Another Fine French Book Giveaway!

The new Monet's Palate Cookbook is being released this week and the publisher has offered me three copies to give away.  

Produced by filmmaker Aileen Bordman and garden writer Derek Fell, the book includes 60 recipes linked to Monet's two-acre kitchen garden near his home at Giverny, France. Between the covers are lots of luscious details about the vegetables he grew, along with gorgeous photos and descriptions of the house interiors, the gardens and the artist's extraordinary lifestyle. 

“Our goal was to bring Monet's kitchen garden back to life," Aileen tells me. "His desire for fresh garden produce extended beyond the flavor and health benefits that they could provide. His need to cultivate a kitchen garden, plant seeds and work the soil with his fingers allowed him to connect with nature in a spiritual way, feed his soul and see beauty oblivious to others.”

Immersed in the world of Claude Monet since 1980, Aileen has more than 35 years of experience at the property in Giverny. Her first visit there was in 1980, when the museum first opened. Her mother, Helen Rappel Bordman, was one of the handful of Americans responsible for the renaissance of the home and garden, which had fallen into complete ruin.

In 2005, Aileen wrote and produced of the documentary film Monet's Palate: A Gastronomic View from the Garden, which was broadcast in the US through American Public Television to all 350 PBS stations...and was re-released this year. It features Meryl Streep, legendary casino operator and art patron Steve Wynn, and chefs Alice Waters, Anne Willan, Roger Vergé, Daniel Boulud and Michel Richard. It screened in Cannes and New York and was featured during the six-month "Monet's Garden" exhibit at the New York Botanical Garden in New York in 2012. The 58-minute film is available on DVD here.

The book brings the farm-to-table tradition--lived passionately by Monet--into the 21st century, with recipes inspired by his cooking journals and the places he visited. And of course, by his garden's abundance of fresh herbs and vegetables: zucchini, cherry tomatoes, radishes, pearl onions, Brussels sprouts, asparagus, rosemary, mint and more.

Aileen's partner in the book project, Derek Fell, is the author of The Magic of Monet's Garden and Secret's of Monet's Garden. One of America's most widely published garden writers, his titles on gardening, travel and art have sold more than 2.5 million copies. He divides his time between Bucks County, Pennsylvania, and Sanibel Island, Florida.

The book has been earning lovely reviews...along with praise from big names in the food and gardening worlds. "There's no thrill that compares to growing one’s own food," says journalist, cooking teacher and author Patricia Wells. "Planting, caring, harvesting and bringing the treasures to the table. Monet’s Palate Cookbook provides all the inspiration anyone needs to go out and dig, plant, absorb the joys that soil offers each of us. Whether a garden novice or seasoned expert, this book offers a wealth of advice and recipes destined to improve all of our lives.”

Meryl Streep wrote the foreword and the recipes were beautifully photographed by Steven Rothfeld. 

Published May 1st by Gibbs Smith, the hardcover has 176 pages in full color and 60-plus recipes. It lists for about $30 and you can buy it on Amazon here ...or direct from the author here. 

To enter to win a copy of the book, just leave a comment below. Tell us about your garden. your connection to Monet, your passion for the Impressionists or anything else you care to share. Be sure to leave your email so we can reach you if you win; signing in with your Google account is not enough. Winners will be chosen and alerted towards the end of May. 

For more info about the book, click here.

To reach Aileen directly: abordman@monetspalate.com

Claude Monet's Gardens at Giverny are open daily until November 1st, 2015. To visit, all the info is here.

Photos: (1) The new book comes out this week. How can you not want a copy? (2) Tulips, irises and water lilies in Monet's garden; today some 200,000 different flower varieties are rotated regularly by head gardener James Priest and his team, which numbers as many as 30 people working daily, year round. Always on the look-out for rare varieties, Monet bought young plants at great expense. "All my money goes into my garden," he said. But also: "I am in raptures." (3, 4) Two dishes from the book: moules marinière and chilled asparagus salad with olives. (5) Aileen shot this Bowl of Beauty peony at Giverny last year.

Monet, Renoir, Chagall Show Closes Jan 5

The former Cathedrale des Images, now called the Carrières de Lumières (Quarries of Light), is a magical space in a vast cave-like quarry at the base of the village of Les Baux. There in the cool darkness, close to 100 video projectors generate the choreographed movement of 3,000 images over an area of more than 75,000 square feet, onto walls as high as 45 feet, onto the ceilings and even the floor. The sound-and-light show changes roughly once a year and the site is one of the most-popular in Provence.

