La Cuisine Quatrième Journée
Today we focused on Provence. This is my favorite part of France. I spent a semester in Aix-en-Provence and really enjoyed the way of life in the south of France. I wasn’t very adventurous with food at the time, so I didn’t take the time to enjoy what Provence provides for great food. I have since become a big fan of the Mediterranean menu and make a lot of dishes that are inspired by Provincial ways of cooking. They use lots of vegetables, lots of fresh herbs, olive oil and their way of cooking is very simple. Nothing is heavy.
Today we made Ratatouille and Salade Niçoise. I am not a fan of Ratatouille, no matter how it is prepared. I like vegetables but something about this combination doesn’t taste good to me. Salade Niçoise is a favorite of mine. This one did not have potatoes.
One thing I have learned over the year is that cooking is not always precise. These dishes in particular can be made so many different ways, I can’t even keep track. As long as it tastes good, who cares?
Today we made 3 dishes and focused on Bretagne. First we had Moules Mariniere, then Crêpes Traditionnelle and Clafoutis aux Prunes. We didn’t put anything in the crêpes but there was sugar in the batter so they were very tasty. The clafoutis was like a cake with plums- pictured. You could use any fruit in this dish. Notice I didn’t mention the moules. I don’t eat mussels but I did include the picture. It smelled really good!
Today’s region was Alsace and we made two dishes. Tarte à l’onion, pictured and Gateau aux Pommes. They were very tasty! We made 3 tartes and put cheese on two of them. The gateau had applesauce between two crusts. I wasn’t such a fan of that. I would have preferred actual apples rather than the sauce.
