What I Did Last Summer

It has been a long summer since my last post, one that included two side trips from life, to Cape Cod and to Provence. I saw Julie & Julia just before the French trip and got inspired enough to plan cooking and sight seeing posts from my base of operations at the footof Mt. Ventoux. A problem with the wireless prevented that, but I did do some cooking and was able to get a few interesting pictures.

My visit was from mid August into September which is a time when the last summer fruits, the peaches, figs and grapes and of course tomatoes, are around and the pears are starting to come into the village markets. They were all the best I have ever tasted.

We went several times to an evening marché des producteurs to buy directly from the farmers at prices that were half what they get in the village. These are often the old timers that have been around since the war and the proof of their country ways is written on their faces. But they can be kind and really warm up when they see they are appreciated. One farmer had plateaus of peaches and figs stacked in the back of his small van. He insisted we sample a fig before buying and practically forced one in my mouth. It immediately split and gushed juice down my chin. It was so sweet, wet and voluptuous that it evinced thoughts of that certain female anatomy figs can sometimes symbolize. His peaches were large and plump with that firmness that just gives way when you bite into it and tasted more of peach honey than peach flesh.
Fig with Fourme d'Ambert

We had some friends visit from Prague and their 21 year old son and 24 year old son-in-law decided to ride their bikes up Mt. Ventoux. If you don't follow the Tour de France, it is where Lance Armstrong made his name for his unsurpassed performance ascending this 6,273 foot rock faster than anyone else. It's a long ride to the top and these young guys were famished when they got back to the house, despite each having eaten a whole dried saucisson and a loaf of bred at the summit.

They were our heroes that day for having done what none of the rest of us would dare to do and in their honor, I made up the Niçoise specialty, Pan Bagnat . This is a great sandwich. It usually starts with a bread like ficelle or baguette, but I knew they were hungry so I used a huge gros pain. To this I added chunky Mediterranean tuna, topped with sliced hard boiled egg, the best Nyons olives, tomatoes, lettuce and mayonnaise. It is a superb combination and there was actually enough for all of us to eat.