Lapin de Garenne

We went directly from New York to the French countryside and it was a bit of a ‘culture lag’. Nevertheless, we always are greeted by my mother’s excellent cooking and on this very day we lunched on a real ‘Lapin de Garenne’ (wild rabbit). The ‘Garenne’ has a very subtle flesh and you could fear that it tastes quite gamey as any other wild animal but it is not. The only drawback is that they are always killed by hunters in the wild and as a result you have to mind the bullets while you eat it.

See you next time

Bye bye the countryside and see you next time! it is amazing how quickly time flies. I hardly had enough time to reconnect with my native environment that I am already travelling away from home. A brief stop in Paris tonight and I am off to take my nephew along to London tomorrow. I already took him a few times when he was a kid but it is his first time as a teenager. I have not been there myself for a couple of years neither. It is always interesting to rediscover a familiar city through someone else's eyes though.

Foie Gras

You might not find the organ on the above picture appetizing but believe me, once cooked it is a delight. Many know about Foie Gras and also are aware of the awful way geese and ducks are force fed to produce a huge liver. I have to admit that if I think too much about it is taking my appetite away but it was very interesting to take the opportunity of being in my native village to visit the local Foie Gras producer as my Mum went to buy a fresh liver. After marinating in salt (fleur de sel) and pepper it will be oven cooked in a terrine for a delicious result.

Autumn Specials

I do not know much about it but now definitely is one of the mushroom seasons at the moment. It seems to be truffle season in the southern central part of France and Italy but one thing is for sure is that there are many mushrooms in the fields and woods around my village. While walking I spotted quite a few different models. Some of them I know and some others I do not. the above picture is part of the latter category. I have no idea what they are but they certainly stood as a happy and united bunch in that field!

France profonde

We like to call it 'Deeeeep France' both reluctantly and affectionately. The fact is that having lived here as a teenager has never been easy but I am quite attached to the place and it can be beautiful for a few days in all seasons really. At the moment we are having a late Autumn. The colours are not quite yet this beautiful array of browns, goldens, greens, yellows and reds but when the sun is out there is nothing nicer than enjoying the countryside and its pure air with a digestive walk after a delicious French meal.

My life, my life, my life... in the sunshine!

This morning we headed to the countryside. It was so nice to have a tasty barbie at my sister's place. We then enjoyed a bicycle ride through the vineyards and came to rest at my mother's place. You can't help but notice it has been raining quite heavily over the past weeks / months as the nature is so green and lush. In my mum's garden there is a place with lavender. Not quite Provence but attracting enough for the bees to come and buzz. Feeling good. The soundtrack of those moments cannot be something else than Roy Ayers...

Moving supermarket

There is something quite extraordinary in my countryside that is called the 'moving supermarket'. I have not seen it anywhere else in the world. It has existed as long as I can remember and is quite a convenient way, I must admit, to enable people isolated in remote villages to get access to their basic food needs. The convenience store coming at your door. Anything similar in your place?

Winter in the Countryside

After the Choucroute party yesterday the weather just got worse and worse by the minute with lots of rain and some gusting winds. Today it has all cleared up and as a result I could enjoy a nice walk through the neighbourhood. I quite like winter colours and atmosphere in this central part of France at this time of the year. Parasitic misletoes have also started to appear on otherwise baren trees.