Bleu skies, Bleu Moon, Bleu Seas Ahead
Champêtre: French Dreams for June
Bonjour, on a cooler Sunday morning- the very first day of June, and in my calendar, the first day of summer!
I’ve just returned from a few days by the Mediterranean in lovely Banyuls-sur-Mer, just up the road from where Henri Matisse painted this at Collioure at the turn of the last century. Like any good road trip, it’s always great to be back home refreshed and renewed for a new month ahead! My familiar song birds—blackbirds, blackcaps, song thrushes, and nightingales—have replaced the coastal seagulls’ calls. I awoke to the special perfume of my own garden rather than the seaweed-scented marine air. So nice to be home in my own bed with Chica and Terre jousting for some Sunday morning attention. Is there anything more Champêtre feeling than this?
This week’s two days of high temperatures (a brief pic de chaleur at 32C/90F) ended that Spring feeling that a garden full of roses ensures. It’s time for a second flush of flowering now—pomegranates, hydrangeas, honeysuckle, and fennel—the first of the summer blooms. Hopefully, I’ll get the rest of the potager planted out, as there is promised rain through the week to soak in new tomato plants and germinate the late scattered cosmos and zinnia seeds. And weeding! Did I mention how many weeds have grown in just a few days? This brief weather/gardening report is just my way of anchoring you in my rural French world, a balanced four-season climate. It’s what I call this lush canalside garden—the Gascon Jungle.
June beckons with memories of summers past, and those not too hot, long, limpid evenings where the sun doesn’t set until nearly 10 pm. The “First Bird” now sings just after 5 am, making for days so long that a lengthy nap or rest in a horizontal position begs to interrupt the sunny hours. The Solstice will arrive in its Fête de la Musique glory on the 21st (a Saturday!), and the first of the Marchés Nocturnals (those street fair-like night markets) will begin in the bigger villages like Nérac. Night markets are popular around the Southwest, and de rigueur in nearly every village with a population of 350+, it’s a chance to meet neighbors, have a casual supper, and be kind to tourists by explaining how it works. I would argue that we should rename these country markets Les Marchés Champêtres!
June is the beginning of the farmers’ market champêtre glory.
All the local fruit arrives— deep red bigarreaux cherries now crowd out the last of early strawberries although the Mara des Bois are just coming in and are perfect for the jammiest jam; the first white peaches will arrive by the end of the month; tangy tight local apricots are elbowing their way between those red-skinned larger varieties from the Roussillion. My neighbor Nicolas plucks the first tender organic beets from his Garonne River farm—golden, red, and candy-striped Chioggia beets with fresh greens to cook alongside. There are small, tight heads of curly Sucrine lettuce at 3 for 2€, which are the perfect French answer to a wedge salad dressed with a Mediterranean vinaigrette of olive oil, vinegar, and anchovies, all from Banyuls that I picked up earlier in the week. Smaller grilling chickens seem abundant, so I scored one for a few meals, along with a half-dozen eggs for breakfasts, two perfect small courgettes to grate into a pasta dish, and one bright, dense cucumber for a quick salad sandwich on a baguette from Pierre’s En Vie de Pain—the best bread in town. All from the Marché at le Chat D’Oc in Le Passage d’Agen. It doesn’t take much to make this cook happy.
Green Walnut Season!
June is also the month to celebrate the famous French green walnut wine—Vin de Noix. You’ll find all my favorite recipes for the Summer Solstice brew in the June issue of A Gascon Year, included for paid subscribers below, or in the archives at—
Just use the little search icon on the website or app.
At the Relais de Camont
This month, I will host just a few returning writers and artists at the Relais de Camont, allowing myself extra writing time to work on a new and exciting BIG PROJECT! (I’m still grappling with the description of this, so please be patient.) I so love it when residents return and pick up where they left off on their novel, memoir, book of poetry… We strengthen the ties between residents when they crossover and become mentors, friends, cohorts, and cherished readers. This year, 25 new residents will join the small and intimate group of returning writers and artists who share their longer vision of what the Relais de Camont means to them. This is where the magic really happens, when a commitment to fulfilling your work is realized. You can read more about this on our website- Relaisdecamont.com
Also, I promise a little RoadTrip Recap of where I went this last week for a few days by the sea (spoiled for choice!) and a few more Champêtre moments of easy French country life on a slow day-by-day approach. Not everything has to be earthshaking or life-changing. Sometimes, a simple sip of chilled wine, a bite of a salty anchovy, or an ice cream cone is enough to say “En Vacances!”
Many more Junes.
Here’s a look back at a past June here on Substack and a favorite Salad Sandwich recipe to get you started. All the past four years of recipes and seasonal stories, including my serialized memoir “Finding France,” are in the archive for all paid subscribers. Now is a perfect time to sign up and dive into some great Summer recipes. Plus, you can download the June edition of A Gascon Year, full of seasonal recipes and stories for paid subscribers, below.
Until next time!
Kate