Gilles Conchy says it was Provencal food and family ties that tugged him back to Provence after four years in California. Although, he admits that he could still be a “California boy.” The sandy, windswept beaches and seemingly endless sunny days of the southwest U.S. fit like a second skin …

Chateau la Coste beckoned! It has been at least two years since my last visit to the vineyard owned by Paddy McKillen, an Irishman with a love for Provence, wine and contemporary art and architecture. I made up for my lack of attendance with two lunchtime visits this summer.

By Deborah The farmer who sells goat cheese at the Uzes Saturday Market is one of my favorite vendors. He’s certainly one of the most colorful. Last week he handed me an invitation to an event he stages each year at his farm. Explore this Post Via:: Barefoot Blogger       

It is time for the olive harvest in Provence, where most of the fruit gets turned into health healthy oil. However, some is left whole for snacking with a glass of local rosé. Here, is a savoury recipe, a quick bread made with olives.     This is an easy …

By PestoPistou A cousin of the Ligurian focaccia, which is also known as fugassa over there, fougasse is a provençal loaf easily recognised by the slashes cut through it prior to baking. Back in August, after a mooch round the beautiful Cours Saleya food and flower market in Vieux Nice, …

By PestoPistou It’s full-on tomato season here in Dorset, and hugely satisfying to see so much ripe, red fruit both in the garden and the greenhouse. We might even be saved from the usual gallon of green tomato chutney this year. Over the summer we’ve munched our way through Explore …

By PestoPistou It never ceases to amaze me how most people know exactly what pesto is yet when you mention the term pistou, it’s blank faces all round. This no-nut French cousin of pesto is just as delicious and even easier to make. No toasting of pine nuts required here. …

By Deborah It’s time to make wine in France. Remember the TV ad for Dunkin’ Donuts: “It’s time to make the donuts!”  It’s time to make wine in France. Unusually cool weather over the summer months caused a late grape harvest. (“La vendange”) Explore this Post Via:: Barefoot Blogger       

By PestoPistou I’ve been consulting my provençal cookbooks again, this time for jam recipes as there are loads of plums, blackberries and other fruit just waiting to be preserved around here and I thought it would be fun to try something a little bit different this year. I was intrigued …

We’re still going strong with homegrown tomatoes, courgettes and aubergines here in Dorset, and with a solitary, ripe pepper this week (yes, just the one), the whipping up of a ratatouille seems unavoidable. Now, if Jacques Médecin is to be believed, each of the vegetables should be cooked separately before …