01 September 2011

“Street culture” in Mortagne

I once read somewhere that France has the most elaborate street culture in the world. I think what was meant by that was the colors, design, and signs on all the businesses along the streets of almost every French town. Mortagne-au-Perche, where we spent a short vacation last week, is no exception.

A bookstore in Mortagne

The name of the bookstore above has a double meaning. Le Goût des Mots means both "the flavor of words" and "a taste for words." As you can see, the streets in the neighborhood are being repaved with paving stones.

Avoir envie...

The shop above is called J'ai Si Envie — "I so want" whatever. It sells an unusual variety of items — gourmet and exotic groceries, teas, coffees, and toys made out of wood.

Boudin à toutes les sauces

The sign on a butcher shop lists all the different kinds of boudin noir — black pudding or blood sausage that the owner makes and sells. Chestnuts, prunes, apples, walnuts, figs, candied oranges, Camembert cheese, grapes, and hot red pepper are some of the choices. Or you can get the smoked boudin or the traditional style.

The butcher's name is Pascal Cédille.

Monsieur Cédille was talkative and funny. He and our French friend Marie had quite a discussion about how different sausages and cuts of meat could be cooked or not and, if so, how. The boudin noir and other sausages and pâtés we bought there were excellent. My favorite flavor of boudin was the traditionnel.

8 comments:

  1. The boudin noir got it's name honestly- it was jet black through and through. I liked it in small amounts because it is quite rich.

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  2. Lovely little shops. I will admit to being a fan of black pudding. We usually use to it stuff a boneless chicken breast which we then wrap in ham or bacon and bake in the oven.

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  3. Good morning, everybody. It's good to be in Mortagne with you all, courtesy of Ken's photos.

    Craig, that sounds decadent. I might try that someday after my cholesterol goes down.

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  4. Great name for a book store!

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  5. "My favorite flavor of boudin was the traditionnel."

    So was mine ;-) !

    At home, I love having "du boudin noir" with stewed apples/de la compote or "des pommes cuites" !
    About the "nutriments" it contains :

    Le boudin noir est préparé à base de sang et de gras de porc et d'oignons émincés.

    Composition pour 100 gr :

    - CALORIES 400
    - PROTEINES : 25 g
    -LIPIDES : 35 g
    - GLUCIDES : 3 g
    - SODIUM : 5 à 600 mg
    - CHOLESTEROL : 100 mg
    - FER 100 mg

    Thus, it's not good for our level of cholestérol, but it's great for people who lack "du fer"/iron...
    Bises

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  6. That steer does not look very happy!

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