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Friday Freebie a la Francois

May 7, 2010 · By Monica Shaw

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I’ve learned so much this week at Chateau Ventenac. We all have. And it all seemed to come together over last night’s dinner prep. What was supposed to be a leisurely afternoon of cooking turned into a wonderfully mad explosion of food-inspired energy.

A morning at Narbonne’s covered market resulted in a sudden influx of food, some familiar (peppers, asparagus, peas), others not so much (celeriac, turnip, kumquats). Our creative juices went on overdrive and from 2 to 8pm we cooked nonstop: podding peas, grating veggies, making paella, and a whole lot of chopping. When the boulangerie was closed, I typically volunteered to make Fougasse (it’s not only easy, but it’s a very quick bread to make when there’s only an hour or two to spare before dinner).

In the end, the dinner menu was epic: two types of paella, zucchini with bechemel sauce, celeriac slaw, turnip salad, cornbread, cucumber yogurt dip, aubergine “fondue”, strawberries, stuffed kumquats, cheese and of course, the Fougasse. It was fantastic. The beauty of these multi-day cooking courses is that you have a few days to warm up, and by the end, everyone’s has the confidence to take on their own creations and share it with the rest of the group.

Crazy in the kitchen

A phenomenal evening, topped off with lots of wine and conversation, mostly about food, including some of our favourite chefs and cookbooks. David Liebowitz, Mark Bittman, Heidi Swanson, and Clotilde Dusoulier were mentioned, to name a few. And I thought – what better time to giveaway a cookbook inspired by this week’s generous author, Rachel Demuth?

Today I’m giving away Rachel Demuth‘s latest book, Green Seasons, filled with fabulous recipes for Summer, Autumn, Winter and Spring.

To win the cookbook, all you have to do is leave a comment and I’ll pick a winner at random on Friday, May 14th.

For a preview of what you’ll find, check out some of these recipes on Rachel’s website, or pop on over to mangocheeks’ blog and check out her recent go at Celeriac and Horseradish burgers, inspired by the same book.

About Monica Shaw

Veg lover, dog owner, hill walker, wild camper, avocado addict, nerd. I write about how to be awesome through a "smarter fitter" approach to eating, drinking, living and working.
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  1. Erin says

    May 7, 2010 at 5:45 pm

    Oh I am so jealous of your multi-day food experience! Sounds brilliant. Glad the other people there were fun.

    Reply
  2. Dottie says

    May 9, 2010 at 1:14 am

    Ooooohhhh Monica, what a wonderful experience you and your fellow cooks enjoyed! My mouth waters just to look at the meal items you prepared… I hope it was a leisurely dinner, where each item was allowed to linger a moment on the tongue …. Sounds like a GREAT cookbook, what a giveaway! Fingers and toes crossed…. 🙂

    Reply
  3. Alison says

    May 10, 2010 at 3:19 pm

    All of this food looks amazing! I’m jealous of your trip and her cooking and cookbook sound inspiring. I can’t wait until it warms up here and we have fresh local produce again, winter greens are getting a bit boring 😛

    Reply
  4. Christina says

    May 10, 2010 at 5:39 pm

    Reading your blog gets me being more creative in the kitchen, keep it up! 🙂

    Reply
  5. peggy says

    May 10, 2010 at 11:55 pm

    Lucky you for being able to enjoy an incredible travel experience! This cookbook looks healthy and fabulous. Thank you!

    Reply
  6. Jo says

    May 12, 2010 at 8:35 am

    I’ve just popped over from Mangocheeks blog. It sounds like you had a wonderful time, and created a meal fit for a king. The book looks interesting, fingers crossed.

    Reply
  7. Jacqueline says

    May 12, 2010 at 10:24 am

    Sounds like a wonderful course and the food sounds divine. Mangocheeks told me to have a look at your blog. I am off to have a look now. Nice to meet you.
    Jacqueline
    🙂

    Reply
  8. Monica says

    May 12, 2010 at 2:26 pm

    Mangocheeks is the best for telling you all about my humble blog. And thanks to EVERYONE for visiting and commenting. So many readers I didn’t know I had! I am tingling not unpleasantly.

    Reply
  9. Christine @ Grub, Sweat and Cheers says

    May 12, 2010 at 2:35 pm

    Very happily just found a link to your blog from Mangocheeks. What an incredible experience – that dinner menu is outstanding.

    I would so love to do a course like that – lucky you!

    Reply
  10. SSheilah says

    May 12, 2010 at 10:22 pm

    Thanks for the great post and for the opportunity to win Rachel Demuth’s Green Seasons. Cooking seasonally satisfies in so many different ways – locally, environmentally, and flavorfully – and finding great new recipes like the Celeriac and Horseradish burgers makes it even better. BTW, I really enjoyed your posts about your travels – thanks for taking us with you through your blog!

    Reply
  11. Monica says

    May 13, 2010 at 4:51 am

    Welcome all and thanks again for the kind words. SSheila, I’m glad you enjoyed the travel posts. I enjoyed writing them!

    Reply
  12. Nome says

    May 13, 2010 at 7:40 am

    Hi Monica,
    Mangocheeks sent me over here – great blog! I will be reading more often!

    Reply
  13. Jason says

    May 14, 2010 at 2:04 pm

    I love zucchini.

    Reply
  14. Monica says

    May 14, 2010 at 2:08 pm

    Who doesn’t love zucchini?!

    Reply
  15. Sarah says

    May 14, 2010 at 5:45 pm

    Nom nom nom. What an absolutely amazing trip! Thanks for sharing the pics and posts (and maybe a book! *fingers crossed* :).

    Reply
  16. pati says

    May 15, 2010 at 11:44 am

    Oh! I wish I was there so badly! You got me at paella :d

    Reply
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