The second week at this rural
French farm/creamery passed by even faster than the first. Mayu departed early in the week to return to
school and Carole increasingly trusted Laura and I to the fromagerie on our
own. We captured this family portrait
the evening Mayu left.
I accompanied Ingo to the Olonzac
market on Tuesday. It's a larger market than Beziers and so it attracts the commercial vendors as well as the local
producers. I am more than a little
jealous that folks in France can walk out their front doors and get the kind of
fresh produce these people offer.
The next day, a huge storm came through and knocked off all the leaves from the trees. Overnight, the landscape went from colorful autumn to barren winter.
The next day, a huge storm came through and knocked off all the leaves from the trees. Overnight, the landscape went from colorful autumn to barren winter.
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| Fabulous and simple French food. |
We continued to eat fabulous and
simple French food at every meal, and I may have developed a life-long love for salads
after eating a new one every day, cut straight from the garden. I wish that I could grow lettuce like that in
Texas!
Laura and I continued to help with chestnuts and
saffron all week. I can promise you that
I will never grow saffron in my garden.
The little plants are finicky to grow, give you a yield measured in grams, and require constant weeding. On the other hand, chestnuts are also a lot of work and are well worth the effort! |
| Constantly on his cell phone, I guess teenagers are the same everywhere. |
Mid-week, we were joined by a
13year old boy named Gabby. The story
goes something like this . . . Gabby decided that he wasn’t getting anything out
of school. His mom agreed to let
him stop going, provided he did something else productive with his time. He asked to join the WWOOFers at Carole and
Ingo’s farm. Carole and Ingo agreed to
open their home to him for a few weeks. All
of us were incredulous it isn’t illegal to let your kid stop attending
school.
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| Saving white beans for food and for seeds for next years crop |
Gabby and I found a lot in common
with our tastes in music, science fiction movies and video games. I don’t know what it says about me that I
have a lot in common with a 13year old at-risk teenager . . . it’s probably not good. But it worked in my favor this week because
Gabby bonded as we weeded saffron together for hours and he became my personal French tutor. I bombarded him with French questions and gratefully absorbed new vocabulary every day, even getting pronunciation
training from him one evening. To mitigate the risk
of sounding like a teenager, I ran most of the slang I learned each day by Carole and Ingo over the dinner table each evening. They provided a good filter, and the conversation prompted even further language learnings. In return, Gabby delighted in peppering me with
questions about Texas and the US.
Semi-obsessed with the United States, he was first incredulous and then overjoyed
to hear that we really do wear cowboy boots in Texas. He has clearly seen a lot of movies and our country
is larger than life in his mind.
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| Creme de Marron cooking in the traditional confectioners pan |
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| Spanish tortilla, another great salad, and the best soup I've ever tasted - made with chestnut juice left over from the Creme de Marron production. Nothing is wasted. |
One of
my favorite days was right before I left, because it was all about food. We finished early in the fromagerie and then
cooked all afternoon. Carole and I made
Crème de Marron from chestnuts we’d already harvested, peeled and
sterilized. Then, at my request, she taught me how to
make pie/tart crust from scratch, which I then used to bake a lemon merengue
pie for the household. One of my
father’s favorite pies, I was proud when Carole asked for the recipe and Ingo
specifically gave up seconds at dinner the next night so he could eat pie. Laura also taught us how to make a Spanish
tortilla, the Catalan way. It’s the same
concept as a French omelet – mix eggs with other things incorporated – but much
better. I walked away from my weeks in
France with several new recipes!
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| The first phase of crust making I'm taking notes! |
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| Creme de Marron bubbling away while we prepare the jars for storage |
The day before I left was the
bi-annual “Foire” in the closest town to the
farm. All the local vendors come showcase their
wares. It had a festival type
atmosphere, even if the entire "festival" consisted of grand total of 15 tables. The big event is that you could bring your
apples to get pressed into juice. They
only run the giant apple press once a year.
There’s even talk of making cider this year. Laura and I got to visit with many of the people
we met over the last couple of weeks.
The night before I left was the same evening Carole departed to go visit her family in Strasbourg. She entrusted Laura [with very careful
instructions] to run the fromagerie for the week she would be gone. Ingo could run the joint, but he’s already in
charge of the milking, the wood cutting and storage and going to the twice
weekly markets. It is a kindness to Ingo
that Laura is willing to stay and help cover the fromagerie. Not 20 minutes after Ingo left to take
Carole to the airport, the electricity went out. My last night at Roquecave was spent cooking
and talking by candlelight.
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| Laura and Gabby talking in the kitchen by candlelight |
I personally love when the lights go out because everybody puts away their electronic devices, or books, or whatever other distractions they have, and comes together to talk. It makes for an intimate evening.
As I rode with Ingo to the closest
bus stop the next morning, I reflected on how much I enjoyed the slow, steady
pace on the farm, the focus on food and nature, and the company of the people at Roquecave. When I bid farewell
that morning, it felt like I was saying goodbye to family.
Next stop: Italy (for 1 day)
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