Every Saturday either Pierlo or Sandrine go to pick up fruit and other supplies at the Market in Bagneres, a large town about 15 kilometers from Esconnetts. This is the covered market that is also open during the week although it has more merchants inside on Saturdays than weekdays.
Here you also see your first glimpse of Joe, our fellow Wwoofer from the UK. As usual in groups of students, some one of us is "playing" with a cell phone (Ana, this is a tease!). We wait for Pierlo to lead us to the place he does the shopping. My eyes are always popping as going to markets and seeing the colorful displays is one of my favorite activities. But, if you looked at my May blog, you will already know that.
As we walk along, we meet a friend of Pierlo's - Simon, an Englishman (a former house painter) who tried out Wwoofing (about 8 years ago, I think. After he learned how to build a straw house, he decided to move permanently to France (he liked the people here in the Pyrénées). He now lives in a truck (covered) and for a fee, helps people in the area with the construction of their straw houses.
In the store below, there are sweaters made of sheep's wool, as the Pyrénées have many troups of sheep (brebis) hidden away in the folds. They also sell the skins. When my family had our farm in Vermont, we had sheep and goats and were members of a coop where we took our wool to be make up into yarn. I still have sweaters both my mother and I knitted from that yarn as well as several afghans made by both of us. And I knew I would never need another sweater, so I kept a tight hold on my money as I looked the these beautiful garments.
Most of the rest of these pictures will speak for themselves. As you can see, market day is unhurried. The custom here is that man (and woman) does not live by bread alone! Market day is important to stop to talk to a neighbor and to catch up on the local gossip. It's a very important part of life in France, not only in the rural areas but in the cities as well. Stores all over France (except for some French restaurants and some stores in the cities) close for at least 2 hours during meal times. From my apartment (I am writing this from Paris) I can hear the clang of knives and forks during the lunch hour. I'm sure some people stay at the office in this modern world, but good for the French for keeping a time open when the family can eat together.
This is a stand that sells mixed cow and sheep cheese as well as pure "brebis (sheep)."
The woman pushing this carriage is a nanny who cares for several children during the day. She decided negotiating the market would be better with this Swedish-made vehicle.
Below Marion and Pierlo choose the fruit to buy for the week. Some of the fruit is a bit too ripe so it is cheaper than perfect looking fruit. But the family loves fruit and it all disappears in even less than a week.
At first we stick with the group, but later Marion will take us to different parts of the market.
Lots of fruit jams as well as bread and other local products. To the right some cheese made with garlic (ail).
Sometimes there is a special price if you buy three. Here, "confiture" (jam) is 3 pots for 10 euros, but 3,50 if you only buy one.
In another part of the market there are also stalls with clothes. I buy a pair of cotton pants on sale for 10 euros (just because if was my color). The woman had many pairs left as in the current market, cotton has ceased to be popular. I almost bought a few pairs but I restrained myself. I was glad when later as I stepped into the pants, one of the seams ripped. It is a garment made in patchwork style and it must have been a weak seam. I had planned to fix it by hand, but later in my trip when I spent a week in Bagnères-de-Bigorre, I had the cordonnière (cobbler) fix it with her machine.
Interesting architecture!
The group discusses where to go next.
Quail eggs! Aren't they colorful! I didn't purchase as Pierlo's family has eggs from their chickens. I'm not sure if the price is more for a dozen of these speckled gems than farm eggs. I'm not sure either if all different eggs have the same taste. What I DO know is that "free range" chicken eggs (those that come from Pierlo's chickens) are FAR superior to commercially produced eggs! I tried to take a picture of those home grown eggs, but the light did not pick up that the free range yolks have a golden color rather than the yellow color we are used to seeing in store bought eggs. Pierlo mentioned that somehow sellers know that people are attracted to fresh farm eggs and have started putting color into regular eggs. I wasn't quite sure how this is done (by injection?). I think if I did a taste test, I would know the difference!
The inside market has interesting looking desserts. However, I had decided that I wouldn't load up on sweet things so I let my eyes do the enjoying instead of my stomach.
I did make an exception for a basket of these large and very ripe blueberries. They are a little more pricy than at home, but well worth it. In fact, I rarely buy them in the States as they are never as ripe as these.
Jules goes to bed late and usually stays home on market day. We pick him up on the way to the chantier (worksite). He takes a further snooze as we ride home (pretend). Marion looks as if she is not too willing a bed.
Back home from the market, I take a little walk down to the garden. Here is my caravan as well as a better view of the greenhouse. In the garden you can see eggplant, lettuce, cabbage, and various edible weeds. We later have to be careful weeding the garden as many of the weeds that have already gone to seed will be used to sow next year's crop of weeds. More later on that subject. The cans and garbage pail are used to collect rainwater for use in the garden. There is little waste here on the property! If you look at the position of my home on the hill, you can see that this is a terraced garden. When I had my garden in Worcester, MA, it was also a terraced garden. My husband dug it all out and we had many vegetables as well as flowers. Once we borrowed my parents truck from New Hampshire to haul in cow manure and with just a tiny mistake, the truck almost fell into the middle of the garden.
