Penne With Creamy Roasted Sweet Red Pepper Garlic Sauce...and the early autumn potager

Our sweet red peppers are coming in. And coming in. Did I say they are coming in?  They are and they are all gorgeous!

My Roasted Sweet Pepper Spread/Dip (recipe here) is not only a wonderful way to enjoy these scarlet delights but also to process any surplus as it freezes well.

Contains olive oil, roasted sweet red peppers, roasted garlic, cream cheese, fennel the herb, lemon & salt

Though tasting great when slathered on all manners of delicious breads and crackers, it also takes to pasta with ease. All that is required is to put a couple of tablespoons, along with a little bit of the pasta cooking water, onto a pile of penne. Add some freshly grated Parmesan if so desired and mix well. Garnish with a sprig of fennel (the herb, not the bulb).

As the days are now cool, I have harvested most of the green tomatoes, leaving a few on the plants to take their chances.

Broccoli, by leafing out with a vengeance, is adding a subtle blue to the autumnal palette.

Mornings tend to be somewhat misty chez nous as we are not that far from the Atlantic Ocean.

Bee-loving abelia in the forefront and asparagus festooned with red berries in the background

Few of the rose bushes are putting out buds. The jewel-coloured dabs eventually opened up once they were inside the sous sol's potting room. My looking through the window which confirmed a wintry chill is soon on its way only accentuated the joy of brushing my nose against soft, fragrant rose petals. 

The coral buds have a captivating Old World Rose scent, though the others are pas trop mal 

Dahlias last through early autumn. The many varieties offer great versatility. They can be as tall as five feet with blooms the size of dinner plates...

...or demure and dainty when dwarf.

An early rising of a half moon etched in the late-afternoon sky is one of the prettiest sights.

The cranes soon will be migrating towards North Africa, usually right over our house!

From the link below:  Here’s what happens. On average, the moon rises about 50 minutes later each day. But when a full moon happens close to the autumnal equinox, the moon (at mid-temperate latitudes) rises only about 30 to 35 minutes later daily for several days before and after the full Harvest moon. Why? The reason is that the ecliptic – or the moon’s orbital path – makes a narrow angle with the evening horizon around the time of the autumn equinox. The narrow angle of the ecliptic results in a shorter-than-usual rising time between successive moonrises around the full Harvest Moon.

Around September 27/28, depending where you live, look out for the full Harvest Moon, which will be also super-sized showing off a Blood Moon eclipse!

À la prochaine!

RELATED LINK

Comprehensive explanation regarding the up-and-coming Harvest Moon
September Equinox (day and night are approximately equal in length)

Caprese Socca...and Bouteville

An easy, delicious, and refreshing summer delight, Caprese salad is a cool, light way to enjoy the unbeatable trio of mozzarella, tomatoes, and basil. A slight autumnal chill is enough reason for harvesting the last of our potager's annual herbs and ripe tomatoes, so let's adapt this lovely dish into a warmly filling one.

Socca is a savoury pancake made from chickpea flour

Ingredients
feeds two for a light lunch/supper or a satisfying meal for one

• 8 T of chickpea flour
• 8 T of water
• 1/4 tsp salt
• mozzarella, 4 thin slices
• tomatoes, 5 thin slices
• Basil, fresh, a small bunch
• Olive oil, 1 to 2 T
• Salt and freshly ground pepper
• fleur de sel, olive oil, chiffonade of basil, sherry/balsamic vinegar for garnishing

Whisk flour, water, and salt together. Heat the oil in a heavy-bottomed skillet (23 cm/9 inch diameter), preferably well-seasoned iron or non-stick till hot enough to make water drops dance. Pour in the batter and quickly swirl the pan to even out the socca. Lower the flame. With a narrow spatula, work around edges to loosen as it cooks. More oil can be added to ensure a crusty browning and easy removal.

When it is mostly dry on top which takes a  few minutes, place the tomatoes, then cheese, and finally the basil. Cook till cheese melts and tomatoes are warm or another five minutes or so. Salt and pepper. Fold over, cut into two, and serve. Sprinkle fleur de sel/olive oil/sherry or balsamic vinegar and arrange chiffonade of basil on top.

Crunchy, creamy, saucy!

For last week's jaunt in our electric car, a Renault Zoe, we headed west once again, this time in the direction of Cognac. We explored a bit at Bouteville which is halfway to our destination. A ruined and pillaged chateau is undergoing partial restoration.

