A Brief Discussion of Food

You do not have to spend much time in France before you realize there is an haute culture of food. As a non-gourmande (which means 'glutton') the following tidbits will appeal only to those of you who eat along the way, as tourists do, like I do.







Food is everywhere. Restaurants are everywhere. Food stores are everywhere: 8 a Huite (our 7-11), supermarchets, Lidl, Super U, Casino (a food store, why not?), groceries under my favorite department store Monoprix, food in tremendously exotic 4-story malls with Bacarrat crystal chandeleirs in Monaco, large and small outdoor markets, produce outside a small shop. Are you beginning to visualize?

My favorite food experiences are shopping for the groceries. Favorite stop this year? Super U. Last year it was Casino, but I do not have to weight my own fruit and veggies at Super U. If you appear at the check-out with unweighted fruit or veggies at Casino, they send you back with a flip of fingers, sans smile.

I love reading cheese packages. Knowing I don't like goat cheese, it still thrills me to gaze at the beautifully presented cheeses. Meat!! Sausages!! Fish, oh my. Heads rising out of the crushed ice looking to jump at a lure!! Oysters, shrimp, mussels, snails, I cannot begin to list what things are. And, this is just a small, local market. Shopping nearly every day, like the locals, I find my favorites: muesli, milk in a 1 litre plastic, butter, oil, basalmic vinegar, eggs, jambon (ham, don't ya love it?), emmenthaller and spreadable Happy Cow, yogurt, lettuce, apples and wine.I purchase a demi-baguette for approximately 27cents and I'm off.

Along the way special purchases are made: tapinade, Tuc crackers, to die for treats at the boulangerie/patisserie, and a brief error in judgement, a large slice of bread Dina and I tasted at the market and drooled over, then incredulously forked over the equivalent of $20.00 for the slice. Daughter said 'What!' Reply was, "It's artisanale." OK, that's a major shopping lesson.

Interestingly enough, when I asked Anne-Marie, my French teacher at Uzes, what she ate, as she was extremely tall and thin, she replied she ate only the foods that were at the market. Never, ever shopped anywhere else. If it wasn't at the market, it wasn't fresh, relatively local, or wholesome and nutritious. And, she didn't eat it. This bit of information remains with me but I have not, as of yet, wrapped my brain around it enough to design a healthy food lifestyle.

Dining out is an experience left to others. Grabbing a sandwich, pizza, or crepe is my idea of getting to the next adventure. I drink more wine than at home and was introduced to lemoncello last year. Chantal and Josette, from Cros de Cagnes last year, gave Dina and me Limuni. It's described as LIQUORE NATURALE ALL' INFUSO DI SCORZE DI LIMONI CALABRESI. Mighty fine lemoncello. Sweet? OMG!

I walk up to Fayence and stop at a small kiosk for my single dip 'parfum.' I had to look it up. Strange, but it does mean flavor. Usually in restaurants, a scoop of ice cream is called a boule. This ice cream provides one milk serving toward my daily food requirement.

In closing, last night's dining experience par exellence. After a lovely morning coffee with the ladies of the Var organization, I decided to attend their Scottish dancing class, which was just beginning its Fall session. Scottish dancing in the South of France. I have to tell ya, it just doesn't quit, does it? Well, there they were, 24 strong, in a little community hall off an ancient eglise in Tourettes, about 3 kilometers away. One of the perched villages of the Var. Most dancers wore those little soft-leather, black dancing slippers that lace up to the ankle. Looked rather serious. At least I wasn't over-dressed. Casual day, casual night.
As the Scottish do, I was warmly welcomed, asked if I had Scottish ancestry, duh, Grandmother a Campbell, and amidst thick brogue and smiling, ruddy faces, proceeded to turn a reel or two, to my incredible amazement.

'Like to join us for a wee bite, we dine at the Fayence Glider Airport where the food is, what do you say, like the workmen? It is very modest.' It was the tastiest meal during my stay in Fayence. I ordered pork in cream sauce. Delicious fries came with the order along with lots of tiny halved tomatoes stuffed with something yummy. Total? 14 euros. It would have cost around 35 euros at the restaurant in the picture, down from my terrace, Restaurant L'Auberge Fleurie. Remember to add one third to the cost for euros to dollars. That plate was the perfect end to my food experience this year.

If you have food questions, just ask. I will attempt to answer. Keep in mind that is not my foremost reason to come here. But, even as a food novice, it's still quite a roll.