The Good Life - Looking back and planning ahead

A view across the frozen estuary at Malahide

The second ice age that arrived during December brought with it exceptionally low temperatures with -15.7 being recorded in Dublin and lower readings elsewhere. The arctic weather finally receded by the 28^th with the arrival of more seasonal temperatures. The cold spells generated the coldest December on record according to the weather summary and statistics held by Met Eireann. I spent many days during December monitoring the rainfall radar trying to anticipate when the snow showers would arrive and how long they would last. The verdict on 2010 given by Met Eireann was that the weather experienced was “colder, drier and sunnier than normal”.

Malahide estuary appears to have escaped the ravages of winter. While the estuary was frozen over the bird population has been feasting and foraging successfully on the vast mudflats and grassland between Donabate and Malahide. There is nothing more pleasant than looking and listening to a large flock of geese flying over head. The marsh grass and mud flats are full of large healthy birds, fat shell duck and mallard waddling cautiously on the mud, alongside plovers, godwits, oystercatchers, redshanks and my personal favourite; the shy and elegant, but clumsy curlew.

 The first day of digging at the allotment on a dark and cold 20th February

  

It has been a great year in our new allotment and looking back it is clear it could not have been achieved without hard persistent work for the initial months. However, in the last month the soil, which was buried under a foot of ice and snow for most of December, is somewhat sodden and mucky clumps stick to my shoes as we traced our way along the pathways that divide the raised beds. The heavy damp air carries the scent of compost and decaying brassicas. There is very little left that can be used. The once impenetrable earth can now be excavated to raid our reserves of artichokes. In the nursery beds the lettuce has succumbed to the freezing conditions but the resilient small leaves of the mache cloak the surface of the bed. We managed to gather a small plate of mache and these hardy leaves will continue to grow during January, and into February and March. The only other visible sign of life are the buds forming on the bare branches of the blackcurrant bushes.

Earth works and stone extraction under way on the 14th March

There was some evidence of a system of raised beds by the 11th April 

Harry spent the months of October and November digging the raised beds and preparing them for the year ahead by digging manure into those beds. This should form a good basis for the strong and healthy growth of our vegetables and plants in the coming months. Corinne retreated to France just after Christmas to see her family over the holiday season and a shopping list followed her by; seeds of different varieties of vegetables including beans, pumpkins (muscade de provence) and tomatoes including a specific instruction to obtain some of the tomato seed which her grandmother used. For the culinary year ahead I would like to experiment with different varieties of pumpkin chutney, and tomato and chilli jams. The varieties of some of the vegetables we have been planting in the last year do not make the grade for flavour and it is important to address this matter now.

Corinne and Harry working in the allotment on a very sunny 26th June

We enjoyed the long warm summer evenings with the air full of the scent of sweet pea

All at home in the garden of eden on the 8th August

Upon her return Corinne produced a small packet of crosnes. These look like insect larvae or bush tucker which Crocodile Dundee might have grilled with a few prawns by a lake somewhere in the outback. In fact they are Chinese artichokes and a member of the mint family. Artichokes and mint grow in a very similar fashion; once introduced into a plot they are difficult to remove and control. I think we shall plant them in large buckets and see how they grow, and enjoy the harvest sometime in October.

In the coming weeks we shall be focusing on the available crops already in the ground; forcing the rhubarb to get an early growth and picking the young tips of the nettles to make nettle beer. Along with harvesting the nettles we also intend to hit the hedgerows searching for rose hips and berries. Along with the blackberries we managed to find a few red currant bushes last year, which supplemented some of our annual red currant jam production. The blackberry harvest was excellent as well, with many large juicy berries to be collected. If that harvest is repeated in the year ahead we might attempt to make some syrup along with our normal production of the rich fruit jellies. In particular I would like to try to make a rose hip syrup; these require a little patience to gather and a seasonal inspirational team talk might be required to bring together a successful harvest. A team is generally required for safety reasons because the largest and brightest of these red gems normally overhang the deepest of ditches.

