Out to Lunch in the South of France: - Sautéed Asparagus with Warm Onion Vinaigrette

 

The winter view of the Castillet in Perpignan waiting for Christmas decorations to arrive

Bonjour à toi! (hello to you!) C’est si bon de te voir! (It’s great to see you!)

The doorbell rings, my heart sings. When I heard it, I put the kettle on. It’s been a while since we shared adventures, time, and the beauty of life. I need to do better. I'm changing my ways - at least I will try! No blogs about writing (for at least 2 seconds, I promise.) and no blogs about how France is dealing with Covid (It’s more like the flu now, if a lot harder on some people. I see very few masks, and life feels normal again.)

Yes, I know I’ve been a bit invisible on the social networks for months - writing. You say that’s

Tea or Coffee?  

nothing new, and I have to agree. However, it gives me great joy, and is my passion in life. Enough about me. Tell me all about you. Come into my French-American kitchen and let’s have a cup of something warm. Your choice, of course there’s coffee: espresso, regular, and even non-caffeinated, also, there are all kinds of teas as well as herbal mixes. I’m having a cup of ginger honey lemon tisane. It’s the one that steered me calmly through my last book. (Calm is a relative term.)

You and I sit down in the sunlight that streams through the kitchen windows and we have a long chat. You tell me about your visit to Perpignan and Argelès-sur-Mer this morning. I love these moments. I’m glad to hear your news and commiserate on the not-so-great moments as well. Life sure isn’t perfect. But we’re both here. That’s enough.

Decos go up!

You are right, the kitchen had a big makeover during the last 18 months. Three good friends gave me inspiration and shared their time, energy, know-how, and brawn. It all came flat packed in kits and transformed the house. In fact, I now love writing at this table. The light and warmth is amazing. I still write in cafes and love that but it is never as productive. Today why don’t we stay in and enjoy each other’s company right here?

 Mince! (dang), you are laughing. You know that the real reason is because I want to decorate the house later today! We finish our drinks and you know what? I'm hungry!  It may be because that new book I've finished (Taste the South of France) is all about good food I've shared with you, my friend. It could also be because it's lunch time.

 You and I clear away some of the Christmas wrapping and presents that are on

Our lunch together

the table then take out the fixings from the fridge. I love that white asparagus from the village little store. It won’t take much for it to be the star in our lunch.

Yes, put some olive oil in that pan - it’s my favorite.  It's a gym workout in itself to take down from the hook, and later to replace because of that heavy cast iron polished so fine - it is practically nonstick.
Notice the word practically. I still have to keep the food moving in it to be safe. The oil helps. I like the taste of the olive oil and they say it’s good for us. If it's considered unhealthy and I like it - well, I'll be sparing in decadent enjoyment of it. If it’s good for us well, even better! If they say it's good for us, and I don’t like it, you’re not gonna get it near me! Yeah, I'm looking at you Kombucha....

Today, we'll keep it simple. I'll make a salad. while you give the asparagus a few turns in the hot skillet. We'll split an avocado for starters, enjoy the salad and finish with les asperges grillées avec vinaigrette à l'oignon tendre. Oh, pardon my French! We'll have those asparagus you have braised so perfectly served with a warm
dressing I made earlier. The recipe?

First I cut a small sweet onion in rings and sauté it in olive oil - I used the one pressed with garlic for extra flavor- miam, miam! (French for yum yum, bien sûr!) Then mix with my vinaigrette.

The basic vinaigrette. Good hot or cold.

4 Tablespoons lemon juice

braising asparagus

4 Tablespoons white Balsamic vinegar (You could use white wine vinegar)

a teaspoon of dry basil (If you use fresh, use about a quarter cup and chop tiny.)

a teaspoon of dry shallots. (again, if fresh, use one and make mince of it!)

3  Tablespoons virgin olive oil

1  tablespoon Dijon Mustard (if dry use 1 teaspoon)

2 pinches of sugar

a tiny pinch of salt

big pinch or two of black pepper

I use a small jar with a good lid to mix my vinaigrette in these proportions and shake like crazy until it’s smooth. More sane people use food processors. Probably a good idea.

