Au Revoir

Au Revoir, means goodbye in French and that is what I'm doing, saying goodbye to France. It seems like just yesterday that I was on a plane over here, not knowing what to expect, and not knowing just how I was going to fill two months of my life here. But, I think one could spend a lifetime easily is this quaint little nook of Southwest France. I went today on a final bike ride to Castelnaud-crisp air, turning trees, a babbling brook, and a giant castle in the distance-you can't just find this anywhere. I was reminded of all the special moments that I have had here in this valley. From cooking to cleaning, discovery of new foods to a new appreciation of the old, to making countless new friends and unbelievable memories, it has truly been an amazing experience. Below, some of my most memorable moments here in the valley, some featured on the blog and some not but all important to my experience and my time here

My home, the B&B

.

Albert & I at the first night market I went to of the year in Saint Cyprien

Wildflowers

Salade de Perigord-Duck Confit, terrine, gizzards-the best!

wine!

Learning about Foie Gras

Cenac Rugby Bodega

Foie Gras plate at Cabanoix

Fresh bread at a night market in Audrix

Daglan Faire

The Dordogne Valley

Medieval Kitchens

Dinner with a view

Castelnaud and kayaking :)

Wine tasting in Montbazillac

22nd birthday

The ruins of Chateau de Commarque

Making your meal at night market in Bouzic

Bouzic Firework Show

Lessons from Daniele

Learning more from her

Making pommes sarladaise and magret in Daniele's kitchen

Sarlat Market

So many vendors!

DUCK lasagna=YUMMY

St John Bread & Wine in London

Borough Market in London

Night at the Proms fireworks in London

Castelnaud Tete du Veau lunch

Tete du Veau with a large brass band

Walnut Mill

In the Kitchen, eating the lamb meal I made

What you see here is only a small explanation on my life for the past two months. Thank you Caitlin & Albert for the best time in the Dordogne. Now I'm off to Italy to start a new adventure with one of my best friends :)

A few of my favorite things....

WALNUTS! So maybe not a few of my favorite things, but one thing I have really come to love and enjoy in my time here in the Dordogne Valley. The area is known for these little guys and they come in all shapes and sizes-in cakes, wines, oils, cookies, salads, and by themselves. The walnuts have been rumored to have been in the area for over 17,000 years. Clearly something is right in this southwest corner for them to thrive. Driving through the valleys and hills, you can find groves of them lining the road, they have also marked out a Route du Noix to map out where the official AOC classified walnuts are It also seems that many of the old houses, and even some of the new, have their own walnut tree in their yard. Many people make their own walnut wine and walnut oil, so that tree out back becomes quite handy!

The harvest for the walnuts is October-November, so I am just missing big show. Traditionally after the harvest all winter long, people would sit around the fire and crack open the shells-a way to not only keep warm, but also to provide entertainment and conversation in the long, cold, and very dark winter days. Though I will be out of here before winter sets in, I have had my fair share of walnuts to enjoy and crack open and let me tell you, they are hard shells to get through!

Earlier this week, I had the chance to go visit one of the last standing traditional walnut mills that makes the wonderful walnut oil. Moulin de la Tour dates back to the sixteenth century and this small mill uses only water from a small brook to power the mill and the production of the oil. There is a small reserve of water now behind the mill and the water that they use goes back into the brook so the flow is not disturbed. Back in the day, there were about 10 mills on this small brook that all used and recycled their water back into the brook so that other people down the line could use it.

The tour starts with the main water will that brings in the water from the reserve pond,

The pond behind the main building

Water wheel! The darker bits is the wood still showing thorugh

It is actually made of wood, but the water here is very hard so it has calcified over the years. After it comes into the dark and smoky room, it heads straight to the grinder, where the shelled walnuts are placed to be ground up.

Don't put your fingers underneath that guy!

This process takes about 40 minutes to get them to the right consistency for the next step. The large wheel itself is from another local village, Domme. The village itself is situated up high on a cliff and the cliffs are what produce these beautiful chunks of rock. They would bring these down the hill and put them on barges on the Dordogne to bring to all around France. Once the 40 minutes is up, the walnuts go into the roaster.

The basin itself is a metal basin set into a stone base. They use chestnut wood, because it burns at a low temperature and gives a lovely aroma to the walnuts.

Chestnut wood stacked up outside with a friendly chicken

The water moves a piece that keeps the walnuts moving all the time so they don't burn. And even then, there is a fine line between done and burned so they have to be watched carefully! All in all, it takes about 40 minutes to roast. When they are just about done, they move them over to the press.

When the two guys got them all in and patted in between what looked like a burlap sack, they added the weight and then cranked down the machine-all 20 tons of pressure, yikes! The pressing process took about 10 minutes, and produced the oil. After this step they don't do anything except bottle it. It is 100% natural and only walnuts are used.

The bottom block starts completely above the walnuts and ends below the edge. Essentially meaning they start as the size of the block and are pressed down to very dry bits which is used for animal feed

The mill runs as true as they can to how they would have done it many years ago. It has been in the same family for three generations, and they train their employees with utmost care. Out guide, Felipe, was only there for the summer season and was more than kind to include English bits here and there so I knew what was going on!

Felipe!

