We got back home on 4 January after a month in the US, so what has it been like?

First off it has been pretty cold most of the time, morning temperatures in the 20sF, we even had a dusting of snow. We try to use our wood stove as little as possible, it is just too much bother and too much smoke, yet we have had a few fires out of necessity.

I took that photo last winter when Neville was still with us, he did like the fires. Though we always miss him, and talk about him often, since returning we are missing him for another reason – mice. It seems the cold has driven the mice to seek warmer places indoors, so we have been setting traps and cleaning a lot, yuck. If Neville was here it would be pas de problème .

We eat quite a bit differently when we are home. While traveling, and especially on this trip to visit friends and family who all wanted to share amazing food, we eat a lot. Here in Normandie we are pretty much vegetarian and eat our main meal at lunch, though still pretty light. Then we have just an appetizer type nibble in the evening.

Our first Sunday back I made crisp, thin polenta cakes with a light Roquefort sauce, topped with beets, walnuts and crispy shallots.

We have had flatbreads, salads, I made a cauliflower soup, and Tricia made a lentil soup. For her birthday last Friday I did polenta cakes again but with a mushroom sauce – it didn’t turn out as well as I would have liked for a birthday meal, but she said it was a good birthday, which is all that mattered. It feels good to eat a bit less, and I am sure my girth is happier for it as well.

Friday we head to Paris, then on to the south of Spain for a couple of weeks, it will be good to get out of the cold for a bit. We will leave traps for the mice just in case. And in Spain I can get all of the tapas and grilled fish I can eat, we can hardly wait.