 Corinne with a large birch bolet on the 28th August

Unfortunately this year there were no bullace plums to flavour a gin or dot a cobbler with. The few we did collect were added to enrich a bramble jelly. In complete contrast last year was the amazing growth of mushrooms in the forests nearby where we live. Some days we were nearly walking on a forest floor thick with mushrooms. There was no real search involved. They were just everywhere, which meant we could be quite strict about our collection selecting only the best examples for the pot. There is always a balance in nature and no doubt this year will be no different. However, by putting in a little extra work in at the right time and carefully planning the allotment's progress from seed to table, we can hopefully yield a better and more sustained harvest throughout the year.

 Roses thrown onto the the ice on Malahide estuary in late December

The Good Life - Harvest on the 9th October

Pumpkin, patisson, leeks, scallions, onions and carrots together with parsley, rosemary, lola rosa and gem lettuce and some bolets from the forest

Many of the beds have now been cleared and weeded. Harry is slaving away during the week acquiring manure and preparing the beds for next year's season. In other areas he has dug, composted and raked to perfection the new beds where onions have been sewn.

This year's crop is coming to its natural end. The cabbages, Brussels sprouts, Jerusalem artichokes and leeks are hardy enough to survive into the winter. However, as the night time temperatures drop this week to within two or three degrees of freezing point, guaranteeing a ground frost, our lettuce may not survive too much longer. Of the remaining salad leaves planted we are hopeful the mustard, rocket and mache will continue to make a contribution to our salad bowl.

The Good Life - The Gathering

 

Detail of fall gold raspberries, autumn bliss and wild strawberries

Autumn is in full flight. Our raspberry canes are laden with large ripe berries; the stems bend a little too easily under their weight in the cool wind. Elsewhere the fiery red rose hips shine like rubies, all but a few just out of reach suspended above a deep wet ditch. The hedgerows have not produced too many damsons or wild plums this year in comparison to last year and some trees have nearly no fruit. The fragile ripe elderberries have all but disappeared, driven from their web like stems by the wind in the last few days. Among the briers near the allotment the blackberries have plumped up and are bursting with flavour. In the last week we have been coming home with fingers heavily stained from the blackberry and raspberry collection, and have been picking thorns from our hands and clothing for the next few days; occupational hazards of sorts!

Jam and jelly making has almost become a daily routine. We have made blackberry jelly, hedgerow jelly and raspberry jam in recent days. The blackberry jelly is very easy to make and I believe it is far superior to blackberry jam. For every 500grams of fruit in a preserving pan I add about 150mils of water (give or take), and cook the berries until much of the juice is released. To complete the process the berries are pressed with the invaluable assistance of a potato masher. The juice and pulp should then be strained through a jelly bag or fine nylon sieve overnight. 

The next day weigh the juice and measure out an equal weight of sugar. Bring the juice to a simmer and add the sugar. Continue to stir until the sugar is dissolved and then boil rapidly until setting point is reached, then spoon into sterile jars and seal down. Some recipes recommend the use of a pound of sugar to a pint of juice, however I believe the set produced using an equal weight of juice to sugar produces a softer set. It is important to note that you should not start making a jelly with less than a kilo of fruit. The average yield of jelly from a ripe fruit or blackberry is just a little less than three 450gram jars.

In the last days of September, and early October, we have been out exploring the birch forests searching for mushrooms which have arrived following the passing of the full moon. In past years we had to examine the forest floor quite carefully and search through the undergrowth and briers to find the bolets. Last year there was a very disappointing mushroom season, but this year we have been practically falling over them. This abundance of mushrooms has changed our collection habits, and we now leave more mature examples which we would have picked in the past concentrating on picking the younger and firmer specimens. These young mushrooms are very good when added to risottos and omelets. They can also be fried in butter, salt and pepper, and frozen in portions for future use to avoid the obvious health dangers associated with gorging on wild mushroom risotto on a daily basis.

