Possibly my favourite place in the world to write from

I’m facing our return to the UK, with the usual mix of sadness and a bit of anticipation about favourite, familiar things. As usual, we’ll have eaten too much, drunk over our weekly units, and discovered some new things and places to eat.

I’ve spent a total of 10 weeks in the Charente Maritime and really love this area. So much to do and so much good food and drink. We’ve stayed in a gîte each time, mostly a group with others, and for 7 out of the 10 weeks had the most amazing times. Two of the not so good weeks we took a house out on its own, which I don’t really recommend for those with children who love the company of others.

But for the vast majority of time, we could not have been in a better place and that generally comes down to two things: great hosts and great people who were strangers when we first arrived. Or one or the other. Both being best.

We’ve only stayed in one place two years running, which tells you everything you need to know about our hosts. We would return like a shot. Our best “neighbours” have usually had a Celtic extract, especially those from Northern Ireland and Ireland in year one, who lived up to the reputation for drinking. And left all the bottles outside our door each morning.

We’ve had informal, impromptu meals that were full of laughter, quite a lot of drinking, some interesting cooking and a few disasters (we cannot forget Andy and Lee’s stuffed chicken à la Ainsley Harriott which took about 3 hours to cook). We’ve had meals out together, and tried new things together, like the barbecued mussels last year.

You can eat out, you can eat in. If you wanted to transport the contents of your fridge and freezer to your new home, but where’s the fun in that? I would say it’s the perfect food lovers break, as every day, certainly round here, is a gift of food exploration.

We’ve always booked directly with the owners, and of course it’s a bit hit and miss, but there are plenty of sites and opinions you can track down. I would only recommend Gîtes Beaumont out of those we’ve stayed on, and I would stay here again and again.

 Although after 10 weeks, I think there are new food adventures to be had next year, so feel free to book my slot!

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And I don’t mean there’s a danger of them selling out to big names, as is being suggested may be happen at home to some of our best loved food markets. Oh no, this is more like an outbreak, a rash…something you see about every 10 yards…

Patterned

Plain & simple

Multi-coloured

Girly pink

Just downright trendy

The shopping trolley, but not as we know it. Whilst I have spotted one square, boxy version in tartan with white wheels, most of these are trendy colours and designs. The sort of thing that most of us would not be too embarrassed to be seen with.

 And, lets face it, they are eminently practical for doing a market shop. Rather than give up half way round as your shopping is already too heavy you can keep on rolling, and tasting. France is somewhat ahead of the UK anyway in that supermarkets no longer give away plastic bags, so shopping bags generally are in greater supply, and in great designs.

 I’m just working out if I’ve got room for a trolley in amongst all the food and wine that is coming back. Whilst I am sure the trendies of Borough have already discovered these (there may even have been foodie warfare over a foot being runover or buttock rammed) these have yet to make it to the East Midlands.

 I’m thinking of starting an import business. Anyone want one? Although I have it on good authority that Oliver Bonas are already carrying them!

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Definitely worth a read

I’m not doing very well with my holiday reading, which is no fault of the book and more to do with fine weather and lots of things to do. After last year’s Cod, this year I am following up with Mark Kurlansky’s Salt: A World History, which is particularly appropriate given the proximity to several salt producers, and also the town of Brouage, which had much of its early development funded by the salt trade.

 Mark’s fascinating book contains all sorts of recipes using salt, so I thought it would make a good basis for this week’s Friday Five. Pass the salt please!

 * The Smoking & Curing Book by Paul Peacock – No need to panic, this will show you how can easily knock up your very own smoker out of a dustbin. Presumably not a plastic one or one that the council own! You also get easy to follow step-by-step guides to smoking and curing meat, poultry, game, fish and cheese, plus over 100 recipes for both cures and brines. Get making prize hams for Christmas now!

