Menu for Hope- winter solstice celebrations!

Winter Solstice Still Life with Clay- 21/12/07

Yesterday I drove to the Lauragais, that wide open valley famous for le bleu de Pastel, Minervois wines, and ...cassoulet, of course. For those not lucky enough to have traveled in this part of Southwest France, let me just warn you of one alarming thing- the wind! And it's not from the beans. Bacon and I could hardly walk the towpath along the Canal du Midi; there was enough choppy wave action on the narrow canal that would have made me seasick. But once inside the kiln warmed atelier I relaxed and remembered why I came.

As a barge captain I would say it was blowing stink. As a driver of a very small and lightweight French car, it was rockin'! But as the courier to fetch a trunk full of heavy hand-thrown cassoles... it was just right! And that is exactly what I did- loaded the 2CV with a couple dozen cassoles of all sizes and headed back to the Agenais with a belly full of beans and warm heart.

Thank you all who bought tickets for this 4th Annual Menu For Hope with the hope to win one of my prized Not Poterie cassoles from the French Kitchen Cooking school. At last glance we were at $82K and counting. there are still a few hours left to buy raffle tickets and Pim's last post offers a few hot tips! Since I decided to buy a few extras cassoles to keep the deux-chevaux on the road, I can now offer the lucky winner a well-used and loved cassole or a brand spanking new one. When the winner is selected, I'll send you a photo and let you choose!

Just to tide you over here, here is a still life of the poterie on a windy but sunny winter solstice day in Southwest France. And the man who made your pot for you...

Jean-Pierre NOT

A BIG MERCI TO ALL!!!