A large brown birch bolet in its natural surroundings with my No.10 opinel for scale

Corinne's bolet collection

Our biggest pumpkin matured earlier than expected sprouting legs and left the allotment of his own free will last week. We wish him well on his journey and hope he makes it through the Halloween period without coming to harm. Obviously we have increase security and issued instructions to the other inmates informing them that there is no little or no prospects for them in the current economic environment outside the allotment.

One of our other pumpkins was employed in an experiment/recipe which turned out quite well, and may be improved with further continual experimentation, tasting and testing. I decided to make a batch of creme caramels with pumpkin. The bases of 8 ramekin dishes were coated with a caramel made with 200 grams of sugar and 8 tablespoons of water. The caramel takes a little time to make and then cool in the dishes. At the same time you start the caramel steam about half a kilo of pumpkin, (skinned chopped and deseeded), for about 20 minutes. Leave the chunks of cooked pumpkin to cool for a few minutes and thereafter puree them in a food processor. The puree can then be blended with the custard mixture which is composed with 850mls of milk, 8 eggs, 4 tablespoons of sugar and two teaspoons of vanilla extract. Ladle the custard mixture into the caramel coated dishes and place them into a bain marie before cooking for about 50 minutes in the middle of an oven at 160F. The resulting flavour colour and texture of the caramels are quite surprising and very pleasant. Admittedly the flavour is quite subtle and future batches may have a little more pumpkin puree added to obtain a strong flavour and richer orange colour.

As the air temperatures drop the tomatoes have stopped their ripening process yielding a few kilos of green tomatoes. This is a glut with a Celtic tiger dimension for us because we are compelled to live within our Irish shoe box for a little while longer. The tomatoes may ripen indoors in time, but to avoid any waste a nearby unused orchard has been plundered for apples to be used in the production of a green tomato chutney. The kitchen area and dining table are quite cluttered at the moment, which calls upon my, ever decreasing, powers of diplomacy. Negotiations are proving difficult and lengthy at the minute because the French have no traditional use or desire for chutney. Quel dommage!

Nature's organic geometry - our fennel has gone to seed!

The Good Life - Wood Hedgehog and Penny Bun Cep

Once again prior to departing the little village of Courviere, in Franche Comté, we decided to take a look at the cattle in the pasture and go for a walk in the woods. The walnut collection program was somewhat miserable, and after targeting a number of places we had collected them in previous years, the collection barely covered the bottom of the basket. Corinne described the experience in French as follows: "nous avous fait choux blanc". The vast majority of the walnuts are still contained within their fleshy skin. The occasional rain and drop in temperatures will cause this skin to break down over the next week or so, and la récolte des noix can begin in earnest.  For the moment we consoled ourselves with a trip to the woods.

Some locations were better guarded than others

The forest is at 850 meters above sea level and largely made up of sapins, or coniferous, with only a few deciduous trees to be found. Over the previous few days there had been light showers, and the forest air and floor was mild and damp. Walking among the neat rows of tall sapins we could see many different varieties of mushrooms; all of different shapes, colours and sizes. In some parts of the forest small mushrooms could be seen growing just about everywhere, in others brigthly coloured mushrooms stood out in an unnatural and eerie way on the forest floor

Amanita Muscaria is extremely toxic and often found growing in similar conditions to boletus edulis

At different levels in the forest, along the slopes, different conditions appear to pervade, and therefore certain types of mushrooms or fungi can be found depending on light, ground conditions, terrain and moisture. The verdant mossy floor of the forest produce some remarkable mushrooms, and the first clearly identifiable mushroom we happened upon was the wood hedgehog, hedgehog fungus or pied de mouton, known officially as Hydnum repandum. The growing pattern was typical of this type of mushroom, growing in small patches not distant from each other. They were quite young and consequently in very good condition. One notable characteristic of the wood hedgehog is that they are resistant to various larvae, and other infestations which plague other edible mushrooms.

