Download Our Summer Menu Collection

Since summer entertaining should be a breeze, this collection, designed with simplicity in mind, features 20 easy-to-follow recipes and a few menu suggestions. Download this PDF, which includes recipes for starters, main courses, side dishes, and desserts.

 Deborah Lawrenson

Deborah Lawrenson spent her childhood moving around the world with diplomatic service parents, from Kuwait to China, Belgium, Luxembourg and Singapore. She read English at Cambridge University and then worked as a journalist in London. She is the author of eight novels and her writing is praised for its vivid sense of place.

The Art of Falling was a WHSmith Fresh Talent pick in 2005. The Lantern was published to critical acclaim in the USA, chosen for the Channel4 TV Book Club in the UK and shortlisted for Romantic Novel of the Year 2012 in the Epic category. The Sea Garden (2014) is a novel in three novellas set in Provence and London; one of these novellas features the character of Marthe Lincel the perfume maker from The Lantern and the story is based on several true events of wartime resistance in the South of France.

She divides her time between rural Kent and a crumbling hamlet in Provence, the atmospheric setting for The Lantern. Her most recent novel is 300 Days of Sun, which is set in Portugal and has been selected as a Great Group Read for the WNBA National Reading Group Month in October 2016 in the USA.

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Artists Inspired by Provence · Books on Provence · Carolyne Kauser-Abbott · Inspire

Cezanne à Château Noir, a book by William Drea Adams and Thierry Maugenest

August 21, 2025
The authors of Cezanne à Château Noir are passionate admirers of Paul Cezanne’s art. The book centers around Château Noir, a private estate located on the outskirts of Aix-en-Provence, near Le Tholonet. This stunning location offers views of Mont Saint-Victoire and continues to inspire artists even today. After visiting Château Noir three years ago, William …
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Carolyne Kauser-Abbott · Hotels Provence & Cote d'Azur · Stay: Accommodation & Rentals in Provence

Staying at Domaine La Pierre Blanche is Pure Provencal Magic

August 18, 2025
Arriving at Domaine la Pierre Blanche feels like entering a private country home in Provence. This boutique hotel, with 15 rooms, is tucked away from the road, offering a peaceful retreat in the heart of the Bouches-du-Rhône region. Whether you believe in magic or not, staying at Domaine la Pierre Blanche is an unforgettable experience. …
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Carolyne Kauser-Abbott · Dessert · Provencal Recipes · Taste

Lavender Roasted Apricots for a Delicious and Quick Summer Dessert

August 15, 2025
Apricots are abundant in the Provence markets in the summer months. The delicious dessert with lavender-roasted apricots below comes from ElsaLenthal.com and has been republished with her permission. Apricots: Summer Stonefruit Apricots are stonefruit (Latin: Prunus sect. Armeniaca) related to plums. The fruit grows on a small tree, about the same size as an olive …
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Artists Inspired by Provence · Inspire · Keith Van Sickle

L’Aix de Cezanne 2025 Photo Exhibition is a Must-See

August 11, 2025
It’s the Year of Cezanne (“Cezanne 2025”) in Aix-en-Provence, with a series of events, exhibitions, and site openings celebrating Aix’s most famous son. One of them, “Cezanne’s Aix”, opened in July, featuring an exhibition of over 200 photographs dedicated to the life and times of the great artist. Organized by the CEPPIA Foundation, it is …
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Gayle Padgett · Inspire · Shopping & Gifts

Discover La Botte Gardiane: The Ultimate Cowboy Boots—à la Française

August 7, 2025
These boots weren’t made for walking, but rather for horsing around on an actual pony. Recently, we visited the leather goods manufacturer La Botte Gardiane in the Camargue.  La Botte Gardiane Mais oui, back in 1958, when the French boot-making company La Botte Gardiane began designing footwear, the intended customers were horseback riders, specifically the …
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