Last week we added a post called 20 Favourite Things About FranceIt has received some comments and Tamsin Todd has suggested another favourite thing! Tamsin suggests "A Winter Market in France" - yes, we agree although we have yet to visit a Norman Market. Tamsin says they are an urban family testing rural waters in Normandy. Anyhow I am already won over by her description: A fairy-tale cottage by the Seine! 
Photo of Seine by isamiga76 She describes her market:What comes to a local market in the dead of winter? Very little, you would think – the fields are empty, the trees are bare, there’s nothing but rain and a dull grey sky. You’d be surprised. Here are some of the delights we found at our Norman market at the end of December. Boxes and boxes of the freshest oysters, only a squirt of lemon needed. Holly and mistletoe grow everywhere in Normandy. Look up any old tree in the winter and what looks like a messy kind of birds nest is probably mistletoe. And there is a whole forest of holly, la Forêt d’Eu, in the Seine-Maritime. But if you don’t have time to collect your own, you can buy some at market. The pretty coquilles Saint-Jacques are a Normandy specialty which have been awarded the prestigious “label rouge” in recognition of their quality. (Does everything in France have a label?) Here is a video about the fishermen who catch them, and a recipe which, like all the best Norman recipes, is packed with wild (if you can get them) mushrooms and crème fraîche. For the complete article and some lovely photos:
A Winter Market in France
Photo of Seine by isamiga76 She describes her market:What comes to a local market in the dead of winter? Very little, you would think – the fields are empty, the trees are bare, there’s nothing but rain and a dull grey sky. You’d be surprised. Here are some of the delights we found at our Norman market at the end of December. Boxes and boxes of the freshest oysters, only a squirt of lemon needed. Holly and mistletoe grow everywhere in Normandy. Look up any old tree in the winter and what looks like a messy kind of birds nest is probably mistletoe. And there is a whole forest of holly, la Forêt d’Eu, in the Seine-Maritime. But if you don’t have time to collect your own, you can buy some at market. The pretty coquilles Saint-Jacques are a Normandy specialty which have been awarded the prestigious “label rouge” in recognition of their quality. (Does everything in France have a label?) Here is a video about the fishermen who catch them, and a recipe which, like all the best Norman recipes, is packed with wild (if you can get them) mushrooms and crème fraîche. For the complete article and some lovely photos:A Winter Market in France
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