The wood hedgehog or pied de mouton among the moss and pine needles on the forest floor

The wood hedgehog is reasonably rare in Ireland and England, but appears to be less rare in France due to its proliferation in markets. The season for this mushroom is from late september to late autumn, or until the first frosts. The cap is quite distinctive because of its irregular shape; it is not flat but as a somewhat undulating, folded appearance to its surface. It is normally found measuring 5 to 15 cms. However, it may be found incorporating one or more caps of its neighbouring mushrooms, because it can often be found growing in compact groups. The colouring of the cap varies over the entirety of the surface, with a mixed colouring of white and downy hue, to a yellow ochre. Underneath the cap can be found white or cream coloured spines where the white coloured spores are released from.

Along the perimeter of the forest we found a number of the much sought after boletus edulis. It is more popularly known as, depending on where you may find them, penny bun cep, cep du Bordeaux, bouchon de champagne, and porcini. This is probably one of the most identifiable mushrooms, however you have to be quite alert to spot them when young, because their bulbous foot is often buried in a thick layer of moss leaving only the small brown cap visible. These mushrooms can grow to be quite sizeable with the cap measuring up to 30 cms in diameter, and weighing in excess of a kilo. Unfortunately, the boletus family of mushrooms can be full of parasites, and are often found in a partially eaten state. Slugs devour them!

A young penny bun cep or boletus edulis growing in moss

We cooked our perfect little ceps à la creme upon our return home. This is a simple recipe, and one which I believe captures their rich characteristics of their flavour very well. We brushed clean our four penny bun ceps and sliced them thinly. Selecting two shallots, they were also sliced thinly, and fried in butter. Once the shallots had softened, the sliced ceps were added to the pan. The pan was covered for a few minutes to allow the ceps and shallots to soften and cook, and thereafter the pan was taken off the heat to add approximately 20 cl of full cream. Once replaced on the heat the contents of the pan were allowed to simmer for a further 5 to 10 minutes to reduce, and salt and a little freshly ground pepper were added to season.

Our wood hedgehog or pied de mouton ready to be cleaned on a board

For the wood hedgehog, we decided to preserve them in vinegar. The mushrooms must be fresh, of good quality, and preferably young, to make this process worthwhile. Any damage or undesirable parts should be pared away, and the pine needles and soil brushed away.  Many of our mushrooms were small enough not to be sliced, but of the larger ones were cut in half. The cooking process will cause the mushrooms to shrink to nearly half their original size, so if in doubt do not cut them.

To begin the preserving process, bring a saucepan of salted water to the boil. Place the cleaned mushrooms in the boiling salted water and leave to cook for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, in another saucepan, bring some white wine vinegar to the boil. The vinegar should be diluted with water by one third to reduce its intensity, and there should be enough liquid boiled to cover the mushrooms in the preserving jars. The preserving jars and lids should be clean and sterile. The preserved mushrooms benefit from adding herbs and garlic. You can add a combination of yellow mustard seed, pepper corns, bay leaves, and basil if you choose. Due to a combination of lack of resources and a lack of time, we opted for the simple combination of a slice or two of a garlic clove and a bay leaf. Once the mushrooms have been boiled for five minutes, they should be strained and placed in their jars, and thereafter the boiling vinegar mixture can be poured over them, and the lids put in place. This process should preserve the mushrooms for six months.

The mushrooms preserved in their jars

It is imperative to always positively identify a wild mushroom before you eat it. If there is any doubt about the identification of a mushroom it should not be picked or placed in your basket, because the toxins may contaminate other mushrooms you may have picked. Get a good book or find a good guide.

