St Michel
I'd forgotten just what a pain audio typing is! I've been sitting at the 'puter for what feels like days, trying to make sense of a series of audio files that have white noise, mumbling regional accented voices and periods of everyone laughing and talking at the same time. A mobile phone was placed too close to the microphone and kept receiving beeping signals throughout the files. I finally finished typing them up at 9.30 this morning and we went out to play for the day.
We took the young people to Domme which, as you will recall is one of our favourite local places, especially just out of season when it is quieter. We had a lovely drive and a very nice lunch in the main village square.
Although it has been a lovely warm day, the leaves are beginning to turn from green to yellow, in some places they are quite brown and in other places they are falling from the trees like handfuls of confetti at a wedding.
To update you on 'the foot', it is still quite painful and a little swollen but we are hoping that Jon will be fighting fit and back working on the loft in a very few days!!
Monday 29 September 2008
Friday 26 September 2008
No time Toulouse
St Damien
What a busy week. Not only nursing Jon's poor gout and trying to keep him sitting still as much as possible with his leg in the air, but trying to start work, back at the audio typing game.
We've had two lots of lunch guests and four friends for supper last night (my birthday). Book club, quiz night. It's a mad social whirl here.
So this weekend I will have to continue working but also I'll be collecting daughter #2 and her husband from the airport in the morning and we're looking forward very much to having them to stay for a week.
We've finally organised for our shower unit (which has been languishing in the garage for a year) to be fitted in 10 days time, and work must continue on the loft next week, starting with treating the woodwork and then on to laying the floor. Our planning application has been in for nearly 3 weeks now and at the point of 4 weeks if we've not had a reply then we can arrange for the windows to be put in.
Suddenly it has become autumn with chilly mornings and evenings but we are putting off the first lighting of the log burner. Rest assured, you will be the first to know when we have a 'grand first lighting'.
What a busy week. Not only nursing Jon's poor gout and trying to keep him sitting still as much as possible with his leg in the air, but trying to start work, back at the audio typing game.
We've had two lots of lunch guests and four friends for supper last night (my birthday). Book club, quiz night. It's a mad social whirl here.
So this weekend I will have to continue working but also I'll be collecting daughter #2 and her husband from the airport in the morning and we're looking forward very much to having them to stay for a week.
We've finally organised for our shower unit (which has been languishing in the garage for a year) to be fitted in 10 days time, and work must continue on the loft next week, starting with treating the woodwork and then on to laying the floor. Our planning application has been in for nearly 3 weeks now and at the point of 4 weeks if we've not had a reply then we can arrange for the windows to be put in.
Suddenly it has become autumn with chilly mornings and evenings but we are putting off the first lighting of the log burner. Rest assured, you will be the first to know when we have a 'grand first lighting'.
Monday 22 September 2008
... and the bride's father wore .....
St Maurice
Well we are back from our little sojourn in Paris and Telford 48 hours earlier than intended.
We left as planned of Thursday morning to catch the train to Paris, had a good journey up and arrived at lunch time. Lunch was partaken in a little tourist restaurant next to Shakespeare and Company, on the left bank of the Seine, overlooking Notre Dame. Very nice too.
Then we went in search of a tie to complete the Father of the Bride, outfit and headed back to our hotel for a bath and a rest before dinner in one of Paris' oldest brasseries, Bofinger.
Bofinger is a wonderful building, all art deco, glass, paintings and wood. The food was delicious and a very friendly Maitre D served our table.
Sauntering back to our hotel in the Marais area, Jon realised that his foot was aching rather more than it should have. Maybe just the shoes, and the slow walking, we hoped, but when he took his shoe off back at the hotel we both (silently) thought that it was probably worse than that.
Friday morning after little sleep we realised that yes, in fact, it was gout. Very, very painful.
Our plan was to catch the metro to Charles de Gaulle airport, plane to Birmingham and then rail to Telford and a taxi to our hotel. We managed it, heaven knows how, as Jon's foot was just getting more and more swollen, redder, hotter and more painful.
The day of the wedding dawned. Jon was under strict instruction to stay in his room with his foot up while the 'titivating' party went off to titivate the reception.
As we were getting dressed for the ceremony, Jon was determined to put his shoes on.
No way.
He was in agony and had to remove the shoe immediately. I'm amazed he even tried to put it on.
There was no way he could wear it. But he was still determined that he would be able to walk down the aisle and give the bride away.
Our friend came up with the only solution.
'He's not wearing those!' I thought to myself. Well, maybe I voiced it as well.
He did.
