bonjour from au petit bonheur

Monday, like the weekend was hot hot hot a very lovely twenty four degrees, the clarity of the mountains was superb. There is something magical or maybe comforting about being bathed in heat and looking at mountains covered in snow.  Like everywhere in spring there are new shoots and wild flowers sprouting up all over the place and i am forever consulting my books for another species that i have found, but here are some you will recognise

We have had the convenience of a small casino ( no not betting) local french mini market. Three years ago it shut down and we were sad, mainly for the people, great characters that ran it. It was very good as it was positioned on our doorstep. Two years down the line it is a fruit and veg shop again. As it finds its feet it will continue to evolve its product range. A lot of local produce are finding space on their shelves. 

Another great, and should be the norm (but sadly isn't) concept, is not to throw the food in bins, better to sell it off cheap, for a soup or a meal, cook it and stick it in the freezer…….

i suppose things go at a slower pace here allowing people to try out the latter. I picked up a kilo of the most devine smelling apples for a euro, their only crime were they were just going a little soft and their skins a bit wrinkled (sounds familiar!)

A bit of perseverance ie skinning and coring,  and then cooking down with some fresh ginger and lemon rind, and they are a great compote for breakfast with some bran and yoghurt. We also had another shot at the fougasse this time with olives and rosemary and it was much better this time, less likely to injure a window.

The star this week was creating our very own mini potager , the idea of how big and where it landed was Chris and Marc's idea …i had grander schemes but probably at this time not practical. Anyway this one was hard enough to make large enough, just to house last weeks pots from the market. I  still need to accommodate the baby toms, and i am after some sorrel to complete the plot.

I am happy that everything is planted now, I  just need to sort the cobweb pantry…but i think i have a couple of months for that.

last weeks purchases from the foire aux fleurs

on that premise we played (ok so we are doing that most of the time?) saturday i finished the potager and later we caught up with Mirley and Cycle in Larroque, avec brian and janet,  for a good fun evening, with some lovely food and wine. The cherries were amazing, and thanks michael for a french classic with your own personal twist on it…fab 

if i do go on too much about the mountains sorry …but my other great love is stargazing and tonight all can say is wow! the stars and the clarity here are just mind blowing. The only place i have seen it this crystal clear (the night sky that is) is in costa rica…….truly amazing

The morning after there was a  sheepish rumour that Jessica Ennis had turned up in the baaaaar for a late morning coffee or beer it or rather she turned  out to be a 11 week old baby lamb, apparently her mother was a very good runner, Simon and Alastair's new pet!!! .

We finished a fun filled weekend with a spot of archery in Chelan with Hugo and Suzanne, a first for Marc and I, well certainly with a proper bow and arrows.