Sexy Veg

He draws asparagus and cabbages, but he's obsessed with artichokes. He draws them more than any other vegetable. Why artichokes?"

George drained his glass. "The artichoke is a sexy beast. Thorns to cut you, leaves to peel, lighter and lighter as you strip away the outer layers, until you reach the soft heart's core.

Allegra Goodman, American author, in The Cookbook Collector (2010)

Last night presented an opportunity for a culinary adventure. The beauty of the artichokes called out to me across the aisle in the grocery store: "Take me home." 

This first attempt involved steaming. A subsequent adventure is planned for the grill. I love these adventures!

Mellowing

Autumn's the mellow time.

William Allingham, Irish poet (1834-1889)

Looking into the seemingly endless depths of the birds' pool is intoxicatingly mellowing.

Home Schooling 2

How can you govern a country which has 246 varieties of cheese?

Charles de Gaulle, French army officer and President (1890–1970)

While in de Gaulle's time France may have had 246 cheeses, imagine Marcon's current challenge to govern as we learned that there are more than 1500 nowadays. The 3 Winos relish the diversity!  

 

Our teacher for Saturday's Context's Zoom class "From Camembert to Chevre: An Exploration of French Cheese", Jennifer, is on a mission to taste each and every one of them. She introduced to us the seven families of French cheeses and taught to taste first with our noses. 

 

Once again our local cheese shop, Mickey Mcguire's delivered the tasty samples direct to our door -- how wonderful is that! We revisited the Brie de Meaux, Comte and Roquefort from last week and were introduced to Poitou Chevre and P'tit Basque, an aged sheep milk cheese. 

Although COVID curdled our travel plans, we are enjoying tastes of France throughout the pandemic.

S-I-L cooked up Julie Child's coq au vin. Delicious! What could be more delectable than coq au vin by the fire?! Life is good.

à votre santé!