Kathy Morton

Flashes of red appear in the distance as M.Otxoa leads our small group out of town and into the green fields. We make our way down the narrow grassy path as the spicy aroma of dried peppers intensifies. M. Otxoa points out the drying house on our left. Don't worry, he tells us, we'll come back after we've visited my pepper plots.

France is a country of wine: renowned and envied wines to be sure, but there are many lesser-known yet noteworthy wines as well.  I'd like to introduce you to a small appellation - Beaumes de Venise, which is designated a  Site of Exceptional Culinary Taste in Provence. The terraced vineyards of Beaumes de Venise are worth visiting and wine is certainly worth tasting!

"A good gardener must have passion for new discoveries"
~Jean-Baptiste de La Quintinie, 1690

 

May is month of many celebrations in France.  Traveling around France in May can be a little challenging ... businesses may be closed, but there's always some kind of fête wherever you are.

People are clamoring for the green pearls of Le Puy. Not pearls of haute couture, but pearls of haute cuisine, known as la lentille verte du Puy (pronounced pwee), the green lentils of Le Puy in the Auvergne region of France.

When in Normandy, make time to enjoy the region's culinary offerings. Among its many sites for quality products and taste is the bucolic hilltop Domaine St.Hippolyte,  an award-winning 16th- century working dairy and apple farm. "It's a living postcard of Normandy's past and present," proclaims Madame Leroux, a gentille femme who will welcome your visit.

While traveling through Bretagne one very cold January, I had the opportunity to spend a few days in the small picturesque village of Pont Aven. This charming fairy-book town of modest, thatched granite houses, a flowing river and old mills, is known for being the home of artist Paul Gaugin. In the culinary world, Pont Aven is a designated “Site of Exceptional Culinary Taste” for being the delicious epicurean land of melt-in-your-mouth butter cookies - les galettes et les sablés beurrés.

Twisted trunks of Tanche olive trees, their leaves sparkling like silver in the warm soleil de Provence, bear buds of ripening promise for the fall.  Tree-ripened olives will go to the mill to be crushed, oozing into delicious, rich huile d'olive.

Normandy has miles and miles of apple and pear orchards. In the springtime, blossoms perfume the air and provide stunning views of the countryside. In the fall, the scent of ripe juicy fruits is undeniable.

For so many of us, soufflés are mysterious, sexy and oh so French. So where better to experience the ultimate soufflé than in Paris? The place to indulge yourself is La Cigale Récamier.