st antonin

St Antonin Noble Val is architectural heaven. The most extraordinary buildings, many of them richly carved and decorated. There's been a lot of sensitive restoration in the last 10 years but there's still a lot of dilapidation.  We go in Summer time to eat and have a mooch and go the cinema where they show VO films.

rats!

I so wish I'd bought this huge galvanised bucket when I saw it...

banners and birthday cake

Banners and birthday cake. Hurray!

cake stand here

spinach pesto

glass dish here

Did you know you can make pesto with spinach? Neither did I till my friend Sarah told me.

I made some for supper last night and it is absolutely gorgeous - fresh and clean tasting.

I never measure when I make pesto so just have a go with

A large handful of spinach leaves

A dozen ish  walnuts

Parmesan cheese

A clove of garlic

A glug of olive oil

A splash of lemon juice

Razz in a blender, tasting and adding more of one or other ingredient according to taste.

Check and adjust seasoning.

Can't really go wrong!

baked by méabh

I meant to show you this earlier. My sister in law gave me a rolling pin for Christmas which leaves 'Baked by Meabh' all over the pastry. So funny!

out and about...

in Capendac yesterday.

les fleurines

I could hardly believe my eyes when I saw this vertical garden in Villefranche yesterday! 

The building is a new extension to the hotel across the street and I was so excited I ran in to tell them how brilliant it is and bravo for doing it.

Villefranche is such a gorgeous town but so quiet - shops are closing regularly - it's great to see a business doing well and expanding and having the audacity to do something like this. Now if they'd just open a café where you could get something to eat outside the hours of 12 and 2pm...

Which reminds me - we went to the gallery Les Abattoires in Toulouse on Sunday. Arriving at 12.45 we decided to have lunch in their restaurant first. "Sorry, lunch is over". 

At 12.45??? Then a quick scan of the menu showed that we couldn't have eaten there anyway as it was 100% meat/offal.

We ended up having a toasted plastic bread sandwich with plastic mozzarella and tasteless tomatoes. 

I tell you this country drives me mad sometimes.