Cooking Class in Uzès

Last week I took myself off to a day of cooking in Uzès. The morning started early meeting Chef Eric and the rest of the group on the outskirts of the main square. Quick introductions and away we went into the market, shopping bags in tow.

Even though it was not my first time shopping for food at the markets, it was fantastic to have a native to guide us to his favourite producers and tell us their stories, we talked about the 'bio' or organic farming which is so prevalent in France and the best bit about having a guide was we were given copious tastings at all the stalls! As we wandered around we decided as a group what we wanted on to cook and eat. Eric thought the rabbits looks delicious, but there was an overwhelming cringe from the group and we settled on lamb!

We also bought red mullet, lots of vegetables including artichokes and cherries which are in abundance at the moment, cheeses, wines and of course breads!

Back at Eric's school in the neighbouring village, we made coffee and prepped our food for the day. I lie. Eric had a lovely assistant who did all the hard work for us - prepping our stations, cleaning up after us, brewing the coffee - I need her at home! 

And so our three course feast began ....

ENTREE - Red mullet stuffed with creamy zucchini and drizzled with a spicy caramel sauce. This was seriously delicious, and I filleted a fish!! Quite proud of myself.

MAIN - Slow roasted lamb shoulder with artichokes and potatoes and white wine sauce. Wow the work that goes into these artichokes was insane ... not sure i'll be taking that on again.

DESSERT - cherry clafoutis ... heavenly!!!! This recipe is a keeper.

Oh and there was more! Appetizers were amazing, little mini canapés and champagne. And then there were the cheeses.... goats cheese so fresh, made two days ago. The little lady who makes the cheese said after the rain, the grass that the goats eat was so moist that it made cheese was extra creamy. Sure, sounds good to me! 

Wow, what a day. Great fun, great group of people and great food! 

A xx

Cassis ... a day on the Med

If you read enough online about France and where to (and where not to) go, you will stumble across some terrific blogs and articles. Cassis ranked #1 on someone's must-do, so we did. 

A little cove on the Med, an old fishing village that was often frequented by pirates, this rather tiny harbour is surrounded by a series of "Calanques", unique inlets formed in the limestone cliffs, creating a load of tiny remote pristine coves and beaches. If you own a boat, access is easy, thankfully though all the boat owners were in nearby St Tropez, a more important town to be seen in, it seems. So the serenity here is preserved. 

The chartered boat tours however are fantastic, guiding you around the coastline, sharing the history of the town, as they show of their amazing coastal village which so much pride and enthusiasm, you wouldn't think it was the 15th time he'd made that trip that week. 

E loved the boat ride, we loved the scenery and our skipper loved that we were Australian, calling us Kylie Minogue and Mel Gibson all morning! 

Much of the Cote d'Azur is flashy beaches, big crowds and too much money, Cassis however is forever giving, the people are lovely, the parking is manageable and the best beach in town is a short walk from Centre Ville and blissfully free (of both price and attitude) ... and distinctively French in getting their gear off!  ( . )( . )

The town is also famous for their Rose and seafood, so of course we had to indulge in a long lunch overlooking the port. 

A day well spent. 

 

Scott

An evening in Saint Remy de Provence

Tonight we threw caution to the wind and braved one of our first dinners with E at a suitable adult time - and I'm pleased to say it kinda worked!

Firstly the drive from Maussane (home) to St Remy is the best. 20 minutes, winding roads, up and down a mountain and not too many cars. The speed limit is 90 but you rarely get the chance to reach it with all the twists. The paddle shift gears in the Renault got one single use coming out of a hairpin turn and Alison has banned them from now on. Safety. Family. etc. etc. 

First stop was the park, as it often is. Seems 2 year olds know the deal. You can play in the park for 45 minutes, then we'll walk around the town for 45 mins (and we'll pretend that is 'your time' too), then we need you to sit and be good and not touch anything at the table for 90 mins. It just worked!

The park was a winner, they had 2 tunnels! Wow! 
We had a minor disagreement with a little French Miss who thought she owned the swing, E corrected her and said it was in fact his, she kicked him, we gave her the swing. Vicious. 

We stayed at the park a while longer while Alison shopped. The remainder of our time there was uneventful, but it is a good park to have on the outskirts of town for when we visit again. 

I met a smiling Alison at the bottom of the hill ... this generally means a successful shop. 

* Fleur De Sel Herbs De Provence (aka Salt with herbs, but Fleur De Sel is 'expensive' salt). 
* Le Sirop de nappage Fruits Confits (fruit syrup you can drizzle over ice cream, it'll last us at least 6 years)
* And a tiny bag of 'something else' which was 8,90€ for 10 bite size squares of sugary sugar.

Good shopping wife!

Dinner itself had a bumpy start, we had hoped for a 6.30 table somewhere. Every restaurant looked slightly confused at 6.30. Tables set, but not all of them, the outdoor tables still stacked inside the restaurant in the walkways. Some staff lingering but no one willing to make eye contact or talk to prospective diners. As we neared 7.00 there was a bit more life but not enough to be obvious. We were close to sitting at one place but the chef came out for a cigarette and sat at the table we had picked, so we kept walking.      Ahhh, the French. Bof. 

We landed in a great little restaurant that had one other couple sitting with a wine. Asked for a table for 3 and were told they were fully booked and we could only sit outside. It was 7.15 and there were at least 40 empty seats. Oh well, outside worked for us (it was that or another bloody baguette for dinner!), and thankfully the food was terrific. 

Pizza. Salad. Bread. 4 x glasses of wine and dessert. 50€. 

Alison has perfected the ordering in French, and she is about 50/50 on translating their responses, and tonight was a good one, we didn't end up with prawns this time when we thought we had ordered vegetables. 

E was a trooper, ate a stack of bread, made some friends with neighbouring tables, smiled enough at the staff so they forgave me for my poor French, and sat still for the entire time.

A successful night out for Alison's Birthday Eve. 

Scott

Weekend on the Cote d'Azur

We are only a couple of hours from the Cote d'Azur, so it was a great place to catch up with our Aussie friends who flew in from London for the long weekend. Dave and Kylie organised a lovely little villa in Antibes (between Cannes and Nice) and it was a weekend of food, wine, and running after the three boys!

A short walk into Antibes for a stroll through the old town, with its narrow streets full of restaurants and bars and lots of tourists. It's probably the first time on this trip we've heard so many english-speakers! The coastline is stunning - beautiful bays and crystal clear water, and as we watched the mega yachts out at sea and private jets flying in it's not hard to see why it's the playground of the rich and famous. 

Elliot was ecstatic to go for a ride on the tourist train and we were all pretty pleased to kick back and enjoy the sights and be taken around to the next little bay of Juan les Pins which seems to have lots of trendy clubs and beach clubs ... not really the kind of places you take three toddlers, but very pretty for a stroll and an ice-cream. 

 

The next day we took a morning drive around the winding coastline of Cap d'Antibes, dotted with luxurious mediterranean mansions. I wanted to check out the famous Hotel du Cap Eden Roc as it's THE place to stay on the French Riviera, but alas a drive-by would have to suffice as we were not allowed past security for a sneaky photo. 

The weekend ended with a long lunch in the hilltop village of Grasse, famous as the perfume capital of France. E he was so exhausted after a weekend of playing with the boys that he was out for the count before we left the car park and literally woke as we pulled into our driveway two and a half hours later. Winning!!

A xx