>Marché fermier

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It was a sunny, hot day yesterday for the farmers’ market at Mas Rolland and the streets of the tiny old hamlet were filled with stalls, music, visitors and tables where people could eat. One of the nice things about this event is that it takes place before the holiday high season starts – it’s for people from the villages and towns around to enjoy before all the events which are put on for tourists in the summer.

We ate kid meat (from the Mas Rolland goat farm) stuffed with herbs from the garrigue, followed by a selection of goats’ cheeses, of course, and some friends had brought some of their own peaches, the first of this year’s crop, for our group to eat for dessert. The tables in the narrow street (above, right) were full by lunch time.

We bought cherries, goats’ cheeses and flour from a mill near Clérmont l’Hérault, and many other stallholders were offering their own produce for sale.

The confrerie of local winemakers walked through the village dressed in their wine-purple robes accompanied by jazz musicians.

Our first few cherries

As well as the delicious cherries we bought at the market, we also tasted our own wild cherries for the first time, picked yesterday morning – of the six cherries on our tiny tree, four were ripe, slightly tart but with a good flavour.

>Fire and rain

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La Fête de Saint Jean is the traditional pagan midsummer celebration, which has been given a Christian saint’s name by the church but which is still very pagan. It should take place on 24 June, but we’re a bit ahead of the times in Gabian, and we had our paella meal and bonfire last night on rough ground near the river.

Marché fermier

The weather was warm and sunny yesterday evening for the celebrations, but today it was cloudy and threatening thunder from the start. And it looked worse up in the hills where we headed for the farmers’ market at Mas Rolland, the hamlet and goat farm where we buy cheese, and goat manure for the garden during the winter. In spite of the bad weather the stalls were busy selling wonderful local produce: traditionally milled flour, chestnut flour, wine, olive oil, free range pork, goats’ cheeses, of course, and cooked food – with potatoes cooked in duck fat a speciality – by the plate to be eaten at tables in the sun or shade (usually). Today it began to rain heavily just before lunchtime – great for the garden but not for those hoping for a Sunday meal outdoors.

umbrellas for shelter, not shade	goats’ cheeses to taste and buy
wine from Montesquieu	‘a green thought in a green shade’ (Andrew Marvell)
olives and olive oil from Fabrègues	potatoes cooked in duck fat

And in the garden …

We have our first small tomatoes on the Languedocian plants, the tomato plants are all growing quickly, needing tying up and sideshoots removing almost ever day, and the oleander flowers are out.

>Pézenas market

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Blue sky and a blue awning ….

hams and eggs …	olives and dried fruit ….
hazelnuts and walnuts …	cheeses and sausage …
more cheeses and sausages from Corsica …	hats and scarves ….
sunny balconies …	and hot chocolate in the sun.

>Foire au gras and pruning the olive tree

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The foire au gras this weekend in Roujan is the beginning of the Christmas season.  People here don’t send cards, give as many presents or shop as determinedly as those in other countries, but food, as always, is important.  The foire au gras (which translates into English as ‘fat fair’, but this doesn’t sound so good), is a chance to buy foie gras, cured duck breast, whole ducks, wine, cured sausages …. all the delicious foods that are part of Christmas meals in this area, and all directly from the producers.

The fair is held in the village hall and sports hall, a very modern setting for a traditional event.  Outside there were cheese, shellfish and vegetables stalls and amusements for children.  Inside there were rows of craft stalls and, most importantly, the wine and food producers’ stands.

We bought a duck and some foie gras from M. Gaubert of Camp Grand in the Aveyron, who was eager to talk about his produce and give advice about cooking and serving it.  We also tasted for the first time (and bought) some excellent wines from Domaine Bonian at nearby Pouzolles.  Some say that this is an expensive way to buy these products, but I would much prefer to pay a little extra and buy from the producers, talk to them and taste, rather than buying anonymously in a supermarket.

Some people, too, I know, have reservations about foie gras production, but I think that when it is properly produced it is not cruel, unlike the mass-produced battery-farmed chicken, eggs and pork which are eaten by so many.

Pruning the olive tree

A couple of weeks ago we harvested the olives from the older and slightly larger of our two olive trees.   This tree was one we bought without thinking too much about it, soon after we bought the garden, as we wanted to plant one as soon as possible.  It has always been rather straggly and was in need of a good prune, which I did this morning.  The aim when pruning olive trees is to have space in the centre with the branches spreading outwards and this is what I’ve tried to do.

Before pruning . . .

. . . and after.

Pruning like this may mean a smaller crop next year, but it should make a better shaped tree for the future.

I’ve taken the fresher, newer leaves to dry because I want to try olive leaf tea.  The other branches will make a good start for the fire the next time we light the barbecue.

