The first Yacht in 1975 was my introduction to the " jet set scene" as it was in the mid 70's.
Movie stars were shoulder to shoulder with "the rest of us"..these were the hey days without any paparrazi..I even saw Princess Grace of Monaco just walking in the street in Monte Carlo one afternoon (when our yacht had moored at the port, and I was off shopping for dinner!).
These "hey day" days summers were some of the best of my life...touring the Greek Islands for 9 weeks, literally island hopping, in some bays being the only yacht for miles.,
Visiting the Vatican and touring Rome as we waited for one of the yachts to be repaired,
The largest yacht had 2 full sized speed boats ( most yachts had small dingy's or dory's) and it's own full sized helicopter ( seated 4) complete with pilot..for just nipping to the store!
It was from one of these yachts that I found myself at the Casino, in Juan, being taught the joys of backgammon by Omar Sherrif...(I still can't play for toffee!), but this evening was not far from the one where Fred Astaire was in town promoting That's Entertainment Part 2 for the Cannes Film Festival, and without knowing how, I managed to find myself not 4 ft away from the great man..who was also enjoying one of the wonderful sunsets over the Plage of Cannes (beach).
The Jazz Festival also brought loads of celebrity folks to town, but as usual I only found out afterwards who I had been joking with.
The lavender scented hills of Provence also bear some of the best tomatoes, bell peppers & eggplants, on the planet, which is why I am making some fabulous slow cooked ratatouille, with red wine, large Italian eggplant, red onion, garlic, thyme, zucchini, roasted Roma tomatoes,deep red peppers, and when it is totally sodden with flavor, adding blanched hericots vert & fresh parsley and chopped French lavender just to add more texture..fabulous.
Also a simple soup called Potage Maigre..usually served around Lent in France, a simple soup of good broth, lettuce, cucumber and leeks ( I also added some fresh young asparagus),
A Greek style soup finished with spinach fresh dill & lemon zest, potatoes, celery, tomatoes, onions, oregano and thyme.
And good old Minestrone, minus the pasta I added new potatoes instead.
A Spanish style vegetable stew with artichokes and asparagus, and red skinned Yukon Gold potatoes..finished with smoked paprika
A Masala Indian themed stew with chillies and turmeric, garam masala, fresh garlic and ginger with eggplant, broccoli and bok choy..this is a great thick and spicy stew, great over steamed orange rice.
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| the large "Italian" eggplants need salting to remove the bitter juices |
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| the Spanish Style stew base |
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| the Minestrone soup base |
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| raw ingredients for Potage Maigre |
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| the previous 2 packaged Potage Maigre |
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| roasted peppers and tomatoes for the ratatouille |
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| slow simmer is the best way with this dish |
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| large carrots add texture and flavor to all soups |
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| Red skinned Yukon Gold potatoes |
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| Smoked Paprika added to Spanish Style Stew |
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| lemon zest on Greek style Lemon- spinach soup |
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| Minestrone topped with fresh parsley and purple basil |
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| Beet, new potato,lime and mint salad with fennel |
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| Spanish Style stew |
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| Minestrone |
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