1986: My Happy Life in Provence

Chapter 256 Is the stomach of the people of Provence a bottomless pit?

Provence's gastronomic delights are most prolific in the summer.

In this area where agricultural products are almost entirely self-sufficient, seafood in winter may be everyone's only hope when you can't eat the various melons, peaches, cherries and fresh vegetables in summer.

The people of Provence spend at least two or three hours a day fully occupied at the dining table.

What’s the point of life without delicious food?

The restaurant has a limited variety of seafood, and Leah said she wanted to cook the seafood in the Provencal way tonight, and she also needed to buy some special local ingredients.

This task was given to Freddy, who was familiar with the local food market.

"Seafood dinner? Do you mean we're going to have a full-course Provence specialty seafood dinner tonight?" After confirming tonight's menu, Freddy didn't even want to go to work. "What else do you need? I'll go buy it now!"

Leah gave Freddy a long shopping list, and after hanging up the phone, she jumped back to the kitchen happily:

"Seafood! Seafood! I love seafood!!"

Ronan followed Leah's back as she left, and couldn't help but smile:

"People in Provence are really obsessed with food."

Artists living in Lourmarin have been gathering more frequently lately.

Under Zoe's mobilization, everyone was preparing for the "Land Art" project in Luberon in February. Cotillard got the exact news that the first batch of works would be submitted for exhibition and selection on January 2th.

If you want to stand out from the competition with the masters of art, you need not only outstanding abilities but also outstanding creativity.

Everyone squeezes out some time every day to exchange ideas in order to find a good entry point for the topic.

Zoe was of course the most active one among them. She was looking forward to this event and took it very seriously.

However, when Ronan secretly told her that they were going to have a seafood dinner tonight, the female artist temporarily left the "ocean of art" and sank into the ocean of food.

"Really? A seafood dinner tonight?" A star-like light appeared in Zoe's light blue eyes.

"Yes, Henry sent oysters, the restaurant has shrimps and crabs, and Leah asked Freddy to buy other seafood." Ronan said in a low voice.

Zoe turned around expectantly and asked Ronan:
"What else did Mom ask Uncle Freddy to buy?"

Ronan was doing something else when Leah and Freddy were talking on the phone. He didn't know what to buy specifically, so he shook his head and said:
"I don't know. I didn't hear it."

Zoe immediately stood up, put down the table of artists who were discussing "Post-Impressionism", and walked quickly to the kitchen.

You know, except for the first day the restaurant opened because there was too much staff to handle the situation and Zoe went to the kitchen to help for a day, she never went to that place again.

Now she actually went to the kitchen to find Leah in order to find out what ingredients were in the seafood dinner as soon as possible.

"What is Zoe doing?" Vivian asked Ronan blankly.

We were having a nice chat, why did that person leave?

Ronan sniffed awkwardly:

“Maybe I’m hungry.”

Picky eater Zoe actually loves seafood?
This is the second food Ronan has discovered that Zoe loves, after Cavaillon melon.

Zoe left too suddenly, and Ronan took over temporarily:
"Let's continue talking about where we were just now. Keep going."

The artists continued their lively discussion.

Ronan secretly looked back in the direction Zoe left.

What kind of seafood dinner is this evening that can make everyone so fascinated?

Today's party started a little later than usual because Leah had work to do.

But all the waiting is worth it.

Starting with the bread before the meal, Ronan noticed that the tone of the night was very different.

In the past, bread would be served with olive oil, black olive tapenade, garlic mayonnaise, pickled onions, pickled olives, fresh goat cheese or salt and spices.

But today, none of these familiar faces were seen, and instead there was a dark brown, almost solid sauce with a strong seafood smell.

Ronan could no longer confirm whether it was "sauce", but since it appeared with the toasted bread, it must be spread on bread.

Freddy is always the most active one when eating.

The moment the plate landed on the table, he raised his butt, scooped a large piece of the sauce with a knife and spread it on the bread. He took a bite and Ronan could hear the crispy and tempting "crunch" sound of the bread from a few meters away.