The Good Life - St George's mushroom

A small panier of St George's Mushrooms

“Les Champignons dans la Nature” by J. Jaccottet [Neuchatel, 1925] opens with the following line: “L’Homme a eté creé pour la marche….” which simply translated means “Man was created for walking”. The improvements in transport noted then in 1925, which he lists as including electric trams and bicycles, reduced ones desire for walking and therefore ability to access the countryside and forests. For one who enjoyed nature as much as Mr Jaccottet, the day was always too short, the sun rose too late and set too early.

Anybody who has done some mushroom hunting will appreciate the fact that there is rarely enough time in the day to find what you are looking for. A combination of patience, luck and a good eye may bring good results but there is no replacement for experience in this pursuit. Finally, when you find the particular variety you have been looking for it is important to never reveal the location of your discovery. People have been known to go to their graves without parting with such closely held secret.

The are a small number of mushrooms which work their way through the earthy ground at this time of year, but among them the St George’s mushroom, which is also known as Tricholome de la St George, Thricholome Georgii L’Écluse and Mousseron du Printemps, is the most highly prized. While they are said to grow in meadows and grassland, they are most likely to be found on the edges of woods. The season described by most writers is from April to June and they traditionally emerge on or about St George’s day and continue in season for a few brief weeks.

In Ireland and England their caps are primarily white, but they can be found elsewhere coloured yellow ochre, and rare varieties are known to be brown or chamois. The caps, which have a dry appearance, vary in size but they can grow to be 15 cms in diameter. By the time they grow to any great size they are more than likely going to be providing refuge and nourishment to a small worm colony, so it is best to pick the small ones when they are found, and check the larger mushrooms for infestation. Beneath the caps the gills are white and fragile. This mushroom has a large foot and grows in tight groups, so you generally will find more than one in any one location. When cut in half the flesh is firm and white. One of the most distinctive characteristics of this mushroom is its smell; the odour is quite strong and pleasant, and has been described as resembling freshly milled flour.

Ignoring Mr Jaccottet's esprit de vivre, we steamed around the hillsides and meadows in an old Peugot 405, which cut down some of the vast wandering required to locate these mushrooms. With the small basket of mushrooms we had collected I decided to make an omelette. After cleaning them, they were cooked on a pan over a low flame in mountain butter with a little salt and pepper. We had earlier liberated some eggs from chickens nearby, and these were whisked and poured over the lightly cooked mushrooms. After two or three minutes I put some grated Comte cheese from Frasne on the runny surface of the uncooked egg and mushroom mixture and finished the omelette under a hot grill. It looked great and tasted really good, but I was scolded for not slicing the mushrooms finer and for overcooking the omelette. I accepted these criticisms graciously while drinking a glass of undated, but assuredly ancient, white wine from the Jura.

In preparation for the meal I found a book entitled “60 Champignons 190 Recettes” by Suzanne Fonteneau and Philippe Joly published in 1978. These authors rate their mushrooms with a star system; four stars being the best, and so on. I will not query why they did not chose a system of marks out of 10 or 5 for example, being nice round figures allowing for a wider variety for distinction, however in their opinion both the Truffe du Perigourd and Tricholome de la St George achieve the lofty and distinguished score of a perfect 4. Among the recipes they offer for the Tricholome de la St George is `Tricholome á la paysanne`. For this recipe you shall require 400 grams Tricholomes de la St Georges; 50 grams of butter; 2 spoons of vinegar; 1 spoon of flour; 1 egg; half a glass of dry white wine;2 spoons of bouillon; salt and pepper.

The method given is as follows: After cleaning the mushrooms, cut them into slivers (remember not coarsely or in chunks!). Gently cook them with half the butter and the vinegar. At the same time make a roux with the remainder of the butter and the flour and mix in the suggested half glass of white wine and the bouillon. All this time, you should keep the juice of the mushrooms moving on the pan seasoning with salt and pepper. The recipe is completed by turning the mushrooms onto the sauce, mixing together, and just before serving stir in the egg yolk into the ensemble to bind it together.

