A Magic Place

A Magic Place
The lovliest little village on the Cote d' Azur and occasionally it's mine.

Friday, November 2, 2012

The Daily Market

                                                      

                                                                The Daily Market


                                                              Part 1 of a 3 Part Series



It will come as no surprise to those who have followed my postings, I am as the Brits would say, quite potty about markets, that is, I’m absolutely crazy about them.
I see one, I get excited. I walk through one, my pulse quickens. I’m just like a kid in a candy store, I want to buy some of everything that I see.
So there. I’ve said it.

Now in this little village that we sometimes call home there is a rare and wonderful thing, a daily market. Yes, every day! For a small seaside village of say, 17 thousand people, this is unheard of. As a matter of fact, outside of some of the major towns and cities I’ve visited, I’ve yet to encounter another small village with a daily market. Weekly, of course, and I’ll be talking more about those in parts 2 & 3 of this 3 part series, but not daily.
So, just how and why did a daily market come to be here? Short answer. People around here use it. Vendor’s won’t return day after day, every month for years if they aren’t selling produce.
The slightly longer answer might go something like this. The leadership of this village has been very farsighted when it comes to those things that make this little village so livable, so people friendly. The location of the daily market, for instance, is on a lovely paved promenade just off the harbor, and lies beneath the shade of overhanging rows of Plane trees. When the market departs, the city cleans-up after it and much of this area “blooms” with café tables and chairs from the cafes across the street. It creates a wonderful, serene and inviting setting.
Also, this same stretch of promenade serves as the eastern leg of the weekly market.
The street beside this promenade becomes one-way on daily market mornings in order to make the area more pedestrian friendly. On the opposite side of the promenade area is a wonderful green space, an urban park complete with a long rectangular fountain extending almost the entire length with thoughtful seating located alongside. To the other side of this green space lies a landscaped municipal
parking lot accessed directly from the D11 main route up to the train station making it relatively easy to get to the parking. So... you park, walk through the lovely little park and, voila! You’re in the market!
Or... you walk or bicycle from the village or neighboring villages to the market, requisite market bag in hand. So you see, they’ve made it easy for the village folk as well as the neighboring villages to come to the market, every day. And... I’m willing to bet that these stall holders are somehow subsidized. It would only make sense, a modest subsidy in return for a daily market. I’m sure it greatly benefits the towns residents and tourism as well.

Now, about that market. Who, what, when, where & and how?
Well, aside from the weekly market on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday are probably the busiest with the most vendors showing up. I would say, on a typical Friday for instance, you’ll likely have two or three small local producers, who will truly have what’s local, freshest and in season. Then you’ll have probably have 6-8 retail stalls, those who purchase their produce for resale. There will be as many as three poissoniere (fish mongers) with their “catch” spread out on long counters of crushed ice. There’s often a lady who sells regional cookies and baked goods. Two butcher stalls, one selling some cheeses as well. Then there’s a stall selling cheeses only. Two stalls sell olives, olive oils and other olive products. One of these olive stalls also sells a good assortment of bulk spices, dried fruits and nuts.
There’s a fellow at the end who sells nothing but sausages and cured meats. A couple in one stall selling Italian Specialties, prosciutto, cured meats, fresh pasta and the like.. Oh, and let’s not forget the roti-chicken man.
Whew! That’s a lot to go through.
And... the composition does change throughout the week with Mondays being the lightest market day with maybe as few as eight stalls to Friday and Saturday and Sundays with as many as 15-20 stalls

With all of this bounty available, just how do I go at it?
First, it’s better to arrive early, 9 or so, the produce is freshest, your choices are better and the crowds only thicken as the morning passes. The sellers, who like to develop a familiarity with their customers and vice versa, are better able to do this when the ques aren’t 15-20 deep. Also, if it’s late June - August, it can get quite hot and that’s no fun for the produce or for me.
Second, I always go with a suggested menu for the day, or couple of days if I’m otherwise busy and won’t be able to come the following day. You often hear celebrity chefs wax poetically about wandering markets and letting what’s available and fresh inspire their menu of the day. Yeah right! Could happen that way but not likely. First... what’s available just doesn’t change that quickly. You largely expect to find what’s there for that time of season. Without a menu and shopping list, I run the risk of, like that child in the candy store, buying whatever I see that looks pretty and not have the ingredients for that evenings meal.
Now, don’t get me wrong. Serendipity is a wonderful thing. I said suggested menu. If I get to the market and something strikes my fancy, well yes of course I’ll alter my menu plans to include it. Why not?

