Our French Impressions:  a taste of France, virtually...
 
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We were visiting L'Ousteau de Beaumaniere in Les Baux-de-Provence and apart from the very famous restaurants and gardens, there is also a lovely shop that sells homewares, food, wine and jewellery.
One collection of silver bracelets, hearings and other adnorments caught our eyes and the lovely lady in the shop mentioned that the artist was actually local and lived and worked down the road (route d'Arles), and was practically open for business 24/7.
So we took our time and visited the other restaurant at La Cabre d'Or and their gardens and finally ended up  chez Jacques Moniquet.
This is the most amazing place...small shop and a few showcases full of the most amazing silver jewellery I have ever seen. In order to understand where I am coming from, one of my old time friends used to work for the best Paris houses, and also I have been exposed to the traditional silver craft in Tasco, Mexico, going back centuries.
So I am familiar with the ancient traditions as well as the most modern pieces.
And here I was, incapable of uttering a single word, just looking and absorbing what was on offer...
Jacques saw my bewilderment and started slowly to tell us about his wonderful craft:
First of all, there are no two pieces the same (and there are a couple of hundreds on display) and then his techique is quite unique as he is forging the metal into these Noebius inspired designs by hammering the metal into his elaborate creations.
The metal then acquires different properties, including a natural spring effect.
Next step, we were in his workshop, where he is showing us how he does it, starting by plying copper rods into his will, then when satisfied with the shape, repeating the process on the much more expensive silver.
After quite a while, we went back to the showroom, and by then, it was clear he had us hooked, and ready to try some of his collection on ourselves.
Jacques also noticed I was wearing a wedding ring by Frank Gehry and a very unusual silver bracelet, which shape went around the wrist bone very confortably( bought on the Grand Place in Brussels 20 years ago, and in dire need of an upgrade...). So here we are trying bracelets, and after molto discussions and trials, we settled on a very smart piece for an undisclosed amount of euros, but certainly worthwhile, specially as a belated birthday present...
And since we visited, Jacques has put together a website...http://www.moniquet.com
 
 
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If you are in Provence, rush to L'Isle sur la Sorgue, the gateway to the Fontaine de Vaucluse, and host of the biggest Antiques Fair in Europe besides the more permanent markets of Paris and London.
Arrive early to find a parking spot, book your lunch or dinner at one of the beautiful restaurants there. Our favourite is Cafe Fleurs right in the centre of town on the island, overlooking the river Sorgue and serving a wonderfull fare at reasonable prices. Try the balcony for lunch (menu plaisir for 37 euros) or the main room for dinner.
The Fair hosts over 350 merchants, keen to show (and sell...) their wares.
If you miss the Fair in August, there is another one, although smaller in scale on the Easter week-end.
Find more about L'isle sur la Sorgue and La Fontaine de Vaucluse in our Travel?provence section here
 
 
Uzes 06/08/2010
 
Uzes has been on our radar for quite some time, because of the its proximity to the famous Roman made Pont du Gard and its famous pots.
It has become even closer to our heart as our friends Nicki & Mark have bought an appartment there that they rent out most of the year, unless they are enjoy it themselves as recently in June.
You can check it here
Read our full report on this fabulous city, keen to replace St Remy on your list of to do things when in Provence...
 
 
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Our friends Nicki and Mark, great francophiles "down under", were running out of inspiration for cooking their own dinners, so I thought I would post for them  a very simple dinner of  garlic prawns, vermicelli and cherry tomatoes. Check it here 
 
 
A number of our readers have expressed interest in contributing stories and photos to this blog.
We are now ready to accept them and publish the best ones.
We are mainly interested in stories about Paris and Provence at this stage, but we will eventually wander into Bordeaux and Burgundy.
We are also open to your suggestions: maybe there is a part of France that you would like us to feature...Let us know.
We cannot reward you with money, but here is a way to get some exposure as a writer or photographer or both.
We will from time to time recognize a particularly good contribution  with a gift in a form of a good bottle of wine or a special French "something"

So get your e-pen and e-paper and write to us via our Contact page.

Hope to hear from you soon.
 
