Meet Bonnie Jo Manion
Bonnie Jo Manion in her garden

In My Garden and Happy Place

For those of you who have signed up for my newsletter, I thought that since it is the beginning of the year, I would introduce myself to you once again—the writer behind all of these posts. It gives me great happiness to write amd share with all of you what I call my “Taste of French Country Living”.

It is a lifestyle that embodies a “coastal Southern California meets South France” through artful seasonal living in cooking, gardening, travel, styling, and more! I confess, I am a little bit farm girl, a little bit European, and a little bit SoCal gal all rolled into one grateful person!

Bonnie Jo Manion in her kitchen

In My Kitchen and Another Happy Place

My husband, John, and I have spent over two decades transforming what once was a neglected acre of land into a beautiful and bountiful petite Provence in coastal North San Diego County. This May 2024, we celebrate 25 years living here at what we affectionately call, Domaine de Manion.

Bocce Ball Court and Gardens at Domaine de Manion

Bocce Ball Court and Gardens at Domaine de Manion

I have been featured in local and national media for my home and garden, backyard vineyard, organic practices, chickens, and styling. I was one of four California home gardeners chosen by Scott’s Miracle Grow to ride on their “California Grown” themed float in the January 2016 New Year’s Day Rose Bowl Parade.

Besides my blog, I co-authored Gardening with Free-Range Chickens For Dummies and am quoted in the beautiful part coffee table, part cookbook, Lunch in Provence, and For the Love of Provence.

Domaine de Manion Bottling November 2023

Bottling Our Syrah in November 2023

A professed self-taught gardener, I have an Agricultural B.S. degree from Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado. In addition, I also earned an International Business Certificate, and Wine Technology Certificate from Mira Costa College, Oceanside, California.

If you have friends who might like these posts, recipes, tips, sometimes musings, and hopefully some inspiration, please tell them about my website, and newsletter.

Bon Appétit et Bon Weekend…Bonnie

For more details regarding classes, events, writing, speaking, and other inquiries, please contact Bonnie or (tel) (760) 402-7600.

Lunch on the Canal du Midi, Languedoc, France

Lunch on the Canal du Midi in Languedoc, France

Make Your 2024 Sparkle & Shine

Pearls and Gold Add Sparkle for a Festive Table

Happy New Year 2024 to you, your loved ones, and friends! Why not make this year especially exciting with sparkle and shine!

Last year I was at the National Western Stock Show in Denver, Colorado, where one can visit the outside stockyard pens with all kinds of prize livestock, that represent well-known and honored family ranches in this country. I was really moved to be able to look eye to eye with these massive animals. That inspired me to write a New Year’s post, “For 2023, Look a Bull in the Eye” , meaning stretch, grow, and get out of your comfort zone. I also mention thirteen great points for making your year wonderful. It is worth revisiting this post again, and maybe on a regular basis as your year progresses. Great thoughts to carry you throughout the year.

Well, as it turns out, 2023 was a stellar year for me, and a lot of it I think, was because I teed it up with all of those magical thirteen points at the beginning of the year. I will share more about my year in future posts.

This year, keep all of those thoughts in mind as your year progresses, and add just a touch more sparkle and shine. What I mean is—do a little extra with everything in your life. Put out a little more energy towards your everyday living, goals, projects, and creative endeavors. Think about your ideal life and jot these thoughts down. Make new recipes for dinner. Walk in interesting places besides your neighborhood. Organize your closet and makeup—and then try new looks. Shop at different stores or markets. In otherwards, add some zing and your life and year will amaze you with further sparkle and shine.

Bon Appétit et Bon Weekend….Bonnie

Happy Holidays 2023!

Holiday Table at Domaine de Manion

Thinking of all of you, thankful and grateful for the journey we have had together this year through the musings, recipes, places to know, garden, kitchen, workshops, culinary experiences, events, lifestyle tips, and above it all—the sharing.

Wishing you a joyful holiday season….Bonnie

After a break for the holidays, I will return in January 2024. Merci mille fois!

