Gnomes, monks and a dinandier

Scheming gnomes trying to look innocent

On an unusually sunny and lovely day yesterday, we took a  drive to Montignac to cruise through a somewhat disappointing little Brocante fair. Despite the slim pickings,  we still managed to liberate seven disgruntled gnomes from their previously ignominious existences lurking about in the back of someone's barn. I'm not sure if they're happy with their new home yet...some of them look a little suspicious of their new surroundings. I think they're planning something...

Village of St. Amand de Coly

   As we headed back toward Sarlat from Montignac, we decided to make a left turn and head into the hills to visit the little village of St. Amand de Coly. I've wanted to go there for years and years now, but we've never turned off the main route to follow that tempting sign.

   We were surprised to find ourselves there in just a few minutes, and even more surprised by how quiet and calm it felt, while the rest of the region around Sarlat was madly teeming with hordes of tourists.

 

A parishioner collects dead flowers from the altar displays

St. Amand de Coly is home to a magnificent and looming 12th-century fortified church which also served as a hermitage and abbey. Spiritual needs gave way to defensive requirements during the Hundred Years' War, when the church was more of a fort than a place of meditation.

It's a very tall, imposing tower, foreboding and austere and impenetrable. Some of the defensive walls are as much as four meters thick, and there is still a large ditch or moat around the perimeter. Yet the interior is well-lit, wide open and uplifting. A simple wooden cross adorns the main altar.



The pale golden stone glows with the light from the windows; some portions of chapel walls show traces of frescoes that have faded away. Refreshingly, there's not much inside the church other than ancient, worn stone floors and staircases and an open, airy and austere space. It's simple, unembellished, with no fancy giltwork or elaborate cornices or decorations or statuary. Just those cool, silent stones.

Les Toits en Lauze

The cluster of houses around the church have well-maintained (and/or restored) lauze roofs, made of heavy slabs of limestone wedged into a wooden roof system designed to support their weight. 

To the right, you'll see some interior and exterior views of these amazing and typical roofs, found only in the region around Sarlat.

The peculiarly steep pitch of the roofs helps keep the entire structure from collapsing from the weight of the stones. Closely spaced beams and rafters add more  support for this indigenous roofing material with an approximate weight of 500kg per square meter – about 102lb per square foot.

Highlight of the visit...le dinandier.

 Alain Lagorsse has been hammering out a living for 35 years in St. Amand de Coly.  

His certification and achievements include Meilleur ouvrier de France, compagnon du tour de France et des Arts Sciences et Lettres

Rolling and pounding

These awards are kind of a big deal, indicating that his original craft education included at least seven years of rigorous  training and apprenticeship.  Compagnons du Tour de France are highly esteemed;  those who survive the program and are awarded membership in this mysterious 'brotherhood' are considered to be among the top artisans of their crafts, which originally included watchmaking, masonry, metalwork and carpentry. You can read more about the Compagnons du Tour de France here: Compagnons du Tour de France

Alambic still and saucepans

Above, Mr. Lagorsse is hammering out a sheet of copper to replace the chimney on the oval tank seen on the right. It looks like a muffler, but it's really part of a portable alambic still. Although he's primarily known for his delicious kitchenware, he still does all kind of metalwork as needed, handling odd jobs and repairs for his local clientele.

Mr. Lagorsse's workshop

His workshop overflows with an amazing collection of tools of his trade, from various anvils, forms, lasts, drill presses, finished and unfinished projects both utilitarian and decorative, to hammers, awls, and rollers.

A vast selection of his hammers

I thought a hammer was just a hammer. Silly me. I guess he needs about fifty different hammers to get the job done properly. Some of the hammers were as beautiful as the items he produces with them.

Shining, gleaming pots and pans

His copper cookware is exceptionally beautiful, totally handcrafted, signed by the artist, and  expensive.

I'll be back someday, and treat myself.

    

Off to the Brocantes!

You've probably seen my references to brocante fairs and vide greniers. Maybe you've wondered why the heck Albert and I spend at least a little time, nearly every weekend, wandering through these open air markets where people sell junk/antiques/bric-a-brac. Maybe it goes waaaaay back to when we first met, in the mid '70s. We had little or no expendable money then (about the same as now, probably), so we would spend our romantic weekends wandering through the Sebastopol (Calif) flea market, and every once in awhile we'd hit the big Veterans Building parking lot flea market in Santa Rosa. I guess we like to look at other people's cast-offs.

 Now that we spend six months in France each year, we were thrilled to find that we could start wandering among tables of FRENCH cast-offs. We rarely actually buy something, but we just love looking at old stuff and figuring out what it was used for, when it was made, etc.