Ok, let’s you and I do the market my way.
Suggested menu in my pocket, glasses too, need to see, and my market bag (gotta have one) in hand. I always take a preliminary stroll through the whole market just to see who’s got what, who’s looks freshest today and maybe who’s got the best prices for what I know I’m going to buy.
I know many of these sellers by face, even name, and they me. I love this familiarity. However, I still will buy my produce based on availability, freshness and to some extent price. Not necessarily all from the same vendor nor the same vendor each time. They all know and understand this. It’s the way that the market works.
Alright... I’m going to have a salad for lunch, I need a salade (lettuce) (Ollioules) (.98e/pc.). This stall’s looks the freshest, leaves are still crisp, stem on bottom, not at all brown. Grab one of the little poly bags from awning support (notice these are blue, next door’s yellow, another white) and try and stuff the thing in it. Ok... I think I saw, yep, carrottes (provence) (1.10e/pc.) I like the greens on top, and they’re unwashed, great. Oh, and there’s the radis (radishes) (provence) (.80/pc) long and tubular, bright red with the green tops on (you can put these greens in the salad). Bag these two up, and, need some tomate (tomatoes). I prefer the cour-du-beouf variety, they’re really good at the moment, but these are a little small, don’t like the color, more yellow than red. I’ll look elsewhere . Let’s see, what else? Oh yeah, some ratts (fingerling potatoes) (provence) (1.80e/kg) over here in a wicker basket. Look at that, they’ve sprinkled peat moss on them. The French are not only location obsessed, they are fresh obsessed as well. Dirt on the potatoes means fresh to them, so, washed potatoes get dusted with peat moss, crazy. Ok, about a half a kilo (app. 1 lb). I’ll boil these and just toss them with butter, salt and pepper. Perfect with the little lamb chops (Sisteron) (18e/kg) we just picked up from my butcher in the village.
Ok, got all my little bags on one arm, shopping basket on the other, que up to pay, well try to at least. The ques can sometimes be a bit free form. There. Bonjour monsieur, ca va? (How are you?), ca va bien, et vous? (Good and you?). hand him my little bags to be weighed and counted, little bags go into a bigger white bag (knows I’ve paid). 5.40e monsieur, root around in my pocket for change, there 6e, him: merci monsieur (thank you sir) me: avoir merci (bye thanks).
There, now... I still need the tomatoes... saw some great ones two stalls down and she’s really sweet. Wow! Cour-du-beouf (Carpentras) (1.80e/kg) they look great! Especially under these red awnings. The red tint accentuates the appearance of the produce. Several of the stalls have these red awnings. I pick them up, give a sniff and try not to get caught gently squeezing to check the ripeness, this will get me scolded. Let see, two of these beauties, grab one of the yellow bags, and... oh I nearly forgot, I need a little tray of fraises (strawberries) for breakfast tomorrow. Nice fraises, from Carpentras and at 2.80e, not too pricey. That’s it! Find the que, sorta, and... bonjour madame, ca va? Oui, ca va. I am caroline du nord (North Carolina) to her, she remembers not my name but where I’m from, and, always makes sure everybody in the que knows. Bags up my bounty, 4.50e, more rooting in pocket. Oh hell, just give her a 5e. .50 returned and, merci, avoir merci.
Ok... let’s see... Sandy wants some olives and I want some black olive tapenade. Let’s go over to the stall and... whoa! Big line, 6-8 people, I’ll try back. Also need some cheese for the salad. Bonjour monsieur, I’d like some Gruyere please, about 250 grams, no not Swiss, domestic, it’s from the Savoie region of France, beside Switzerland, close enough, and at 19.50e/kg it’s nearly 7e cheaper than the Swiss. Oui, that looks right. Cest-tu? (Is that all?) Oui monsieur. 6.50e, root in pocket, 2, 4, 6 + .50, there, that’s it. Merci, avoir merci.
Right... now back to the olives, oh good only a couple of people in line. Bonjour madame, ca va? Heyloo, hoow rrr yooou? I’m good, merci. I’d like some picholine olives, the ones with fennel, 100 grams please. Cest-tu? No madame... 100grams of tapenade noir sil-vous-plait. Cest-tu? Oui madame. 8.50e, no rooting, heres 20e, change returns. Merci, avoir merci. Au dumain (see you tomorrow).
Ok... shopping bag’s a bit full by now, stop by the boulanger (baker) for a baguette (.95e) on the way back to the apartment, and, time for a cocktail midi (a pre lunch cocktail) and some of that lovely tapenade with the still warm baguette.
Oh yummm!

And that’s it. That’s how it works here. Repeat daily.
Bear in mind, most of these transactions occurred largely in French, I tried to  spare you that.
They know me, I know them. We see one another day after day. I find it is just a wonderful aspect of life here. I can’t imagine it any other way, and it is a huge part of the reason why I am here.

Ok... so no everything doesn't come from the markets. We have two small groceries in the old town, two medium sized ones on the edge (one of those, a Casino about a quarter mile from the apartment being my choice) and two large grocery stores near the train station (about two miles from the apartment).
In addition, three or four of the fishing boats have stalls by the harbor with really fresh catch of the day several days a week. There are at least six traditional butcher shops in the village and I don’t know for sure, but at least ten boulangers (bread bakers) with several doing pastries as well. And, there are 3-4 traiteurs (what we might call a deli) with prepared take-away foods.
There’s an almost embarrassingly rich bounty of food here. Almost.



Check out the red tint

The roti-chicken man


I'm caroline du nord to her

Poisson anyone?

A lovely stall
          

                            Next: Part 2 of 3 An Introduction To The Weekly Provencal Market

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