Headed south

This is not a photo I took in the Loire Valley but in the Dordogne in southwestern France. I was there 20 years ago with Walt and our friend Sue, who lives in northern California. I think I might publish a few other pictures from that trip over the next few days.

Grape leaves and dandelion flowers...

..it's the season. 

  

The Pépin soufflé

For our lunch yesterday, I made Jacques Pépin's mother's cheese soufflé. It's a fairly simple recipe which doesn't reuire separating the whites from the yolks of eggs and then whisking the whites until they are light and foamy. The most complicated part of the recipe is making a white sauce (une sauce béchamel) with butter, flour, and milk, cream or Half-and-Half. Pépin says this is the kind of soufflé his mother often made when he was growing up (in France, near Lyon).

Here is a link to several examples of such soufflés that I posted years ago, and a photo of a slice of yesterday's, which included a pre-cooked broccoli base.

I noticed yesterday when I went out for a walk with 'Tasha that we now have irises blooming inside our back gate.

Another April Vineyard View

A view of vineyard parcels and clouds at sunrise in April from our back gate.

The vineyard yesterday morning

I've been taking a few days off. The weather has finally warmed up and started letting the sun shine on us.

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.

Callie the collie

This is a picture of our border collie, Callie. I took the picture in 2010, when when she was just three years old. She passed away in 2017 at the age of 10. We still miss her.

Les escargots comestibles

Comestible means "edible" — good to eat. Here are the two snails that are considered edible in France. The one above is the petit-gris, the little gray snail. They are plentiful here where we live. We don't eat the wild ones, but they are available in cans or frozen at the supermarkets. We do eat those, once or twice a year.

 

The gastropod below is the most highly esteemed variety. It's called l'escargot de Bourgogne or le gros blanc. It's two or three times as big as the petit-gris. Most would say that it's two or threew times as delicious too.

I've only ever seen one gros-blanc snail here in the Saint-Aignan area. It was out in the vineyard. I didn't disturb it because it's illegal in France to do so during the Burgundy snail's reproductive season, and I'm not sure when that is. If memory serves, I saw this snail two or three times over a three-year period, always in springtime. I've never seen it again.

L'escargot des bois...

...or l'escargot des haies. Both names are used in French. In England, it's called the grove snail. I haven't read anything that leads me to think that people eat them. Like me, maybe they just admire their shell's pretty colors.

We don't see a lot of these gastropods around here, but I did see one slowly crossing the road

 out near our front gate a few days ago.

Une blanquette pour Pâques

For our Easter dinner this year, we had a blanquette de veau. That's un ragoût (a stew) of veal with carrots and mushrooms. The liquid for the stew is veal broth that you make by simmering chunks of veal for two hours in water with a little white wine, the carrots, and some onions, bay leaves, thyme and salt and pepper. It's a tasty consommé (a clear broth) with which you make a white sauce using butter, flour, and cream

Below are three photos of the veal that I bought at the supermarket for my blanquette. I cut the meat into smaller pieces before I cooked it.

Bright colors...

...dreary April days.

Early spring bloomers

Here's another tree that blooms in early spring. It's out in our back yard. It was here when we arrived more than
20 years ago. It's a cherry tree, I believe, but it doesn't produce any fruit. It's just decorative.

I took these photos yesterday morning at sunrise when I was out walking around with Tasha.