Lockdown diaries day forty-four, Advent day twelve, French pizza

Advent day 12 IPA and Bordeaux sauvignon blanc

Day forty-four, Saturday 12^th December 2020

 

Advent day twelve

We are halfway through advent (already) and Adrian is happy with the IPA he pulled out from his calendar this morning as it’s his favourite from the eight varieties included. I have a Bordeaux white, which should go nicely with my pizza tonight.

Toad in the hole, cooked by Ed

 

Last night I relinquished control of my kitchen and let Ed cook his signature dish, toad in the hole. For those of you who aren’t British, this is an oven cooked dish of sausages in batter and I have no idea where the name originates from, but no toads were harmed in the making of our dinner last night. It was delicious and the perfect comfort food choice for a cold, damp day. Traditionally it is served with an onion gravy, but Ed being my son, added mushrooms, peppers and courgettes to his gravy mix as he felt it would otherwise be lacking in vegetables. That’s my boy. Despite its origins, ours was a good local dish as the sausages came from Noah’s Ark Farm (about ten kilometres away), the eggs for the batter came from Bois Cambert (about three kilometres away) and the shallots were from this week’s Espoir Nature veggie pannier.

 

The boulangerie treats from today's bike ride

Greedy little piggies

We have been a bit indulgent today, munching our way through five different types of cake. During the first lockdown I slipped easily into the routine of always having a cake in the kitchen. At this time of year, as well as the topless carrot cake that has become our regular favourite (no sickly cream cheese topping here), there are mincepies too, plus the brownies I made yesterday. It was a real treat to have one of each after our healthy soup at lunchtime. 

As the weather was sunny today, although there was quite a strong wind too, we couldn’t resist a bike ride this afternoon and found ourselves outside the boulangerie in Brioux-sur-Boutonne. Our mid ride rest today included a piece of flan and a chocolate chip brioche roll, that we shared on a sunny bench. It was just what I needed having cycled into the wind for eighteen kilometres. I now have less than fifty kilometres to cycle to reach my goal of five thousand for this year.

 

Tarte flambée - Flammenkuche

France Trivia advent calendar, day twelve, French ‘pizzas’

I know the pizza originates from Italy, but did you know there are two French regional dishes that give the pizza a run for its money? 

 

The first is from the Alsace region in the north east, and one of Ed’s favourites, the tarte flambée or flammenkuche. This thin pizza dough base is layered with crème fraiche, lardons (bacon pieces) and onions before being cooked in a hot oven (or wood fired pizza oven, if possible). 

 

The second is the pissaladière, from Nice in the south. Here the pizza dough base is covered with a generous layer of caramelised onions before criss-crossing anchovy fillets over the top and dotting on black olives.

 

They are both a delicious alternative to a more traditional tomato base pizza, but for a country that boasts over a thousand different types of cheeses, I do think it’s a bit odd that neither French ‘pizza’ contains any cheese. 

Cycling the Gorges de la Nesque, Provence

The lavender fields of Provence

Today I am looking back on our trip to Provence, unable to believe that a month has already passed since we were cycling through lavender fields and enjoying the fantastic scenery around Mont Ventoux. 

 

How do you top climbing Mont Ventoux for a day out on the bikes, especially when our total distance cycled that day came in at 93km? Pretty impressive for a 28km climb, but having descended to Sault, elated and hungry, heading back to Montbrun-les-Bains for a quiet afternoon seemed rather flat. Adrian suggested a 15km loop through the lavender fields that he promised was nice and flat, although I should know by now, his idea of flat and mine are a little off alignment. It was however a stunning ride through beautiful countryside with gorse, lavender and mountain views, and I’m so glad we did it. I also felt totally justified at scoffing an entire pizza to myself that night.

 

Tired but elated after conquering Mont Ventoux

Climbing Mont Ventoux changed something inside my head. The fear of the ‘what ifs’ that often rules has been replaced with an attitude, 'if I can do that, slowly and steadily at my pace, I can do anything'. Adrian’s plan for our second day in the area was cycling the Gorges de la Nesque, thanks again to Julie from Vaucluse Dreamer for the blog post that gave him the idea. It would mean a second, consecutive day at over 90km, but I was looking forward to it, right up until about 3.00am. The pizza, delicious at the time, now felt like concrete in my belly and I wished I’ve given Adrian the last slice, or two. Somewhere in the village a dog barked, on and off, all night, timing it perfectly to coincide with every time I began to drop off to sleep. To say I wasn’t feeling refreshed as I set off on the 12km uphill ride back to Sault that morning would be pretty accurate.

On the D6 with views towards les gorges de la Nesque and Mont Ventoux

 

The Gorges de la Nesque is a deep ravine, with a narrow road cut into the rock side and best viewed from the direction of Villes-sur-Auzon, even if this does mean cycling it uphill. From Sault we took the D943 to Monieux, where we joined the D46, which then becomes the D6 for a gradual climb up to St Hubert. The road was quiet, the only other traffic were other cyclists and Mont Ventoux was watching down on us, a little reminder to my tired head that I could do it. It wasn’t just my head that was tired, my legs that had powered me to great heights yesterday, were alarmingly stiff this morning. It was deflating. They had been fine yesterday afternoon, so why was every pedal stroke today an effort for me, but not for Adrian? 

