Random meetings and Brocante in Bresse. Sunday 26th July 2009.

As JC said when we left home, "We will use my head and JR's driving" so JC sat in the navigators seat for the day and off we went. It was a treat for me to sit in the back with AJ and not have to read a map. That is one thing I wont miss when we return home, the need to navigate maps to get to almost everywhere we go.

Our first stop was not too far from home, in a little village called Corgengoux. JC spotted an old man sitting between two old farmhouses, so we stopped, he went to introduce himself and we all followed. Before long the old man, Paul, was offering us and aperitif. He disappeared into his wine cave and returned with two shiny bottles of rose. His darling wife shuffled into the kitchen and returned with some glasses. An apertitif of pamplemousse sirop and rose wine was poured for all, including Alex (he must look older than his 12 years). JC busied himself with questions and translated every minute detail for us. It was wonderful to hear about the colourful life they lead on their farm.

Their son arrived home, he is in his 50's and unmarried, apparently the girls in the villages don't stay around any more, he lives on the farm with his parents and has taken over the business. It's a hard life with not much monetary reward. Rewards seem to come in other ways though. All three wore wide grins and they were openhearted and generous with their spirit, it appeared they ate pretty well too. I was very interested to dig a little and enquire about their life here. I asked about the vegetables they grew and did they kill their Charolais beef for their own use. On wandering to the vegie patch, we saw they were rather self sufficient. There were chickens, sheep used for meat, hutches of rabbits with coffee coloured fur kelled for meat when needed, and under a cluster of pear, wine peach, and apple trees, Paul revealed a barrel of 700 snails that they will eat in the winter as escargot with garlic and parsley butter. Nearby was a bush filled with red jeweled redcurrants and Paul's vegie patch with rows of potatoes, onions, cabbages and a few varieties of tomatoes - the beef tomatoes were still bright green, unready to be plucked from their stalks, but the roma tomatoes were red as red could be. He grew gladioli too, one in peach was in bloom but the others were still closed waiting to reveal their colour. He grows the gladioli for himself because he likes them, I noticed there was a bunch in a vase in the kitchen, Paul had probably visited his garden, tucked away from the world's prying eyes, this morning, and cut the long stems for him and his wife to enjoy as they ate their Sunday lunch.


To return to the farm house we passed scragly raspberry bushes which still held perfect red teardroped shaped fruits, they were sweet and without a blemish. Paul picked me a stalk of redcurrants to eat, they were a little tart and shiny, shiny red, like a Christmas red. On a stack of old wood beside the track we walked, were preserving jars, large and small, filled with cherries straight from the tree, alcohol and sugar. Paul will leave them in the summer sun for three months before they are ready to be enjoyed as an aperitif. They fill their glasses with the cherry infused alcohol and the fruit too - what a treat!





Today was another example of random meetings with strangers who open their homes and their hearts and help to make our experience so rich. We bade them farewell and thanked them for their generous hospitality, they are some of life's beautiful people that is for sure.



JC spotted the perfect picnic spot, it was delightful and serene. At one point I said for everyone to be quiet and listen, all you could hear were the crickets, birds and the breeze in the treetops. We sat on the edge of a forest with a view of a field of rolled hay. Lunch was simple; fresh bread, fromage, and salad. We finished with a slice of caramel marble cake and were all pretty pleased with life.


We continued onto Lessard-en-Bresse, there was a brocante sale on, kind of like a car boot sale. AJ didn't want to get out of the car but was happy he did after the discovery of a lovely model Lamborghini Countach which was his for a grand total of €2, he haggled it down from €3. JC found a lovely old work bench in cherry wood he is considering having shipped home to Belgium.

JR and JC went off to shoot magic hour and came back in time for JC to cook us all his famous painted chicken. We were banished from the kitchen so he could concentrate on his cooking. He painted the plump chicken with a mix of Dijon mustard, olive oil, vinegar, herbs and seasonings and baked it until the skin bubbled and became crispy. The meat was tender and juicy, a sturdy bird, nice and fleshy. The bird was served with a crisp salad with more of the sweet melon bought from the Saturday market in Beaune, and roast potatoes painted with the same concoction as the chicken. JR and AJ ate enough to feed a small country, it was wholesome and comforting, the kind of food you would be happy to sit down to any day of the week. Thanks JC, your painted chicken has been looked forward to for a long time and it lived up to, and surpassed all expectations.

A Snails Tale. Thursday 16th July 2009.

JR had a little oops last night as he was out photographing magic hour. He realised this morning that he had lost his wallet. You know that feeling when you realise what has happened. I really felt for him as he searched high and low. I called Pommard where we were yesterday but they hadn't seen it. JR was pretty sure he lost it later in the day though, when he was out in his own taking pics. Oh well, what is done cannot be undone and it could be worse, there was only €60 inside along with his lisence and one card. No credit cards thank goodness. Merde happens! We had to be on our way as we had a bit of a drive ahead of us to be at our 1pm appointment.

Kate, the satelite navigation lady, began the day well, but somehow she lost her mind during our journey to the Jura region this morning. Look at where she directed us to! In a field amongst the corn, on a dirt road no less. When we turned around she even insisted we do a u-turn - the cheek, she really is a crackpot sometimes.



