Remember that scene in the movie by Barbra Streisand, The Face in the Mirror, where she is at a restaurant and very carefully makes a little pile on her fork of food from her plate make the perfect combo? It’s not the best movie I’ve ever seen but I liked it and what it had to say about beauty. Anyway, I have had the perfect bite a couple of times. The first time was in Paris when I ordered a Salade Chevre Chaud-a salad with warm goat cheese. So, onto my fork I pushed some lettuce covered with tangy vinagarette, a piece of tomato, a walnut, and the warm cheese on top of a piece of crunchy toast. It was such a great explosion of flavors in my mouth-the acid tang of tomato, the warm soft cheese with the crunch of toast and snap of the slightly bitter walnut, the warm cheese binding it all together-it was all a little piece of heaven. I also like salty and sweet together as in dates with bacon or a cheese with a sweet jam. And, then there is Thanksgiving, where into one bite are the flavors of turkey, stuffing, mashed potato and gravy topped with a small amount of cranberry sauce. Eating can be such a fun adventure.

(A repeat as I am on a trip)

My other blog: Sideroads of Europe

One day Maurice came home with the information that he had just purchased tickets for a concert of music from Argentina, something I know very little about except that it often has a tango music influence. In fact, years ago I went with Maurice on a business trip to Argentina and we saw tangos done in the street. Anyway, I was happy to go especially since it was taking place in the nearby chateau of la Tour d’Aigues.

It was once a really love place as shown in old prints, rather Italian in flavor, but destroyed during the French Revolution which seems like a shame to me. Why destroy beauty? I’ve seen door and windows around the town which were probably taken from the ruins.

It is slowly being restored but probably not much more that it is now. In the summer there are concerts outside with the grounds, a very nice place to be.

Our concert was inside the chateau as it is still chilly in the evenings, down deep inside and under of what remains outside. We were in what I would call a cave, a room with a round ceiling with perfect acoustics.

The hall entering the cave that I didn’t get a photo of.

We arrived a little early and sat down. A man in front of us was asked to move and he went balistic and started shouting. The room went dead silent. He obviously wasn’t going to move. I decided that he was mentally unbalanced and was hoping that he would keep quiet during the concert and that the music would sooth the savage beast, so to speak. When a man got up front to introduce the musicians, the crazy man started yelling at him. It was very uncomfortable. Luckily for all of us, he left after the first song.

A victory angel above the door of the chateau.

The musical group, Milontango, was a trio of women from Nice, one Italian, one German and one Argentenian which I thought was interesting. There was a piano, bass fiddle and a flute. They were really very good and the music was great.

While I was sitting there listening I could help but go back to all of the many concerts I attended with my exhusband. He was a musician and loved music. I knew very little other than the rock and roll I grew up with, Elvis and Ricky Nelson being just two. In college I was required to take a music appreciation class, all classical music as it turned out. Our final was to listen to just a portion of a record (way before tapes and CD’s) and be able to tell who the composer was. I had to spend a lot of time in the library trying to learn how to do that. I got so I could actually tell if it was Chopin or Bach, their music being rather like hand writing with a distinct sound. It still is with me years later and I can use that knowledge when I listen to classical music on the radio, which isn’t very often to tell the truth. Anyway, I sat through many operas and symphonies and even attented every single night of a famous piano competition in Fort Worth. Maurice likes an occasional classical concert. Back when we first started dating, we went to hear a sympony. This is where I found out that he often sleeps during concerts-movies too.

The name of the group was Milontango and here is a link to their website: Milontango They were very accomplished to my amateur ear and it was a great night.

Fish en Papillote

This is a dish I’ve looked at for a long time, thinking about cooking it. I finally decided to give it a try. It turned out to be very easy, quick and tasty-a winning combination. I did it with the parchment paper but I think next time that I will use foil as it didn’t stay tightly wrapped and puff up like it was supposed to. Maurice really liked it and said it was like opening a little surprise at the table so I think it could be a good meal for company. I wasn’t sure how long to cook it. One recipe said ten minutes, the other 20. I ended up cooking it for 20 minutes just to make sure it was well done. I didn’t want to open the package to check on it. The other evening I saw Jamie Oliver-The Naked Chef-on TV and he used foil, folding it up tightly on three sides then pouring in wine before sealing the fourth side. My package didn’t leak but it sure was full of liquid when we opened it-which tasted very good with the rice. (The French always want rice with their fish). Jamie used mussels, scallops and shrimp for his dish which looked very good. The recipe below is from the Boston Globe although I used various elements from another recipe. I did put in a little ginger but the main difference is that I cooked the vegetables before using them in the packet as we aren’t fans of crunchy vegetables. I didn’t have snap peas either but I bet that would be good. It seemed like a really healthy meal which always makes me feel good.