Biscuit jars and Baccarat crystal

 A  brocante is a place (either a store or a gathering of dealers) where one can buy used items, some which may be just old junk, others which may be true Antiques  (antiquités). The first two pictures have some pretty high class, beautiful and expensive items. These were tables belonging to professional dealers.

Silver and Limoges porcelain

A vide grenier (empty attic) is an event where community members pay for a table or tables, and bring things from home to sell. It's something between a flea market and a rummage sale. This is where you might find a bargain...or you just might stumble into what we call a BBT. Broken baby toys.

I think the deer foot hat holders are interesting, but can't say I want them in my house. 

Some things to hang your hats on

The photo below is a fun mix of items. Note the remnants of last year's politics on the steel door, the tattered remains of a poster advertising a new political party, the Anticapitalists.

Here's a typical conglomeration of fabric, statuettes,  old clocks, a painting, an old fan...and a ceramic raccoon?

Now, what do you collect?  Old wooden duck decoys or hand-painted whirligigs? Bird decoys? Cork pullers? Oil lanterns? These decoys were really cool folk art items. But very expensive.

Old duck decoys

Stick-in-the-mud bird decoys

 Perhaps tool collecting is your game. Here we have some interesting old carpenter's planes...

 ...and the tools of the butcher trade, a chopping block, cleaver and butcher's saw!

 Maybe doll furniture is your thing?

 Or real vintage clothing?

What are you looking for?

Zucchini Sott'Olio -- a zucchini recipe!

Is your garden giving you its last blast of veggies? Are you overwhelmed with anonymous gift bags of zucchini from your neighbors? Did you just lift a leaf in your garden and discover a zucchini longboat hiding underneath?

Who knows better what to do with mountains of zucchini than true Italians?

Our dear friends Sara & Maurizio (from Varese) came for their SEVENTH visit to La Tour de Cause B&B a few weeks ago -- and brought with them the secret for "Zucchini Sott'Olio." We happened to have a few too many zukes at the time, so Sara generously jumped into the kitchen and showed us the way.

NOTE:  This is a bit of a freeform "Depends" recipe.  Depends on how many zucchini you have...by the time you reach the stage that you'll be putting the zucchini in jars, you'll have an idea how many containers you'll need and what sizes. You'll need  widemouth jars; wider and shorter is better than taller and narrow. Have a few different ones available, and see how many you can fill.

I used about eight medium zucchini, and ended up nearly filling a one-liter (one quart plus) wide mouth jar. I could've put in another zucchini, possibly even two more, if I'd had them.

You'll also need a large, flat-bottom receptacle for salting, then soaking the zucchini. I used a stainless steel pasta pot, but you could use a large, flat bottomed bowl or even a small dishpan. Just be sure it's non-reactive. And you'll need something to press down on the salted zucchini. A plate and something heavy (bricks? stones? another pot full of water?).

You'll also need a little bit of time on three consecutive days -- then three weeks of patience while your zucchini soak up all the herbs and seasonings you're going to feed them.

Step one is cutting the zucchini, then salting them to remove the water.

Step two is soaking the de-watered zukes in white vinegar.

We cut ours into 2" to 3" sections, then into 8 or 10 spears.

Step three is assembling the zucchini and other ingredients and covering with olive oil.

Then time will work its magic.

#1. DAY ONE. Choose about ten medium zucchini, wash them, dry them, and cut them into two-inch lengths. Don't fret a lot about the exact dimensions -- you ultimately want slender pieces you can eat in one or two bites. Try to make them of a consistent size.

Petanque balls make great weights!

   Put the slice zucchini into your pasta pot or other flat bottomed bowl or pan, and add about a 1/4-cup of coarse sea salt. Use your hands or a big spoon to gently lift and mix the zucchini to distribute the salt.

   Then put a plate or smaller pot on the zukes and put weights on top to press down firmly on the salted zukes. (I used the pasta strainer on top, with a plastic bag of petanque balls for weights!) Let this sit for 24 hours. You'll be amazed by how much water appears!

#2. DAY TWO. Take out your weights and drain off all the water. The volume of zucchini will be much reduced after all that water has gone away. Now you can begin to get an idea of how many and what size jar(s) you'll need. Leave the veggies in that original salting pan, cover the zucchini with a good cooking-quality white vinegar and let this sit for another 24 hours. You might want to put a cover on this so your kitchen doesn't reek of vinegar. (Doesn't the smell of vinegar always remind you of coloring Easter eggs?)

