Outdoor markets
on warm days
This market stand is on the place Maubert in the Latin Quarter in Paris. We were there in June 2006 (and many other times, but that's when I took this picture).
The outdoor markets operate year-round here in the Loire Valley. There's at least one not too far away every day of the week:
Sunday: Amboise, Noyers-sur-Cher
Monday: Montrichard
Tuesday: Valençay
Wednesday: Loches
Thursday: Selles-sur-Cher
Friday: Montrichard, Contres, Amboise
Saturday: Saint-Aignan, Loches
But in winter, it's not the same experience. In summer, you can shed your coat and enjoy not only the beautiful products for sale, but also the nice warm sun.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Buckwheat crêpes with
bacon, cheese, and egg
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Food: yesterday was crêpe day in France. February 2 is called La Chandeleur. I've written about it before, here. We made crêpes de sarrasin, buckwheat pancackes, with bacon, cheese, and eggs. Then we made dessert crêpes with bananas in a caramel sauce.
Today, it'll be soupe à l'oignon gratinée for lunch. Maybe I'll take some pictures. Oops, I see that I already did, two years ago. Here's the blog post.
I'm glad to see that you didn't forget the Chandeleur, which is also Groundhog Day here in the States. The East is on for many more days of winter! There's a saying in France: "A la Chandeleur, l'hiver finit ou reprend rigueur." Here, in the desert, neither one makes any sense. But I made my crepes, just in case.
ReplyDeleteWe're going to have rain today, so they say.
candlemas, larousse says....and that feb. 10 is omelette day at andrieux in the haut-alpes, when the SUN RETURNS to the narrow valley, which gets no sunlight 100 days a year. everybody makes an omelette, goes to the local bridge, dances a farandole, and offers it to the sun at noon, when it appears over the mountain top.
ReplyDeleteare ya dancin'?
the buckwheat and eggs looks delicious, great pic.
oops, hautes alpes, i feel ashamed in misspelling stuff you know so well.
ReplyDeletemeanwhile, here is a mindboggling satellite map of les andrieux:
http://www.maplandia.com/france/provence-alpes-cote-dazur/hautes-alpes/gap/les-andrieux/
I felt spoiled today with 3 colorful posts in one. Thank you! I grew up French in Montréal but didn't know about Chandeleur. I will call my older sister to enquire.
ReplyDeleteMy son was visiting. I'm sure it was alright to make crêpes one day late. With banana and caramel sauce as you suggested. It was good. I'm not much of a cook, Cookbooks discourage me. I do better when a real person shows me step by step, as you do. The photos help a lot. Thank you!
It's nice when Chandeleur falls on a weekend. I made simple lardons and cheese crêpes for one of my daughters and two of her friends -- they tasted darn good too!
ReplyDeleteDespite winter blues, I kind of hope the winter "reprend vigueur" because it has been grey here in Aveyron but not really that cold.