Monday, July 1, 2013

Oh, I Meet the Nicest People Through Blogging and a Wonderful Provencal Style Lunch in the Backyard!

It has been 3 1/2 years since I started telling you about the places we discover during our sojourns in Provence. During that time, I've had the chance to meet some of you who read this blog as well as some of the bloggers I follow. I think the first person I met through this blog was Kathy from Camano Island, Washington who came to dine at our Bistro des Copains in Occidental, CA and then later rented our Sablet house.

Since then, we have met more of you at the Bistro, several of you at the Tuesday morning market and at Le Festival Café in Vaison-la-Romaine, a couple who were riding bikes through Sablet and a group shopping at a brocante market there, and at a lunch near Saint-Rémy-de-Provence. This blogging has resulted in friendships with some amazing people including Barbara who teaches aspiring cooks at Cuisine de Provence.

This past week, I met Liza from Provence in Ann Arbor and her mother who were on their way to visit family in Northern California but detoured to dine at our Bistro Des Copains. Liza somehow finds time to write about food and Provence between her day job teaching Spanish and French to high school students. I'm sure kids like language classes at Liza's high school more than we liked them at mine; sorry Mrs. Butler.

Recently we met Aidan from Conjugating Irregular Verbs near the cousin's house in Clapiers France. The lead up to meeting our new friend began when I stumbled upon her charming blog a few years ago. Much more recently Aidan was interviewed on Blog Expat about living in the South of France where she said among other things that she wished there was more peanut butter in France.

Having just been to Costco and seen big jars of Skippy peanut butter, I sent an email to Aidan to tell her we would be happy to bring her peanut butter if she would meet us when we came to visit the cousins. So on a Sunday morning a few weeks ago, we met Aidan with two big jars of creamy (her preference) peanut butter in hand.

I develop an impression of blog authors based upon their writing styles and stories they tell. So I wondered if we would recognize Aidan and if she would be like the person I imagined from her blog. I can answer yes to both; I recognized her at quite a distance and she is just like I thought; someone we really like.

Aidan and her husband P-Daddy came to the South of France from Texas by way of Ireland. Unfortunately, Aidan doesn't write as frequently as she used to but give her a break, she is a busy mom with three kids and a dog. Besides running kids around, she was on House Hunters International, the HGTV reality show and she is finishing up a novel set in the South of France.

Aidan came bearing a gift. We didn't expect anything but I shouldn't have been surprised based upon the type of person she is. I commented on a post about how I like the wines of Domaine L'Hortus and she arrived with a bottle of 2012 Domaine de l'Hortus Bergerie de l'Hortus Rosé. We decided to carry the bottle back to California and drink it at a Provencal style lunch in honor of our new friend.

Saturday, we invited the kids to come over for lunch. I cooked inside but we dined outside in true Provencal fashion despite it being one of the hottest days of the year; 103 degrees Fahrenheit (39 Celsius for my European friends). The four grand kids splashed in the big wading pool while we ate and drank Aidan's rosé.

2012 Domaine de l'Hortus Bergerie de l'Hortus Rosé

Because of the heat, I kept the menu simple:

Heirloom Tomato Salad with Cucumbers and Fresh Basil from Shirley's Garden

Vegetarian Stuffed Mushrooms

Vegetarian Stuffed Zucchini with Farro

Oven-Roasted Wild King Salmon Over a Fresh Sweet Corn and Cherry Tomato Salsa

Sliced Organic White and Yellow Nectarines Over Vanilla Ice Cream

Heirloom Tomato Salad with Cucumbers and Fresh Basil from Shirley's Garden

Vegetarian Stuffed Mushrooms

Vegetarian Stuffed Zucchini with Farro

Oven-Roasted Wild King Salmon Over a Fresh Sweet Corn and Cherry Tomato Salsa

No pictures of dessert. Lunch was delicious if I say so myself. A la vôtre Aidan. Thanks for the wine! It was delicious on a very hot day.

Shirley and I say "A la vôtre"

We look forward to meeting more of you in the coming months and years. I hope to meet some of you who regularly comment about posts including Sara and her band of characters over at Sara in Le Petit Village, Tuula at Belle Provence Travels, Camille who writes from Paris over at Croque-Camille, Diane who writes from the Charente at My Life in the Charente, Heather who has a magical way with words and pictures at Lost in Arles, Meredith who lives near cousin Annick at Talking Story in Provence, and last but not least Veronique who writes from Seattle at French Girl in Seattle.

Bonne journée mes amis et à bientôt.

