Sweet Potato Leek Soup

I'm taking a break from my France travel posts to bring you a welcome addition to my soup kitchen.  This time of year it's all about pumpkin and body warming soups.  As a matter of fact, there's a pot of home made clam chowder brewing on the stove top as I write this.  It's one of those "secret" family recipes.  I'll NEVER tell! 

Until that day, You'll just have to make a few of the other favorites like this sweet potato leek soup.  Feel free to browse the "soup" button on the right to get a glimpse of comforting soups.  Butternut squash, sausage and bean, pumpkin, spicy black bean, several chicken soups, Vietnamese noodle, lentil, split pea, etc.  Hey, maybe I could open that pasta/soup kitchen after all!  Meanwhile, the following is probably one of the easiest to prepare....Enjoy!

Sweet Potato Leek Soup

serves about 4

3 - 4 medium sweet potatoes (or yams) peeled and chopped into golf ball sized chunks

2 leeks, only the white part (usually about 4 inches in length), chopped

1/4 yellow onion, chopped

2 cups water

Bring the ingredients to a boil, turn down the heat and simmer for about 10 minutes.

Add 3 cups of chicken or vegetable broth

1/4 tsp salt 

3 cloves of roasted garlic, chopped

Simmer for 10-15 more minutes until potatoes are tender.  Puree in the blender in batches and transfer back into the pan.  At this point I refrigerated it for a few hours, but you can certainly serve it immediately.  The only difference is that mine was a bit thicker as it sat.  Serve with crunchy bread and a salad.

NOTE:  The picture above is quite plain.  Don't be mislead....the flavors are amazingly complex.

Castles, Churches and the Cookies of France

To get the full picture and "flavor" of a country one must take part in a few tourist attractions.   In France, there is the cuisine, of course, along with the wine, however, the castles and churches have so many stories to tell.  Most produced a feeling that life was certainly not easy.   Constructing a castle took many lifetimes with one generation starting "the project" while the next generation or two would fulfill the dreams of their ancestors.   Most castles were built with protection in mind, thus the fortress, and were usually perched on top of lofty hills or mountains affording great views, not to mention a superb vantage point to spot encroaching marauders and barbarians.

Carcassone, a sprawling castle compound surrounded by the lower city, was extremely Disney-like.  Built and rebuilt over the centuries, it was more or less a refuge for the believers of Catholicism and a city within a city.  Due to its easy access, roads, river, etc. it has survived the battles and test of time quite well.  It helps to have a good tax base with all of its restaurants, hotels and souvenir shops in the mix.

One of a multitude of towers in Carcassone

St Nazaire Cathedral in Carcassone

On the other hand, the Cathar compound of Montsegur, did not fair so well.  It's easy to see why not!  You have to applaud their efforts to schlep food and supplies up this steep grade in the first place.   The beauty and serenity of the surrounding area was overshadowed by the fact that over 200 Cathars were finally overtaken and marched down to the waiting flames, because of their religious beliefs.  

Montsegur

Hugging the Pyrenees Mountains further North from this site was the town and Chateau de Foix.   This was closely affiliated with the Cathars.   It was one of our "day trips" and quite the hike to the top.   The Chateau was a stand alone castle unlike the self contained Carcassone, but was still rather impressive.  Before the climb we dined on more tasty salads de France with gizzards or anchovies and goat cheese medallions.  You can never get enough cheese in France.

Which brings me to the next subject, the cookies in France.  Pastry shops are plentiful and the sweet aromas purposely lure you over to the entrance (and inside) these beautifully displayed shops.  One of our favorites was in the town/city of Poitiers on the way back to Paris.  We spent one night there but Poitiers had me yearning for at least another night.  Centrally located, it was a short drive to the coast and quite near to the gentle hilly wine regions of the  fertile Loire Valley.  Maybe, on the next trip.  More about this area to come....Just a few more installments and I'm done!

Cookies in Poitiers  Too many to try!  What's that handsome Italian doing in that French shop?

