sunny

Hello, When we bought our house, the surveyor did the usual checks and said all was ok.  But we found asbestos and now need to send the surveyor a legal letter asking him to remove the asbestos at his own expense (basically have his insurance cover the cost), or that we will need to take this to court to rectify. Would you, by any chance, have a format for a legal letter that we could modify...?  Want the surveyor to think we mean business, so would like to send a letter that will move him to action (and hopefully cart away the asbestos) rather than put aside till we pester him more... Many thanks! BP

and as a follow-up on my previous post, where i realize I didn't answer Di's question at all... Di,  have you considered moving to a big city where they have an international school?  That way your daughter can be taught in English with expat/diplomat kids.  And I assume the top universities will have programs in English...? I am not being arrogant, but I have a friend's dad who is professor at one of the well-know French university and he speaks very little French.... And as for jobs, she could hop over to London if she can't find a decent one in France...not such a big deal is it...? My advice is to move to a fairly big city, so your daughter has opportunities to mix with an international, cosmopolitan group...that way she can get used to the French lifestyle in small doses... 

Hello, I must say I agree with Jura on this one - I come from a country where most expats/foreigners don't know the national language.  They, however, find jobs in the tourist industry, or in university/school settings teaching English. I have been to many countries where I don't know the language - France is one of the few places where I have had locals give me attitude about not knowing their language.  I don't feel apologetic (as a lot of Brits seem to do).  I have met French people living in my country and they don't know my language - but I don't give them a hard time for that... And I especially do not allow shopkeepers in France to have a superior sneering attitude - I am the customer and I can speak gobbley-dook if I want to, if they want my money, they earn it by understanding what I need...most people back down pretty soon and start being helpful (I think it is my no-nonsense attitude but the OH says it is my sweet smile)

Llantony, Thanks for your suggestions.  Looked at the Petit Feuillant website and their menu seems fully meat-based.  Do you have to call in advance for veggie options...? My diary of places to eat in the SW is growing thanks to recommendations from all of you. BP

Hello Gemonimo,  Here is what I often serve for Christmas – for my meat eating OH, I add a side of lightly smoked, fruit-stuffed Icelandic lamb to the main course   Pumpkin ravioli with sage butter BP’s chickpea curry  with BP’s potato roast and BP’s brussel sprouts Orange and walnut salad Cheese Dessert   Pumpkin ravioli with sage butter   Buy/make pumpkin ravioli (I usually go with four per person as an appetizer) On a low heat, melt 1 tbsp butter and a touch of olive oil and add 2 sage leaves (for one person) Let the butter turn brown and the sage leaves turn a bit crisp Add 1 heaped tsp brown sugar (or to taste) and the cooked ravioli Add some freshly ground salt and pepper and serve warm   BP chickpea curry   Warm some butter and a touch of oil in a pan Add one bay leaf, 2 cloves, a small (1/4 inch) stick of cinnamon, and two whole peppercorns Add half tsp mustard seeds and half tsp cumin seeds When the mustard seeds start spluttering, add a small diced onion Brown the onion, and when it starts looking done, add a couple of tbsp of red wine Add one peeled, finely diced tomato (easy to get the skin off if you blanch it first), or add one from a can Add one teaspoon freshly grated ginger and one clove minced garlic, and one finely chopped green chilli Add  a pinch of turmeric powder,  one heaped tsp coriander powder and one heaped tsp of cumin powder – Whatever improvisations you do,  do NOT add the ubiquitous curry powder Cook covered on a low heat for 4-5 minutes, stirring a couple of times Add the drained and washed chickpeas and 2 cups boiling water Cook covered on a low heat for ~20 minutes Mash the chickpeas a bit so the sauce thickens  - cook uncovered for another 4-5 minutes Serve with a pinch of lemon       BP’s potato roast   Boil 2 big potatoes and one sweet potato till cooked enough to remove the skin, but still firm in the center Peel the potatoes and slice most of them into rounds Keep a bit of both the regular potato and sweet potato and grate these instead of slicing– think this is quite key to getting a creamy roast Oil a baking dish and line with the potato and sweet potato slices and top with the grated mix Make some white sauce – simple roux of butter and flour followed by whisking in hot milk and cooking till it thickens Once it is ready, add the following to the sauce - one clove minced garlic, one finely grated chilli, a  pinch of ground cinnamon, freshly ground salt and pepper, and a small bit of grated mature cheddar (or any other mature, hard cheese) Pour the white sauce over the potato mix and bake for 20 minutes or so till the potatoes are crisp     BP’s brussel sprouts   Melt some butter and a touch of olive oil in a pan Add washed and cleaned sprouts, that are sliced in half (put the cut  half  facing the bottom so it browns nicely) Add a couple of tsp of boiling water and cover to let steam a bit Add a generous splash of red wine, a bit of grated ginger and some chilli flakes and cover and cook When the sprouts are close to almost done, add some soya sauce and a dash of freshly ground pepper and salt (add the latter only if required) Cook a bit more, then squeeze a bit of lemon on top and serve   Orange and walnut salad   Wash any salad mix (baby spinach, mesclun etc.) and blot dry Add some mandarin orange sections - can be bought in a jar or I simply peel a fresh mandarin and then peel each segment/slice  (peeling the inner thin, membrane over each section is tricky, but really helps the mandarin to mix well in the salad) Warm some butter and add walnut halves.  Stir till they start smelling toasty.  Then add some brown sugar, a pinch of chilli powder and soya sauce and cook for a minute.  Remove from the heat and add to the salad leaves (if you have really fresh, sweet walnuts just add them without toasting/seasoning them) Mix some olive oil, lemon juice, balsamic vinegar and a dash of wholegrain/Dijon mustard paste Pour this over the salad mix, season with salt and pepper and serve   I have made these dishes many times and love the satisfying, rich taste.  Makes me feel warm, secure and well-nourished in winter... BP

