Two Go Back For More Cheese

[DBK]

Home - France Battery The Specialist Of Lithium Batteries And Electric Materials - France Battery

HUGE DISCOUNTLimited time only!

francebattery.com

You might consider giving these a call.

Don‘t forget that Chandlers sell lots of Batteries for Boat use so if you are near a Marina have look, they carry stock.

Many thanks, now all sorted with two batteries from Atlantic Batteries at Nantes.

Atlantic Batteries Nantesrezé · Pole Oceane, 3 Rue Georges Charpak, 44400 Rezé, France

★★★★★ · Car Battery Shop

maps.app.goo.gl

Cost was €298 for the pair. Varta LED95 which are £140 each from Tayna in the UK so virtually the same price. The price included a discount for giving them the old ones so possibly not a completely fair comparison but it does suggest France isn't the most expensive place for batteries.

Had to fit them myself which in the 30+°C temperature was fun. All seems sorted now.

 

[Portland]

I have not read any of the posts, but, if you have gone to France for cheese? You are heading in the wrong direction. Silton, Shropshire blue, Cheshire, white and blue, Lancashire. Best cheese bar none, apart from Snob value.

 

[DBK]

I have not read any of the posts, but, if you have gone to France for cheese? You are heading in the wrong direction. Silton, Shropshire blue, Cheshire, white and blue, Lancashire. Best cheese bar none, apart from Snob value.

You're right, there are some very good UK cheeses - but it's nice to find something new.

 

[Littlewheels]

I have not read any of the posts, but, if you have gone to France for cheese? You are heading in the wrong direction. Silton, Shropshire blue, Cheshire, white and blue, Lancashire. Best cheese bar none, apart from Snob value.

Hey! Come on what about Yorkshire.

Wensleydale Creamery - Artisan Cheese, Gifts & Hampers

Enjoy a specialist selection of award-winning cheese and mouth-watering accompaniments. UK mainland delivery for just £4.95

www.wensleydale.co.uk

 

[Portland]

Hey! Come on what about Yorkshire.

Wensleydale Creamery - Artisan Cheese, Gifts & Hampers

Enjoy a specialist selection of award-winning cheese and mouth-watering accompaniments. UK mainland delivery for just £4.95

www.wensleydale.co.uk

And that wonderful wenselydale!!! I only left it out because I couldn't spell it

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[DBK]

 

[Mousy]

May I ask, how do you choose which new cheese to try? I absolutely love cheese but find myself overwhelmed with indecision in front of a deli counter.

 

[scousebird]

Just don't buy cheese from a blonde dutch lady in Sarlat market, she saw us coming

 

[Orion]

May I ask, how do you choose which new cheese to try? I absolutely love cheese but find myself overwhelmed with indecision in front of a deli counter.

We use this. World of Books £3.49 when I bought it:

 

[DBK]

May I ask, how do you choose which new cheese to try? I absolutely love cheese but find myself overwhelmed with indecision in front of a deli counter.

Before the trip I just did Google searches for "best cheese from Normandy" and another for Brittany. I've also got a book on French cheese although it lists the cheeses alphabetically which isn't much use for finding cheeses from a specific region.

Edit: It's the same one Orion mentions above.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Just smiffy]

Just don't buy cheese from a blonde dutch lady in Sarlat market, she saw us coming

Haven’t we all been done at the market before ..? Especially as newbies over there…

 

[Just smiffy]

That pretty good news on your batteries, it doesn’t hurt so much if the price is comparable and helps if you know it would have happened sooner or later in the uk..

The batteries you have chosen are good batteries and have a good reputation, at least you won’t have them to worry about on the trip now…

 

[DBK]

As already mentioned in post #61 above we fitted two new leisure batteries this morning. An exact like for like replacement for the ones we all ready had and at a price virtually the same as they would cost in the UK which was a surprise - but still expensive or très cher as they say here.

We then drove a shortish distance to the aire at Bouaye, a little south west of Nantes and where the blue blob is in the middle of this map.

It was hot today, peaking at about 35°C in the late afternoon and unlikely to drop below 20°C tonight. Fortunately, there was a breeze which was pleasant and kept us cool sitting in the shade although it has now stopped.

The aire is right outside a small château which is owned by the town. They hold concerts periodically and the grounds are open to the public free.

