I made several jars of apricot jam last month and was looking for uses. So when I heard a good friend of ours was giving a birthday party dinner, I offered to bring along an apricot pie. Here in France, people like to have a sweet dessert after the cheese course at the end of a dinner, before the coffee and brandy. People here arrive […]
Strawberries with cream, strawberry ice, if there is one fruit that is clearly associated with Summer, and tennis on Wimbledon, then it must be the strawberry. Its popularity nearly became its downfall. I remember a lunch in the south of the Netherlands, during a corporate function, where strawberries were served in winter! I also clearly remember, and avoid, those appealingly red strawberries that are tasteless […]
Last week, I was in the Roussillon area in southwest France, the region between the Pyrenees mountains and the Mediterranean, which is a major fruit producing area. In fact, it is the second-biggest producing area in France after the Provence and France is the second-biggest grower in Europe. The apricot harvest had been somewhat delayed due to the late start of warm weather, and when […]