French food served in a gamelle

Gamelle: Lunch pail; mess tin; billy can

Although I picked up this red gamelle in an antique fair a few years ago I didn't ever expect to actually eat from one. I mean, a million years ago, Laura Ingalls took her lunch to school in one, but I didn't think you'd find them in use anywhere anymore. Apparently you put the soup in the bottom section and the bread and sundry items in the top.

Dining in Pau, Pyrénées-Atlantiques

On Friday last we dined in Restaurant Le Pilota in Pau. It's situated in the sports' complex, overlooking the pelote basque courts (although they were preparing for a badminton tournament at the time.) The setting is modern and chic but the food is traditional.

La Musette du Jour

I ordered the set menu (served weekday lunchtimes, it consists of a starter, a main, a dessert, a 1/4 bottle of wine and a coffee - all for 13 euro) and the waiter arrived with my lunch bag and hung it over the back of my chair.



Opening it up it revealed the lunch pail, the wine, a bread roll, a couple of slices of saussisson, a Paris-Brest in tinfoil.

 

 

The first tier contained the starter - a slice of quiche...

...the second revealed the main course - hake and king prawns in creamy sauce...

... and the third, cauliflower and cheese,  although I'd lost the run of myself at that stage and forgot to take any more photos. Sorry!

Worth swinging by - all was delicious.

Find La Musette du Jour on facebook

Donostia San Sebastián



A weekend in Spain

We took a trip to San Sebastián last weekend to make the most of the unseasonably warm October weather.

The harbour and bay area
 

Don Quixote and Sancho Panza



Boys in football gear

San Sebastián is a beautiful, lively city in the Basque region of Spain. The busy shopping area is located right next to the beach. Spanish families eat ice creams and mingle with tourists in the old city. Children play football in the streets, or enjoy the park on the seafront.


 

Basilica of Saint Mary of the Chorus
 

Carousel in front of City Hall














Children dressed alike

Adults dressed alike, maybe they're brothers

   

 A stroll through the narrow city streets led us to tapas, and more tapas. Or Pintxos in Basque. Delicious. Although (and I have a hazy memory of a forgotten new year's resolution) my Spanish did let me down badly. The words came out in Italian, in French, even in Irish (!)...  But we still managed to eat well by pointing and gesturing. The locals are used to the influx of tourists, especially French (it's only a half an hour from Biarritz) and switched easily from Spanish and Basque to French and English.

      

 

The best views of the city were to be enjoyed from Mount Urgull. We climbed up through the park to the historic castle and the statue of Jesus overlooking the city. My calf muscles are nearly back to normal now, thanks for asking.




Playa de la Concha was ideal for people-watching. A bride and groom arrived down from the city hall for a photo shoot--the bride struggling through the sand with her long white dress, the groom carrying the Champagne and glasses for that perfect photo. Children played in the sand--often naked, as seems to be the norm. The melodious tune of a saxophonist on the promenade wafted down towards us. A businessman arrived after work with a novel, stripped down to his boxers, and went in for a swim. Then he lay there reading until he was dry enough to put back on his shirt and tie and head home. Made me wish I lived closer to the sea.

 

 

Certainly the nicest city beach I've ever visited.

 

 

 

Rain and cherries

I was going to write a post about the incessant rain we've been experiencing here in France since about January, but instead I'm going to put up a couple of photos of the produce of my cherry tree.

A month ago:



and today:

 

 

We've had clafoutis. We've had bowls of fresh cherries. We've had an interesting rhubarb and cherry tart. Hopefully we'll have lots of jam if the birds stick to the deal and only take the cherries from the top that we can't reach.

 

But, back to the subject of the weather...

 

The slugs are having a ball. Can't you just savour how delicious my hosta must have been.

 

 

 

Usually at this time of the year I'm busy weeding, digging, sowing (last year I grew everything from seed) but this year, nada. I haven't sowed a single tomato plant yet. Could this be a summer sans tomates? I have no potager for the first time in years.

 

 

So I ran around the garden a couple of weeks ago to see what was growing. These beautiful roses and campanules:

 

...apples, chives, garlic, gooseberries, kiwis...

 

 

I really hope to update this with better news in a few weeks. And I have to admit, the bad weather is good for my writing.

It rains so much in England...

Found on a packet of McVitie's Digestives sold in France...

'It rains so much in England that the English rush towards McVitie's for comfort.'

 

Now who uses Digestives to make trifle?

... and who dips Digestives in tea at breakfast?

 

I don't know those people, but then I'm Irish, so maybe I just haven't grasped the true purpose of Digestives at all, at all.

 

Also, I note the French don't call them 'Digestives'. Then again, a 'digestif' is more like this:

 

 

Any English experts on McVitie's? We need to get to the bottom of this.

Crusty bread and a jug of wine

One of my favourite restaurants is hidden away in a hilltop village, with 350 inhabitants. And all along the street under the arcades flanked by a 14th century castle, and a 16th century covered market, there are mismatched and rickety tables and countless diners happy to spend a long afternoon in the dappled sunshine.

There’s no menu. On the table, they place a big pot of soup, usually a wholesome garbure, full of cabbage, meat, beans and goodness. The entrée is a platter of cold meats, salad, and hard-boiled eggs, or sliced tomato, Bayonne ham and melon in summer. A big basket of crusty bread, a jug of water, and a jug of table wine complete the first uninterrupted hour. 

The waiter eventually takes the order for our meat. It's served on a large platter, with garlic potatoes or chips or French beans or whatever vegetables are in season, and probably picked in their own garden. The region provides plenty of beef, veal, pork and, above all, duck. We don’t count calories around here, but they say that the particular combination of duck fat and red wine is the secret of the locals' longevity.

Dessert is ice cream or fruit. The fruit comes in a huge basket with a plate and a knife. Help yourself.

12€ for the 4-course set meal, including wine. Where is this paradise? In the picturesque village of Bassoues.

¿Habla espagñol?

Have you ever learned a new language as an adult?

I'm taking up Spanish. I started two weeks ago using the Michel Thomas method and I'm listening to it in the car every day for about twenty minutes. I wonder how well I'll be able to speak by the time my summer holidays roll around...

Learning languages is a something I've always been interested in. I studied French and German and live in France so I use French every day. My children are bilingual and I'm often amazed at their ability to process new vocabulary. They're starting Spanish in school now so it's interesting to see the difference in the way we learn. They're already mocking my Spanish accent, even if they only know about twenty words themselves! 

Now how to pronounce that dish? Paella!!!

I've been following Benny the Irish polyglot for a while now and I love the way he has the courage to jump in at the deep end and even post up videos of his progress. So, rather than 'fluent in 3 months'  I could call my challenge: Paella en seis meses.
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