 * Charcuterie: The Craft of Salting, Smoking & Curing by Michael Ruhlman and Brian Polcyn – something we’re getting very familiar with on our sojourn to France. Expanding from the original definition around pork products, it now term encompasses a large range of possibilities, most of which involve salting, cooking, smoking and drying. Here the authors have expanded the definition even further to include anything preserved or prepared ahead such as rillettes, confit, pickles and sauerkraut. I would want to try the crab, scallop and saffron terrine but would probably start with spicy smoked almonds. I like that the recipes are described as “intriguing to professionals and accessible to home cooks”. Sounds perfect.

* Manual of a Traditional Bacon Curer by Maynard Davies – Mr Davies is the last of the traditional bacon apprentice-boys, and now retired as a master-curer. Up until researching these books, I had no idea there were such things but here he shares his lifetime’s knowledge of the art of smoking and curing. Benefit from his experience of how it used to be done, from choosing the best raw ingredients, to building your own smokehouse, to the secrets of making the best sausage. With 60 years of expertise to pass on, this should guarantee great results, and a fascinating read. No wonder he’s one of Rick Stein’s food heroes.

* Making Artisan Cheese: Fifty Fine Cheeses That You Can Make in Your Own Kitchen by Tim Smith – Ah yes, artisan cheese, something else that’s been a feature of the last 10 days. This book gives you instructions to make your own, which you could then give away as great foodie gifts, or just keep the good stuff yourself!  And you can’t make great cheese without salt really, so does fit this category. This is not a sideline for Tim Smith off the Steve Wright Show, but Tim Smith cheese authority and international cheese buyer who lives, makes cheese and writes in Connecticut. Just so we’re clear!

* Keeping the Harvest: Preserving Your Fruits, Vegetables and Herbs, Canning, Jams and Jellies, Freezing, Pickling, Drying, Curing, Cold Storage by Nancy Thurber, Gretchen Mead and Nancy Chioffi – Winner of this week’s longest title award, this covers freezing, canning, jams, jellies, pickles, relishes, brine curing, and drying vegetables, fruits, and berries. Which means you’ve got just about everything covered across all these titles.

 My salt consumption has definitely gone up since we got here, but I think I am consuming mine all in the form of salted caramel, one of the most divine creations ever. Particularly in the form of ice cream. Hoping it catches on in the UK really soon. Ed Kimber is trying his best, check out his recipe for Salted Caramel and Chocolate Popcorn Bars. Will definitely be giving these a go when I get home!

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Pretty, but expensive - MYO

I was out and about in Mornac-sur-Seudre yesterday, a very pretty village, now a very artistic community on the banks of the river. It has pretty shops and restaurants; you could head out in canoes along the river, or just watch the world go by from a terrace with a glass of pineau.

If you have kids, then be sure to stop in at La Fée Nougatine when they are making bois caissée, a boiled sweet. They’ll be fascinated by the way the sugar goes from transparent and gloopy to opaque and stripy, not to mention a complete change of colour. Yesterday was raspberry so it went from red to pink.

Whilst in there I picked up a great gift, a bag of ingredients for rice pudding. We have a tropical fruits version to look forward to but there were vanilla, chocolate banana, rose even violet versions on offer. Nicely packaged, simple to make when you’re home…just an incredible price really at 6€80. In the old days of 1€50 to the pound it would have been better, but for most people I wouldn’t buy this, I wrote mine off to research.

It is the simplest thing: pudding rice, vanilla sugar and some glace fruits. Which means it would be really simple to put together yourself as a gift. For any event really, but those when the weather is colder would be ideal, when everyone would be craving a little comfort food.

A heavyweight plastic bag (Lakeland bound to have something suitable) and maybe print the recipe onto a label, or hand write it if you’ve got decent handwriting. Go with fancy with the ribbon, or rustic with string. Add in cinnamon sticks and whole nutmegs, mini graters, wooden spoons, miniatures of spirits (sure a Baileys rice pudding would be amazing), anything you fancy really, and you’ve got a great homemade gift for not very much.

Lets face it, with the VAT going up, January is going to feel more bleak than usual so perhaps saving a little on whatever festivities go before, without feeling like you’re scrimping, might not feel like a bad idea.