 

It actually took a few days to recover fully and looking back I think that it was the descent from Mont Ventoux that was to blame, not the climb. Despite our weather being almost perfect; dry, not too hot and not too much of the wind the mountain is famed for, it was still a bitterly cold descent. I had added two long-sleeved layers, but my teeth were still chattering as we reached the sunnier plains at the bottom. My fingers were so cold they hurt, and I began to worry I wouldn’t be able to squeeze the brakes. My legs didn’t have to put in any effort, but I think my rigid, frozen position on the bike meant the muscles in my thighs stiffened nicely in the cold air, although they had been fine for the warm afternoon ride we then completed. A night of not much sleep hindered their recovery and although we did drink plenty, it probably wasn’t quite enough for the effort the muscles had put in.

 

Mont Ventoux and the vineyards between Méthamis and Villes-sur-Auzon

I was determined not to give up on today’s ride, especially as it was truly beautiful. As we descended towards Méthamis we cycled through cherry orchards, vineyards and more lavender fields. The sun was warm and the scents in the air were delicious. A patisserie stop in Villes-sur-Auzon, where we had our picnic lunch, would have made all the difference, but sadly, the only boulangerie we found had just closed for lunch.

 

Les Gorges de la Nesque, Provence

The sense of anticipation as we began to climb on the D942 built with every corner in the road as a new vista opened out in front. The soft green foliage that covers the hard rock, tumbles away to an invisible bottom, the only protection a small, stone wall at the side of the road. There are many times that the phrase ‘breathtakingly beautiful’ is used, but what was all around us on the bikes today truly took my breath away. 

A tunnel cut into the D942 les gorges de la Nesque

There were times when we caught a view of the road snaking into the distance, other times we cycled through tunnels cut into the rock as we slowly meandered along trying to take in the views that rose high above to our left and disappeared away to our right. One of the (many) benefits of cycling on a road like this as opposed to being in a car, is that you are at one with the landscape, there is no roof, doors or windows to get in the way and no one worries how slowly you crawl along. 

Les Gorges de la Nesques, Provence

We stopped a lot. For photos, for water and for food to keep our energy levels up, but also just to look around and watch the eagles soaring above us.

 

Cycling back to Montbrun-let-Bains

It was a long, hot day and despite the sun cream, my arms turned a little pink and I have to admit it wasn’t my most comfortable day on the bike. However, I made it back to Montbrun-les-Bains having ridden another 92kms and I wouldn’t have missed it for the world.

A weekend of favourite things

Cycling in the Marias Poitevin

A few of my favourite things (in no particular order) are my family, my friends, pizza cooked in a wood fired oven, bike rides, sunshine and the Marais Poitevin (an area of reclaimed marshlands where canals and waterways are the back drop to peaceful pathways, perfect for cycling and a great place to visit summer or winter).

This weekend has included all of the above. With Adrian and Ed both at home we joined friends for a Saturday night pizza fest at a local auberge. Handmade to order, perfect thin bases, generous toppings, cooked in a wood fired oven and à volontée (eat as many as you like). I’m not very good at à volontée meals. I have no idea when it would be a sensible time to stop. For future reference two pizzas would be fine, three was probably one too many.

Pizza night

Beer in Damvix

Thankfully the weather today was perfect; blue sky, sunshine and temperatures up to 19 degrees. I hung the washing out, we lunched and then set off to the Marais Poitevin with the bikes. When we arrived, it had the deserted air of off-season to it, but as lunchtime became afternoon, life returned and we shared our route with walkers who wobbled and oozed across the path, families on bikes with small ones who tack left to right like sailing boats and fishermen whose clouds of tobacco followed us along the towpath. Despite the mild weather it’s only January and the waterways were fuller than usual, the fields flooded and the air smelt damp and earthy. The trees whose roots help to stabilise the banks of the water channels are kept short and stubby and evidence of winter pollarding was everywhere. The tourist boats looked unloved, beached on the banks and the hire shops were shut and deserted like most of the bars, except our favourite one in Damvix whose sunny terrace was the perfect place to enjoy a beer and muesli bar. Just over the road we were treated to the sun illuminating the stained glass window, visible through the open church door.

Damvix church

This was my first bike ride of 2016 and Adrian’s first since coming down with Real Flu two weeks ago, that left him in bed and unable to work for a fortnight, which is not ideal when you run your own business, but he is feeling much better now. He breezed back to the car at the end of our 31km ride seemingly unaware of the head wind that had reduced my speed to walking pace. At least the sun was warm on my back giving a long shadow leading out in front of me. I like long shadows; they make me look tall and thin. It may have been an easy, flat ride, but I still had jelly legs and a tender bottom by the time I had finished, although I was delighted to hear I’d burned off over a thousand (greedy pizza) calories. My face also had that warm glow you only get from being outdoors in winter and this evening I’m very happy.