They have plenty of that ubiquitous zucchini - both green and yellow.
Here's a view of the house from the garden. Notice the beets in the foreground. There are also various young apple trees.
This is the barrel for rainwater for the garden.
A look inside the greenhouse. Big tomato plants! You can't see them, but there are some large "heritage" tomatoes beginning to ripen in the back of the greenhouse.
And here is Robert, the male donkey. He has a pregnant "wife" (Margo) you will meet later. Pierlo lets the Mayor of Castillon (he lives next door) keep his donkeys on a piece of Pierlo's land. More later on this arrangement.
Below we are on the west side of the house eating lunch - lunch can be anywhere from 1-3, depending on the work schedule at the two sites. The "dining table" can be moved anywhere, into the setting sun or out of the hot afternoon sun. Everyone helps prepare the meals - picking weeds and veggies from the garden, washing and cooking them (if soup is involved). The diet is mainly raw foods with some casseroles (vegetarian - some egg), rice, grains, and cereals such as quinoa or couscous plus lots of fruit. The family has also given up eating bread for the most part and do not eat very much cheese. They all feel healthier on such a diet. Pierlo told me that Jeanne Longo, a champion woman runner in France says she owes her good health to this kind of diet. If you are interesting in good health and/or running, check her out.
To reach the links in this blog, just highlight the link and then right click. You will find a menu. Choose "go to site."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeannie_Longo
She just one another race at 52 in June!
http://velonews.competitor.com/2011/06/news/at-52-jeannie-longo-wins-french-national-time-trial-title_179850
Here's what she says about diet:
"I'm from the mountains and follow a biological diet," she says by way of explanation for her longevity. (read "bilogical = raw in this case, according to Pierlo)
http://www.dailypeloton.com/displayarticle.asp?pk=5043
At first it was difficult for me to get used to the food, especially having just spent two weeks at a goat farm where a big plate of goat cheese was served every day. However, I find that now that I'm in Paris, I miss all the fresh "weeds" and veggies from the garden. The first Sunday I spent with my landlady and also taking a long walk in my old student haunts in the Latin Quarter. But by the second Sunday, my top priority was to go shopping in the Raspail market to get organic veggies. I know I will go there most every Sunday while I live here in Paris.
My nose has definitely acquired a new 7th sense - how to sniff out the best organic food to be had here in the Paris region! It may take three hours to do the shopping, but one comes home knowing that the body and all its senses will be thankful for that time spent. For me it is such a pleasure to stand in a line of French people (as well as some foreigners) and start up a conversation. I know everyone can't spend this kind of time all the time. Here in France with the European Market competition, there are many who skimp on feeding veggies to their families. I may complain about the presentation in our supermarkets in the States, but there is one that has organic produce conveniently located on the road that leads home. Needless to say, I take full advantage of it in spite of the price at Whole Foods as well.
In the picture below, there is a pot of soup, one of the three that we made with a base of boiled potatoes with some kind of weed added. This one was, I believe, nettle soup. But there was also Chénopod soup. That's a wild spinach, as Sandrine told me later. The leaves are much tastier than the cultivate spinach and they leave no bitter aftertaste. It is, however, much more time consuming to pick the wild variety but well worth the trouble.
As I'm researching this plant after the fact, I have some the following definition of Chenopod: any plant of the goosefoot family which includes spinach, beets, and pigweed. Also the Latin below (remember, I'm a language teacher).
From New Latin Chēnopodiāceae, family name, from Chēnopodium, type genus : Greek khēn, goose + Greek podion, diminutive of pous, foot.]
Read more: http://www.answers.com/topic/chenopod#ixzz1WgoUY2tB
In fact, all the information seems to indicate there are many different varieties of Chenepods. The wikipedia site below has a very different entry in French with a description and picture of many different varieties. As far as I can tell, it includes Quinoa so I'm wondering if the one used for its leaves in the Pyrénées could also be left and one would gather the seeds to be used as "grain" (protein - availing in organic food store in a package). Take a look. This is becoming more and more fascinating!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chenopodium
I ripped off the picture below from the above web site as I'm not sure I have a good one of the Chenepods we ate. We only "harvested" the top few leaves for eating raw. As the plants began to go to seed, Sandrine suggested I pull then up as she had enough plants that she was saving for next year's seeding.
Here is a beautiful site showing more wild plants. The explanation is in French. Hurry up and learn French if you don't know it, but the pictures will speak for themselves.
http://www.naturetsagesse.com/photos.htm
Here's a very cute picture of Jules, full of energy, now that he is fully awake. You will see both children later working hard to help build their house.
Marion, too, is full of energy and is hoping soon to have a horse added to the dog and two cats in the family.
Next blog - afternoon at home for me and a long hike for Ana and Joe.
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