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Hello there
We’re in a food coma. I know that makes us lucky compared to much of the world- but you can have too much of a good thing.
There were a lot of dishes to photograph for our new book project, Travels with my cake tins, and there was no way anything was going to be wasted. We didn’t have any family visits or clients at the time so we ate the lot ourselves. This “time of plenty” reminded me of just how completely Charlotte has mastered her craft, how she interprets the “score” of established recipes then brings her own style, knowledge and experience to bear in a distinctive performance of them. And she does this whether cooking for just us, or for a large group.
The start of our main season is just 14 days away as we welcome a group of German photographers to Burgundy for a Retreat co-led with our friend, Dr Ferry Böhme. Immediately after, we have a Chez nous-for-two Retreat here at Les Saumais. Then another for guests from Australia and not long after that, our Retreat on the Isle of Coll. In between times, I (Niall) am hopping over to Newfoundland to do a recce for a photography holiday there next year.
In spite of the persistent northerly airstream, we’ve seen the first hoopoe, blackcaps are singing stridently (even although there are no nightingales at the moment, blackcaps seem terrified of being outshone by them) and the white storks have returned to their nests. We’ve found a new site this year with no obstructions round the nest and it should provide great chances for flight photos.
A wee note about the woodchat shrike in the header. Each year, a pair nests close to our house. This southern species is established in the bocage landscape of southern Niévre (58) where, like the more common red backed shrike, it benefits from the traditional agricultural landscape of small fields, hedgerows and large trees that provide shade for cattle. In France overall, however, the population is shrinking. It’s another example of the need to maintain these diverse landscapes, even if it means paying more for meat produced in them. We pay it - and just eat less. Unless, that is, there is a recipe book in production.
With our best wishes and hopes to see you on Retreat with us
Charlotte and Niall
Travels with my cake tins - Summer
Anyone who knows me will be well aware that I’m never happier than when creating in my kitchen; cooking, baking and making food for anyone who wants to eat. Every evening the table is set nicely and the candles lit - with or without guests or friends or other family being here - for Niall and I to enjoy our meal together. I think it’s important to have that time in the day to look forward to, and to know that you have made good food for your loved ones (or they have for you!) In summer, we can normally eat in our garden, something we could rarely do comfortably in Scotland. This is the same garden that was a wild jungle of brambles and over-grown hedges when we first arrived. Now, it’s a refuge for ourselves, our guests and our natural neighbours.
The resident birds that, back in the early spring, were eating us out of sunflower seed and fat balls, mostly vanish back into the woods to raise their broods and by the start of May all the migrants have returned to create a more exotic soundscape in and around the garden: golden oriole; nightingale; hoopoe; melodious warbler; blackcap; red-backed and woodchat shrikes, turtle doves and bee eaters. It’s my favourite sort of music and the festival is happening at our place.
Other neighbours, too, are out and about. The wall lizards startle grasshoppers and crickets as they scurry around in the sun and shy, cold-blooded slow worms relish the heat under the roof tiles we’ve laid down in the meadow for them. Butterflies and moths flock to the beds of Verbena we’ve planted: humming bird hawk and Jersey tiger moths, brimstones, marbled and black-veined whites; white admirals; gatekeepers; meadow browns; scarce swallowtails; orange tips and dark green fritillaries. In the pond, the edible frogs need to keep an eye out for a hunting grass snake - for he’s a good and stealthy swimmer - as much as their tadpoles must avoid the water tigers - the voracious and fearless larvae of great diving beetles. Overhead, broad-bodied chasers and emperor dragonflies work their different strategies to catch prey.
By mid-July we have harvested the early potatoes, lettuce, spinach and peas from the raised beds - or whatever the slugs have left us. The herbs and flowers I grow for the kitchen and the table are prolific by now. In pots, I have broad beans, haricot, fennel, various lettuces, radish, baby leeks, beetroot, romanesque cauliflower, kale, courgettes, tomatoes of many different shapes and varieties. We did try aubergines, pepper and chillis, strawberries and melons in the polytunnel, but even with shade material fitted it gets too hot. Nevertheless, the new gravels beds with pots are working well and, for a cook, being able to go out and gather something of the evening meal in your kitchen garden is thrilling, with the assurance it has all be grown without chemicals.
