Sometimes the best food comes from the street

We've been in Ansouis, in Provence, south of France since April 1, and today's April 17. So I guess we've been here a little bit, and are getting settled in. We're here for five weeks total, so it's close to the halfway point. Susan's been good about timely blogging. Check out If It's Tuesday, this Must be Ansouis.

It does seem like a lot of our time is spent thinking about food. We're doing most of our own cooking, save for a few lunches while we're out. We've opted not to have a car, at least for awhile, which means that we need to pay attention to where and when "market day" is in the towns we can reach by bike or bus.

Sunday mornings, our little village has a small market. Really small. The first Sunday there was the Chicken Guy, a produce vendor, and a purveyor of salamis. The next week saw one garment and one jewelry vendor. We'd seen the Chicken Guy and his competitors at the various markets. They have chickens cooking on rotisseries, with potatoes cooking in the fat just below. I promise to take a picture next time, but the picture doesn't convey the scent. The chicken guy does more than chicken. He also has ribs, ham, and rabbits.

We decided on Saturday, planning ahead to Sunday, that we'd get a rabbit with some potatoes. I dreamt about the potatoes. (Have I told you about the potatoes around here? Light, smooth-skinned, waxy on the inside. A little yellow in the flesh. Kind of like Yukon Gold, but much creamier in texture and sweeter in flavor. I'm told they're local. Susan, who doesn't normally like potatoes, has become a fan.)

But I digress. The way it works with the rabbits is that you tell the Chicken Man that you want one, he puts it on the spit, and you come back 40 minutes later to claim it. Which we did. Hurrying back, laying it all out, and bustling up the two precarious flights of stairs to the deck. The rabbit was simply prepared, simply cooked, and simply delicious. Perfectly done. Perfectly seasoned. The potatoes were everything I had hoped for and more. I think we added a little salad, but really, it was all about the rabbit.

Then, just yesterday, we ventured to the small city of Pertuis by bus, for the fairly large market there.  I'd seen a stall that sold paella the first time we'd been there, and determined to get some to bring home this time.  Mussels, clams, shrimp, other unidentified seafood.  I bought the version without the rice, but with the amazing saffron-scented broth.  Once the seafood was gone, the broth kept on giving as I dipped piece after piece of bread in.  And it kept giving a couple of days later when I reheated the broth to go with a simple dinner.

 When you do the same thing every day, all day, you can get pretty good at it, as evidenced by the Paella Madam and the Chicken guy.