12 september 24-30, 2010 the red...

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12 French Weekend French Week September 24-30, 2010 Tangy beetroot salad An autumn vitamin boost After all those restaurant meals with guests over the summer, treat yourself to a detox salad. Raw beetroot is a bit of a wonder food: known to be a great liver cleanser, it helps to reduce high blood pressure and has been used in the treatment of colon cancer. It certainly contains vitamin B 1, 2 and 3, vitamin C and folic acid. The orange and lemon juice bring out the fruity taste of the beetroot, all the more so if you let the salad rest before serving. Ingredients 2 medium-sized beetroots, raw 4 small carrots 1 lemon 1 orange 2 tbspns olive oil basil, parsley salt and freshly ground pepper 2 small heads of chicory for garnish Method Squeeze the lemon and orange. Put the juice into the salad bowl, add salt and pepper. Grate the carrots and beetroot. Mix with the juice. Chop the basil and parsley and stir in. Dribble over two tablespoons of olive oil and stir in. Leave to marinate for an hour. Arrange chicory leaves around the outside of the bowl. Use the leaves to scoop up the salad. Adam Brown’s Recipe F or those who aspire to be food critics as well as those who are avid followers of Michelin stars and awards, Michael Steinberger’s latest offering is now available in paperback at a reasonable price and is definitely worth reading. ‘Au Revoir to All That – The Rise and Fall of French Cuisine’ (not to be confused with his earlier books of similar titles) gives a fascinating insight behind the scenes and thoughts of Michelin inspectors while analysing the change that has take place in French restaurants in the past century. The ability to destroy a chef’s reputation and his livelihood by the withdrawing of a Michelin star makes one realise just how powerful these stars have become – yet are they really worth all the hype? The book tracks the history of fine French cuisine through to the modern day by chatting with current-day chefs who have their own ideas on how the restaurant industry in France should be working today. The book is informative, humorous and at times seriously sad but overall it’s a must for foodies who would like insight into why the plate in front of you could be the best, the worst, the most expensive or the most creative cuisine you have seen. Endorsed by controversial chef Marco Pierre White it proves there is life after the Michelin star. Published by Bloomsbury in paperback in July 2010. Available from Amazon France for 10.88 with free delivery in France or Amazon UK for £6.03 plus a whopping £5.25 for postage to France. G liding and flapping gracefully past in buoyant flight or circling higher and higher on the thermals, the red kite cuts quite a dash through our skies in the autumn and early spring. It is one of the most beautiful birds of prey. The whitish head, chestnut body and long forked tail are particularly striking. The contrasting shades of plumage, with large pale wing patches (viewed from below) also help to identify it. At more than 30cm long and with a bigger wingspan, it is larger than our common resident and winter visitor the common buzzard, or the frequent summer visitor to France’s main river valleys, the black kite. As a breeding bird in France, the red kite is a threatened species, probably as a result of the modernisation of forestry and farming. The nesting population has been declining for many years and is now largely restricted to the foothills of the main mountain ranges, the Massif Central, Pyrénées and the eastern mountains. The red kite likes remote areas with woods and traditional farming. The Dordogne is on the migration route for kites nesting in France and other European countries such as Germany and Sweden. These birds are flying to or from their wintering grounds in the Iberian peninsula and North Africa. Look out for them in late September through October and again in February and March. Occasionally birds are seen in mid-winter. They travel singly or in small groups. They may capture your attention