Niall is keen on having seating areas in the garden. Lots of them. There is one under the vine on the north east side of the house. There is a paved area under the Cypress beside the house with wrought iron tables and chairs. If we want to catch a bit of afternoon sun, but not too much, there is the decking outside the store. In the meadow we can use the standing table on another paved area to take lunch if it’s not too hot. If so, there’s always the main outdoor table adjacent to the cabin under the Liquidambar. If either of us needs a quiet corner to retreat to, there is a chair on its own platform in a corner of the garden hedge and in the meadow, a sun lounger in the shade of a spreading oak. Our favourite, perhaps, is in the polythene tunnel when, in spring and autumn, it’s always 5 or 6 degrees warmer than outside, even when the sun is behind a cloud. A seat for every occasion; only very little time for us to sit in them.
Some summers, we welcome la famille Hérisson, the hedgehogs, into our garden. One year, late in the spring, we were chatting away after dinner when all of a sudden a large hedgehog ambled across the grass nearby without a care in the world. A few weeks passed and to my delight, I heard some scuffling under the Cypress and there was a young hedgehog, then another, and another! I love these unexpected surprises and discoveries - such as the garden dormouse peering down at us from a nest box while we were at dinner. In honour of our family of Les Hérissons, I have a fun addition to my dining kit; a hedgehog-styled brush, used to clear crumbs from the table. Its just another little thing that ties in with my idea of a nice table setting: flowers, napkins, elegant cutlery, unpretentious glassware– and a quirky table brush.
I know I’m not alone in my enjoyment of growing fresh produce, but even if you have no space to cultivate vegetables, or little free time, you can always plant a few lettuce seeds, some herbs (mint, thyme, chives, basil and flat leaf parsley would be my must-haves) and Nasturtium seeds (pretty, bold colours and the flowers are edible and look fabulous on the salad platter) in a windowsill box or planter. Wait a little, then take pleasure in serving them to your friends or family - and in my case, also to our Retreat guests.
I have another idea for you if you have a spare large plant pot or corner in your garden: get a packet of borage seeds. They grow really fast, bees love them, and when the blue and pink flowers are almost past, you can either freeze them individually in an ice cube tray–they look so good in a cool summer drink–or scatter them fresh over a salad or dessert as garnish. I even decorate my chocolate plates with them. That’s versatility!
I love our garden and its fresh produce and whatever space you have available, enjoy whatever you can grow in it - for its colour, its flavour or simply for the pleasure of knowing you’ve done it for yourself. - Charlotte
Pea panna cotta, cheese straws & quail’s eggs
Bruschetta, smoked salmon, mozzarella & pine nuts
Cheddar & chard tart with cheese & oatmeal pastry
White chocolate panna cotta
Quick madeleines
Charlotte and Bruno Griffon-Basset on the saunter back from Saint-Seine.
Affinity reboot - now Canva, now FREE
If you are a regular reader of MENUette, you’ll know that I’m a great believer in photographers expanding their skillset into the realm of page layout and design. This not only allows you to present your photography more professionally but also builds an understanding of how images work together, how they change when text is part of the design and how your priorities as a photographer are not always those of a designer. This is highly relevant for anyone who wants to have their work selected for publication.
After Quark Xpress was ousted as the premier page layout application by InDesign, this Adobe product was top dog until being challenged in recent years by the equally capable newcomer, Affinity Publisher - the programme I have taught directly to students online since 2020. Publisher was always a much less expensive alternative to InDesign.
And now it is free - as is Affinity Photo (Photoshop’s equivalent) and Affinity Designer (Illustrator’s equivalent). In fact, all three are apps have been rolled into a single one called…..Affinity. It has all the functionality of the original Affinity products from Serif.
The Australian software company, Canva bought-out Serif a couple of years ago and is committed to continuing development of its applications. Canva plans to monetise them by offering an upgrade to a “premium” version that incorporate AI tools.
We’re glad there is now no price barrier for photographers who want to up-skill. And Niall is one of very, very few tutors who teach Affinity (the Publisher part of it) over Zoom to students on a one-to-one basis.
You tell us what sort of project you would like to do (for example, an ebook, a layout for a printed book, promotional pdfs, posters, leaflets etc), Niall develops a template for that then teaches you how to populate, modify and export it. Drop us an email to enquire about availability.
Our 2026 brochures for Reteats with us in Burgundy are out. If you want to progress your photography - and be treated like kings and queens - there really is nothing else like it. Let’s have a Zoom call to see what we can do for you.
