My corner of the World in Culinary terms....

Since I've been living here for 11 years now, I thought I'd give you an insight to my culinary part of the world....
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Da Ich jetzt 11 Jahren hier Wohne, Ich dachte Ihnen allen ein kleines Einblick zur Kulinarisches hier in der Gegend zu geben....
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Vue le fait que j'habite déjà 11 ans dans ce coin, je croyait le moment arrivé vous signaler quelques secrètes de la Cuisine d'ici.....!
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 the local basket is very rich....seasonal products of fruit, vegetables are abundant, asparagus in Spring, melons and strawberries in Spring/Summer amongst thousands of other "normal" things like tomatoes, artichokes and all manners of somewhat "different" fruits and vegetables......peaches, apricots and of course...grapes - both table and wine varieties.............

...La Camargue - Horses, Bulls give obvious links to one of the most famous dishes of the Region - "La Gardienne"  - a meat stew made from Bull's meat, with olives, slowly cooked in the red wine of the area, and served with the famous "Riz de Camargue" - a wild rice (originally - now cultivated)...Olives from the area which are consumed with almost everything.....
The Department of the Gard (30) is abundant in almost everything, being surrounded by Coastal Regions and into the areas like the Cevennes, a low mountain Range.
It is supplied by the Mediterranean sea with all types of marine life from the humble sardine and anchovy to the majestic Tuna fish, passing through all the culinary delights of crustacean....lobster - sea spider - oysters - mussels and many, many more varieties.
The area is the main exporting area of eels, but try getting them here....!
Freshwater fish such as trout, pike, carp, zander are in abundance also, as are freshwater crayfish or shrimps, once again mainly for exportation...! 

Many of the older houses are in fact old farmhouses, split up into smaller residences, and have fireplaces like this installed, and in daily use.

 Of course, the production of wine takes a high place on the profitable side  of the area....
Rose, Red, White are all available in high quality, even the "vin ordinaire" is not quite "ordinaire"...!
Close to the famous "Cotes du Rhone, close to the production areas of the well known "Tavel" rosé wine, the "Costieres du Nimes" or "Costieres du Gard" in all varieties, rival the light (but heavy in alcohol) "Vins du Sable" a rosé wine implanted on the 100% sand soil which runs along the whole coast line....
Difficult to avoid cooking and eating well, with all the material on offer, at prices far removed from Paris prices....except in Summer, when the influx of Tourists forces the prices much higher - sad fact for us locals!
We still eat and drink well - our local acquaintances ensure us of that...knowing where to go is all important at that time!
..St Maries de la mer...a small village - years ago...well known for its "Gypsy" festivals and .....tourists!..Complete with Flamingo's - happily not edible, or they probably wouldn't exist anymore!
It's well worth a visit, but try to do it OUTSIDE of July and August....!
You can ski in Spring in the morning, and lie on the hot sandy beaches the same afternoon.....!
Here is a link to the necessary addresses, in French, English and German...just change the language on the page....http://www.gard-tourisme.com/
Have fun....

Bienvenue dans le Gard