The father of the bride staggered down the aisle wearing a very smart linen suit, new tie from Paris and
..... ...... a pair of £6 Tesco carpet slippers!
But at least he managed it and performed his father-of-the-bride tasks admirably, with a smile on his face even though he was in pain!
Thanks Tesco!!
Well we are back from our little sojourn in Paris and Telford 48 hours earlier than intended.
We left as planned of Thursday morning to catch the train to Paris, had a good journey up and arrived at lunch time. Lunch was partaken in a little tourist restaurant next to Shakespeare and Company, on the left bank of the Seine, overlooking Notre Dame. Very nice too.
Then we went in search of a tie to complete the Father of the Bride, outfit and headed back to our hotel for a bath and a rest before dinner in one of Paris' oldest brasseries, Bofinger.
Bofinger is a wonderful building, all art deco, glass, paintings and wood. The food was delicious and a very friendly Maitre D served our table.
Sauntering back to our hotel in the Marais area, Jon realised that his foot was aching rather more than it should have. Maybe just the shoes, and the slow walking, we hoped, but when he took his shoe off back at the hotel we both (silently) thought that it was probably worse than that.
Friday morning after little sleep we realised that yes, in fact, it was gout. Very, very painful.
Our plan was to catch the metro to Charles de Gaulle airport, plane to Birmingham and then rail to Telford and a taxi to our hotel. We managed it, heaven knows how, as Jon's foot was just getting more and more swollen, redder, hotter and more painful.
The day of the wedding dawned. Jon was under strict instruction to stay in his room with his foot up while the 'titivating' party went off to titivate the reception.
As we were getting dressed for the ceremony, Jon was determined to put his shoes on.
No way.
He was in agony and had to remove the shoe immediately. I'm amazed he even tried to put it on.
There was no way he could wear it. But he was still determined that he would be able to walk down the aisle and give the bride away.
Our friend came up with the only solution.
'He's not wearing those!' I thought to myself. Well, maybe I voiced it as well.
He did.
The father of the bride staggered down the aisle wearing a very smart linen suit, new tie from Paris and
..... ...... a pair of £6 Tesco carpet slippers!
But at least he managed it and performed his father-of-the-bride tasks admirably, with a smile on his face even though he was in pain!
Thanks Tesco!!
Wednesday 17 September 2008
Off we go
St Renaud
I always feel so awful when I take the cats to their holiday home. Today I felt worse as they were so good in the car (they are usually very noisy giving me a 'musical' accompaniment all the way there).
And to see their little faces looking out of the run.
Misty looks at Figaro and shrugs
Figgy says 'Dammit, what have we done this time?'
'I really don't know' Misty replies, 'but it was obviously bad enough to warrant another spell in the slammer'.
They are probably already making plans for their escape - will it be the tunnel or will they disguise themselves as a couple of German Shepherds and sneak out under cover of darkness?
---
Meanwhile, it's the early train for us tomorrow to Paris meaning we have to get up before daylight (do people really do that?). Friday a flight to Birmingham and on to Shropshire for our daughter's wedding on Saturday. The big hat and the suits are packed safely. We have French embellishments for the bridal car and have double, nay triple checked; passports? Tickets? English money? Have we packed the father of the bride's speech (it's a cracker!)?
So, no more blogging until Wednesday next (sorry, Jim).
See you then!
I always feel so awful when I take the cats to their holiday home. Today I felt worse as they were so good in the car (they are usually very noisy giving me a 'musical' accompaniment all the way there).
And to see their little faces looking out of the run.
Misty looks at Figaro and shrugs
Figgy says 'Dammit, what have we done this time?'
'I really don't know' Misty replies, 'but it was obviously bad enough to warrant another spell in the slammer'.
They are probably already making plans for their escape - will it be the tunnel or will they disguise themselves as a couple of German Shepherds and sneak out under cover of darkness?
---
Meanwhile, it's the early train for us tomorrow to Paris meaning we have to get up before daylight (do people really do that?). Friday a flight to Birmingham and on to Shropshire for our daughter's wedding on Saturday. The big hat and the suits are packed safely. We have French embellishments for the bridal car and have double, nay triple checked; passports? Tickets? English money? Have we packed the father of the bride's speech (it's a cracker!)?
So, no more blogging until Wednesday next (sorry, Jim).
See you then!
Monday 15 September 2008
A strange and unusual plant
St Roland
Meet Audrey 2....
As you know, we were out all day on Saturday 'Hallelujah'-ing and 'For unto us a child is born'-ing. It was dark when we got home and we didn't really take any notice of the outside.