Paperwhites For The Garden

Paperwhites Create Holiday Cheer In The Garden

If you force Paperwhites (part of the Narcissus family) in beautiful containers inside your home for the holidays, what do you do with them afterwards? Several years ago I started planting the spent bulbs in key spots in my garden. Just like clockwork they emerge on their own in the garden in time for the holidays. Not only do their spectacular blooms create a very special holiday feel to your garden, their heavenly scent is intoxicating as you pass by them. There are many, many Paperwhite varieties, and most can be found at garden stores and nurseries in late fall. Online bulb companies such as Brent and Becky’s Bulbs and Easy to Grow Bulbs offer a nice selection.

Plant them in a home entrance flower bed, near a gate, or a pathway to capture their scent as you pass by. Of course, this suggestion is for those who live in a Mediterranean climate, most varieties are hardy in USDA zones 9-11. My garden is in zone 10, and they are very happy. If you don’t live in the mentioned zones, enjoy your Paperwhites indoors.

Paperwhites like air, sunlight, and light water. They don’t like their feet wet, and they don’t need fertilizer. Planted in groups and mass in the garden they are spectacular. Bloom time is about 2 weeks. If you are planting your Paperwhite bulbs in the garden from a forced vase, it might take a few years for the bulbs to catch on and really shine. You can clip spent flowers, but keeping the green foliage and letting it brown and die back by itself, it actually provides energy to the bulb for next year’s blooming.

Please be aware the entire Paperwhite plant is toxic to pets and to people. It is the plant’s natural defense. If you have a curious pet, an inquisitive small child, or grandchild, you might not want to tempt them with reachable Paperwhites. On the other hand, Paperwhites will deter gophers and deer in their immediate area, so an added benefit, beauty and function.

Past Related Posts:

Big on Bloom

Narcissus Bulbs Deter Gophers

Bon Appétit et Bon Weekend….Bonnie

Perfect Holiday Salad
Bibb Lettuce Salads with Persimmons and Candied Pecans

Side by Side, Bibb Lettuce Salads with Persimmons and Candied Pecans

I wrote about this delicious perfect holiday salad recipe, Bibb Lettuce Salad with Persimmons and Candied Pecans, two years ago. It is such an easy divine salad, so perfect for the holidays, I wanted to mention and highlight it with you all once again.

The cranberry-based dressing is just a natural to complement holiday pork, turkey, and even beef recipes. If you can’t by chance find Fuyu persimmons, substitute pears in this recipe. Yum!

Would you like to know a perfect holiday salad, easy, and elegant for your holiday gatherings? It is “Bibb Lettuce Salad with Persimmons and Candied Pecans.” It is chock full of fresh seasonal ingredients like cranberries, Fuyu persimmons, and pecans.

Visually, a treat for your table. Healthy and good for you. It is what I call a composed salad, which is layered with a drizzled dressing on top, rather than tossed all together. You can make this salad ahead of time on individual salad plates or on large serving platters. It has different textures of crunch and softness, and sweetness from the cranberry dressing and candied pecans that stand up well to the tang of bold crumbled blue cheese. Your family and guests will love this salad!

 

Bibb Lettuce Salad with Persimmons and Candied Pecans

Lovingly Adapted from Bon Appétit Magazine, December 2005

 

Ingredients:

3/4 cup whole-berry cranberry sauce (purchased or homemade)

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

1 tablespoon honey

1 tablespoon golden brown sugar

6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 heads of Bibb lettuce, coarsely torn

4 Fuyu persimmons, peeled, sliced

1 cup (generous) crumbled blue cheese

Candied Pecans

 

 

Directions:

-Whisk first 4 ingredients in medium bowl; whisk in oil. Season with salt and pepper.

-Mound lettuce in center of 8 plates. Top each with persimmon slices, then drizzle with dressing. Sprinkle with cheese and Candied Pecans.

