A Meal for All Seasons :

La Soupe à l’Oignon (Onion Soup)

Bienvenue mes amis! (Welcome my friends!) Aujourd’hui nous allons apprendre à préparer un plat bien Français: la soupe à l’oignon (Today we will be learning how to prepare a typical French dish: onion soup).

Tradition has dictated that French onion soup be served avec du fromage râpé (with grated cheese) and croutons. Although onion soups date back du temps des Romains (to Roman times), the French take on onion soup dates back to le 18ème siècle (the 18th century). The soup is made from bouillon de bœuf (beef broth) to which you add des oignons caramélisés (caramelized onions) and du Gruyère râpé (grated Gruyère) topped with une tranche de pain grillé (a slice of toasted bread) called a “crouton”.

 Image by Sea-Turtle on Flickr

There are a number of variations of French onion soup but the core elements remain the same: broth, cheese and bread. Below is a simple and quick recette (recipe) that will introduce you to this typical French dish. Although it lacks meat, this soup is still hearty and is often served as an entrée (appetizer) before le plat principal (the main dish).

Ingredients:

2 ½ large yellow onions cut into thin slices

1 Tbsp. vegetable oil

2 Tbsp. flour

¼ tsp. sugar

3 ½ cups of beef broth

½ cup of grated Gruyère (can be substituted for another kind of Swiss cheese if Gruyère is difficult to find)

¼ cup of sherry, brandy, vermouth or white wine

Toasted French bread cut into slices

Directions:

Heat oil in pan over medium heat. Add onions, reduce heat and let cook for 15 minutes. Remove cover. Increase heat to medium, add sugar and let cook until onions are caramelized. Add flour and stir for one minute. Add broth and spirit/wine and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and cook for 10 minutes. Top with bread and Gruyère.

Dégustez en famille ou avec des amis! Vive la cuisine Française et bon appétit!

Enjoy with family or friends! Long live French cuisine and enjoy your meal!

A little about Cle France...

We are, no doubt like yourselves, ardent Francophiles.

We have spent many many years living and working in this beautiful country. Selling French property and arranging everything else connected with buying a property in France. During that time we have worked in the French Property Market with notaries and agencies alike, using our language skills to enable people like you to find their own dream home in France.

Our level of expertise and experience mean we can give you the independent advice you need on the various regions of France, and also on the culture and lifestyle. Over time we have built up a large and professional network of Cle France Estate Agents across the many regions of France.

Our office in England means that we are conveniently placed for our buyers to contact us and plan their visit to France, and our agents and colleagues in France look forward to welcoming you and showing you their selection of properties for sale.

You may be ready to make that move now, or you might still be at the beginning of the decision making process. We are always happy to have an informal chat on the phone, or by e-mail, to enable you to make an informed decision about your plans.

Blog submitted by: Alex at The French Property Network - Cle France.

This blog was originally posted on The French Language Blog pages.

Hello to you,

Sorry but we could not make contact before now as the gite internet server was 'down', just to update on our property search, your agent showed us around the properties in Langonnet and we were very pleased with the sympathetic renovation of the gite but the position of the main house in relation to the road (we have a dog and two cats) was such that we would not have been able to secure our dog around the main house. Please give the agent our thanks, she was most professional and helpful, we only wish we could have proceeded with a sale. 

The second agent was very charming and helpful, we were running late and she accommodated our lateness.

Sharon, we must say we have been most impressed by your level of contact, most helpful at all times and we are sorry that on this occasion we have not been able to proceed through to a purchase. Sharon, we feel that you have gone above and beyond our expectations for which we thank you most sincerely.

Everyone has done their utmost to provide information and help us.

Please give both agents our thanks for their assistance and also, if possible pass on our thanks to the vendors for allowing us to have the viewings. 

Finally, we found a property which suits our requirements and have made an offer which has been accepted.

Regards,  

Tom and Margaret.

There is certainly a lot to choose from in rural Brittany espeically in Morbihan and Cotes d'Armor, making sure your veiewing trip is productive is one of the many things we do for you.

Bonjour mess amis! (Hello my friends!)

One of the best experiences of driving in France was actually leaving France, no wait... that does not sound right! BUT driving through the Mont Blanc tunnel through to Italy (and back) is a fantastic experience, if you ever get the chance you should do it, if you have done this journey then tell us how it was for you!

I thought it might be interesting to study un peu de Géographie (a little Geography). Histoire/Géographie (History/Geography) was a combined course in French schools and part of the standard curriculum in the early 1990s. Students would call it Histoire/Géo for short and I clearly remember the green cahier (notebook) dedicated to the class. It was one of my favorite classes in 6ème and 5ème (6th and 7th grades, respectively) and one that ignited a passion for History (and to a lesser extent Geography) that I still harbor to this day.

If you happen to be a Francophile like me, you probably have heard of Mont Blanc (White Mountain), the highest peak in the Alps and coincidentally, the tallest summit in the European Union. Mont Blanc is part of the Massif du Mont Blanc, a mountain range in the Graian Alps that covers part of Italy, France (part of the Rhône-Alpes region) and Switzerland.