I was very surprised yesterday morning when I came down to let Misty out and make tea to spot this little lady on the garden table.
We'd never seen her before and she had no label to say how she got here. None of our friends know anything about her and we don't know of anyone else who would have left her there.
So, we have decided that as she is a 'strange and unusual plant', and appears to have just landed here from nowhere, she must therefore be an Audrey 2.
We will be extremely careful to feed and nurture here and not to cut our fingers anywhere near her. If she starts saying 'Feed me', we will run like Paula Radcliffe and Emil Zatopek out of here!
If you don't know what on earth I am talking about - look here
By the way, if you do know anything about how she got here, do please tell!
Meet Audrey 2....
As you know, we were out all day on Saturday 'Hallelujah'-ing and 'For unto us a child is born'-ing. It was dark when we got home and we didn't really take any notice of the outside.
I was very surprised yesterday morning when I came down to let Misty out and make tea to spot this little lady on the garden table.
We'd never seen her before and she had no label to say how she got here. None of our friends know anything about her and we don't know of anyone else who would have left her there.
So, we have decided that as she is a 'strange and unusual plant', and appears to have just landed here from nowhere, she must therefore be an Audrey 2.
We will be extremely careful to feed and nurture here and not to cut our fingers anywhere near her. If she starts saying 'Feed me', we will run like Paula Radcliffe and Emil Zatopek out of here!
If you don't know what on earth I am talking about - look here
By the way, if you do know anything about how she got here, do please tell!
Sunday 14 September 2008
Le Messie de Haendel
St Materne
Halleluhah!
Yesterday morning we were up before light (ugh) and out after a very quick breakfast. We were surprised how many other people were also out and about that time on a Saturday - and they weren't the chasse in their white vans.
We headed on south into the Tarn and alongside the river Aveyron before heading down further south to the village of Puycelsi. The village itself is one of 'The Most Beautiful Villages in France'. There is an association of 152 villages in France with this accolade. There are certain criteria to meet such as the number of occupants (less than 2000), the architecture, environment and heritage.
Sitting on top of a hillside with stunning views all around, this peaceful village is incredibly busy with lots of activities, bars, good walking and the Church of St Corneille. This once beautiful church is in need of restoration and lots of TLC. An association has been set up to raise the money for restoration and one of the fund-raising events is a performance of Handel's Messiah with a scratch choir.
Thus briefed we all paid our registration fees, which included lunch and afternoon tea, and duly gathered together yesterday morning eager for our first rehearsal. Unfortunately, because we had registered late, our names were not on the list of choristers, but we were still allowed in!
After two hours of practice we were ready for lunch of salads and quiches, cheese and dessert which set us up for a second two hour rehearsal and then afternoon tea (which was very welcome) and our performance began at 6pm - very, very early by French standards. Of course before we were allowed to sing there were the obligatory speeches, the mayor, the chairman of the restoration committe and another chap whose role I didn't quite get but he spoke at length about the cost of restoration and the way it is achieved. Finally we could begin.
We sang our little hearts out accompanied by organist Nicholas O'Neill from the UK to the direction of Mark Opstad. Four excellent soloists completed the group and the performance itself went very well indeed.
We performed our encore, a second rendition of the Hallelujah Chorus and the audience stood to applaud all the performers.
On my way out of the church I was stopped by an elderly gentleman.
'Thank you so much for a wonderful evening's performance' he said.
Little things like that give you such a warm feeling inside.
Which was just as well since as soon as we set foot outside the wind got up and the heavens opened. I threw off my 'instrument of torture' shoes and ran for the car bare footed. The rain lessened just long enough for me to take a photo of the most stunning sunset I've seen in a long time.
Such a long day and we still got home in time to catch the second half of the Last Night of The Proms - Bryn Terfel's voice is just wonderful - and thanks to the new Proms Director for not playing Henry Wood's Fantasia on British Sea Songs which has just got too farcical for words these days!
All photographs copyright Sue Smith, September 2008
Halleluhah!
Yesterday morning we were up before light (ugh) and out after a very quick breakfast. We were surprised how many other people were also out and about that time on a Saturday - and they weren't the chasse in their white vans.
We headed on south into the Tarn and alongside the river Aveyron before heading down further south to the village of Puycelsi. The village itself is one of 'The Most Beautiful Villages in France'. There is an association of 152 villages in France with this accolade. There are certain criteria to meet such as the number of occupants (less than 2000), the architecture, environment and heritage.
