European Coffee Has Such a History!

If you drink coffee, you are apt to be one who sighs at the mention of a steamy espresso in a Parisian or Tuscan sidewalk cafe. Yes.... it is usually as delightful as it seems.

The cup, tiny by American standards, often has a whimsical design. Always with a saucer and tiny spoon. A cube of sugar and a square of dark chocolate usually come along with it. Such elegance, such panache, and such flavor!

European espresso is rich and thick. It ripples in the cup when the breeze blows. The aroma can stop the most interesting conversation for a moment. The taste of a good espresso fills the palate and seems to literally waken the senses.

I made a startling find in Peypin d'Aigues early this morning. The vide grenier was just beginning and as I approached a table, a local woman was setting out the things from her kitchen that she wished to sell. There to one side I saw a curious little two-spouted thing. It turned out to be an Italian espresso maker from the 1950s. Made of heavy aluminum, it is meant to sit atop a gas flame which boils the water and sends the steam upward into the filter where the coffee waits, then the fresh rich brew drips down into a heated cup. Sound decadent?   

Surprised as I was to find that adorable little coffee maker, I was stopped dead in my tracks to see the original, vintage Vesuviana maker sitting right next to it! As much as I adore french coffee, Italy truly is the original home of espresso and the espresso maker. And the Vesuviana coffee maker is one of the original Italian machines (designed, apparently, by a machinist rather than a coffee vendor). The principal strategy for making espresso has remained largely unchanged since the mid-late 1800s, but the equipment has kept up with technology, as you surely know.

So to find these early models was a real treat for me. I wasted no time making a deal, nearly paying her asking price, and turning for home with a grin on my face.

Create Your Own Boudoir!

Boudoir is a French word for a woman’s private bedroom, sitting room, or dressing room. Today, it can also be a small area within a bedroom or bathroom where a lady keeps the things that make her feel most feminine.  I am planning to bring you wonderful things from Provence to fill your own boudoir.


 There is really no American word that translates well, so we seem happy to use this French word, pronounced "booed wah".

In a lady’s boudoir, one might find such things as perfume bottles, a candle holder, a bud case, a jewelry box, pill boxes, special soaps and soft facial cloths, a small time piece, or an especially precious photo. 




Whatever you keep in your boudoir, there are many delightful pieces that can bring the joy of Provence into your little corner of the world. 


I plan to find these precious things and bring them to you right here, so that you can bring them into your own home.  Write a comment below to let me know what YOU would love to see in your own boudoir..... 

Antique Provence Pharmacy Boxes hold just the right medicine!

If only the medicine to cure today’s ills came to us in such lovely containers! Imagine getting your prescription filled at a pharmacy that uses delightful boxes like these. 

Made of parchment-like cardboard and wrapped in brocades and ribbons of the most lovely colors, these boxes also serve to advertise the pharmacy itself. This one happens to come from a pharmacy that existed in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s in the town of Beziers France, not far from the south-western border between France and Spain. Beziers is best known as a center for brocante and antique shops. The village hosts markets and faires and events throughout the year. 

I was lucky enough to find a woman selling a box full of these containers in several colors. I use them to hold fresh lavender seeds, jewelry, or even—imagine--pills at my bedside!  

Then of course there are the more 'common' pill boxes with lovely, whimsical, or elegant designs made of everything from porcelain to brass and ivory. 

French Oysters on New Year's Eve!

On the western coast of France there are long stretches of the coastline that have been devoted to the farming of oysters since the late 1700s. They are a delicious staple of New Year’s Eve festivities along with champagne, of course!

As with many things French, the eating of oysters prompted the creation of an industry of table ware and kitchen tools uniquely designed for the preparation and serving of oysters. One of the most beautiful examples is the “oyster plate.”

The best-known ceramic plate designs, sometimes called majolica, have been created in communities such as Quimper on the northwestern coast, Sarreguemines on the northeastern border, Limoges in the central part of the country, and Vallauris along the Mediterranean Sea. These 'houses' have created treasured lines of these dishes, well prized by French families and collectors alike. The plates in the pictures on this page come from design houses of Sarreguemines, Niderviller, and Longchamp in the northern reaches of France, and Vallauris in Provence.

Over the centuries, designers have created a wide range of mofits from the most traditional and elegant to an artistic array of modern variations in shape, color, texture, and size. The Sarreguemines plate above has a delicate edging of oak leaves; the Niderviller plate to the left gives an example of a more modern artistic design called Mousse (sea-foam); and the Longchamp design below is a more traditional design common in many households.

Most plates are designed with 6 good-sized wells for a nice individual serving of oysters or a table serving platter for a dozen oysters. Nearly all plates have a shallow well in the center for lemon slices or dipping sauces. People living in different regions of France are likely to use local recipes for dipping sauces; some with a mayonnaise base, others with a vinegar base, and still others with simple lemon juice.

Whatever their origin and design, oyster plates have found their way into the hearts and collections of ceramic lovers everywhere.  

Classic Old French Enamelware Coffee Pot & Grinder

Someone asked me a good question a few months back: How do you make coffee in these classic old coffee pots?   

These pots look fabulous sitting on the counter top, don't they?  Even better on the kitchen table surrounded by interesting cups and a plate of warm croissants..... What would it be like to actually use one of these pots when the book club comes to visit? It's lots of fun to imagine what that might be like! So let's consider how you would use it.

First, imagine having rich roasted coffee beans.  

Then you would want an old grinder coffee mill like this one. 

Finally, of course, you would need one of these pots. Any color will do. The enamelware ones from France seem to come in a wide range of colors.

 

 

 You would grind the rich roasted coffee beans as finely as possible by pouring them into the top-side opening of the mill and letting them work their way down through the spinning blades of the coffee mill. 

The ground coffee collects in the small drawer at the bottom of the mill. 

After putting the grounds at the bottom of the classic old coffee pot, you would add water. Then as the water boils, preferably over an open flame... you wait until you get a strong whiff of that fabulous rich coffee. Using a very thick pot holder, you remove the pot from the flame, you watch the pot and wait while the grounds settle to the bottom of the pot. 

Final step: pour slowly and sip carefully.  YUM! 

Now, of course, there are modern-day safety and health issues to consider. But I am just saying, if you like to dream about having and using one of these classic old coffee pots, then you now know how to envision the coffee-making process! 

Bon Appetit!

Perpetual Wine Calendar?

Perpetual calendars are cool things--but a perpetual wine vintage calendar? Now that is a VERY cool thing! 

If you are like me, you have tried over the years (without much success) to understand the logic of allowing certain wines to age and drinking other wines sooner rather than later. Well, look at this curious little thing I found in Provence. 

It is a perpetual calendar that organizes the main wines of France, by region and color, and then by year according to when each should be "conserved", "enjoyed" and "already have been drunk". All in french, of course. 

Just spin the dial and open the proper bottle--Cheers!

European Gladstone Doctor's Bag

In Europe, this particular style of bag is very popular with collectors. Created in the mid-1800s, this bag was designed to open wide with hinges that stay open for quick easy access, such as that needed by doctors working out on the road.

 Called a Gladstone Doctor's Bag, it is named after the man who was British Prime Minister at the time because, in a way that seems curious today, the creator was a big fan of the PM! 

The style has endured, been duplicated, and altered.  I once found an original Gladstone bag and was immediately asked to sell it to a neighbor whose daughter, Fanny, had just been accepted into French medical school. That bag now has a fine home.