Potatoes in the Cave

Jeanine is an incredible lady- She’s 74 and has lived in Le Vignaud her entire life. When she asked me to help her dig her potatoes, I was more than happy to help. She is always giving me something, whether it’s fresh eggs from the chickens, or a nice warm meal in the evening on my way back from the garden and I’m always looking for an opportunity to reciprocate the generosity. She had about 200 or so ‘pieds’ of potatoes- some fifteen or so rows about three meters long each- all ready to be dug. She also has bad knees. The fact that she even planted them on her own is already amazing. Then, she surprised me once again when she held her own in the digging and dug row after row with no complaint.

This is yet another occasion I am proud to count myself among the ranks of these tough country people. The amount of potatoes we dug from the ground that day was astounding… But the fact that those potatoes will literally help Jeanine get through the Creusois winter is ever more amazing. The mindset is to use every part of the land to it’s best advantage when possible. During the summer, one grows and collects all he can so that in the winter he still needs little else.

Jeneane and Alexi in the Garden

Alexi Collecting the Potatoes

It may seem like such a simple act, but digging potatoes in the middle of France on one hot summer afternoon will long be counted among one of the very special things that this entire experience has brought to me. It is often the simplest of things that remind my why I am here, and what value there is in helping others whenever possible. It is for my own benefit that I help. It is satisfying in so many ways… Physical labor, time to think, working with friends, helping others, discovering culture, opening new doors.

Often I am conflicted with needing a purpose in life: a raison d’etre. But here, the life is simple. There’s a feeling that I get working in the fields or helping someone in even a very small way: It’s a feeling that there is no other place I am supposed to be at that moment. That I am exactly where I am meant to be, doing exactly what I am supposed to be using this short life for. It’s a feeling I have not felt often, or for very long. But in Le Vignaud, I feel it more often than not.

Thank You, Jeanine for giving me a home, a place to be, and a reason to be there.

Wonderful Winter Harvest

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Dirty Darren came by one Sunday afternoon to help with the garden. All the hard work was finally paying off, the garden was full, and it was time to begin the harvest. In late July, it’s time to pull and dry the onions, garlic, and shallots, as well as dig the potatoes. It was a great help to have an extra hand to harvest and pack kilo after kilo of these, which will hopefully last through the winter. There were also tomatoes, plenty of GIANT courgettes, beets, cucumbers, peppers, beans, and salad. I can’t help but to say again how incredible I find it that this much food can come from such a small piece of dirt, with truly minimal effort.

Bon Papa Brand Confiture

The wonderful cherry harvest was finally drawing to a close, and we had stuffed ourselves with as much of the fruit as possible before the rain the birds got to it. There still clung a few precious bundles of sweet fruit, and after three weeks of nearly daily visits to the cherry grove, I still wasn’t ready to surrender back to nature what remained of the year’s bounty.

After a few too many cherries eaten by the handful, eaten in pies, and in Clafoutis all over the village, there was still one rock left to uncover… Confiture.

The cherry harvest only lasts for a few weeks in the spring when there are literally more cherries than anyone can or would care to eat. Then, winter comes and the trees are bare- not a cherry to be seen for a few months at least. So, in just about every French home you will find a cave or a cupboard literally packed with amazing confitures, sirops, jellies, and preserves. In this way the amazing variety and surplus of fruit projects from warm spring and summer days, stores over the winter.

The were fruit trees all over the village unattended and full of ripe fruit. After the cherries, came the cassis and groseilles. Then, raspberries, and just recently the blackberries are growing into their name. Once word got out that there was ‘free labor’ available I had invites all over the village to come harvest what fruits I wanted, and I brewed up confitures of all colors. I started joking around the village that no one would need to buy Bonne Maman (local brand) anymore since I was around to fill up their old jam jars with fresh, organic, home-made, and super-delicious confiture of my own…

Now they call me Bon Papa.

Confiture is actually amazingly simple to make and doesn’t require and special equipment as canning does nor any of the elevated risks of improperly preserved foods. Simply wash the fruit well, cook over low heat until it is slightly soft and then add about 800g of sugar for ever 1000g of fruit. If you want to make jelly or remove pits and skins from the fruit, you can pass it through a vegetable mill and then add the sugar to the resulting juice. Then cook over low heart until the mixture begins to thicken, and add to sterilized jars while it’s still hot.

That’s it. Get out there and hit the local woods- those blackberries are waiting for the pickin’.

I said to the [cherry] tree,
Sister, speak to me of Beauty.
And the [cherry] tree blossomed.
–Nikos Kazantzakis

Cherry Blossoms, Early March

Since late March when the cherry trees around the village bust into an amazing display of white or pink blossoms, we have been waiting and watching for the payoff.

Well, the time has finally come and we’ve been stuffed with cherries, filled buckets, pie pans, and jam jars and there’s no end in sight.

The back yard with with cherry tree in full blossom

Alex and his Guitar

Ripe Cluster

The cherry harvest begins with an empty stomach perhaps. The tiny green nubs had ripened and darkened with the summer sun, and they were finally ready to be plucked from the branches that bore them to fulfill their higher destiny- or at least that which we deem them fit to pursue…

This year was an amazingly good year for cherries. They filled nearly every branch and hung heavy and juicy in clusters. It was such an amazing feeling being among them in the trees, with the birds chancing a taste, and the afternoon sun shining through the waxy leaves. The view from our trees looked out over the west, towards the setting sun over the river valley.

Cherries on the Tree

Darren’s family came out one afternoon and shared a wonderful picnic in the clover patch. After we’d finished our tea, we grabbed ladders and buckets and headed over to the orchard where the cherries were waiting. We picked a few large buckets, destined for cherry pies, confitures, and Jeneane’s freezer. It was amazing the amount of beautiful fruit that was at our disposal for so many wonderful things. The branches were full and heavy with ripe cherries and harvest required only reaching into the branches and plucking them by the handful. Buckets and stomachs were quickly filled (at least for the moment), while everyone dreamed of what sweet delicacies were planned for our spoils…

Later that night, I got to work on a very special project: The making of my very first Clafoutis.

Also, a few days later and trying to salvage what remained of the now over-ripe and bird eaten crop, I took my first try at some Confiture and Jelly Making.

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People take pictures of the Summer,
Just in case someone thought they had missed it,
And to proved that it really existed.
-The Kinks

Summer is here and the garden is full. It’s a wonderful time of year to be in Le Vignaud, and living off the land becomes easier, healthier, and oh so enjoyable. Cherry trees are full this time of year, mushrooms are popping in the woods, and all the fresh veggies you can eat are at your fingertips.

It’s oh so hard to believe that back in cold, grey February a few friends started digging the muddy French soil and now a few months down the road there’s a garden full of beautiful food for many people. Friends have come and gone, each having put a hand to help the garden along; Some have eaten, some have cooked, but I hope all have learned and enjoyed this experience. For me it has truly been special, looking back a few months and now suddenly nature has worked her wonders on the rich earth and we are blessed with its bounty. I have been eating dailiy from the garden for a few months now, but it is only now coming into it’s full prime. Even the tomatoes are near ripe…

Hey Clint, remember this?