Wednesday 21 September 2011

Food For The Soul



Readers, get your paniers! Mornings like this call for some serious retail therapy. When its wet and grey, when an unexpected school run forces a very unpleasant contretemps with a rude and surly man in a van, when you've already drunk your daily quota of tea and feel like your never going to feel warm and dry again, a touch of shopping is just what's required.



No, we're not talking ordinary trundle round the supermarket, trolley, purse and reward card at the ready -



we're talking a gentle stroll through the Provencal streets that are so hot that you're grateful of all the dappled shade you can find. Reader, on a day like this, can you imagine that?



Against the sunbleached ochre walls of shuttered buildings underneath an azure sky, let's take some time choosing our meals today...



no need to hurry, time is on our side and there's always tomorrow as there's a market every day here in Aix.
A kilo of this and a kilo of that, a bunch of basil, multi coloured tomatoes,



baby aubergines, zingy zesty fresh mint.



How about some olives?



Spices?



Even the peppercorns are colourful today...



Some crockery to brighten the kitchen table.




Sunflowers against Provencal tablecloths, carrier bags echoing their golden hue.
The summer sunshine increases as the morning progresses so we shall wander slowly, breath in the scents and sounds and savour the delights.




A gentle nod to Autumn as we discover the stalls of mushrooms, fresh and dried.
Nothing pressing to do, just wander and taste ... some goats cheese and figs for lunch perhaps?

Ratatouille and salad for supper maybe?







Definitely an ice cream on the way home...



But don't worry, we can do it all again tomorrow (and believe me reader we did! A morning didn't pass without a trip to the market) - now wouldn't that be nice ....

10 comments:

Elizabethd said...

How perfectly lovely! Enjoy your holiday.

Emma Herian said...

oh how I wish our markets are like this!
BRING BACK THE MARKET!
Carry on dreaming, its such a gorgeous one, I can even smell it1

OhSoVintage said...

Oh I'm there! I can feel the sunshine on my face, I can smell the aroma of all those vegetables, olives etc. Now I just mustn't look out of the window at the grey sky or it will all be spoilt! Thankyou for sharing this with us this morning. (Whenever I encounter an impatient or surly driver I just think about the poor wife he is driving home to and I'll, hopefully, never see him again!)
Ruth x

Hausfrau said...

Even though I'm looking forward to autumn, this all looks wonderful!

Thimbleanna said...

Oh, to live near markets like that! How lucky you were to visit them. And I LOVE that first picture of the kitty!

Petit Filoux said...

It's posts like that which make me seriously reconsider why I'm living in this country!! How I miss those markets!

Cowboys and Custard Mercantile said...

Formidable!
The essence of life.
Dx

Jill said...

One of my favourite places, and this year we didn't visit the Provence now I wish I had after looking at your lovely photos.
Jillx

Planet Penny said...

Oh, I LOVED that! The sunflowers...the peppers! Just keep on enjoying that moment!

Pondside said...

Well that was just lovely - I could smell the spices, the dust, the wonderful tomatoes!
Such a long time since I last visited - I've had a very nice catch-up.