In fact, Ronan has no habit of eating bread before meals. He will only eat some bread if he is not full at the end of the meal, but this rarely happens at formal gatherings in Provence.

At a party in Provence, the only thing that happens is that there is not enough food to eat, but there is never a time when you are not full.

But at this moment, Ronan was very excited and started to enjoy this strange sauce with everyone at the table.

Louis took two bites before he remembered to explain to the Paris family:

"This is a traditional sauce from our area called anchovy sauce, which is made with anchovy puree, garlic, olive oil and parsley."

Zoe chewed slowly and said:

“When I was a kid, I could eat half a baguette with this sauce, but anchovy sauce is not always available, and anchovies can easily go stale.”

Freddy sucked his finger and said:
“These anchovies are absolutely fresh, I swear!”

Anchovy paste is very delicious, but this is just the bread for the meal. No one is stupid enough to fill their stomachs with it, because there must be a big dish waiting for them later!

A few minutes later, Nicola appeared with the first appetizer of the night:
“Seafood salad, the ingredients are very fresh, remember to pair it with white wine or rosé wine, otherwise it will be wasted.”

In traditional French cuisine, different ingredients are paired with different wines.

Heavy-flavored, fatty meats and sauces are best paired with red wines with moderate tannins, such as beef, lamb, foie gras and various cheese platters.

Refreshing white wines with a slight acidity are good with seafood, poultry and cream sauces. For example, bouillabaisse, escargot and chicken in white sauce are all good partners for white wine.

Champagne is a universal wine in Provence. It can be drunk before or after meals, but many people prefer to have a glass of champagne with their caviar and fried snacks.

There's also a local orange wine that pairs best with the spiced North African tagine.

There are many, many similar combinations.
Pink wine, with its refreshing fruity aroma and light body, is suitable for summer cold dishes, seafood and various Mediterranean flavors.

According to Louis, today's salad is the most traditional Mediterranean approach.

Louis pointed at the salad and introduced it to the Paris family:

"You probably haven't eaten this salad before. A long time ago, salads near the Mediterranean didn't contain vegetables, only seafood."

Freddy muttered as he filled his plate with salad:
"That's called a salad. I hate eating vegetables!"

Zoe touches Ronan with her arm:

“Try it now, it has a very special flavor, different from the Nicoise salad.”

In Provence, when people mention seafood salads, the taste of Nicoise salad immediately comes to mind.

This salad originated from the southern French city of Nice. It is famous for its fresh Mediterranean ingredients and layered taste. It is one of the representative Provencal dishes.

But today’s salad tastes completely different from the Nicoise salad.

Ronan didn't eat it. He just looked at it from the side, smelled it, and then stood up to get the pink wine and the cup:

“I don’t mean to spread the word about rosé, but guys, this dish and rosé will definitely go really well together, and I hope you’ll try it.”

Alan shrugged and joked:

"Ronan, you haven't tasted it yet. This is too deliberate."

Everyone in Lourmarin knows that Ronan is an avid pink wine lover, and he hopes that all the guests in the restaurant will fall in love with this pink liquid like him.

Ronan placed a new glass in front of each person and poured them half a glass of pink wine:

"This dish has orange and lots of lemon, which are flavors that go well with rosé wine. In addition, octopus feet, squid and shrimp are good partners for rosé wine. You should try it now."

Alan's smile froze on his face:

“How can you know its taste without eating it?”

What makes this salad special is the addition of orange and lemon, so it tastes completely different from the Nicoise salad seasoned with olive oil, red wine vinegar, Dijon mustard, salt and black pepper.

Zoe's 'Provencal' character was aroused again, and she said to Alan:

"You guys haven't had enough meals with Ronan. He knows how to cook any dish just by looking at it."

Ronan poured pink wine for everyone while making a rigorous correction:
"It's not that I know how to make it, but what's used in it. Honey, I'm not as good as you say."

But maybe if I upgrade [Cooking] by two levels I can have this ability?

Zoe's 'Provence' personality showed no sign of fading for the time being, and she said disapprovingly:
"Almost, dear."

