Returning home after vacation is never a joyous occasion. Not only because I have to leave my beautiful France behind, or because the two-day trip is exhausting (for some reason, the trip to France less so), but because unpacking, cleaning and piles of laundry await. I am always very intent on making sure everything gets going the moment we walk through the door — never in a million years, no matter how tired I am, could I leave the mess until the next day. That would just make it harder, in my opinion.
There is a best part about coming home, however — unpacking all my French souvenirs! Each item is carefully given a new spot in my kitchen and as I put everything away, I am already dreaming about what I will make, because yes, most of my souvenirs are the edible kind — or the drinkable. Have a look below and see what I took home with me this year!
PS: Not shown: a Caudalie face mask (love that brand!), Les Carnets de Julie: Un voyage gourmand en 140 recettes, and a beautiful bag which was a present from my hubby!
Yes, yes. I can make this myself, but I have a soft spot for Alsa. The pretty packaging gets me every time!Same comment as above. I haven’t tried this mix, but the photo sure looks appetizing!The first time I purchased these cookies! I suddenly remembered them at our last stop at a French supermarket in Le Mans and immediately put them in my basket. Why are they so special? Well, these St Michel cookies were served at the local café in Duras this year, Café de la Paix, aka Chez Régine. Edible memories!Bouquet garni, pink peppercorns, a mix of Guerande salt and piment d’Espelette (this should be heavenly on a steak!), and a few jars of Amora mustard, which my husband adores.Vanilla flan mix. Yep, the retro packaging did it again for me.This French baking powder has been a staple at my house for years. You guessed right — the packaging wooed me to begin with. I couldn’t imagine baking without that little Alsatian lady!Duck sausage from René Pujol! Beacuse the southwest of France is duck country, and because I LOVE duck. 🙂 PS: I used to bring back tins of confit de canard, but now they’re imported by my local supermarket. Yeah!My daughter loves this as a special treat on her Sunday croissant — and I can’t say I disagree with her. This stuff is nothing but creamy, sweet goodness! It’s also wonderful on crêpes! I am a big fan of the Reflets de France brand, too.Call me crazy, but I think the French version of the everday Maggi chicken stock cube is richer than the one I sometimes buy here. Or maybe it’s that special memory of making a chicken casserole on a cold night in Bourgogne years ago. We had arrived late in the afternoon at our lovely farmhouse, and I wanted to make a comforting chicken dinner. While Hans lit the fireplace, I cooked chicken in mustard cream sauce with these cubes. Of course, homemade is better, but don’t knock it till you’ve tried it! Oh, and the herb and olive oil cubes are a new for me. I bought them because they’re made with my favorite olive oil.French violet garlic from the Tarn. Because the garlic is tied so beautifully and because those fat cloves are major morsels of flavor!Every once in a while, I love to end a Saturday dinner with my husband (or a dinner party) with a small cup of coffee and an Armagnac. I sometimes order this perfect combo after a dinner out in France. I am not a fan of strong drinks, so this is one tasty exception for me!Puget olive oil has been another staple at my house for years. I always stock up when I go to France. This one brings memories of cooking summer meals way up high in the mountains of the Ardeche. It was the first time I tried this oil, and I’ve loved it ever since.I came across these little pots of pâté from Lucien Georgelin at the local Duras supermarket. They had a huge crate not far from the entrance filled with a wide variety of flavors. I’ve never tried any of them, but check out the ones I got: Mediterranean pâté with chicken and lemon, Parisian pâté with ham and mushrooms, and Charentais pâté with champagne de Cognac!French magazine, for inspiration and to improve my French language skills!LOTS of wine (I still have a few boxes put away because there was no space on my rack). Most of them are from Duras, a few from Bergerac and some from Cahors. We like to make two wine trips per year: the summer wine haul comes from the southwest and the winter one comes from Bourgogne. Each bottle is saved for Saturday dinner. It’s like taking my taste buds back to the places I love!Most of my plates and cutlery come from French antique markets and vide-greniers. They have so much more charm than anything you can buy at a shop. In fact, I’m having my morning coffee from a French bowl right now! I bought these lovely plates from the yearly brocante market in Gensac a few weeks ago. All were purchased from kind, stylish French ladies who were very happy to pass them on to me.