Sitting on top of a hillside with stunning views all around, this peaceful village is incredibly busy with lots of activities, bars, good walking and the Church of St Corneille. This once beautiful church is in need of restoration and lots of TLC. An association has been set up to raise the money for restoration and one of the fund-raising events is a performance of Handel's Messiah with a scratch choir.
Thus briefed we all paid our registration fees, which included lunch and afternoon tea, and duly gathered together yesterday morning eager for our first rehearsal. Unfortunately, because we had registered late, our names were not on the list of choristers, but we were still allowed in!
After two hours of practice we were ready for lunch of salads and quiches, cheese and dessert which set us up for a second two hour rehearsal and then afternoon tea (which was very welcome) and our performance began at 6pm - very, very early by French standards. Of course before we were allowed to sing there were the obligatory speeches, the mayor, the chairman of the restoration committe and another chap whose role I didn't quite get but he spoke at length about the cost of restoration and the way it is achieved. Finally we could begin.
We sang our little hearts out accompanied by organist Nicholas O'Neill from the UK to the direction of Mark Opstad. Four excellent soloists completed the group and the performance itself went very well indeed.
We performed our encore, a second rendition of the Hallelujah Chorus and the audience stood to applaud all the performers.
On my way out of the church I was stopped by an elderly gentleman.
'Thank you so much for a wonderful evening's performance' he said.
Little things like that give you such a warm feeling inside.
Which was just as well since as soon as we set foot outside the wind got up and the heavens opened. I threw off my 'instrument of torture' shoes and ran for the car bare footed. The rain lessened just long enough for me to take a photo of the most stunning sunset I've seen in a long time.
Such a long day and we still got home in time to catch the second half of the Last Night of The Proms - Bryn Terfel's voice is just wonderful - and thanks to the new Proms Director for not playing Henry Wood's Fantasia on British Sea Songs which has just got too farcical for words these days!
All photographs copyright Sue Smith, September 2008
Friday 12 September 2008
The Omnivore's One Hundred
St Apollinaire
I found this on Veronica’s lovely foodie blog (I'm looking forward to meeting you tomorrow, Veronica).
It’s quite popular on the foodie blogs so here’s a go. There are some very ordinary things here and some rather odd and probably dangerous ones too – I never considered myself an adventurous eater and I really think a poisonous fish is a step (chew?) too far, but I’ve tried more than I would have thought. It’s actually given me some ideas to have a go at some other things too. I have to confess that I had to look a few things up on google!
Here’s how it works:
1) Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions.
2) Bold all the items you’ve eaten.
3) Cross out any items that you would never consider eating.
4) Optional extra: Post a comment at www.verygoodtaste.co.uk linking to your results.
1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare (admittedly I opted for the partly cooked version and it was only a taste of someone else's!)
5. Crocodile
6. Black pudding
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari
12. Pho (Vietnamese beef soup – I love Vietnamese food but haven’t ever tried this one)
13. PB&J sandwich -(Peanut butter, yes; jam/jelly, yes, but together??? perleeese!)
14. Aloo gobi (Indian potato curry)
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses (many an odd cheese but not this one - yet)
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes (Home made elderberry )
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes (At least I think I've just grown some!!)
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras
24. Rice and beans25. Brawn, or head cheese (bleugh!)
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper (I’m not that stupid)
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters (lightly grilled with garlic and shallot butter - yum)
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda (Should do, it sounds lovely)
31. Wasabi peas (We’ve made wasabi chicken but never tried peas)
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl (Clam Chowder but not the sourdough bowl)
33. Salted lassi
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36.
37. Clotted cream tea
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O (I really must try it though!)
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects
43. Phaal
44. Goat’s milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more (Please note I did not buy said bottle)46. Fugu (can’t understand why you would want to)
47. Chicken tikka masala48. Eel (too much like snakes for my liking!)
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut (yuk)50. Sea Urchin (no way!)
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi53. Abalone
54. Paneer (Indian cheese)
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal (how embarrassing to admit)
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini (sounds quite disgusting, gimme a g&t any day)
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine (Also sounds quite disgusting)
60. Carob chips
61. S’mores (??)
62. Sweetbreads
63. Kaolin
64. Currywurst
65. Durian66. Frogs’ legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette (accidentally on French OU summer school in
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost
75. Roadkill (poor deer)
76. Baijiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie (half a point methinks as
78. Snail (I was persuaded to try one by a friend, shared half a one with someone else, we both agreed that they are quite revolting – Jon quite likes them though)
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky (I hadn’t even heard of it until now)
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant (Oh, in my dreams!)
