More eating out

Over the course of this past summer, I’ve discovered a few new restaurants, and re-visited others.  Be warned, this post contains many food pictures!!

La Galiniere is in Capestang, which is not all that far from Saint-Chinian.  I don’t know why I had never been to this restaurant before, but I’m very glad that I finally I went!  The restaurant is located on a little square, not far from the centre of the village.  To one side is a wonderful mural, a real trompe l’oeil!  You don’t get the full sense of it from the photographs – it is amazing if you are there in person!

Just across from the terrace of the restaurant is this fountain.

The starters were all delicious and the portions were generous!

Crispy chicken salad

Gaspacho

Marinated salmon

The main courses were as delicious as the starters, and the portions were once again generous!

Salmon with almonds and tapenade (the little jar contains a ratatouille flan)

Steak with a red wine sauce

The “Galiniere” burger made with duck breast

Cod crusted with tapenade

The cheese plate was modest in size compared to the previous two courses, which was welcome at that point!  The cheeses were very good!

When it came to dessert the lights had come on.  My poor camera had trouble coping with the light, and hence the following pictures are a little below par.

Strawberry mille feuille

An original way of serving sorbet!

The chef’s take on lemon meringue pie

I’ve not been able to find a website for La Galiniere, but from a facebook page it appears that the restaurant is closed Monday and Tuesday.  Reservations can be made on +33 (0)4 67 26 14 77.

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My visit to the Auberge de Madale was a re-visit – I had eaten there a number of times but the last time was several years ago.  It was wonderful to see the (positive) changes which had happened in the intervening years!  The dining room had been given a total makeover and is now very stylish.  The big and airy room has whitewashed beams, very comfortable chairs and a lovely feel.  Sound deflectors are suspended from the ceiling, and that means that the restaurant isn’t very noisy, even when it is full.  On the day I visited, the weather was a little ‘iffy’ so we could not sit out on the terrace, but that was fine!

The concept of the menu is very simple:  The price of 32 Euros per person includes everything – the aperitif, starter, main course, dessert, wine, coffee and petit fours.  There are no choices to be made – no agonising over which wine to select, or what to choose for dessert!!  The menu is posted on the website and it changes every two weeks!

Here is what I ate on recent last visit:

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Nibbles Cherry tomatoes marinated in vinegar, wrapped in a slice of radish, air cured ham on a crouton,  wonderful crisp bread with a tomato and pepper dip.

Rape de carottes des sables sur un yaourt au citron vert. Creme glacee saumon fume / Yuzu
Grated carrots on lime flavoured yoghurt. Smoked salmon ice cream with yuzu.

Tomate ‘Noir de Crimee’ / framboise. Cremeux pomme de terre/raifort racine, assisonne d’une vinaigrette betterave xeres
Black Crimean tomatoes / raspberries. Potato puree with horseradish; seasoned with a beetroot and sherry vinaigrette.

Pannacotta vanille, rhum et jus de melon. Sorbet abricots / basilic
Vanilla panacotta, rum and melon juice. Basil and apricot sorbet

Mignardises
Home-made marshmallows and dried fruit ‘sausage’

As you can see, the food is beautifully presented!  It tastes even better than it looks!!

The Auberge de Madale is open for lunch and dinner from Wednesday to Sunday.  Reservations are by telephone only on +33 467 230 193 – be sure to book well ahead.  Something else to be aware of:  the restaurant does not accept credit cards, payment is by cash or cheque only.

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The restaurant Parfums de Garrigues was another re-visit earlier this year.  I went to eat there not long after it had first opened many years ago, and then it somehow dropped off my radar!  When I went to eat there early this year, I enjoyed it so much that I went back two more times!!  The food was delicious each time I ate there.  Chef Jean-Luc Santure gained his experience working with such gastronomic luminaries as Jacques Maximin, the Troisgros brothers and Eckhart Witzigmann.

I’ll share with you the pictures of my latest meal in August at Parfums de Garrigues.

Nibbles!

