Oysters in the Garden!
Now, I know that it's the middle of October and that we should be cuddled up in front of the fire but recently the weather has been nice enough for the Girlie and I to be able to spend some time outside and anyway, I don't have a log fire to cuddle up in front of.
So, that's how the Girlie and I found ourselves sat in the garden, the other lunchtime, eating a summer holiday meal of bread and cheeese and oysters!)
I suppose that normal people would be thinking about winter stews around about now but then, I'm not sure that either the Girlie or I would classify ourselves as normal!
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It helped that the oysters were on special offer at my local supermarket - both the Girlie and I get a buzz out of a bargain!
Perhaps I'm out of touch with what's going on in England (Briony and Rick kindly brought some U.K. papers over with them when they came over - the country of my birth now seems like a foreign land), but I don't think that all that many people would be doing something similar in Bognor or Basingstoke!
The Oysters were No2s - this is probably why they were so cheap - the higher the number, the larger the shell - however, the actual oyster inside may well be the same size no matter what size the shell.
No3 Oysters seem to be the most popular (and I am biased but I believe the ones from Cancale taste the best).
However, sometimes you can get very large oysters (which are a real bugger to open) from the markets at Vannes and Carnac - these are great grilled with finely chopped shallots, crushed garlic and grated cheese.
The Girlie has got quite into oysters - I know that she only tried them just to please me (many months ago), but now really enjoys them (with a drop of lemon juice on top), herself.
It's hard to start eating oysters - after all; who in their right mind would want to eat a living creature that's swimming in a shell full of sea water and looks something that a plague victim has just deposited onto his hanky?
It is worth persevering though - once you get the taste - well, excuse the pun but... The World's Your Oyster!
Why is it that food tastes better if it's eaten outside?
Why does even a simple meal taste like a feast fit for a king, when it's shared with someone you love?
Why can't I afford to eat oysters every day?
Don't answer that last question - the real answer involves words such as smoking, giving up, work, hard, lots of!
Sometimes my landlady goes to Damgan (probably the nearest beach to me) to pick oysters - she like the picking more than the eating and I tend to get the surplus - lucky me!
The Girlie and I are planning to move into a house in Josselin in the near future - we'll have to make sure we have an oyster eating table outdoors - so that any spilt seawater doesn't matter and so that we can just chuck the empty shells onto the shell pile (ready to be crushed up and given to anyone who has chickens - apparently they like crushed shells to help them digest their food!)
Joshy (the Girlie's son), ate his first oyster, the other day (with a shallot vinagerette), and seemed to enjoy it.
I hope that he doesn't get to enjoy them too much, too soon as I'm not too keen to sell any body parts (if I've got any that are worth anything) - just to finance my new family's seafood bill!
I'll leave you with this last photo? what else can I say, other than..... Bon appetite!
All the best... Keith
