Out of the provinces and into Provence!

Lucky me, just as school is full-on I decide to leave the provinces and disappear to Provence. From 13degrees to 26C, two hours from Birmingham. The aquamarine swimming pool twinkled in the sunlight as the last swish of the Mistral flew by, I lay there soaking-up the rays, finally getting to the last chapter of the Hare with Amber Eyes. I must move.
The heavenly market at Lorgues was surprisingly similar to Beaulieu market, Nice market and Ventimiglia market but was washed in dappled light from the plane trees and full of smiling faces unlike any of the above. We purchased 2 small smoked hams, 4 salamis for 20 EURO. A kilo of lavender honey which glistened like a pot of liquid gold and 2 heavenly goats cheeses. Back home for lunch: a salad of goats cheeses drizzled with honey and balsamic vinegar and wafer thin slices of ham, fresh figs and of course a bottle of rose. We had stopped on the way home at the local château and purchased a case of the lightest and most delicious rose I have ever tasted. Gone are the days of dark pink, slightly sweet rose d'Anjou! Our wine was fresh and easy but still had enough body to enjoy. We had a triumphant lunch party the next day that started at midday and ended at midnight and I made a lavish Lemon Risotto to go with roast Sea Bass. This recipe is easy but takes a bit of time so make sure you have something else to divert you in the kitchen otherwise you may  loose the will...
Lemon Risotto ( about 4 lemons)
Take a large non-stick frying pan and melt some butter and olive oil together and then chuck in a small, finely chopped onion and cook gently until softened but not browned. Add very thinly pared lemon  rind, cut into very thin strips. I suggest 2 un-waxed lemons for 6 people. A good pinch of fresh thyme leaves and about 4 cloves of garlic, crushed. Cook for a few minutes more. Add a handful of arborio rice per person and cook together for a minute or two. Pour in some white wine, vegetable or chicken stock to cover and simmer slowly, stirring frequently. When the rice in about halfway through cooking, squeeze the juice of two to four lemons into the pan, season with sea salt,  freshly ground black pepper and freshly grated nutmeg. Add more stock whenever you need to, until the risotto is creamy. At the last moment stir in a big knob of unsalted butter and finely grate some lemon zest (1 lemon should do) into the risotto. Serve immediately with any roast fish, fowl or pork. Lemons vary hugely so if they are small and dry then you will need heaps of them but if large and juicy just a few should do.

Rumour has it that a certain château is looking for someone to run it for a season....TEMPTING!

I am sure I turned into a Chorizo sausage

I never for a moment thought that I could actually feel like a chorizo sausage but after 14 glorious days of a little slice or two before lunch with a glass of chilled dry sherry and then well, a few more  of both to be honest. Hitting the chorizo as soon as we were back from the beach with a glass of red wine, demolishing large quantities of both so that I could hold out until 9.30pm when we went out to dinner in the harbour. Of course there were scallops and chorizo and also beans and chorizo and last but not least potatoes and chorizo!  By day 9, I was flagging a bit and by day 14 I never wanted to see a sausage ever again! But it was addictive, I don't dare think what goes into it but now I am addicted to baby cherry tomatoes from my garden which I can only imagine is a huge improvement calorie-wise.
Gallicia was a triumph of unexpectedness! Lush green forests and gardens, fields full of .... ah well - houses.... but all very rural and pretty. Endless mountains or were they big hills and zig-zag bends that had The Pink Lovely (now aged 8!) in paroxysms of motion sickness the entire time. The very first day we found out why it was so green and lush, it rained.... and it rained.... and it rained... a lot! but when it was sunny then wow was it hot and we rushed down to the magnificent beach and absolutely freezing Atlantic ocean. The Pink Lovely who is undoubtedly made of sterner things than me, was to be seen body surfing without a wet suit for hours on end. A total Mystery where that comes from!
As we were staying in a fishing village we indulged every day  in fresh squid, octopus, mussels, fish and some weird looking seafood in 6inch shells like a big nail file. Sometimes cooked with rice but mainly fried with wedges of local lemons. Fantastic. As for the wines, well, I had no idea! My kind host liberally picked the finest of his wines and they were all delicious. Ribera del Duero amongst many others were so good that we never needed to have a  Rioja. This just goes to show that it is best to be adventurous when ordering wines from a wine dealer or supermarket and try wines from different areas instead of playing safe!On my return I order 3 cases of different Spanish wines and NO Rioja!

The Pink Lovely calculated on our return that she had eaten 28 ice creams in 2 weeks, this rather horrifying statistic was mainly due to the fact that we were not tempted by the puddings and cakes. Having said that, we found the most spectacular St. James Cake in Santiago de Compostella. It is a concoction of ground almonds, butter and sugar, baked and dusted with icing sugar which has the symbolic knife in the middle of the cake. Our kind friends made the cake for The Pink Lovely's birthday lunch and it was rather delicious and looked perfect as you can see from the picture.