Showing posts with label Market. Olives.Recipe. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Market. Olives.Recipe. Show all posts

12 June 2016

A mixed bag

This time of the year is always busy for us.
 Garden to keep tidy for our guests 
Especially this adorable 'Labradoodle'  from Holland.
 He was the star  staying in La Petite Maison
I found out he even takes his own selfies.

 Summer time is a must for market shopping.
always get there early, before the crowds appear.
I start off with the fruit stalls.

Then the Charentais melons, to take home and have for lunch
served with some jambon cru, and a crusty baguette.

There was even a stall selling Jambon from the Auvergne.

Local honey on a croissant for breakfast.


 A medley of tasty vegetables for lunch.

Traditional goodies to savour.

A lovely selection of rose shrubs.




Then I found a lovely stall with an English lady selling beautiful original things.
I loved these old cases & boxes she covers in decoupage.



 In the summer there's always an organ grinder playing music .


Time for a spot of people watching and a cup of coffee before leaving.


Easy all in one meals.
Then the joy of eating outside.
Followed by Strawberries from the Dordogne.( The best in France )

Family and friends popping in for aperitifs. 

All the things I love about summer.

How about you, what do you enjoy the most about summer ?

I'm looking forward to some long sunny summer days and evenings.
Spent outdoors.

à bientôt
Barbara Lilian

19 May 2016

Preparing my hanging baskets.


Due to the unseasonal weather conditions this year, I'm so far behind
preparing hanging baskets than previous years.
Although the nights are still cold, I need to get the baskets prepared.
With not much enthusiasm we went to a small family owned garden centre.


It's nothing like what you would visualise as the usual
'Garden Centre' no fancy glass greenhouses
with electrically controlled ventilation and watering system.

4 poly tunnels an array of country animals wandering freely
 and a friendly lady to greet me.

Sorry no photos I didn't have my camera
so close your eyes
 and imagine you're in the heart of rural France, and step back 30 years .

There are 4 poly tunnels with flaps at each end, the entrance and the other end for some ventilation. 2 of the poly tunnels are full of vegetables, as they do sell their vegetables at the markets. I think the flowers might have started as a side line,
probably just a few geraniums and petunias .
I usually have an idea what I'm looking for. I noticed this year there was more choice.
 I choose all my own plants, put them in a veg. box which are provided. I then go to a little table where there's a lady, who was dead heading all the plants,  she asks me
 how many I have, she writes it down on a piece of paper ripped out of what 
looks like child's exercise book. I have to go to the little shop to pay, where they sell
their vegetables . On leaving I was handed a plastic bag containing fertiliser grains. and told how to look after my plants to get the best results.
and left with their good wishes of...
'au revoir et bonne plantation'
 How charming is that, you certainly don't get this service in the towns.

I did notice a few elderly ladies in their wrap around house pinafore dresses, who had brought their own plant pots to have them planted up with a few geraniums, 
while they chose the vegetable plants to put in their potager.  

 We have bought some of our plants from here for the past 2 yrs
 and been really pleased with the quality and far better value 
than any of the large Jardi-land centres.


This is the selection I chose. They look really healthy.



Trailing Verbena.




White Alyssum

 dble. Sufinias




Brachyscome angustifolia

Begonia senegat.
we had these last year and they flowered from may to October. 
last years baskets.
Pink begonia senegat. 

Simple dark red leaved begonia.



Hopefully by the weekend we will have them planted and hanging.

How are you getting on planting up your summer flowers.

Do you use summer annuals for a splash of colour on your terrace.
I'd love to see what you choose and how you display them.

I hope the weather is warming up for everyone.
Happy planting / Bonne plantation

à bientôt

Barbara Lilian


11 July 2015

Market day


I haven't been to Piegut- Pluvier market for a long time.
It's rated as being the best market in our area and stall holders come
 from far and wide, it's always very busy especially during the summer season;
so we like to arrive early. It's about a 25 min. drive from where we live.

 Most times I go to the market with our visitors or a friend.
It's not very often Mr France comes with me, but as we were up early
 he came with me. Here he is with my straw market basket.

We started off buying lots of fruit.
The Apricots were almost as big as the peaches.


I needed to stock up on fresh garlic so searched out my favourite stall.
It's always much cheaper to buy them loose.
I only buy the platted strung garlic as gifts.
Next I wanted summer fresh vegetables.
I'll be making summer salads with the Haricot vert beans.

This is how I make a quick simple bean salad.
Top & tail the beans. bring a large pan of salted water to the boil
cook the beans just enough to still have a crunch, about 7 to 10 mins.
drain in a colander, then plunge them straight away into iced water,
this will keep them green.
Put the beans into a serving dish, and drizzle some good quality olive oil over them,
  add some thinly sliced spring onions, toss tog. season with ground black pepper.
If you make a large amount, they will keep for a few days stored
in a sealed plastic container, in the fridge.


I noticed a lot of the stalls I used to visit were not there anymore,
so I decided to look around to find a new source for good fresh veg.
I saw a queue, at a  stall I'd never seen before, this is always a good sign.
 It was all Bio vegetables, which is usually more expensive, but their prices 
were very competitive. I had a peep first and all their produce looked top quality 
so I tagged on at the end of the queue. I noticed most of the people had
crumpled brown paper bags in their hands, which I assumed were from
their last visit and they must be regular customers. 
So not only were the producers Eco friendly all their regular clients were too.
So I'll certainly be buying my vegetables from there again.

 I bought a kilo of plum tomatoes with the intention of slow roasting them,
but I made a tomato salad drizzled with olive oil & sprinkled 
with fresh basil with a crunchy baguette for lunch,
I wish I'd bought more. I'll have to buy more next week .

My last purchase were olives to have with our evening aperitif.


So many types so I left that purchase for Mr France to choose.


He chose Greek and Moroccan, black olives


 There were lots of wine stalls, we only looked this time.
maybe next week we'll try wine from another region.



 Vin Rosé seemed to be the most popular.

I was pleased with the fresh fruit & vegetables I bought.
 Here's my straw market basket full of all things fresh.


I hope you enjoyed joining me along with Mr France at our favourite market.


à bientôt
Barbara Lilian