Today’s harvest

Tiny parsnips and carrots (some of which were given to us by our neighbours in exchange for some parsnips, which they’d never tried before), the last of the aubergines and, hiding behind the bowl, some radishes.  We’re also picking salad leaves almost every day now.

 

 

And what is this doing here?  Anemones aren’t supposed to flower until the spring, but this one seems to have been fooled by the warm weather we’ve been having lately.

>World Food Day

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There are serious food issues affecting developing countries and many parts of the world where people do not have enough to eat. According to the United Nations one-sixth of humanity is undernourished. In the developed world the issues are more to do with over-consumption and waste of the earth’s resources. Sometimes it seems as though there is little that an individual can do. But I think that growing as much as we can of our own food and buying food that is locally produced are important small steps that each of us can make, to conserve the earth’s limited resources and to minimise exploitation of people in the developing world. You can find out more about World Food Day here.

Big commerce is bad for food. This is my 201st post on this blog and, on World Food Day, I would like to make it a celebration of local food. In our village we’re lucky to have a weekly market, an excellent épicerie (grocer’s shop), a small supermarket, a boulangerie (baker’s shop) and visiting vans which sell meat and shellfish.

The charcuterie stall at the Wednesday market.	The butcher’s van on Friday morning.
The boulangerie – bakery.	The épicerie – grocer’s shop, full of good food and friendly advice.

We, and anyone else who lives here, can buy all we need in the village. It is excellent quality, good value and much of it is produced locally. We find we need go to supermarkets only to buy toiletries and Italian coffee. In Roujan, a larger village 2 km away, there are two excellent butchers who sell an enormous range of good meat and, best of all, will advise on how to cook it, as well as other friendly small shops.

But the small shops in Roujan, and maybe Gabian too, are threatened by the construction of a supermarket there.

This is the site of the planned supermarket where, as in Gabian, more plane trees have been felled to make another new roundabout at its entrance.

This is bad news for food. In the UK it has been shown that when a supermarket is built on the outskirts of a town it sucks the lifeblood from the centre. The food sold in supermarkets is mass-produced and generally of lower quality than that in small shops. It is transported long distances, wasting resources and causing pollution. Because of their centralised distribution systems supermarkets cannot support local food as well as small shops can. And the profits made leave the area, feeding big business rather than being ploughed back into the locality.

And local wine …

This evening we went to a tasting to celebrate the arrival of the primeur wine at the Cave Co-operative at Neffiès. The vin primeur is the first of the year’s wine to be ready to drink, a light wine which takes only three weeks or so to make. It’s a good reason for a party and the tasting at Neffiès was fun, with roasted chestnuts (another seasonal local product) to eat with the wine, and live music. The cave at Neffiès has recently amalgamated with the one at nearby Alignan-du-vent (a sign of the times and the economic crisis in wine-making), but we were pleased to hear that some of the high-quality wines from Neffiès such as their Cathérine de Juery will continue to be made.

Hot roasted chestnuts to accompany the new wine.

Tuning up for the music and wine tasting.

And home to a local supper

We came home from Neffiès to a supper of roast saddle of lamb, bought in one of the butcher’s shops in Roujan, and aubergines stuffed with tomatoes, both grown in our garden. A delicious local supper! We marinaded the saddle of lamb with rosemary, garlic and lemon juice for a few hours, then roasted it, adding a glass of white wine to the roasting dish, until it was just done and still a bit pink inside. We served it with halved aubergines topped with chopped tomatoes, garlic, thyme and olive oil and baked in the oven.

Bilingual blog / le blog bilingue

Over the next few weeks I shall not have time to write my blog posts in French as well as English. I’ll resume the French version as soon as possible, but in the meantime I apologise for not being able to produce a bilingual blog.

Pendant les semaines qui viennent je n’aurai pas le temps pour écrire les articles sur ce blog en français. Je reprendrai la version française aussitôt que possible, mais pour le moment je m’excuse de ne pas produire un blog bilingue.

>Perigord specialities / Les spécialités du Périgord

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As well as the fantastic hospitality we received at Ian and Kate’s for the Kitchen Garden International weekend, the highlights for me were the markets and the small local producers of flour and pruneaux (dried plums).

Aussi bien que l’hospitalité exceptionelle que nous avons trouvé chez Ian et Kate le weekend de Kitchen Garden International, les visites au marchés et aux producteurs du blé et des pruneaux furent pour moi les temps forts.

Villereal market / le marché de Villereal

Farmers campaign for a fair price for their milk.	Ceps (porcini)
Many different varieties of tomato / beaucoup de varietés de tomates.	and of courges and pumpkins / et de courges.

 

Issegeac market / le marché d’Issegeac

Baskets and fruit and vegetables … and lots more  /  Des paniers et des fruits et des légumes …. et beaucoup d’autres choses.