The current show, called ''Monet, Renoir...Chagall: Journeys Around the Mediterranean'' (top photo) closes January 5. 

The new show (second photo) will be unveiled on March 7. Called "Klimt and Vienna: A Century of Gold and Colours,"  it leads visitors on a journey through 100 years of Viennese painting to the heart of the bright, colorful works of Gustav Klimt, his contemporaries and the artists he inspired. The Klimt show runs until January 4, 2015.

Klimt was one of the great decorative painters who worked on the majestic monuments of the Ringstrasse in imperial Vienna at the end of the 19th century. At the dawn of the new century, he led the Viennese Secession. Gold and other decorative motifs, which are characteristic of Klimt's works--the most famous of which is "The Kiss"--remain a symbol of this artistic revolution. This show presents the distinctive works which brought Klimt his success: his golden period, his portraits and his landscapes. It was designed to offer an original perspective on Klimt and his successors, through portraits, landscapes, nudes, colors and gilding, which revolutionized Viennese painting in the 20th century. 

On the walls of the quarry you'll also see works by Viennese artists such as Schiele and Hundertwasser, who were influenced by Klimt's work. 

A bit of backstory: The Cathedrale des Images closed in 2011 and re-opened as the Carrières de Lumières in early 2012, with new management (the folks at Culturespaces) and new state-of-the-art technology. More than €2 million was spent to refurbish the site. The first show after the re-opening (''Gauguin, Van Gogh: Painters of Color'') drew great reviews and 239,000 people. The current show, ''Monet, Renoir...Chagall" has been an even bigger smash, attracting 360,000 visitors.

The Carrières de Lumières is located in the Val d’Enfer, a stone's throw from Les Baux. The quarry was created over the years for extracting the white limestone used in the construction of the village of Les Baux and its chateau. In 1935, economic competition from modern materials led to the closure of the quarries. Dramatic and otherworldly looking, the area has inspired artists of all sorts; the Val d'Enfer provided the setting for Dante’s Divine Comedy and Gounod created his opera Mireille here. Later, Cocteau came to film The Testament of Orpheus in these very quarries. The Carrières du Val d’Enfer has been awarded Natural Monument status in France. 

The Carrières de Lumières is open for the holiday season everyday (including New Years Eve and New Years Day) from 10 am to 6 pm. (From March to September, hours are 9.30 am to 7 pm.) Tickets range from 5€ to 10€ and kids under 7 are free.

Carrières de Lumières 

Route de Maillane  

13520 Les Baux de Provence 

Tel. : +33 4 90 54 47 37

carrieres-lumieres.com

message@carrieres-lumieres.com 

Another Fine French Book Giveaway!

Claude Monet (1840-1926) spent the last 43 years of his life at Giverny, an hour northwest of Paris, creating the paintings for which he is most revered. He had rented the house in 1883 and by 1890, was successful enough to buy it. With two acres of land, Monet composed his famous gardens with an impressionist’s care for color and form. He had his large family and seven gardeners to help him, but always remained the visionary choreographer, providing precise designs and layouts for plantings.

Drawing upon the words of Monet and his contemporaries, the just-released Monet at Giverny (Garden Art Press) is a celebration of this unique artistic mind…and offers a wealth of horticultural detail. With more than 150 illustrations (photos, engravings, garden views, etc.), this gorgeous 192-page hardcover will delight any art or garden lover….and every Francophile.

Monet at Giverny was released in the UK early this month and is just now hitting bookstores in the US. 

Author Caroline Holmes is a garden historian, lecturer, author and designer. Her other books include Victorian Gardens, Follies of Europe—Architectural Extravaganzas and A Zest for Herbs. She lives in Suffolk and lectures regularly at the Institute of Continuing Education at the University of Cambridge and the Royal Horticultural Society.

Because getting free stuff for you, dear reader, is one of my biggest pleasures, I rang up the publisher and finagled a few books to give away. To enter, simply click COMMENTS below and say something nice…three lucky readers will win a copy. Please be sure to leave your email address--signing in with your Google account is not enough. (Hint: Be creative and you stand a better chance of winning.) 

To read more about this beautiful book, click here. To order it from Amazon US, click here. To order from Amazon UK, click here. To see what other lovely books the same company distributes, check their website here.

Bonne Chance!