The Good Life: Autumn rewards

A basket full of tomatoes and one our orange hubbard pumpkins

Autumn not only introduces the first chill in the air but the sweet scent of ripening and decay, as the leaves gradually wither and fall. As the weeks surrender inevitably through October the first ground frosts are evident and we gather the last harvest baskets from the allotment. Despite heavy winds and rain our large variety of  tomatoes, for the most part, ripened. The vast quantity of bright red tomatoes forced us into great activity making richly flavoured vegetable lasagnas, pizza Napolitana along with the last of our anchovies from Palermo, and a rich tomato apple and courgette chutney. Those tomatoes that did not mature and ripen from the green department to the red department were also destined for the chutney treatment. Steamed and blended hubbard pumpkin flesh added to an egg custard mix enriched a the noble but simple creme caramel.

Corinne surveying the allotment and hoping I do not fall off or go through the roof of the shed

As the various crops gradually get cleared we have begun the task of digging the beds and  spreading manure to give the necessary fertiliser and boost for next years crops. The turn in the season has not stopped all growth in the allotment as the Swiss chard, sorrel, fennel, kale, mache, celery, leeks and some cabbage continue to thrive. The raspberries, despite being thrashed about in the stormy winds, have recovered for the last few weeks producing fragile but some very tasty fruit for Corinne to nibble as she works. The artichokes have been quite surprising; once mid October arrived we expected them to stop producing. We were wrong. This year the artichokes have produces constantly from May all the way through to the start of November. 


A single line of beetroot remains in the ground, being the remnants of numerous thinngs and pickings. In recent weeks the apples in a local orchard have also matured, and have been put to good use in the annual chutney production. My personal favourite so far is the beetroot and apple chutney, published by Darina Allen's Forgotten Skills of Cooking at page 439. Not wanting to waste the trek on foot along sodden tracks, across fields and deep ditches, en route to the orchard, we gathered a good supply of blackberries over a succession of weekend pilgrimages to make apple and bramble jelly, and pure bramble jelly. 

A selection of our colurful and healthy Swiss chard - the sorrel is just not photogenic no matter how healthy it is!

Corinne recently had a craving for sorrel soup also known as soupe á l'oseille, a lesser known favourite of French regional cooking. To make a good pot of very tasty sorrel soup we cut back an entire sorrel plant. We have five plants in the allotment and they grow back incredibly quickly. Therefore, with the application of some careful rotation, and minimal plant care, we could enjoy this humble mouth watering potage every week! Essentially one strong healthy plant with give you about a carrier bag full of leaves, approaching 500 grams.

 Corinne in the sorrel patch cutting the leaves from one of the plants and not a bad shot of the sorrel either!

To make the soup, prepare the leaves by washing them and removing the stalk. You will also need 1.5 litres of good vegetable or chicken stock. We add two or three leaves of chard to mellow the citric tang of the sorrel. The chard should be washed and roughly chopped or torn, reserving the stalks to use in another dish (we have added the stalks rather than let them go to waste - no harm!). Clean and chop a leek, and peel and chop two medium sized potatoes. Once all the ingredients are ready to go, melt some butter in a large tall pot. When the butter has melted, toss in the chopped leek and sorrel leaves, cooking gently until the sorrel begins to wilt (about 5 minutes). Then pour in the stock followed by the chard and the potatoes. Season with salt and pepper and cook for about an hour. To finish the soup use a blender stick to liquefy the contents of the pot. Serve the soup with some fresh cream. It makes a surprisingly flavoursome bowl of soup, and a hard act to follow.

I am always surprised about the vibrant colours on display in the Autumn. Not just from the richly golden and rusty shades of the deciduous trees but in the flowers vegetables and plants that manage to keep on growing deep into November, until they are finally taken by a fatal frost. The rose hips continue to glow red, and the glossy hardy Swiss chard stand tall in the beds. Not far away the nasturtium bloom with a resilient yellow.in the sunshine.