Part Four - Thank You, Mirepoix

I may have mentioned or hinted that our home for a week in the South of France was a bit secluded.  Thank God for Mirepoix, a sizable village/town around a 30 minute drive.  It has at least two claims for fame that I witnessed.  One is that it is a very well preserved medieval town with its carved timber construction.  Very quaint!  Another claim is its "famous" apple festival (all things apple) which was held the weekend we were there.  In addition,  Mirepoix is also home to the equivalent of an upscale Walmart-like store called the Super U!  I found myself in the produce section the first day just staring at the displays in awe.  Beautiful varieties of fresh produce abounded.   Stopping by the seafood area was a sight and not smelly, and the selection process could take hours in their massive cheese section.  Yummy!  I was thoroughly impressed!

We did the apple festival and on other days we chose to make that a lunch stop on our way to explore the countryside.  Duck was ALWAYS on the menu and hubby usually gravitated to that entree.  On the day of the apple festival we stopped by an eating establishment that had less than stellar service.  I'm sure the waiter was having a bad day as the menus were practically thrown our way.  In his defense, it was extremely busy, however.....    The menu was hard to decipher (all in French, no surprise, but also no hint at what anything meant).  So, canard (duck) was a safe choice at this moment in time!  And I knew the word for fries.  When the order arrived it wasn't what any of us were expecting.  How can this be?  It had to be a mistake, right?  I didn't have the appetite for duck innards and icky potatoes.  Hmmm..should we summon the waiter or eat what was plopped in front of us?    We were saved when the crabby waiter guy proceeded to grab the crock of stomach lining and deliver it to a table elsewhere!  Whew!   Wrong table!   Our duck arrived.  What was this?  It looked like ground duck with spices wrapped under a blanket of duck skin....actually pretty tasty.

Duck Innards?  I didn't order this or did I?

That's more like it!

At two other restaurants the service was very good and the award for best cassoulet goes to Chez Paps.  Enjoy the pictures of our meals although pictures never do the real deal justice.  Stay tuned for more!

The BEST cassoulet

Selling confit at the apple festival

I'll have one of each!

Great fish dish

More chocolate mousse?  Bien sur!  (Of course!)

Part Three - The Food of Southern France

As we traveled through France I can truthfully claim we had only one mediocre meal not counting the less than appetizing chicken sandwich from a gas stop auto grill.  After a few bites it was quickly chucked into an eagerly waiting trash bin!  We continued on our journey from Paris to a tiny hamlet near the Pyrenees and a town called Mirepoix.  This area would be our "home" for the week.  

At the halfway point, in a city called Limoges (known for its porcelain), we barely found a "suitable" bed for the night.  But, a serendipity of this choice led us to the Le Vert Gourmand restaurant adjacent to the motel property.  This unassuming eatery provided quite the menu, in French only,  so to be safe I ordered the salmon fillet.  A not so safe salad choice of duck, gizzards and chevre turned out to be a pleasant surprise.  Delicious!  I also have to say the salmon was cooked to perfection, probably the best I've had, except for freshly caught from a Seattle area waterfront restaurant.

The following week was spent at the rental house near Mirepoix, France.  We usually ordered our biggest meal around lunchtime for many reasons.  No sense in venturing out from the house since it lived up to its description of "secluded, in the woods", and after a few glasses of lovely French wine no one wanted to volunteer to make the drive out in the dark.  Besides, I prefer to have the big meal earlier in the day, then climb to the heavens while exploring all the castles scattered around the area.

One of the highlights was in a nearby village of Leron at Le Rendezvous bistro.  To me, it was everything a French countryside eating experience should be.  We sat outside in the warming sun, under the canopy with a view of the village with its blue and burgundy colored shuttered windows.  The meal was a fixed price with three choices of an entree, plat and dessert.  I chose the vegetable crudites, quintessential French quiche and a silky chocolate mousse with a hint of orange.  Of course, you can't have a meal without a great glass of Bordeaux.  Yes, please!

crudites

quiche

chocolate mousse

One day we ventured out towards the Mediterranean coast, if only to be able to say we sank our feet into this ancient sea.  After a stroll to collect seashells we were more than ready to dine.  I was not going to be shy or demure as I ordered a bucket full of the biggest tastiest mussels I have EVER had - superb!    We meandered our way back and called it a day.
  

Giant mussels!

More to come as we returned to Mirepoix for several lunches and an apple festival.  Stay tuned!