Friday, January 29, 2010

Bon Comme Pain...French Bread

One could write volumes about French Bread.  It is legendary. What do I  love about French Breads?  Well, mostly, their beauty.  From a Provençal fougasse to a Parisian baguette, I find them thrilling to look at.  I would rather go to a good French bakery and study the line-up of breads than go to a museum and study paintings on a wall.  C'est la verité.  They are all showstoppers to me and I have a hard time deciding which one to purchase.  I anticipate the mystique of a good crust and am rewarded when a crust flakes off and falls like petals onto the table-forming a mosaic of contentment. 

French-Canadian Woman Baking Bread in an Outdoor Oven, c.1900 Giclee Poster Print, 30x40An exciting new development is the resurgence of the communal bread oven in France!  Crumbling stone ovens are being refurbished and reactivated!  How I'd love to tote my dough over to one of those, wait for it to bake, inhale intoxicating aromas -- all the while communing with friends and neighbors.   Carrying home the warm and precious heart of my next meal....How excellent would that be? Sounds like bread utopia.     To discover more about communal bread ovens in France, read William Rubel's fascinating article : "Ovens in France"       

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

A Little Lavender Love


Field Grown Lavender Wreath
 
J'adore la lavande!  Take a sprig and pin it to your lapel.  Or wrap it around your wrist for the lovliest of bracelets. Spritz some lavender spray onto your pillow at night.  May your dreams be sweet.

Sunday, January 24, 2010

Le Chocolat. Pour Toi. Enjoy!



Bissinger's Chocolate-Covered Cherries

Chocolate Chambord Cake
Afrojazz
          
  

Un Petit Café

Bonjour et Bienvenue! A warm welcome to The French Easel. Un café anyone? A cup is brewing at the moment.  I'd love to share un petit café and a few of my sketches.  I hope to pepper these pages with the whimsical characters that dance around in my head and twirl their way onto my easel. 

Cup in hand. A toast. Vive la France, Vive l'amour de la France, Vive l'amour.