Ending the year on a sweet note
(plus a bundle of baking recipes!)
(Nérac all dressed up for the holidays!)
December 23rd, 2025
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I couldn’t end the year without a short missive to you all to wish you a very happy holiday season, whatever you celebrate! We’re in France for Christmas with dear friends, having a quiet, restorative time - though it’s tourism “off season, I love it here in the quieter months. See below for France with Vero’s article about the “glorious unpredictability” of France at the holidays!
I won’t do a full-blown “year-end reflection” - mostly because I am still reflecting myself - so I’ll spare you that ;) But I did want to pop in here with some interesting links to check out, a discount on cooking classes with me in 2026 and, best of all, a whole folder of recipes for your last-minute holiday baking (and beyond!).
Whatever you’re doing at this end of year time, I wish you peace and happiness and, most importantly, good health.
Looking for baking inspiration for the holidays? Get ALL of my “12 Days of Holiday treats” recipes in printable format!
That’s right – I’ve compiled ALL the “12 days of Holiday Treats” recipes into a folder with printable recipes for easy reference. All the blog posts with additional information are linked in the recipes, but if you only want the recipe, here you go!
t’is the season… to curl up with a good book… want to know what I’m reading?
I keep track of what I’ve read over on GoodReads. Check out all my recommendations there!
looking for more baking inspiration? take a class with me in 2026!
Many long-time followers will know I teach cooking and baking classes and for over a decade, I taught at a beautiful space in downtown Toronto. This year, I’m thrilled to have found a lovely space in my own neighbourhood to teach these classes and I hosted my first one in the new space last month! It was wonderful to be teaching in my ‘hood and I’m excited to share more upcoming classes!
January 17 2026: La Galette des Rois – a French holiday tradition
February 14 2026: St Valentine’s Day Baking
April 4 2026: Le goûter – classic French after-school snacks
Use the code HOLIDAY at checkout for 15% off registrations! Bring a friend!
Can’t take these classes but want to be informed anytime I host a new class?
links you might like
eat
AI Slop Recipes Are Taking Over the Internet — And Thanksgiving Dinner via Bloomberg.
Recipe bloggers […] said it’s the first holiday season where consumers are starting to trust AI answers in search and chatbots, as well as recipe content remixed by AI, which can be hard to distinguish from the real thing. That’s not just bad for business; it’s potentially ruinous for a holiday dinner table if home cooks, inspired by pretty AI-generated photos, try recipes that turn out unappetizing or that defy the laws of chemistry. In interviews, 22 independent food creators said that AI-generated “recipe slop” is distorting nearly every way people find cooking advice online, damaging their businesses while causing consumers to waste time and money.
There are just… no words. Please don’t rely on Chat GPT for recipes (for SO many reasons). Go to the source directly (websites or even books!).
On a lighter note… from the supermarket prepared food section in France…
live
The BEST holiday commercial I’ve seen in years, hands down, via Intermarché (France). Bonus? All made by humans, NO AI involved! Extra bonus? This was fodder for most of the last week of classes with my elementary students. So much rich language learning and many meaningful conversations here!
(spotted at Intermarché Nérac - kids getting “loup” masks from the cashiers!)
travel
France prepares for the holidays via France with Vero “Lettres de France”. A roundup of all that’s happening in France this holiday season, plus a lovely “traditional France with Vero Holiday virtual tour. This year, join [her] at a magnificent château in the Loire Valley all decked out for Christmas.”
write
Are we all done with social media? via Fiona Beckett’s Eat This, Drink That, Live Well.
An increasing number [of writers] are disenchanted with social media resulting in about 10% of [them] spending less time on it than [they] did in 2022 reveals this article on BBC Worklife. And those who are still on it are using it more for professional purposes than to connect with friends according to a recent article in the Intelligencer section of the New York magazine.
How do you feel about social media these days? I go from loving it to being overwhelmed to being simply over it in the course of a day. It’s exhausting trying to keep up.
AI-Generated “Workslop” is Destroying Productivity via Harvard Business Review.
you might recall the feeling of confusion after opening […] a document, followed by frustration—Wait, what is this exactly?—before you begin to wonder if the sender simply used AI to generate large blocks of text instead of thinking it through. If this sounds familiar, you have been workslopped.
And it’s not just in work-related emails this is happening - it’s everywhere! Have YOU been “AI-slopped”? Top tip: Just because you CAN put something through AI, doesn’t mean you should… #justsaying
On that note, Merriam-Webster pronounced SLOP the 2025 Word of the Year!
Merriam-Webster’s human editors have chosen slop as the 2025 Word of the Year. We define slop as “digital content of low quality that is produced usually in quantity by means of artificial intelligence.” All that stuff dumped on our screens, captured in just four letters: the English language came through again.
Psst: if you’re looking for a fabulous account to follow on Instagram, Merriam-Webster is for you!
buy my books (hint: they make great holiday gifts!)
Don’t have my books yet? Click on the blue button to read all about them and get them for yourself! Too late for pre-holiday delivery? I love a gift arriving in January, personally!
French food made easy … for everyone!
rent our holiday home in southwest France!
Maison de la Fontaine is a cozy, comfortable, tastefully decorated house in the friendly, quaint town of Nerac. It was perfect for us and was well stocked with everything we could need. Essentials were provided by the hosts, Mardi & Neil, as well as a much-appreciated welcome basket. Shopping for food items was close by within easily walkable distances. How wonderful to live the life of a rural Francophone in this wonderfully civilized country.
Mardi & Neil were exceptional hosts - always easily contacted and quick to respond to any questions about the accommodation or to provide recommendations. We could see the effort and thought that was put into hosting, with a very thorough House Manual that provided easy-to-follow instructions and provided lots of recommendations.
We found ourselves thoroughly relaxed, and Maison de la Fontaine was the perfect home base from which to explore the beautiful Gascony area of France. We are already looking forward to our next visit!
~ guest review, April 2025
Our charming house in Nérac, halfway between Bordeaux and Toulouse, is in the heart of Gascony. Plan your 2026 getaway now!
(Nérac doing moody oh-so-well!)
Thanks for reading! Stay tuned for a French (Food Idiom) Friday later this week with a fabulous recipe for your holiday gatherings!
Mardi
xo
Oh I love that Intermarche are handing out wolf masks, I've had Claude François on a total loop - or should I say "loup" - for the past 2 weeks. Hope you have a very merry Christmas in Nerac xx