Sadness of the heart. My dear Giulia started on her way back to Italy, but not before we made plans to meet again in the Italian Alps next summer. I look forward to that trip.
Not having my travel
companion I spent the day moping and working on my book. I did good progress,
so I was pretty happy and to celebrate I decided to go shopping! Shopping for
food has become an obsession with me, even if it is to only buy a thing or two.
I like meandering through the aisles planning this or that fabulous dinner.
When I came back home I found my neighbors, an English couple that is renting
the studio to the side of me for four days, flabbergasted at the ancient door
of the property because their key was not working. Feeling superior I advanced
with my key at the ready and … nothing! The lock would just not turn. What to
do? The neighbor offered to call the agency that manages the house, and I
texted my landlady, but after waiting 15 minutes and nothing happening I got to
work on the lock, juggling my key this way and that until—like magic—the lock
turned! So we all got in, wondering if we should keep the door open. At that
point my landlady called back, I explained what had happened, and she told me
she was on her way.
My landlady’s name is
Françoise. She much regretted the inconvenience, and she was going to call the
agency, and how was I doing, and had I had the chance to see much of Bergerac,
and had I been in Parc Pombonne? I had not? Well, I had to go next Thursday at déjeuner,
and go have moule frites on Thursday at the restaurant La Guinguette
right by the lake, and how she was going to be there with her family to
celebrate her son’s birthday, but I should make a reservation because the place
is packed on Thursdays. … Pant, pant, pant … Oh, and sorry for not calling me
back right away, but she had been at the doggy school, where she was taking her
young dog for obedience and athletic training.
Oh, you have a dog?
Yes, she said, a Border Collie. Quelle surprise! Moi, je un Border Collie aussi!
Wonderful how dog lovers find each other, isn’t it. So, of course I had to show
her a photo of Cooper, and she had to take me outside to her car to meet Ulysse,
who is smaller than Cooper (but only 9 months old) and is tan and white instead
of black and white. Ulysse is absolutely adorable, and I have no idea
why he is going to obedience school because he is a super nice, smiley little
dog. I am going to see about borrowing
him for morning walks.
The following day,
Wednesday, I woke up with a single idea in my mind: Go to La Guinguette de
Pombonne and make a reservation for tomorrow Thursday. I tried to get some
worked done first, and by 10 am jumped on my bike and after just 8 minutes
reached Pombonne. Turns out this is a nature preserved established only 20
years ago at the place of an old farm, with wonderful walks and a young but
very healthy forest. And it is almost in my back yard! I dutifully made my
reservation, and then went for a lovely walk before stopping by the supermarket
to buy bacon and a calf’s foot (they had none so instead I bought some agar)
because today I am going to try my hand at preparing a terrine de lapin.
First you place the
bacon at the bottom of the pot, then add sliced carrots, onions, and whatever
other vegetable you have at hand (I had leek rounds), the spices of the day,
garlic, pepper, salt, and the rabbit pieces. Add white wine to cover it all and
let it cook for one hour. You then pull out the rabbit and bacon and shred it
with your fingers to get a coarse hash (to which I added a generous amount of
capers). You also separate the veggies, and let the broth reduce for a bit
longer, before filtering it through a piece of cloth (Françoise will never know
what happened to her nice napkin) and adding some lime juice.
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