After many weeks of running around Chassignolles, you start to notice the changes in the surroudings. This is one of the first times in my life when I have paid close attention to what is going in and out of season.
Word on the street was that the wild blueberries were in, but for some reason, I just couldn’t see them. Apparently, they were everywhere, but for the life of me I just couldn’t find them! Finally, on a run last week, after a friend explaining what their leaves looked like (tiny & bright green) they appeared in abundance! Once I knew what I was looking for patches of wild blueberries seemed to be everywhere! With a large patch staked out, I was keen to get back out there amongst them, and bring some home. So, I recruited my colleague Amy to help, and borrowed the apparently illegal ‘blueberry brushes’ from a local old lady, and we were off. Because the berries are so tiny (nothing like the blueberries you come across in he supermarket), after two hours of picking we only ended up with four punnets!
It’s a great moment in life when you open your eyes to a something new. I really appreciate that nature has provided us with these little gems, and all for free, you just need to know what you’re looking for!
You may not be able to see them, but I can!
There they are, wild blueberries
'Blueberry brush'
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Our yields
Amy with our four punnets
The larger older cepes are sliced and dried
Fresh & perfect cep
Cepes Crus - Raw Cepes ( olive oil, parsley & lemon)
One of the best parts about serving food to people, is when they truly enjoy a certain dish. They seem to get a certain glow, or maybe its even a high after they have eaten something that they really enjoyed. I also find that more often than not, it is the most simple dish that blows people away. Maybe it’s because it takes them by surprise by being so simple, or maybe because one single ingredient is allowed to shine through, where in other dining experiences it may have been cluttered by too many other ingredients.
Working in Chassignolles, we are lucky to be positioned right in the middle of never-ending forest, which makes for good mushrooming. The Auberge also acts as a ‘mushroom depot’, so all of the locals who know where these beautiful little gems are hidden pack them into the trunk of their cars and bring them to us. Harry makes a call to find out the current going rate for cepes or girolles (or whatever the mushroom may be), weighs them, and pays them for what they are worth. So far, all of the mushrooms have been kept by the Auberge to serve in the restaurant, or dried to be sold in their tiny epicerie. Some of these mushrooms have been almost as big as my head, absolutely amazing, and Ross has been very impressed by the freshness & quality of them. He has worked with great mushrooms in London, but nothing quite like these!
You couldn’t do less to the cepes pictured here, they are simply sliced, placed on a plate, drizzled with good quality olive oil, a sprinkle of parsley , and a squeeze of lemon, et voila! The cepes are left to impress, and how they do, diners just can’t get over how good they are are. Simplicity at its best!
Caitlin
June 21st – the summer solstice, the longest day of the year, the first day of summer.
The plan was to stay in, not to stray too far from Chassignolles. After getting out of bed around noon, to another grey sky, we weren’t feeling particularly excited at the idea of the pic nic we had planned…Harry had been reading the paper just before we sat down for lunch; reminding him that on the 21st of June, the entire country of France celebrates ‘La Fete de la Musique’. He suggested that we should drive to Lyon, where the celebration would be in full swing.
Approximately four hours later, our plans for a quiet day forgotten, we arrived in Lyon. With a hotel booked, the sun shining, and the music playing, we were feeling very happy with our spontaneity. We were immediately taken by Lyon, and pleasantly surprised at the relaxed feel of the city. It was exciting to be in a city again, after our new found quiet lives in Chassignolles.
When booking the hotel, the receptionist said that if you ask where the ‘Fresques des Lyonnais’ is then you will be on the right track to finding the hotel. I had no idea what the ‘Fresques’ would be exactly, and was very impressed upon discovering it. What an excellent way to dress up an otherwise drab looking back of a building, with colourful paintings including all the cultural symbols of Lyon, world famous Lyonnais chef Paul Bocuse even makes an appearance in the ‘Fresques’, along side a bottle of Beaujolais, one of Lyon’s local wines.
Lyon has a prevalent food culture, and has even been labelled as the food capital of France. The city is home to many little restaurants called ‘Bouchons‘ serving authentic Lyonnais cuisine. We were warned not to go to any of the ‘fake’ Bouchons, there is even an association who separates the authentic ‘Bouchons’ from the imposters.
On a recommendation from Harry we had lunch at ‘Le Jura‘, a Bouchon that according to one of the guide books has been serving authentic Lyonnais food since the 1930′s. We spent a lot of time in Lyon reading menus, and we found that a lot of the Bouchon’s menus are similar. There is an amazing amount of pork being served, as well food that we thought would be suited for a cold winters night. We sat out on the small terrace at Le Jura under a large red awning (which is why all of our pictures have a pink hue). Our server suggested we start the meal with a glass of sparkling Bugey VDQS from the Savoie region, not too far from Lyon, which was very refreshing.