Presently the renovation is focused on a part of the upper story.

As we had the place to ourselves, the peace and quiet was most welcome. Ivy softened the edges of grey stone. I was happy to see the green abundance setting many seeds, but probably not as happy as the birds who will eat them throughout the winter.

Though we found strolling around the Chateau grounds and driving through the small village pleasant, the surrounding vineyards which could be seen from just about anywhere—neatly framed through arches, shimmering at the end of narrow streets lined with stone-houses—are stupendous.

Having seen quite a lot of vineyards, both here and in Napa Valley, I was amazed at how these, whose grapes make Cognac, are kept in the most pristine condition. No weeds or overgrown grass paths to be seen.

l'Ugni Blanc grape is an important varietal for making Cognac

The Calm One and I would love to hike on the trails. Maybe when les vendanges (harvesting of grapes destined for wine making) is in full swing...

Sentier/path, Chaumes/stalks remaining after grain harvest & coteaux/hilly vineyards

Cognac which we have visited previously is an engaging town, but this time we just wanted to test the Zoe's mileage limits and the availability of no-cost, rapid charging. So we repaired to the supermarket hosting the service, and after thirty minutes returned to find the Zoe close to being fully charged. And we got the grocery shopping done too!

The supermarket places the charge point close to the entrance facilitating shopping, etc.

Back in Angouleme, Dirac's desire to scrunch his furry self into small boxes continues.

If it contains anything, he tries to remove the offending objects—with a little help from us—so he can settle down comfortably.

The box is labeled CAT after all...

À la prochaine!

Herbs, Soup, Pasta & Fall Harvest...and the Charente countryside

Harvest is in the air which is still warm though tinged with a cool undercurrent. Annual herbs, like dill, parsley, marjoram, basil, and chives, all potted up in the spring, are getting their final trimming of the season. How to use that last flush of fresh herbs? In a nice pot of creamy potato, onion, dill, parsley, chives, and saucisses de Strasbourg soup...

Recipe link is at the end of this post

...or tossed with tagliatelle along with garlic, capers, olive oil, a little of the water from the pasta pot, salt, freshly ground black pepper, and Parmesan.

The trio of parsley, capers, and garlic are made for pasta

Delice de la Table, though a fantastic French variety of cantaloupe, is a challenge to ripen on the vine, at least this season with its short bouts of rain and long, bone-dry periods causing splitting which in turn means harvesting not fully ripe melons. But one did make it to full maturity and what a beauty it is! It matched the wondrous flavour of the others, but unlike those, its texture was equally wondrous. This is the best variety I have ever tasted.

When ripe, the skin turns a light golden with darker spots

Piments des Landes which are sweet when mature are being picked. There are some green, piquant ones on the plant that may need to be harvested before they have a chance to turn red.

Not quite a peck of peppers, and certainly not pickled, at least not yet.

The golden acorn squash bounty goes so well against the blue seat of our electric car, a Renault Zoe.

Though the car can be charged overnight chez nous when needed and at fairly low cost, we sometimes take advantage of the free, rapid charge provided by a nearby supermarket.

For last week's jaunt, we again headed west towards the village of Trois-Palis, leaving the Zoe near cornfields parallel to the Charente river.

Most of the corn grown in France is not delicious to humans, that is, it is not sweet corn, but food for livestock.

One side were cornfields, the other, the Charente...

How to take a photo of a gorgeous blue sky and billowing clouds? Turn your ankle in a cornfield path's pothole hidden by lush grass, fall face down with the camera and its fully extended zoom lens hanging from your neck so the whole kit and caboodle slams into your sternum in an exquisitely painful manner which you will never forget, then turn over on your back when the throbbing lessens a bit, and realise you got your camera, the sky, and an attractive angle exactly where you want them to be. In case if you were wondering, the photographer, camera, and cornfield are all doing fine. The sky, too, the last time I had the courage to look. And yes, I certainly put the fall in the harvest this time around...

Don't try this at home, kids!

À la prochaine!

RELATED POST

How to make potato/onion soup with herbs, crème fraîche, & saucisses de Strasbourg (some photos are corrupted in this old post but recipe remains correct!)

Late Summer Pizza...and tootling about

A brief respite from torrid temperatures spurred us to make pizza after a long period of deprivation. How long? Unbearably long.