The recipe as given does make sense however; you may wish to experiment with another variety of mushroom and the suggested quantities a few times to gain some confidence in it and to satisfy yourself in advance of cooking these highly prized mushrooms. I would also suggest using white wine vinegar in preference to any other, and it appears that the tablespoon measurement is the weapon choice for this recipe.

A traffic jam or "bouchon" in the Haut Doubs, Franche Comté

Another weekend trip to France

Last weekend was a long holiday weekend in Ireland and I flew to France to meet Corinne. I did this reluctantly because I was going to miss my annual pilgrimage to the the Pumpkin Festival in Virginia, County Cavan. With tears still in my eyes, I gathered the courage and resolve to ascend the stairs and boarded the plane exposing my eyes to the acidic yellow and blue interior.

Landing somewhere in the north of France, I quickly made my way to Paris on that dark wet morning. The city was robed in a chic damp and misty fog (not to be associated with the drenching a Celtic mist might provide). Once I got my bearings, I made my way to Rue deTermes and the Marche du Termes, awaiting the surprise of what seasonal offerings would be available for purchase in that market. Autumn was in full flight at the market, and my first sight of things to come as I turned the corner were bunches of deep red, and almost black skinned, muscat grapes side by side with their pale opalescent cousins the chasselas.

A selection of meaty ceps

The true motif of October in Europe is the cep mushroom. Plastic imitations sit in most windows from department stores to hairdressers and chemists. The muscular cep mushrooms (boletus edulis) were displayed at a number of stalls. Many of their deep earthy brown caps still had leaves and twigs attached from the forest floor where they were plucked. A number of them were sliced revealing their perfect white flesh and soft golden tubular gills. There were not many for sale and only a few stalls had a scattering of them. The unseasonal warm and dry weather may not have played its part and with frosts not too distant, the season may be a short one.

A table of vibrant girolles

Perfect cauliflowers from Marche de Termes

Morelles and Ceps

The experience was not over and the symphony had only just begun; the mushroom feast continued and a table at the top of the street had a large spread of bright yellow girolles. Small piles of fresh morelles were gathered together in an ostentatious display of luxurious seasonal wealth. On other stalls the hardy and tasty greens and seasonal vegtables were offered for sale.

Sensational scallops

The fish sellers' stalls were equally exuberant with large platters of shelled scallops neatly displayed with their crescents of orange coral adding a vibrant colourful life to the sight. Troughs, basins and indeed baths containing arrangments of large majestic ochre orange and white ridged scallop shells. Great piles of crevettes grises, langoustines of every possible size and sea urchins dominated the displays but what really caught my eye were the very large and very fresh turbot and bass.

Maison Pou

Time was not on my side, and I quickly made my way to Maison Pou to gaze in the windows at what was on offer. The prepared meals always look wonderful and this day featured cailles en jellee (quails in jelly), and poulet en gellee (oddly enough chicken in jelly), artichauts norvegen (Norwegian artichokes), Bavarois de Homard and Saumon farcie among other delightful delicacies.

Detail of a decorated cake for Maison Pou

Meanwhile in the middle of Conor's great escape, Corinne was texting the times of the trains to Besancon. The information soon changed character informing me that tickets for trains were being sold out quite quickly as it was a holiday weekend in France. I made my way to Gare de Lyon with the intention of purchasing a ticket and joining the rush for the East. Having successfully achieved this task, and equally happy that I was not going to walk to Franche Comte, I set out to treat myself to lunch. I had three and half hours to fill so I decided to go across town to the 14th arrondissement to Le Zeyer. I had missed lunch everyday the preceding week and was desperate to redress the balance looking forward to a few hours of dismantling crabs, other crustaceans and a selection of the best oysters France had to offer.

