Heidi Country II

Do you recall my "Heidi Country" post of last August?  Back when it was hot and the meadows and the mountains were lush and the sky blue and white. You could see the cows eating amid wild flowers and lavender....

Well here's what it looks like in winter:  equally magnificent when covered with its white blanket. B E A U T I F U L!!

Two weeks ago, it was the school holidays here, so we took the opportunity to take these pictures (with sweetheart's aging compact camera, a Sony VSC-1).

I hope you enjoy them. We adore this secluded little corner - it's so authentic. That is why I named it "Heidi Country".

Have a look at my August post also, then let me know your preference.

The view from the chalet.

The neighbour's cat.

The mountain hut.

The Swiss Alps.

The village.

The white horse.

A typical mountain chalet.

Typical mountain chalets.

The ski run.

A Minimalist Beauty Basket

Bonjour ladies! This is a quick hello to present my beauty basket to you. Rummaging through my camera I found this series of photos of my minimalist beauty products which I took last April.

From the pictures you can tell that Clarins has won my heart. I am very familiar with this excellent brand of cosmetics. I must say that it's a love story that has lasted since I was eighteen, when I was a student in the country of Shakespeare.

However, some of these products, once finished, have been replaced by others. Maybe you still remember my product reviews - Elona snail cream, Chanel No 5 which replaced Diva by Ungaro... Elixir serum by Caudalie (the post is coming out soon).

It is obvious that I have clearly come out of my comfort zone. I do believe this is partly thanks to blogging... I am more willing to try new things and it has been a beneficial experience for me.

What about you? Are you faithful to a brand? Would you like to share a wonderful new discovery?

I wish you a fabulous Wednesday.

The Lover by Marguerite Duras (1984)

In 1929, a 15-year-old French girl is travelling by ferry across the Mekong Delta, returning from a holiday at her family home in the town of Sa Đéc to her boarding school in Saigon. She attracts the attention of the 27-year-old son of a Chinese business magnate, a young man of wealth and heir to a fortune. He strikes up a conversation with the girl; she accepts a ride back to town in his chauffeured limousine. A passion is born from this encounter. Thus, she becomes his lover, until he bows to the disapproval of his father and breaks off the affair. For her lover, there is no question of the depth and sincerity of his love, but it is not until much later that the girl realises her true feelings.

The Lover is an autobiographical novel by Marguerite Duras. It has been translated into 43 languages and was awarded the Prix Goncourt in 1984. A film adaptation was made in 1992: The Lover by Jean-Jacques Arnaud.

Author: Marguerite Duras was born on April 14, 1914, in Saigon, Cochinchina, a region of French Indochina (now Vietnam). She died of throat cancer in 1996 in Paris. Duras spent most of her childhood in Indochina, but at the age of 17 she moved to France to study at the Sorbonne in Paris, where she obtained degrees in law and politics. She was deeply marked by the landscape and the lifestyle of the former French colony, which often served as a backdrop to her work.

My thoughts: I read this book in one day in the Portuguese version; I loved it so much that I read it twice. This is without contest an erotic masterpiece: exhilarating, sensual, melancholy, truthful, modern and female. I quote below the most beautiful piece of her writing:

"Very early in my life, it was too late.

It was already too late when I was eighteen. Between eighteen and twenty-five my face took off in a new direction. I grew old at eighteen. I don't know if it's the same for everyone, I've never asked. But I believe I've heard of the way time can suddenly accelerate on people when they're going through even the most youthful and highly esteemed stages of life. My ageing was very sudden. I saw it spread over my features one by one, changing the relationship between them, making the eyes larger, the expression sadder, the mouth more final, leaving great creases in the forehead. But instead of being dismayed I watched this process with the same sort of interest I might have taken in the reading of a book."

“There are always flowers for those who want to see them” - quote by Henri Matisse

For Valentine's Day sweetheart offered me nice gifts. This very cosy brown blanket to keep me warm when I read on the couch. This great bestseller book ordered in the UK because it was not yet published in Geneva. A Chanel gift because it is the essence of Parisian elegance....

and these beautiful flowers because I am addicted to them…

Even if a bouquet of flowers is ephemeral, it is a moment in life and every moment is precious when it comes to expressing feelings - friendship, love, gratitude, joy…

...and as they are my preferred subject to photograph, here are some pictures...

Dutch low-fat quark torte with raspberry coulis

This recipe is from an old school friend who came from Rotterdam. I remember being very impressed and couldn't believe she had prepared it since my friend hated cooking and the torte was scandalously good and looked nice. One day, when she came to my place, we made it together. I highly recommend it to all those who love cheesecakes and tortes, it is extremely light and fresh with the texture of an airy mousse and a discreet cheese taste.

Ingredients

60g butter

200g brown sugar

200g “petit beurre” biscuits

500g low-fat quark

1 untreated lemon (for zest and juice)

8 sheets of gelatin

3 eggs

2 caps kirsch

Circular mould with a removable bottom (I used an 18 cm diameter one)

Preparation

1. Crumble the “petit beurre” biscuits in a bowl, then add the melted butter and the kirsch. Mix by kneading with your fingers. Line the bottom of your mould with the mixture and use a glass to flatten and spread it evenly over the entire base. Refrigerate while you prepare the rest.

2. Beat the egg yolks in a bowl with 100g sugar until the mixture whitens. Add the quark and the lemon zest and mix.

3. Moisten the gelatin in a little cold water, then squeeze dry. Put the gelatin with the lemon juice and heat in a pan (until the gelatin melts). Pour in your quark mixture.

4. In another bowl, beat the egg whites until they are stiff. Then gently fold them into the quark preparation.

5. Take your biscuit base from the refrigerator and pour in the mixture. Place in the refrigerator for 24 hours without opening the mould.

6. Open the mould, cut into slices and drizzle with raspberry coulis.

           

Serves 10

For the raspberry coulis you need

80g sugar

250g raspberries

1dl water

Preparation

Heat the water and sugar in a saucepan. Add the raspberries and stir for two minutes. Use a plunge mixer to make a purée and then pass the coulis twice through a fine strainer. Reserve the coulis in the fridge until serving

Betjeman & Barton

Tea is one of my favourite drinks: I drink it all day long. I’m currently trying to reduce my daily intake, simply because, to be honest, I am quite vain and don’t want to have yellow teeth! Nevertheless, tea is one of the healthiest drinks with endless benefits.

That said, let me introduce you to my favourite tea shop in Geneva. Betjeman and Barton, which is synonymous with excellence in matters of tea. This is where I procure my tea from the large assortment the shop has on offer.

It supplies several well-known salons in Geneva, such as the Hotel de l'Angleterre, and the Chocolaterie de l’Arvre, to name but two. When you enter the shop you are systematically greeted with "Would you like a cup of tea?". The shop is quite proactive; it organises events around tea.

Last year, the shop completed twenty years of existence. To mark the occasion, the owner, Véronique, published a beautiful book entitled "Il est Thé une fois" (Once upon a Tea) and offered it to her best customers. The book has different sections: the history of Betjeman and Barton going back to 1919 in Paris, the story of B&B in Carouge which introduces us to her team of dedicated women, customer testimonials and splendid photos and illustrations. I was offered a copy last February when I went there to replenish my stock. Some of the teas have poetic names such as "Il était une fois Noël", "Thé noir Luxury", "C'est jour de fête" and so on. My favourite remains "Earl Grey", sweetheart adores "Milky Oolong".

I want to say thank you to Marie who allowed me to take these photos last year.

Betjeman and Barton

Rue Saint-Joseph 35

1227 Carouge, Genève