Add the vinaigrette to the sautéed onions, stir together until warm then cut the heat. No need to cook it.

The star dish today

We have our starter and salad.  Then I serve the asparagus and spoon generous amounts of the sauce over the tender spears. Once devoured, we sop up the delicious sauce with fresh baguette from the boulangerie. Finally that gorgeous, a bit strong, camembert cheese. This wine? It’s from Mas Christine a nearby winery. I agree, the name Dog Strangler is horrid. But the wine – well – it’s divine!

Time for a little walk around the village before you go home. Leave the dishes. I’ll deal with that later.

Mas Christine's front desk

The walk refreshes us and it’s already time to say, Au revoir for a little while. I’m so glad you came for lunch. Next time – we’ll go out.

The end of the day closes the book on yesterday. Set your sights ahead. As a much-read book reminds us, “that was then, this is now.” The future beckons and it will be good because we’ll face it together, mon ami. A la prochaine! (Until the next time.)

Our view of the village from the Church steps

Why Write? Why Not! 5 - Just Write (Final of this series)

 

This is the last of the series on Writing.  Because I think I've said enough for now and also, I want to share other things!  Things like adventures, life, and beautiful places.  So to wrap this up, let's talk about motivation and the dreaded writer's block.

A woolly sweater, a warm cafe, espresso, pastries oh and some editing!

Getting started - may seem like the hardest part.  You can spend a lot of time getting ready to write and never get around to it!  However, don't beat yourself up if it is taking a while for words to appear on the page.  

Be patient.  Forgive yourself.  Maybe the feeling just isn't right.

Like most writers, I have a folder of ideas and bits of writing. I often write by dictation as I drink my morning coffee, telling myself the story I see in my mind.  I send it to the word processing program and look it over.  Often there are some strange words that only my

Cards & booklets for the setting of my current project

phone thinks I say.  So that gets cleaned up and more details are added.  I print it out and take my manuscript everywhere I go. I edit by hand and at the end of the day, I am at the keyboard to add the changes.

 But like all writers, I have times when I get too busy, lose interest, or even feel blocked looking at the blank page. So how do I motivate myself to get back in the saddle and write on? (yeah, bad pun.)  First - my strongest suggestion - tell yourself it's okay.  Surround yourself with things that relate to what it is you want to achieve. Then get on with it one word or act at a time.

I used to keep a calendar/ledger book on my bedside reading table. In the column running down the side, I would write how many words I had written that day. (Bless the word processor for making this easier.) If I was about write zero, I would add a postscript to the day right there in the ledger book, something like: “I couldn’t write today, it was very hard. All my head wants to do is scream but that won’t help anything. Maybe if I tell you, my little writing journal, it will help me. Help me get through another day and allow me to put on the corner of this page that I have written some thing. And maybe one day something eventually will allow me to write again the way my husband believes that I can.”  

Then I tallied the words - for example that was 77.  Yes, there were days when I couldn’t even do that.  I know that if I look back 7 years to when my husband battled cancer and lost, there are months of blanks.  But knowing that little book was waiting for me to put words to pages, was a tiny push. I knew it meant a lot to him for me to succeed. It pushed me. A push can start an avalanche.

Find your push. The act of writing is writing, no matter what the subject. And it kept me on track. Ten books later, I no longer need the book-keeping.  I have pages and folders full of manuscripts.  I know what it takes is putting words on the paper or screen and I do it every day because it gives me joy.

You can do it. Whatever your project or how hard it seems, don't despair.  Your creativity is unique and doesn't need to be like anybody else's in the whole world.  

Find your inspiration.
Readers always inspire me!

Just Write. By which I mean create.  A book, a poem, a love letter, a garden, a shed, a beautiful meal, or anything that gives you joy.   It doesn’t matter what, you will know it when you feel it.  The driving passion will trigger a part of the brain.

And it all counts because even that angst I felt blocking me seven years ago added up and became some thing that added depth to the character in another novel later on. It’s something that sometimes inspires a poem or even... a blog!  