It was two years since I had visited Le Zeyer, and it was all that I remembered it to be. The lush warm decadent art deco interior echoed the weath and style of another era; surfaces veneered with burr walnut, lines of red velvet coated pews topped with polished gleaming brass rails, together with bright lanterns and an abstract art deco leaded glass ceiling contributed to a unique experience of colour and texture. I was always assured the shellfish at Le Zeyer was of a really high standard; I was not disappointed. Three hours was my target to complete the sizeable task of getting to grips with the choix de l'ecaille (or sea food mountain) which I had ordered. As I remained undecided over my choise of wine, I cast my eye about the menu and thoughts wandered to a group of special friends when I spotted a rose wine from Ramatuelle on the south coast of France. For a number of years we had raced a yacht at Les Voiles de St. Tropez together. When the racing was cancelled or postponed due to a warning of a mistral hurtling through the Gulf du Lyons, we would venture out of St Tropez or Grimaud and go to the hilltop village of Ramatuelle in order to pay homage to a great producer of rose wine and typically some fine stuffed ravioli and deep fried courgette flowers.

My three hours passed very quickly dissecting and dismantling the crustaceans, shaking a variety of oysters and other shellfish from their shells, and before long I was on the 15 58 TGV from Gare de Lyon to Besancon. I found Franche Comte as ever singular and different, separate and distinct is nearly every way. From the rich delicate flavours of the mont d'or and comte cheese to the strongly flavoured saucise de morteau, jambon fumee and the chardonnay and savagnin wines of the region. Burgundy which is separated from the Jura and Franche Comte region by the Soane in many places is almost an opposite and very French. My time here was short and I savoured every minute but it was not long before we had to return to Dublin. Incidentally, before I left I managed to see a basket of pumpkins and gourds the like of which I probably would not have seen in Virginia, County Cavan.

A basket of mutant deformed gourds and pumpkins from the market in Beasnacon

The Good Life - Images and colours of Autumn

Dublin just before dawn crossing the Liffey

Brown birch bolet in the woods

A few brown birch bolets and a lettuce from the allotment

A white turnip from the allotment

The last flourish of raspberries from the allotment

Sun setting in a forest of silver birch

The Good Life - Harvest on the 5th September and hunting for forest fungi

The harvest this weekend was a real mixed bag as we rescued many veggies from the clutches of the voracious jaws of millions of slugs that have now arrived on site. These little guys are far from cute and are over motivated for my liking; the infestation is almost out of control. They are quite attached to the haricot beans and large courgettes have been reduced to an unrecognisable pulpy mass - It's time for the pellets!

A great example of a Leccinum Scabrum in its natural environment

I did a little mushroom hunting as well over the weekend finding a few prize examples of Leccinum Scabrum or brown birch bolet. I decided to explore a small patch where some young oak and hazel were growing and found a good quantity of Lepista Nuda or wood blewits. A good number of examples were spread all over the forest floor. All were at various stages of growth; the older examples curling their caps having spread their spores before retreating back to the forest floor, and the pale and violet caps of the younger lepista nuda bursting through the mossy forest floor.

Lepista Nuda cut and ready for the pot

GIn the same forest, probably more correct to describe it as a copse, I found a large quantity scleroderma verrucosum or scaly earth ball. These diminutive puffball mushrooms are not perfectly round but appear somewhat flattened, and are generally less than 4 cms in diameter with a small foot or stem. They are generally light ochre yellow brown in colouri with a scaly appearance to the surface of the mushroom. The younger fungi are solid with a black center; the older and slightly larger examples are soft and will burst easily releasing the spores. They are said to be toxic and should not be eaten or picked and mixed with other fungi that you intend to eat.