#3. DAY THREE. Assembly time. Gather a healthy collection of sprigs of rosemary, thyme, and fresh basil, or other herbs of your choice. You'll also need half a dozen peeled cloves of garlic, an onion or two, and black peppercorns.

Drain the vinegar off the zucchini and discard (the vinegar, dummy, not the zucchini!).

Begin laying the spears in the jar

Lay your beautiful, clean jar on its side and begin arranging your zucchini spears on the side of the jar, so that when the jar is upright you'll see them standing up like soldiers. Gradually intersperse segments of sliced onion, garlic cloves, sprigs of your fresh herbs, among the layers of zucchini spears.

Continue turning the jar and adding more zucchini, onion, garlic and herbs, with an occasional few black peppercorns.

If you're feeling adventuresome, try adding two or three spicy red or green peppers, or thin slices of red bell peppers.

Lay in more of your ingredients, turning the jar bit by bit, until you've got a pretty well-packed jar. Put the jar upright, and layer in more zucchini and friends until you've nearly filled the jar. Strew a few more garlic cloves, herbs and peppercorns over the top.

  Then,  slowly pour a good  olive oil into the zukes, to cover all.

IMPORTANT -- For the next few days, trapped air will need to escape from between all the goodies in your jar. Use a cake skewer or thin knife blade to carefully probe between the spears to release the small air bubbles. Slide the knife blade carefully down the side of the jar, then gently press against the zucchini...you'll see little bubbles of air work their way up to the top.

Do this occasionally for several days until no more bubbles appear.

Now, wait patiently for at least three weeks until you allow yourself to sample the best zucchini you've ever eaten!

Thanks to Sara and Maurizio Santini for sharing their culinary expertise and secret recipe.
Sara says for a fantastic alternate version, try using all those GREEN TOMATOES! 

Sunflowers vs. Cigarettes

This is the first time we've seen sunflowers planted in the Céou Valley. It's usually been stands of feed corn, tobacco, wheat...but this year the tobacco plantings were distinctly absent. Instead, we have field after field of sunflowers! What a fantastic way to phase out smoking!

Neighbors say the government has either dropped subsidies for the tobacco, or maybe they told me the prices were set so low (also by the government) that it's not worth planting anymore. My French is better than it was in the beginning, but I still miss some subtleties in rapid conversation. Actually, sometimes it's not just the subtleties I miss. Sometimes I miss the whole point. But I think, essentially, that since there's been a big "anti tabagisme" campaign in France, someone in government thought it was a bit hypocritical for the powers that be to support the tobacco-growing industry and at the same time, tell people to quit smoking.
In any event, I'm delighted to look at sunflowers out my kitchen window. Much prettier.

Interesting note...I'm reading an interesting history book right now which tells me that corn has been grown in the Perigord for centuries. I'd thought it had only been used in France as animal feed (ducks, geese, cattle), but I'm learning that in the 1700s, the people of the Sarladais were so impoverished that they ground corn into a coarse meal, from which they made various poor-quality breads and cakes to sustain them through the winter. Chestnuts were used similarly, and for some peasant families, these two foods were their primary sources of protein. One early doctor recorded that he had never seen such a high rate of malnutrition, evidenced by the swollen bellies of many children, as he saw in the region of Sarlat.

Julie, Julia and Me

Drawn in by my adoration of Julia Child and a mild interest in the Julia/Julie blog a few years ago, but mostly by the chance to see an American movie in V.O. (version originale), we zoomed into Sarlat this afternoon to see the new movie, "Julie & Julia."

I loved it. Yes, maybe Meryl was a little over the top with her hoots and high heels, but I found myself teary-eyed, reminiscent and nostalgic. I've always adored Julia Child. When she died, I felt a little like when John Lennon was shot...shocked that someone who was part of my world was gone.

We stopped at the supermarket on the way home, picked up beef cut for bourguignon, some smallish white onions, mushrooms and a bottle of cheap Bourgogne, hustled back to the house and I threw myself into making Julia's Boeuf Bourguignon. It's 8:30 p.m. now, and the beef has another half-hour to go before I assemble the dish with the braised onions and sautéed mushrooms. We won't be eating until 9:30 tonight...but we'll be raising a glass to Julia.

dot...dot...dot...

The boeuf bourguignon was delicious, despite my not having any beef broth or bouillon in the house. I improvised with chicken broth plus Worcestershire sauce and a few drops of soy sauce...and it was just fine. Not sublime. Just fine.

And it's all about who you share the meal with, anyway. We ate in front of the TV, watching "Mystery Men." I'm not sure Julia would've appreciated the film, but her recipe made it all the better. And she's my own SuperHero.

