April 6, 2019 A quiet recovery day, chores in Sarrians

We expect our friends, Dan and Paulette, from Brussels today - in time for dinner. So we had already planned to stay close to home. However, the weather is very uncooperative - totally grey skies, some rain and a cold wind. Not a day for outside adventures. So everyone's catching up on email, tracking expenses, and puttering around the house. Dave is planning our next adventures via the Green Guide.

Janis and I did some cooking - turkey fillets for sandwiches at lunch in our now-working oven. Followed by a ratatouille to accompany our grilled steaks for dinner. We have grilled out every night here and it's such a treat to have both the indoor and outdoor cook's kitchens. Our owner, Astrid, has thought of everything and it is such a pleasure to cook in her kitchen.

Along with our turkey sandwiches for lunch, we are eating the strawberries we bought yesterday at market.

From the Michelin Green Guide to Provence: "Few parts of Provence can claim to be so blessed with outstanding produce. If strawberries top the list (the "Fraises de Carpentras" which brighten markets from early spring are eagerly sought all over France), they have plenty of other locally grown fruits for company. No wonder Carpentras became a key centre for "fruits confits" heartstoppingly sweet candied fruits." We haven't bought any candied fruits yet, but the strawberries look beautiful. We'll let you know after we try these sweet beauties for lunch. (Note: they were every bit as sweet and ripe as they look.)

Fraises de Carpentras

In case you need a ratatouille recipe, it's simple and, of course, best with the freshest of ingredients. I make it by prepping in a saute pan then finishing in the oven. With some olive oil in the bottom of the pan, I add sliced onions followed by diced garlic, then red and green peppers, followed by zucchini and eggplant slices that have been sweated. Finally, I add chopped fresh tomatoes. I'm salivating thinking about it.

prepping the ratatouille

ratatouille out of the oven

Dave and Janis explored our local Intermarché. We had bought laundry soap rather than dishwasher soap the other day, so we remedied that problem. They also scoped out a bakery for tomorrow since the one Dave has been walking to is closed on Sunday. One has to pay attention to these things here. Store hours matter. Many local stores close for 2-3 hours at lunch and then again by 6 pm. Sunday hours are rare for local merchants, although larger grocery stores like Intermarché are open until 1 pm on Sundays.

Off now to try out the washer and dryer. It's a lazy day, but it feels like home.