Thanks for reading my "scribblings" -  it means a lot to me.  You and the world you create every day matter to me. 

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Why Write? Why Not! 4 - It's about Passion

Part of the Passion is sharing.  My next book is set here!

When I say I’m an indie writer, people often ask, “Do you sell a lot of books?”  Which makes me smile. Not really important. I don’t count them.  I don't pay for advertising, I'm not famous, and I won’t sit outside the bookstores peddling my wares. When a new book comes out, there will be anywhere between twenty and forty sales that month and then it tapers off to a couple a month.

I don’t have to count them to know they sell. At the end of the month, royalties are paid and I know that I must have sold ten books last month. (Which is cool as I only put out 2 books last year and one is not even on the market because it's still waiting for some translation work from my partner.)

The separate payment stubs meant that one was an eBook and the other nine were paper or hard backs, but I didn’t run to my author dashboard to analyze which was which.  Because what I love is writing and telling stories.

If I worked for someone else - say - a publisher, I’d have to chase the statistics to sell more. I’d have to go to book signings or do podcasts. And that would be the death knell to how much fun I have dreaming up new stories. To use my favorite French expression of disgust, “Beurk!”

I love the fact that I control every aspect of creating my novels except for the costs of printing. But at least I get to choose how much or how little I make on the royalty.  And I love that.  I keep my prices down because I can.  I choose to make a dollar or a euro per sale.  That seems fair to me.  I've more than made back what I put into it.

There was a cyclone blowing outside -
but I was in another world 

My real reward is that day I first hold the book in my hand. Plus I am an impatient soul. Life is short. I could never deal with the delays, restraints, and finality of being published by a company - assuming I could find one who would want my mixed bag writing style.

 And why did I not go the traditional route and send off my books to the big 5 publishers or even all those little ones? Easy, I did. Back in 2005, when I wrote the first draft of CSA, I naively sent my manuscript to over 20 US publishers at great expense. I was based in France and if I had wanted those 300 pages back I needed to send a return postage. I didn’t. Months later and for the next year, the rejects trickled in.  These photocopied, standardized text notes with my book title inserted were disheartening. My husband told me it was unimportant and to keep writing for the love of writing.  If I needed to make money, I could tutor French people in English!

Since then, I've read a lot on the subject. Only 1 to 2% of new writers get published by the big companies.  Thousands of unsolicited manuscripts arrive at the major publishing houses every day.  These go into directly into huge "slush" piles.  The odds are large that when the lowly lackey who sorts the unsolicited manuscripts reaches yours they will glance at it and note that you are not Kylie Jenner nor have you climbed Mount Everest with only one prosthetic leg and put it on the 98% stack to receive a standard, “Thank you for considering our Publishing House. Unfortunately your submission doesn’t fit our needs. Good luck with your future writing projects.” 

Why our readers loved the blog... the south of France!

Fast forward, 5 years and 3 books into "writing for the love of it," my husband and I started a column for Yahoo about life in France. I was really writing it for my mom who was terminally ill and wanted me to be “Published.”  To our surprise, over 700 people checked out our first blog on day 1.  By the end of a week thousands had. We kept writing and even made a little money - about 45 dollars a month!

I realized the readers didn't care that I wasn't famous - they enjoyed the stories.  I decided to go Indie with the goal of selling affordable books.  I would publish my own work for no cost up front with KDP. It was the right thing for me.

As I said I am an impatient soul. Being published by a company - assuming one could get published - is a long process. The average time is 9 months to 2 years to wait after finding one who says, "Yes!"

Everyone has a story and people love to share and to be a part of other people's lives.  We're only here for a little while - so why not?  Your personal success or mine does not depend of finishing anything.  Success is breathing and being.  It's the doing and dreaming that give us real satisfaction.  

It's all about finding your joy.

You know what? Every post you put out there is a personal expression of who you are and the freedom we have to share.  It's amazing! 

 I'm rarely there on Instagram or Twitter but when I do get there I see an astonishing outpouring of what it is to be human.  Facebook is where I feel like I'm part of a family of friends, a few of whom I've never met.  

