Ratatouille

Organic heritage tomatoes at the Jardins Vergers de la Petite Rabaudière, where I buy my veggies.

It's ratatouille season in France, so here is a recipe to use up your tomatoes, aubergines, peppers and zucchini.

 

Organic homegrown zucchini (photo from our archive).

 

Ingredients

A big aubergine, cut into 2cm chunks

Olive oil

2 medium zucchini, cut into 2cm chunks

1 large yellow onion, roughly chopped

1 red and 1 yellow sweet pepper, cut into 2cm chunks

3 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped

4 medium tomatoes, cut into 2cm chunks

Pinch red pepper flakes

Pinch of sugar

1 tbsp red wine vinegar

½ tsp dried thyme leaves

Ground pepper

 ¼ cup torn basil leaves

Method

1. Salt the aubergine and allow to drain for 20 minutes. Dry with paper towel.
2. Heat olive oil in a pan and cook the zucchini for a few minutes.
3. Add more olive oil and the aubergine to the pan, cook for a few minutes.
4. Add more olive oil, the onion and the peppers to the pan, cook for a few minutes.
5. Add more olive oil, the tomatoes, red pepper flakes and sugar to the pan and cook for 10 minutes.
6. Add the vinegar, thyme and pepper to the pan and cook for 15 minutes.
7. Stir the basil into the pan contents and serve.

 

Garlic drying in a shed on one of our walks.

 

Tomatoes.

 

Organic heritage tomatoes.

 

Organic tomatoes at the market in Preuilly.

 

Onions drying in a shed on a farm near le Petit Pressigny.

 

Chillies drying at a specialist herbalist.

 

Ingredients for ratatouille.

 

A serving of ratatouille.

Organic green and yellow peppers at the gardens of the Chateau de Villandry. Visitors can take these for free (you are encouraged to leave a tip for the gardeners if you do so).

Australians in the Touraine

If we post at the weekend, it's usually about Australia. This time, something different.

Last weekend we were visited by my brother Jon, his wife Rosy, and mate Jan. We were doing a scenic drive through la Guerche, parked to take in the view and saw a friend out front of his house. He offered to take a photo of us all, so here it is.

We had an excellent weekend of sitting around in the heat, and having far too many picnics. It was great having family here, and we can't wait for the next time.

Jersey Grasshopper

 

This Jersey Grasshopper Euchorthippus declivus (Fr. Criquet du brome) joined me at the swimming pool the other day and posed obligingly on my towel. Thanks to Luxembourg based entomologist Raoul Gerend for identifying the species for me. I knew it was a grasshopper, but beyond that I was baffled. That's partly because it isn't in my go to general insect guide (Michael Chinery's Insects of Britain and Western Europe) and partly because it turns out to be a long-winged variant. These are apparently not uncommon, but not the norm, so most pictures online show a grasshopper with wings that are shorter than the abdomen.

This is a species of tall dry calcareous grassland. Raoul says that the white stripe was the indicator for him to be able to suggest an identification.

The adults are at their peak in August, and can be found throughout France. This one, with its long wings and white submarginal strip on the elytrae, is female. The colour can vary between individuals, from brown and grey to yellowish and greenish.

The House at the Sign of the Rose

In rue de la Cathédrale in Poitiers there is a rather grand looking student residence at Number 49. It is popularly known as the Hôtel de l'enseigne de la Rose (the House at the Sign of the Rose). It has a plaque on one side of its grand gateway saying Joan of Arc stayed there in 1429. But in fact, it turns out that not only did she not stay there, as the building is not old enough, it is not even actually on the site of the building she did stay in. That's two doors up, and has a different plaque. 

 

Student residence, known as the  Hôtel de l'enseigne de la Rose, but not the building by that name, nor on the site, of where Joan of Arc stayed.

Joan had come to Poitiers to see the King, Charles VII. She was interrogated by a group of theologians, who established that her divine mission was legitimate. 

 

The building on the site of the original Hôtel de l'enseigne de la Rose, where Joan stayed.