by their short mewing call not unlike the common buzzard, or a whistling ‘wee-ooo’. In medieval Britain and soon afterwards, as recorded by Chaucer and Shakespeare, the red kite was a common bird around the villages and towns, often scavenging for scraps in the streets. However, with persecution and changes in agriculture it became very rare and the breeding population was until recently reduced to small numbers in the wild hills of central Wales. In recent years the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds and partners have been conducting a very successful red kite re- introduction programme in various areas around the country. This has been so successful that there are now, for example, hundreds of wild birds in the Chiltern Hills and Vale of Oxford, which are easily seen from the M40. They seem very content and reluctant to colonise new areas. David Simpson is the author of ‘Birding Dordogne’, ISBN 978189811-05-21, available from www.birdguides.com or from him price 8 inc p&p at Cabant et Saint-Meyme-de-Rozens, 24150 Mauzac-et-Grand-Castang. He leads wildlife trips and holidays (cottage: tinyurl.com/34sakq3). Email [email protected]. For up-to-date sightings of birds visit the LPO website: http://milan-royal.lpo.fr or www.faune-aquitaine.org or www.lpo.fr The red kite Milan royal – Milvus milvus by David Simpson Book ‘Au Revoir to All That – The Rise and Fall of French Cuisine’ by Michael Steinberger reviewed by Frances Beasley Until 25/09 Paris. ‘Pari fermier à Bercy’ Farmers’ market near the Cour Saint-Émilion, raw and cooked specialities from all over France. Place des Vins de France (12th arrdt) 24/09 Mont-de-Marsan (40) ‘Fête du Marsan’ Free live concerts on Friday night. Saturday noon, huge communal picnic, shows and entertainment in the afternoon. Bodega food in the evening and finale of the Intervillages du Marsan at Plumaçon. 24-26/09 Luz-Saint-Sauveur (65) ‘Fête des Côtelettes’ in honour of the return of the flocks to the valley. Sheepdog demonstrations and all sorts of shows and entertainment, farmers’ market and tastings of the local AOC mutton. 25/09 La Chapelle-en-Lafaye (42) ‘Journée champignons’ Mushroom Day, meet up for coffee at the salle communale before an outing to pick mushrooms in the woods with a specialist. Lunch at the salle communale and analysis of mushrooms in the afternoon. Booking recommended, tel: 04 77 50 22 38. 25/09 Muzillac (56) ‘Horizon Bio 2010’ 15th Organic fair: conferences, shows, markets on the square and in the Vieux Couvent. 25/09 Granville (50) ‘Toute la mer sur un plateau’: seafood festival in the fishing port. Eat shellfish prepared by top chefs. Buy shellfish fresh from the sea, tastings, shows, cookery demonstrations. 25-26/09 Jarcieu (38) ‘Voyage culinaire au Moyen-Age’ at the Château de Jarcieu. Workshops on Medieval cuisine, exhibition and guided tour of organic gardens. Entry 4 covers everything. Sat 25, 1-6pm; Sun 26, 10am-6pm Tel: 04 74 79 86 27, marie- [email protected] www.chateau-de-jarcieu.com 25-26/09, 02-03/10 Eguisheim (68) ‘Fête du vin nouveau’ Taste the new wine along with farm-baked bread, flambéed tarts, walnuts and bacon, market with local specialities, live music on the place Saint Léon IX (town centre) and concert on Sunday morning (place du château). 25-27/09 Sarrebourg (57) ‘Les Escales du Goût’ Cookery demos in the Salle des Fêtes with the region’s top chefs preparing a fish dish. Plus in the Place du Marché, eat the chefs’ preparations, catch and buy your own fish from a pond. Taste and buy local pastries, chocolate, charcuterie. Gala evening on Monday night. www.lesescalesdugout.fr 26/09 Cambo-les-Bains (64) ‘Fête du Gâteau Basque’ Contest for the best gâteau Basque, 90 stands of local produce and crafts, cake- making workshops, steel bands, Basque singing and dance 01-02/10 Ollioules (83) ‘Fête de l’Olivier’: The olive tree and fruit in all its forms, how to grow it, taste it, local market, traditional festivities. 01-02/10 Moissac (82) ‘Salon du Chocolat’ Thanks to www.keldelice.com/guide/ FOODY FÊTES PHOTO © CLAUDE-ALAIN FAUSER - WWW.FOZAIR.NET

