Author name: Jim

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Photos from les Fêtes d’Orthez

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The city festival for Orthez has come and gone for another year, and with its ending, it feels like the summer has reached its height. Everyone runs a little amok, then gets back to the business of life.  Ortheziennes are starting to talk about the upcoming return to work and school.  Here are a few […]

Photos from les Fêtes d’Orthez Read More »

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The city festival for Orthez has come and gone for another year, and with its ending, it feels like the summer has reached its height. Everyone runs a little amok, then gets back to the business of life.  Ortheziennes are starting to talk about the upcoming return to work and school.  Here are a few

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The Garden

Is it fall yet? The harvest has started.

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Couple days ago, we pulled the onions we planted last winter, a yield of about 2 gallons of small onions, not bad for a plot of about a meter and a half on a side.  They are firm, crunchy and delicious…should last us for a couple months.  I think that they would have gotten bigger

Is it fall yet? The harvest has started. Read More »

[portfolio_slideshow]

Couple days ago, we pulled the onions we planted last winter, a yield of about 2 gallons of small onions, not bad for a plot of about a meter and a half on a side.  They are firm, crunchy and delicious…should last us for a couple months.  I think that they would have gotten bigger

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Pantry

Making use of storm loss

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On a recent warm evening, a storm passed through Orthez, with wind and beating rain.  We were snug inside but the cherry tomatoes took a hit;  the next morning I discovered a lot of green tomatoes on the ground around the plants.  My mom used to make pickled green tomatoes using the same recipe she

Making use of storm loss Read More »

[portfolio_slideshow]

On a recent warm evening, a storm passed through Orthez, with wind and beating rain.  We were snug inside but the cherry tomatoes took a hit;  the next morning I discovered a lot of green tomatoes on the ground around the plants.  My mom used to make pickled green tomatoes using the same recipe she

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Recipes | Savory Dishes

Country bread tartines with fresh goat’s milk cheese, marinated anchovies and grilled vegetable relish

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This take on the Italian favorite bruschetta came about as a way to use leftover grilled vegetables.  I had grilled fish filets with summer veggies and had veggies left over.  Of course, you can start from scratch but it seems like a lot of work for what was, for us, a light summer supper.

Country bread tartines with fresh goat’s milk cheese, marinated anchovies and grilled vegetable relish Read More »

[portfolio_slideshow]

This take on the Italian favorite bruschetta came about as a way to use leftover grilled vegetables.  I had grilled fish filets with summer veggies and had veggies left over.  Of course, you can start from scratch but it seems like a lot of work for what was, for us, a light summer supper.

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Petites Histoires

Wine bar La Tartine, rue de Rivoli

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My memories of La Tartine always seem to be in black and white, from a part of my life so distant that recalling it seems like looking at an old photo.  Except that I remember the yellow of the walls, a streaky, ochre-yellow that comes from years and years of layered tobacco smoke. When we

Wine bar La Tartine, rue de Rivoli Read More »

[portfolio_slideshow]

My memories of La Tartine always seem to be in black and white, from a part of my life so distant that recalling it seems like looking at an old photo.  Except that I remember the yellow of the walls, a streaky, ochre-yellow that comes from years and years of layered tobacco smoke. When we

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Stuff

Drying hot chilies

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Here is a garland of fresh chili peppers ready for drying, hung on the front of our house in imitation of the method used for making Piment d’Espelette. Fresh hot peppers are not that easy to find in a Orthez, as the French taste in spicy food runs to the mild side.  So we decided

Drying hot chilies Read More »

[portfolio_slideshow]

Here is a garland of fresh chili peppers ready for drying, hung on the front of our house in imitation of the method used for making Piment d’Espelette. Fresh hot peppers are not that easy to find in a Orthez, as the French taste in spicy food runs to the mild side.  So we decided

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Stuff

Trouts ready for the grill

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Two lovely trouts ready for the bar-b-q!  When it is this hot – 36 C, that’s almost 100 F to you and me , not to mention the 70% humidity – I hate to turn on the over or even a burner.  The good old Weber Kettle in the back yard is the best answer. 

Trouts ready for the grill Read More »

[portfolio_slideshow]

Two lovely trouts ready for the bar-b-q!  When it is this hot – 36 C, that’s almost 100 F to you and me , not to mention the 70% humidity – I hate to turn on the over or even a burner.  The good old Weber Kettle in the back yard is the best answer. 

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France

Getting ready for les Fêtes d’Orthez

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Preparations are underway for les Fêtes d’Orthez, which start this Thursday and run through Sunday.  At La Maison de l’Horloge, a restaurant we appreciate for its dignified ambiance and accomplished food, looks like they are getting in 30 kegs of beer, 9 cases of Get27 (a mint flavored liquor) and 6 cases of Clan Campbell

Getting ready for les Fêtes d’Orthez Read More »

[portfolio_slideshow]

Preparations are underway for les Fêtes d’Orthez, which start this Thursday and run through Sunday.  At La Maison de l’Horloge, a restaurant we appreciate for its dignified ambiance and accomplished food, looks like they are getting in 30 kegs of beer, 9 cases of Get27 (a mint flavored liquor) and 6 cases of Clan Campbell

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France

A southern view into Spain

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The mountain valleys of the French Pyrenees  are a paradise for hikers.  There are routes for just about every level of hiking expertise that offer splendid views of the mountains, and often interaction with the wandering herds of cows and sheep that pass the summer in the high pastures.  The Vallée d’Ossau, just south of

A southern view into Spain Read More »

[portfolio_slideshow]

The mountain valleys of the French Pyrenees  are a paradise for hikers.  There are routes for just about every level of hiking expertise that offer splendid views of the mountains, and often interaction with the wandering herds of cows and sheep that pass the summer in the high pastures.  The Vallée d’Ossau, just south of

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