Keep on chasing your passion.  Keep on sharing your stories and know that I'll be checking in because I love hearing about the way life looks through your eyes.  

PS And yeah, guess-ti-mating from my royalties, it's somewhere over nine hundred books sold online so far.  And you know what?  That's way more than I ever expected!

My homework this month - learning about Fauvism for the next book.
And this is why I love to write.

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Why Write? Why Not! 3 - Fear

There’s nothing like a cyclone outside  
to focus your thoughts on writing!
It’s not like I’m going out today as Batsirai   
blasts past us on La Réunion. I have time.  
So, is it lack of time that keeps people
who say they want to write from doing so?

When I was young, (In my 20’s and teaching middle school core classes), my husband said, “You have the potential to be a writer.” I laughed. “I don’t know how to write! I write computer programs and teach children Math and English but that’s about it.” He gave me one of those smiles and said, “You know better.”

“You write poetry, and songs.  I find your ideas scribbled on grocery lists.  I hear you sing in the shower. It’s all creation. Don’t let the work you do for money keep you from following your muse.” I loved his faith in me. But I didn’t really believe. Each year, a few poems  a song or two were all that went into my personal journals.

I wrote a lot of short stories but they were written with built in errors to serve as grammar exercises for my English students to tackle. Even so, the folder full of ideas slowly grew and eventually needed a big rubber band to keep it together.

Christmas was always a joy, even the year we set a $15 gift budget - $7.50 each that is! Fast forward to the years of luxury, when a double income meant the good life. Christmas shopping meant “The City” (SF) and giggling like kids as we peered at decorated windows and bought gifts for everyone. Late in the day, we sat in deep comfy chairs at the Royal Oak Pub and sipped hot cognac.

The twinkling lights, the soft jazz background music and our pile of treasure always kicked off the holidays.  Then last stop of the day - North Beach - where a takeaway pizza or giant burrito would top the ritual. Old radio shows filled the hours as we shared our dinner on the long dark drive back to the often foggy San Joaquin Valley.

One December, as we settled in our favorite corner where ornate art-deco lamps cast a warm glow across the oak tables, he said he’d found the perfect pre-Christmas present for me. I opened the bag from City Lights and smiled wryly at the book “If You Want to Write,” by Brenda Ueland. I was unconvinced. Surely a writer needed a big desk, pretty notebooks, reams of paper, and a zillion cool tools - like antique pens or super-sonic moon pencils….

You know what? It only took a blank page, time, and passion. My husband was right. I could write. He gave me the perfect gift. Belief that I was a writer and will always be a writer. 

Last month I bought another copy of “If You Want to Write,” in ebook format to carry it with me every day.  Chapter one: “Everybody is Talented, Original and Has Something Important to Say.”  Brilliant, right?

She knew what stops most writers from ever beginning: FEAR. And you can beat it.  You want to write? Then start.  If it’s too scary to let anyone else see it, then write for yourself.  

A writer is just someone who writes. It doesn’t matter what, it doesn’t matter if anybody ever reads it, what matters is the joy of creation. Sure we leave footprints in the sand, but high tides and storms will wash them away. Don’t write for immortality. Create because it makes you feel alive. If you want to write - WRITE. I believe in you.

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Why Write? Why Not! 2 - Just Do It

   Do all writers suffer from writer's block?  No, but a lot do.  Don't let it stop you.  Keep dreaming!

  

    I’ll be the first to admit that it’s a lot easier to write when you have a great view. This month I’ve worked from a shaded terrace where palm trees and mangoes frame the blue of the Indian Ocean.  It’s easier when you don’t have a lot of worries to weigh you down. But don’t think I am worry-free.  Everyone carries something heavy.  That is part of being human and alive.

The key is this: keep on writing or preparing to write. Do it every day and have faith in yourself. Tell yourself: I am a writer. I will write today, I will write tomorrow.

Does it matter what or how much?  Not a bit. Will it be a few sketches in a notebook, a description of a character, or a phrase that grabbed my imagination so fiercely that I scribbled it down on a napkin at the cafe?  Cool.  

