Just wanted to do a quick post today to let folks know that I have not swapped life in the fast lane for goat farming and wine making in the Languadoc. More's the pity!
I love trying new foods and learning about food culture every where I go and this trip was no exception. We especially loved the endless variety of dried sausages. I am not a big dried meat fan but there were so many kinds and they were GORgeous with a glass of wine and a bit of cheese in the afternoon. Particular to that area is a dried sausage called Fuet.
Where was your last holiday? Did you discover a new food that you loved? What was it?
Also of note was the loooooong Catalan cooked type sausage. There was about three feet of it! And very succulent it was too. Even though we were in France many of the people of that region still consider themselves Catalonian and there is a definite Spanish influence on the food. There was paella in abundance as well as sangria.
What is the food culture in your area? Is there a dominant theme or a delightful fusion?
I know it is a wee bit sad but I do love going to the grocery store when I am travelling. Just to see what people eat day to day and what foods are staples or special treats. Just all the different things! Desserts and snack foods especially can be very diverse.
For example the favourite cookie (or biscuit if you are English) of choice is a sandwich cookie that consists of two round scalloped rich tea type biscuits about two inches across with a chocolate icing in the middle. All different brands of them but all essentially the same thing. This is compared to the English biscuit staple: The Digestive. Or in North America the chocolate chip cookie.
Do you like browsing the grocery store when you are in a new place? What have been some of your discoveries?
Of course, being France, about thousand croissants and several hundred baguettes were had over the course of two weeks and the daily ritual of getting up and going to the boulangerie for breakfast things is lovely when you are on holiday.
It is also interesting to see what foods are cheaper and which ones are more expensive than at home. The cost of living in the area we were staying was quite high but figs, wine, sausage, bread, and cheese were to be had at bargain prices. And really what more do you need?
Wine was great. We just took our litre bottles down to the local bodega and filled them up for 1.50 euros a piece. And very drinkable it was too! Compared to £5 a go for a half way decent bottle of wine at home. Most of which is taxes and duty and ill advised attempts to get people to stop drinking by making alcohol more expensive.
All four of us took turns cooking (we were there with my 'rents) in a tiny silly kitchenette. My pasta bake went down a storm and we had SD's delicious chili garlic prawns and pasta twice because the green prawns were very reasonable and it was so delicious that my mum and dad insisted on it.
Do you eat in or out when you are on holiday?
Honey was mysteriously expensive. Even just the every day use stuff. We could not figure it out.
In complete opposition to Portugal, where my parents live, it is very expensive to eat out in France. Even in the non-touristy places. We could not really figure this out either as food in general is not expensive. Drinks out were an outrageous price every where. Again we didn't really understand why as buying it at the store was fairly cheap.
What are some of the food mysteries you have unearthed on your travels? Is celery strangely expensive in Texas? Are chicken wings to be had at knock down prices in Tuscany?
So we ate in most of the time and enjoyed each other's efforts enormously.
So what is on the agenda now that I have had a bit of a break?
I think it is time to review some of the project goals and see if it is on track or if it has gone off track a bit and if it has is the new track going in a better direction?
For more cooking tips from the weird and wonderful web follow the project on facebook. I will be trying to post more regularly on the page there.
A bientot grastronauts. More great stuff coming soon.
1 comments:
I wish I could visit the south of France. I hope you enjoyed your break.
We South Africans are often referred to as the 'rainbow nation'. We have 11 official languages but nothing shows our diversity more clearly than the food we eat. Here you will find traditional English, Dutch, German, Malay, Indian and even older African dishes. Our food originates from all over the world but still it remains fairly unique in its preparation.
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