I shouldn’t go any further before introducing you to this beautiful lady. She is one of the pride and joys of our kitchen and has withstood many a gas bottle change-over (the door on the left conceals the blue butane gas bottle, hooked up by a rubber hose to the elements, which we change over at the hardware store on average every three months). This ‘cuisinière’/ stove has had her bottles changed since the 1950’s!
We found her sitting all shiny and alone in an Emmaüs (charity shop) many years ago and apart from the crack in her bottom drawer’s handle, has aged so gracefully and remained a very loyal friend in the kitchen. I love her!
Her name is FAR and I spotted Catherine Deneuve cooking at a single version in an old French film once and got very excited. And then I came home with this cookbook folder from a ‘vide-grenier’/garage sale the other day, and guess who features on the cover…
Do you ever find yourself smiling at some of the things you pass by during your day?
I love those moments and have started to record them with my camera. I can’t help it. Everything in France seems so exotic to me, being a ‘non-Frenchie’!
Here’s some pics to share with you, but be warned! There’s a few of them, so I hope you don’t get bored!!
Pierre the baker having a ‘tranquil’ pause at the morning marketA lovely orange 2CV, shining like a beacon in the morning light…those 2CVs are EVERYWHERE!‘Chic Dog’ (you know how they put their words backwards!) – every pooch needs a parlour
Hotel de Ville in Narbonne flying the Bleu Blanc RougeFrenchy frilly bits……and not so frilly bits…les messieurs like a bit of pink tooIt’s the real thing! – one of Mamy Jeanne’s much-loved recipe books
And while we’re on the topic of books, I just love this. It’s the bookshelf in our local village library… gives you a small taste of what the public are reading up on! Recipes, winemaking, a history of Europe, a history of France and, bien sur, a little bit of psychotherapy. Tres francais.Yes, it’s the GIANT COLON!! Be curious!! Roll up for a visit to the centre of the giant colon!… (thanks for the poster Mat, you know me too well!)Colon health, giant ‘chariots de fromage’ (cheese trolley). Ever heard of the French paradox?At the local ‘brocante’. This poor guy got caught, but we still hear his friends in our garden at nightthe doorhandle to one of my favourite brocantesa cinema in Limoux (where Blanquette is made)take-away baguetteReally love this one too. The scene, the clothing (so now!) and the little guy at the back just happens to be some Vigneron I know…a regular vision in these villagesles messieurs sur les bancs
There’s a lot of things in France I can’t get enough of (‘like your husband?’ I hear him saying). One of them is packaging.
I don’t know if it’s because the written word in French looks so cool (it’s always a shame when shopping for friends’ children and the t-shirts have ENGLISH on them!!) – or whether I just get attracted to the old-style of things here. Some packets look like they haven’t changed in a hundred years. Some probably haven’t.
a good old packet of flour never looked so good"baleine" (whale) sea salt - if you think the packaging looks a little rough around the edges, it is! There is a new version of this container out on the market but it's not HALF as lovely, so I keep decanting the new salt into this old one! ...Do I need help?no tears, no reproaches onion cutter!cream of chestnut - they even spread it on toast!caroline ricefish in a canMonsieur Biscuit ...classy!I love bubbles
One of the great things about living where we do, is the access to good produce. The Mediterranean climate allows for almost anything to be grown, and more and more I’m trying to buy locally from people I get to know at the local village markets.
The Olonzac market, one of the biggest in our area, is held every Tuesday morning until about 1pm. You can find almost anything: fruit, vegies, pastries, breads, meats, fish, flowers, fresh coffee, cheeses, olives, local honey, wine, ready-made asian dishes from the guy with his own personal dvd collection on loop in his van (Lilas’ favourite)… those hard to find ingredients for ‘exotic’ cuisine such as lemongrass, coriander and chilies and then there’s your zippers, hats, bras, oversized undies, slippers, kitchen utensils, Indian dresses, incense, second-hand books, army surplus clothing, jewellery… it’s endless.
the usual and some exotic surprises at the market
This market is growing in size each year and in full Summer has traffic jams of people, carts and pushers down the bottleneck streets – you should try pushing a pusher through this mass…
There’s Pierre with his bread. You can spot him from a mile off, with his old van and black wool beret. He’s like a character from a film – and his organic bread is of the old, sourdough rustic style. He takes his time, nearly always a big smile on his face and an open pot of honey on his table to spread on his breakfast ‘pain’. And there’s always his thermos of hot coffee and tin mug ready for dipping. Pierre’s bread is the sort that you can keep for a week – not at all your light, airy baguette, but a full, wholesome loaf that is just divine toasted with butter and Vegemite.
Pierre and les pains
Just up from Pierre is Laetitia, the young girl who a lot of the year has only her free-range eggs to sell. She has a tiny stand but always many people jostling around her. Throughout the year she sells apples, onions, potatoes, and in full summer has mountains of cheap tomatoes, nectarines, grapes, peaches and a queue leading back for miles. You have to be quick – her tomatoes can sell out by 9.30am.
Laetitia’s free-range eggs
Towards the roundabout on your left are the people selling THAT saucisson (salami)… ‘Mont Charvin’. The one that costs an arm and a leg, full of beautiful chunks of bright green pistachios. It’s a small investment buying even just one of their products, but once you’ve tasted the difference, you can’t buy supermarket salami again. In general I buy a lot less saucisson now, but boy do we enjoy the ’50 centimes slices’ when they’re around. By chance, I got to meet Jacques, the maker of this wonderful product the other day. I was thrilled to be able to tell him how much we loved his ‘salted meats’ and hear his story of how he and his brother-in-law, once butchers in Paris, settled down south and built a company from scratch offering a range of products made in the Savoie region of France, using no additives or preservatives.
Jacques slicing a sample from the selection of ‘salaisons’ -salted meats
But before I stop by the saucisson stand, I head quickly for Valerie’s before she runs out of vegetables…
The Vigneron's Wife 