Author Archives: nutmeg

About nutmeg

Ginger and Nutmeg is a Food and Travel blog for Active Foodies hooked on travelling. We love food, history and digging into cultural traditions. This is a blog with a bit of humour, informative travel information and some great recipes.

Blessed Almonds Sign of Spring in Provence

Posted on by

Early in the year in southern France, the almond tree is the first to bloom. The small white or pale pink flowers typically appear on the trees in February. A welcome sign that spring may be close at hand in Provence.

Almond Tree in Flower

The almond tree is small; at full maturity it may reach a height of 10 meters, with a trunk diameter of 30 centimeters.  The trees typically start bearing fruit after about 5 years.  The almond is technically a fruit, not a nut, from the same family as the plum or cherry (Prunus).  This decidedly old tree has been a part of different cultures and human nutrition for eons. There are several mentions of almonds in the bible. It is believed that growth in almond tree cultivation closely followed human migration near Mediterranean shores.  Despite the fact that the almond tree is native to warm European climates, the large majority of global yield is now US based, in California, at 45% of world production.

Continue reading →

Vallée du Jabron in Haute Provence

Posted on by

In a country such as France with a rich, complex history and endless stunning vistas, one is hard pressed to pick a favourite place. A friend suggested to Ginger and Nutmeg that a drive through the Haute Provence Vallée du Jabron, is well worth the effort.  Nutmeg would like to thank their friend for the suggestion, as the valley is remarkable.  The route starts just outside Sisteron (see photo below) and heads westward along the D946 through tiny hamlets.  The following description, translated from the official website, is a beautiful portrayal of the valley:

From the Durance to the Luberon, from Mont Ventoux to Sisteron lives between the moon and the stars the Jabron Valley.

Giono is the mountain, the land of shepherds, lavender, olive trees …

A Kingdom of silence, a land of lights, of stars …

A valley where one finds the will to live.

Sisteron

Continue reading →

Marseille Provence 2013 European Cultural Capital

Posted on by

August 2012 was scorching in Provence; late summer on the Mediterranean coast meant daytime temperatures of 35C. Summer crowds sweltered in the breathless, port of Marseille as they waited in queues for ferries to the nearby L’archipel du Frioul. The normally beautiful city skyline was filled with busy construction cranes. Drivers and pedestrians were equally frustrated with each other, as they crawled through gridlock, a maze of diversions, temporary hoarding and restricted views.

Nutmeg had booked a few nights in the port city. Ginger was speechless.

Fish Market

Continue reading →

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays

Posted on by

Ginger and Nutmeg wish you all a very happy holiday season.

Thanks for reading!

Bells

Jingle bell, jingle bell, jingle bell rock
Jingle bells swing and jingle bells ring
Snowing and blowing up bushels of fun
Now the jingle hop has begun

Church Bells

Jingle bell
jingle bell
jingle bell rock
Jingle bells chime in jingle bell time
Dancing and prancing in Jingle Bell Square
In the frosty air

Village Clock

What a bright time
it’s the right time
To rock the night away
Jingle bell time is a swell time
To go gliding in a one-horse sleigh
Giddy-up jingle horse
pick up your feet
Jingle around the clock
Mix and a-mingle in the jingling feet
That’s the jingle bell

Church Bells

That’s the jingle bell
That’s the jingle bell rock

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

 

Scents of Christmas Sweet Citrus Tart

Posted on by

Close your eyes.

Is there a particular aroma or flavour that instantly evokes Christmas in your mind?

*
**
***
****
Cloves
Cinnamon
Mulled wine
Rum eggnog
Smoky log fires
Fresh Pine bows
Warm chestnuts
Buttery shortbread
Striped candy canes
Oven Roasted turkey
Warm cranberry sauce
Fresh baked gingerbread

What
About
Florida
Citrus?

Oranges

Continue reading →

Greener Grass Transhumance in Provence

Posted on by

The bi-annual movement of livestock between valleys and higher alpine pastures is a definitive marker of the changing seasons.  Transhumance comes from Latin roots, trans ‘across‘ and humus ‘ground‘.  There are forms of transhumance on almost every continent, which vary in timing, cultural influences and distances travelled.  The practice of flock herding and nomadic migration has occurred naturally for centuries as a way to transfer livestock from one grazing ground to another. In order to escape, from heat (summer) or cold (winter) depending on the direction of the movement.

Transhumance

Continue reading →

Languedoc Food and Wines

Posted on by

It would be impossible to describe in any significant detail, the unique culinary treasures of the Languedoc region in a single blog post. Nutmeg has decided to take you on a little driving tour to share a few Languedoc food and wine highlights.

Classic Lunch

The Étang de Thau is a natural seawater lagoon. The lake is about 20 km long and relatively narrow at 8 km wide, it separated by a sand bar from the Mediterranean Sea. The Étang de Thau joins the Canal du Rhone at Sète and the Canal du Midi at Agde. The lagoon is a valuable water body for the production of shellfish in France, including oysters and mussels. The oysters and mussels grow in farms, in the waters of the Étang, once harvested; they are marketed as Bouzigues Oysters. The mistake that Ginger and Nutmeg made was to go to the village of Bouzigues on a Sunday at lunch time, with no reservation. There was not a parking space to be had, and the restaurants were full. The group had to return to Meze to find a roadside restaurant, the shellfish was delicious and the white wine a perfect match.

Continue reading →

France’s Languedoc Must See List

Posted on by

The potential list of must-see sights in the Languedoc are endless, so Nutmeg has chosen to highlight just three spots. All three locations are related in some way to water and created in entirely different eras.

Oppidum-d'Enserune

The famous Canal du Midi is yet another UNESCO World Heritage Site (1994). The canal construction was started in 1667. It was not because the Romans had not thought of it before that, they had, and so had many others, including Leonardo da Vinci. However, no one had come up with a solution on how to supply the high points with water. Then along came Pierre Paul-Riquet, he was a long time resident of the Languedoc region, in 1662 he proposed his plan to Colbert the French Finance Minister, who served under Louis XIV. The project was finally approved in October 1666, construction started in January 1667. In all, it took 15 years to build and over 12,000 workers.

Continue reading →