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Page 1: 12 September 24-30, 2010 The red kitedordognebutterflybirdwatching.co.uk/download/i/mark_dl/u/4011057… · The red kite likes remotesalt and freshly ground pepper areas with woods

12 French Weekend French Week September 24-30, 2010

Tangy beetroot saladAn autumn vitamin boostAfter all those restaurant meals with guests over thesummer, treat yourself to a detox salad. Raw beetroot isa bit of a wonder food: known to be a great livercleanser, it helps to reduce high blood pressure and hasbeen used in the treatment of colon cancer. It certainlycontains vitamin B 1, 2 and 3, vitamin C and folic acid.

The orange and lemon juice bring out the fruitytaste of the beetroot, all the more so if you let the saladrest before serving.

Ingredients� 2 medium-sized beetroots, raw� 4 small carrots� 1 lemon� 1 orange� 2 tbspns olive oil� basil, parsley� salt and freshly ground pepper� 2 small heads of chicory for garnish

Method� Squeeze the lemon and orange. Put the juice into

the salad bowl, add salt and pepper.� Grate the carrots and beetroot. Mix with the juice. � Chop the basil and parsley and stir in. � Dribble over two tablespoons of olive oil

and stir in.� Leave to marinate for an hour.� Arrange chicory leaves around the outside of the

bowl. Use the leaves to scoop up the salad.

Adam Brown’s Recipe

For those who aspire tobe food critics as wellas those who are avid

followers of Michelin starsand awards, MichaelSteinberger’s latest offeringis now available inpaperback at a reasonable

price and is definitely worthreading.

‘Au Revoir to All That –The Rise and Fall of FrenchCuisine’ (not to be confusedwith his earlier books ofsimilar titles) gives afascinating insight behind

the scenes and thoughts ofMichelin inspectors whileanalysing the change thathas take place in Frenchrestaurants in the pastcentury. The ability todestroy a chef’s reputationand his livelihood by thewithdrawing of a Michelinstar makes one realise justhow powerful these starshave become – yet are theyreally worth all the hype?

The book tracks thehistory of fine Frenchcuisine through to themodern day by chattingwith current-day chefs who

have their own ideas on how the restaurant industryin France should beworking today.

The book is informative,humorous and at timesseriously sad but overall it’sa must for foodies whowould like insight into whythe plate in front of youcould be the best, the worst,the most expensive or themost creative cuisine youhave seen. Endorsed bycontroversial chef MarcoPierre White it proves there is life after theMichelin star.

Published by Bloomsbury in paperbackin July 2010. Available from Amazon France for€10.88 with free delivery in France orAmazon UK for £6.03 plus a whopping£5.25 for postage to France.

Gliding and flappinggracefully past inbuoyant flight or

circling higher and higheron the thermals, the red kitecuts quite a dash throughour skies in the autumn andearly spring.

It is one of the mostbeautiful birds of prey. Thewhitish head, chestnut bodyand long forked tail areparticularly striking. Thecontrasting shades ofplumage, with large palewing patches (viewed frombelow) also help to identifyit. At more than 30cm longand with a bigger wingspan,it is larger than our commonresident and winter visitorthe common buzzard, or thefrequent summer visitor toFrance’s main river valleys,the black kite.

As a breeding bird inFrance, the red kite is athreatened species, probablyas a result of themodernisation of forestryand farming. The nestingpopulation has beendeclining for many yearsand is now largely restrictedto the foothills of the mainmountain ranges, the MassifCentral, Pyrénées and theeastern mountains.

The red kite likes remoteareas with woods andtraditional farming. TheDordogne is on themigration route for kitesnesting in France and otherEuropean countries such asGermany and Sweden.These birds are flying to orfrom their winteringgrounds in the Iberianpeninsula and North Africa.Look out for them in lateSeptember through October

and again in February andMarch. Occasionally birdsare seen in mid-winter. Theytravel singly or in smallgroups. They may captureyour attention by their shortmewing call not unlike thecommon buzzard, or awhistling ‘wee-ooo’.

