Literally across the street from the Bay of Biscay, Le Socowa is the French version of a beach front fish shack. With that in mind, you would expect that organization would not be a strong point, which it is not: they almost never answer the phone if you call for a reservation and as far …
Restaurant Le Socowa, Ciboure France Read More »
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One of the difficulties of translating French recipes for the American kitchen is that many of the ingredients are just not the same in France as in America. This difference in ingredients can often mean that getting good results using a French recipe can require a lot of modifications in measurements, timing and techniques. Take, …
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Living need the Pyrenees, where sheep’s milk cheese is king, inevitably means spring lamb. Ewes need to have lambs to continue producing milk, and the male lambs are of very little use on a dairy farm. Thus in the spring, when they are between 30 and 50 days old, the male lambs are culled from …
Spring lamb sweetbreads with cream and leeks Read More »
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The last time I had the good fortune to dine at Chez Mattin in Ciboure was pre-covid. This family-run Basque restaurants has been consistently one of my favorites for years, see my recommendation from 2013! But a lot changed during covid, and many wonderful restaurants have either not opened or never re-found their pre-covid form, …
Chez Mattin, still great! Read More »
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So it all started with a tajine that I saw at the local vide-grenier (vide grenier =”clear out the attic” = garage sale) to support the Calendretta, the local bi-lingual school, which teaches in French and Occitain. A brand new Emile-Henry tagine, still in its original box, never been used! Although my experience with cooking …
Preserved and pickled lemons Read More »
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Purchased this Tuesday at the farmer’s market in Orthez: organic butter from the farm Leit de Brunas. In Béarnais, the name means “milk from the Brunes”, which is fitting for this family-run farm located south of Pau that raises the Brunes des Alps breed of dairy cows. In addition to butter, their tiny stand in …
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Green asparagus from Les Landes were in the market for the first time this spring, a true cause for celebration. The area of Les Landes is just north of the Béarn, and is known for its sandy soil (and in 2022, for its terrible forest fires!) that is perfect for asparagus. Les Landes asparagus is …
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After the longest of winters, spring always arrives…it just seems to take a long, long time years! So the first spring vegetables to grace the market tables are always a cause for celebration. Last Saturday, I found spring green garlic, which I snapped up, along with last of the season Jerusalem artichokes. The two ended …
First signs of Spring Read More »
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Late winter-early spring is a lean time at the farmer’s market (wow, hearing myself say that, it is hard to believe that it is already turning toward spring!). The last of the fall harvest – winter squashes, pears, apples, onions, garlic – are getting old and a little rough looking. Spring veggies are still just …
Gratin of green chard Read More »
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