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Dear Family and Friends,

It was a cool and rainy Sunday afternoon here in Ruffepeyre. But that didn’t mean that the mood was depressing. Nope. We kept ourselves occupied with hot cups of tea and a gripping game of ‘Hearts.’

And then I played Master Chef for the dinner party. This is what happened.

*

6:50 PM

The guests are coming for dinner at 8 PM. And I still haven’t finalized what the menu will be.

There is a whole garden of things that are ALMOST ready to be eaten. But, in the crazy-wise words of grammy-award-winning spiritual guru ‘Brandy’ – almost doesn’t count. So that leaves a limited set of options. But that’s okay. Limitations can be important variables in creating something fantastic.

But we do have something ready from the garden…. courgette.

We’ve got a fucking ocean of zucchini back there. They are coming out of the ground like an army of overwhelming petit vegetable zombies. There are the traditional, long, slender, dark green variety. You know, the ones that resemble, well, big erect schlongs. But there are also light green, round ones; they’re about the size of grapefruits. They are the boobies of the courgette realm.

We’ll be featuring A LOT of courgette in this menu.

The potatoes are basically ready, but Nico has requested that we leave them a bit longer. We’re almost out of bread, so I’ll have to serve rice as the starchy portion. It’s a bit uninspiring, but will fill out space on the plate. The worst thing to happen at a dinner party is running out of food. We shan’t let this happen.

So I have a couple of quiches in the works. One will feature – you guessed it – zucchini, along with onions, garlic and walnuts. And for good measure, and to feed Natalie’s pork addiction, I’ve done a second on with lardons, which are like bacon bits on steroids. It’s a version of the traditional quiche Lorraine.

To maintain my theme, I think I’ll serve some grilled zucchini, and get Chip (my fellow volunteer) to whip up a cheese sauce. Everything is better with cheese.

I’ve also made a chocolate zucchini cake for dessert. I tweeted about this strange dessert. My friend Alyssa from Australia immediately responded, “Chocolate zucchini cake? I’d be seriously concerned if I hadn’t experienced your cooking before. So I’m only mildly concerned.” (@thatsironical)

It’s been years since I’ve actually eaten chocolate zucchini cake, let alone prepared it myself. But I’ve just pulled it out of the oven, and it doesn’t look too shabby. A little glaze and some cracked walnuts will make it look ravishing.

I can understand how the “vegetables for dessert” thing might freak some people out. But the zucchini turns into a nice moist filler, and is actually undetectable in the final taste. Besides, people have been gnawing down on carrot cake since the dawn of time. Which goes to prove that veggies can be for dessert.

But enough chit chat. I gots to git in the kitchen!

*

8:30 PM

Neta and Jonathan arrive. They are from Israel, and are exchanging work for food/accommodation, but on a farm fifteen kilometers away. Neta brings a quiche (which contains zucchini!) and a dessert, both of which she has made from scratch. Quiches are the standard dinner party currency in these parts. I am surprisingly not tired of them.

Despite some concerns in the preparatory stages of the meal about having enough food and how to balance the courgette theme, everything turns out rather lovely.

Final menu:

-       Sautéed garden zucchini and onion with chunky walnut quiche
-       Salty lardon and emmental quiche
-       Prosciutto and zucchini quiche (from Neta)
-       Buttery rice (seasoned with a bouillon cube)
-       Pan-friend courgette with rock salt and fresh cracked pepper
-       Camembert cheese sauce (with bacon-grease base)
-       Baguette
-       Two bottles of red: a Cabernet Sauvignon and a Côtes du Rhône
-       One bottle of white: a Gros plant du pays nantais

Dessert

-       Chocolate zucchini cake (with Nutella glaze)
-       Peach flan (from Neta)

We gather round the table and commence to heap the food onto our plates. A couple of wine bottles are opened. A gnarly log burns in fireplace, emitting a warm glow of light and heat. The latest Fleet Foxes album is pouring through the stereo. Propped up on simple chunks of wood, tea lights flicker on the table. The scene is warm and inviting.

This is my idea of the ideal social gathering.

At the table five different nations are represented: France, England, USA, Israel and Canada. We dig into our courgette-heavy dinner, and chat in English, all with our respective accents.

I feel content.

*

10: 40 PM

We are well fed. Perhaps over-fed. My eyelids are heavy. It’s a mix of post-gorging weariness and mild red wine intoxication and the cumulative exhaustion of seven months backpacking.

I start to clear the table, needing to move around to avoid a complete energy crash.  Neta and Jonathan prepare to leave. We exchange the traditional southern France three-kisses-on-the-cheek.

I walk quietly back to my bedroom. I sleep soundly.

*

That was my evening. A nice mix of good food and good folks.

And I’m realizing, this is exactly how I want to be living my life.

With love from Ruffepeyre,

xoxo

Daniel

PS: For those who were inquiring, this is the recipe I used for the Chocolate Zucchini Cake.

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