Контрольная работа: France
The evening meal is the main meal of our day and we enjoy a few glasses of wine to go with it. We always drink red wine as not only have we developed a taste for it but it is difficult to keep white wine chilled. We take a five or ten litre container with us and look out for shops which advertise Vin en Vrac which means that they sell wine loose. You take your container into one of these shops and there will usually be a range of large tanks full of different wines. No need to choose the most expensive variety just ask to taste (Je degust Silvousplia) one of the local names or Van de Pays. A first taste will not always give a good impression and it may taste a little bitter but do not worry, as long as you can drink it in the shop then it will be OK. Pay 6-8 Francs per litre, there is no need to pay extra to get 12%+, 11-11.5% will be adequate. This wine is very young and has to be to be drunk soon and should be warm. Keep an empty wine bottle for your table and fill it from your container, this way you will know how much you drink for it goes down so smoothly that you could unwittingly overdo it! Don’t make any attempt to chill the wine but allow it to maintain the same temperature as the air in this way you will enjoy it. Don’t be put off by the price of this wine, we have entertained many a wine buff at our van who has been impressed with it and surprised when told of it’s origin!
To make things easy we like to barbecue. We used to have a small home made collapsible barbecue which used charcoal and was very good. However many camp sites in France forbid the use of these barbecues because they might be in forest areas or constitute a general fire risk. Consequently we bought a gas barbecue and these appear to be acceptable on all sites although it is always best check at the reception first. We have found the gas barbecue with lava rocks to be most convenient to use, There are no lighting problems or hot ashes to get rid of, you just switch on when you need it and off when finished. The food cooked is much the same as that from a charcoal grill as fat from the food will drip on the hot lava rock and burn off to give the taste. It is my job to operate the barbecue so it makes easier for my wife as we share the cooking.
Our basic evening meal would be meat or fish, potatoes and vegetables, a sweet and coffee.
Buying Meat
For meat, after we have used up our own supplies, we will buy meat from a supermarket, butchers or market. French lamb chops are really good, in the supermarket you can point to these across the counter and indicate how many you want. In the butchers shop it is more interesting as you will have to ask in French. French butchers like to talk to everyone and pass the time of day so you don’t have to be in a hurry. In some shops the butcher will cut and wrap your order and you will pay for it at a separate counter. Lamb is agnau (arnoo) so you ask for so many cote du agnau, the cost will be similar to that in Britain.
Beef is buef and there are a few different cuts so if you say is is for a barbecue the butcher will point out the choices. Say how many pieces you want and give an indication of how much weight. A half kilogramme (demi kilo), about 1lb. would be enough for two people and cost about £5.
For children you can buy beefburgers with the familiar brand names as in Britain. These are usually more expensive than at home but are better quality and do not drip fat all over the barbecue.
Chipolata sausages are quite tasty although fatty and can be bought by weight in the butchers or pre-packed in the supermarket.
We have noticed that the German supermarket chain Aldi have opened up in France and these are very cheap if you like the brands they sell.
We sometimes buy a ready cooked chicken, the roasting machines are very popular in France. One of these will last us for a couple of meals or a half (Demi pouli) for one meal.
You can also buy food in the many local markets. The hygene may sometimes be suspect so take care, we have never suffered any ill effects!
Fish.
We have bought fish from fishmongers in the local indoor market. We have not been too sure what the fish was but picked out some that looked good and asked for enough for two. We have even been given a free taste of smoked salmon!.
Fruit and Vegatables.
Buy vegetables from the markets etc the same way as you do at home. We find that melons are very tasty and one will last us for two meals. Sweet corn is very good on the barbeque but is not in season in France until later. Sometimes you can find it on the larger markets and if you can it is worth buying.
Cooking.
We rarely bother with starters so straight into the main meal. As I mentioned earlier we use our gas barbecue almost every day to cook our meat or fish. The gas is lighted and the barbecue allowed to heat up for about five minutes during which time a glass of ‘chef’s wine’ is poured and sampled. If you have some swwet corn, one cob cut in two serve two people, start thise off first as they take about fifteen minutes turning them frequently. Corn starts as a pale cream colour and as it cooks it changes to a dark yellow. To cook our beef steak we pepper it well and lay it on the grill over the hot rocks. I note the time, usually using the clock on my bicycle computer, that it takes for the blood to ooze to the surface of the steak. Then the steak is turned over and cooked for the same time again. This produces a medium done steak and we find it too our liking. Lamb chops can be cooked similarly but using plenty of Herbs of Provence rather than pepper.
For fish we have used a fish basket or just laid them on the grill. They cook very quickly and the time varies with the type of fish. Whole fish (less head and tails) are easier to handle than filleted and five minutes a side is a good starting guide.
Whilst the meat is cooking my wife will prepare the veg and salad. Salad will be fresh but the veg would be from a tin and heated on the gas cooker.
When the barbecue has done it’s stuff it is just switched off and when cool can be put away.
Potatoes can be peeled and boiled but we are on holiday so a tin of new potatoes heated up and served with a knob of butter is quite adequate. The majority of camp sites sell chips so whilst the barbecue is going we take a bowl to the caf頰lace and buy a portion of chips (some tricky timing involved here). We have found that often you are given more than enough for two if you buy only one portion. The chips vary between sites from the frozen variety to properly cut and cooked potatoes. For a change my wife will sometimes take tinned or fresh potatoes, slice them up and fry them in oil. These make a good and cheaper alternative to bought chips.
Mash made from dehydrated potatoes served with butter, a few slices of corned beef and baked beans I find a delicious quick meal but my wife will only eat it under sufferance!
For sweets we often have melon as mentioned above, tinned fruit or cake with tinned cream. Sometimes if our freezer compartment will take it, we buy a carton of ice cream from the supermarket to have with our sweet.
All this makes for the minimum of washing up. We put all our plates in the washup bowl, add a squirt of washup liquid and off to the camp dish washing sinks. We never struggle with the washing bowl in our van.
Our evenings are usually rounded off relaxing under the stars with a glass of wine, can’t wait now until we go again!
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