LIVING THE DREAM

Meet Eva Posthuma de Boer, a Dutch author living in one of the most picturesque parts of Burgundy, the Morvan Natural Park. We’ve already visited this area a couple of times in our rambles across Burgundy. The region is renowned for its rolling verdant green landscape with wooded hilltops and meandering rivers and streams.
“When I was seven, my parents bought a 400-year-old farmhouse on the outskirts of a village in the Morvan, where life was simple and unchanging” say Eva, “we spent all our holidays there, and especially those weeks during the summer months were infinitely wonderful.”
Those early days of experiencing France were dreamy for a seven-year-old child. “I built huts, jumped ditches, rolled down hills in sleeping bags, hung out in the hammock reading, looked for gold in the stream, gathered wood for nightly campfires.”
But one thing really stands out in Eva’s recollection of her childhood adventures. “In between all those blissful pursuits, a real happiness took place: the food. Tomatoes with homemade mayonnaise on crunchy fresh baguette, chicken with potatoes from the oven, lettuce with green beans, artichokes with creamy garlic vinaigrette and so much more. Everything was just equally delicious.”
In those days without the Internet and with little or no TV, a budding author began to emerge. She says: “I wrote endlessly in diaries, and I read my ass off, if you’ll pardon the expression!
Little could she have imagined at the time that in future years as an adult that she would be writing novels and publishing cookbooks, but the seed of everything lies there in the Morvan.
Today, the farmhouse belongs to Eva and her husband; she lives there for part of the year. The house and the local area are the right creative inspiration for Eva to write.
“There's nowhere better to write than there. Forgetting time, being able to think endlessly, that's so nice, she says. “Holidaying together with husband, children, and friends, what a great happiness that also brings. We had the old cowshed converted into a guest house, which gives everyone privacy.”
As anyone who has made the move and relocated to France, suddenly all sorts of friends pop out of the woodwork wanting to visit you. Of course, these visits are a delight, but there are disadvantages, and so Eva has some wise words for those thinking about having a home in France: “Through trial and error, we have become wiser and wiser; We don't invite too many people at the same time, otherwise we just end up being an hotel! And after the departure of visitors, no quick turnarounds… we always leave a few days in between, so that we don't just end up changing beds and doing food shopping...”
Building good relationships in the local community is very important as we have noted in numerous newsletter articles over the last few years, and for Eva this has been easy.
“I've known my neighbours Claude and Mumu since I was a child, and I see them as my French parents. They are always there for us, and the evenings are a true blessing, sitting around the table with them, eating, drinking, and talking until we almost drop.” she recalls. “And when we are not there, they keep an eye on things, and take care of all kinds of jobs that need to be done on our house. They always know 'a man who can' and they make sure the grass is mowed, and they open the shutters for me.”
Eva and her family have gone a step further in integrating into the local community by creating an event that has now become a tradition. She comments: “Last summer we organized a pétanque tournament on our path and lit a BBQ. There were friends and acquaintances from the neighbourhood - French, Dutch and Belgians. Our friend Stéphane brought his karaoke set, we sang and danced, it was really a very special day, and we all can’t wait for the next one!”
For the past three years, Eva has been working on her new cookbook ‘BURGUNDIAN, recipes from Eva's green French kitchen. It is almost documentary cookbook, in which she avidly shows her love for Burgundy, with photos of the local area, stories and most important of all… 100 recipes.
“My idea is to give the famous Burgundian cuisine a 'green twist' - less meat, more vegetables. To this end, I studied many Burgundian classics and did some research. I visited markets, supermarkets, local shops, and farms, and talked to producers and artisans. And above all, I ate - in restaurants, in auberges, in cafes, and especially a lot at the Burgundians' homes,” she says.
“There’s an interesting twist in all of this. We have a younger generation across Europe and elsewhere around the world who are open to sustainability, and yet the older generation, especially in areas like rural France, do not want to know anything about it. Surely, it can’t be their fault as they think because they eat what the land offers in every season, just as nature intended. And they have a point!”
Eva kept this in mind when writing her book, and of course, the research required her to be where her heart lies, in Burgundy, living the dream.
Ed: If you are visiting the region in early Spring and Summer 2024, look out for her book signing in the café Parisian in Saulieu. Or you can connect her via her Dutch website and don’t worry about the language, most Dutch citizens speak English in some form.