Our New Herb Garden- Le Château de Chenonceau Style

Tags

cooking, France, French, gardening, grilling, herb garden, herbs, landscaping, potager

Since our potager isn’t located close to our kitchen at all (it’s further away from our house down on the first bank), it wasn’t an ideal location for my herbs. I can’t just run out quickly when making dinner to add a spring of something or another.

Four years ago, The Town Mouse posted a picture of the herb garden at le château de Chenonceau (Chenonceaux, France) that I have coveted ever since. The recessed pots are adorable and would help deter mints and other herbs from taking over the entire garden.

Town Mouse’s picture of an herb garden at le château de Chenonceau (Chenonceaux, France)

The perfect spot for the herb garden was just off the back deck. It is the perfect location for both kitchen and grill access. At the beginning of last year, we turned a tight v- shaped corner (between the deck, pool deck, and pool) into a garden bed. We removed the grass, lined it with black plastic, mulched, edged it with mountain stone, while lining the pool side with small river rock. The only plant in the area was a spiraea we transplanted (and rescued) from next to the AC unit.

Last night, I purchased terra-cotta pots and herbs for my new garden. On the upper lip of the pots, I brushed on 2 coats of a terra-cotta sealant, 2 coats of paint (formulated for terra-cotta), and finished with two more coats of the sealant. I had these supplies left over from a previous project.

This morning, we were ready to create our new herb garden. I’m actually surprised Hubster was so agreeable to this design, when I first showed him the picture years ago, he didn’t care for it. First, I laid out the pots to determine their arrangement. Then, I pushed aside the old mulch and cut a hole in the plastic, and Hubster loosened holes in the clay soil. Once I recessed the pots into the new holes, I back-filled any exterior gaps with the clay soil and filled the pots with potting soil. I smoothed the old mulch back around the pots and planted the herbs.

I planted thyme, rosemary, oregano, sage, fennel, chives, peppermint, spearmint, chocolate mint, and bee balm. I actually think we’re going to add two more pots and create a fourth row in the back. I already have two types of basil and a lavender that I’d like to add there. Most of the herbs are perennials and will come back each year, so it’ll be easy to supplement the annual varieties.

Our New Herb Garden – Front View

Our New Herb Garden – Deck View

Our New Herb Garden – Poolside View

I can’t wait to update this post when the herbs have filled out and been topped off with fresh mulch!

UPDATE:
We added two more pots in the back!

Another Row Added

What do you think of our new herb garden?
What herbs do you keep in your garden?

XOXO,
Young Wifey 

Advertisement

French Chic Lamp #2

Tags

champagne, craft, ephemera, French, graphics, guest room, image transfer, label, lamp, lampshade

I absolutely love how my French Chic Lamp turned out! I wanted to create another lampshade for my guest room using the lamp that was in my nursery as a baby. When I was a little girl it got a new lamp shade, and another new lampshade in my teens and again in college. Therefore, it only makes sense that now in my grown up home, it gets a new shade again.

I wanted a more simplistic design for this shade, while sticking with the French theme. I also wanted to try my hand at creating printable graphic from a photo. I chose a Dom Pérignon label and successfully created a black and white printable. Yay, me! However I’m having difficulty saving it as a sharable file.

French Chic Lamp #2

I then used to same image transfer method that I did for my first lamp. I look forward to creating more printable graphics from pictures.

What do you think? 

French Potato Salad

Tags

BBQ, dill, food, foodie, French, French cooking, french cuisine, french food, lunch, picnic, postaday2011, pot luck, potato, recipe, side dishes, tarragon, vegetarian, violet

Potato salad, there are infinite variation to this dish. I have a got to recipe for picnics and that’s more of a side dish for dinner. I had to improvise a little on the ingredients when I made this for Easter, but I’ll share my usual recipe.

French Potato Salad

Ingredients:
potatoes, 1/2 c. champagne or sparkling wine, 1/8 c. apple cider vinaigrette, 2 Tbsp. chopped shallots, 1 tsp. Dijon mustard, dill, chives, tarragon, fresh cracked black pepper, fresh ground sea salt, violets or other fresh picked edible flower

Directions:
Mix together champagne, vinegar, Dijon, and dill to make vinaigrette, set aside.Boil potatoes so that they are cooked but still firm (On Sunday my Dad did this, while I prepped other things, thanks Dad), submerge in cool water (do not cool completely). Peel and slice potatoes, layering them in dish. After each layer, sprinkle on salt, pepper, shallots, chopped tarragon and chives. When finished, pour vinaigrette over potatoes and garnish with violets. Serve hot!