Recipe - Italian lemon meringue pie
Honestly, is there any more divine a dessert than one that combines the sweetness of meringue with the sharpness of lemon? Niall doesn’t think so, although that doesn’t stop him adding a little pouring cream too. And a side glass of Luxardo limoncello. The Italian meringue is made with a hot sugar syrup, so the tart doesn’t need to be baked at the end as the meringue is fully cooked.
The pastry case:
Icing sugar 50g (1 3⁄4 oz)
Unsalted butter 75g (2 1⁄2 oz)
One large egg, yolk
Cold water, 2 tbsp
Plain flour 150g (5 oz)
Table salt, one pinch
In a food mixer, cream the butter and icing sugar together until the mix is fluffy then add the egg and beat until the mix is smooth. Add the flour, mix once more and with the mixer still running, slowly pour in the egg mix and beat until it forms a dough.
Knead it gently into a ball, then sandwich this between two pieces of baking paper. Flatten it slightly, then fold the paper underneath before finding space in the fridge for it. Leave it there to chill for an hour.
While it’s chilling, prepare a 22cm (8 1⁄2 in) tart tin by greasing it with butter. When you’re ready, roll out the chilled pastry, line the tin with it and chill for a further 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan) [350 ̊F/ 325 ̊F] Gas 4. Blind bake the pastry dough for 10 minutes, using ceramic beads or even rice. to preserve the shape of the case.
Now that it is half baked, remove the parchment and baking beads and bake the case for a further 10-12 minutes until it is pale golden brown. Whisk it out of the oven, quickly brush it with a beaten egg then return it to the oven for 3–4 minutes to set. This will seal the pastry to prevent a soggy base from developing when the filling is added.
Lemon curd filling:
Lemon juice, 80g (2 3⁄4 fl oz)
Lemon zest, 2 tbsp
Icing sugar, 120g (4 1⁄4 oz)
Large eggs, 3
Cornflour, 8g (1 tbsp)
Butter, 50g (1 3⁄4 oz), cubed
Heat the lemon juice and zest in a saucepan. In a separate bowl beat the eggs, sugar and cornflour together thoroughly then add a little of the warmed lemon juice to the mix to loosen it.
Pour the sugar, cornflour and eggs mix into the saucepan and, using a hand whisk, combine the ingredients, fully. Keep whisking and keep cooking until it simmers.
Cook for further minute or so until the mix is thick and glossy before you add the butter cubes and whisk the mix until it’s smooth. Take it off the heat , strain and set aside to cool for 1 hour.
Once cooled, pour into the pastry case.
Italian Meringue:
You will need a cooking thermometer to test the temperature of the syrup
Caster sugar 225g (8 oz)
Water 75ml (2 1⁄2 fl oz)
Large eggs, 3, whites only
Put sugar and water in a pan and gently heat it so the sugar slowly dissolves.
Meanwhile, use a ballon whisk on your mixer to work the egg whites until they reach the stiff peak stage.
When the syrup reaches 120°C (248°F), remove it from the heat. Trickle it slowly into the beaten egg whites, all the while whisking at high speed.
Keep whisking until the mixing bowl has cooled and the meringue is stiff and glossy.
Pipe or spoon the meringue, with a curling motion, onto the lemon tart. You can brown it with a kitchen blow torch or, if it distributes heat evenly, your oven’s grill.
Chill the tart until you are ready to serve it, alongside a jug of pouring cream.
Bonus footage: before Artemis, before Apollo…
Looking a little like a Stone Age rocket getting ready to blast off for space, the lighthouse at Malariff, on the the south side of Iceland’s Snæfellsnes peninsula, just asks to be light painted. And that’s just what I did here. What you can’t see is the dozen other photographers that Charlotte and I were leading at the time in 2016, each in their own state of preparedness - or perplexity. Getting a large group to synchronise their settings - aperture, shutter speed, ISO, Noise Reduction Off and, oh, focus - is no easy task but it’s essential for anyone to have a chance of getting a result. A group can handle only one variable; me, and the amount of light I plaster over the subject. Thereafter, a quick check of their histograms lets me say how each guest needs to tweak the original common settings.
This dusk, I was lucky. I nailed the exposure with just one test shot (above) and the folks in the group who kept with the programme secured at least one keeper. Nevertheless, “herding cats” came to mind.
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Many thanks,
Our best wishes, Charlotte and Niall
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