A Day in the French Countryside


If you remember back in 2012, I posted about a trip to visit Sharon Santoni, the author of My French Country Home, an antiques dealer, and the "Martha Stewart of Normandie" (my nickname for her!).

Back then, we spent a weekend in the country for an antiques buying trip and a visit to the gorgeous gardens of Giverny.
I always have a link on my sidebar to her guest cottage.


Over the years, we stayed in touch via email and telephone, so on this trip, we took the train from Paris to Normandy to have lunch with Sharon and her husband at their beautiful home in the French countryside.


Sharon's beautiful new book My Stylish French Girlfriends came out in August and is going into its 3rd printing!


It is a gorgeous book showing the lives of real French women who are entrepreneurs and artists and how they live. They are all close friends of Sharon.
It is certainly not the way I live in New Jersey, but there is still hope. :)

I am amazed at how such a busy woman, can prepare such a gorgeous meal in so little time.

Setting the table w/ flowers from her garden; picking us up at the train just in time to take her cake out of the oven; serve us a delicious 3 course lunch; clean up and do the dishes; then whiz us back to the train to Paris in time to pick up her intern, and do it so effortlessly!

Super woman.


We started lunch with a pumpkin soup made with a pumpkin from her garden.......and drank a beautiful cidre, a low alcohol non sweet apple cider from the Normandy region, that I wish I could find in the States.


Then a beautiful salad and a gorgeous quiche w/ chorizo and ham (she knows what I like).


Then the piece de resistance was Sharon's warm apple and blackberry crumble (click on link for her recipe) with creme Anglaise, and of course a platter of figs pour moi.


Really?

Yes.


Normandy is famous for their apples, and right now her trees are flourishing w/ apples and pears. The cake was made with apples and berries from her glorious garden.


Sharon loves dahlias and has quite the dahlia collection.


We loved being amongst the beautiful flowers, fresh Normandy air and blue skies.
Surrounded by good food, good friends and cute doggies besides our feet.


What could be better.

Comments

Patsy said…
What a treat! And how beautiful.
Everything about this post is perfect, what special memories you will always have. She knows you well, love the platter of figs for you.
That was a fun day, hope we'll do it again soon, on whichever side of the atlantic ...

love to you both

Sharon

xx
Anonymous said…
Ham and chorizo in that gorgeous quiche? It looked so much like mandolined discs of beet in the photo.

Lovely time among friends.

Jersey newsflash - my friends' fig tree Floyd is EXPLODING with ripe figs - and it's my responsibility to pick & eat them all since they are in Italy.

When they begin to droop, and yield to a gentle squeeze, they're ripe for plucking.

I love figs, but it's getting a little ridiculous.

Can't get my husband or kids on board to eat them.

He's helping me eat all their cherry tomatoes, at least - like candy!

I feel badly that my neighbors are not here to enjoy the fruits of their labours, but at least I'm doing my best to let nothing go to waste!
Carolyn said…
Well if that doesn't look like the most picture perfect day!! The soup, quiche and dessert look so delicious!! What a great friend:))
Elizabeth said…
So jealous of your lunch with Sharon! I read her blog and yours always.
Someday, I would like to visit her in Normandy. She seems to live the most wonderful life amongst such beauty.
Ahhhhhhh.

Your trip looks wonderful, as always.

Elizabeth
Unknown said…
Such lovely pictures!
http://bitesfromnorth.blogspot.com.ee/2015/09/an-improvised-quark-and-peach-cake.html