04 August 2016

Everything old...

...seems new again. It's raining! It's funny how something that seemed to be our miserable lot in life from January to June now seems so novel and surprising. Pleasant. Needed.


In this photo I took yesterday around 7:30 p.m., you can see how brown the (so-called) grass is out in the back yard. It reminds me of the California climate, where winter was green and summer was brown. Our Saint-Aignan yard and garden will be happy to get this morning's rain.


Last evening it was obvious that the weather was beginning to change. They was a westerly breeze. A rain front was moving in off the Atlantic Ocean and we're now under it. Don't worry, the weather people say, tomorrow it will be sunny again, and the weekend promises to be hot.


One of the nicest things about living in this house near Saint-Aignan is our view of the morning and evening skies. We see both sunrise and sunset every day.

9 comments:

  1. We are having problems with getting water from our well without it leaking into the ground before getting to the tap. The garden generally is suffering. Pots only are being watered and most of the grass and shrubs are looking distinctly brownish.
    I bought rouelle de porc yesterday and will slow cook today as per your post.

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    1. Cooking times in various French recipes for the rouelle de porc in a slow cooker vary from cook to cook. I say 8 hours on low, but 6 hours might be enough. The pork can't really be overcooked (unless it's burned) and will just tenderize and start to fall apart after a long, slow cooking. Look at this page in French to see different recipes and methods.

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    2. In North Carolina, where I grew up and have family, pork shoulders are slow-cooked for 8 to 10 hours to make what people there call "barbecue" — it's tender and moist meat cooked and served with a vinegar & hot red chile-pepper sauce.

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  2. I am a big fan of sky watching .. not just stars or moon at night watching but clouds and color and appreciating the look of a storm coming in and a sunset will have me oohing and aahing for hours ... these days the cats have to deal with it , used to be I would drag my husband, regardless of the important/or not , things he was doing .... Come look at the sky !
    Florida actually has some pretty impressive sky too ... I am so glad lol.
    Funny how I remember so much of NC but not the skies ..

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  3. Those are all wonderful views :) I hope your garden profited from the rain.

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  4. Notes- I'm a sky watcher, too. Rainbows are my favorite sky things, but big clouds are nice and sunsets are wonderful. Ken knows how lucky he is because he can watch lots of sky most all of the time.

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  5. After two meals, one hot one cold, of the porc I'd do it again but with a lot less liquid and more seasoning. I used white wine and will definitely try with a little cider. We eat too much and the two meals were enough, I have to admit that the dog has had two portions as well with his dry biscuits. All happy, thank you.

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  6. I'm glad it turned out okay. What I do with all the liquid is pour it off and reduce it on high heat on the gas burner to concentrate it. In the case of the rouelle de porc, I think you need the wine and vinegar, along with some broth, for flavor. Then when you have reduced it it is full of flavor. The pork will keep for several days in the refrigerator and can be treated different ways, as I did it, to make a variety of meals. It would freeze perfectly well too. The recipe calls for 2½ lbs. of pork, and this is a lot. I would serve a crowd.

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