http://vagabondgourmand.com Wed, 27 Aug 2008 15:32:49 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Summer has an odd way of building up a stock of fleeting moments, and by mid-August I have a mountain of memory-bites. In spite of azur skies overhead and al fresco lunches, between indoor and outdoor projects, part of me is racing against time toward cool September mornings. ... http://vagabondgourmand.com/sunny-days-in-the-charente/ Plunge into Provence, absorb the aromas and moods of each season with a stroll through the local market. For the vagabondgourmand, Apt is the market of choice, and summer is the season to catch the region at its aromatic best. I have made regular pilgrimages to this market ... http://vagabondgourmand.com/eating-like-a-local-in-the-luberon/ A week in Lorraine - the Meuse and Moselle region of northeastern France - isn't enough. What I had planned as a jaunt to visit Verdun, to taste and learn more about fine, artisanal sugared almonds turned out to be a revelation beyond candy-making. Wedged between Alsace ... http://vagabondgourmand.com/amazed-in-the-meusefrom-dragees-to-dragons/ Some call it "homely", others say: "just a simple pudding" - whatever its reputation as a provincial dessert, the cherry clafoutis of the Limousin has wide appeal as an adaptible, versatile treat. James Villas, one of my favorite oracles on French cooking, calls it a Cherry Flan. And ... http://vagabondgourmand.com/the-rustic-clafoutis-dresses-up/ Mid June - can it be two years already? This week vagabondgourmand celebrates its second year, and I want to thank the thousands of visitors, readers, those who have "dipped in" and many who return regularly to this site. We have covered a lot of ground together, ... http://vagabondgourmand.com/thank-you-thousands/ In the midst of cherry season, getting ready for plum/red currant/apricot season, is the time to be ready to whip up an anything-goes pudding. While book shopping recently, I flipped through a cookbook (no, I cannot resist another book on food and wine), a page illustrating "Apple, ... http://vagabondgourmand.com/what-wine-goes-with-clafoutis/ Last Friday morning, I was in a rush to catch a train home from Paris. It was a turn-around visit, with little time to spare. But I knew there would be good things in the Place Monge market, both regional products and teasers from abroad, to taste ... http://vagabondgourmand.com/slow-down-and-smell-the-flowers-place-monge-market-does-it-every-time/ I would love to say that we eat totally locally, and while winging my way back across the Atlantic after a swooping three week visit in the U.S., the idea pushed its way around in my thoughts. The movement to "eat local" is ripe in North America, a ... http://vagabondgourmand.com/cocoa-beans-growing-in-the-perigord/ Spring greens have the edge, that sharpness so complimentary to mild meats such as chicken or rabbit. Tidy little bundles of sorrel (oseille) are to be found in markets this month, and mounds of tender spinach, along with the ever-present white-ribbed (blette) swiss chard. It occurred to me ... http://vagabondgourmand.com/oh-spinach/ A Wednesday morning market in Arles, a Monday market in Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer, two Provençal markets bathed in winter light are previews of coming attractions for this vagabondgourmand. Locals were out in numbers, arriving early to be first in line for the freshest fish and vegetables. ... http://vagabondgourmand.com/camargue-markets-colors-of-a-new-season/