Les Vacances? It’s how you eat, how you dress, and what music you listen to (Radio RFM). Vacation in France is a state of mind as much as a very strict, staggered time zone. There are people who take their holidays in July and those who wait until August (….the juilletistes and the aoûtiens - those who go on holiday in July versus those who prefer August*). Me? I’m usually a septembriste, waiting to escape for the last of the summer sea— warmer water, cooler air. But that doesn’t mean I don’t create an air of Les Vacances all August here at Camont.
Food, of course, plays a huge part in my daily life, and although I have ‘retired’ from teaching, I still play in my workshop kitchen every week— some confiture here, some rendered lard there. This month, together with Cristina, I knocked the edges off the summer culinary crafts. Cristina is a former student who comes to the Working Resident position at the Relais with great baking skills, which means no overflow of zucchini from the potager but delicious loaves of zucchini cake stashed in the freezer. What I bring to these collaborations is a lot of context, observation, and direction. And while she’s been staging with a local baker to get his secrets of the BEST canelés in France, we’ve been eating very well here on the Gascon Ranch.
A bit of Summer Housekeeping. Are you up to date with how to use Substack?
Dear Long-Time Readers and Newly Subscribed,
How did we get here to almost 5000 subscribers and a Substack Featured Publication? About half of you joined me here on Substack in April 2021 from my long-standing newsletter and website. All you had to do was read the email I sent out every few weeks, once or twice a month, with news of what’s happening at Camont, my class and tour schedules, workshops, and a few recipes and drool-worthy photographs. Some of you came from Instagram as I jumped early-ish on that wagon mostly because I love photographing the seasonal celebrations, changes, and abundance of my French country home and gardens. Twenty-thousand followers later, I still enjoy sharing the several times weekly Insta-reports, the daily discoveries of what makes slow living in Gascony special—the markets, the gardens, the food, and the seasonal reminders that as the world revolves, so do we evolve. You can still follow here.
However, whether you are a social media maven or a keep-it-simple Luddite, we have all had to keep moving with the changes in communication from party-line Princess phones (mine was pale blue) to flip-open mobile phones to the latest generation Smarter-than-me phone/camera/computers. I think I do pretty well in my own way, avoiding the political wrangling and baiting on what was formerly known as Twitter, now the slightly skewed X-files. The difference in time zones accounted for jet-lag responses and I sought more suitable and thoughtful replies elsewhere. Facebook seems more staid and less responsive. And so I find myself focusing more on what I like best—writing here on Substack. So this is where you’ll find me mostly. Let’s look at what that means for the now and future of The Camont Journals.
Occasionally, I get a cry for help about how to follow or find things I have written, including a lifetime of recipes buried in old blog posts, archives, books, and magazine articles. Sometimes, folks can’t just keep up, and frankly, although I write for a cross-generational crowd, it’s easy to get lost. The pandemic time didn’t help! So before I launch my next big news at the end of this month, I want to show you around The Camont Journals as I see it. Consider this a house and garden tour. There are still a few things in the closets, but the coffee table is now cleared; my office is still off-limits upstairs above the kitchen with a huge pile of must-dos next to the iMac. But if you have read this far, I assume you want to know more. If not, skip to the bottom for a Taste of August!
There are a few ways to get the most out of your subscription, free or paid, to the Camont Journals. But first, are you Team Email? or Team App? Which way works best for you?
If you are happy reading just the occasional email, free or supporting, then you really don’t have to do anything. It will always come to your email address, so make sure to keep it current and check that it’s not in any of your junk mail folders.
Want more than just a read of the current post? Everyone can look at the last few posts or if want to take a deeper dive to search the last five years of archival recipes and stories (current paid subscribers), just open my Substack website page or use the App. See the top right in your emails. and don’t forget to heart, comment, restack, and share! Friends help other friends find new stuff!
Are you an iPad or smartphone user? Then you might already see a new-ish feature on Substack called Notes. While Chat was introduced a while ago and seems little used, Notes is like a clubhouse on fire! This is where we all talk to each other—writer to writers, writers to readers, readers to writers, editors to each other. It’s a fun, positive, and encouraging place to get the insider’s look at what makes writers tick, how the Substack crowd values creativity and good publishing sense, and where to get the “what’s everyone loving now” vibe.
In fact, I have started using notes as a place where I test new ideas, share my daily practice, and announce what’s happening next. It’s a bit like pre-Meta algorithm Instagram, but more intimate. Take a look on the opening page on the website or on the app to the Camont Journals for the link to Notes: https://katehillfrance.substack.com/notes
A Taste of August- Les Vacances
Road Trips across France aren’t only about the destination.
47 Tips for a Great Vacation in the French Countryside #12
Tip #12 take the small roads.
N stands for Nationale, like the N21 that connects Agen to Villeneuve-sur-Lot.
D stands for Departmental like the D296 that leads from Ste.Colombe.
C stands for Commune or township roads—often single lane and rarely marred with white lines. I call these last one “the Driveways of France.”
When planning your next Road Trip in France, consider leaving your GPS on silent and learn to read the wonderful Michelin Maps of France. Taking the little French Roads will lead you to adventures, lovely flowered gardens, small village cafes and even a market or two.
F stands for Fleuve or River and is the ultimate way to see the French Countryside. Try the Seine, the Rhone, the Garonne or the Loire.
This is what you see when you go off the A roads in France.
Oh, A stands for Autoroute—the fastest but not necessarily the best way to discover France. Besides, you never know who you will meet!
P.S. you have to pull off the road, stop and get out of the car.
— August 23, 2013
From A Gascon Year- Aout (paid subscribers, please download the pdf behind the paywall, others can buy here)
Need some more August inspiration? How’s this?
So what’s cooking in August at Camont?
As residents come and go, and The Friends start to drop in, I’ll be rotating through that Summer food list—lots of tomatoes, PLT’s- Pig, Lettuce & Tomato sandwiches (P stands for ham, ventrèche, saucisson, paté, and other charcuterie), cold meat on salads- duck breasts especially, and jammy fruit tartes fresh from the tree onto a buttery pastry and into the hot oven. Even a summer ripe tomato tart works on a sheet pan and holds its shape. The French don’t call them galettes—that’s reserved for savory buckwheat crepes and epiphany cakes, rather a tarte rustique is how we describe in France the free-form pastry or sans moule (without a tart pan).
What’s your favorite August food? Drop me a note in the comments here or pop over to NOTES and see what we are talking about. I just posted about these freshly picked haricot verts- the first!
Writers, filmmakers, photographers-What’s happening next at the Relais de Camont.
As we are three-quarters of the way through our first full year of writers and creative residency sessions, here’s some good news for everybody! Winter 2023 and 2024 year-round dates are now posted and available for applications at a special advance booking rate. Any residencies of 1-4 weeks are now available for booking for September 2023-November 2024. Rates and dates are posted on the Relais de Camont website. Have questions? Just drop me a note here in the comments below.
Until next time… Paid Subscribers download the A Gascon Year- August issue here. Free subscribers, stay tuned for some exciting news that will make you want to join Club Camont!
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