85.
86. Hare (Nooooo! We have them in the field here, rarely but they are so lovely)
87. Goulash
88. Flowers89. Horse
90. Criollo chocolate (At least I think so)
91. Spam (Lord, school dinner spam fritters!)
92. Soft shell crab (much to my surprise I really liked it - probably because it was served up at a wonderful restaurant in
93. Rose harissa (Yes to harissa, we use it all the time, but not with rose petals)
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox - not together though
97. Lobster Thermidor (Lobster yes but Thermidor-ed nope)
98. Polenta (Didn't like it much - must try a different recipe)
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee100. Snake
Well, that’s just 67 out of 100. With 9 I wouldn’t consider, that leaves me plenty to seek out and try. I really look forward to number 84.
Note to self – find rich man to take me out to dinner!
Thursday 11 September 2008
Something(s) in the air
St Adelphe
I have tried, honestly, to get some nice photos for you of our latest wonder. Having been dive bombed every day for weeks in and around the pool by ghastly green-faced horseflies with a bite like nothing you've known, we are now enchanted by our latest 'playmates' by the pool. They are dragonflies - we have Golden Ringed dragonflies and Emperor dragonflies fluttering around. Sometimes they stop right in front of you and it is as if they are peering into your face to see what you are.
They are just beautiful and quite amazing creatures. We'll be looking them up to see if we can find out more, and also trying to photograph them for these pages.
Later this afternoon whilst sitting and sewing outside in the garden I heard a lot of chattering going on, a sort of 'tseep' and 'tchirrip'. Looking up we could see literally hundreds of house martins swooping and fluttering around as the clouds rolled in and the sky got heavier. Obviously there were plenty of low flying bugs and flies for them to feed on and they were enjoying a huge bugfest orgy! The area they were covering was very wide as they filled the sky.
We know that they are nesting in the church and around the village and now and then the flock has come as far south as our house but we had never seen quite as many as this and we wondered if they were beginning to head south for winter, gathering into larger flocks on the way.
It will be a sad day when we don't see them any more in the village as a sign that summer has left us. Today we have had 26 degrees and beautiful clear skies once again until late afternoon when the cloud has begun to gather. The next few days are forecast as unsettled but we have great hopes that summer isn't over yet.
I have tried, honestly, to get some nice photos for you of our latest wonder. Having been dive bombed every day for weeks in and around the pool by ghastly green-faced horseflies with a bite like nothing you've known, we are now enchanted by our latest 'playmates' by the pool. They are dragonflies - we have Golden Ringed dragonflies and Emperor dragonflies fluttering around. Sometimes they stop right in front of you and it is as if they are peering into your face to see what you are.
They are just beautiful and quite amazing creatures. We'll be looking them up to see if we can find out more, and also trying to photograph them for these pages.
Later this afternoon whilst sitting and sewing outside in the garden I heard a lot of chattering going on, a sort of 'tseep' and 'tchirrip'. Looking up we could see literally hundreds of house martins swooping and fluttering around as the clouds rolled in and the sky got heavier. Obviously there were plenty of low flying bugs and flies for them to feed on and they were enjoying a huge bugfest orgy! The area they were covering was very wide as they filled the sky.
We know that they are nesting in the church and around the village and now and then the flock has come as far south as our house but we had never seen quite as many as this and we wondered if they were beginning to head south for winter, gathering into larger flocks on the way.
It will be a sad day when we don't see them any more in the village as a sign that summer has left us. Today we have had 26 degrees and beautiful clear skies once again until late afternoon when the cloud has begun to gather. The next few days are forecast as unsettled but we have great hopes that summer isn't over yet.
Monday 8 September 2008
Summer continues
St Adrien
I'm really sorry to tell you chaps in Brownland that summer continues beautifully here, fantastic clear skies and warm temperatures.
We went to Rocamadour this morning partly on a search for clothes for the wedding and partly to treat ourselves to lunch out to celebrate our wedding anniversary yesterday. Having noticed a distinct quietening of the roads and shops since 1st September we were very surprised to find the village absolutely packed with tourists. Where were they all staying? Certainly nowhere near us, all the campsites are empty and the hotels are quiet too.
We found a table at a restaurant on a terrace overlooking the valley and browsed the menu. No sooner had we made our choices than the restaurant suddenly filled up. French, British and Dutch diners all clamouring for their cassoulet or confit de canard.
It was a lovely lunch, very relaxed and, considering the number of people visiting the village, quiet.