This post has been linked to Dreaming of France.

Burgers, Chips and Pizza

We are now at the end of what has been a perfect summer holiday and we are all a little glum that summer can’t last forever. Ed is back to school tomorrow and Ade back to running training courses next week, leaving me plenty of time on my hands to flit from one outstanding task to another and probably achieve very little. To make the end of the holiday feel special I have given Ed control over what we will be eating this week, with the exception of Friday as we always have moules frites on Friday. Top of his list were burgers, sausages, chips and pizza – no surprise that courgette (zucchini) didn’t appear. Food should be a comforting thing that makes your mind and belly feel happy so I have no problem in indulging his wishes. However I wasn’t ready to hit the frozen ready meal section of the local supermarket, oh no, it’s all homemade here, if possible.

100% minced beef burgers

Last night was meat feast BBQ night. The burgers were from the meat counter at the local supermarket where we watched the steaks of beef enter the mincer machine and appear as thick, pressed burgers the other end. The sausages were from a local pig-keeping friend and made on their premises last weekend. To accompany the meat we had a garden grown tomato salad, homemade oven chips, my special sweet courgette relish (see here) and griddled courgettes (he may get to choose the menu, but he can’t escape the courgettes).

Tonight is pizza night; the tomatoes have been roasted with garlic, thyme, salt and pepper and put through the press to leave a delicious tomato purée. This is a daily task for us at the moment and the freezer is filling nicely with pots of puréed tomatoes that will be used all winter for pasta dishes, casseroles, soups as well as pizzas. The toppings tonight include some leftover chicken from the weekend roast, sausages that didn’t get eaten last night, fresh made pesto (see here) and butter sautéed courgettes. Here is my pizza dough recipe. This makes enough for three thin 20cm round pizzas.

Homemade French Village pizza

½ teaspoon of dried yeast

300g strong white bread flour

1 teaspoon of salt

1 tablespoon of olive oil

170 ml of water

Combine the flour, yeast and salt in a mixing bowl. Make a well in the middle and add the olive oil and warmed water. Bring together to form a dough, then turn onto a floured surface and knead for about ten minutes until smooth and elastic. Form into a ball shape and place in a greased bowl or cake tin, cover with cling film and a towel and leave to rise for at least an hour. Divide into three equal balls and form the bases of the pizzas. Place on baking trays and add your favourite toppings. Bake in a very hot oven for about ten minutes, until the dough is just crispy enough and the cheese nicely melted. We always add an egg for the last two minutes of cooking, but this is optional.

Roasted tomato puree

Amazon have a similar looking (but smaller) tomato press called the Passata Machine but mine was brought from a local store by my parents.

Welcome to Paris Week

This post is the first of a week long Paris fest here on the blog - it is going to be a busy week in blogland. This year more than ever I am aching for a Paris fix, caused I suspect from reading a whole stack of books set in Paris. It has also been over two years since I was there which is such a long time ago Ed was much shorter than me, a big change as I am now the small one! One day I will get to Paris in December, I will see the Christmas lights on the Champs Elysées and I will find somewhere to sit and people watch as I drink some vin chaud.  Until then at least I can look back at our photos and virtually visit via my books.

Ed and I in Paris 2010

This week I will be posting about some of my favourite memories of time spent in Paris, reviewing books on various subjects linked with Paris like the markets, the architecture, cookery, romance and murder mystery, and mid week author Susie Kelly will be guest blogging, reminiscing of time spent on her beloved electric bike cycling through Paris.

Today I would like to share with you our first trip to Paris together. It was August 1998, we were newly married and we were both working in London. We met after work on a Friday at Waterloo Station and boarded the Eurostar to Paris. We travelled first class and supped on Champagne as we pulled out of London, then dined on a delicious meal of duck. On our arrival at the Gard du Nord we took a taxi to our hotel, the Ibis in Montmartre, where our room overlooked the famous cemetery and it’s population of stray cats. We found ourselves in a bar and sat on high stools in the window people watching. Pigalle is an interesting district, home to the famous Moulin Rouge and we enjoyed watching the coaches full of tourists slowly crawling down the road while hundreds of camera flashes went off inside. We did a lot of walking that weekend, despite the weather being a little wet at times, including walking to a different café for breakfast every day, walking up the Eiffel Tower and along the banks of the River Seine. I would have to wait another twelve years to experience a Seine river trip, but walking in Paris is always something we have enjoyed doing as you are able to see so much more than when you are down in the Metro. One of the meals we had that weekend I remember very well, a wood fired pizza, made and cooked by the chef in full view of the diners. Thin crust, wood fired pizzas have become one of our favourites and we have since sampled them all over France. It may have been fourteen years ago and we had both been to Paris before this trip, and have been back together since, but I remember this trip more than some of the others.

Waterloo Station 1998

It may not be a real trip to Paris, but even a virtual trip to a big city is exciting for a girl living in a rural French village. I hope you enjoy your virtual trip to Paris with me this week.