Sara's Messy Kitchen: My Food Adventure Begins

I have spent so much time, starring at photo's of other people's adventures. So much time being jealous and wishing I was on an adventure of my own. In another country, learning new things, experiencing different cultures and eating everything that crosses my path.

It still feels like a dream, but I am finally on that adventure... I am taking the photo's and sharing them, as memories, and also with the secret hope that someone back home will be just a little jealous of my adventure.

Chateau Gaby

Meet Gaby, my place of work and home for the next 3 months! She is as beautiful on the inside as she is on the outside. She also has 2 beautiful kitchens. I can't wait to use them!!

I know it's really hard to believe, but the view from Gaby, is even more spectacular than the view of Gaby. It's all green, the gorgeous vineyards, that by the end of the summer will be covered in grapes, and the beautiful Dordogne River in the back ground.

The view from my bedroom window

Of course though, this is a food blog. Not a NA-NA-NA-NA-NA look how beautiful France is blog, so let me tell you about the food!

On my first night here, I was all alone, but some how it is so beautiful here I was too distracted to be lonely. I cooked myself a super simple dinner, seeing as I was starving and exhausted.

Roasted veggies and cous cous. I just threw a courgette, a yellow pepper, some rosa tomatoes and a shallot in the oven with a little olive oil and salt and pepper. Made a basic dressing for my cous cous, and had a romantic date with myself.

Cous Cous Salad

I woke up early the next day and asked Damien, the wine maker to take me shopping... All I bought was bread and cheese. It was all I wanted.

I then had an even more romantic cheese date with myself, and the most incredible unpasteurized camembert I have ever tasted. It smelt like sweaty gym socks, but tasted like waterfalls and rainbows... Or maybe Grape Vines and Rivers. Basically heaven.

The new love of my life

Because I was so excited about the damn cheese I completely forgot to plan ahead for dinner, and just as I had resided myself to the fact that I had no dinner, Damien knocked on my door.

French(that is important) Damien asked me if "I like to come drink wine and eat braai(yes, he said braai)." Um, let me think about that... Wine and food?? YES I LIKE TO COME DRINK WINE AND EAT BRAAI!!! YES, YES, YES!!!

I arrived next door at the tasting room to find the most amazing group of people drinking wine and being festive. There were torn baguettes on the table with cured meats and andouillette and OH SO MUCH wine!

I wish I could have photographed it all, but I couldn't explain my trigger happy photographic ways, so I decided to let it be a memory. A beautiful memory.

Although everyone was French speaking they all made a special effort to include me in the conversation, no matter how good/bad their English was/wasn't.

We drank tons of gorgeous wines from all over the world, and then they brought out the braai.

Isn't this just the most picture perfect braai?

When Damien had told me we weren't braaiing anything special, "just some beef-tsss tsss" I had no idea he meant we are braaiing half a cow.

I have never in my life seen such big steaks, all of which were cooked to absolute medium-rare perfection.

Damien, and a dinner plate sized steak

And all this beef was served with some of the most delicious, fresh salads- tabouleh, mimosa and a pickled tongue salad.

Yum!

Followed by- Cheese... So much yummy cheese. And then?
3 beautiful cakes from a near by patisserie.

Oh and let's not forget, MORE WINE!

Needless to say, the next day was not my best, but where better to sit and read a book, sip home-made ice tea and work off a hang over than on a French wine estate??

Home-Made Berry and Rooibos Ice Tea

Today we went to the market, and to visit some of the patisseries in the near by town Libourne. It was like a died and went to food heaven. I didn't know where to start or how to stop.