We got back on track without any trouble and a few laughs at Kate's expense. She behaved herself and delivered us safely to Le Petit Mercey by 1pm as arranged. We were taken to the parc escargot by the delightful Anne-Catherine. There was so much to learn about snails I had no idea. What they eat, how they reproduce, how to keep them from escaping and most interesting was hearing and tasting the delicious escargot creations Anne-Catherine makes in the laboritoire, much lauded by Michelin Star Chefs.

It was hot standing in the sun so we were invited into Anne-Catherine's home where we sat around the kitchen table and nibbled escargot in all guises. All we sampled were so tender, not chewy and nasty at all as I once experienced in a restaurant in Lyon. JR's favourite was escargot fume, while mine was escargot ail des ours, perfumed and flavoured by a flower that grows wild in the forest, that smells and tastes of garlic, it is devine! AJ opted not to eat escargot today but enjoyed the garlicky juice on a piece of baguette. Anne-Catherine cooked us the traditional escargot coquille flavoured with a parsley and garlic butter, the escargot we picked from the shells were juicy and meaty. She also cooked some escargot croquille, slightly different as they are cooked in edible shells, made from a plain savoury biscuit mix and baked in a shell shaped mould, they save prying the meat from the shell and give a wonderful textural difference between the tender meat, the crunch of the shell, and the ooze of the garlicky butter - pretty close to escargot heaven!

The minute we arrived back home, JR took off to retrace his steps to hopefully find the missing wallet but to no avail. While he was out, I made some meatballs flavoured with onion, garlic and curry. JR cooked them on the BBQ and we ate outside by the pool. We had some lovely crunchy roast potatoes. I did JR's favourite rosemary potatoes but added a little curry and tossed them in a little virgin olive oil with Guerande salt and ground pepper, they were the bomb! A new favourite I think!

Birthday Boy! Saturday 4th July 2009.

Skype did not stop this morning with calls to wish JR a happy birthday. While Mum and Dad were on skype, they watched JR answer the phone in the background, the person on the other end hung up when he answered with ‘bonjour’. Soon after, their phone at home rang. It was Linny and Pete from New Zealand. Linny said to Dad, “You have given me the wrong number to call John for his birthday, some French guy answered”. We all laughed at her thinking JR was French, although he is getting pretty good. So, Linny and Pete called back and John had a great chat to them, it was lovely.

Birthday cards had arrived at Combertault so it was nice for JR to have mail from home, thanks to all who thought of him. We spoiled him with beautiful coasters made of stone from a nearby village called Nuits-Saint-Georges, they are decorated with prestigious wine labels and will be a lovely souvenir of our time in Bourgogne. Alex had made a special card and gave JR his favourite box of Bouchee chocolates. JR was so surprised as none of us had seen them since leaving Australia until now. Grandma and Papa gave him matching coasters to the ones I had bought to make up a beautiful set that I am sure will be treasured always.

We set off for the Grand Cru wine road and settled in at Restaurant de la Tour at Nuits-St-George, the same village the stone was from used to make John’s coasters. Restaurant de la Tour is owned by two brothers who specialise in regional dishes; we ordered accordingly. I began with escargot cooked in their shells (I can hear you oohing and ahhing Francake!) with parsley and garlic butter, they were delightful – John tried them and thought so too. The meat was quite tender but had the typical resistance expected of escargot, but certainly not the rubbery consistency sometimes experienced when these little delicacies are overcooked. They had been cooked so perfectly, the parsley in the butter was still a bright green making them a delight to look at. I am happy to say I did not flick a snail or shell across the restaurant, I diligently clamped them and pried the flesh from the shells without incident. I cannot wait until my next encounter.

Next was Boeuf Bourguignon, all dark and mysterious on the plate, served with a tangle of buttery pasta, we all ordered the same for our main course, yum! I finished with a gingerbread infused crème brûlée. You all know I am a big fan of the brûlée and although it was a lovely flavour, the addition of gingerbread left me longing for the velvety texture of an unadulterated brûlée.

We wandered around the village, again, so pretty, neat and clean. I found an interesting little shop called Fruirouge & Cie who sell products of foie gras, escargot in many guises, jams, syrups, preserves, rillettes, confits, soups, oils, etc, made by a group of passionate and dedicated farmers from all over France. We dropped into a nearby village to speak to the couple who organise it but they were away on business, I will email them and set up a meeting – how exciting.

With me behind the wheel after John’s enjoyment of a local pinot noir at lunch, we drove around the back roads lined with lush vineyards, whose vines are becoming laden with brand new bunches of green grapes. The transformation is lovely to see after only seeing bare vines during our time in Lyon and surrounds.



After enjoying a wine from the vineyards of Chateau de Premeaux with lunch, we decided to call into the estate to enjoy a wine tasting, one of JR's favourite passtimes. I was interested to learn that they do not necessarily want the international tourist trade as these visitors only usually purchase a bottle or two instead of the bulk quantities the locals purchase. Claude and Arnaud were warm and friendly and we did have a lovely tasting of some soft and fruity reds, the first tasting of many we hope.




We sung happy birthday to JR back at home and ate our rich chocolate cake. It was yummy and I think AJ did a great job. He decorated it himself too. We made JR shut his eyes and surprised him with a bunch of fresh rosemary from the garden. JR had been craving his favourite sea-salt and rosemary potatoes since leaving Australia, we have asked and asked at markets and so far have not been able to buy it. Now we have the healthiest rosemary bush in our garden, just in time for a big, birthday batch of rosemary potatoes. Happy birthday JR!