“Cooking “en papillote” is a technique that seals savory or sweet ingredients into a folded pouch of parchment paper (or foil), before cooking. Essentially, food steams in its own juices, and develops wonderful aromas. You can use this method to cook fish, meat, vegetables, pasta, even fruit. The drama comes when guests open their packets, lean into the aromatic steam, and instantly like the dish - even before tasting. Successful papillotes use ingredients that are small; they’re layered in small quantities, and seals on the pouches should be airtight. Fish or meats go well with aromatic herbs and julienned vegetables, a splash of white wine, lemon or orange juice, and a touch of olive oil. The papillotes puff in the oven and as your guests tear them open, you get to watch their delight.” Quote from the Boston Globe.

1 zucchini, cut into julienne strips
1 carrot, cut into julienne strips
12 sugar snap peas
1 small sweet onion (Vidalia or Oso Sweet) cut in 1-inch thin sticks
1 piece (1-inch) ginger root, finely grated
Pinch of ground coriander
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
Salt and pepper, to taste
2 lemons
4 pieces boneless ocean perch (6 ounces each), or use another thin fish such as trout
Olive oil (for sprinkling)

1. Set the oven at 420 degrees. Have on hand four 14-inch pieces of parchment paper or foil paper.

2. In a large bowl, toss gently the zucchini, carrot, snap peas, onion, ginger, coriander, parsley, salt, and pepper; set aside.

3. Grate the rind of 1 lemon and squeeze the juice. Slice the other lemon.

4. Pat the fish dry with paper towels. Season the fish with salt and pepper. Place each piece of parchment paper on the counter. Brush the center with olive oil. Use half the vegetables to make a bed on each paper. Top with the fish, skin side up (if there is skin), and add lemon rind and juice. Add the remaining vegetables, and a sprinkle of olive oil. Place two slices of lemon on top.

5. Lift the wider edge of the paper and fold it over the top. Crimp the edges by pleating them over and over, or secure with string. There should be enough space between the ingredients and edge of the paper for the pouches to puff.

6. Set on a rimmed baking sheet. Cook for 10 minutes or until the fish is firm to the touch.

..to a field near you (if you live in Provence). I’m just starting to see the poppies that grow wild around here. Soon there will be fields of them.

There are iris growing wild as well.

Our very own, personal lilac bush. I’m sure they must grow wild somewhere too but I haven’t seen any.

Sideroads of Europe

There are a few things we would have done differently with our home had we known a few facts. Outside, we wouldn’t have had as much terracing down to the lower area and we wouldn’t have had a rock garden. We think it would have been better to have had our porch just go out the whole way but, what are you going to do? We have it and have to do a series of steps to get down to the bottom of our little hill.

Here is a view of the rock garden in rather poor light. When I took the picture I was more interested in the light than in the garden. The landscape lady that originally put in the garden mostly put in local succulents that I have seen growing on the hills and along the roads around here. The first couple of summers they grew like crazy and had all sorts of little flowers. This year they don’t look very happy. I’m guessing they go through cycles. She also put in some bushes that I call Pampas grass which also did well at first but now don’t do much of anything. I think the cold winters that we have here did a number on them. I cut back some of them and dug up the rest and planted some lavender plants and santalina just so we have a little color and variety. It’s hard to have a really good garden when you aren’t at the house all of the time. We never know what we will find when we return each Spring.

Anyway, here is a closeup of one of the rocks-thus, a rock garden. Many of them are slowing shattering since they are exposed to weather. I’d love to get some garden sculptures but they are very expensive here.

And, sigh, the snails are making a return. This is a big fellow, but I’m starting to see the darn little white ones. It won’t be long until I am once again engaged in full scale warfare with them. I’m going to put ashes around my vegetable garden this summer as apparently they don’t like ashes but it has to be replaced everytime it rains. Snails and weeds-it never ends.

Lucious French strawberries sprinkled with sugar. Does it get any better, or sweeter, than this?

“I guess I’ll hand my tears out to dry”. Isn’t that the name of a country western song? Being as it is April, we are getting all sorts of April showers. I tried to do my morning walk yesterday and half way through it started raining and I ended up soaked. It rained all night last night and this morning I saw a row of rain drops left on a bush. It is now so fresh and sunny and clean that I am going to get out there and try my walk yet again.

Sideroads of Europe