Caught these two French ladies sitting quietly watching the world go by on the Ile de Ré this week. Each with a straw hat, each with a beer. This is exactly what I want to be doing when I’m their age. Drinking beer with a straw hat and a fancy cane to keep me steady.
Veraison is the point at which grapes start to change colour. Black grapes that until this point are green, take on a pink or purple hue and white grapes change from green to a slightly more golden colour. It marks the transition from berry growth to berry ripening.
Sometimes we get the chance to taste something offbeat and delicious and this wine that we enjoyed with friends this week, certainly fit the bill.
You can buy pastry in any French supermarket and I certainly don’t judge anyone for using it as it saves time, comes rolled and is ready to slide into a tin. But, it’s not quite as good as homemade. Probably because when I make my own I use rather large quantities of really good fresh butter
I was introduced to Maroilles cheese by my first French au pair Marie 22 years ago. She came from Tourcoing near Lille and Maroilles was her local cheese.
In France, meat is butchered in a very different way to what we were familiar with in the UK (and the USA I imagine).
Saucesse de Morteau (a delicious smoked sausage) is a protected product which means it must meet the strict regulations that surround its production.
