Jerusalem Artichoke and Carrot Soup

Debbie made the soup, I Polloked it up!

Here's a soup that our friend Debbie made. It's simple but delicious...

1 onion chopped and fried in olive oil. Then add equal amounts of peeled and diced carrots and Jerusalem artichokes, fry a little more and then cover with water and boil until the veg is soft and mushable, then mush it. Add more water to gain your preferred viscocity, bring back to the boil, and serve.

I added drizzles of pistachio oil, to bring out the nuttiness of the Jerusalem artichokes, a little cream, to add a little richness, and a good grind of black pepper, for spice. It all looked very Jackson Pollock.

Jerusalem artichokes are called topinambours in France. They have a bit of a reputation as poor people's food here, as it was all that was available abundantly during the winter months of the war, so older people tend to shun them. They also have a reputation for causing flatulence! (Although we've never noticed the effect.) So another name for this picture is "Art for Fart's Sake"!

The nicest photograph of a polytunnel that you'll see this side of tomorrow (probably)

I took this yesterday evening, out walking our friends dog.  If you'd like to see more, you can in this Picassa album.

Hibernation Over

Hi.  We're back!  Nothing much happens over the winter apart from we knuckle down and get on with graphic design, legal consultancy etc.  None of which is particularly bloggable.

Actually it's been a particularly wet and cold winter, with over six inches of snow on the Vieux Port in Marseille at one point!  We got away skiing a few times.  A good snow year, that's a positive.

But the garden's stirring now and the Euphorbia seems first to have woken.

Expect Mimosa and Almond blossom soon and then the whole thing starts all over again. 

Things to look out for in the next few weeks:

Snow chez nous, skiing photos and our new pool!  (Just being finished, pictures at the end of the month.)

Supernature

These images were made by nature....wonder if you can guess what they are....answers below the photos......

Number 1 - Lizard skin? Someother reptile? In fact when we dismantled the above ground pool that we have, this pattern was impregnated in the carpet under the liner. It's the mosaic pattern from the liner photosynthesised into the white carpet by the sun and algae...wierd.
Number 2 - when I took the dark red cover from the wrought iron daybed, this is the pattern bleached into the fabric by the sun.....art - who needs it....

Hanging in there

This little chap was clinging to our door the other day. He's a tree frog and they seem to have colonised the garden. They're very cute and make lots of noise, sounding remarkably like ducks when they get going and give us a proper frog's chorus. Here's what he looks like the right way up.

Blooming October.....

The end of September and the first two weeks of October were glorious but today, there's a definite chill in the air. I suppose we are approaching the end of October, but I'm a little disappointed all the same. We normally manage warm, sunny afternoons until the end of the first week in November.

Despite the chill, the roses are giving us a last, glorious blast of colour. I took these photos this morning. Wonder how much longer the flowers will last....when they go, winter will officially be here.

Glanum part 3....

So to finish the series of photos of Glanum, here's the road that would have led you to the centre of town. Not wide enough for carriages, like the roads in Pompei where you can still see the grooves worn by the wheels.

....some amazing bas relief carving.....


And an overview of the whole site...

And for those who would like to see more...here's a link to the album....