But it is the weekend, the sun is shining and I’m feeling a little French, so a petit café (little coffee) is keeping me company as I type. Oh yes, it’s great to be good; but God it’s good to be bad.
To fulfil my yearning for a little piece of France this morning I have been looking at two of my major girl crushes online - Inès de la Fressange, who I discovered in the 1980’s, whilst she was Karl Lagerfield’s muse for Chanel. Now in her 50’s, still gorgeous with a seemingly effortless chic she has a newsletter - La Lettre d’Inès.
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| Inès de la Fressange from her newsletter |
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| Inès de la Fressange |
The other is the illustrator and style blogger Garance Dore. Here is a picture of Garance with newly cropped hair wearing a dress at Cannes 2015.
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| Garance Dore |
I love Garance Dore’s stylish illustrations.
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| Illustration © Garance Dore |
One of the products Inès mentions in her newsletter is Vinaigre des 4 Voleurs.
The name intrigued me so I did a little research and discovered this herbal tincture supposedly kept alive 4 thieves who robbed graves during the Great Plague of Marseille in 1720. Legend has it that under threat of death they divulged their life-saving secret, which was a herbal infusion.
There are several different recipes online, I have badly translated one below.
It can be used as an antiseptic aftershave, to treat dandruff even taken diluted as a health tonic for all varieties of ailment from acid reflux to general sickness.
La fameuse recette du Vinaigre des 4 Voleurs
The famous recipe for 4 Thieves Vinegar
Dans 1 litre de vinaigre de cidre mettez ces plantes séchées:
Add these dried herbs to 1 litre of cider vinegar.
20 g de romarin (20g rosemary)
20 g de lavande (20g lavender)
20 g de sauge (20g sage)
20 g d’absinthe (20g artemisia absinthium - wormwood)
20 g de rue (20g common rue - ruta graveolens)
20 g de thym (20g thyme)
20 g de menthe (20g mint)
3 g de muscade en poudre (3g powdered nutmeg)
30 clous de girofles ou 3g de poudre de girofles (30 cloves)
3 g de cannelle en poudre (3g ground cinnamon)
3 gousses d’ail (3 garlic cloves)
5 g de camphre (5g camphor - Cinnamomum Camphora)
Vous laissez macérer pendant 10 à 15 jours, puis vous filtrez et vous mettez en bouteilles. La conservation doit se faire au frais et à l’abri de la lumière.
Leave to macerate for 10 to 15 days then sieve into bottles and keep in a cool dark place out of direct sunlight.
I might try it, although apparently it tastes and smells abhorrent! And I may attempt to plant up a 4 thieves herb bed at my new allotment.
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| Herb Garden at Pantry Garden Herbs |
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