The Canal du Midi

The 150 mile long Canal du Midi ambles its way across the south of France, linking the Mediterranean Sea to the Atlantic Ocean.
Tour boats cruise along at an easygoing 8 knots an hour. Cyclists and trekkers enjoy its scenic tollpaths at a leisurely pace.

It's a place to slow down, take some time out. Have a chilled glass of rosé, a picnic and listen to the birds singing. Nothing moves fast here. Pin It

Colors of the Languedoc-Roussillon

Pastel colors in the center of Béziers. Pin It

La Fête du Fromage - Homemade Chèvre

Technically this is a French cheese. The milk came from French goats and it was made in France.
It is my French cheese. Homemade chèvre frais.

For the last year I've planned to make some of my own cheese and just never got around to doing it. Procrastination sometimes gets the best of me.
So when I was offered a couple of liters of extremely fresh goat's milk the other day, I grabbed some cheesecloth and a lemon and in just under two hours, voilà, I had cheese!
Creamy, snowy white, mild, delicious goat's cheese. Which I then dressed up with a bit of minced garlic and a sprinkling of herbes de Provence.


The process is so simple it's silly. And it makes me wonder what the heck took me so long to try it.

• 1 liter (1 quart) goat's milk - pasteurized or unpasteurized, but not ultra-pasteurized*
• 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1/2 clove minced garlic
• a pinch or two of sea salt
• optional - minced herbs such as thyme, herbes de Provence, parsley, rosemary

1. Heat the milk over medium heat until it reaches 180 degrees F on a candy or meat thermometer. I used a meat thermometer because I couldn't find my candy thermometer in the deep, dark recesses of my kitchen utensil drawer.
2. Take the milk off the heat and stir in the lemon juice. The milk should begin to curdle immediately. You'll see the curds separate from the whey.
3. Line a colander with several layers of cheesecloth - I used about 4 layers. You want to make sure that the curds don't get through.
4. Place over a large bowl to catch the whey and ladle the curds and whey into the cheesecloth lined colander.
5. Gather the corners of the cheesecloth together and hang from a wooden spoon over a deep bowl for about 60-90 minutes. The consistency will be similar to that of dry cottage cheese.


6. Transfer the curds to a bowl and fold in the salt and optional herbs. If it seems a bit dry you can stir in some whey to create a creamier texture, a teaspoon at a time.
7. Eat.

Your homemade chèvre can be stored in the fridge for 1 week in an airtight container. The texture becomes drier after a day or two, so I recommend eating it pretty quickly. Which you will want to do anyway.



*I used unpasteurized milk and heated it to 185 degrees F

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Moving to France Tutorial - Part Three

Home. It has a different meaning to all of us. And finding a new one can be both an exciting and a daunting experience.

Welcome to Part Three of the Moving to France Tutorial.

This week I'll be offering some tips on finding a place to live in France, which could easily turn into a Tolstoy novel sized post, so I'm going to try to keep the information concise.

I realize I'm stating the obvious here, but the logistics of finding a home in France will change according to whether you will be renting or buying. Once you've decided where you want to put down your roots you'll need to find a real estate agent or start looking at properties online or even hire someone to help you find your dream home.

Renting an apartment in France can be tricky. Most landlords in France demand proof of income and you may have to provide the name of a guarantor, a co-signer, who will be named in the contract and who will be responsible for your rent in the event that you can't pay it. You will also need to have one month's rent as a deposit and a proof of a comprehensive household insurance certificate.
An in-depth list of the requirements is here on Anglo-Info's website.

If you don't plan on bringing all of your furniture and household goods with you, a furnished, equipped home will make your arrival and transition much easier. There are many agencies and individuals offering long term, furnished apartment rentals in big cities like Paris and Lyon, and scattered all over France are furnished vacation homes called gîtes. Gîte owners sometimes offer long term rentals over the autumn and winter months, which can be a perfect way to get to know a region and have a comfortable place to stay while looking for property to buy.

There are literally hundreds of property rental websites out there to investigate. Here are a few to get you started.

Paris Attitude
Craigslist (and how to avoid the scammers)
FUSAC
pap (in French)
Holidays France Rentals
Gîtes de France

the regional classifieds on AngloInfo
Buying a home in France is a fairly straightforward procedure.
You find the house you want, make an offer, get the inspections done and verify what belongs to the house (both inside and out), find a good notaire, sign the compromis de vente, wait for the 7 day buyer's remorse period to pass, pay your deposit and wait to sign the acte de vente. Then you take your keys and move in!
Well, there might be extra steps involved, if you require a mortgage for instance, but buying a house here isn't as daunting as many think.
Expatica France has compiled an excellent and thorough article about the entire process.

Mortgages are available to foreigners, usually requiring a 20-30% down payment. I'm unfamiliar with the exact procedure so here are some helpful links.
BNP-Parisbas
Finance in France
Mortgage France

An important thing to remember if you buy a house that requires any renovation work - get an estimate. Heck, get two or three. Keep in mind however, that in old houses estimates don't take into consideration those petite surprises that you sometimes find behind the walls. Unless you are planning to be there while the renovation work is going on and you speak fluent French, you will also need to find a knowledgeable person to oversee your project.


Stay tuned for Part Four of the tutorial next week.





Please note: Some of my posts may contain affiliate links, meaning if you click over and purchase something, I will receive a very small percentage of the purchase price (at no extra cost to you) which goes towards maintaining Chez Loulou. Thank you in advance!


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Flavors I Love

Crisp, fizzy Champagne. Sometimes with a splash of something sweet


Crispy-crunchy with coarse salt


Earthy morel mushrooms with perfectly cooked, creamy risotto


A peppery bite with summer-ripe tomatoes and crumbly Parmigiano


Warm, tangy chèvre and sweet caramelized onion jam


Creamy vanilla with a crunchy, sugar top


Sweet and tart

Soft, dark chocolate and chewy. Preferably with pecans Pin It