Sunday 17 October 2010

Definitely autumn

Our son was staying with us this week and, while it was warm enough to have lunch in the garden a couple of times, the sea wasn’t warm enough for swimming.

IMGP1935 IMGP1861

Barbecued lamb and peppers for lunch, but the sea was chilly at Portiragnes-plage.

IMGP1928 IMGP1918

We’re still picking plenty of aubergines and peppers – the red ones are Kolaska, a delicious spicy variety, the green ones are Marconi and Corno di Toro which I don’t think will ripen now as it’s too late in the year. They’re very tasty when they’re green, though. The Praying Mantis seemed to be looking for somewhere to lay its eggs.

Pézenas market

On Saturday morning, before going back to London, our son wanted to buy jambon to take with him… we saw a few other stalls as well:

IMGP1992
denim and sunflowers…
IMGP1993 baskets….
IMGP1998
winter hats and scarves….
IMGP2005 olive oil and salt cod…
IMGP2007 fritters and sea food salads IMGP2009 eggs and charcuterie….
IMGP2010 bread…. IMGP2025
and fish.

Sunday lunch

On our own again after our son went home, we consoled ourselves with a very good lunch:

IMGP2053 IMGP2055

Aubergine slices with goats’ cheese, garlic and oregano, with honey and balsamic vinegar dressing for our first course, followed by pieces of shoulder of lamb slow-cooked with figs, shallots and white wine, served with rice.

Quinces again

We picked a basketful of quinces to make membrillo (quince paste), as we usually do at this time of year – the recipe is on the Mediterranean cuisine blog. The quinces this year are of much better quality, bigger with fewer bugs in them, so easier to cook.

IMGP2032 IMGP2035

And a beautiful sunset this evening

IMGP2066

4 comments:

stadtgarten said...

Thanks a lot for these beautiful impressions from the South of France!
Regards from Germany, Monika

Jan said...

I fancy the lamb and fig recipe, although I'm not sure Steve will... maybe I'll just cook it! You do have a knack for taking gorgeous photos of market stalls!

michelle said...

It looks like you had a delightful and delicious week. The summer harvests are still trickling in for me as well, but it is definitely autumn. The days are shorter, the nights cooler, the sunlight is softer. I love this time of year.

Tamara said...

Thanks for the Augergene Recipe - we're just learning to enoy these wonderful fruits in our house. Quinces bring back happy memories of my childhood. Thanks