The English and their Burgundian allies had taken control of Paris, so Poitiers had become one of the the capitals of the 'Kingdom of Bourges'. The Royal Parliament was operating from the current Courthouse. Joan (Fr. Jeanne d'Arc) stayed in the home of Jean Rabateau, President of the Parliament, for a month in March and April of 1429, before she went off to break the seige of Orléans. 

Not a Drinker

The other day I found what I first thought was a Drinker in the bank. That's a type of moth, not an alcoholic. It turns out it wasn't a drinker, but a Plum Lappet Moth, Odonestis pruni.

This is the Plum Lappet in the bank.

I photographed it then helped it outside.

The wing colour ranges between yellow and orange, with reddish and brownish markings. On each forewing, there is a distinct white dot in the centre, near which lie two darker bands. It's considered a bit of a pest, due to the larvae's consumption of various crops. In french it's known as La Feuille-morte du prunier.

Whereas....

The Drinker Euthrix potatoria (Fr. la Buveuse) is a nocturnal moth in the fabulously teddy bearish and furry Eggar moth family Lasiocampidae.

This male Drinker is from my archive, photographed in Essex in 2002, in our garden.

The curious name, the same in French and English, comes from the caterpillar's reputation for sipping the morning dew off leaves.

 

Male Drinker on Simon's hand, from my archive.

The species is present in the whole of Europe and as far as Japan. In France it can be seen everywhere except some of the Mediterranean habitats. The adults are in flight from June to August. Eggs are laid on the host grass species and the caterpillars emerge, grow a bit, then overwinter. They finish their growth in the spring then spin a yellow coccoon attached to a grass stalk.

 From the archives.

They like damp grassland and forests, heaths, woodland clearings and roadsides. The caterpillars eat sedges Carex sp and grasses such as Cock's-foot Dactyla glomerata, Couch grass Elymus repens and Barren Brome Bromus sterilus.

You can see why I was confused.

The Western Facade of Poitiers Cathedral

The facade sits recessed between two towers and dates from the middle of the 13th century. The main features are a 9 metre wide central rose window and three great doors set into gables. The style is Northern Gothic. The rose window resembles that of the south transept of Notre-Dame de Paris.

 

 Western facade of the Cathedral.

Over the central door is depicted the Last Judgement carved in three rows. The dead are rising from their tombs in a mass movement. Saint Michael, sword in hand, separates the damned, who are thrown into the monsterous jaws of Leviathan. Christ the Judge shows his wounds. Kneeling at his sides are the Virgin and Saint John as well as angels displaying the instruments of the Passion. Characters from the Old and New Testaments are carved around the mouldings. 

 

 Central door.

The left door is similar, but with two rows, depicting Mourning the Virgin and the Coronation of the Virgin. The characters who crowd around Mary, attending her deathbed at the moment of the Assumption, are remarkable for the elegance of the their silhouettes, by the depth of carving and fluidity of their drapes, and by the dignity of their poses. Above, Christ blesses his mother, crowned by angels. Taking their place in the mouldings are saints and clerics. 

 

 Left hand door.

 

The tympanum of the door on the right is dedicated to Saint Thomas. This choice of theme is rare in Gothic sculpture. If the scene of the incredulity of the Apostle is traditional, the iconography of the upper register uses the version of the story told by Jacques de Voragine in the Legende Dorée (the Gilded Legend) involving the celestial apparition of a palace which the Apostle must construct for an Indian king. You can make out a building in the form of a tabernacle above the scene showing Saint Thomas preaching, baptising and distributing alms. This scene shows that the real palace is spiritual and not material. In the mouldings are the figures of angels, saints armed as knights, as well as the parable of the Wise Virgins and the Foolish Virgins.

 

Right hand door.

Executed around 1250 by one or several workshops, certainly including those who worked at Charroux, the collection of sculptures around the great doors of Poitiers Cathedral rival those of Paris, Bourges and Reims.

The level above the tympanums is dominated by a great rose window.

The gallery and the gable above that were added in the neo-gothic style in the 19th century.

The Mystery Revealed

 What, we asked on Friday, is this object?  [link to be inserted]

Further rummaging around in the cupboard at the gîte revealed that the object had a twin, with an extra piece that explained all. 

It's a cruet set! The trilogy (triptych? triumvirate?) of little revolving bowls are for salt, pepper and mustard. No doubt you can pick them up at any broccante...

