Inspired by my visit to Saissac with Glenda, Siri and Maya, I made a collage deck of “story cards”. The first person to draw a card would initiate the story using the image on the card for inspiration. The next person to pick up a card would continue the story. We would go around the circle building the story card by card. The person to draw the last card was challenged to tie up the loose ends in a grand finale. Our friend Peter was brilliant at inventing endings and never failed to conclude the action with an unexpected turn of events that would make perfect sense of our wild imaginings.
«Pourquoi le trou? » (Why the hole?) I asked pointing to the chair. The vendor replied in rapid local French that made little sense to my “class room” trained ear. Registering the blank look on my face, he handed me an enamel bucket. “Ah, I get it; the bucket goes with the chair.”
I was at a village “vide grenier” (flea market) and had spotted the chair that I had been looking for. It was half hidden under a faded fringed curtain, an off- kilter lampshade, and a pile of hunting and fishing magazines, but there was no mistaking the graceful ladder back of a classic provincial arm chair. I wanted it even before I saw the rest of it. After an elaborate redistribution of assorted piles of junk, the vendor handed it to me over the table. Voila! It was perfect, with the exception of the neat square hole in the center of the rush seat. The bucket now made sense; this was a potty chair for grownups. What a hand crafted beauty it was too! The slightly mismatched arms and not quite even horizontal back supports evoked an image of a farmer crafting a potty chair for an aged parent.
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I learned to appreciate fresh food when I lived on a sail boat. It was usually feast (fresh food in port) or famine (canned food at sea). My tiny galley had a two-burner kerosene stove on gimbals, a miniature basin into which I could pump fresh water and a sling arrangement that went under my buttocks to keep me in place when I cooked at sea. When we were at anchor my husband would flip over the side with snorkel, flippers and spear gun to hunt for the next meal. Although I love fish, it was the fresh produce from open air markets (fresh basil, fresh tomatoes, garlic, olives, eggplant, zucchini, etc) that saved us from overdosing on fish.
Five-Spice Salmon with Leeks in Parchment
Cooking this fish in a parchment pouch produces moist, succulent results. Toasting and grinding the spices takes a little extra time but pays off with vivid flavor.
1 1/4 teaspoons whole fennel seeds
6 whole black peppercorns
2 whole cloves
1 whole star anise
1 (1 1/2-inch) cinnamon stick
4 (6-ounce) skinless salmon fillets
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 leek, halved and thinly sliced lengthwise (about 1 cup)
Preheat oven to 425°.
Combine first 5 ingredients in a small skillet over medium heat; cook for 1 minute or until fragrant. Transfer toasted spices to a spice grinder or mortar and pestle; grind until fine.
Cut 4 (12-inch) squares of parchment paper. Place 1 fillet in center of each square. Sprinkle evenly with salt and spice mixture; top fillets evenly with leeks. Fold paper; bring long edges together and close with narrow folds. Twist up ends to seal loosly. Place packets on a baking sheet. Bake at 425° for 20 minutes or until puffy and lightly browned.
Place on plates. Cut open carefully to avoid being burned by steam. Serve with rice to absorb juices.
