I found a special website

The year was 2005 and the Trout and I were traveling in Provence. The gite we were renting for the week was not the best. In fact, in all the years of renting vacations homes in Europe, this was the only time things were not as they should be. What saved our week was the lovely view of Mont Ventoux and these dear people in the picture, Rolf and Ana Maria. They lived across the street and treated us like family. They showed us how to find the best markets in Provence, befriended us and on our last evening in the area, they invited us to a typical Provencal cold evening spread. What you see on this table is only a part of our feast.

Ana Maria had prepared meatballs and cornichons, eggplant sauteed in garlic, zucchini in garlic, chicken wings cooked in 3 garlics (raw, baked and roasted), omelet with lots of vegetables, cheese course of goat cheese and for dessert, creme brulee topped with strawberries. Needless to say, everything tasted marvelous. We had such a wonderful time together. They both speak several languages and this wonderful evening we were speaking English and a little bit of German.

Through the years we have kept in touch at Christmastime, and just this week the Trout emailed them telling them we are hoping to be in Provence next spring. We are hoping they will be in France at that time and that we will be able to reconnect. What I find so exciting, is that dear Ana Maria now has her own Mediterranean cooking website. I have just posted it on my blog list on the right. Chez Basilic is filled with wonderful recipes from the Mediterranean countries. I do hope you check it out. Having eaten at Ana Maria's table, I know every recipe is wonderful.