Starter: terrine of foie gras

The fish course: razor clam, mussels, scallops, king prawn, white tuna, seabass

Fricassee of wild mushrooms

A palate cleanser – muscat sorbet with muscat eau de vie

A mixed grill with summer truffles

The cheese course – all perfectly ripe

Dessert was a mixed platter of home-made desserts and ice creams

All three meals at Parfums de Garrigues were delicious, and the food changed with the seasons.  I won’t wait all that long before I return there!

Do make sure that you book a table, you’ll find details on the website for the restaurant.

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Why we are here

This guest post was written by Lori – her home town is in British Columbia, Canada and she co-owns Mirabilis, a vacation rental house in St. Chinian, with her husband Mark.

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I wonder if we will ever get over the beauty of visiting the South of France, 🇫🇷 and for us especially the Languedoc area?  With the vast differences in local landscapes, you can drive 35 minutes to the cool breezes of the sea or 20 minutes the other way to the stunning village of Roquebrun and the regional park landscape.  At home in Canada this would require 2 different provinces and a 6-7 hour drive to achieve such diversity.

Right in the middle of these two landscapes, my husband bought us a renovation project vacation house in the loveliest little wine town called Saint-Chinian.  Every year we manage to escape our regular grind of life and make our way to Saint-Chinian for a glorious three weeks of French bliss!  We know we are home the moment we park our little rental car in the lay-by overlooking Saint-Chinian, with the mountains in the distance.  We open the doors to be greeted by the sound of the singing cicadas. After a big deep breath, smiles take over our faces and instant relaxation sets in.  We travel the winding road down the steep valley into the downtown with excitement to see what is the same and what has changed since our last visit. Driving down the road beside the market square, it’s wonderful to see the elderly people sitting on the benches, having conversations and watching life.  As we turn the corner to drive down the road to our house, we ask each other the burning question: “Will there be parking available outside the house?”  YES!

After unpacking, we start with the deliberations as to which of the many restaurants on the Main Street will we walk to for dinner, knowing full well that my favourite restaurant “Le Village” will be the chosen one!

After years of vacations, it is super nice to be recognized by the proprietors and villagers and sometimes overhear, “It’s the Canadians”.  Market day I have to find our friend with the clothing stand for some idle chitchat and to purchase a couple of dresses, which is what he has come to expect. Summertime is amazing, with Artisan Night Markets, two major weekly morning markets, flea markets (like an immense yard sale) on Saturdays, outdoor movies on Thursdays, wine tasting events, music concerts, great restaurants, walking tours and endless people watching.

I would say that this is such a great spot to come and have a vacation because there is something for everyone. People fall in love with this area and they keep coming back!

If you ever wanted to have a vacation in this lovely area, then don’t hesitate!!! Until next year!

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The singing fool

Do you know which French singer was given the nickname Le Fou Chantant? I’ll give you a clue: one of his most famous songs is called La Mer. You’ve probably heard that song at least once, perhaps in its English version called Beyond the Sea, performed by Bobby Darin and others, and more recently by Robbie Williams for the film Finding Nemo.  No, it was not Debussy, he didn’t sing!

A mural in Narbonne

The singer’s name is Charles Trenet – had you guessed it!?  Charles Trenet was born in Narbonne on May 18, 1913, at a time when his father was notary public in Saint-Chinian, and where Charles spent much of his early years.  Charles’ mother had inherited her parents’ house in Narbonne, which is where Charles Trenet was born.  The house stayed in the Trenet family until Charles donated it to the town of Narbonne, on the proviso that it would be opened to the public as a museum.

I went to visit the Maison Natale de Charles Trenet, which is what the house is called today, during the last European heritage weekend.  A guided visit had been announced for 1:30 pm, and I thought that would be a perfect for my first visit.  When I got there, quite a few people were already waiting.  When the doors opened, a larger than usual number of people were admitted – lucky for me!!  🙂  We were ushered into what had been Charles Trenet’s living room on the ground floor of the house.

You can see that it was a little crowded!  The whole house is furnished as it was when Charles Trenet was still alive.  Here are some shots of the sitting room:

Our guide explained that Charles Trenet redecorated whenever he thought something looked a little shabby.  Consequently, there were four different kinds of wall coverings in the living room! 🙂

From the ground floor, a staircase swept up to the first floor (the second floor if you are in the US) – the mirrored wall in the entrance hall gave the impression of a double flight staircase!

