Word Of Mouse

Especially for Jenny, some more thoughts on things food related.
Most fresh in my mind is the wonderful walk we had last week with my parents from Le Cayla to Lautrec. We found and feasted on a wide range of wild fresh fruits. First came the mirabelle sp? plums, which at first looked so sweet and delicious we didn't quite trust it not to be a disgyuise for something highly poisonous, but after further inspection my dad tucked in and we all followed suit. As we were still suffering no ill effect hours later on our return we picked a huge bag full. They were sweet fragrant and delicious. After the plums came the cherries, then the while mulberries, now these looked disgusting - rather like a swollen maggoty grub thing - but once you got over that then the taste was fantastic. There were also medlers but i didn't fancy waiting for one to get rotten enought to eat. I don't remember my last medler experience as a positive one. but maybe there are those of you out there who disagree?
A little later and the same path will bring sloes by the bucketful (no sloe gin for us this year but...), figs, walnuts and hazelnuts. what a dream. A little earlier and the red mulberries would still have been fresh too.
There's nothing quite like picking fresh food as you enjoy a beautiful walk in the sunshine.

other matters foody - well I know this is France and it's not the done thing to pick holes in food from a country famed for its cuisine but, well, let's just be frank, the French are as capable of producing unpaletable rubbish as the British. we have had some real shockers of meals served to us in what appear to be reasonabvle restaurants off the tourist trail. we've even seen french people uncopmlainingly swallowing this rubbish! I won't offend with too much detail but let us just say our worst suspicions were confirmed on sight of a Brake Bros van in Albi.
We've come across a few shockers for sale in shops too. lately having run out of teh delicious muselis bought in a string of lovely organic shops, we in desperation bought a crusty 6 fruit museli from the creators of fine fooods Grand Jury. It wasn't the sweetness or the liberal hand with the coconut that did it for me, but the thick coating of margarine like substance that hung to our spoons for days. But in a country that sells fruit yoghurt as a good source of fibre, why wouls museli be a healthy choice. hell it's disappointingly like home. other curiosities include crisps with both salt and salt flavouring ?! really.
What has been most trying however is teh search for vegetarian food. I'm not talking in restaurants here (though of course that's yet more of a challenge), but it is impossible to buy any kind of olive paste or pate that doesn't contain anchovies. poor malc returned triuphant one day with a tin of beans - you know just plain old pre boiled haricot beans - or so he thought. Clmoser inspection revealed a plain old bean could not be a plain old bean without the addition of a little chicken fat. well we've learnt now and we're doing rather well on the olf trangia cooking front - see our recipe section to follow. We also enjoyed a week of our own food in Le Cayla with real ovens and grills and everything. But let's not leave off on a sour note on this first food comment. Afterall why should teh French cater for us funny foreigners with our funny ways? we have indeed enjoyed very much fine food. The markets have been a complete joy, and we've learned to spot the producers with one or two lines straight from their own gardens. It's so great to be in a place where people want top by vegetables that look like vegetables rather than weak plastic immitations. And so much stuff is coming into season - melons cherries apricots courgettes aubergines tomatoesgarlic and pink garlic. we are loving it and looking forward to what our trip south and the developing season will bring.
Oh and there have been some fab restaurants too - the best ever wood fired oven cooked pizza place in Figeac and a the fabulous food of the Robinson in its bamboo surrounds on the river at Albi, to note but two.