La Ferme des Pruneaux et des Ruches

We visited the farm of Monsieur Domingie near Villereal where he showed us how he dries the special d’Ente plums to preserve them as pruneaux.  We were able to taste and buy them and they are really delicious.

On a visité la ferme de Monsieur Domingie près de Villereal.  Il nous a montré comment il seche les prunes d’Ente pour les conserver comme pruneaux.  On les a pu goûter et acheter et ils sont vraiment delicieux.

Sheep graze under the plum trees / Les brébis broutent sous les pruniers.	The plums are washed / on lave les prunes ….
sorted / les trie ….	dried / les seche …..
	M. Domingie (right) explains the benefits of pruneaux  /  M. Domingie (droite) explique les bienfaits des pruneaux.

Le Moulin de la Fage-Haute

This watermill grinds flour using traditional methods – the bread made from it tasted wonderful.  /  Ce moulin à eau moud le blé par les méthodes traditionnelles – le pain est excellent.

Like Monsieur Domingie at La Ferme des Pruneaux, Monsieur Brouillet is passionate about his produce, saying that it is not financially viable but it is worth doing because the flour is so good.

Comme Monsieur Domingie de La Ferme des Pruneaux, Monsieur Brouillet est passionné pour son produit.  Il dit que ce n’est pas économique mais il faut le faire parce que le blé est si bon.

>A quiet market / un marché tranquille

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There doesn’t seem to be much to say about the garden – it’s doing what we expect in August: producing a lot of tomatoes, peppers, aubergines and cucumbers. We’ve planted cauliflowers and leeks for the winter and we’ve sown some more haricot beans. / Il n’y a pas beaucoup à dire quant au jardin: il nous donne beaucoup de tomates, aubergines, poivrons et concombres. Nous avons planté des chou-fleurs et des poireaux pour l’hiver et nous avons semé encore d’haricots.

The Wednesday market seems quieter these days. The vegetable seller doesn’t come in summer – perhaps too many of us in Gabian have gardens and he goes to Cap d’Agde instead where there are a lot of holidaymakers. / Le marché du mercredi semble plus tranquille en été. Le marchand des légumes ne vient pas – peut-être parce que trop de gabianais ont des jardins – il va au Cap d’Agde ou il y a beaucoup de touristes.

The fish stall from Valras was there and we bought two cuttlefish to grill for lunch. The stallholder cleaned them for us and we marinaded them in lemon juice, garlic, paprika and olive oil and grilled them for just a few minutes. There were lovely with grilled green peppers! / La poissonière de Valras était là et nous avons acheté deux seiches pour griller au jardin. La poissonière les a nettoyé pour nous et nous les avons fait mariner avec du jus de citron, de l’ail, du piment doux et d’huile d’olive. Elles étaient très bonnes avec des poivrons verts grillés!

A cloudy day in the garden! And we harvested the first red chilli peppers to dry in the sun. / Une journée nouageuse au jardin! Et nous avons récolté les premiers piments rouges pour secher au soleil.

Chorizo

There are many Spanish people living in Gabian and so the charcutier who comes to the market has a lot of Spanish charcuterie. I noticed some small chorizo sausages and luckily at the same time one of his Spanish customers who has given me advice about cooking morcillas arrived, so I asked her how to cook them. We had them this evening, heated gently in a frying pan. We added a little red wine and ate them with fried courgettes. / Il y a beaucoup des espagnols qui habitent Gabian, donc le charcutier vend de la charcuterie espagnole. J’ai remarqué des petits chorizos et au mème moment, heureusement, une de ses clientes espagnoles est arrivée et je lui ai demandé comment on les cuits. Nous les avons mangés ce soir, rechauffés doucement dans un poele. Nous avons ajouté un peu de vin rouge et nous les avons mangés accompagnés des courgettes poelées.

Gazpacho

We started the meal with gazpacho – cold soup – which I had made with vegetables from the garden: red pepper, green pepper, cucumber, tomatoes and onion. Perfect for a hot day. The recipe will be on the Mediterranean cuisine blog. / On a commencé le repas par le gazpacho – la soupe froide – que j’avais fait du légumes du jardin: un poivron rouge, un poivron vert, un concombre, des tomates, un oignon. Parfait pour une journée chaude. La recette sera sur le blog Mediterranean cuisine.

>Organic food / La nourriture biologique

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An article on the Guardian website today continues the argument as to whether organic food is healthier. A new report by the UK Food Standards Agency (FSA) has reviewed the research for the past 50 years and found that there is no evidence that organic food is more nutritious than non-organic food. Whether this is true or not is a subject of debate, but I think that anyway it misses the point. For me, the importance of organic food is not what is in it, but what is NOT in it – the chemicals that are added to food produced by non-organic agricultural methods. The FSA study does not seem to take into account the long-term health effects of these chemicals, or the effects of these toxins on the planet. As the Guardian article concludes, an EU study found that: levels of nutritionally undesirable compounds such as toxic chemicals, mycotoxins and metals such as cadmium and nickel, were lower in organic crops.

