Shared Illusions

Now that we are no longer walking the Chemin,  food and eating become more complicated. On Chemin, breakfast is provided. For lunch you carry a ham and cheese sandwich, or stop in somewhere or go without.  Dinner is provided. Very good dinners.

Kitchenettes in these studio or two room apartments (plus bathroom) are tiny and provide the bare minimum in the way of cooking supplies. Yet, it’s always enough to be able to prepare simple meals.

I enjoy the challenge and the creativity that go into deciding what to purchase and how to prepare it.

We like to have breakfast in, and it’s easy, requires no thinking. Well, except for trying to find the right pods for the different coffee makers. I’d like to smack that inventor. In Arles we had a French press, glory be! Every French rental should have one. Or a stove top espresso maker. These pods are for the birds. But i digress. We get yogurt,  oats, eggs, butter, ham, cream, and bread. Usually out for lunch.

We’ve discovered some good strategies for dinner. A bag of arugula, tomatoes,  red pepper,  olives, pasta,  mushrooms, onion, garlic are good basics to have on hand. Tried rice recently and while tasty, it was kind of gummy, even though I rinsed it – several times. It’s just so difficult to calibrate the electric elements. Pasta is easier.

If we’re lucky enough to have market day, that’s a treat. In Arles, we were. Got some beautiful violet asparagus. Thick. Chunked it. Sliced chunks in half and seared it in butter. A little salt. Pan roasted some bread crumbs in butter to go on top. Wow. It was sweet and meaty. Also got some potatoes cooked in chicken juices as they turned on the spit. The sweetest strawberries ! Gorgonzola cheese that was so creamy it was like a thick custard. A slightly briny taste. I liked it.

One restaurant we walked by had three selections on the menu board: curry chicken,  confit de canard, and blanquette de veau.  I’d had all three and all divine. I’ll be looking for dishes i haven’t had.

Case in point, albeit a mundane one. Yesterday,  asis often the case when traveling,  we were off the standard timing for meals. We’d had a small bite before catching the train from Arles to Montpellier. Upon arriving we were hungry and set out to a local market. Got quiche. Got ice cream. Waiting for our apartment to be ready. Wandered then toward our apartment location. Now it’s lunchtime, but we’ve eaten.

Finally settled in, we decide to walk to a park where an orchestra will be playing and to find a restaurant or brasserie by it.

Maps mislead us. It’s a much longer distance and through neighborhoods where we stand out, like people watching us walk by and you can tell they’re wondering how we got off course. Or maybe we’re just paranoid.

There was nothing open in this neighborhood. No cafés. It was dirty…lots of trash strewn about.  Then it started to rain. By now we’re really hungry and both of us are valiantly avoiding hunger disgruntled-ness. Fortunately, a tram is close by. We make it back to Place de la Comedie. And cafés.

Of course, it’s still too early for a real meal. It’s gouter time and everyone is eating ice cream. But, we find a place serving basic croques – not Madame or Monsieur – just plain croques, ie no bechamel sauce. However, now I’m finally getting to the mundane example of trying something new, there were three croques from which to choose: regular ham and cheese, truffé ham and cheese, i forget the third. I went with the truffé. Truffé was terrific! Served with a small salad and crudités. Accompanied by a lovely viognier. I will say I was surprised by the bread – plain white, like Bimbo. Three slices, all flattened to about a quarter inch.

Sometimes I just want to cook. Today we’ll go to Les Halles, the daily covered market for provisions. Then off to…haven’t decided, yet.

Will finish this post by saying that today we tried to follow the French dining timeliness. Light breakfast.  Lunch at the appointed time. Gouter around 5 – ice cream, bien sûr! Then i wasn’t hungry for dinner,  though we had a plan. Oh, well. A little bread and paté … and now, too sleep.

Photos tomorrow!