To whet our appetites...un petit voyage en Provence..."Some spots are the cradle of genius. Provence is one of them." Gerald Durell
"In Provence, I learned that food has a meaning that extends far deeper than simply cooking or eating it. I came to understand that the gathering, hunting and growing of food is part of a life still marked by the seasons. A life that keeps people connected to the land and to each other." Georgeanne Brennan
Photo courtesy of Andrew Briginshaw, Provence 2008
17.9 2011
My Dear Sisters,
This month, I'll have the benefit of your collective experience when I do my own cooking next week. We've put it off so that my taste buds can fully recover from a really nasty cold that has wiped me out for the past seven days.
As you can see, I've done my blog embellishments before the meal this time. I rather like it this way as the palette of colours and flavours revealed during this morning's little jaunt through the internet world of Provence has exquisitely prepared my palate for the delightful promise of next week's meal. Mary, the recipes look heavenly. Do check out the link above to Peter Mayle's A Year in Provence. The daube is mentioned.
24.9.11
" I think between Provence, Wisconsin and Germerswang, something got lost in translation..." (Andrew)
"All I taste is tomatoes." (Tim)
":( " (Jeanne)
...only after we'd eaten a decidedly mediocre daube, did I discover that I'd ruined it by putting in twice the amount of tomatoes called for...the delicate essence of the bouquet garni, with bay leaf freshly plucked from my neighbor's garden...the hours of painstaking labour in the kitchen.. drowned in, annihilated, obliterated by... 450 grams of Italian tinned tomatoes...
...and, as we're eating, trying to find something, anything redeeming in this meal, I hear echoes of Mary, waxing lyrical about this divine sauce Provencal "make sure you have enough crusty French bread to mop it up with..." (sigh)
Well, at the very least, our bellies are full which is really all the blessings we need in this day and age...my wounded pride was assuaged by the comforting, warmth of the apple crisp,(though ours would be more appropriately called apple soggy)...I think the 'crisp' part must refer to the 'burnt to a crisp' edges?) Smothered with the last dregs of our summertime stash of homemade vanilla ice cream it was better than...better than...anything!
...and the weather cooperated today...no small feat in Bavaria...it was a lovely Indian summer's eve..the surrounding fields and rooftops bathed in radiant golden sunshine.. we dined in shirtsleeves on our balcony with not a whisper of a wind...life is good.
2 comments:
Love the picture of Provence. Andrew takes great pics. Good luck with the meal. Be sure to read all of our comments and it should be fabulous.
What about the onion gratin? Too many tomatoes would definitely overwhelm the taste of the daub. Are you going to try making it again some time?
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