Category Archives: olives

taking the piss….

Posted on April 21, 2017 by

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 →

Posted in 2017, anchovies, Baking, Bay leaves, capers, Cooking, Digital photography, food, Food and Photography, Food photographer, Mediterranean food, Olive oil, olives, onions, photography course, Photography holiday, Pissaladiere, summer, tart, Thyme, Uncategorized, Wine, wine, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 20 Comments

a taste as old as cold water….

Posted on March 30, 2016 by

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 →

Posted in 2016, Digital photography, Emotion, Expectation, food, Food and Photography, Food photographer, France, Garden, Humour, Mediterranean food, Memory, olives, Photographic Prints, Photography, photography course, Uncategorized, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 22 Comments

the fable of the swallow and olive…

Posted on October 18, 2015 by

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 →

Posted in 2015, Digital photography, Garden, Humour, Olive oil, olives, Photography, Prints, Uncategorized, Video, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 51 Comments

la veritable pissaladiere and other lies….

Posted on May 6, 2015 by

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 →

Posted in 2015, anchovies, Baking, capers, Cooking, Cuisine bourgeoise, Digital photography, food, Food and Photography, Food photographer, France, Humour, Mediterranean food, Olive oil, olives, pasta, Photography, puff pastry, seafood, tart, Uncategorized, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 31 Comments

A very sexy tagine, whose Eastern promise does not disappoint….

Posted on October 19, 2013 by

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 →

Posted in Almonds, Chicken, Chicken tagine, Cookery Writers, Cooking, Coriander, cous cous, Digital photography, Flat parsley, food, Food and Photography, Food photographer, Harissa, Herbs and Spices, Meat, Molasses, Neil Perry, Nuts, Olive oil, olives, Photography, Poultry, preserved lemons, ras al hanout, Recipes, sea salt, sweet paprika, Umami, Uncategorized, Vegetables, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 50 Comments

the rhythm of thyme….

Posted on July 19, 2013 by

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 →

Posted in 2013, Cooking, Digital photography, Emotion, Expectation, food, Food and Photography, Food photographer, France, French countryside, Garden, harmony, Herbs and Spices, lifestyle, Mediterranean food, olives, Photography, photography course, Photography holiday, summer, Thyme, Uncategorized, Weather, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 36 Comments

The Road to Marocco….

Posted on June 15, 2012 by

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 →

Posted in Cooking, cous cous, Digital photography, food, Food and Photography, Food photographer, Harissa, olives, Photography, photography course, Photography holiday, tagine | 23 Comments

Je suis absolument “Hank Marvin” et je pourrait tuer pour un “Ruby Murray”

Posted on October 6, 2011 by

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 →

Posted in Almonds, apricots, broad beans, Chick peas, Chicken, Cooking, Coriander, cous cous, couscous, family, Flat parsley, Food and Photography, France, friendship, green beans, harmony, Honey, lifestyle, Mediterranean food, Mme.Guinaudeau, new potatoes, olives, Photography, photography course, Photography holiday, preserved lemons, Rabbit, ras al hanout, sea salt, tagine | 8 Comments

Thoughts before a day of cooking..

Posted on August 19, 2011 by

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 →

Posted in baking, Cooking, Digital photography, food, Food and Photography, France, Italian food, olives, pasta, Photography, Photography holiday, spaghetti al cartoccio, summer, Wine, Writing | 13 Comments