Category: Farmers’ Market

This week at the Farmers’ Market

I realized it’d been a very long time since I had taken you with me to the market. It is always a wonderful place to visit and meet people. I particularly like this time of year because of the wide variety of produce. Tomatoes of all sorts, fresh pink garlic… The first artichokes are finally out! We can find them almost year round, but they come from other countries. These here are the real deal. Artichokes from Britany!

Proper salade niçoise

I had so many things to say about the terrorist attack on Nice. I decided to share none of it here. Except maybe for this: THEY WILL NOT GET OUR JOIE DE VIVRE!
So vive la France, vive Nice and vive food and wine and sex and laughter and friendships…
I made salade niçoise for lunch today, following the original recipe from Escofier himself. It couldn’t be more simple and certainly shouldn’t be more complicated (or sophisticated). Provence is all about simple ingredients and authenticity!

Where are the grandmas when you need one?

I often turn to complete strangers at the farmers’ market or supermarket for cooking advice and inspiration :0) I try to target a lady with a bag full of what I think are interesting ingredients. She would be my nana for the day. That would make for a great business idea: rentanana.com… Don’t you think?

The best of Provence – The South East corner of my French heaven

But let’s talk about what’s really important: THE FOOD. Our two favorite meals in the area were at “La fourchette” in Avignon and “Le bistrot du Paradou” in the village of Paradou. La fourchette had the most exquisite traditional dishes, all cooked to perfection. Escargots, pieds paquets, grenouilles… While this gave us the traditional French dinning experience, the other place was even more fun

My market is my church! An Insider’s tips on how to navigate a French Farmers’ Market

Most markets (even here or in Italy), are now the target of con artists. These are people who just buy their products in bulk at the supermarket or in large food factories etc. and try to sell them back to you for two, three or even four times the price. The worst ones in France are those who sell olives, “Herbes de Provence” which actually come from Bulgaria, and cheese. To avoid being taken advantage of, my advice is this:

From Cap Ferret to the Dordogne – Mimi and Gabriella’s visit to My French Heaven

As you all already know, my greatest pleasure in life is to share everything I love about France with my guests and my friends.

My dear friend Mimi (Chef Mimi Blog) came back to visit me last week and brought along one of her dearest friends, Gabriella.

All we did for a week was eat and drink and laugh. Oh we laughed so hard… When people ask me what I do for work, I just tell them I don’t actually work… They always look at me and smile (you know, the “oh poor thing” smile. The suckers think I’l kidding. The joke’s on them ;0)

The last market of Summer…

I visited my aunt Nicole the weekend before last. We went to the market together and got everything we needed for the most amazing omelette with chanterelles and herbs. For our main course, Nicole bought a few pigeons from a 90 year old gentleman. We found out how old he was during our conversation with him (it lasted for EVER). We also bought the sweetest prunes and mirabelles for a pie. Aunt Nicole is a fabulous cook!

Welcome to The Four Seasons… of France

There are Farmers’ markets in every town and every village around here. Not one day of the week without a proper market less than 30 minutes from the house. Some are grand, some are small. Some feel more authentic than others. All are quite special in their own way. Visiting them as often as I do is very inspiring and motivating for a foodie like me!

Bloody Mary Calamari

I was nursing my delicious drink in the garden, a lightbulb went off in my little head: what if I made a Bloody Mary sauce for my calamari?!

Wild asparagus surprise

I went to the market on Sunday to get some asparagus and came across bunches of wild asparagus. I had seen them on a book cover a long time ago and had always wanted to try some. I expected them to have very little taste and a texture that could only please a cow… I couldn’t have been more wrong!

Mimi & Emma in My French Heaven

Mimi from Chef Mimi Blog came to spend a short holiday in My French Heaven with her lovely daughter Emma. We had only 4 days together so I wanted to design the perfect itinerary for them. So much to see, so much to taste and so much to share… Four farmers’ markets and 8 meals together. We focused on cheese and seafood as they are Emma’s favorites.

Of Spring, flowers, color and decadent sweetness…

First let me apologize for the splash of color today. It is quite loud and quite out of character for My French Heaven. Spring is here and with it the sun, the birds and the primroses on my lawn. I just feel happy and couldn’t resist… I also wanted to share with you the incredible…

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Straight from the Farmers’ Market – Purée de potiron

(En Français plus bas) I went to the Farmers’ Market as I always do on Sunday (and Tuesday, and Friday and Saturday and…). I found beautiful organic Brussels sprouts and bought a slice of pumpkin… The sprouts were uneven in size and their leaves had a few spots on them. That was the guaranty of…

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Heart and Soul – Coeur et âme

(In English below) J’ai toujours pensé qu’un marché traditionnel représentait le coeur et l’âme d’un pays: Le marché et toujours au centre du village ou de la ville. Il est au centre de la communauté. Le marché se tient souvent le samedi ou le dimanche. On ne fait pas ses courses (à la course), on…

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Mimi & Me – When two foodies become instant friends…

She is gorgeous, generous and cooks like a modern version of Julia Child. He is handsome, funny and takes the most amazing photos. My friend Liz Thomas, one of the best photographers I know (Elizabeth Thomas Photography) introduced me to an amazing blog called “Manger“. It so happens that its author Mimi Thorisson, her husband…

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