Peter Mayle, author of 'A Year in Provence' says that every good Sunday starts with a trip to the market. We've definitely found that to be the true any day of the week! Trips to the market are one of our favorite things about Provence. We even bought two coolers for when we visit markets in towns that are further away. The most obvious delight about markets is the produce. All of the fruits and veggies are so fresh - they look like they're posing for you! Most vendors have samples of their goods out, so you can taste just how delicious and ripe that tomato or melon is. All of the fruit is labeled so that you know exactly what variety of produce you're buying, and where it's from. It think that'd be a pretty good thing to do in the US. We've picked up on some French quirks about their food. For example, when buying a cantaloupe, you're asked when you plan to eat it. If it's today, the melon the vendor gives you will be very different from one you might eat the next day. So far they've been spot on with their picks and the cantaloupes, which are from Cavaillon, a town 30 km from Aix, have been fantastic!
Matt's French has been coming back to him pretty steadily, and he's gotten quite good at communicating with the vendors. I've learned to count to 13, and that's proven helpful in some situations. :) Unfortunately we can't get into too deep conversations because of the language barrier, but we've still managed have some interesting interactions. While picking out beans, a French lady started talking to me fluently about how delicious the beans were (we think that's what she was saying). My not responding to anything she was saying didn't deter her though - she even reached into my basket, pulled out a green bean that she considered sub-optimal and threw it back into the pile! I think she was assuring me how good the beans were, and she was right.
violet garlic!
shopping for olives, a staple in our diets
never seen scallops like this before
buying some "fromage"
saucissons - dried sausages made from different meats including duck, pig, bull
While staying in Aix, we've been taking full advantage of our kitchen and market goods. I've tried to find some Provencal recipes and make them while we're here. So far I think I've got a few keepers!
simple tomato, cucumber, olive salad
"melange de haricots et coco-plats"
cod wrapped in prosciutto with roasted tomato and olive sauce
tomato and olive gratin with pesto chicken
3 comments:
i was a bit hesitant in unleashing my long-dormant 4 years of high school french on the unsuspecting denizens of provence. i was sure that the fast-paced business transactions at the markets involving fruits, legumes, euros, kilograms (yes, 2 conversions: divide by 2.2 to get to lbs, multiply by 1.4 to convert to dollars) would prove to be some combination of disastrous/offensive/absurd. fortunately, it's gone better than expected ... "dominant" would be an appropriate description. some examples (translated for non-french readers):
"bonjour monsieur, i need 5 peaches. yellow, not white."
"i need a cantaloupe, i'll be eating that tomorrow, not today."
" 300 grams of green beans at 3.80euro per kilogram? here's the exact change . booyah."
" my wife wants to know how to prepare this flower-looking thing. you eat the whole thing? oui. with white cheese? got it. fry them with olive oil and serve with ice cream?"
indeed, we miss many things but it's flattering when people speak to us in french and, what's the worse that can happen? that we'll end up w/ a extra peach?
OMG!!!! it's 9:30am here and the pics of your food is making me hungry - I think I could eat it even this early in the morning! YUMMIE and of course of all the fruits + vegetables in the mkt my luck I would be the garlic!! LOL
Vi-there is SO much violet stuff here!! haha you need to move to Provence!
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