What’s on your dinner table tonight?

Chicken Crêpes with Tarragon Champagne Sauce

Tags

brunch, chicken, crêpes, cuisine, dinner, easy recipe, food, foodie, French, gourmet, lunch, postaday2011, quick & easy, quick recipe, recipe, sauce, tarragon

Crêpes are a versatile food. They can be hearty enough for dinner, light enough for lunch, sweet enough for dessert and delicious enough for brunch. Crêpes are also a great way to use up leftover chicken or veggies in your fridge. I make a large stack of crêpes one day and freeze them for the month…  Last night I made these tasty Chicken & Tarragon Crêpes.

Chicken Crêpes with Tarragon Champagne Sauce

Ingredients:
4 crêpes, 2 cooked chicken breasts (Mine are leftover from another meal where I marinated and grilled them), 1 c. heavy cream, 1 c. champagne, 2 Tbsp. butter, 1 shallot (minced), 1 Tbsp. tarragon, 2 tsp. Dijon mustard (optional), fresh cracked black pepper, fresh ground sea salt

Directions:
Cut chicken into pieces and set aside. Brown shallots in butter, add chicken to pan and warm. Remove chicken. Pour champagne, Dijon and tarragon to pan, allow to simmer. Add cream, salt and pepper and simmer. Slowly add flour, whisking constantly. Allow sauce to thicken. Add chicken back to sauce. Warm crêpes in oven for a few minutes. Divide chicken mixture between crêpes and top with remaining sauce. Serve hot!

I loved how this sauce turned out, I was picturing it drizzled over pasta or salmon, Hubster was envisioning it over a burger…

What is your favorite herb to use when cooking?

Basic Savory & Sweet Crêpes

Tags

breakfast, brunch, crêpes, dessert, dinner, food, French, french cuisine, french food, gourmet, light fare, light lunch, lunch, luncheon, postaday2011, recipe, sweet crepes

I’ve never had a real French crêpe, even the ones at the overpriced French restaurant Hubster took me to, were definitely Americanized.  I’ve tried several recipes for crêpes and was disappointed with each. Some maybe due to the recipe, some maybe due to technique. I investigated crêpes, looked for trends in each recipe (Yes, I research food and enjoy it) and I tried to create my own. Good thing Hubster got me that new “grapes” pan…

Crêpes

Ingredients for Basic Savory Crêpes:
1 c. flour, 1 1/4 c. milk, 2 eggs, 2 Tbs. melted butter, 1/4 tsp. nutmeg, 1/4 tsp. fresh ground sea salt, vegetable oil

Directions for Basic Savory Crêpes:
Combine flour, salt and nutmeg. Add milk, beating at medium speed. Add eggs and continue beating. Stir in butter. Chill batter for an hour. Lightly coat a crêpe pan with oil and heat over medium heat. Pour 1/4 c. batter into middle of hot pan, quickly tilt pan until batter coats it in every direction (just a quick twirl of the wrist should do). Cook for about 1 minute and turn over, cook for an addition minute. Place crêpes on wire rack to cool. Stack crêpes between sheets of wax paper.

Ingredients for Basic Sweet Crêpes:
1 c. flour, 1 1/4 c. milk, 2 eggs, 2 Tbs. melted butter, 1 Tbs. amaretto (Disaronno, of course) or almond extract, 1/8 c. vanilla sugar, pinch of fresh ground sea salt, vegetable oil

Directions for Basic Sweet Crêpes:
Combine flour, sugar and salt. Add milk, beating at medium speed. Add eggs, amaretto and continue beating. Stir in butter. Chill batter for an hour. Lightly coat a crêpe pan with oil and heat over medium heat. Pour 1/4 c. batter into middle of hot pan, quickly tilt pan until batter coats it in every direction (just a quick twirl of the wrist should do). Cook for about 1 minute and turn over, cook for an addition minute. Place crêpes on wire rack to cool. Stack crêpes between sheets of wax paper.

I used a 10″ crêpe pan, if you are using a smaller plan, try pouring 1/8 c. batter into hot pan. Crêpes can be frozen. Stack between sheets of wax paper and stick in airtight container or freezer bag.  When ready to use, thaw and fill as normal. These recipes are basic and allow room to add your favorite herbs or spices depending on the filling and sauce you’re pairing with your crêpes.

Hubster is already planning more ingredient he wants me to try in crêpes.

Do you prefer sweet dessert crêpes or savory dinner crêpes? What is your favorite crêpe filling/topping?