I went for the 24 euro menu for three courses, and Ross went a la carte (as he always does), I had the rabbit terrine, which was simple, but delicious, very well seasoned, and served at the right temperature, not too cold making it nice and soft. Ross had pan- fried girolles (just coming into season around this part of France) they were excellent.
My main was ‘Daube de Veau’ with olives, a delicious stew like dish.
Ross had ‘Quenelle de Brochet‘, a sort of dumpling made with Pike (Brochet) covered in a rich & flavourful seafood sauce, a Lyonnais specialty, making an appearance on most of the menus we read in the city. Ross remembers learning to make Quenelle back in culinary school, which confirms this dish as classic textbook French cuisine.
Our meal was accompanied by not one, but two ‘pot’ of red Cotes du Rhone (8 euros), one of Lyon’s other local wine regions (and another reason why I love Lyon).
We finished off with cherry clafoutis and fromage blanc with salt & pepper. An overall exceptional lunch, and quite affordable as well.
Lyon is a city with an obvious love for food & wine, with less hustle and bustle than Paris. They are proud of their local cuisine, and appear to do all they can to support and promote their local wine regions. Overall, Lyon is a top class city, and a foodie destination, I will be back!
Caitlin
Cheese board at the Auberge, beats any one I've ever come across!
Notes on cheese
I’ve spent most of my time in France in the South West, more specifically on the border of the Gironde and the Dordogne, where the landscape is dominated by row after row of grape vines, giving the region a certain romance. Here in the Auvergne the vines have been replaced by towering pine trees, vast open valleys filled with crops, or grazing cows/sheep.
A visit to a local market is also marked by regional differences – the foie gras & walnut oil of the Dordogne has been replaced by various local cheeses & organically certified vegetables/honey. The volcanic fertile Auvergnate soils aren’t suitable for vines, instead they grow healthy crops or fields of rich green grass to feed their livestock, naturally accompanied by millions of wild flowers keeping the honey bees busy. The sheep, cows & goats who enjoy this volcanic mineral enriched grass give flavourful milk that is then made into some of the most delicious cheese that I have ever tasted. There are many small cheese producers in the region making cheese without any A.O.C designations, with simple names like ‘Tomme de Vache’, which translates to ‘Cow’s cheese’. As fond as I am of the Dordogne, and all it has to offer as a region, I have to say that when it comes to cheese the Auvergne has the upper hand.
Caitlin
Les fraises sauvages - Wild strawberries
Champignons
Autres champignons
Just daisies
One of the main things I have been thinking about here is the feeling of shifting my life gear from the London 4th/5th down to the rural France 1st. By no means am I taking it ‘easy’ here, there is lots of work to be done, and most of our hours are spent doing something work related. We live in our place of work, which inevitably blurs the line between working and not working.
I would say that one of the best things about being here is the time that we now have to look at what is around us, and appreciate the simple things in life, like the taste of fresh unpasteurised milk on our bran flakes for breakfast, or how cute wild strawberries are. Life has completely slowed down, and it feels weird, but overall really nice.
Caitlin
It has taken me much longer to write a post than I had planned. We arrived here in Chassignolles in the Auvergne region of France about a week and a half ago. We’ll be here until the beginning of October, Ross is cooking, and I am working on the floor at the Auberge de Chassignolles owned by Harry & Ali, an English couple (Harry is one of the owners of the Ancor & Hope in London). The reality of where we are living is slowly setting in, and each day I feel myself settling into my new life. What a drastic change from London, it is quiet and remote, we have already enjoyed many runs amongst the never ending pine trees.
The views and the freshness of the produce has blown us away. You will never seen a sky so blue, an egg yolk so yellow, or a cow so fat grazing in such vibrantly green pasture.
It isn’t easy to leave, especially after four great years in one of the planet’s finest cities. London can be a tough place to survive, but overall it was been brilliant. I met so many interesting people, made some great friends, and learned so much. Ross and I will be heading to France on the 1st of May to begin out first adventure together. Fingers crossed that it all goes well. We have one week left, and I look forward to it, I want to enjoy the end of my time here as much as possible.
Our final bout of procrastination, on Friday night we d enjoyed some excellent cocktails at Viajante on Cambridge Heath road, which was much more enjoyable than packing. There won’t be any cocktail bars where we’re going!
Saturday morning our boxes starting their journey to France.