The first floor of the house was the domain of Charles Trenet’s mother.  Here’s her little boudoir:

Next door was the bedroom where Charles was born:

The christening robe of little Charles has been framed and hung on the wall above the bed.

After his mother died, Charles Trenet had a sauna cabin installed In the room next to his mother’s bedroom – the only modification he made to the first floor following his mother’s death.  Apparently he spent half an hour in the sauna every morning – in his later years he attributed his good physical shape and the condition of his voice to that habit.

The bathroom next to the sauna is incredibly dated – I’m not sure which period it is from –  the 60’s or the 70’s?  The large fireclay bathtub in powder blue must weigh a ton, perhaps literally!

Across the hallway from the bathroom is the kitchen, with the same brown tiles as in the bathroom!

Amongst my pictures of the house, I cannot find one of the family dining room – this room was always very crowded during my visit, so perhaps that’s why.

There was another flight of stairs to climb to the second floor (third floor for readers in the US).  One of the walls surrounding the staircase was hung with red drapes.  On the narrow wall there was a picture of Christ on the cross, and the next wall up showed various record covers and publicity shots – a somewhat odd juxtaposition, but whatever…

The second floor was where Charles had his private rooms.  The large sitting room contained many personal mementoes and photographs.  The upright piano is where Charles would have worked on his songs.

His bedroom was next to the sitting room, and it was fairly spartan in its furnishings.

The bathroom next door was of a more recent vintage than his mother’s bathroom.  There were still some toiletries on the shelf above the sink.

Across the hallway from the bathroom was a guest bedroom.  I’m not sure that I could live with that colour scheme 🙂

The kitchen on this floor must have been state-of-the-art at one point!! The wall-mounted refrigerator on the left is from the 1960s.

Charles Trenet had a number of homes in France, but he frequently visited his birthplace and he was always very attached to Narbonne.  I leave you with a song (e-mail subscribers, please visit the website to view the video), and a picture of the bronze statue in the little front garden of the house.

The Maison Natale de Charles Trenet is located at 13 Avenue Charles Trenet in Narbonne, and open to the public every day except on Mondays.  You can find full details here.

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The spice of kings

The spice of kings is saffron – a spice as expensive, or sometimes more so, than gold.  The reason behind the high price is not its rarity, or a difficulty in growing the spice.  It is entirely down to the laborious process of harvesting!

The saffron crocus (crocus sativus) is an autumn flowering perennial.  The red “threads” (the stigmas and styles of the flower) will turn into the precious spice once dry.  I’ve been growing saffron in my garden for a number of years, with varying degrees of success.  Last year, none of the corms produced any flowers.  This year has been much better! 🙂

One day last week,  I was able to pick twelve flowers!!  Saffron flowers emerge shortly after the leaves appear, sometime in October.  The leaves persist until around May, when they dry out and the plants lie dormant over the summer.  Saffron  plants need free draining soil and a sunny position – apart from that they aren’t fussy.  I adore all the different colours in the saffron flowers, they are so vibrant and gorgeous!

The flowers should be picked as soon as they open.  The threads are then removed from the flowers and dried.  I like to keep the flowers in water until they wilt, they are so beautiful to look at!

Each flower has three threads and produces on average 30 mg of fresh saffron or 7 mg of dried saffron.  About 150 flowers yield one gram of saffron!  Saffron flowers need to be hand picked, and the threads are also removed by hand, hence its very high price!!

Here’s what the threads above amount to after drying:

Not a great deal, but I’m hoping that my saffron harvest isn’t quite finished yet!!  🙂

The use of saffron dates back more than 3,500 years, and it has always been an expensive spice.  It’s been used as a fabric dye, for medicinal use, and for culinary purposes. Here are some dishes which wouldn’t be the same without saffron:  risotto milanese, paella, bouillabaisse, jewelled rice, and biriyani.  There are many other culinary preparations which use saffron – do you have any favourites??

And to finish this post, here’s a tip which came from the grower I bought my corms from.  He told me never to add the saffron threads directly to a dish.  He recommended that the threads be soaked in a some warm water for a little while, strained out and dried.  They could then be used up to three times, much like a vanilla bean.  Using saffron that way makes it a lot less expensive!

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