Dinner at a Village Bistrot. Saturday 12th September, 2009.

John had accompanied the owner/chef from Cafe de la Poste in our village of Venterol, to the market early this morning. Chef writes his daily menu according to what is best at the market, today it was tuna and chicken. Sophie greeted us and settled us in with an aperitif. For me it was back to our days in Burgundy where I enjoyed the aperitif of Creme de Cassis on ice, I had missed it. Sophie had made a tapenade with local olives and oil and we were offered this with our drinks.

Entree sounded enticing but lacked depth and seasoning. Camembert roti with pomme was one of the choices. A generous serving of camembert was baked in the oven and topped with small cubes of apple that lacked any sweetness or caramelisation from the roasting. The cubes still wore their skin which I would have preferred to have been gone. It was nothing to write home about. The camembert had a gelatinous nature instead of a creamy, oozy liquidity that could have been achieved with a better quality fromage.

Main course raised my spirits a little; chicken came blanketed in a sauce with strong aromas of cumin balanced with the sweetness of raisins. The hit was the puree of sweet potato, cooked with cinnamon and cream, it was to die for and I will remember to recreate it for JR on our return home. Dessert, like entree, was a bit of a non event. My apple beignets were overcooked, arriving dark instead of golden, they were a little dry also which was a shame, it would have been good to end on a high note.

The couple that run the restaurant are just lovely, they are new to the restaurant business, it shows a little. I would love to come back and see what the food is like a few years down the track. I wish them well in their venture into the hospitality industry, if heart has anything to do with it they will be stars!

We three sat at our table discussing our experiences this year. I asked the boys what this year had made them appreciate. AJ replied, “It has made me appreciate you guys so much more”. Sometimes the spoken word can be sweeter than dessert.

Chillin' Sunday 12th July 2009.

Now that AJ has wheels he is out and about and has met up with quite a few different local kids. They all ride thier bikes and stuff not far from home, he is having a ball.

This afternoon's treat - Creme de Cassis in cold lemonade... yum!

AJ and Laura, the girl across the road had a bash of badminton in the street before dinner tonight, he is quite the social butterfly today :-)

And me...today I'm bored :-(