Ever since la première ascension (the first ascent) in 1786 by Jacques Balmat and Michel-Gabriel Paccard, Mont Blanc has remained one of the most popular go-to destinations for those hardy souls who enjoy l’alpinisme (mountaineering) and l’escalade (rock climbing). Attempting to climb Mont Blanc is neither for the faint of heart nor for those who suffer from le vertige (vertigo/dizziness). Reaching an altitude of 4,810 m (15,781 ft), the mountain can be very unforgiving, as evidenced par la mort (by the death) of seven climbers in the summer of 2014 alone. A sad affair indeed, however, for those who reach le sommet (the summit) the view is breathtaking as you can imagine (and measures only 30 m in length).

Mont Blanc became internationally renown as the site of the first Jeux Olympiques d’hiver (winter Olympics) in 1924. Hosted in Chamonix, a small ski resort on the north side of the mountain, Mont Blanc went from being a regular ski destination for locals in the early 20th century to becoming a world renown resort for more extreme sports such as ice climbing, paragliding, Wingsuit flying and extreme skiing.

Should you ever have a chance to visit the Alps, whether in Italy, France or Switzerland, consider taking a detour to visit la Dame Blanche (the White Lady). Both beautiful and deadly, she inspires a sense of awe and wonder that reminds us just how small and finite we really are.

Blog submitted by: Alex at The French Property Network - Cle France.

This blog was originally posted on The French Language Blog pages.

If you really want to learn French, you need to know a few French expressions...

Si tu veux vraiment apprendre le Français, il faut connaître quelques expressions Françaises!

Bored with your everyday use of the French language? Are you looking to add un peu de variété (a little variety) to your daily discourse?

Have you had a chance to apply some of the French idioms we saw in previous posts? In parts 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 ( Check out Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4 and Part 5 ) we covered a variety of expressions, many of which can be used in everyday language in one way or another. It may take a little time to become familiar with them, but you’re bound to find a few that stick out and that you might want to insert into your conversations with other French speakers.

 Photo by Tim Morgan on Flickr

If you haven’t found any aphorisms in the previous posts that appeal to you or that you deem useful, here are a few may that may suit your fancy.

Check out Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4 and Part 5 for a bevy of witty little French idioms you might have missed.

*Phrase in (parentheses) is the literal translation, or as close to it as possible.*

La roue tourne (The wheel turns) – Things change/evolve.

Rouler sur l’or (Rolling on the gold) – To be very wealthy (similar to the expression “Rolling in the dough”).

Il y a anguille sous roche (There is eel under rock) – Something is hidden/Not everything is clear.

Mettre de l’eau dans son vin (Putting water in one’s wine) – Not exaggerating one’s ambitions.

Fort comme un Turc (Strong like a Turk) – Very physically strong or robust.

Manger avec les chevaux de bois (Eating with the wooden horses) – Having nothing to eat/Fasting.

C’est le bouquet! (It’s the bouquet!) – As if things couldn’t get any worse!

Rôtir le balai (Roasting the broom) – Living a life of debauchery.

Un pétard mouillé (A wet firecracker) – An important bit of information that turns out to be false.

Un chien regarde bien un évêque (A dog looks well at a bishop) – A person of high stature should not be offended by the looks of those of lower stature.

Avoir un poil dans la main (Having a hair in the hand) – Being very lazy.

Se noyer dans un verre d’eau (Drowning in a glass of water) – Being incapable of dealing with change.

N’y voir que du bleu (Only seeing blue) – Not being able to see or understand anything.

Avoir bon pied bon œil (Having good foot good eye) – Being healthy/vigorous.

La fleur au fusil (The flower on the rifle) – Doing something with enthusiasm, joy and/or courage.

Blog submitted by: David at The French Property Network - Cle France.

This blog was originally posted on The French Language Blog pages.

A holiday home within walking distance of the sea may be more affordable than you think!

This property is ready to move into and with 3 bedrooms is much more than just a holiday home, it is a perect second home of course but large enmough to live in full time with a lovley garden as well.

We love it, so will you!

Property Ref: GTY01287 is For Sale for only 119,000 euros FAI.

A FANTASTIC OPPORTUNITY TO ACQUIRE this lovely house situated in a small, quiet peaceful private hamlet where there are properties resident all year and some holiday homes. It is located on edge of the Dunes-des-Hatainville and within walking distance of sea, shops & small supermarket down in village.

This lovely house comprises:

Ground floor: Living room / Dining room and an adjacent fitted kitchen, 2 bedrooms (one at present is a dining room) with fitted cupboards a bathroom & separate wc.

Upstairs: 1 large bedroom which could be made into 2.

There is a closed-in fireplace downstairs with glass door wood burning stove.

Outside: a storage shed for bikes & garden tools. There is a front & back garden with a terrace.

Habitable area is 56m2. Garden about 70m2.

We love it and so will you, book a viewing with us today! - 01440 820 358 or click on the image and "Make an Enquiry".

In summary:

3 bedrooms - 1 bathroom - 1 WC

Heating : Electric

Plot size : 104 m2

General condition : Very good

Local taxes : 363 euros a year.

Blog submitted by: David at The French Property Network - Cle France.