A Cut Glass Mystery

We were invited to apéros with the cousins of friends the other day. They were staying in the gîte that we had stayed in before our house was habitable. So it was intriguing to see how much the building has changed in 20 years, and with three successive owners. 

And there was another intrigue. In the kitchen cupboard the cousins had found a curious cut glass object. They brought it out and we discussed its possible purpose. Was it a bell that had lost its clapper? Turned the other way up, was it a specimen vase, of the sort that went in a wall bracket or even some models of old car? 

Eventually we figured it out, but you'll have to wait until Monday to see the answer. Please submit your guesses over the weekend in the comments or by email!

Fundraising Trunks

Many French churches have what they call 'un tronc' (a trunk). They are boxes with a slot so people can make donations in cash. It can be connected to lighting a candle and the money is often destined to be alms for the poor (generally managed by Caritas), or sometimes to cover expenses linked to the parish or the maintenance of the church. There will usually be a note somewhere saying what the funds collected are to be used for. Sometimes the collection box will be associated with a particular saint.

 

A typical 'tronc'. This one is in Poitiers Cathedral. It seems to be raising money for the Cathedral bookshop, but I don't know to what purpose the money will be put.

Because they are left for the public to access, without surveillance, they are vulnerable to theft. So they are often inserted into a wall or floor, and locked, with the key held by someone responsible in the church.

 

One of my clients hammering a tack into the trunk in Loches.

In some churches the trunk is a literal tree trunk and those who wish to give 'buy' a tack and hammer it in (in lieu of buying a candle). This had a resurgence in 2010 when a priest in Dordogne revived the practice, but Saint Ours in Loches is one of only two churches to have an 'original' trunk, dating from the 1960s.

 

The porch of Saint Ours in Loches, with the 'tronc' on the left.

I read an account of a man convicted in the 19th century of robbing a 'tronc'. Apparently he used a 'baguette' smothered in glu* and poked it through the coin slot to laboriously pick up a few coins at a time. It took me a few seconds to realise that in French a 'baguette' can be a variety of long thin things, not necessarily a loaf of bread. So of course he was using a stick, but in the meantime, before I remembered, I'd laughed out loud at the image in my mind.

*Glu is the dreadful sticky concoction that is used to trap birds such as thrushes. Notoriously, holly bark is the source of glu. The bark is left to ferment in spring water and after some manipulation a greenish water resistant paste is produced. This is mixed with poultry fat, vinegar, oil, and turpentine, boiled whilst stirring and when ready spread on fruit trees.

Treenails

Treenails, pronounced 'trennels' and called 'chevilles bois' or 'chevilles charpente' in French, are a key part of traditional carpentry, joinery and boat construction. Structural beams, rafters and braces are linked using mortise and tenon joints. That is where one element has a 'tongue' (tenon), which fits into a slot (mortise) in the other element. The joint is then fastened with a treenail, which is pushed perpendicularly through all the layers of wood by way of carefully drilled rabbet holes.

The grain of the treenail must be at right angles to the grain of the beam with the mortise, and the diameter of the treenail needs to be fractionally bigger than the hole into which it will be forced. In France both ends of the treenail generally protrude from the joint ie they are usually not cut flush. They are not glued. Treenails are structurally sound in spans up to 9 metres, but cannot be guaranteed beyond that.

A hard but flexible wood such as Robinia (Fr. Acacia) is traditionally used, but Oak and Chestnut can also be found (and would have been used before Robinia arrived in Europe in the 17th century). Treenails are subjected to tremendous force and must be able to withstand the natural movement in the carpentry joint as the Oak beams dry and twist. As a result they can't generally be removed, except by drilling out, and they certainly can't be reused, as they will have deformed in situ.

Before mechanisation treenails were made by splitting the wood then shaping with a drawknife. As a result they will be slightly faceted. Modern ones are about 35 mm in diameter and 24 cm long. The old ones in our house are variable and between 15 and 25 mm in diameter, and 21 to 24 cm long.

The smaller versions of treenails used in furniture making are known as dowels (tourillons in French) and are generally glued.

 

A broken treenail.

The photos are all of treenails in our attic, so are 19th century and handmade.