In medieval Britain andsoon afterwards, asrecorded by Chaucer andShakespeare, the red kite

was a common bird aroundthe villages and towns, oftenscavenging for scraps in thestreets. However, withpersecution and changes inagriculture it became veryrare and the breedingpopulation was untilrecently reduced to smallnumbers in the wild hills ofcentral Wales. In recentyears the Royal Society forthe Protection of Birds andpartners have been

conducting a verysuccessful red kite re-introduction programme invarious areas around thecountry. This has been sosuccessful that there arenow, for example, hundredsof wild birds in the ChilternHills and Vale of Oxford,which are easily seen fromthe M40. They seem verycontent and reluctant tocolonise new areas.

David Simpson is the author of ‘BirdingDordogne’, ISBN 978189811-05-21,available from www.birdguides.com orfrom him price €8 inc p&p at Cabant etSaint-Meyme-de-Rozens, 24150Mauzac-et-Grand-Castang. He leadswildlife trips and holidays (cottage:tinyurl.com/34sakq3). [email protected].

For up-to-date sightings of birds visit theLPO website: http://milan-royal.lpo.fr orwww.faune-aquitaine.org or www.lpo.fr

The red kiteMilan royal – Milvus milvusby David Simpson

Book ‘Au Revoir to All That – TheRise and Fall of French Cuisine’by Michael Steinbergerreviewed by Frances Beasley

Until 25/09 Paris. ‘Pari fermier àBercy’ Farmers’ market near the CourSaint-Émilion, raw and cookedspecialities from all over France.Place des Vins de France (12th arrdt)24/09 Mont-de-Marsan (40) ‘Fête duMarsan’ Free live concerts on Fridaynight. Saturday noon, hugecommunal picnic, shows andentertainment in the afternoon.Bodega food in the evening andfinale of the Intervillages du Marsanat Plumaçon. 24-26/09 Luz-Saint-Sauveur (65)‘Fête des Côtelettes’ in honour of thereturn of the flocks to the valley.Sheepdog demonstrations and allsorts of shows and entertainment,farmers’ market and tastings of thelocal AOC mutton. 25/09 La Chapelle-en-Lafaye (42)‘Journée champignons’ MushroomDay, meet up for coffee at the sallecommunale before an outing to pickmushrooms in the woods with aspecialist. Lunch at the sallecommunale and analysis ofmushrooms in the afternoon. Bookingrecommended, tel: 04 77 50 22 38. 25/09 Muzillac (56) ‘Horizon Bio2010’ 15th Organic fair: conferences,shows, markets on the square and inthe Vieux Couvent. 25/09 Granville (50) ‘Toute la mersur un plateau’: seafood festival inthe fishing port. Eat shellfishprepared by top chefs. Buy shellfishfresh from the sea, tastings, shows,cookery demonstrations.25-26/09 Jarcieu (38) ‘Voyageculinaire au Moyen-Age’ at theChâteau de Jarcieu. Workshops onMedieval cuisine, exhibition andguided tour of organic gardens. Entry€4 covers everything. Sat 25, 1-6pm;Sun 26, 10am-6pmTel: 04 74 79 86 27, marie-catherine@chateau-de-jarcieu.comwww.chateau-de-jarcieu.com25-26/09, 02-03/10 Eguisheim (68)‘Fête du vin nouveau’ Taste the newwine along with farm-baked bread,flambéed tarts, walnuts and bacon,market with local specialities, livemusic on the place Saint Léon IX(town centre) and concert on Sundaymorning (place du château).25-27/09 Sarrebourg (57) ‘LesEscales du Goût’ Cookery demos inthe Salle des Fêtes with the region’stop chefs preparing a fish dish. Plusin the Place du Marché, eat thechefs’ preparations, catch and buyyour own fish from a pond. Taste andbuy local pastries, chocolate,charcuterie. Gala evening on Mondaynight. www.lesescalesdugout.fr 26/09 Cambo-les-Bains (64) ‘Fêtedu Gâteau Basque’ Contest for thebest gâteau Basque, 90 stands oflocal produce and crafts, cake-making workshops, steel bands,Basque singing and dance01-02/10 Ollioules (83) ‘Fête del’Olivier’: The olive tree and fruit in allits forms, how to grow it, taste it,local market, traditional festivities.01-02/10 Moissac (82)‘Salon du Chocolat’ Thanks to www.keldelice.com/guide/

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