Wonderful 'Liguria' tomatoes from our potager

Homemade pizza, we missed you! (Recipe link is at the bottom of this post.)

Toulouse sausage, mushrooms, mozzarella, Parmesan & tomatoes on slow-rise dough crust

Since we now have a Renault Zoe, a rearing-to-go electric car, we are planning to do an outing each week. We went exploring west of our city, Angouleme. Our first stop was a pathway along the Charente River near St. Michel.

Bamboos are very appreciated in France

Walking through a green tunnel made of foliage is one of the most calming experiences in the universe.

The winding Charente River is noted for its enchanting beauty.

Near the very pretty village of Trois-Palis were fields of sunflowers. Their drooping heads, laden with black seeds, mean their harvesting will be fairly soon.  Unless the birds get to them first.

Sunflower oil is one of our favourites

Right off the field was a farm...

...composed of stone buildings.

Solid & practical for sure, but also not without graceful lines

Dirac the Young Cat has done a cursory inspection of the Zoe's interior. Cursory because when he started to claw the driver seat's back, The Calm One showed him the door. In the house, he is interested in boxes but only if they are small.

We have lost count of the number of scratches Dirac proudly carries on his handsome nose.

À la prochaine!

RELATED POST

How to make pizza (some of the photos got corrupted on this old post, but the instructions remain correct!)

Ginger Cantaloupe Lassi with Raspberry Cream...and we got an electric car!

A French variety of cantaloupe, Delice de la Table, is being harvested presently in our potager. Its sweetness, flavour, shape, and colour are exceptional, but not its texture which is a bit fibrous so into the lassi glass it goes!

Raspberries are from our potager also

With judicious sieving, this makes a creamy, energising, late-summer breakfast or lunch.

Delice de la Table is deeply ribbed and when halved...

...it presents a most pretty scalloped, verdant edge.

Ingredients
makes one tall glass

• Cantaloupe, chilled, scrubbed well, seeded, peeled, and cubed
• Ginger, minced, 1 T
• Yogurt, chilled, 250 ml/8 fluid oz, reserving 1 heaping T for the raspberry topping
• Raspberries, a large handful
• Cream, 1 T
• Confectioner's/icing/powdered sugar for sweetening to taste the raspberry cream
• Garnishes: melon slivers and raspberries

Put the raspberries in a fine sieve over a bowl. First crush with a fork and then squash around with a rubber spatula, making sure you use a clean spatula to scrape the outside bottom of the sieve.  Blend a heaping tablespoon of yogurt and one of cream with the raspberry coulis. Sweeten with powdered sugar to taste. Put in the freezer.

Put the cubed melon along with the ginger into a food processor and mix until mostly crushed. Make a melon coulis the same way you did with the raspberries omitting mashing first with a fork. Whisk the melon coulis and yogurt till smooth.

Pour into a tall glass, spoon on the raspberry cream, and top with fresh melon/berries. Velvety and with an exquisite taste, this lassi made me glad that there are melon seeds for planting next season.

The days are still hot enough that I stay indoors except for early morning and evening so I often peek out through the shutters/awning.

Golden acorn squash is close to harvest

Ivy growing up one of the pergola's pillar and a sprawling rose of Sharon

The last car The Calm One and I owned was when we lived in America about a quarter of a century ago! That's because combustion-engine cars are hot, noisy, stinky, drip oil at the latest provocation, eat up gasoline more quickly than I a meal, and depreciate faster than paper currency. Not to mention their deleterious impact on the environment. Since then we made do with company/rental cars, public transportation, our feet, and in the case of grocery shopping, The Calm One's back.  However, at present, there is a suitable option. Though our sweet dreams are made of Tesla, we settled for a Renault Zoe.

Basically a computer on wheels, here it is charging merrily away

We both love how it accelerates, briskly that is, like all electric vehicles, and quietly, so much so, we are constantly surprising pedestrians who first are startled and then break into contagious smiling. Expect a lot of tootling about from us. Beaujolais Nouveau season is around the corner...then there is Toulouse...and we can't forget Aubeterre sur Dronne or Bouteville or Charmant...

À la prochaine!

RELATED POST

Spiced Blackberry Lassi

RELATED LINK

A combustion-engine car tested by a Swedish owner of an electric car...a hilarious read!