Poitiers Cathedral

 Simon and Linda make a break for it out the side door. I had opened the door a moment earlier to help out a bloke carrying a pot plant. We hoped he wasn't stealing it...

Poitiers Cathedral is less well known than the Church of Notre-Dame la Grande just up the hill, but this immense religious edifice is visible from quite some distance in the surrounding countryside.

 

The very wide front of the Cathedral.

The Cathedral was commissioned in the middle of the 12th century, and consecrated in 1379. The project was funded by the Bishop and Chapter, Eleanor of Aquitaine and Henry II Plantagenet, and other pious parishioners. It is in the Angevin Gothic style (identified by the curved vaults on a square plan). 

 

 I liked the crozier motif railings at the front.

The Cathedral is also distinguished by its three aisles (or naves...), more or less equal in height and width, and covered with a single vast roof. The building is nearly 100 metres long and the nave and aisles over 30 metres high. The front has two towers that were not finished until the 16th century and borrows certain elements, such as the three great doors, from a more northern French style. The sculptures on the front represent the Last Judgement. It is one of the rare French cathedrals that does not have flying buttresses.

 

 Looking down the northern aisle.

The interior has 13th century choirstalls and stained glass windows from the 12th and 13th centuries. The window above the altar depicting the Crucifixion is one of the high points of French medieval stained glass.

 

A confessional.

Because it took so long to build there was quite a bit of undoing of earlier work in order to stay fashionable. The Angevin vaulting in particular started to look fairly out of date.

 

One side of the 13th century choirstalls.

1n 1346 during the Hundred Years War the Cathedral was pillaged by English troops. In 1562 during the Wars of Religion it was pillaged again, by Protestant troops. Over Christmas in 1681 a fire destroyed the organ and damaged the rose window. The window was reconstructed in a more floral style and based on the rose window in the North Transept of Notre-Dame de Paris.

 

The famous stained glass window above the altar, with rare images of Eleanor and Henry, which you can't see from the ground as they are obscured by the balustrade. The window is remarkable though and I would never have picked it as so early. Impossible to photograph with the phone unfortunately.

Potato and Cauliflower Curry (Aloo Gobi)

 

This is a vegetable curry. Aloo is Urdu for potato, gobi is cauliflower and sag spinach.

Organic cauliflower, grown in a local garden, cut into florets.

I love this dish. It is so intensely savoury, real comfort food. It's a great dish for trying with people who hate cauliflower or spinach. Carnivores are often quite happy to eat it. One person who is notably not happy to eat it is Simon, so if I make it, I have to have an alternative on hand for him.

Chard can be substituted for the spinach.

The quantities in this recipe are extremely flexible. If you have already taxed the cauliflower for a few florets to have with lamb chops and cheese sauce for dinner yesterday – don't worry – just chuck in another potato.

Tomato and spices mix.

Serves 3-6

Ingredients

1 cauliflower

3-4 potatoes

1 onion, peeled and cut into 6 wedges

1 small piece of fresh ginger root, finely chopped

1 can chopped tomatoes

1 fresh red chili, finely chopped

3-6 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 tablespoon cumin seeds

2 teaspoons tumeric

1 large bunch fresh green coriander, stalks and leaves chopped separately

1½ teaspoons ras al hanout or garam masala

1 teaspoon salt

100g fresh spinach (or in a pinch, a couple of blocks of frozen) – optional

Method

1. Divide the cauliflower into florets and discard the trunk.
2. Scrub the potatoes and cut into chunks 5-8cm across.
3. Put the tomatoes into a bowl with their liquid. Rinse out the tin with about ¼ cup water and add this to the bowl. Put the tin in the recycling bin.
4. Add the coriander stalks, tumeric, chili, ginger and salt to the tomatoes.
5. Heat the oil on medium in a large deep frying pan (a kadai - one of those that looks like a heavy, flat based wok is traditional and ideal), then fry the cumin and onions until yellowish-golden but not brown. Yes, this is quite a lot of oil. You probably could use less, but if you have Pakistani or Indian friends and have watched them cook, you will know that they tend to be quite generous with the oil when frying off onions and spices. Flavour molecules tend to attach to fat molecules and become enhanced and accessible. The dish gains a textural quality as well as just imparting flavour sensations.
6. Add the tomato mixture and fry for 3-5 minutes.
7. Reduce the heat then add the cauliflower and potatoes. Stir well.
8. Cover and let simmer over a medium low heat for 20-30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the potatoes are done.
9. Turn off the heat and add the chopped coriander leaves, spinach and spice mix. Stir carefully then cover and let stand while you cook rice.
10. Serve with rice, dhal (lentils) and/or chapatis or naan.

