Stuff

Rosé, late summer, place d’Armes, Orthez

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The end of September has been unseasonably warm in the southwest of France.  What better reason to enjoy an outside table and a glass of rosé ? This particular pour is from AOC Béarn, where the rosé is mostly made from the tannat grape, as are the full bodied reds.  Explains the juicy color!

Rosé, late summer, place d’Armes, Orthez Read More »

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The end of September has been unseasonably warm in the southwest of France.  What better reason to enjoy an outside table and a glass of rosé ? This particular pour is from AOC Béarn, where the rosé is mostly made from the tannat grape, as are the full bodied reds.  Explains the juicy color!

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Stuff

P’tit déjeuner in Biarritz

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Petit déjeuner, Basque-style, one recent morning at a table outside the covered market in Biarritz.  A good strong noisette (we would call that a macchiatto I think), plus a warm slice of tortilla espagnole, the famous egg and potato frittata that is often served as a pintxo in the Pays Basque.

P’tit déjeuner in Biarritz Read More »

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Petit déjeuner, Basque-style, one recent morning at a table outside the covered market in Biarritz.  A good strong noisette (we would call that a macchiatto I think), plus a warm slice of tortilla espagnole, the famous egg and potato frittata that is often served as a pintxo in the Pays Basque.

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Stuff

August evening, Toulouse, France

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Thanks to Doug McDonnal for this great photo of the Pont-Neuf in Toulouse on a very hot August evening.  On the quai near the bridge, you can see the Grand Roue (Great Wheel) and the Racines X Guingette, a sort of pop-up summer bar and restaurant where people gather to savor the cool breezes off

August evening, Toulouse, France Read More »

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Thanks to Doug McDonnal for this great photo of the Pont-Neuf in Toulouse on a very hot August evening.  On the quai near the bridge, you can see the Grand Roue (Great Wheel) and the Racines X Guingette, a sort of pop-up summer bar and restaurant where people gather to savor the cool breezes off

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Stuff

Radish sprouts

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About a week ago, we planted one of our vegetable plots (we call them potager 1 and potager 2) with a few veggies that have a short time to harvest, hoping for a mild fall and a last harvest before winter.  We planted two kinds of radishes, turnips, scallions and mixed in a few wildflowers

Radish sprouts Read More »

[portfolio_slideshow]

About a week ago, we planted one of our vegetable plots (we call them potager 1 and potager 2) with a few veggies that have a short time to harvest, hoping for a mild fall and a last harvest before winter.  We planted two kinds of radishes, turnips, scallions and mixed in a few wildflowers

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Recipes | Savory Dishes

Chicken tagine with olives and preserved lemon

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Paula Wolfert called this dish “one of the great combinations of Moroccan cookery”, and its hard to argue with her.  Its a very satisfying dish indeed, especially when made with the legs of older, free-range farm chickens, full of flavor.  And be sure to use lemons you have preserved yourself (see my recipe for preserved

Chicken tagine with olives and preserved lemon Read More »

[portfolio_slideshow]

Paula Wolfert called this dish “one of the great combinations of Moroccan cookery”, and its hard to argue with her.  Its a very satisfying dish indeed, especially when made with the legs of older, free-range farm chickens, full of flavor.  And be sure to use lemons you have preserved yourself (see my recipe for preserved

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Stuff

Green figs from the garden!

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The nice surprise of the summer:  our fig tree has produced a lot of lovely, sweet green figs! We have always had a little fig tree, but in the past, it has never yielded much because it was basically buried by bamboo growing into our yard from the neighbors.  This spring, I got ambitious and

Green figs from the garden! Read More »

[portfolio_slideshow]

The nice surprise of the summer:  our fig tree has produced a lot of lovely, sweet green figs! We have always had a little fig tree, but in the past, it has never yielded much because it was basically buried by bamboo growing into our yard from the neighbors.  This spring, I got ambitious and

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Fish and seafood | Recipes

Baked tomatoes stuffed with sardines, roasted peppers and capers

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The perfect recipe for summer, when tomatoes and sardines are both in season.  Note that you can replace the fresh sardines with  canned tuna, sardines or mackerel, which makes the prep a lot easier. This recipe can be made ahead to the point of the final bake then held in the fridge and baked just

Baked tomatoes stuffed with sardines, roasted peppers and capers Read More »

[portfolio_slideshow]

The perfect recipe for summer, when tomatoes and sardines are both in season.  Note that you can replace the fresh sardines with  canned tuna, sardines or mackerel, which makes the prep a lot easier. This recipe can be made ahead to the point of the final bake then held in the fridge and baked just

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Stuff

Patou at work

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Somewhere along the GR10 in the central Pyrenees mountains, a Great Pyrenees sheepdog protecting its troop of sheep.  Know as a “Patou” in the local dialect, these are guard dogs, not herders.  That job falls to another dog, usually a border collie or other herding specialist. Thanks to Doug McDonnal and Lisa St. George (who

Patou at work Read More »

[portfolio_slideshow]

Somewhere along the GR10 in the central Pyrenees mountains, a Great Pyrenees sheepdog protecting its troop of sheep.  Know as a “Patou” in the local dialect, these are guard dogs, not herders.  That job falls to another dog, usually a border collie or other herding specialist. Thanks to Doug McDonnal and Lisa St. George (who

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Stuff

Melons de Lectoure

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It’s a cliché, but a perfectly ripe melon and a perfectly dry-aged ham are an incomparable combination.  If you really want to gild the lilly, add a chiffonnade of fresh mint and serve with a sweet white wine from Jurançon, a dry sherry or even an off-dry sparkling wine. The season for melons de Lectoure

Melons de Lectoure Read More »

[portfolio_slideshow]

It’s a cliché, but a perfectly ripe melon and a perfectly dry-aged ham are an incomparable combination.  If you really want to gild the lilly, add a chiffonnade of fresh mint and serve with a sweet white wine from Jurançon, a dry sherry or even an off-dry sparkling wine. The season for melons de Lectoure

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Fish and seafood

Sardines en persillade “a la plancha”

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Simple, quick and delicious, grilling on the plancha is perhaps THE arch-typical cooking technique of southwestern of France.  A plancha is a heavy, flat-topped grill, and in the southwest, one cooks most everything on it.  Sausages, whole fish, shellfish (if you see razor clams on the plancha on a menu, order it!), chicken, duck hearts,

Sardines en persillade “a la plancha” Read More »

[portfolio_slideshow]

Simple, quick and delicious, grilling on the plancha is perhaps THE arch-typical cooking technique of southwestern of France.  A plancha is a heavy, flat-topped grill, and in the southwest, one cooks most everything on it.  Sausages, whole fish, shellfish (if you see razor clams on the plancha on a menu, order it!), chicken, duck hearts,

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