"Okay." Ronan smiled and raised his pink wine glass, saying to the men who were resistant to pink wine, "Gentlemen, women have left their homes to work. Are you still wondering whether drinking pink wine is embarrassing?"

The men at the table looked at each other awkwardly, seemingly unable to make a decision.

Vieri took the lead in setting an example for these men.

He took a bite of salad, then a sip of pink wine, and said in surprise:
"The flavor is even more unique, it's really great!" Seeing that no one responded, he turned to Louis and complained:
"Okay, Dad. It's not like you haven't drunk it before at home. Every time you forget to buy red wine, you use Zoe's pink wine to 'quench your craving'. Don't be so reserved, okay?"

"Hahahaha——" Louis cast a loving look at his son, took a sip of pink wine with a Mediterranean salad, and started humming "wow wow" before he completely swallowed the food.

He said to Freddy and Alan in a joking tone:
"If I had known that rosé wine goes so well with seafood, I would never have drunk it secretly. I would have fallen in love with it like Ronan did."

The men laughed and joked, and Leah and Flossie each brought out two large plates.

They placed a total of four large plates on different areas of the long table.

"The oysters Henry bought are very fresh and delicious. Let's eat them."

Today we have chosen the most delicious way to eat oysters, which is to just squeeze some lemon juice on them.

Soon, the table was piled high with oyster shells.

Seeing Zoe eat three pills in a row, Ronan asked curiously:

"Your favorite food is oysters?"

Zoe licked her lips cutely and said with a smile:
"I love all of them. I love seafood very much. Do you remember? When you sent me to Aix for further studies, you asked me if I had any local specialties to recommend. That day, I ordered all seafood."

She laughed happily twice, and said to Ronan as if she had succeeded in a prank:
"Actually, I just want to eat it. There is not much seafood in Luberon in summer, but Aix is close to the Mediterranean."

Ronan lovingly fed an oyster to Zoe:
"We will eat here every day from now on. You will have enough to eat this winter."

“No need.” Zoe obediently ate the fourth oyster. “Just eat it once in a while.”

Ronan took a tissue to help Zoe wipe the soup off her mouth:
"No, that won't work. Isn't the purpose of making money to buy the things you like and eat delicious food? Come to the restaurant every day from now on, and I promise to give you seafood for every meal."

Zoe pouted:

"No, no, I'll get fat."

Ronan smiled and said:
"I'll get fat with you."

"Make way, make way, the food is served!"

Several hardworking Provencal women placed a plate in front of each person.

“First main course of the day – Creamy Garlic Lobster!”

Ronan picked up the knife and fork and said "wow" in his heart.

It feels like we’ve been eating for a long time, why is this only the first main course?

Leah passed by the young couple, quietly buried her head between them, and whispered:
"Don't drink too much wine, and don't eat too much bread, there are still 6 main courses to come."

Ronan was stunned.

The fear of the bottomless stomach of the Provencal people, which had not hung over his head for a long time, came back again.

It had been a long time since he had been bombarded with entrees.

In fact, Provencal people don’t always have many dishes at every gathering. The last time we had this experience, we cooked a few more dishes because we wanted to show our friendship to Ronan who had just moved to Lourmarin.

Today, Ronan guessed that it was because these Provencal people loved seafood so much.

On Ronan's left, Zoe rubbed her hands in anticipation, looking forward to the next dish before she even put the current one into her mouth.

Ronan looked to his right again, and saw his parents who were intoxicated by the delicious creamy garlic lobster, and he sighed silently. He had no idea what they were going to face next.

Hey, you won’t be able to laugh anymore in a while.

After eating the creamy garlic lobster, Feng Zhen and Luo Tianhai were still not satisfied and rubbed the plates with bread.

After eating the local specialty spiced grilled cod, they were still in the mood to discuss with their friends around them, saying that the taste of this grilled cod is a bit like Chinese food.

When they ate the Provencal seafood stew, they realized something was wrong and gradually slowed down their pace, but the next dish, brandy-flavored baked mussels, immediately thwarted their original plan.

When the soup-free version of bouillabaisse was placed in front of them, Feng Zhen and Luo Tianhai began to regret why they had eaten so much bread.