Hello Patf, Agree - I think I make better food than most of the veggie offerings I have had in SW France (not hard to make something more exciting than the salad and omelette usually offered to me).  My OH, on the other hand, loves duck and really enjoys delicious meals in the region... BP

Hello Francie, L'Ayssènol Ayssenes  sounds great and will make a special trip to have a meal there and see the area. I mis-typed - Le Papillon is in Albi.  You can get some info from the following link: http://www.le-guide.com/restaurants/lepapillon.html Hoping that as restaurants get more business for gourmet vegetarian dining, we will see more such offerings.  So other folks out there, please share your recommendations... Thanks, BP

Hello, Am a foodie, but a vegetarian one and trying to find out delicious places to eat in the region.  I know it is hard...but there are some really good veggie friendly places My absolute fav. is a place called Le Papillon or in Albi which has, hold your breath, a separate vegetarian menu along with the meat one.  Absolutely delicious! What's your favourite?  

Thanks everyone for your replies.  The sawdust bricks sound like they might work best (and are ecofriendly, right...?).  Roughly how long does a brick burn for - how many would you use if you had the stove on for ~4 hours? Also, did you get a  prof. to install your old stove and make a chimney flue etc, or did you vent it out of the wall.  Any idea of costs?  While I love the idea of reusing the old stove, I am reluctant to spend many thousands just to make best use of a ~50 euro buy...   Thanks, BP

Thanks, Nick.  Good to know that they work fine.  Didn't want to spend a lot of time cleaning and relining the inner bricks for nought. BP

Hi Mark, Thanks for your reply and I do hope to that you find a job in the kitchen industry in France.  I have spent hours agonizing over the new kitchen layout and I want to have the stove, rather than the sink under the window.  We have a nice view from the window and I want to enjoy looking out while cooking.  Your point about cleaning, is well taken though.  I have been thinking about that and not sure what is a good solution - perhaps fixed glass at the bottom of the window so it is like a glass backsplash for the cooker, and the top part of the window opens to let the smoke out... Not sure why most houses have sinks below the window...is it just tradition, or is there a reason for it?

Hello, We just bought a ~100 year old wood burner oin a village sale for 50 euros.  Earlier we thought we would clean it up and convert into an umbrella rack or something.  But I am reconsidering - I like the looks of it and there isn't much rust.  Now I think I would like to use it as a woodburner in one of the upstairs rooms, as the room gets really cold.  Not sure if there are any health hazards with using the older wood burners.  Also, the insert for keeping the wood is really small...could we use pellets instead? Any advice/ thoughts would be very welcome...

Why wouldn't you put the cooker under a window...seems a good place as one can just open the windows to get the steam/smells out. I am curious because we are redesigning our kitchen and I would like to place the cooker under the window...   Thanks