Recipe Note: I often substitute Bibb Lettuce with a Baby Spinach & Green Lettuce Mix, or when I can find it, a Baby Red Butter Lettuce. Trader Joe’s carries a ready-made Candied Pecans 5 oz. bag, perfect for salads or snacking.

 

If you make this salad, please share with me your comments. I would love to hear from you!

Another Related Post:

Beet & Goat Cheese Arugula Salad

Bon Appétit et Bon Weekend….Bonnie

 

 

Holiday Vignette

Every year I bring out this vintage sleigh to decorate and place by my front door. Year to year the vignette and decorations vary. My holiday decorations and style are generally simple and rustic, and often using greens from my garden.

Making This Vignette:

Find an interesting piece for a base, such as this weather-worn sleigh. Choose a piece that is novel, whimsical, and might bring on a smile.

Use a focal piece or showstopper. I chose a 10” beautiful red poinsettia plant inspired from a recent tour at Weidner’s Gardens, organized by one of my garden clubs, The Village Garden Club of La Jolla.

Wrap the plant in simple burlap.

Cut Blue Juniper greens and Little Gem Magnolia pieces from my garden, arranging them on the sleigh. Look for greens, foliage, berries, pine cones in your garden, or possibly from a neighbor or friend.

Add another smaller interesting piece. In this vignette, an interesting pine cone from another part of California.

Add a colorful bow, if your vignette needs a pop. I didn’t want to take away from the color and beauty of the poinsettia, so I didn’t add a bow.

Make sure everything in your vignette can tolerate being outdoor for a period of time.

Enjoy what you have created. If you make a vignette, I would love to hear about it!

Bon Appétit et Bon Weekend…Bonnie

Domaine de Manion Wine Update

Bottling And Labeling Our Syrah 2022 Vintage

The good news is, our Syrah 2022 harvest was a record yield for us—over 1,400 pounds. Aged in oak barrels for over a year, it was a perfect sunny autumn morning to bottle 30 cases of our wine, with the help of our enthusiastic friends.

The bad news is, we lost our entire grape crop for 2023. We had a cool spring, a tropical mid-summer rain, more summer rain, and not a terribly hot end of summer. The grapes simply didn’t ripen and the powder mildew pressure persisted. Grapes split, bees came, and even coyotes for a nightly nibble. At first, we tried to cull grape clusters amongst the good, but it in the end we let the harvest go. You can’t make good or great wine from poor grapes.

This was an exceptionally trying weather year, but we have had a few here and there. We were not the only ones, many local vintners were also affected. It is humbling, and it is farming. There is always next year, and a fresh start once again.

Full Boxes Finished And Stacked For Storage & Further Aging

More good news. John and I are pouring our Domaine de Manion wines at the upcoming Olivenhain Wine Tasting Event on Wednesday, December 6, 2023, from 6pm to 9pm, along with six other local vintners. Cost is $35.00 per person, and includes hand-crafted appetizers and a complimentary etched wine glass. It is an annual fundraiser to support the maintenance of the historic Olivenhain Town Hall and the surrounding grounds.

For this event, you don’t have to be an Olivenhain member, but what they call a Supporter. So come on out and support this fun and great event. Tickets are now available online along with more details. There is a limited amount of tickets sold, so if you are interested in going, be sure and book your ticket(s) in advance.

I hope to see you at the Olivenhain Wine Tasting. A big thanks to all of you for your continued interest and support!

John and Bonnie Manion, Bottling 2023

Santé


Bon Appétit et Bon Weekend…Bonnie

Happy Thanksgiving Blessings

Autumn Tablescape

Thinking of you all, and wishing you and your family a wonderful Thanksgiving full of love, blessings, and deliciousness.

Gather your loved ones close. Gather the abundance of the harvest and its many comfort flavors. Gather your gratitude. Gather your thoughts, and take time to reflect on the year that has unfolded.

Be in the moment, but honor the past, and carry forward creative positive thoughts that will manifest how you want your next year and life ahead to unfold.

Bon Appétit et Happy Thanksgiving….Bonnie