 
I had a business meeting recently with one of our suppliers who lives in a famous building by the Harbour in Sydney. He had booked the library in the building as we were going to install some new software on my computer, and that has given us grief over a few meetings already, so we welcomed the peace and quiet.
As he was setting up, I was free to roam the shelves of the library, and my eye caught a white spine with the word "Cuisine" on it - why are you not surprised???.
But I got a surprise when I opened it...
It was a recipe book written and illustrated by no other than Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, the French artist famous for his paintings - and his love of life, ladies and absinthe...
I was not aware he had written such a tome, and illustrated it with the most amazing drawings and paintings. I wonder how and where I could find a copy...help is welcome!
I am sure you all know of Claude Monet, king of Impressionists, and famous for his hospitality and cuisine, with his most treasured recipes confined to a "Carnet the Cuisine" duly published in 1989 by Les Editions du Chene. You can buy it in English here.
I know because I bought a copy in Giverny in the summer of 1990, when we visited with our new born boy. We ended up having lunch in one of the restaurant at the entrance of the village (Les Jardins de Giverny), in the garden, and who walked in to share this lovely space ? No other than Mel Brooks and his wife, in France for the American Film Festival.
A few few weeks later, we were sitting at Cafe de Flore in St Germain-des-Pres, and Jack Nicholson passed by, and greeted us with a nice comment on our new arrival.
I wonder if these early encounters have anything to do with the same young boy, now turning 20 next Friday, starting a career in filmmaking...
My mum has written her own "Carnets" for me and here is a sample of a page, showing her recipe of "beurre blanc" a classic French sauce. (see text in our "recipes" page)
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Food is all about celebration and connections really, so apart from the exchange of gifts, a tradition anchored in the night of times (dans la nuit des temps...), a birthday would not be complete without the partaking of a nice meal, in this case dinner.
Our boy is away in the Alps riding mountain bikes in Les Gets and off to Castiglioncello in Italy next week, so it is only the three of us.
As you may recall from my last post, we had bought zucchini flowers, goat cheese and scallops from the markets today and I had bought some magret de canard yesterday to recreate a dish that I sampled recently in Melbourne at the Waterfront in Southbank - a very nice place indeed, although you will find a collection of bad reviews for it.
Let's say that I sat at the bar and watched the kitchen buzz, which I really enjoy, and I could not fault any of the dishes being prepared, plated up and served. My meal came quickly enough, the service was attentive and the maitre d knowledgeable about the wine list.
Anyway, moving on to my own kitchen, I prepared baked zucchini with ricotta filling and pecorino as per Carmel's Kitchen recipe (Zav's wife...) and here it is:
Remove the pistils from the flowers and fill with ricotta
Spray olive oil in a baking tray, lay the flowers into tray, season and sprinkle with grated pecorino
Bake for 15mn in oven at 180 degrees Celsius
Serve as an entree.
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For the main course, I prepared scallops with duck magret, asparagus and endives.
This is not difficult to prepare, but difficult to serve hot and still rose for the duck, and warm for the scallops...
So, here we go:
Braise the endives until transparent but not fully cooked to keep them almost crunchy.
I achieve that in a pan with a little olive oil, the endives shredded, seasoned and covering the pan with a lid on low heat for 15/20mn. Keep warm in a bowl.
In the same pan, cook the small asparagus and the duck sliced in 3mm thick morsels.
Warm your oven to 120 degrees, place your plates on different trays for 10mn until lukewarm
Plate up the endives in the middle, the aspatragus next to the duck slices and leave enough space in between for the scallops. Put back in the oven after covering with aluminium foil or baking paper to prevent the duck to dry.
Go and enjoy your entree with your guests and a glass of wine.
Then, pan fry the scallops in a large pan with olive oil and some butter, as you want them to cook in a similar way.
30 seconds on one side until brown, then turn them over for another 30 seconds.
Sprinkle with the juice of  half a kaffir lime to deglaze the pan.
Remove plates from the oven, plate up the scallops, and serve immediately...yum!
Serve with your favourite Chardonnay and enjoy with no moderation, you are done for the day!
Serve goat cheese with nuts and raisins bread to finish. And enjoy the company of your happy guests:
Happy Birthday, Trish!
 
 
July is a busy month for me, as my wife, my sister, my late grandmother and one of my sons have their birthday in July!
So today is my "special girl's" birthday, and we start the day early by going to the Pyrmont Growers Market for breakfast. A quick visit to Zav's stand for zucchini flowers, and to Willowbrae Cheese to have a chat with David and buy some of his goat cheese. Being a gentleman, he offers one to my wife as a birthday present and I buy a tomato fresh curd, my daughter's favorite. Then Tricia hunts for a table in the sun (David mentioned it was -5degrees Celsius at the farm when they left this morning...so it might be 7 or 8 degrees now here...) and I queue for the goodies, snail and egg and smoked salmon roll, and later for coffee. Then, off for a stroll around and a visit to a new supplier: Lowes Mount Truffles showing the first harvest of the season, amazing! Everybody was haggling for a - small - piece of these marvels...At 2000$/kg, you can probably afford a sample, and it would be enough for a few omelets...
During all that time, we were regaled by Armando Percuoco of Buon Ricordo fame, teaching us how to make the perfect risotto...a bit of an overdose after George's masterclass on MasterChef  last night, but an interesting twist on a classic altogether...
Then, off to the Fish Market to buy scallops, and on to Ultimo Wine Centre for a lovely couple of bottles:
Chablis, Domaine Laroche Saint Martin 2007, one of our favourite French Chardonnay. Tricia did the "vendanges" there  a little while ago...(http://www.larochewines.com)
and
Chartreuse de Bonpas Reserve 2007, a lovely Cotes-du-Rhone, blend of Grenache, Syrah and Mourvedre (www.louis-bernard.com)
 
 
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It does not really look like a lime, it does not really smell like a lime, and it is more famous for its leaves than its fruit...I am talking about the kaffir lime. see more information on its origin and use here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaffir_lime
Until today, I had never seen one in the flesh, only used the leaves and had no idea what it would look, taste, smell like, until I found some at the fruit & veg shop at the Sydney Fish Market this morning. So I bought some for the modest sum of $2.95, less than a cup of coffee, and certainly more exotic!
When opened, it has a pungent smell, and half of a lime was enough to give an interesting twist to my scallops.
But that's a story for my next post...
 
 
No more blurry photos of food on this site!
Just bought an Olympus PEN E-PL1 with a 14-42mm lens (equivalent of a 28-85mm in a DLSR or 35mm camera).
Give us a few days to post new photos, but in the meantime, click here to see what real photographers have achieved with this little wonder!
A clear improvement on ANY phone camera...