Making the most of what we have - 15 march 2011
Tuesday, 15th March 2011
In the morning we drive to the Pharmacy – oh, have I told you yet that it is fucking freezing here in Provence and raining non-stop (now for the 5th day). The pharmacist provides a dressing and gives it the A-OK. We drive on to Vence where we find the most fabulous Biologique: organic everything. We load up our bags and feeling triumphant walk back to the car, which is now MORT. Not only is the battery dead but when we try to turn the key the alarm goes off. It’s a French alarm. Insistent and obnoxious, and from the looks of the residents coming out on their balconies they have judged us similarly. We stop passersby. No one speaks English. I run up the street in search of a man. Any man will do. I have always had great success with this. But evidently I have turned a corner around which I find myself less seductive than in a former life. We go for lunch.
The food is good. Someone calls for the equivalent of AAA, which promises to arrive in 20 minutes. An extremely kind, if somewhat crusty, Englishman takes us into his home to dry off and warm up. A cup of instant coffee, a sugar-coated imitation English biscuit, interrogation on the nature of our book. And finally, the gem of the day: I ask him what drew him to Provence. “The weather,” says he. How dry is that?
Back to the car to wait pour l’assistance. We stand in the rain for an hour. We stand shivering in a shop for half an hour. Finally l’assistance arrives, the battery is jumped and because of Joel’s injury I am the designated driver. I must navigate 8 miles of winding roads, 3 roundabouts and blocked traffic WITHOUT STALLING. Yes, of course it’s a stick shift. Mon dieu.
Make the most of what you have
Funny how hackneyed a phrase that’s become. We all know it, have all said it. But isn’t it usually said with a too-bad-that’s-all-you’ve-got connotation? A sort of oh, well, resignation? But think about it. It’s actually an opportunity to experience the fulfillment of the moment.
By the time we got home we realized we had forgotten to buy fish for dinner, which we had been craving. We, or I should say I, as Joel will be one-handed for a while, decide to steam some barley and sauté a bunch of vegetables. We have to make the most of what we have and here it is:
Barley Risotto
1cup barley to 2 cups water
1 zucchini
4 mushrooms
dash of hot pepper
10-ish shavings of stinky French goat cheese
salt
Bring the barley to a boil, cover, and then when you realize the French don’t simmer, place the cover part way, so that the liquid doesn’t boil over and then while scratching head, think, oh, okay, barley risotto. Remove lid altogether and start stirring. Forget steaming the veggies. Add small cubes of zucchini, knifed straight into the pot, ditto the mushrooms. Keep on stirring. Intuitively add water. Keep stirring. Add some olive oil. Some hot red pepper. Salt of course, Taste. What does it need? More oil? A drop more water to soften the barley? Done. Serve straight from the pot into small bowls. Add that stinky cheese and eat the whole comforting mess with a spoon.
Serve with a salad of
Mache
Pear
Oil
Lemon
Salt
Pepper
VOILA!
For dessert we highly recommend sitting by the fire and eating thin grain biscuits smeared with orange/ginger confit accompanied by nibbles of praline fondant chocolat.