Nasturtium flowers

There is very little that can be planted at this time of year but Harry has put down some winter onion sets in between spells of digging and manuring the raised beds. Corinne and I have planted garlic in anticipation of adding to the other crops which we expect to yield in the Spring. In addition to the onions and garlic, we are hopeful the purple sprouting broccoli, and asparagus will arrive just after the trustworthy rhubarb.

Fishing fleet at low tide in Skerries

Cooked blue velvet swimmer crabs

This Saturday we took a break from the allotment and headed north along the coast pulling into the small fishing harbours that dot the rocky coastline of north county Dublin. Our tour took us to Rush, Loughshinny and Skerries to enjoy the fresh crisp sea air on what was a stunning day. We watched a group of fisherman lifting their pots off Loughshinny and landing them on the beach. Later in the afternoon the same guys were working the pots off Skerries, and recognising us from Loughshinny, very kindly gave us a bucket of blue velvet swimmer crabs. Much smaller than the brown shore crab, they are largely exported and are not often to be found in local fishmongers. You might find them in Spain garnishing a paella or a fish soup, being valued for their sweet flavour. Being quite small they take a good deal of time to pick the meat from the shells and legs, but it is worth the effort. Drop them into a pot of salted boiling water. Once the water comes back to the boil simmer for five minutes and thereafter allow them to cool. The bucket of crabs we were given may have taken five minutes to cook but took about three hours to shell and are now destined for a fine crab tart.

The Good Life: The end of the planting season and rhubarb syrup

The artichokes growing fast

June is the official start of summer, but there have been many swallows cutting and swerving through the sky for nearly two months, and the elderflower has been in blossom for an equal number of weeks. While the months pass the weather and the seasons are not predictable; April was balmy and warm and May was very cool with little rainfall. Just about everything that was sewn directly into the ground in May failed to grow and back up plans were rapidly put in place. Despite this disappointment. June has set out on a similar path. Days may be seasonally warm and are then interrupted by quite cool temperatures and even unseasonal north easterly winds. The weather has not upset some seasonal benchmarks; the timid spring primrose disappeared only to be replaced by the ribbons of white thorn blossom and pretty pink and pearl white wild rose flowers in the hedgerows.

While the last few days have had both warm and cold spells we have decided to get on with the planting project over the long weekend. The vegetables cannot remain in the pots and trays under cover for much longer, and the poor recent period of growth has left the allotment beds looking quite empty. The growth and strength of some weeds was quite frustrating and what the cold dry windy weather did not devour the pigeons and slugs have feasted upon. This decimation continued when some trays of seedlings fell victim to storm force winds when they were knocked off their shelf as the green house was relentlessly battered. Alas the aubergines unfortunately are no more! Courgettes, pumpkins, cauliflowers, Swiss chard, cornichons, beans and corn have all survived and have been set into their raised beds joining hardier plants, and winter survivors. Three different varieties of lettuce have replaced recent departures such as the purple sprouting broccoli, winter onions, shallots and pink garlic.

 A bulb of pink garlic in my hand

Despite the sparse amount of produce available in the allotment for early we have still managed to take a decent harvest of sorrel, lettuce, radish, strawberries, an artichoke and pink garlic. We can look forward in the coming days and weeks to the ripening of the strawberry crop, the other soft berries including early raspberries and tayberries, gooseberries and some red and white currants. The runner beans are progressing well and should develop into a decent crop, likewise the artichoke crop is taking over various corners. Our potato crop has grown quite strongly to date despite the late planting (which allowed them to avoid late frosts) and we can expect our first potatoes by the end of this month. While the plants are strong and healthy the lack of rain since they were planted can only mean the spuds may be small or non-existent. The unfortunate reality now is that if we do get a life giving fall of rain we may also be hit with the blight!

 Strawberry blossom and fruit developing

For the days that are balmy and sunny there is nothing quite as refreshing as a glass of chilled sparkling water with a dash of rhubarb cordial. When you have had enough rhubarb tarts, pies and crumbles it is nice to know that you can preserve some of that unique delicious fruity flavour for later in the year in the form of a syrup. 