I am not a fan of very hot food, although I like spicy. I see no advantage in spending a meal with eyes watering, nose running, sweating and gulping in cool air after every couple of mouthfuls, so I limit the chili. If your tolerance is higher, put in 2, 3 or even 4 chillies.

Mustard seed/rape/canola is probably traditional, but sunflower or peanut will be fine. Traditionally, quite large quantities of oil are used too, but you may wish to be more moderate and go for the lower limit suggested.

I know preparing the leaves and the stalks of the coriander separately sounds tedious and time consuming – but do it – it's worth it for the extra flavour you get. Wash the bunch of leaves and shake vigorously to get as much water as possible off. Dry your hands and pick off the leaves. If you have wet hands when you are pinching off the leaves they will stick to your fingers in a thoroughly irritating way. Chop the pile of leaves finely. Gather the stems together into a neatish bundle and cut them into 5mm lengths – shorter if you have the knife skills and patience. You can just gather the bunch together after washing and separate the leafy bits with one firm cut at wherever seems best in order to get a pile of stems and a pile of leaves, but this shamefully cavalier and impatient attitude doesn't produce quite as good a result.

Preparing the coriander can put you off making this dish. This step alone will take about 20 minutes if you approach it calmly and steadily. But for me the dish is so delicious and so comforting that I have been known to make it after a particularly frustrating day at the office when I thought I couldn't be bothered with food at all.

If you can't buy ras al hanout in the shops it is especially easy and economical to put together if you buy your spices in the generous quantities offered in shops or markets catering for people from Africa or India. To make the blend, combine 2 tablespoons ground cumin, 2 tablespoons ground coriander, 1 tablespoon turmeric, 1 teaspoon hot chilli powder, 1 teaspoon smoked sweet paprika and 1 teaspoon smoke essence. Store in a sealed jar and use as a rub on meats prior to grilling or frying, sprinkle on potato wedges, in recipes that call for garam masala or curry powder as well as ras al hanout.

What is smoke essence I hear you ask? Smoke essence is a brilliant idea from Sally Schneider's 'A New Way to Cook'. Take ½ cup Lapsang Souchong tea and whiz at high speed in a blender or spice grinder for 1 minute until it turns into a fine powder. Use it to give ordinary grilled meats and veg that straight from the barbecue flavour.

The Earle Revolver House

This distinctive house is near the Roman Bridge in Ascain, in the Pyrenees. We stumbled across it when we were on holiday in 2019, staying in Saint Jean de Luz. At the time we could find out very little about it. What we did know came from the official listed monuments site, which longtime reader Carolyn pointed us to.

So this is all we knew: Film set designer Ferdinand Pinney Earle (born in New York in 1878, died in 1951 in Hollywood) became famous in Hollywood in the years 1910 to 1920. In 1930, he moved to Ascain and built a house whose appearance is reminiscent of the adobe houses built around Santa Fe around 1920. The floor plan in the shape of a revolver is a particular feature. The elevations and decoration incorporate many elements of the pueblo style.  Many show business and arts personalities were guests of Earle there. 

 

Then a few days ago we got a lovely email from one of the Earles' grand daughters, and she was able to tell us a bit more and shared some fun family anecdotes.

She said: "My mother was born there in 1934. She told stories about riding a tricycle through the inside from one end to the other. She also said that they hid a dog from her father for many weeks because the home was so large. Her father was often in his studio painting. He was trained by Whistler." 

 

This prompted me to go looking for any more information I could find on the internet, and nowadays there are a couple of websites and blogs in French with more detail, which I've included below.

