Gourmandise des Rois

Epiphany cakes for kings and frangipane lovers

We invited H to share with us this best of gateaux called La Galette Hollandaise.    A galette is a pancake but in this case it is pastry, often flaky pastry, stuffed with almond paste.   This year we have given our Gold Award for 'galette des rois' to the Angles sur L'Anglin  boulangerie.   I don't think this one has flaky pastry. The pastry is crisp and crumbly. The almond paste has not been stinted on and fills the pastry shell... no gaps here! ... and seems to have a slight taste of rum. The icing sugar on top is dry  like crisp and even snow. 
At 10 euros for the cake which serves 8 not greedy people, I reckon it is good value with our cup of Blue Lady Grey tea which I mixed with a little Green tea (unspecified) and some dried Rosehip berries from Spain.
So we chatted. I explained my amusement of making her laugh by adding decorations (feves,that is beans or figurines from previous affairs with foody delicacies!) .......a plastic fir tree from 2010 Buche du Noel, an unexpected guest or lonely shepherd,  the angel keeping guard over the baby for now the Kings had departed to wish us all a Bonne Année.   What a pleasure that she should receive the feve... a little frog.. Perhaps her Prince will come!

We shared gifts. I think I prefer this day to Noel and its Eve and New Year's Day and its Eve. For me it has more meaning with the coming, and going of the  wise men, Balthazar, Caspar and Melchior. I feel a new tradition occurring and pourquoi pas? We are in France-home of the Good Food Appreciation Society.

And today what joy .. my daughter's Christmas Gift arrived. It was posted on 8th December and we feared it had been lost but here it is with so many little things in it that I shall open them little by little.   She's always so very very good at choosing exactly the right gift!

Never have we seen a vertical rainbow

Is it an omen?   As a rainbow it must be good.   On the way home from work we were astounded to see near the setting sun a vertical rainbow.  The sky was blue with large long clouds reaching out like fingers beckoning to us and skudding across the sky as if to make an escape.  As they reached their end they would wisp upwards like meringue being whisked into peaks.  We've witnessed a great many aeroplane trails in the sky, both this morning and this evening.  The sunrise was so beautiful as it lifted itself over the mist laden paysage.

My internet research has led me to facts that I never knew before! This article is about photography.

Sunset Rainbows  are special for three reasons.
(1) The sun's rays are nearly horizontal, so the top of the rainbow will be high in the sky.   A sunset rainbow is the widest arc you'll ever see from the ground. Almost half of the full-circle rainbow can become visible....  This means the ends of the arc are nearly vertical as they intersect the horizon. Sometimes only the end segment of the rainbow appears, and if you see a photo of a vertical rainbow at the horizon, you'll know it was made at sunset (or sunrise). With a little geometry work and a sun angle chart, you can tell time using a rainbow at the horizon.

Ireland Sunset Rainbow near The Cliffs of Moher (photo by Shannon Field)

(2) At sunset, the sunlight contains more red hues and less blue (because of atmospheric scattering). This will affect the appearance of the rainbow by emphasizing the red bands and muting the blue bands. The same red tint will apply to anything on the ground illuminated by the sunset. The effect can be quite dramatic.
(3) If you're lucky, you can get a rainbow against sunset clouds. This phenomenon is gorgeous to behold, but photos seem to be few. Be sure to turn around next time you're photographing a sunset, and see if the sky behind holds anything interesting.

With grateful thanks to Photocentric

Noises in the Night from not the Stone Martian but the Stone Marten

Awoken again, but this time as the alarm went off, with a screeching noise coming from the attic above the stairwell.  I went to the landing where Big Feet was looking with interest at the ceiling.  Captain Sensible got the fly whisk and banged about on all the upper floor ceilings. The noise had ceased by then.

I have suspected for over a year we have a stone marten in the roof.  At first I was quite spooked and used to lose sleep but I have now got used to it!   It crawls in at night knocking the roof-tiles about!
Evidently we need mothballs to dissuade it of co-habitating in the space that we can't access.  They don't like noise, though they van make a lot themselves... so leaving a radio on at night is supposed to deter them!  Little critter... but don't they look cute? 

Chris of Planet Passion 

has a very good description of both  

the Stone Marten and the Pine Marten.  

 I have often seen the latter in wooded areas.  I hope he does not mind me promoting his website here.

Listen here to the sound I heard this morning. 

For those who have not yet twigged... if you hover the mouse over the highlighted areas that are then underlined and click you can go to the next site.  Make sure you return here!

Best Wishes for the New Year

This is a scene that is no more.

The first photo is on Christmas Day 2009 and is where we had our last picnic. 

The second photo is of the same place by the River Anglin where now poplar trees have been razed.  

I am sure regeneration will occur but to see devastation was yet another sad blow to the year 2010.

 

OUT OF CHAOS WILL COME ORDER

SO THAT BEAUTY WILL EMERGE

FOR WHEREVER THERE IS HOPE THERE IS ALWAYS NEW LIFE

MANY THOUSANDS OF YEARS AGO IN THE MAGDALENIAN AGE 

DIFFERENT TREES  PROVIDED  SHELTER 

IN JUST A FEW YEARS TIME NEW PEOPLE 

WILL EXPERIENCE THE SHADE OF YOUNG TREES.

THAT'S LIFE 

WHOEVER YOU ARE AND WHEREVER YOU MAY BE 

WE WISH YOU WELL FOR TODAY 

AND  FOR ALL THE DAYS AND MORROWS OF 2011

LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOUR AS YOU LOVE YOURSELF

with all best wishes for a

H A PP Y   N E W   Y E A R 

much love from SweetpeainFrance 

and Captain Sensible

at VillagedeVaux