Happy Summer to the Northern Hemisphere :)

If there is one tiny thing I miss about Provence, it's this wonderful beverage.. Schweppes Agrum'. LOVE it!! can't get it here in America... so far my search has yielded nada. Can you not tell just by looking at this bottle that it is very delicious, a little bitter, a little citrusy and altogether refreshingly thirst quenching? To say nothing of how beautiful their ad campaign is!

Here then is the perfect pairing for hot summer lunch: Chilled Shrimp Salad (below) and ice cold Schweppes Agrum' (I wish!)

Just for the record, this is no lame shrimp salad recipe.. it contains both watermelon and heirloom tomatoes just for starters. It is fab*u*lous! Enjoy!

done up in this ad campaign like Our Lady, this drink is
so popular it turns out it has
its own Facebook page... and I am a fan!

also very delicious

a little mocktail from their ad campaign..
so adorably delicious looking!

ridiculously delicious shrimp salad contains watermelon,
hierloom tomatoes, fresh basil, garlic, feta
and is the perfect summer luncheon treat!

recipe here

Happy First Day of Summer to the

Northern Hemisphere!

(it's about time!)

***

Provence Spring & Tomato-Tapenade Tart with Goat Butter Crust!

Hope your weekend is wonderful.. I'm spending a relaxing day with Chris and Nicky chez nous, having walked already to the local farmers market and planning a springtime feast for a leisurely Sunday lunch, we've been listening to extravagant Italian opera on Sirius all day long. Throughout the day I've been peeking at pictures of Provence, and dreaming about being back there there next month! Who isn't captivated by the beautiful colors and settings in Provence?

stunning use of pink on pink in this beautiful window

lavender growing in the haute Luberon.. magical

magenta, anyone? fearless use of glorious color against
all that stone and stucco

somehow I could easily see whiling away several hours in this very spot.. join me?

could anything be more welcoming than this pretty
entryway with bougainvillea and geraniums, a greenish
door and sparking white trim?

un verre de bandol, svp?

Bandol, the beloved rose colored vin de provence;
best served quite chilled when the temperatures
are soaring!

sophisticated pink plays off the rustic
unfinished and weathered doorway

this "les olivades" table cloth
strikes just the perfectly
artless note for your springtime table

you can just feel the warmth and hear the cigales buzzing in this setting where time slows down and old linen is on all the beds

le cigale.. the beloved  bug of Provence! you
see it everywhere in ceramic figurines, decorative
painting, table linens.. un peu cheesy but really adorable :)

This is the meal I ended up serving friends for dinner... 

what do you think? Would you like to join us 

next time?

Sunday lunch au printemps

Provençal Tapenade-Tomato Tart with Goat Butter Crust *

Pan Seared Lamb Provençal Style with Garlic and Rosemary

Smashed Red Bliss Potatoes

Roasted Asparagus

Spring Garden Salad 

Strawberries Pomegranate

with Pomegranate Chantilly and

Gateau Quatre Quarts 

*gluten free and delicious
tomato-tapenade tart

from the brilliant baker Karen Morgan's

Blackbird Bakery 

cookbook here

***

no,  just in case you thought it was, this isn't
me and Chris at the market... it's the
amazing Ben & Jen and they are carrying
my friend Andrea's
French Basketeer 
market basket!
Buy your own at Andrea's site! 

most images above

Pinterest.. of course!

***

check out my NEW features.. 

a picture from

Ma Vie Quotidienne {My Daily Life} here

visit Chic Provence Marketplace here

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thanks for visiting...  Kit

St. Trop' in the 50's and Tarte Citron

Browsing the auctions in Provence this weekend I came across this wonderful mid-century oil painting of an innocently sweet St. Tropez harbor. I love this genre of painting.. naive, color-saturated and slightly impressionist paintings of the south of France depicting a simpler time before color TV and cell phones, the internet and Twitter. I've collected a few of these and love them dearly. I'd like to bid on this one. While daydreaming about what I'd do with this lovely painting, I designed a possible room to house it. Take a look!

note all the old wooden sailboats in the harbor in the fifties... today there are speedboats and
huge yachts lazing in the sea around St. Trop.. but this painting shows a simple and more
innocent time, before the jet-setters discovered this sleepy fishing village and
Brigit Bardot filmed "And God Created Woman" here (banned in most theaters in
the US at the time it was released in the 60's) 

Lotus Flower wallcovering by
Studio Printworks is the
perfect background for this
painting... with lots of white
space and the fresh linear
design, the painting will
be able to breathe yet be
surrounded by beauty also

Indian Sand by Little & Greene
is the perfect paint color in a high gloss
for the trim and fireplace

Secret Shell by Little & Greene

is the perfect color for painted

floors in a high gloss

Inner Shell by Little & Greene is
another great pink to use for
trim and accent colors

two more beautiful paintings up for auction from the fifties of the
area surrounding St. Tropez in the South of Provence..
these are of the Var coastline and remind me
so much of the time we lived there

stunning fabrics I would use for window coverings

and for tablecloth/cushions... the top is from

Osborne & Little I think (cannot remember for

certain, sorry!) and the bottom is the

perennial favorite of Kelly Wearstler trellis

adding to the 50's vibe is this wonderful Eames era
cattail floor lamp in the iconic color of the
fifties... turquoise! I found this on eBay

a very quick and simple sketch of how I would use the
different elements in the room to show the painting
off to its best advantage.. what do you think?
pretty colorful, non?

After all that daydreaming I decided it might be time to go fix something lusciously lemony for my husband for dessert... and found this recipe at Cote Maison... even the French are looking for easy recipes these days!

Tarte Citron au Fromage

Luscious Lemon Cheesecake

from CoteMaison 

INGREDIENTS

125 g of butter cookies

125 g of graham crackers

125 g butter

1/2 salt

300 g of fresh cream cheese

1 can (395g) sweetened condensed milk

1 lemon

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1 packet of gelatin

PREPARATION

1. Place the gelatine in a bowl with cold water.

2. In a blender, cut the cookies into crumbs. Melt butter in saucepan or microwave. In a bowl, mix the crumbs and melted butter until mixture is sandy.

3. Butter a large pan with removable bottom (diameter 25 cm approx.). Divide the mixture of biscuits, press the bottom of a ramekin to properly mix the dough. Make up the edges slightly. Place in the fridge.

4. Take the lemon zest finely with a knife zester; reserve in half for decoration by placing them in the fridge in an airtight container. Squeeze half the lemon.

5. In a small saucepan, heat lemon juice, remove from heat and fold in the gelatine so they are dissolved.

6. In a mixer bowl, beat the cream cheese. Gradually add condensed milk, vanilla, lemon juice and half the zest. Beat until smooth.

7. Pour the lemon cream over the dough and place it back in the fridge for at least one night.

8. Take out 20 minutes before serving and garnish with remaining lemon zest.

***

although I must admit Mlle. Bardot probably
didn't indulge in too much of this
luscious Tarte Citron au Fromage
by the looks of these photos of her
on the St. Tropez beach in the 50's!
do you love those outfits.. you could
wear them quite chicly today

***

St. Trop harbor today, with this little map showing
it's command of the Riveria to the east

Space is Limited!!

Chic Provence Tour in

the spring! reserve by

March 1, 2012

***

check out my NEW features.. 

a picture from

Ma Vie Quotidienne {My Daily Life} here

visit Chic Provence Marketplace here

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