Gather then give (with a giveaway)

"True wisdom lies in gathering the precious things out of each day as it goes by." ~ E.S. Bouton

I've been gathering lately. I've never realized how much of a collector I truly am. But then again, I realize we all are. By the photos we keep, the collection of music we listen to, the books on our shelves, the stories we tell (or the bad jokes), the recipes in our boxes, the people we surround ourselves with, or have programmed into our phones, the art on our walls, the teas in our cupboard, the food we make, the trinkets we scavenge, the blogs on our blogroll... We are all gatherers---curators perhaps, of our own life's museum.

Roasted red,yellow and orange peppers, peeled and dressed with
garlic, olive oil, balsamic vinegar and salt...

"Gathering is peculiar because you see nothing but what you're looking for." ~ Tove Jansson, The Summer Book

As I add new chapters to my own collection, I surprise myself. It's been 2 1/2 weeks since we've been back from France, and I find myself looking for her in different corners of my days. In the French plates I've brought home, in the meals I make and eat, at the grocery stores that I shop in, I seek to gather whatever pieces of France I can find. And in this vein, I had decided a few days after we returned, to host a French dinner party. I wanted so much to relive and give what I had experienced. I believe the imprints of what we've collected last longer this way.

On July 4th, we had gathered a few of our new friends and neighbors to share a little piece of France with us. I spent three days hunting recipes and foods that I had loved. I even met a French man (from Orléans no less) at Whole Foods working behind the charcuterie counter! Coincidence? Maybe, but I don't think so. Anyway, he helped me find the closest things to French jambon, pâté, and saucisson. And of course there was wine, cheeses, French bread, fig and olive tapenade on goat cheese, saumon fumé, rice salad niçoise, olives, roasted red peppers, roasted pork loin served cold with dijon moutarde.

The bird plate, a thrift find at the Orléans flea market, served saumon fumé.

And I had every intention of taking more pictures, but as the guests arrived, the camera was soon forgotten in the midst of the kitchen. But I will tell you it was all that I had imagined it to be. The last thing I served was this cake recipe called Strawberry Savarin. A light, flaky, and buttery cake, that was more like a larger bundt version of a croissant. I made the strawberry-rhubarb syrup and served it with strawberries and blueberries. Inhaling the fragrance of this cake was like walking into a patisserie, of which every moment I enjoyed.

And so yesterday, as I wrote and collected my thoughts, I sat down to the Montagne de Jade tea and one last piece of this cake (which disappeared in a day:), and thought of you...

A piece of France intended for you...

Marie Antoinette Thé from Ladureé in Paris, France. This giveaway is for black tea drinkers, taste collectors, collectors of anything French, or gatherers of any kind...

To enter just leave me a comment about something that you love to collect or gather, tangible or not... I will select a winner at random next Friday...

Cheers to all of you this weekend...

xoxo