A Winter Walk and a French Lunch
Much to everyone’s surprises (even mine) it gets cold in Provence. Since Christmas we have had a mix of snow, a little rain and some very cold mornings and evenings. If the sun is not out, it really does feel and look like winter here. There are no leaves on the trees, the flowers are not in bloom and the sky can look dark when the sun is not shining.
Yesterday, I was invited to lunch in a little town called Puyricard. I know a couple of people that live there and it is a cute little countryside town about 15 minutes outside of Aix. It was meant to be an English lesson but it turned into a beautiful walk and a typical French lunch. We left the house and went on an hour or so walk which took us through many fields and winding country roads. Although it was difficult to discern what exactly would be growing in each of the fields we passed, I was told that there are lavender fields, olive groves, wine vineyards, wheat farms (she told me “cereal”😂) and just about everything else you may find at the market. There wasn’t a home that didn’t have some kind of field surrounding it and many of them had a patch of land covered in vines. I can only imagine the wine cellars in these, not so humble, abodes.
At each turn, the Mount Saint Victoire loomed in the distance. On this day, she was trying to peak through the clouds and although partially hidden, her presence was as strong as ever. My friend said that she’d love to have a little house where she could sit every morning over coffee and look out at this beautiful view. Who wouldn’t?
As we walked through fields and wooded paths, we saw signs of wild boar that had made their way through the area. We wound our way amongst big ditches where they’d gone digging during the night. It’s amazing the damage and how deep the ditches are that these animals dig in their quest for food. I once saw a friends garden after an evening of moon light feasting, nearby. The whole yard was a mess of turned earth where hungry beasts had come in search of a meal. Thankfully, they are nocturnal. I don’t think I’d want to come across one of these creatures. They seem dangerous.
After our long walk and talk (mainly in French) we went home to have a little lunch. I’m always amazed at the effort that goes into these French meals. My host did the usual. She started by pulling out the cheese, eggs, salad and bread and then shouted, “Ohhh, I have some truffle, leftover. Let’s make a little omelet”. It sounded great. So, I stood in her kitchen as she peeled away at every leaf of lettuce, spinach and fennel that she had and washed each piece with care. I offered to dry it in the salad spinner which had a pully on it almost like a dolls toy when you want it to speak. So I stood there, pulling and pulling at this little string to get all of the water out of the lettuce. As I did that, my friend grated the big piece of truffle. She asked me to smell. “Ahh, comme c’est bon!”, she cried. She then grabbed the little container it had been sitting in and smelled it like a bottle of perfume, looking at me, eyes wide open, then placing it under my nose. “Smell. Isn’t it wonderful?!”. I had to agree, it smelled amazing. So, after she sniffed the truffle, cleaned the lettuce, grated a carrot to put in the salad, she broke the eggs and got ready to make her omelet. I noticed that she put a big chunk of butter in the pan, moved it around and made sure the whole pan was covered, put in the scrambled eggs and just let them cook, untouched. Once they were almost finished, she sprinkled the whole pan with the truffle. That was it! It was one of the nicest meals I’d had in awhile. We ate this with the salad and then we continued with some more salad and cheese. Everything was fresh and everything was local. This was the best part.
It was a really nice day. 11,000 steps, beautiful scenery and a simple French lunch that was to die for. I can’t wait for our next English lesson (LOL)