As the snails are back in my courtyard and the countryside is covered in poppies on my lockdown walks I decided to be lazy and re-post this. Besides that there’s a recipe for a dark flourless chocolate cake for those that can’t find flour on the supermarket shelves, or are gluten intolerant. From snails (and Dark chocolate cake with poppyseeds and walnuts[Read More]
Leaf to Root Soup and Celery leaf pesto
Now that we’re in lockdown in France and our weekly market has been annulé, or cancelled until further notice, I decided to make the most of the vegetables that I had and came up with a recipe that I called Compost Soup. Its ingredients comprise of everything you normally throw away or put onto the compost Leaf to Root Soup and Celery leaf pesto[Read More]
Fermenting Vegetables with Sandor Katz
It seems that the subject of fermented foods is a hot topic right now. So I was thrilled to be invited by Vanessa Kimbell to The Sourdough School Fermentation Garden Party on a sunny day in June. Besides a delicious lunch there were also plenty of tasty treats to sample, from MisoTasty, Kambucha, beer and Fermenting Vegetables with Sandor Katz[Read More]
Spicy chickpeas
Its summer here in Provence and with all the lovely tomatoes, lettuces and vegetables in the market, all I want to eat is salad for lunch. But to save it getting monotonous, I like to add different things to the basic lettuce, tomato, cucumber, radish combination; so sometimes I’ll add half a goats cheese, sometimes Spicy chickpeas[Read More]
Chard tart or Tarte aux Blettes Salées
Chard is very popular in Provence and can be found in the markets, almost the year round. Though similar tasting to spinach, it is unrelated and belongs to the same family as beetroot and sugar beet. It is rich in calcium and iron as well as vitemine C and B9, so very good for Chard tart or Tarte aux Blettes Salées[Read More]
Ratatouille
This time of year, wandering through the market in Tarascon, or any other town or village in Provence, it’s easy to see how the dish ratatouille came about; the vegetables, crammed next to each other on trestle tables are practically asking to be taken home and cooked together.
L’Abbaye de Frigolet
I originally wrote this in 2013, and some of the information may no longer be correct, however, I wanted to resend this, as the week before last saw terrible fires that tore through the Montagnettes, destroying huge sways of the forest. The firemen worked tirelessly through two nights to save the abbey, which luckily survived L’Abbaye de Frigolet[Read More]
A weekend of Medieval Fun and Revelry
A couple of weeks ago, our town around the castle was transformed into a medieval village for la fête médiévale. It happens every year during the third week-end of August and it helps that our town of Tarascon has a castle built in the early 1400’s by René d’Anjou, or bon Roi René, Good King A weekend of Medieval Fun and Revelry[Read More]
Roasted Tomato and Red Pepper Salsa
A red post for a red letter day! The Artist’s birthday is on the 28th August, which if on a weekend, generally falls on a bank holiday in the UK. Here in Provence it is often the last hot weekend of the summer and we usually celebrate with a lunch or dinner outside. This year Roasted Tomato and Red Pepper Salsa[Read More]
Soupe au Pistou
In August the markets are bright and full of beans! There are many different varieties and they are so pretty, I can’t resist them. I decide to make a Soupe au Pistou, which uses three types of beans, coco rouge, above, coco blancs, below and haricots verts, green beans. Soup in summer? Soupe au Pistou[Read More]
Leaf to Root Soup and Celery leaf pesto
Now that we’re in lockdown in France and our weekly market has been annulé, or cancelled until further notice, I decided to make the most of the vegetables that I had and came up with a recipe that I called Compost Soup. Its ingredients comprise of everything you normally throw away or put onto the compost Leaf to Root Soup and Celery leaf pesto[Read More]
Fermenting Vegetables with Sandor Katz
It seems that the subject of fermented foods is a hot topic right now. So I was thrilled to be invited by Vanessa Kimbell to The Sourdough School Fermentation Garden Party on a sunny day in June. Besides a delicious lunch there were also plenty of tasty treats to sample, from MisoTasty, Kambucha, beer and Fermenting Vegetables with Sandor Katz[Read More]
Spicy chickpeas
Its summer here in Provence and with all the lovely tomatoes, lettuces and vegetables in the market, all I want to eat is salad for lunch. But to save it getting monotonous, I like to add different things to the basic lettuce, tomato, cucumber, radish combination; so sometimes I’ll add half a goats cheese, sometimes Spicy chickpeas[Read More]
Dark chocolate cake with poppyseeds and walnuts
As the snails are back in my courtyard and the countryside is covered in poppies on my lockdown walks I decided to be lazy and re-post this. Besides that there’s a recipe for a dark flourless chocolate cake for those that can’t find flour on the supermarket shelves, or are gluten intolerant. From snails (and Dark chocolate cake with poppyseeds and walnuts[Read More]
Chard tart or Tarte aux Blettes Salées
Chard is very popular in Provence and can be found in the markets, almost the year round. Though similar tasting to spinach, it is unrelated and belongs to the same family as beetroot and sugar beet. It is rich in calcium and iron as well as vitemine C and B9, so very good for Chard tart or Tarte aux Blettes Salées[Read More]
Ratatouille
This time of year, wandering through the market in Tarascon, or any other town or village in Provence, it’s easy to see how the dish ratatouille came about; the vegetables, crammed next to each other on trestle tables are practically asking to be taken home and cooked together.
L’Abbaye de Frigolet
I originally wrote this in 2013, and some of the information may no longer be correct, however, I wanted to resend this, as the week before last saw terrible fires that tore through the Montagnettes, destroying huge sways of the forest. The firemen worked tirelessly through two nights to save the abbey, which luckily survived L’Abbaye de Frigolet[Read More]
A weekend of Medieval Fun and Revelry
A couple of weeks ago, our town around the castle was transformed into a medieval village for la fête médiévale. It happens every year during the third week-end of August and it helps that our town of Tarascon has a castle built in the early 1400’s by René d’Anjou, or bon Roi René, Good King A weekend of Medieval Fun and Revelry[Read More]
Roasted Tomato and Red Pepper Salsa
A red post for a red letter day! The Artist’s birthday is on the 28th August, which if on a weekend, generally falls on a bank holiday in the UK. Here in Provence it is often the last hot weekend of the summer and we usually celebrate with a lunch or dinner outside. This year Roasted Tomato and Red Pepper Salsa[Read More]
Soupe au Pistou
In August the markets are bright and full of beans! There are many different varieties and they are so pretty, I can’t resist them. I decide to make a Soupe au Pistou, which uses three types of beans, coco rouge, above, coco blancs, below and haricots verts, green beans. Soup in summer? Soupe au Pistou[Read More]
Walking the Golden Road on the Preseli Hills
Last week I found myself in Pembrokeshire, Wales, taking part in a 14 mile walk across the Preseli Hills in aid of the Busoga Trust. It all started with a round robin email sent by Lucy Bakr of Saint Remy, Provence, to raise money for the charity that builds wells and water sanitation schemes in Walking the Golden Road on the Preseli Hills[Read More]
French Regional Food
I remember my mother telling me with some incredulity that she had a friend who read cookbooks in bed, as someone might read a novel. With four children to feed at the end of a hard day’s work, cooking was a necessity for her rather than a pleasure and she cooked what she French Regional Food[Read More]
Medlar Jelly
Medlars are not something easily found in the market, at least not that I have ever seen. You need your own medlar tree, or know someone who has one, in which case, in my experience, they will be keen for you to help yourself. Medlar, much like the quince, or rather even more so, has Medlar Jelly[Read More]
