What are we eating? Ep. 2.
Summer foods, and my realization that I'm terrible at taking food photos.
I need to start with an apology for the lack of photos in this post (there are only a few). I’ve heard from many that you love to see the photos, and I know many of us love food, so this may be disappointing. I am really bad at taking pictures of food. For starters, I’m usually eating it before I remember to snap a picture. Then, the markets here are really busy, so taking decent photos while simultaneously balancing a bag of groceries and dodging dogs, rolling carts, and people staring anywhere but in front of them is just more than I usually have patience for. I’ll try again in August when a lot of people are on vacation : )
I think I mentioned, or meant to mention, a post or two ago that the pleasant Spring of March had given way to a rainy and chilly April. Then there was a generally rainy and chilly May. And then a rainy and chilly start to June. But, after a sudden onset heat wave sometime in mid June and suffering for a few nights while trying to sleep in an apartment without A/C, summer was finally here. Even though we’ve waffled back and forth between just a few truly hot days and mostly mild ones, which I am more than ok with, summer has made itself known in many ways, including on restaurant menus and in market stalls (not pictured due to the aforementioned reasons but you can peep an overview of our local market and a few photos here).
Among some surprising finds have been delicious French peaches (in background above and below). Don’t ask me what I expected, but I guess I just had it in my mind that peaches weren’t common here and were, instead, more of a summer staple in the Southeastern US. Either way, I was surprised and I’ve learned otherwise. These peaches though—guys, they’re SO good. They’re mostly white peaches versus yellow/orange flesh but are super sweet and juicy.
A very long strawberry season is another pleasant surprise (not shown at all because these never last more than a day). I’m used to these precious babes being available at farmer’s markets for maybe 3 weeks out of the year, but we’ve had them here for about 2 months now. I don’t know when the season will end, but I’m thankful for the longevity we’ve had already, because nothing beats the smell and taste of fresh strawberries. I think I need a fraisier now, the French answer to strawberry cake (my ride or die).
I don’t know what I was thinking, but I bought eggplant at the market the other day because it looked pretty and I may have panicked a little. I don’t normally cook with eggplant, but I ended up roasting it with some leftover heirloom tomato, an onion, fresh garlic (all from the farmer’s market) then tossing with olive oil, fresh thyme and pasta. It was so good I bought more eggplant. Serendipity.
When we were in the Verdon a few weeks ago, we picked up a few regional products. Lavender honey and wild boar terrine among them. And of course rosé.
The weather has been perfect for growing lettuces (not too hot, decent rain, lots of sunshine), and the farmer’s are hawking leafy goodness in all shades of green and purple.
As predicted, I’ve transitioned a lot of meals to salad variations, but surprisingly it has still not been too hot to use the oven for the most part, so veggies and chicken have been roasted and pasta and rice boiled without much sweating in the kitchen. I have to add as a side note that as I write this today’s high is mid-80sF/high 20sC, and the overnight lows lately have been in the 50sF/teens C. So even if it gets hotter as summer rolls on, I still count ourselves lucky for making it this far with only two short bouts of hot weather so far.
Cheeses and dairy are still strongly represented at market, and I am not getting enough of fresh yogurts and honey. This one is a plain, fresh sheep’s yogurt that I love, and I also love the fact that I can choose between goat, sheep and cow yogurts. The options!
Apéros and wines with meals have also transitioned with the seasons. Aperol spritzes and chilled red, natural wines have been heavily represented, but I also have a newfound appreciation of white wines that are much more complex and just…better than a lot of the stuff found in wine shops in the States. I had never been much of a white wine person, because so many had been too sweet or too sour, and some lack much taste at all, so it has been a real treat to readily find white wines that stand up to their red counterparts in terms of flavor, scents, and power.
This brings me to the sleeper hit of summer: rosé. Whether you typically love it, hate it or judge it (I’m slightly guilty of the latter), French rosé deserves attention and space on your table. Two months ago, I would have declined, and will still never touch a frozé as long as I live. However, between friends serving a couple bottles and then finding a few more in Provence that had complex profiles, obvious minerality, and a decidedly strong glou glou factor that *also* holds up to food, we have both become big fans of the summertime rosé. I think the American market and therefore palettes have been inundated by lower quality rosé. Not that you can’t find good stuff, but I do believe it to be hard. And who doesn’t remember their moms drinking Boone’s Farm pink wine in the 90s? I mean, c’mon, rosé was always going to be a hard sell after that. So here we stand, happily re-educated and enjoying delicious French rosé.
Santé!
PS: We’re off to Corsica this week for a 3 week trip and psyched is an understatement. Stay tuned for updates : )
It should be entitled what AREN'T you eating? That list would be short! I love all of your food tales...hate the hot temps! I can't wait to try some more French rose...I found a gem of a bottle two weeks ago from Bordeaux (not rose, but SO GOOD) and never the headache from the sufites! Cheers you two!
I must confess it's difficult to sympathize with your summer heat issues. It's currently 95 degrees here in Pleasant View, Tenn., but we do have air conditioning, so there's that. One of my jack @$$ brothers-in-law is a sommelier, and I've heard him pontificate on the quality, or lack thereof, of rosé in the U.S. Enjoy your trip to Corsica. Do they have a statue of Napoleon there? Take care.