Monday, September 12, 2011

Provence




Was rummaging through the shelves of my favourite second hand book store in Bras Basah complex and a  hard cover book with a beautiful illustration caught my eye. A Table in Provence, Classic Recipes from the South of France was published in 1987 and chronicles Lesile Forbes ' culinary odyssey of Provence, in the kitchens of the people she met - gourmets, grandmothers, shop keepers and vine growers. Handwritten in manuscript and illustrated through the most charming drawings, it shows what makes southern French food so memorable - " terra cotta pots of basil and fennel, bundles of wild thyme, savory and rosemary from warm hilltops, bottles of fruity olive oil, ropes of white garlic and baskets of thumb nail-sizes clams." From truffle hunting in the Luberon to the rich variety of Provencal bread, from calissons, a famous almond and melon sweet meat to the most luscious recipes featuring aubergines, zucchinis, pumpkins and olives. All these paint a most inviting attraction to visit Provence for its beautiful countryside and to taste its rich produce. 
Is Provence as lovely as she had described ?

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