Un article sur le site Guardian continue le débat autour de la nourriture biologique. Un rapport nouveau de l’agence des normes de la nourriture britannique (FSA) dit qu’il n’y a pas des preuves que la nourriture biologique est plus nutritive que la nourriture de l’agriculture traditionnelle. Je pense que ce n’est pas le point essentiel. Pour moi, c’est les produits toxiques dans la nourriture de l’agriculture traditionelle qui font du mal à la santé et à la planète à long terme. Comme l’article conclue, une recherche de l’UE a trouvé qu’il y a des niveaux des produits chimiques inférieurs dans les récoltes biologique.

I think we should be sensible about this when choosing our food. I would prefer, ideally, to eat organic local food and I do when I can. But I think it is better for the planet to eat locally grown non-organic food than to transport organic food long distances.

Je pense qu’il faut être raisonnable. Je préfère manger la nourriture biologique et locale, mais c’est mieux manger la nourriture locale et non-bio que transporter la nourriture autour du monde.

Of course, the best vegetables are those you grow in your own garden or those which are locally grown like the fruit which producers sell at the roadside near here or these wonderful basketfuls of produce we saw in Sant Feliu de Guixols market on our recent trip to Catalunya:

Shading the sorrel / Donner l’ombre à l’oseille

Our sorrel plants were looking a bit dry in the hot weather, so Lo Jardinièr had a good (and free) idea to shade them. Our local shop leaves vegetable crates outside for anyone who wants them to take them away, so he picked up two and used them to cover the sorrel plants. Just enough light gets in through the slats and the plants are now looking green and healthy again.

On a donné un peu d’ombre aux plants d’oseille avec des cageots de l’épicierie.

>Market shopping and butterfly spotting / Le marché et les papillons

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Saturday is market day in Pézenas. It’s always fun but it’s especially colourful and busy in the summer. / Samedi est le jour du marché à Pézenas. On s’y régale toujours mais surtout en été.

We bought almond croissants for our breakfast and took them to the Café des Arts to eat with our coffee. Sorry, I forgot to photograph them! / Nous avons acheté des croissants d’amande et nous les avons apporté au Café des Arts pour les manger avec du café. Je m’excuse – j’ai oublié de les photographer!

Stalls line the long main street – clothes, sea food, charcuterie, olives, household goods ….

A fruit and vegetable stall in Occitan colours	Lots of cheese
and colourful terracotta pots to cook it all in.	Des tagines et des casseroles en terrecuite.

At home the garden was full of butterflies. There seem to be a lot of the this year. / Le jardin était plein de papillons. Il me semble qu’il y en a beaucoup cette année.

The butterflies love the lavender flowers. I haven’t identified these yet, except the Marbled white (top right). Les papillons aiment les fleurs de lavande. Je n’ai pas les identifié encore sauf le Blanc Marbré (en haut, a gauche).	Pairs of swallowtails were chasing each other around, too. I posted photos of these the other day.

First tomatoes! / Les premières tomates!

We ate the first ripe Yellow Pear tomatoes. They’re small – a variety of cherry tomato.

On a mangé les premières tomates mures Yellow Pear. Elles sont petites – c’est une varieté de tomate cerise.

>Another gift of wild food / Encore un cadeau sauvage

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Today a friend brought us these wild leeks.  She says you can take the little ‘seed’ bulbs off them and plant them for next year’s crop. / Aujourd’hui une amie nous a apporté ces poireaux sauvages (porettes).  Elle dit qu’on peut enlever les petits pepins pour les planter dans le jardin.

We cooked them, let them cool and then dressed them with olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper to make a salad.

Nous les avons cuits, et puis nous avons ajouté de l’huile d’olive, du jus de citron, sel et poivre pour faire une salade.

 

At this time of the year I begin to long for summer vegetables, weeks before we will have them in the garden.  Today in the market I couldn’t resist buying artichokes, aubergines, courgettes and a red pepper. / Je commence à avoir très envie des légumes d’été, et j’ai acheté sur le marché aujourd’hui des artichauts, des aubergines et courgettes et un poivron rouge.

I cooked the artichokes in olive oil and white wine and with the courgettes, aubergines and pepper I made chichoumeille, as ratatouille is called in the Languedoc.  Recipes will be on the Mediterranean cuisine blog.

J’ai cuit les artichauts à l’huile d’olive et au vin blanc, et j’ai fait le chichoumeille, comme on appelle le ratatouille dans le Languedoc.  Les recettes seront sur le blog Mediterranean cuisine

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