And you could use this idea with anything that is primarily dry ingredients, like biscuits or hearty soup mixes. You do see these in these in the shops but, like yesterday’s shopping experience, they are very expensive and something that you can easily do it home. It also doesn’t take too much skill or time, and kids would love doing it. Maybe a funnel would be a useful bit of kit to add in!

With things not getting any easier for anyone, then I think homemade is going to be more acceptable than ever, and making it tasty and interesting has to be the way to go. Anyone doing anything interesting?

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Get off le beaten track!

As usual, we have decamped to France, although a week later than usual, meaning we’ve missed out on the Bastille Day festivities/eating opportunities. We’ll be making up for lost time!

Along with a stack of other books, I’ve got a copy of Alastair Sawday’s Go Slow France, which kind of sums up our approach to these trips: somewhere nice to stay, slow travel and slow food. We are in the West, in the Charente Maritime, and Alastair only has one place in this area, Le Clos de La Garenne. Sounds marvellous, and worth a trip.

But the book seems to have a very southern bias, perhaps illustrating the British obsession with Provence and possibly guaranteed sunshine. There are whole swathes through the middle of France which would appear to have nothing to commend themselves, and quite a few of the regions around here too.

We’ve been to this area, probably within a 20 mile radius, for the past 4 years. We’ve ticked off all the big things: La Rochelle Aquarium (more times than I care to count, but perfect for a rainy day or with toddlers), La Palmyre Zoo (reminds me why I don’t like zoos), Ile de Ré, a tour of a Cognac producer or two… I could go on. What I love though is last year and so far this year we are exploring the smaller places, the ones that tend to get overlooked.

Ile d’Oléron is the poor relation of Ile de Ré, as anyone can go onto Oléron, not just those with the money for the toll. Of course it’s a bad idea to go between Friday and Sunday night, but the rest of the week it has idyllic, quiet and sheltered beaches, as well as lively, active, surf crashing type beaches.

And it’s not short of great eating. Last time we went St Denis d’Oléron, it was pouring down with rain and all we could see was a campsite complete with tacky looking snack bar and amusements.

We didn’t stop.

Had we gone on about 300 yards we would have come to a delightful little run of small restaurants and bars overlooking the marina. We had a very relaxed meal at Bistrot du Port, with good galettes, interesting house aperitifs (Cognac, tonic water, sugar syrup and peach syrup) and fabulous ice creams and crepes (the one with the fleur de sel caramel ice cream being our favourite). The only downside to me was that I had about the worst fish ever. You would think sitting on the quayside it would be impossible to get bad fish. You would think grilling a piece of sea-bream was child’s play. Apparently not. Everyone else loved their dinner though.

We also have good recommendations for L’Annexe and Restaurant Fleur de Thym on the same run of buildings, and Quai 17 if you want mussels or seafood. We’ll definitely be going back, as the view and ambiance were both terrific. Very chilled, very friendly.

 And whilst I’m saving a trip to the market at La Rochelle for my birthday, the daily market at Fouras was also delightful. Two covered markets, one devoted purely to fish and shellfish, the other with everything from fruit and veg, through a great cheese stall, charcuterie and artisanal macaroons, the cupcake of France.

 If you venture to the centre of these towns, shop like you live here, eat and drink like you live here, then not only will your Euros go further but it’s a more authentic view of the way things happen day to day. Of course it means you’ll come out of the loo at the back of the bar to find a stranger at the urinal whilst you wash your hands, but just shrug in your most Gallic way and carry on!

One of the challenges of books like Slow France is that almost by featuring them they gain in their popularity, therefore risking losing some of the things that made them special in the first place. I think you can safely visit all of the places I’ve mentioned in 5 years time and discover them not suffering from the Tarver effect of over-exposure!