But when they saw half a sea bass on their plates, they realized with pale faces that the problem was not with the bread at all.

"I can't eat anymore, I really can't eat a single bite!" Feng Zhen held the plate to her chest, fearing that Flosi would pick up two pieces of today's staple food - seafood pasta - for her.

"One, I'll give you one, you can try it." Enthusiastic Flossi took the pasta clip and played the game of "Eagle Catches Chicken" with Feng Zhen.

"I can't even eat half a stick. I'm already full—" Feng Zhen pushed Luo Tianhai out, "Lao Luo, try it."

Luo Tianhai "struck" earlier than Feng Zhen, and he still had nearly a bottle of pink wine in his stomach.

When he saw his wife kick the ball, he wanted to pass it to his son Ronan.

But seeing that Ronan was actually eating noodles silently, there was no way he could pass the ball.

Luo Tianhai immediately came up with a reasonable excuse:

"I'm not going to eat Flossie. I'm going to drink more pink wine. I'm so happy to see everyone drinking pink wine."

Freddy slurped a mouthful of pasta:
"I explained, I took the wrong cup."

Louis is eating the few oysters left on the table:

"How can you get it wrong four or five times? Ronan has already poured you a second cup."

Freddy just ate his noodles and stopped talking.

Alan's very objective evaluation:

"Pink wine goes really well with seafood. It's nice to change up the taste of white wine once in a while."

Old Carl, who was in poor health, was only allowed one glass of wine per party, but he was still very considerate and gave all of today's quota to pink wine.

He looked at Ronan kindly and said:
"I really like the taste of pink wine. I will continue to drink it at the next party."

Ronan, who tried his best to follow to the end, swallowed the seafood pasta in his mouth and raised his glass to toast old Carl:
"Thank you."

Old Carl gave Ronan a kinder smile in return:

"thank you too."

Ronan smiled and bowed his head.

Blanco should have told old Carl Lourmarin what the future distinctive path will be.

At this stage of the meal, the sound of "slurping noodles" could be heard from the table, which frightened Feng Zhen so much that he dared not speak.

In the past, we often ate Chinese food, or barbecue and hot pot. We each got our own dishes and it was hard to tell how much we ate.

This is very obvious when eating French food, because the portion in front of each person is fixed, and you can tell at a glance who eats more and who eats less.

The people of Provence are really good eaters.
Do they have two stomachs?
She looked at Ronan and found that Ronan was also looking at her.

The mother and son exchanged glances briefly.

Feng Zhen: Can you still eat it?

Ronan: Uh-huh, this is just the beginning. You are too weak, mom.

Feng Zhen: Go eat quickly!
While the mother and son were talking, Leah brought out the second 'main course' of the night.

"Are there several staple dishes?" Feng Zhen didn't know how to describe it.

Leah introduces the Paris family:

“This is our local lobster ravioli.”

"Wonton?" Feng Zhen and Luo Tianhai looked at the dish at the same time and found that it was indeed wonton.

To be honest, although they were extremely full, they were attracted by the name and couldn't help but pick up the spoon again.

"Very fresh." Luo Tianhai commented.

Feng Zhen ate while looking at Ronan, and the mother and son started a second round of eye contact.

Feng Zhen: Who are you saying is not good enough? Look, I ate it again!
Ronan shook his head speechlessly: Good, good, you are awesome! You are awesome!

After finishing the last wonton, Feng Zhen leaned back in her chair, feeling relieved.

This long seafood dinner is finally over!

Unexpectedly, Nicola brought something new from the kitchen again:
"Everyone, come and have dessert. Today we have sea salt caramel cake. It will be a perfect end to today's seafood dinner."

"Great! Sea salt cake is my favorite."

“I’m drooling!”

"Nicola, cut me a big piece, please, more sauce, thank you!"

Feng Zhen completely collapsed and began to doubt her life, her eyes becoming dull.

Ronan suddenly appeared behind his pale-faced mother and said gloatingly:
"What's wrong, mom? Are you tired from eating? Don't stop, there will be after-dinner fruits and after-dinner wine!"

(End of this chapter)