17 comments:

  1. Great post and I love the photos - it was a fabulous meal, despite the heat.

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  2. Oh my goodness the food looks very very appealing. I really must get go to the Bay where I have a new GREAT granddaughter* and need to have lunch at Bistro Des Copains.

    *one of the benefits of marrying a man with children more than 40 years ago when I was 23

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  3. We are planning to visit your restaurant in September, and I'd love to rent the house in Sablet sometime! Loved this post.

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  4. Tricia - You are too sweet. I know you love it when I cook for all of you. Thanks for leaving a comment.

    Kathryn - I would be most honored to have you come and dine at Bistro Des Copains. It's not quite Provence but it's pretty nice.

    Jennie - Thank you so much for stopping in to visit my blog and for leaving a comment. I appreciate this very much. I am honored you will be coming to dine at the Bistro in September. Please make sure you let me know when you are going to be there so I can say hello.

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  5. Bonjour I have been following your blog for a couple of months already but this is the first time i am writing you. I read with much gusto all your posts and I love your style of writing, very vivid as if I was experiencing your activities. I have been going back to Provence for five times already and everytime i visit it seems that i am in a magical kingdom. All my trips here have been experiences of a lifetime. Good luck and more power to you!

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  6. How fun! It's amazing the friendships that come from blogging, isn't it?
    I'm definitely looking forward to clinking glasses with you as well sometime :)

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  7. Bonjour Michel. Sending this message from Paris, for a change!

    What a lovely post, and how I agree with you. Blogging has opened so many doors for me as well, and I can tell it is not over yet.

    I am not surprised you and Shirley enjoyed meeting Aidan. I always had the feeling I would love meeting her too. I know she was grateful for the giant Peanut Butter jars-- as I would be if someone hand delivered some favorite French candy or cookies to me in Seattle :-)

    And what a meal you cooked for your family. I can smell "Provence" all the way to my parents' Parisian apartment this morning.

    I, too, hope we all meet one day soon, either in the US or in France. Until then, thank you for mentioning me and le Blog in your post. Have a wonderful summer (hope July 4th was celebrated as it should...) -- A bientôt, Veronique (French Girl in Seattle)

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  8. Anonymous - Thank you so much for stopping in to visit my blog and for leaving a comment. I receive renewed energy when I hear from new people who are enjoying my posts.

    Sara - I definitely look forward to sipping on a rose from Provence and getting to know you in the not too distant future.

    Veronique - Thanks for checking in from Paris. I hope you are having a good time with your family. I am sure that one of these days we will make a return trip to the Seattle area and I hope we can at least meet up there. Have a great weekend.

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  9. Thanks for the nice mention Michel! Dinner at the Bistro was certainly one of the highlights of our trip and the best meal we had. Like I said, that roast chicken...I was chasing it in France last summer and never found it, until we dined in Occidental! After that 10 day trip to California, I turned around and went to Northern Michigan for the annual family July 4th get-together. I'm finally home. Maybe I'll eventually get back to the blog. Happy summer and I hope you survived that heat wave we drove through as we headed back to San Francisco. 105 degrees in Santa Rosa. Mon Dieu!

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  10. Another wonderful post. You bring the two continents closer together with your stories of dining adventures, touring and friends.

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  11. Liza - Happy to hear you made it back home OK. Thanks again for stopping in to dine at the Bistro; glad you like the roast chicken. Enjoy the rest of your summer.

    The Sullivans - Thanks for the kind feedback about the post. I truly appreciate the comments and feedback you give me. Have a great week.

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  12. Hooray! Oh, I would love to meet you too! I think it will happen one of these days. :) And as you liked Aidan as much as I do, I know that we will get along just fine...Isn't she just one of the loveliest persons out there?

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  13. Sounds like tons of fun, Michel. I love meeting people through blogging as well, hope we can meet up one day soon!

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  14. Heather - Oh good, because I would definitely like to meet you some day...hopefully, in the not too distant future. And yes, Aidan is very nice.

    Tuula - I know that I like a lot of the things you blog about so I know I would like to meet you...hopefully, we can make that happen soon.

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  15. Aw, thanks! It would be great to meet up some day - do you ever spend time in Paris? Your lunch menu is so delightfully summery and colorful. Looks perfect for a hot day. :)

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  16. Kathy from Camano Island will most likely be at your restaurant agajn before returning to France! It was so fun meeting you there before staying at your house in Sablet. Your blog keeps the area around Sablet alive for me, and I can't wait to return.

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  17. Kathy - I would be most honored to have you come back to dine at Bistro Des Copains. If you are headed our way, please let me know so I can be sure I am there so we can meet up.

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