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I’m nearly always in France for my birthday, and this year, like the last 4, around here in the Charente Maritime. Which means birthday days I know exactly what I want to do:

Get up early and head to the market in La Rochelle

My favourite market

 Work my way through the fabulous fruit and veg, and then head inside for everything else. Charcuterie, traiteur, some boudin noir with onions this year, amazing pain d’eipces…

Aisles of heaven

Once the ingredients for a great lunch are all together, head down the side of the market for a simple but great breakfast. My favourite place dishes out great chunks of baguette with a huge tub of local honey and a variety of jams.

A simple breakfast

A bit of non-food shopping later and then, what a surprise, we find ourselves outside of here:

Abandon hope of not eating ice cream...

This is the best ice cream place ever to me, and every year there are new temptations. To stop at one is hard, but I guess one should leave room for lunch!

None of this one for all business

And that would see me through to lunchtime, which was just the preparation for dinner! Happy days!

A birthday lunch in the making

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Tracking down the green fairy

I like a drink. It may have been obvious from other posts. Along with being quite partial to all kinds of food. So being selected for an absinthe tasting was hardly a chore.

The people behind Absinthe Shop kindly sent a sample, and a beautifully fashioned spoon. And it certainly caused a stir and much commentary from visitors to the house, as they looked at the bottle and spoon. Everyone knows the stories: the lost weekends, the mad poets, painters and other artists of Paris. It has a bohemian aura and glamour, all tinged with the hint of the dramatic and possible adventure.

It appears that drinking the stuff neat is rather gauche, possibly desperate, and hence the lovely spoon. Carefully place your sugar cube on the spoon over your glass and let the absinthe drip through. This is the best way to get the full flavours, with the sugar bringing out the blend of herbs and spices, including the notorious wormwood. It also stops the dominant aniseed flavour that you get if you drink it neat.

And there are a great many enthusiasts, if not downright connoisseurs. Don’t believe me? Check out the rave reviews of The Wormwood Society Absinthe Association.

And me? Me, I’m all talk, as the bottle is still sat there. Because unbelievably there is not a sugar cube to be found in the house. I can imagine it’s one of those things that will sit there till the end of a drunken dinner party; till we all decide it’s a great idea, like Sambuca. I’d like to think it would turn me into Kylie as the Green Fairy in Moulin Rouge. I think it’s more likely by the point I try it in the general drinking proceedings to turn me into Shrek.

I’ll keep you posted.

Fabulous photo by eschipul over on Flickr.

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Melton Mowbray, ruler of rural food

Being in the Midlands, we’re not short of counties. Leave home in Leicestershire, cross briefly into Lincolnshire, arrive at work in Nottinghamshire…if I detoured a few miles I could clock up Derbyshire as well, all before elevenses. Which possibly explains why there are a number of local magazines devoted to food and why there is some crossover.

 And, lets face it, everyone wants a bit of the Melton Mowbray Pork Pie and Stilton stories, so there are some definite themes to writing around here. The first edition of Great Food Leicestershire & Rutland got posted through the door recently, and I also happened to be in Waitrose in Nottingham and saw they were stocking Nottinghamshire Flavours, and thought it would be interesting to see how the two compared.

 I’ve bought Nottinghamshire Flavours before, so I did know what I was in for. Compact, A5 size, with the look of being assembled on the PC at home, but with interesting articles covering local producers and places to eat, recipes and tips for your veg patch, as well as news from further afield. No, I don’t mean Birmingham; this edition covers a foodie weekend in Budapest, some Hungarian recipes and an article about the sweet wines of Hungary.

 But I can forgive the lack of design, even cutting off the edges of some pages (although some advertisers may be less forgiving) as generally the features are interesting, there’s always somewhere in there that is either new to me, or a good reminder that I need to go back there, and it is only £1.50. I have no idea how they make it pay. Or if it’s written off to the advertising budget for Adelanta Travel, who appear to be behind most of the advertising, and I’m not sure which is an offshoot of which, with the publisher being Adelanta Publishing.

 Great Food Leicestershire & Rutland is an altogether more professional looking affair, which made me assume when it first came through the door that it was a council publication. Leicestershire have been pretty good at recognising the food credentials of the county in recent years, so it wouldn’t have surprised me. But this is the first edition of a consumer magazine, perhaps explaining why it was so slender, but with a cover price of £3.20. I could, of course, subscribe and get 6 issues for £15.

