Diary entries of a Francophile
Buxy, markets, and marinated olives
In my previous post, I mentioned sharing some diary entries I stumbled upon from a visit to France in 2011 and 2012. Below, is the first entry. Each entry will end with one or two recipes written back then. Some have appeared in my books. The recipes will be exclusively available to paid subscribers.
Bonne lecture!
We're finally here!
The trip from Almere to Buxy went very smoothly yesterday—quick even, or at least it felt that way. The only hard part was getting to sleep the night before and waking up at 4 AM the next day. Still, I love starting off early because it means we get to enjoy more time here.
What a difference when we arrived!
From a gray and cool Dutch summer, we suddenly found ourselves in paradise again—sun, warmth, and smiling faces. It was a pleasure to meet the owners of the beautiful country house we rented in Cersot, by the river, Ciska and Abe. The house already feels like home, and so does the area. What a shame, though, that there aren’t many places to eat in the evening—just two overpriced restaurants. I was really in the mood for a steak and an île flottante yesterday, but no luck. Still, we had a great dinner at home (I love how I call this place home after just one night), and the apéro by the riverside was lovely. How could you go wrong when you’re in the heart of France, drinking local Givry wine and eating terrine de campagne with crusty bread and spicy olives?
Speaking of olives—I just discovered how delicious it is to buy a tub of spiced olives and dip pieces of bread into the fragrant oil. Wow!
It looks like it’s going to be another sunny day. I feel like we so deserve this—not just because of the horrible weather we’ve had in the Netherlands, but because of the difficult year we’ve had, and coped with so well. When I woke up this morning and looked at Hans still sleeping, I felt a wave of gratitude just knowing he’d wake up with the same enthusiasm as I did.
Our plans for today include a visit to the market in Chalon-sur-Saône, maybe lunch somewhere—and then, who knows! I’m ready to enjoy this day to the max.
Our second day in France
It’s August 15th today, and we’ve woken up to a rather gloomy morning after a night full of rain. Yesterday was full of everything—walks through the market in Chalon-sur-Saône, drinks on a busy terrace, lunch at a nice restaurant, a visit to a very typical French antique market, and a scenic drive through a new vineyard.
Let me start with the market in Chalon.
How I love French markets like this one—stall after stall of beautiful, fresh produce, cheeses, meats, wines, spices, and olives. It looked a little different than in winter—this time it was around the church instead of starting in one of the side streets, and I think it might have been a bit larger.
What did I buy? A bagful of tasty olives, pink garlic, tomatoes, aubergines, parsley, and apricots! Oh, and before we went to the market, we did some shopping in Buxy—I loved visiting the butcher for lamb cutlets and jambon persillé, the baker for baguette and fresh croissants, and even the tiny Casino supermarket. I’ve always preferred this kind of shopping over supermarkets. Plus, it gives me a chance to practice my French.
I’m so looking forward to making a beautiful dinner tonight with everything I bought, along with a gorgeous salad I saw in a French cooking magazine and some pommes sarladaises.
Ah, look! As I write, the sun is starting to peek out from behind the clouds.
Back to yesterday…
Our plan was to round off the market in Chalon with lunch at the square. We sat down and ordered drinks around 11:30, but when noon came and we asked for menus, we were told they didn’t serve lunch on that side of town—only across the bridge.
So we ended up at a lovely little restaurant called La Cigale. At first, we were disappointed by how deserted the street looked. A whole row of restaurants and barely any diners! I told Hans it was probably because it was Sunday—France’s holy day for family meals. Thankfully, more people trickled in, which made it feel a bit cozier.
We chose the menu du jour. Kirstie and I started with a tomato-mozzarella salad—so fresh and tasty. I loved the lemon juice in the dressing instead of vinegar, and the finely chopped chives were a nice touch. Hans had the chicken salad, which he enjoyed, though he did say it was a bit too garlicky! We followed with steak cooked in herbes de Provence and served in a light, creamy sauce. Kirstie had the salmon in beurre blanc with wild rice and chanterelles. Dessert was a beautiful layered raspberry cake.
After coffee, we set off for Beaune, but ended up in Meursault—a vineyard we hadn’t visited before. Fun to see, though the wines are quite expensive. Not that that’ll stop me from trying a bottle!
We stopped in Nolay next, where we wandered through an antique market under the town’s covered square. Beautiful things, but too large or too pricey to bring home.
That about wrapped up the day. Around 5 PM, we returned for an apéro, this time with a bottle of Aligoté. Dinner was simple—steak tartare, salads, and bread. You really do have to keep dinner light after a proper three-course French lunch! Shame about the rain, though—we missed our evening walk, which had been such fun the night before.
The sun’s disappeared again for now. I really hope it returns later. Not sure yet where today will take us—we’ve been talking about visiting the market in Louhans.
Today’s Recipe: Marinated olives
Though most French markets have you spoiled for choice when it comes to purchasing marinated olives, making your own variation is quite gratifying. Perhaps because there’s something wonderfully domestic about putting beautiful ingredients into a jar. Or maybe because anything homemade just always seems to taste better. You can use pitted or unpitted olives. Unpitted tend to be more flavorful, while pitted are, of course, easier to eat. I leave the choice entirely up to you.
