We always leave France in early September, just as the Chestnuts are thinking of falling.
I used to look forward to going to the woods mushrooming, and returning with a pocket-full of Chestnuts. They are very beautiful tactile things, as well as being delicious. The locally grown ones are particularly good.
My preferred way of eating them is to cut a cross into the pointed end, then boil for about 20 minutes. You can probably see in the photo below that they begin to open up at the cross, making it easier to get at the cooked nut inside. A little salt, and you have a delicious snack to accompany your evening glass of wine.
Some of the things I miss most about not being here through Autumn are the Chestnuts, certain wild mushrooms, and beautiful quiet misty mornings. Perhaps we should come a month later and stay until early October.
September is a beautiful month in Southern France; we shall miss it. It's already beginning to feel autumnal. A real mixed-bag of weather.
Little if anything I can say by way of comfort.
ReplyDeleteDo you have Christmas markets in Brighton? They tend to do roasted chestnuts. I know it's not the same as your own bounty but it's still something. Short of that, I recommend "Merchant Gourmet Whole Chestnuts" (vac packed and shelled) to be added to an autumnal/wintery casserole.
Wild mushrooms? A bit of a holy grail these days.
U
I do buy those Marchant Gourmet Chestnuts; very handy! Chestnuts go off very quickly, they are best eaten within days of dropping, so I would never buy months old ones at Christmas. The roasting hides all sorts of blemishes and bugs inside.
DeleteI shall look out for those Merchant Gourmet chestnut packs although I doubt I'll find them in our shops .
ReplyDeleteThey tend to appear around Christmas; for obvious reasons.
DeleteWhen I was a girl many years ago we lived with my Grandparents on a farm in Surrey not far from Shere. Every autumn we would gather chestnuts off that were delicious and always a good plump size. They don't seem to fill out now like then. Must be the weather. The chestnuts in your photos look delicious. Regards Sue H
ReplyDeleteThey are mostly grafted varieties here, but some can be grown from seed. There's one variety called Marsol which grows from seed which is wonderful. They would grow well in the UK.
DeleteI'm a Surrey boy; I came from Lingfield.
Trouble is that if you go over to France later in the summer of 2026 you will enjoy far less swimming pool time. It's what they call a dilemma.
ReplyDeleteYes, it's a problem. We really need a six month visa, but we can't be bothered with all the paperwork. If it could all be done online, I'd apply for one. But it can't.
DeleteA six month visa would be so nice, though! Would it really be that much trouble?
DeleteI think one has to go to London for fingerprints etc. They're always so incompetent there. They're closed when they should be open, etc. There's always a queue. It's really horrible. If I could do the whole process online; I would. Anyway, we're quite happy with just 3 months here.
DeleteI love those quiet misty mornings. I'll skip the chestnuts. We don't have either around here, or not often. Chestnut trees are further north.
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to autumn
It's a beautiful day here today; I've just mowed the lawns. Tomorrow back to rain again; typical Autumn weather. With all the Chestnut trees around us (it's a major crop), I still only used to eat about a dozen each year.
DeleteI am always surprised a the number of English people, who lived in France for years, and never obtained permanent residence or citizenship. There are probably reasons, but with the unpleasantness of Brexit, it would make a lot of lives easier.
ReplyDeleteWe came to live here even before we were members of The Common Market (1972), and we were obliged to have a residence permit. Then when we became full members of the EU, we didn't need anything, and we lived here happily for about 50 years without any 'papers'. Having voted to REMAIN in the EU, I feel as if I'm now being punished, and I refuse to have anything to do with it.
DeleteSplitting your time between Brighton and France does sound ideal.
ReplyDeleteAlternatively, could you arrive in France a month later and leave France in the Autumn?
I've only had baked chestnuts, and they were very bitter. I must try boiling them.
Yes, we have thought about coming at different times, but we love our swimming and June/July/August are the most reliable months.
DeleteI've never had a Chestnut that was 'bitter', I wonder what variety they were. Boiling would probably make them sweeter.
I think someone in newspapers or magazines is missing a treasure not asking you to write for them about your daily life - Your columns would I'm certain be a very popular contribution - flis x
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure about that Flis, I live a pretty ordinary quiet life these days. But I like the idea!
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