The best news is that I now have an outfit for the wedding.
I think.
Maybe I still need some shoes.
But I do have a hat!
I'm really sorry to tell you chaps in Brownland that summer continues beautifully here, fantastic clear skies and warm temperatures.
We went to Rocamadour this morning partly on a search for clothes for the wedding and partly to treat ourselves to lunch out to celebrate our wedding anniversary yesterday. Having noticed a distinct quietening of the roads and shops since 1st September we were very surprised to find the village absolutely packed with tourists. Where were they all staying? Certainly nowhere near us, all the campsites are empty and the hotels are quiet too.
We found a table at a restaurant on a terrace overlooking the valley and browsed the menu. No sooner had we made our choices than the restaurant suddenly filled up. French, British and Dutch diners all clamouring for their cassoulet or confit de canard.
It was a lovely lunch, very relaxed and, considering the number of people visiting the village, quiet.
The best news is that I now have an outfit for the wedding.
I think.
Maybe I still need some shoes.
But I do have a hat!
Sunday 7 September 2008
Silent Sunday
Ste Reine
No, not Sunday lunch, these are our neighbours!
Sheep shall graze, Frayssinet, July 2008
Copyright Sue Smith, July 2008
No, not Sunday lunch, these are our neighbours!
Sheep shall graze, Frayssinet, July 2008Copyright Sue Smith, July 2008
Saturday 6 September 2008
Chilled courgette soup with mint
St Bertrand
I didn't pick any courgettes yesterday having checked them the day before and seeing none that were in danger of taking over the garden, so I was a little surprised to find a couple of marrows on the courgette plants today - it's amazing what a little rain can do - and it wasn't heavy rain overnight!
So, this next recipe is for courgette and mint soup - to be eaten chilled. Allow at least 4 hours for the soup to cool in the fridge before eating.
Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a deep, heavy bottomed saucepan and gently cook 1 chopped onion for a couple of minutes until softened.
Add 1kg of courgettes, chopped. Cook, stirring for a couple of minutes further then cover and leave over a low heat for about 10 minutes until the courgettes are soft but do not allow them to colour.
Add 1.5 litres of vegetable stock and a handful of chopped fresh mint leaves and bring to the boil. Turn down the heat and leave to simmer for a further 20 minutes until the courgettes are soft.
Remove from the heat and allow to cool for a couple of minutes before blending the soup. Adjust the seasoning and add stir in a small pot of creme fraiche.
Put the soup into a large bowl or tureen and allow to cool to room temperature before transferring to the fridge to chill for at least 4 hours before serving.
Taste before serving and adjust the seasoning if required. Serve in individual bowls with a swirl of creme fraiche and a sprig of mint.
I didn't pick any courgettes yesterday having checked them the day before and seeing none that were in danger of taking over the garden, so I was a little surprised to find a couple of marrows on the courgette plants today - it's amazing what a little rain can do - and it wasn't heavy rain overnight!
So, this next recipe is for courgette and mint soup - to be eaten chilled. Allow at least 4 hours for the soup to cool in the fridge before eating.
Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a deep, heavy bottomed saucepan and gently cook 1 chopped onion for a couple of minutes until softened.
Add 1kg of courgettes, chopped. Cook, stirring for a couple of minutes further then cover and leave over a low heat for about 10 minutes until the courgettes are soft but do not allow them to colour.
Add 1.5 litres of vegetable stock and a handful of chopped fresh mint leaves and bring to the boil. Turn down the heat and leave to simmer for a further 20 minutes until the courgettes are soft.
Remove from the heat and allow to cool for a couple of minutes before blending the soup. Adjust the seasoning and add stir in a small pot of creme fraiche.
Put the soup into a large bowl or tureen and allow to cool to room temperature before transferring to the fridge to chill for at least 4 hours before serving.
Taste before serving and adjust the seasoning if required. Serve in individual bowls with a swirl of creme fraiche and a sprig of mint.
Tuesday 2 September 2008
Time flying by
Ste Ingrid
We had a call from a friend yesterday inviting us to supper on Friday. 'We'd love to of course' I said and went to write it on the calendar. We thought that after a heavy few weeks we had at least two weeks free to concentrate on home before we disappear to the Midlands for a weekend (more on that later).
Last week, after our last staying guests for the time being went home we had time to clear out the chalet and restock the fridge, then it was bookclub and friends to supper night, followed by quiz night. We had this week free, then a couple of things on next week culminating in the Messiah performance on Saturday evening. A few days later we head to Paris and then on to Birmingham and Shropshire. So we were looking forward to a few quiet days.
