Ragoût de légumes

A carrot or or two, a courgette or two, a turnip or two), some celery stalks and leaves, a Belgian endive, some tomatoes, and some bell peppers — those are some of the vegetables that went into the ragoût or mijoté I made for lunch yesterday.

Cut the vegetables into fairly large pieces so that they will tenderize but won't disintegrate when they cook. Put them in a big pot or wok with some vegetable oil and some salt and pepper. Pour a cup or two of water over them, put a lid on the pot or wok and then and "sweat" them over medium heat until they are just starting to get tender (about 15 minutes).

Then add enough water to the pot or wok to barely cover the vegetables. Let the vegetables finish cooking. It will take 40 to 60 minutes. Add some herbs — dried thyme, bay leaves, and dried oregano).
 

Optionally, serve the stewed vegetables with grilled chicken breasts or sausages.

Village paths and streets

These are some of the streets and paths lead to our village center (called le bourg) which is on the left bank of the Cher river deep into the river valley. They start on the higher ground on the southern edge of the river valley, which is mostly fields and vineyards. Actually where we live is equidistant from the village center and the little town of Saint-Aignan. The village has a population of 1,200 and an area of 12 square miles.

Flowers in the drear

The word for today is moche. I like the word because it sounds like what it means.  It's the TéléMatin weatherman who started throw it around this morning, lamenting the fact that the whole country is having awful weather. The only thing I can think to do to dispel the gloom is post some pictures of colorful flowers.

Callie the collie on April 11, 2010

Here's Callie the collie in her element. If you walk out of our back gate and turm right, you go down a fairly steep hill. You then enter the woods and keep going downhill on a path that eventually leads to the village we live in, with its church, mairie, and a few shops and other businesses. The village center is about 1.5 miles from our back gate.