Category Archives: olives
the man from Marseille…
Our local supermarket’s male employees tend not to be slim, suntanned and, above all, smiling; nor do they wear their hair in the mini ponytail once popular with hipsters and now de rigueur with rugby players but yet there he … Continue reading
taking the piss….
Manneken Pis, Pissenlit, Pisse-Dru, Tant Pis, Pissaladiere…there’s something very French about pissing; about not searching for a convenient bush or shady corner but just having a piss when the moment takes you. I should make it clear that this is singularly, … Continue reading
a taste as old as cold water….
Lawrence Durrell’s precise metaphor is the clearest description of the taste of olives that I have ever heard or read. In truth, he was speaking of the wrinkly, black, salt cured olives whose flavour is as naked and unashamed as a new … Continue reading
the fable of the swallow and olive…
It is not clear as to whether the epithet declaring that one swallow does not a summer make was written from the view point of an ornithologist, sodden by the traditional August downpour, or from that of Don Juan just … Continue reading
la veritable pissaladiere and other lies….
That which some believe to be an unimpeachable truth will always be questioned or pilloried by others who believe that their own version of that unimpeachable truth is clearly so much truer than the other unimpeachable claptrap. At this time our society is … Continue reading
A very sexy tagine, whose Eastern promise does not disappoint….
I dreamt recently that I was in conversation with good friends but couldn’t remember anyone’s name…seems so familiar to my waking life, that maybe it wasn’t a dream. In the same way, I read a blog yesterday which lauded the … Continue reading
the rhythm of thyme….
Monotony has a way of reducing dreams to ashes. We need a change from the monotone. an arrhythmic interval such as is provided by the warm rain falling on my bare feet, which protrude from beneath the awning, as I … Continue reading
The Road to Marocco….
The pool has turned green which is normally a sure sign of summer. On the strength of its greenness, and therefore summeriness, I have cooked a tagine. This has caused rain to fall and the wind to blow. The latter is … Continue reading
Je suis absolument “Hank Marvin” et je pourrait tuer pour un “Ruby Murray”
These are the words Parisian restaurateurs would be hearing if the rugby world cup was taking place in France. Ethnic food is the lifeblood of English cuisine. Take away, an apposite word indeed, the Indian, Chinese, Thai, Korean, Mexican, Italian, Spanish, Lebanese et al, … Continue reading
Thoughts before a day of cooking..
It truly looks as though it will be sunny today. Each morning I religiously look at the weather icons, displayed on my computer screen in glowing technicolour, from the multitude of regional weather forecasts available to me and I have … Continue reading