The other day I was strolling with the dogs around the periphery of the newly acquired Le Couvent vineyards . As is quite usual I came across a couple of people collecting wild asparagus and taking the air.
"Are the dogs friendly Madame?"
"Absolutely" said I.
"Where is it you are from?" said the elder of the two smiling old girls.
"Roujan - the old convent and school - and we've recently bought these vineyards from M. Gineste"
"Ah, Le Couvent, you've done an excellent job there - I know it well. And we're neighbours here, because this is my land" she said sweeping her hand across some wild garrigue. "Is it you who's doing the vegetable garden?"
Bear in mind there is a sign saying that the land's private and the vegetable garden is buried right in the centre of the vineyards, pretty well-hidden and has a chicken-wire fence all round.
"Your salad, broccoli and strawberries are coming on very well" "What else are you going to plant?" she said with more than a hint of lip-licking.
It's curious. Just a couple of weeks ago I thought the water in the butt had gone down and that the plants looked already-watered. It looks as though I have a co-gardener. I do hope she has green fingers.
The weather's been disgusting today, dull, wet and dismal. Perfect for cooking up a storm or making a sorbet for supper tonight. This sorbet is soooooooo good I thought I'd share it. Don't be put off by the fact that it looks uncannily like school mashed potato, it really has an absolutely stunning flavour. Oh, and I've made twice as much in the photos as there'll be lots of us for supper.
You need: 150 ml water; 150 gms sugar; 6 limes zested; 1 glass of juice from the limes; 1 large bunch of basil
Method: In a saucepan chuck the water and sugar and bring it to the boil. Turn it down to a simmer and lob in the lime zest leaving it to simmer for about 5 minutes. Meanwhile pound the basil to a pulp.
Remove the water/sugar/lime mixture from the heat and let it cool a bit. Throw in the lime juice and basil puree, stir it and let it infuse for about ten minutes.
Sieve the mixture into a bowl and squeeze out the remnants. The remaining liquid will look like the stuff below. Don't be tempted to throw it away even though it looks so awful.
At this point you can put it into the freezer for about 3 hours, stirring it every 30 minutes, or if you're lucky like me and have a sorbetiere or ice-cream maker you can hand it all over to that. Mine takes about 50 minutes to be ready.
The finished product - not a great look, but a flavour you'll never forget. As they used to say at the Hungry Monk in Jevington - 'Serve with a smacking of lips'
P'raps we'll make some for weary travellers when they arrive at Le Couvent, Roujan - in our opinion the best bed and breakfast in the Languedoc! Biased? Us? Surely not.
This one's for the Landseer group who are coming to stay at Le Couvent, Roujan again in a couple of month's time. It's an annual reunion of chums who've previously worked together and they've asked for us to do supper for them one evening. They've requested 'the lovely courgette soup you gave us last time'. I'd completely forgotten, but have found the recipe. Good start. I'm hoping I can encourage the courgettes to get a move on. This is how they look today, with their pals the coriander plants.
Posted by: LizzieBG in Sunshine, Le Couvent Roujan, Happiness on
Saturday 12 April, 2008
What’s interesting for us about going on holiday is not just the place one visits, but the experience of being a guest. Each year we receive hundreds of bed & breakfast guests at Le Couvent, Roujan, each one more or less stressed than the next. Both Ali and I love to watch people unwind during the course of their stay. It can take different forms; some people find recuperation in doing lots of things that are completely different from their normal lives. They go everywhere and see everything. It works for them. There are others who arrive overstrung with stress and who spend their time by the pool, or on Mother Superior’s balcony just reading or snoozing. They obviously tear about every day of their working lives and all they need is to stop.
Ali and I spent the past week in Marrakech, a noisy, bustling, hustling, vibrant and colourful city. We couldn’t have done it immediately after our season ends - we’d never have had the strength. But after a winter’s rest we were up for a bit of hectic madness, battling in the souks and being suckered into buying trashy things we didn’t need for many times their value. It was huge fun and I wouldn’t have missed it for the world. But towards the end we found ourselves spending longer and longer just reading in our riad. Gearing ourselves up for a busy season ahead. It was lovely watching other people do our job - watching them welcome new guests, gently finding out what they’d need to make their stay in Marrakech perfect. It was good to remind ourselves of how it feels to arrive somewhere that’s little more than a promise. It takes faith to book a holiday. Your time is preciously saved up for those days away. You just pray your hosts recognise what it is you need.
We’ll do our best to remember that when you arrive.
Posted by: LizzieBG in Happiness on
Friday 04 April, 2008
Yep, it's time for our hols and we're not going on the Marrakesh Express, but with rotten-ryan-air. We're off for a week and lovely Jamie & Tara are coming to look after the house and menagerie.
I'm taking my darling Mac laptop (who's called Scipio) so I can check mail - this is the time when lots of bookings come rolling in. But that won't stop us having a good time. I'm looking forward to taking hundreds of colourful photos, sleeping longer than Kit-the-labrador usually allows and catching a glimpse of the Atlas mountains. It'd also be good if I could find a jelabah in one of the souks suitable for throwing on after a dip in the pool.
I'm sure we'll update the blog in the next few days so do come back in a couple of days.
