There Are No Pictures

{CB: Here’s a very special treat – a few words penned by a *Lovely Reader* all the way from the sunny South of France.  We will forgive, just this once, the lack of photographs.  We want to see that chocolatine!  And that magnolia tree!  And, for the love of all things bright we need to see that sun!  And I, for one, want to see that bench.  I have a thing for benches.}

La Grande Aventure Petit Déjeuner

Having spent months reading about someone else’s delicious morning adventures, and knowing that their author was off again at dawn for another Big Breakfast Adventure {CB: Yippee!}, I figured it was about time to participate (in my own little way).

But this is NOT Seattle!  This is the South of France.  The local restaurants here are not renowned for their “Eggs Benedict” or “Lemon Pound Cake” or even “Dutch Babies” (thank heaven for small mercies), so a different tactic was required.  {CB: Oh we love tactics!} 

Four criteria needed to be filled:

1: The food must be unbeatable.

2: The food must be French.

3: The setting must be spectacular.

4: “The Foodie” must be made to feel at least a little jealous.

 The first good thing was that the sun {CB: The what??} was bright and warm and the sky was blue, (a good start for #4 above) and also it’s Friday, MARKET DAY!  So finding food would be easy peasy.

I decided to attack #2 first.  Finding anything other than french food on our market is practically impossible,  but there’s so much choice.

Do I go the local rustic way and have Pâté de foie gras and fresh bread with a bottle of wine?  That would definitely nail #4, {CB: Yes. Yes it would} but a bit over the top for a first attempt. O.K. look over there…fresh pancakes (crepes) cooked on the stand with lemon and sugar, {CB: Oh heaven have mercy upon my soul} simple and great, but pancakes aren’t my favourites.  Then look here…we have fresh hot honey braised ham cooking on the stall,  {CB: Are you trying to kill me?} and an endless choice of cheese.  {CB: Port Salut!  Where ARE you?} Agh!  Choice overload.

So let’s do the obvious. Only the other day “The Foodie” was complaining about the fact that people are too scared to cook pastries for her, so off to the boulangerie (bakery) we go!  {CB: Oh yes, lets. Please.}

And there they were, the unbeatable little “chocolatines” (pains au chocolat or chocolate croissants).  These really are the best in the world!  We have 7 boulangeries {CB: 7?? SEVEN? In one small town??} here but “Chez Jean-Pierre et Josette” has by far the best Viennoiserie (croissant type pastries).  #1 solved.

So now to the setting. I have a real passion for Magnolia trees. When I was younger I even painted pictures of long haired, beautiful women “à la Alphonse Mucha”, surrounded by Magnolia flowers. {CB: I have one of those pictures & it’s very beautiful} For about 5 days now, the Magnolias have been in flower here, and in the square next to the market is one of the biggest Magnolia Grandiflora you can imagine, with a little bench underneath. Sometimes the world is a beautiful place!  {CB: Your little spot sounds idyllic & I want to sit there. Right now.}

So there I parked myself with my chocolatines. {CB: The fact that you used the plural there did not escape us}  The great thing about these little beasties is that, as you eat them, they are so light and fluffy that the pile of flaky crumbs you make on your lap is actually bigger than the chocolatine you started with!  Try it, it’s true.  {CB: It is}  They were still slightly warm from the oven and the chocolate was sort of half crunchy, half melty, and of course, being a boy, I managed to stain my nice white sweatshirt with it.  Of course, being a boy, I didn’t care either.

Having assuaged my appetite, {CB: Just exactly how many did you eat?} and feeling quite pleased with myself, I thought that maybe I should do my homework and tell “The Foodie” all about it.  So here I am.  {CB: We’re glad!}

As to #4………only “The Foodie” can answer that one!  {CB: Mission (well & truly) accomplished. Great job!}

BON APPETIT!