Then on Saturday morning as I was heading for the bakers my mobile rang:
'We're in town and thought we'd drop in and see you as we head home. You did say that you might have some bread and cheese to share for lunch'....
Of course I did, as Jon says, I'm very free with my invitations for people to 'drop in' even if, as in this case, it isn't actually on their way home - they live in the opposite direction!
Thinking on my feet, I bought extra cheese, and a few sliced meats too to pad out lunch.
It was lovely to see our friends as they had been back in the UK for 6 weeks and hadn't been well before they left. We spent a couple of hours catching up and, that was most of Saturday taken care of.
On Sunday we were expecting people to lunch. We spent the morning getting lunch reading and tidying the garden which had been neglected for a week.
One o'clock came and no visitors. Two o'clock, two thirty..... At three I started making a cake, convinced that they would like something to eat later with a cup of tea. And we ate our lunch without them (it was very nice).
At four fifteen they called and it was apparent that they were heading for another village with the same name (almost) as ours. Finally at 5 o'clock they arrived. We had a nice cup of tea and lemon drizzle cake in the garden, showed them around the house and they went off to their hotel not very far from here.
At eight we went to a restaurant where we had planned to meet them. At eight thirty they turned up.
It was a lovely restaurant just north of Cahors at St Martin. We had a very nice meal, delicious, beautifully presented, excellent service and not too expensive. Just a really relaxed evening with some lovely people. They had offered to take us out to dinner at a restaurant of our choice and it all worked out beautifully. We said a sad goodbye to them at the restaurant and hope to see them again soon, probably back in the UK.
And we didn't once mention lunch.
We had a call from a friend yesterday inviting us to supper on Friday. 'We'd love to of course' I said and went to write it on the calendar. We thought that after a heavy few weeks we had at least two weeks free to concentrate on home before we disappear to the Midlands for a weekend (more on that later).
Last week, after our last staying guests for the time being went home we had time to clear out the chalet and restock the fridge, then it was bookclub and friends to supper night, followed by quiz night. We had this week free, then a couple of things on next week culminating in the Messiah performance on Saturday evening. A few days later we head to Paris and then on to Birmingham and Shropshire. So we were looking forward to a few quiet days.
Then on Saturday morning as I was heading for the bakers my mobile rang:
'We're in town and thought we'd drop in and see you as we head home. You did say that you might have some bread and cheese to share for lunch'....
Of course I did, as Jon says, I'm very free with my invitations for people to 'drop in' even if, as in this case, it isn't actually on their way home - they live in the opposite direction!
Thinking on my feet, I bought extra cheese, and a few sliced meats too to pad out lunch.
It was lovely to see our friends as they had been back in the UK for 6 weeks and hadn't been well before they left. We spent a couple of hours catching up and, that was most of Saturday taken care of.
On Sunday we were expecting people to lunch. We spent the morning getting lunch reading and tidying the garden which had been neglected for a week.
One o'clock came and no visitors. Two o'clock, two thirty..... At three I started making a cake, convinced that they would like something to eat later with a cup of tea. And we ate our lunch without them (it was very nice).
At four fifteen they called and it was apparent that they were heading for another village with the same name (almost) as ours. Finally at 5 o'clock they arrived. We had a nice cup of tea and lemon drizzle cake in the garden, showed them around the house and they went off to their hotel not very far from here.
At eight we went to a restaurant where we had planned to meet them. At eight thirty they turned up.
It was a lovely restaurant just north of Cahors at St Martin. We had a very nice meal, delicious, beautifully presented, excellent service and not too expensive. Just a really relaxed evening with some lovely people. They had offered to take us out to dinner at a restaurant of our choice and it all worked out beautifully. We said a sad goodbye to them at the restaurant and hope to see them again soon, probably back in the UK.
And we didn't once mention lunch.
Monday 1 September 2008
Quizzical
St Gilles
'..and the next category is Pop Music'
A groan echoes through the bar, but it's really all pretence.
We are in the new village bar attending the monthly quiz - 'Le P'tit Quiz' to be precise. It's only the second time we have attended having been prompted by a friend who wants us to come along.
Earlier in the evening we found ourselves sitting alone at a table, not knowing anyone else other than by sight waiting for the three people we did know to turn up.
The 'new' bar is a rather ugly construction, totally out of context with the rest of the village but proudly constructed by the local village council to house the bar, shop and apparently now, restaurant.