 

Due to its atypical architecture the house is known locally in French as la Maison des fous (or La Maison du fou), and in Basque as Eroen etxea. Both names mean 'the Mad House' (or the madman's house). The adobe style of the building, with its minaret like towers, is also influenced by cinema sets, and Gaudi's constructions in Barcelona.

The place is massive, and the revolver floor plan is apparently the result of a bet with the architect Frank Lloyd Wright. The Earles' guestlist included Marlene Dietrich, Charlie Chaplin, Abel Gance, Louis Jouvet, Mistinguett, Josephine Baker, Maurice Ravel, Leon Baykt and Le Corbusier.

 

The local press loved having a Hollywood celebrity on their doorstep and made sure they pointed out to their readers that Ferdinand Earle was living amongst them whenever a film he was involved in was showing at the cinemas.

In 1940, fearful of the advancing Germans, the Earle family packed up and returned to the United States. The story goes that Ferdinand launched his car into the river before they left, and it can still be found there today.

The house is privately owned.

Saint John's Baptistry, Poitiers

Saint John's Baptistry (Fr. Baptistère Saint-Jean) in Poitiers is an ancient Christian monument which dates back to the second half of the 4th century or beginning of the 5th century. Much altered over the centuries it is a building which demonstrates better than any other both the links between antiquity and Merovingian architecture, and their abandonment of classical principles.

 

Christ in Majesty fresco.

Saved from demolition in 1834 it has seen numerous archaeological digs and been the subject of many controversial theories. Since 1750 the building has divided those who believe it to be a Christian edifice, and those who favour a pagan origin. As a result it also serves to demonstrate the evolution of archaeology and its limits, from romantic and intuitive art history to the establishment of technical models.

The interest and the work undertaken on the building seems to show the will to safeguard this strong symbol of the Christian presence in the city since Antiquity. After the Revolution, saved from destruction, it became the object of scientific research, as well as being important cultural heritage.

 

Baptismal pool.

Situated in a district that was occupied from the 1st century by dwellings and tradesmen, little by little the area was transformed in the 4th century. The development of the town pushed the centre of spiritual power to the north, on the edge of the ancient town limits. A cathedral complex was constructed during the second half of the 4th century. At the moment when towns were christianising, the cathedral and the baptistry became indispensible.

The current building was constructed in the 5th century, over a baptismal room, to the east of the early cathedral.

 

Interior.

The baptistry was altered throughout the 6th and 7th centuries. Originally it was just a large rectangular room with a small annex to the east. The original design is not very typical of baptistries. There is a central baptismal pool which is fed by water through lead pipes, and emptied via a terracotta drain into a soak away.

In the 6th century the baptistry interior was divided into two by a wall, and two rectangular apses added. They went on to become trapezoidal, then semi-circular. 

 

 Frescoes.

We don't know how high the bapistry originally was, but it was raised in the first half of the 7th century and three annexes in front of the building were demolished. Windows were replaced by oculi and the interior dividing wall was decorated with three arches. Then the roof profile was modified and gables added.

In 1018 a fire ravaged the city and damaged a large part of the cathedral complex. A new cathedral in the Romanesque style was constructed to the north.

 

 Lapidary collection.

In the Carolignian era, when baptism no longer required immersion, the baptistry was turned into a church. The first mention of  the baptistry in the written records is not until 1096, and then it is not mentioned again until 1450, when a request is made to repair it as it is in very bad condition.

The wall paintings were added in the 11th and 13th centuries.

 

Baptistry front entry.

In modern times the baptistry was a tiny parish church, with 25 parishioners taking communion. Births, deaths and marriages were only recorded from 1638 onwards. The church was deconsecrated in 1791 and the building put up for sale as seized State Goods, but there was no buyer because of its delapidated condition. It remained the property of the State, and became a soup kitchen. In 1820 the space was taken over by a bell foundry and they used the baptismal pool, with a bit of modification, as a bell mould. In the early 19th century a big road building project to improve access to the city threatened the little baptistry, but its cause was championed by several learned societies, and it was saved. It is still managed by one of those societies, the Antiquarians Society of the West.

There have been a dozen archaeological digs on the site since the early 19th century. In 1803 the octagonal baptismal pool was discovered. The more recent studies have concentrated on the exterior.

 

Baptistry side view.