 Or I could just wait and see what happens.

 That said, I enjoyed the content, and some great local producers were featured or writing for the magazine. The Olive Branch will be featuring their All-Stars, which if you’ve eaten at The Olive Branch or Red Lion Inn you may well be familiar with, as they’ve been featuring on the menu for well over 8 years now. In this edition it’s about the rose veal from Lower Grange Farm, which I can personally testify is everything you would want veal to be. Especially when the team at the Red Lion Inn did veal kebabs for a school event!

 Again, this is very much focused on local producers, retailers and eating places, with a side course of Italian and Indian food. Given that Leicester is set to be the first British city with no overall ethnic majority, then it’s no surprise to see some of that diversity already being recognised, and I hope they plough through more of the city’s rich culinary diversity.

 I would say, on reflection, that there is room for both magazines, as each area is proud of its traditions. There is more advertising support already in Great Food, but then I imagine Nottinghamshire Flavours has lower overheads and production costs. If you’re looking for interesting insights into local food in one of the three counties, I would recommend them to you, certainly as a one off purchase. I’ll be keeping my eye on Great Food, to see how they keep the content flowing, and how they make that £3.20 feel great value for money.

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Lets wibble and wobble

In some ways, I wish I wasn’t off to France, as I would most definitely have been heading to London for the Courvoisier and Bompas & Parr Complete History of Food. I love that it’s described as like Heston’s feast but on a grander scale, which is really ramping things up!

I think they are so creative, and exciting. This event is described as an exciting walk-through dining experience and multi-course meal charting key revolutionary periods in food history. Who wouldn’t want to try that? And I’m very partial to a bit of time travel, and this is supposed to be like travelling through time eating and drinking food from London’s top restaurants. The deeper you go in the building the further back in time you go. If they can throw in David Tennant too, I’ll be in heaven.

A ticket gives you a meal and four cocktails, and memories of a spectacular occasion. Sadly though, tickets are all sold out, so you’d be resorting to begging, borrowing or stealing now. Or knocking up a few jellies of your own perhaps. If you’ve got £600 going spare, Bompas & Parr will create you your own bespoke mould, or you could try Lakeland. They have racing cars and rabbits, not to mention pretty shapes, bugs and butterflies.

I’m thinking of a full on retro moment (come on, Heston did the 70′s but he didn’t do this) and I think I’m going to do church mice in the grass. How else do you turn tinned pears and a green jelly into a dish to grab the imagination? I know it’s not up there with what Bompas & Parr do, but it’s a start!

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Bring on the cake!

It’s my birthday next week, and just in case you’re stuck on what to get me, then I’ve just pulled 5 random titles out of my wishlist. Unsurprisingly, there’s a food theme going on here!

The Flavour Thesaurus by Niki Segnit – why one flavour works with another, and a whole raft of suggestions on exciting new combinations to try.

In Defence of Food: The Myth of Nutrition and the Pleasures of Eating: An Eater’s Manifesto by Michael Pollan - something to read outside of the kitchen, and one that celebrates real, proper, simple food. Perfect

The Whimsical Bakehouse: Fun-To-Make Cakes That Taste as Good as They Look! by Kaye Hansen – come on, you wouldn’t expect me not to have something around cute baking, would you?

Forgotten Skills of Cooking: The time-honoured ways are the best – over 700 recipes show you why by Darina Allen - I’m having a retro food moment, and also looking forward to harvest time coming up next month, and I guess this will give me plenty to go at!

 Moomins Cookbook- I’m enjoying rediscovering the land of the Moomins with MGG, and so really thrilled to find they’ve done a cookbook, which we can have fun cooking from together. And I don’t have another cookbook on Finnish food.

But really, you shouldn’t, I’ve had plenty of these birthdays before, no need to make a fuss. How old? Old enough!

Birthday cake photo by Jessica Diamond.

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