Whew!

We're exhausted but thrilled with this season so far at La Tour de Cause bed and breakfast, after a busy summer. New friends have been made, old friends have come back for visits, and we hope our all our guests so far have taken home good memories!

It's the weekend of the "rentrée," the semi-official end of summer and the reentry to school, to work, to real life, for the thousands of tourists who swamped the Dordogne River Valley during the last few weeks.

A steady stream of amazing and lovely guests passed through our gates this year -- Dutch, English, Scottish, Irish, Canadian, French, Italian, Indonesian, American...who am I missing?

We had families, singles, couples, multi-generational groups, young, "older," honeymooners, birthday and anniversary celebrants, lovers, friends.

We had several delightful young women (yes, Jody & Lorrie -- you are YOUNG!) stay with us as live-in "laundry girls," helping with room changeovers and laundry in exchange for room and board and good times. Bless their hearts!

What do our guests have in common?
It seems the "typical" guest at our B&B is open-minded and inquisitive, progressive or liberal, interested in history and/or prehistory, an Anglophone, college-educated, middle-income or comfortably well-off.

Most arrive with an established respect and admiration for French culture and French people- although I'll admit we've had a few pass through who still cling to the myth of "rude France," or who still somehow believe that French people dislike Americans.
Hopefully, their brief visit to this heartland of France has changed their minds.

Breakfast table conversations have been lively, with spirited round table discussions of health care systems around the world, current politics, the economy, global warming and vigorous debates about the best local restaurant. Somehow, we haven't been able to figure out a simple answer to any of these pressing issues, but I've got lots of notes to share when the Obamas come stay with us. Ha!

Still six weeks to go, and a few vacancies yet to fill. We take a deep breath and look forward to new arrivals!

Marché Nocturne at Audrix

We celebrated our Fourth of July by heading off for the picturesque village of Audrix, north of Siorac and south of Le Bugue, for the first summer "marché nocturne" (night market) of the year. We feared it might be overrun with visiting Americans who may have read about this charming gastronomic event in last May's Gourmet Magazine.

But we were pleasantly surprised to find the gathering crowd mostly French, and mostly hungry, like us. After quickly staking out our claim at a sunny table, we quickly emptied out our basket of important tools for this event -- tablecloth, bread knife, silverware, napkins, bottle opener and wineglasses. Gotta come prepared for an event like this!

Worrying about finding a parking place and an empty table, we had arrived early, about 6:30 p.m., and found plenty of room for our group of eight, six of whom were our Sonoma County guests at our B&B. They'd hoped to participate in an event like this during their stay with us, and we were happy to find that the first night market of the year would happen during their stay.

Our first bottles of Bergerac rosé were promptly opened, and some of us headed out to scout out the vendors and find goodies to bring back to the table. Not a problem...the first booths we headed to featured classic sampler plates of Perigordine treats such as dried, smoked thin-sliced duck breast, foie gras, green salad and walnuts, and some deep-fried escargot.

The escargot was actually from a small, local producer and was a bit of a surprise to me as it's not really a Dordogne regional specialty. Who knew there was an escargot rancher in our neighborhood? You can even visit their farm in nearby Vaunac for a tour and tasting, during the summer months.

Sadly, the deep-fried version was a little dough-y and I don't think it showed off the escargot well -- it could've been a little nugget of chicken or any other mystery meat in the middle of that dough-ball. But later, someone else went for the more classic preparation, in the shell with garlic-parsley butter, and the slimy little guys became tender, delectable treats.

We followed up with plates of sautéed foie gras, glazed with balsamic vinegar and a few drops of honey, grilled lamb with herbes de provence, cheeses, tourain blanchi (white garlic soup), and ...surprise...more wine!

Exceptional, artisanal ice creams finished us off -- with the sun-drenched flavors of local ripe fruits, and the always popular classics of deep bitter chocolate and creamy vanilla.

Side show of the evening was the dance of the bread baker. This guy works hard for his money. Watch a moment or two of his technique on this video...(oops! trouble uploading...check back later)

One half-hour after loading the oven, the boulanger was back at work, pulling the hot loaves out of the oven and onto a slatted table. We queued up to grab the steaming hot babies and juggle them from one hand to another as we waited to have them individually weighed so we could pay for them by the 100g...then a mad, juggling dash back to the table to tear it apart.

The stone and brick bread oven in the town square gets this same workout every Saturday night through August now -- and we'll be there as often as we can. Can't think of a better way to spend a summer Saturday evening in the Perigord!