To make about 2.5 litres of cordial you will need the following ingredients: 2 kilos of washed trimmed rhubarb, 750 millilitres of water, 2 teaspoons of vanilla essence, 1 tablespoon of citric acid and sugar (see instructions). 

Once you have washed, trimmed and chopped the rhubarb, place it in a large stainless pan with the water and cook it until it is well softened. Let the pan stand for an hour and sieve the contents of the pan to separate the pulp from the intensely pink juice. Measure the juice and pour it back into a clean pan adding 500 grams of sugar to every litre of juice, the citric acid and the vanilla essence. Boil the syrup, stirring to dissolve the sugar and thereafter simmer for 10 minutes. Pour the hot syrup into hot sterile bottles and seal down. The syrup should last two or three months if stored in a fridge if it is not consumed rapidly after it is bottled! Beware the seductive pink colour of this syrup!

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

Fantastic Pumpkins from Le parc de la Tete D'Or, Lyon

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!

Sailing from Palermo to Palma - 1

 A computer generated map with weather overlay for Friday 10th September 8 a.m.

Travelling from Trapani to Palermo is always interesting. Your path weaves through the rolling hills of north western Sicily, and through time, passing ancient Greek settlements of Erice and Segesta. From Winter through to the start of Summer the countryside is a rich verdant green with brightly coloured wild flowers in the pasture. In September the landscape is of a different hue. The heat of the Summer has parched the earth and scorched any life out of the grass. The arable crops have been harvested. The typical hilltop farmhouses blend into this earthy landscape. Many fields are bare from the harvest, and some have been ploughed revealing the rich dark earth. The only green foliage visible in some of the fields are vines, olive trees, and narrow cultivated channels of green randomly dotted with bright yellow melons, and bloated pumpkins, which ripen in the sun and devour every drop of rain and moisture that penetrate into the soil.

A selection of tomatoes from the market

Prickly pears

Having arrived in Palermo on Wednesday, we spent most of a rainy Thursday afternoon wandering around Palermo purchasing the food for the passage. There were no artichokes in the market this time. The stall that normally sold them in the Spring was selling romanesco and fresh green olives. With the change in the seasons came a change in the produce available; stalls were now largely selling courgettes, peppers, melons, tomatoes, pumpkins and beans. Seasonal fruit such as various varieties of plums, grapes and peaches were in abundance. The provisioning also included a visit to Giglo, our favourite producer of fresh pasta in Palermo. A stop there resulted in numerous purchases of ravioli; melanzane, radiccio and speck, and pesto basilico.

The bow of an old Palmeritan fishing boat going through a lengthy restoration project

The current plan is to leave 9 a.m. on Friday morning. This should be late enough to delay our progress and avoid a possible encounter with a forecasted mistral wind running down the west coast of Sardinia and into the Strait of Sicily. Our aim is to sail in a direction which should allow us close in upon the Sardinian coast, and gradually the wind is forecasted to shift to a more northerly direction making our passage a little easier. In closing the Sardinian coast we can also potentially pick up a detailed forecast for the remainder of the passage, but the forecasts we currently have to hand all suggest the wind should continue to moderate requiring us to possibly motor for the final approach to Palma. Fishing lines and rods are currently being prepared for action.

 Fenix in the port of Palermo

The Good Life - Harvest on the 29th August

August is proving to be as productive as July. While we have decided to pick one of our pumpkins, the courgettes are rapidly becoming marrows, and the patisson crop, a late comer, is gathering strength. The fennel is now ready and the sweet corn has matured well, and early. We steamed a number of freshly picked corn cobs during the week and they were stunning (of course there was a healthy amount of butter added). Some of the parsnips have also been plucked for the pot, and we look forward to some tasty dishes with them in the coming week.