Felipe mentioned that they are lucky that they are able to still produce the oil the same as many generations before. Each year they hope that the government doesn't interfere and put a stop to their production. Because of expensive standards, they are only allowed to make the oil on the property, anything else that they might be able to make-like cookies, cakes, mustard's, etc they cannot produce. It is these standards that shut down all the other mills in the area-they couldn't compete with the high prices of setting up completely sterile facilities for their small town production of a real, fantastic product.

I really hope that they are able to keep making the oil as their ancestors would. It is very good and they are very careful in production. Plus, I have loved putting the oil on anything I can, so I only want the best stuff! :)

Dinner a la Tour de Cause

The last week is quickly winding down here in France. The tourists have nearly headed home, the leaves are now rapidly falling, and there is a definite chill in the air. The are two tourists here that have just arrived from my quaint hometown. Neil and Maxine decided to take their vacation to France after I casually mentioned that I was going to be staying and working at the bed & breakfast. For them it has become a great excuse to see a lot of France, and for me, it was very welcome friendly familiar face. It was also an excuse for me to dash into the kitchen to cook a what I hoped to be, delicious meal!

Since being here, I have learned what the French have (amazing cheese, a butcher in every town) and what they do not (chicken broth, lack of microwaves). I have learned where to go to find the best produce, and which supermarket has what (because they do NOT all have the same things, sometimes items aren't there on certain days, etc etc). Most importantly, I think I have expanded my culinary knowledge in flavors and tastes. For my birthday about a month ago, my Grandma sent me a book called Lunch in Paris, by Elizabeth Band . It's a book about a traditional love story of an American girl and a French boy but includes delicious sounding recipes to try. I had just read a chapter that ended with a scrumptious orange and star anise lamb dish and since Neil and Albert (owner of the B&B) had both recently mentioned the loved lamb, it seemed like the perfect dish. A date was set (last night) and we brainstormed how to cook, and more importantly, where to find, lamb shanks.

A trip down to the local butcher in Castelnaud...

And a few laughs trying to tell the butcher what we wanted (because the name for shank is different for lamb, pork, and beef), we finally ordered six to pick up the next day. Since that hurdle was crossed, we went up to see the castle that has been looming in my horizon for the past two months, the Château de Castelnaud.

The castle, on the right, taken from an earlier kayaking river trip

The castle's kitchen

Friday the real preparation for the meal was made. Caitlin and I went to the farm co-operative to pick up as many fresh vegetables as we could...

The lettuces had been picked that day, beautiful in size and color. The potatoes were local and fresh. They are just the type of people you want to support-a full time farmer's market. We  couldn't unfortunately get everything here, so went to the local supermarket (where they were also having a wine fair and wine tasting), to pick up the Comté  cheese and some other items for the B&B.

Even at the supermarket, there is a fantastic cheese selection, with someone who knows a lot about cheese and can give suggestions

We got home and we were off! The lamb dish takes about an hour and a half to cook (slowly in the oven), and between the browning and the dicing of the vegetables for the sauce, I popped it in the over at 6. Dinner was supposed to be at 7, whoops! But, it left more time to eat some foie gras on toast before the meal was served.

Browned Shanks

Sauce ingredients

Smile!

Lamb + Sauce, about to go the oven

We started with a Salade de Betterraves, a beet salad! But not just any beet salad, one with lardon (bacon), the Comté cheese, and walnuts-some of my most favorite things in the world.

We then moved on to the lamb dish, that I took out of the oven just as we were serving the salad. Upon lifting the lid of the pot, I had a feeling it had been a success as the lamb was falling off the bone and a heavenly aroma wafted around the kitchen. Served with a side of boiled potatoes to soak up the sauce, it was tantalizingly good.

Pre-sauce for the potatoes!

For those of you who like lamb, or have a lamb lover in your life, I suggest this recipe to be tried immediately. It was so good and very warm and comforting on the nearly stormy night. Here's the recipe for you who would like to try it out! Adapted from Lunch in Paris

Souris d'Agneau à l’Orange et à la Badiane
6 lamb shanks
Coarse sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1-2 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium red onion, dices
1 head garlic, cloves peeled and left whole
3 whole star anise
1 organic navel orange, cut into six sections but leave the peels on
1 teaspoon sugar
1 cup tomato-basil sauce (we use nice tomato sauce with fresh cut basil from the garden)
1 cup chicken broth (made ourselves since they don't sell it)
1 cup white wine

1-Preheat oven to 350
2-Season the lamb generously with salt and pepper and brown in a large Dutch Oven on the stove. When browned, remove and set aside
3-Add in the olive oil, let it get hot, then add the onion, garlic, star anise, and orange. Saute until they are slightly colored (the onions should be translucent) about 5 minutes
4-Add the liquids and the sugar, bring to a boil then add the meat back in, cover and pop in the oven
5-Cook for one and a half to two hours till lamb is tender and almost falling off the bone, the sauce being slightly reduced
6-Let sit 10-15 minutes before serving!

This recipe is fool proof, very easy and very enjoyable. I also found a similar French recipe for a whole roast leg of lamb if that is easier. The flavors and the textures are just simply to die for. And a bonus, if you make your chicken stock like we did, you have a whole boiled chicken and there is loads of sauce leftover, enough for a chicken dinner the next night!

We finished the evening with a lovely Tarte Tatin served with a little Creme de Noix,  essentially a walnut jam, and some Crème fraiche. YUM!

It was nice to be in the kitchen, cooking for a small crowd, and having that small crowd really enjoy their meal. Makes me excited to try out some skills when I get back home in a month.