Scleroderma Verrucosum

A weekend trip to France

Figs and Mirabelles

The last post was complicated by issues with my Irish fraudband but thankfully I have been upgraded to intermittent poor service and can now type and save without too much difficulty. Last weekend I went to France to be with Corrine to help her out. Having arrived in Paris, I had a few hours to occupy before catching the TGV to Frasne not far from the Swiss border. I normally try to visit a small street market called the Marche de Ternes situated close to the Rue de Ternes and Porte Maillot. A good breeze coming up the Seine meant that the temperature would never be too stifling and I could walk around in comfort. The market is quite compact and occupies a portion of two small streets that radiate from a "v" shaped intersection. Street traders operate from stalls in front of an array of specialist shops and stores selling an assortment of produce including fish, meat, cheese, green grocers and fruit merchants.

Girolles

Turning the corner and arriving at the market with damp cobbles under foot I was confronted with a scene of busy preparation as the last additions were being placed on elegantly prepared displays of seasonal shellfish and fruit. Large tables of cool yellow girolles required little immediately caught my eye before it quickly travelled to the vast quantities of diminutive blushing golden mirabelles, adjacent to plums and gages and ripe figs. Bunches of opalescent pale chasselas grapes signalled the early season harvesting of grapes. In Dublin we are still picking artichokes and I thought the European crops had come ot an end by the early summer but I spotted an enormous variety of artichokes with large fleshy leaves dwarfing bunches of suedes and cauliflowers.

Artichokes and suedes

August is also one of the best months of the year for shellfish and despite the annual evacuation of the Parisians at this time of year to the South of France and Guadeloupe a great variety of shellfish was set out in well crafted icy displays grouping together vast mounds of langoustines, amandes and cooked shore crab.

Quite close by is one of my favourite places in Paris; Maison Pou on Rue du Ternes is not Fauchon, and never will be, but it essentially does the same thing cooking and preparing classic meals, dishes, meats and pates causing the havoc with the decision making skills of the hungry Parisian. The shop's style shirks the modernity and the crisp neat shapes and abstract forms that one might expect from Fauchon. The cooking and presentation of the food is easily recognisable as what I would consider to be classically French.

Delicacies of Maison Fou

I purchased my tickets in Gare de Lyon and wandered about for a while trying to find somewhere to eat. Eventually, I happened upn a neighbourhood restaurant of Reu Didertot and was put through my paces with the chef's foie gras to start, Lapin au moutard for main course and mirabelle clafoutis to finish. By this time the warmth of the sunshine needed to be suppressed and I allowed myself a refreshing glass or two of rose from the Pays du Gard.

I awoke the next morning in the small village of Couvieres. With warm sunlight flooding in through an open window that also allowed a comforting breeze circulate the room I breakfasted on coffee, toast with a reine claude plum jam and peaches fresh from the tree. Courvieres is immediately surrounded by pastures where the Monbelliard cattle graze and horses roam. The pastures are bounded all around by vast forests of tall straight powerful pine trees.

Horses near Couvieres

On Sunday morning we went for a short walk in the forests to hunt down a few mushrooms. There had not been much rainfall in the past few weeks in Courvieres, and we did not expect to find much. However, through one stretch of forest we doscovered a proliferation of Phallus Hadrian or stinkhorns; some spent and fallen down on the ground from where they literally hatched, others still proudly standing to attention freshly emerged from their embryonic sack with pitted and ribbed caps at the tip. If and when the rains arrive there may by a mycological explosion but it will not last long because the frosts will begin to become quite severe at 850 meters above sea level by the middle of September.

Phallus Hadriani emergging from the forest floor

Reading the newspapers it is difficult to escape the difference in the news reporting; the Irish media dwells upon one crisis followed by another where we have apparently been the author of our own misfortune (in reality a series of disasters created by a select few). In contrast the L'Est Republican carried a front page story on the announcements of various wine producers that they were in the last throws of preparing for the start of the vendage, or the picking of the grapes for their annual wine production. Elsewhere in the paper, my eye was caught by this full page add heralding the arrival of the Mont D'Or cheese. This cheese available during the Autumn and Winter months is one of my personal highlights of the year and launches me into new world of goumandises and a few weekends of gluttony.

The arrival of the iconicly seasonal Mont D'Or cheese