Piment d'Espelette- Potager Pinup #1

Piment d'Espelette

The first hot pepper from the
potager announces Summer
in the
Kitchen at Camont.

3 easy things to make with Piment d'Espelette

1. Tomato chili jam- sweet, hot and great with anything.
   
2. Pâté de Campagne- Basque style with a pinch of dried piment.
3. Kate's grown-up hot chocolate- just add a sliver of pepper & a slug of armagnac.
   

First Honey Love

A pale blue beehive sits under the a William pear tree, a memorial to the May evening when a wild swarm arrived and asked to stay here at Camont, then surrounded by dozens of acacia trees in snowy bloom. "Bien sur!" I responded (that means "right on!" in French) and so Marc and I moved the virgin hive under the swarm on the branch, a small pear dangling like an earring. After a glass of rosé wine and watching a few Google-driven You Tubes, especially by my newbee hero, Kirkobeeo, at Backwards Beekeeping, I clipped the branch, grabbed a stick and scraped the swarm into the waiting hive. I left the hive sitting under the pear tree in the orchard amongst the chickens and ducks.

Last week I found a smoker, un enfumoir, at my favorite brocante. Today I got up the courage to lift the lid on the hive and take a long careful smoky peek. Eureka!!!

Gold.
Pure sweet gold.
Je vous aimez, mes amis les abeilles!

After a first finger licking taste, I was hooked. Captain Nick and I feasted on honey and bread for breakfast and the sweet knowledge that my bee longing had come to fruition. Sometimes, learning in the Kitchen at Camont takes place outside the building. Think outside that stone wall box and harvest your own food!

The next 'Charcuterie & Confit' sessions in the Kitchen at Camont begin in Mid-October. Write for further information.

it's a long process. one step at a time.
shelling peas.
planting beans.
harvesting ideas.
making changes.

day to day life in the Kitchen at Camont is like shelling those French peas.
one day at a time.
one thought.
one action.

This day, this very hot windy summer day in Gascony, we are planting a new garden of ideas for you. Here at the French Kitchen, the Kitchen at Camont, we are drinking iced l'O Rosey- rose syrup over crushed ice while

writing new programs for fall, and celebrating those long days when the tomatoes ripen redder, the peppers get hotter and the ideas flow faster.

Coming soon. The Kitchen at Camont- a center for creative culinary learning.
In France, of course.

Detroit Rose

A large bunch of fresh deep red rose petals (organically grown, of course)
500 grams of sugar
1 liter of water
1 large lemon- squeezed
a generous shot of eau de vie de armagnac

Heat the rose petals, sugar and water in a pan until just simmering and the sugar melts into a light syrup. Let sit while you read a book. (The Poisonwood Bible be Barbara Kingsolver is on the bed where I nap.)
Strain the petals from the liquid, add the lemon juice and eau-de-vie.
Pour into a carafe and store in the refrigerator until needed on a very sultry French day.
Pour over crushed ice, add a shot of water.
Drink and be grateful you planted those roses 4 years ago... and remembered to water them.