Chez Mirabel

This weekend the six of us amies de Mirabel went to see a wonderful documentary by Werner Herzog, The Cave of Forgotten Dreams. This 3-D movie is about the extraordinary cave discovered in 1994 in the Ardeche, France.  The cave”s ancient paintings are simply stunning; they are 30,000 years old and exquisitely rendered with expressive shading, line quality and perspective.  We were especially enthralled because the Chauvet Cave is only about 1 hour’s drive from Mirabel. We can’t wait to return to Chez Mirabel and plan a day’s outing to see the Pont d’Arc, hike along the Ardeche River, and imagine the lives of the artists who created these paintings.  An exact replica of the cave will be open to the public in 2014.

– Dory

One of the joys of being in Provence is shopping the prolific markets laden with delicious fruits, vegetables and food products of all kinds, which change with the season.   Our search for the perfect Provencal village house in April left us very little time for cooking, but we couldn’t resist doing just a little shopping and cooking.  April is the month when strawberries and asparagus are in their glory.  Luscious, juicy, flavorful Fraises des Carpentras begin to be seen in all of the local markets at this moment and asparagus of all sorts are grown in various towns and villages of the Vaucluse, Drome and Gard.  The asparagus come in three colors:  purple, white and green and range from pencil-thin wild asparagus so packed with flavor that just a few flavor an omelette with an unforgettable concentrated essence, to the fattest white asparagus with an intriguingly mild taste.

Provence celebrates the arrival of each of the annual culinary treasures with festivals, and April is no exception.  The Fête de la Fraise in Carpentras and the Foire aux Asperges in Mormoiron take place within short drives from Mirabel.  Mountains of asparagus and strawberries are piled high and offered for sale and of course, the asparagus and strawberries are the featured ingredients in the communal meals, food carts, and cooking demonstrations that are almost always found at the festivals. Since we had so little time to cook, we limited ourselves to simple preparations  inspired by local ingredients, easily obtained in the market and whipped up with a minimum of preparation.

– Lynda

Here are two of our favorite recipes:

Roasted Asparagus & Prosciutto
(Appetizer or First Course)

1. Ingredients: Thin, Green Asparagus, Prosciutto, Olive Oil, Grated Parmesan Cheese.
2. Wash asparagus and break off the tough part of the spear.  Cut slices of prosciutto lengthwise into three pieces.  (I find this easiest to do with kitchen shears.)
3. Wrap a prosciutto slice around each asparagus spear.
4. Brush each wrapped spear with olive oil.
5. Sprinkle with grated parmesan cheese.
6. Roast at 375 – 425 degrees until nicely tender and slightly browned.

Strawberries with Fresh Goat Cheese and Basil
(Dessert)

1. Ingredients: Fresh Strawberries, Sugar or Honey, Fresh Goat Cheese, Fresh Basil, Olive Oil, Aged Balsamic Vinegar.
2. Slice strawberries.  Sprinkle small amount of sugar or honey over them.
3. Process a large bunch of basil with about ¼ cup olive oil in the food processor.
4. Place strawberries on individual serving plates with a mound of goat cheese.
5. Artfully arrange the basil sauce beside the goat cheese and strawberries.
6. Drizzle with the aged balsamic vinegar.’,