Durning my darkest days in 2015 I became blocked. This is a part of being a writer and, as is often the case, it was stress that blocked me. My husband was fighting a battle against cancer and the doctors informed us it was fatal, our medical debt was rising, and it felt like my world was melting.

When I penned the first four books, I’d been relatively worry-free. My husband saw I was blocked and he encouraged me to get that fifth book started. I began scribbling the first three chapters while we waited for radiation treatments, and outlined the plot as we sat close and joked around in the chemotherapy unit.

He reminded me that the secret to writing was to write even if it was only a few lines every day. I did and I do. It took a very long time before that fifth book was finished but once I’d healed from the loss of that marvelous man, I kept the faith.  He believed in me and over time I learned to believe in myself.

So, when you feel blocked by life from expressing yourself stick out your tongue at it and just do it anyway. (You know, within reason and legality!) What counts is that your happiness - so dream big and live well.  Write, create, paint, sing, dance, laugh or feel the bliss of contemplating life.  Problems will always arise, but if you open yourself to seeing a way beyond them, you will have the opportunity to express yourself. Just do it - and you will feel the joy.  And if you want to, share your joy with me.  I’m on your side!

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Why Write? Why Not! 1 - Sharing The Joy

Hey, as I begin my 10th book, yes! Wow - 10th! I’ve been thinking a lot about writing. When I’m introduced to someone new, they often say, “It must be great to be a writer,” or, “That’s so cool!” Often they tell me they are thinking about writing a book but don’t know how to begin. Well often, my stories start on the backs of envelopes! When inspiration hits, it often flies as well. No time for that fancy paper blank book! Grab the idea while it’s still around. Maybe it will get used later and maybe not. Collecting those wisps of ideas is the starting point of storytelling. Fortunately, today it rained and that meant I stopped playing and sat down to write.


One of the most poignant lines I know comes from the movie V for Vendetta. The heroine is reading a hidden text that says, "This is the only autobiography that I will ever write and God, I'm writing it on toilet paper."


And you know what? It changes that reader's life. It doesn't matter if the autobiography is true, false, printed, handwritten, lined up in verse, or spattered as paint on the wall. It tells a story that speaks straight to the heart.


They say there is a book in everyone. Sure. Maybe some days I feel like all I have is a comic strip... so I'm taking a break from my work at my writer's desk (aka - the breakfast table) to write about writing!


Yes, I think everyone has something to share - maybe even a book in them. That just makes sense to me - every life is a story filled to the brim. So, if you've been thinking about it - why not join me and just write your story in whatever form takes your fancy?


You don't have to be confined (for weeks as we were last year in France) to the rules of anyone else. (ha ha - yes, a confinement pun...argh) It doesn't have to be a book with X number of Chapters, perfect grammar, or lots of prose.... It doesn't even have to be a book. Maybe you have poetry to share, or photos, or short stories, anecdotes about your family or life. Maybe it's just a "Hey, I'm here and I'm thinking!"
In this digital world sharing has become a way life. And I'm glad. I can post my thoughts and photos and just as easily delete them again if the whim takes me. But take note: That doesn’t make them disappear. Once in a server it will always exist somewhere - remember that whenever you post! I think - so how would I feel about my mom reading this one day?


My only advice - and I know it's biased - is to put out the vibe you want to receive - or as my mom used to say, "In private you can be a mess, but in public - be the best you that you can possibly imagine." I've always tried my best.
Yes, I do cultivate writing in cafes or editing while sitting by the seaside. But hey - sometimes, I'm in my pjs all day just hanging out with a cup of java and writing at the kitchen table and it's all good! What counts is sharing with one another what it is to be alive. So, why write? Why not! You have unimaginable, unique tales to tell. Maybe you'll surprise yourself and write that book! (or a comic strip even....)


Come on over any time. Feel free to join me on my Facebook Page and talk about writing - or about not writing, even! I think the thing about creating is the sharing. The human contact. I want to hear from you - AND - I'll be cheering you on!
Until next time, mes amis, big bisous! (You know sorta virtual French hugs & kisses from La Reunion France)

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