Giving thanks for dessert
Thursday, 22 November 2012
We used to do pumpkin and apple pie. This is the new interloper—very happily received.
Musings
Fusion taco-time
Saturday, 3 November 2012
Wandered the sunny streets for a bit, ducked into a Korean taco (!!) place for a mid-afternoon snack, then wandered homeward.
We found the fillings better than the ho-hum tortillas—still, we enjoyed them.
Sun’s out
Thursday, 25 October 2012
Spent the day doing a little of this and a little of that. Good thing I took the time to make a nice dinner, or otherwise my day would have lacked any sizable accomplishment.
Pasta sauce stew with tossed salad, carb sides from Alon’s. Nothing fancy, but tasty.
Soup to nuts (not quite)
Friday, 12 October 2012
We’ve been seeing the chestnuts in the road, and twice we’ve been struck by them as we drove along. Yes, the sound is…enough to make you duck.
This one is very special. I found it on the road right at Lascaux—the real one, behind the tall fence, right up the hill from the replica they let you visit as part of a carefully timed tour. Still, it’s pretty impressive. And you can see how the artists used the shapes of the walls/ceiling as integral to the designs they delineated with the oxide tints (manganese and iron, if I have it right).
We haven’t discussed one of our repeat “companions” on this trip—the toll roads and their attendant machines. Here’s one where we’re collecting a ticket. Only once, maybe twice, have there been humans to take our money, but the machines are fast—although they don’t take US-style credit cards (chip and PIN only).
Sometimes we’ve been enthralled by the fantastic daylight. We expected this in “the south,” but this was maybe 60 miles from Paris. This water tour is one of the typical shapes, with a flare at the top, and antennae hanging off it. There’s another dominant style that evokes the crenelations of defensive walls. We’ve found that rather strange in a super-tall, stand-alone structure.
One of the crops I did not expect…sugar beets. These people are sugar fanatics—with their espresso. Servers may present up to four packets with your cup. I hate to think how many go straight to the trash—or not. Still, in the interests of national self-sufficiency, it makes sense that they’d be growing/processing sugar beets.
More architecture: bridge/aqueduct, big-house
Wednesday, 3 October 2012
Stunning. This aqueduct, the Pont du Gard had a drop of 12.83 meters over the 50-km length of the run between the spring that fed it (we tried to get there and couldn’t—private property) and the catchment in Nîmes. The Romans of Nemausus wanted more water, and this is how they got it.
By observation, we would note that single kayaks, like this, carried quiet people, but if the kayaks passed by in clusters, yikes!—the noise.
Châteauneuf-du-Pape is so named because the popes of Avignon came here back in the 1300s and developed grape-growing to have wine for their tables and to “share.” Now it is quite the wine center, with tasting places frequently encountered, both in town and along the feeder roads. The castle looming over town is a shell of its former self. The upper level has what look like machicolations that resemble those of the gothic Palais des Papes in Avignon.
Fun in Fréjus
Saturday, 29 September 2012
Diorama of Roman-period buildings in what is now Fréjus, known then as Forum Julii. Note the amphitheater (43.43438,6.72883), locally called the Arènes, and theater (43.43695,6.73811)—both survive. I’m standing on the “north” side, so you may consider this view “upside down.”
As is common in these parts, the medieval town of Fréjus is atop the Roman town. Here, though, archaeologists have had more of a chance than normal to delve into the Roman remains. Check out the boat basin (43.43122,6.74033), the economic hub of the community. It was silted in within centuries after the Romans faded from France, but, since it’s still low-lying, is now mostly open land, and almost perfectly bisected by a RR grade. A portion of a city gate/wall survives at the edge of it.
We enjoyed the hustle-bustle of market day, and I certainly wished I had a kitchen to retire to, and could justify buying the fine fish, cauliflower, fruits, and more that vendors offered in enticing displays on the west side of the church—but not in the plaza to the south (don’t know why).
We very much enjoyed the small, high-quality archaeological museum, tucked around the north side of the church. These elegant perfume bottles testify to the fine-points of the Roman toilette, if you could afford such.
I consider Fréjus a lucky stop for us. We left our morning B&B in rain, drove in rain, but Fréjus was clear and even sunny. After we got back on the highway, we went through more rain. Lucky us, it was clear and sunny again by the time we got to our “new” B&B, where we’ll be for days. And nights.
We’re indulging here, and have paid for half-board, which means we go to dinner, four courses, just downstairs. Wine extra (duh!). Tonight: beef carpaccio with shaved parmesan, fresh basil and petit salade; fruits de mer (steamed or simply cooked fish, five kinds, one prawn) with lemon couscous served in a cream sauce that couldn’t be topped; fromage assortment; and sherbet trio (melon, red we couldn’t figure out, third I never figured out—all delicate and delicious) in a baked bowl made from two squares of filo, making a crunchy complement to the sherbet and two raspberries.
Friday night special dinner
Friday, 7 September 2012
In celebration of being home, with access to a wider assortment of food options, tonight we opted for this crushed black pepper encrusted seared tuna for our protein. Oh yum!
With the heavy lifting done by Alon’s—not meeee!
Take them!
Thursday, 30 August 2012
Despite the paucity of rainfall, my Michigan squash metrics indicate a bumper crop. Small sample, but still.
Bring on the bees
Wednesday, 29 August 2012
Over here in the HGFH’s garden, the squash are producing like gangbusters. Guess I’ll figure out how to use a zucchini and a yellow one in tonight’s appetizer. ’Cause they can’t go to waste, ya know!
HGFH = hunter gatherer fisher horticulturalist
Veggie heaven in August
Sunday, 26 August 2012
Thanks to our wonderful neighbors and the generous bounty of late summer in their well-tended garden, we enjoyed rajas (sautéed pepper strips), sweet corn, French radishes (if I heard correctly)…and some always-loved Bush’s baked beans.