be updated with recipes, and will remain free to use.

Eating the sardine croquettes just posted on the blog!

“A Table in France” simply allows me to grow my audience and share my work while avoiding having to follow the rigid structure and demands placed on it by external powers. And, of course, if people are willing and/or able, it’s also a source of revenue for me. I hope you’ll join along!

Lunch with a view!

Last weekend, when my husband Marc returned from Canada, we went back to one of our favorite restaurants in all of France – Dégustation Saint Guillaume, in the nearby city of Plouhinec. St. Guillaume is renowned for their incredible seafood platters (it’s all they serve!), as fresh as fresh can be. Everything on their platters (shellfish, crab, lobster, shrimps) are all sourced super locally. Whether you’re seated inside or out, you’ll have a beautiful oceanic view, which makes the food taste all the better.

If you’re ever close by, make sure to make reservations ahead of time, and come enjoy an absolute feast. And in case you’re wondering, our platter consisted of the following: oysters, mussels, shrimps (both large pink shrimp and tiny grey ones), bulots (whelks), bigorneaux (periwinkles) and clams! 10 out 10, always!

Finally, we are wrapping up the month with an event I have been waiting for, for 11 months… the start of the Tour De France! I am a huge fan of cycling and the Tour de France is the epitome of this sport! Plus, the fact that it’s a French event makes it even more exciting. Every year, I try to convince my husband to rent a van and follow the Tour for 3 weeks in July, but I haven’t managed to convince him yet, ha!

The Tour started in Florence, Italy this weekend and roams for 3 days through Bologna and Torino, promising for some epic panoramas! The tour will then enter France and finish 3 weeks later in the city of Nice! This is the first time in the history of Le Tour that the finishing sprint won’t take place on the Champs Elyssées, in Paris – impossible this year, because of the Olympics. Any other Tour de France fans here?

A walk amongst the sheep in Carnac, Southern Brittany

New articles added to the blog in June:

• French-Style Cherry Cake (Gâteau aux cerises)
• Best strawberry recipes to make this Summer
• French Lentil Salad with Tomatoes and Cucumbers
• Starting a Substack newsletter
• Sardine White Bean Cakes (Croquettes de Sardine) (updated recipe)

10 recipes to make in July:

• Roasted Red Pepper Dip from Provence (Poivronade)
• Tomato Bread Salad with fresh herbs
• Crustless Quiche with Summer vegetables
• Chilled Zucchini Soup with Goat Cheese
• Cucumber Salad with Crème Fraiche
• Classic Stovetop Ratatouille
• Wine Braised Chicken with peaches
• Classic French Cherry Clafoutis 
• Apricot Frangipane Tart
• Olive Oil Dark Chocolate Cake

The famous “menhirs” (prehistorial upright stones) in Carnac

Favorite Questions of the Month

How often do you get to visit the beach in summer?

I wish I could say 7 days a week, but unfortunately life gets in the way. That being said, at least 1 day per weekend, if not both. If I take some summer vacation, then I’ll sneak in a few more beach sessions. We’re blessed to have some beautiful beaches really close-by, and it would be an absolute shame not to use them! 

What’s the temperature like over there?

Don’t ask my husband, it brings up some bad memories (from an incredibly bad heatwave when he first arrived). But a typical Brittany summer ranges from 22-27 degrees, I’d say. We do have some warmer days in there at times, but nothing like the stifling heat and humidity we’d get in Niagara, Canada.

What’s new on the market stalls this month?

Local Brittany Strawberries are in full force now, even though they came out a little earlier than usual this year in May. Beautiful, fresh and big cherries are always in my kitchen as well. Melons – both watermelon and cantaloupe – are a definite staple in this home, and basically make up my dinner for most of summer. If not that, then the best tomatoes and cucumber are also bursting on market stalls, so fresh Greek salad is another go-to for us. They’ve started already, but sooner than later the stone fruits will be all over the place, and I couldn’t be happier about that either!

What do the French people typically do over Bastille Day?

Great question!  Bastille Day, which is France’s national day, is on July 14 and a public holiday. For most it is a day spent enjoying time with friends and family, at the beach, in the park or watching the Champs Elyssées military parade on TV. Unlike Americans, the French won’t typically barbecue and celebrate all day – most of the festivities happen only at night. Most cities and villages host fireworks starting around 10pm, followed by “Le Bal des Pompiers” (firemen’s ball) – music and dancing hosted by the local firestations, typically happening in the the main plazas. 

I myself spent most of my Bastille evenings in France watching the amazing fireworks seated on my hometown beach while eating an icecream – and I fully intend to keep this tradition alive again this year.