Pick and mix cepes - the king of the mushroom
The whole horse-meat farce has highlighted once again a
subject close to my heart – the importance of buying and eating locally sourced,
fresh and seasonal produce. In many countries we have become far too far
removed from the source of our food and far too disinterested in how this food
is produced. Thank goodness this is not the case here in the Ariège (one of the
many reasons we are here) where there is a very strong tradition of producing
one’s own food (fruit, vegetables, eggs, rabbits and pigs) and of buying from
local producers so that you know exactly where your food is coming from and
what it contains (or hopefully doesn’t contain).
This is the right part of the world for me because I
actually have a pathological hatred of shopping (in shops) which I realize is
not very girlie of me but it is just not my thing. Luckily nowadays when I need
a new shirt or pair of jeans, I can simply find and buy online and have my
friendly postie deliver without having to go near a shop. And I particularly dislike
shopping in the supermarket but this is something I find much harder to avoid
because we are a family of six on a budget. In France, supermarkets are just beginning
to cotton on to the idea of grocery shopping online but it is too big and too
rural a country for home delivery to be an option so I do find myself in
Intermarché far more often than I would like.
Having said that, however, one of the many reasons I love
living here in South West France is that it is still quite possible to do the
majority of the weekly shop at the local market which is exactly what I do. So
every Monday morning, as soon as I have dropped the children at school, you
will find me in the market place at Salies du Salat where I am first name terms
with many of the stall holders and where I can find wonderful local,
organically grown, in-season produce at a much better price than in the
supermarket. Here shopping is brought back to a human level – I can discuss
every subject under the sun (the French just love a good debate) while choosing
my apples or my ham and generally pass the time of day so that by the time I am
finished it just feels that I have spent a pleasant couple of hours chatting having
incidentally done my weekly shop. We are spoiled for choice for fantastic local
produce here; the cheese is out of this world, the eggs freshly laid, the meat
excellent quality (yes there is horse but it is labelled as such!) and locally
sourced and the fruit and vegetables are seasonal unless they have come over
the border from Spain, in which case it is possible to find the odd red pepper
or tomato in the winter months. Then a quick trip to the smiliest bakery in
France and I am back at my desk by mid-morning to begin my working week.
By Saturday, if we are running out of fresh produce, we have
one of the best markets in France, incredibly colourful and eccentric, just 15
minutes away in Saint Girons which is worth a visit even if you don’t have any
shopping to do.
Somehow shopping at the local market is uplifting and life affirming
while supermarket shopping destroys the soul. I leave the market feeling happy
and energetic and I leave the supermarket feeling depressed and drained. If
only I could wean my children off breakfast cereal and pasta and myself off
coffee and chocolate, I could pretty much eliminate the supermarket shop
altogether which I think is going to be one of my new season resolutions.
And now I shall get off my soap box and I promise my next
post will be back on property...!
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