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I took this photo in a sleepy little town not far from my own village. I have no idea why there is an American flag in the door. But I can assure you, that it is not the home of an American. That making it all the more interesting to me. It did, however, seem like the perfect photo to wish everyone back home a very happy 4th of July!
When I first came to my little village, some twenty years ago, an elderly neighbor gave me all the ingredients for ratatouille fresh from her garden & then proceeded to show me step by step how to make it. Every summer, since that first lesson, I have made this classic dish of southwestern France, with the bounty of fresh vegetables that are so prevalent here.
The ingredients are simple: onions, garlic, eggplant, peppers, zucchini, tomatoes & lots of olive oil. However, each French cook seems to have her own way of putting them all together. Some like the vegetables chopped small like a dice, but I was taught & prefer to cut mine in large chunks.
I have deviated slightly from the original recipe, as I like to put the eggplant in the oven & roast it, seasoned with salt & pepper & coated in olive oil. I think it has a much better flavor this way.
After that, I pretty much follow what I was taught & that is to sauté each ingredient separately in olive oil, seasoning each as you go. I like to add red & yellow peppers, too, although, green are the traditional choice.
I tend to sauté the onions & garlic last, then add the tomatoes, simmering them, as if making a tomato sauce. At this point I had some tomato paste.
Because my neighbors so kindly give me so many lovely herbs from their gardens, I have added fresh bay leaves & thyme to this batch. But other times I might add hot pepper flacks to give a little kick. This, however, is decidedly not French.
The final step is to add everything together. I have made this batch for a later date, at which time, I will reheat it in the oven until it is bubbly. To serve, remove the bay leaf & thyme & add chopped fresh basil. It is good as a side dish or as a main course served with rice or pasta.
A funny story, just to show how important ratatouille is to this region. I was chatting with a young mom who was feeding her baby from a baby food jar. I asked what the child was eating. " His favorite, ratatouille! " Seeing my surprise, she showed me the jar. It had all of the same ingredients: onions, garlic, eggplant, peppers, zucchini, tomatoes, even olive oil. She on the other hand was quite surprised, even shocked, to learn that children in the United States do not grow up eating ratatouille from the very beginning, in baby food jars.
Anyone who really knows me, knows that I have a thing for chairs. I can't really explain it, maybe it is their sculptural presence. Whatever the reason, I have been collecting sad discarded chairs from trash heaps & yard sales for years. So it is no surprise, that I am infatuated with the chairs of France. Although, I have resisted collecting too many of my own, I have delighted in collecting photos of them.
There was just something so very French about these two chairs placed so haphazardly in a medieval dwelling, that I was fortunate enough to visit.
I could not resist the colors & worn patina of this sagging but still used seat. 
Another photo of the medieval house I visited, reveals a number of various style chairs from different periods, along with beautiful aspects of a structure built in the middle ages. 
Although, not an old chair or even a very interesting one, there was still something appealing about this lone chair, with it's cushion, placed in front of it's table, looking out toward the view, while the cat sleeps silently by.
This table & chair, seen in a yard filled with abandon old cars, made me think that it may have once had a life in a beautiful garden, much like an impressionist painting.
I just liked the patterns & colors of this chair & it's habitat.
You can not have a collection of photos of French chairs, without at least one picture of a classic café table & chair.
I fell in love with this tiny, antique, child's chair sitting on a ledge next to a plant & the river just behind.
Although, not really a chair, I felt I had to include this built in bench from the same medieval house. I guess you could think of it as a sofa from the middle ages, where I don't think you would have found too many couch potatoes.
I love the curtains that you see in the
windows as you pass. They usually seem so old fashioned to me, like the curtains remembered from a grandmother's house, or perhaps ones imagined in a fairytale.
There are beautiful lace & embroidered, cotton, cafe curtains.
Some curtains seem so old, as if they may have been in that same window for 50 years or more.
While there are also the more modern window treatments. Linen panels finished in a point with a tassel at the end are a popular style.
I love the pretty embroidered linen panels. Unfortunately, the photo below does not show the lovely detail in these.
There is just something so French about lace curtains hanging in a window. The ones below, are held up at the bottom by decretive clips, giving them a pretty finish.
Even doors are occasionally dressed in curtains, too, especially in this hot & sunny climate.
Sometimes lace panels are hung high in windows above doors.....
.....or low in windows almost at street level.
But whether, high or low, in windows or in doors, there is always something very appealing & romantic about curtains in France.