The fruit bushes continue to produce; as well as the blueberries, the much awaited Autumn production of plump tart raspberries has begun and this growth will hopefully last for about six weeks. The planting in the allotment is quite limited now; our broccoli and cabbage will survive a Winter,and we have been advised to plant garlic in September, however the lolla rossa and gem lettuce will not survive a hard frost. A new crop of our favourite lettuce has been transplanted from the nursery beds into beds where the onions have been cleared. We have also finally cleared our main potato bed. This once difficult, and hard, stony soil towards the front of the allotment is now crumbly, and enriched for the new year.

The Good Life - Harvest on the 13th June

While most of the vegetables are still quite young we have managed to take a little harvest this weekend. The radishes and lettuce are plentiful and need to be used. Elsewhere the rocket, beetroot, oregano and mustard flower and parsley are maturing well.

This week we planted our pumpkins, courgettes, patissons and butternut squash. Our other seedlings continue to make good progress and in particular the fennel and perennial spinach shall be ready to transplant very soon. The broad beans have proved to be very healthy and aphid free so far. Their neighbours, the peas had a slow start and Corinne spent some time attaching their tender stems to bamboo canes to encourage them to grow in a more vertical and skyward direction. In the last week the potatoes have grown very tall and they are beginning to flower. The strawberry plants are also fruiting which should give us a pleasant diversity of fruit and vegetables over the next two or three weeks.

Corinne attaching the peas

A dash through November

November slipped by so fast it was frightening. It appeared to be a work-filled month running from one job to the next with very little time to take stock or note of what was going on around me. I do remember making some very nice chocolate biscuits and a few fish pies to keep us happy and well nourished. The dark days slipped by very quickly as we raced towards the shortest day of the year.

Today I am in Besancon with Corinne surrounded by snow and ice. The treachorous roads may keep us somewhat confined but if we get hungry we can always shoot something or other! The pears and quinces stored outside have frozen and the sweet chestnuts have dried rapidly in the chilly air.

Back home our allotment became less demanding over the last few weeks because the slugs have devoured the turnips and the beetroot are still too young. One delight however has been the growth of one of Corinne's new variety of globe artichoke plants. Despite my pleas to leave it grow for a lttle longer, she longed for the tender fresh and young leaves. So it came to pass, no sooner had I turned my back she had chopped it away from its mother plant when I had my back turned. I found the solitqry innocent inthe basket when I was loading the car. Everything tastes great with a little mayonnaise and this little specimen was no exception.

Corinne's new Globe Artichoke plant

November also means the harvest of the slug infested jerusalem artichoke plants, which lay maturing in the soil for the last few months. To my surprise they had not been too badly attacked by the useless slugs, and we had a few very pleasent meals with either roasted or steamed jerusalem artichokes (which also taste great with a little mayonnaise). The harvest of these unphotogenic critters is quite unforgettable because we wash them in the rainwater filled basins on the allotment. The water is inevitably freezing and my hands are throbbing with pain by the time I have washed the mud from them. The real reason for a lack of photgraphs at this point is because my fingers became paralysed in the cold water. A sensation which repeated itself yesterday after shovelling snow for a period.

During November I managed to get away for a few days to Holland, and spent a day in Haarlem before meeting friends in Amsterdam. There are times when you need to have some time to yourself and Haarlem I believe is the place to do it. It is much smaaler than Amsterdam but still has all the charm. The city is disected by the Spaarne river. Below are a few views of Haarlem to enjoy.

Check out the wonderful furniture of Piet Hein Eek

Traditional boats on the Spaarne with St Bavo`s cathedral in the background

Halloween was still in the air but so were the Christmas lights like so many cities

Sinterclas and Zwart Piet were making their entrance into the cities of the low countries the weekend I had arrived. There were a lot of beautiful wreaths of flowers, berries and fruit to hang on your door, or indeed decorate your beloved bicycle. I am contemplating bloging Conor`s Christmas Adventure (if I am allowed - so stay tuned in).
All errors above are due to defective and non standard French keyboards.

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