The village always has had a very small shop and bar, poorly attended. About 8 years ago it suddenly shut down, and we watched from afar to see what would happen. Eventually, the property was leased by a couple in their early 40s who ran a small shop and bar once more. We had originally hoped that it might be bought by someone who would run a shop and restaurant, but to be honest, this village is not really a 'restaurant' type of village. As tenants, their landlord being the local council, they were persuaded to move into the new building and run the new shop, bar and restaurant. We have yet to find out exactly what the restaurant is offering. However, the shop is small but reasonably stocked and not seriously overpriced. Last night wass our first foray into the new bar.
Due to a bit of a mix up, we were put with a couple and their son who we had not met before but we seemed to get along very well and (she said proudly) our team came a very close second (close that is to third and not to first!).
The other couple were very pleased that the 'usual' winners were well and truly thrashed this month and a new team took home the winners cup, for a whole month.
It is an ex-pat quiz in English, I should add at this point, but we were surprised at the number of English people who do live very close to us - we don't normally run into any of them, don't see them at the shops or anywhere so although they may get together once a month for a bit of light entertainment, it isn't exactly an 'English enclave' we are living in.
The banter and complaints are the same as you would find in the UK:
'The answer 'fish' shouldn't be accepted when the questions is 'what are the two main ingredients of a kedgeree', called one lady 'it must be smoked haddock, nothing else would be acceptable'.
She was over-ruled (probably by the team who needed a point from 'fish' to stay in the running.
Pop music was the one category we were dreading, but the questions were kind.
- What number relates to the Rolling Stones' nervous breakdown?
- Who was waiting for Robert Di Nero?
- What wasn't it unusual to see Tom Jones do in 'It's Not Unusual'?
We did very well. Surprisingly we also did well on the category 'film'.
But our moment of glory came when one of our team recognised the 'mystery person' was Spike Milligan from the first 5 words of a 25 word clue. He'd hardly said a word all night but his quick response managed to win our second place. Well done to him.
By the way, does anyone out there know the number of grams of fat in a Big Mac?
Would you want to?
'..and the next category is Pop Music'
A groan echoes through the bar, but it's really all pretence.
We are in the new village bar attending the monthly quiz - 'Le P'tit Quiz' to be precise. It's only the second time we have attended having been prompted by a friend who wants us to come along.
Earlier in the evening we found ourselves sitting alone at a table, not knowing anyone else other than by sight waiting for the three people we did know to turn up.
The 'new' bar is a rather ugly construction, totally out of context with the rest of the village but proudly constructed by the local village council to house the bar, shop and apparently now, restaurant.
The village always has had a very small shop and bar, poorly attended. About 8 years ago it suddenly shut down, and we watched from afar to see what would happen. Eventually, the property was leased by a couple in their early 40s who ran a small shop and bar once more. We had originally hoped that it might be bought by someone who would run a shop and restaurant, but to be honest, this village is not really a 'restaurant' type of village. As tenants, their landlord being the local council, they were persuaded to move into the new building and run the new shop, bar and restaurant. We have yet to find out exactly what the restaurant is offering. However, the shop is small but reasonably stocked and not seriously overpriced. Last night wass our first foray into the new bar.
Due to a bit of a mix up, we were put with a couple and their son who we had not met before but we seemed to get along very well and (she said proudly) our team came a very close second (close that is to third and not to first!).
The other couple were very pleased that the 'usual' winners were well and truly thrashed this month and a new team took home the winners cup, for a whole month.
It is an ex-pat quiz in English, I should add at this point, but we were surprised at the number of English people who do live very close to us - we don't normally run into any of them, don't see them at the shops or anywhere so although they may get together once a month for a bit of light entertainment, it isn't exactly an 'English enclave' we are living in.
The banter and complaints are the same as you would find in the UK:
'The answer 'fish' shouldn't be accepted when the questions is 'what are the two main ingredients of a kedgeree', called one lady 'it must be smoked haddock, nothing else would be acceptable'.
She was over-ruled (probably by the team who needed a point from 'fish' to stay in the running.
Pop music was the one category we were dreading, but the questions were kind.
- What number relates to the Rolling Stones' nervous breakdown?
- Who was waiting for Robert Di Nero?
- What wasn't it unusual to see Tom Jones do in 'It's Not Unusual'?
We did very well. Surprisingly we also did well on the category 'film'.
But our moment of glory came when one of our team recognised the 'mystery person' was Spike Milligan from the first 5 words of a 25 word clue. He'd hardly said a word all night but his quick response managed to win our second place. Well done to him.
By the way, does anyone out there know the number of grams of fat in a Big Mac?
Would you want to?
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