Since I have arrived in southern france, i have become obsessed with food.
It all started with the markets. In Aix, there are several outdoor markets. One takes place every day in a small square in town which is surrounded by cafés. vendors sell local honey (my favorite is lavander honey), wonderful fresh produce, whole fish, whole roast chickens, cheese, sausage, bread, herbs, and flowers. There is another larger market near the palais de justice which happens three times a week (teus, thurs, and sunday) where you can get all of that and then some. There is food on one half and a flea market of sorts on the other. You can get local olive oil, sun dried tomatoes, mushrooms and truffles, spices, nuts, dried fruit, bio products, eggs, whole skinned rabbits, octopus stew, chevre tarts, pies- you name it, chances are its there. You can also get old books, vintage post cards, leather bags, scarves, fur coats, shoes, underwear, socks, kitchen appliances, little tin lanterns, hand made baskets, lavender, soaps, used cds, and tacky metal signs. I try to go to the market as often as possible and try whatever is currently in season. When I arrived, figs were in season. I had never had a fresh fig before, and they are the new love of my life. I actually found a couple of fig trees in and around aix and picked a small basket full. Then it was peaches and nectarines, squash and apples, kaki and clementines, and i think currently its litchi and star fruit.
In the dorm, I have a small refrigorater and access to a microwave and hotplates. Unfortunately, no oven. Eating out is very expensive in Aix, so i tend to prepare most of my meals myself. here are a few of my favorite dishes to make in the dorm:
- sautaued vegetables with couscous and curry, cumin, and tumeric
- lentils with squash, spinach, and zucchini and cumin and salt
- spaghetti with eggplant, zucchini, onion, garlic, basil
- fish ( its fun to fillet yourself, though there will be scales everywhere), lemon, butter, and basil
-home made french fries
-apples sauteed in orange juice with crumbled buiscuits
-crepes with just about anything, though i like mushrooms with creme frais and ham
we cook almost every night, and weve had to get creative to keep from getting bored. But what started out as a practicality has become a new hobby. I love cooking!
This week a friend of mine is dog sitting for one of the directrices in our program. We went over to her house tonight and cooked an apple pie. However, we didnt have a pie dish so it was more like an enormous apple casserole or loaf. We used granny smith apples, and a crust of butter, rapeseed oil, sugar, salt, and vanilla. We had to combine several recipes for the crust, I may want to experiment with proportions. It turns out there are four basic components in any pie crust: salt, sugar, liquids, and fats. the liquid can be water, fruit juice, or milk, but should be very cold. The fat could be butter, oil, shortening, or lard.
Id also like to try it with ground walnuts in the topping and either dried cherries or cranberries mixed in the crust. As it was, it was wonderful. I never thought id bake my first apple pie in france!
I've been collecting recipes and ideas to bring home, and will try to post some of my favorites soon!
It all started with the markets. In Aix, there are several outdoor markets. One takes place every day in a small square in town which is surrounded by cafés. vendors sell local honey (my favorite is lavander honey), wonderful fresh produce, whole fish, whole roast chickens, cheese, sausage, bread, herbs, and flowers. There is another larger market near the palais de justice which happens three times a week (teus, thurs, and sunday) where you can get all of that and then some. There is food on one half and a flea market of sorts on the other. You can get local olive oil, sun dried tomatoes, mushrooms and truffles, spices, nuts, dried fruit, bio products, eggs, whole skinned rabbits, octopus stew, chevre tarts, pies- you name it, chances are its there. You can also get old books, vintage post cards, leather bags, scarves, fur coats, shoes, underwear, socks, kitchen appliances, little tin lanterns, hand made baskets, lavender, soaps, used cds, and tacky metal signs. I try to go to the market as often as possible and try whatever is currently in season. When I arrived, figs were in season. I had never had a fresh fig before, and they are the new love of my life. I actually found a couple of fig trees in and around aix and picked a small basket full. Then it was peaches and nectarines, squash and apples, kaki and clementines, and i think currently its litchi and star fruit.
In the dorm, I have a small refrigorater and access to a microwave and hotplates. Unfortunately, no oven. Eating out is very expensive in Aix, so i tend to prepare most of my meals myself. here are a few of my favorite dishes to make in the dorm:
- sautaued vegetables with couscous and curry, cumin, and tumeric
- lentils with squash, spinach, and zucchini and cumin and salt
- spaghetti with eggplant, zucchini, onion, garlic, basil
- fish ( its fun to fillet yourself, though there will be scales everywhere), lemon, butter, and basil
-home made french fries
-apples sauteed in orange juice with crumbled buiscuits
-crepes with just about anything, though i like mushrooms with creme frais and ham
we cook almost every night, and weve had to get creative to keep from getting bored. But what started out as a practicality has become a new hobby. I love cooking!
This week a friend of mine is dog sitting for one of the directrices in our program. We went over to her house tonight and cooked an apple pie. However, we didnt have a pie dish so it was more like an enormous apple casserole or loaf. We used granny smith apples, and a crust of butter, rapeseed oil, sugar, salt, and vanilla. We had to combine several recipes for the crust, I may want to experiment with proportions. It turns out there are four basic components in any pie crust: salt, sugar, liquids, and fats. the liquid can be water, fruit juice, or milk, but should be very cold. The fat could be butter, oil, shortening, or lard.
Id also like to try it with ground walnuts in the topping and either dried cherries or cranberries mixed in the crust. As it was, it was wonderful. I never thought id bake my first apple pie in france!
I've been collecting recipes and ideas to bring home, and will try to post some of my favorites soon!
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