I wrapped Charlie in his "cool coat" to take him for a short walk there this afternoon. The coat is like a thick J-cloth which you soak in water and it keeps the dog cool by evaporation. It works well as he wouldn't have moved otherwise in the heat.

There is a lake we walked around.

The château isn't very big, more of a small country house.

Small trees and bushes have been planted around the aire. There were several of these.

They are Medlar, known as "Cul de chien" or dog's bottom* in France. The fruit were rock hard and probably won't be reading for picking for at least another month if not two. Even when picked they are not ready to eat but have to be stored for a few weeks until they almost turn black in a process known as "bletting". I can't understand why they are not more popular.


* Ruder translations are available.

 

[Littlewheels]

I wrapped Charlie in his "cool coat" to take him for a short walk there this afternoon. The coat is like a thick J-cloth which you soak in water and it keeps the dog cool by evaporation. It works well as he wouldn't have moved otherwise in the heat.

I don’t want to trouble you but there’s such a choice of Cool Coats on your recommendation do you have link, often the most expensive isn’t the best. Thanks,Brian

 

[DBK]

I don’t want to trouble you but there’s such a choice of Cool Coats on your recommendation do you have link, often the most expensive isn’t the best. Thanks,Brian

I bought ours off Amazon. It isn't a great fit but works.

www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B004ZL0DEI/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Here being modelled by Charlie today.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[DBK]

A journey of less than an hour this morning brought us to Sallertaine, in the Vendée region. Blue blob, lower centre in the map below.

We have been here before, in mid-October 2019 on our last trip before Covid put a halt on everyone's travels for a while. There were a lot of mushrooms in the fields then but I haven't seen any yet, too early I fear.

One of the reasons for returning is when we were here first I remember the restaurants all offered a dish I'd never heard of: grillée de mogettes. It was on the top of every menu. We didn't eat out so I didn't discover what it was although from the name I wondered if it was grilled kittens.

Back home a bit of research revealed the back story involving a pope from the Vendée and his liking for beans coming across from the New World. Mogettes are a particular type of dried bean. You can buy them easily around here but they cost a fortune in the UK. However, you can make this dish perfectly well with any dried bean, such as cannelloni or use a mixture of more than one as I do.

The recipe is simple, cook the beans, which can take a couple of hours or a little less if you soak them overnight first. Then toast some bread, mix butter in with the beans and after seasoning crush about a third of the beans with a fork then spoon over the buttered toast. Except, this description misses out the garlic as recipes seem to vary how it is used. The first recipe I found used a raw clove of garlic rubbed on the toast, which is delicious but massively anti-social if you're the only person eating it. So I developed the habit of putting a couple of cloves of garlic in with the beans while they are cooking. You can then remove them at the end or just mash them with the beans as they will be very soft. This is my preferred recipe now.

So it was with high expectations I set out with Mrs DBK for lunch today. The expectations were all on my side I fear as no doubt I was probably going to be eating them alone! And probably sleeping outside tonight if raw garlic was involved.

A quick tour of the two eateries open saw no signs of grillée de mogettes on any menu! Of course, it must be a cold weather dish. Who wants to eat beans on toast, even up-market beans on toast when it is 30°C? I would have but then I've grown to like this dish and have it at least once a week for breakfast.

But we did find something which sounded attractive, even if we weren't exactly sure what every dish was before it arrived. The restaurant, La Cantine de Chêne Vert* had a pleasant terrace where we managed to find some shade, although we had to move our chairs a little towards the end of the meal as the sun crept out from the umbrella above us.

I was pleased to see several tables had reservation signs on the which I think is always a good sign. From the owner's perspective they would probably prefer all the tables to have been reserved but that would leave no space for random strangers like us turning up unannounced.

This salad was grated carrot and celeriac but with added bits of pineapple, small shrimps and a faintly sea-food tasting dressing. It was very pleasant.

To follow we both had a steak, mine came with "grenailles" which Google Translate thought meant "shots". I suppose the logic to the name is they look like little cannonballs. Little potatoes roasted in their skins and also very tasty.

We didn't have a dessert but washed everything down with a wine from the Vendée.

The whole lunch from arrival to bill-paying was not much less than two hours. The two-hour lunch is still thriving in France and it was very pleasant.

Afterwards I took Charlie for a short walk, grabbing my 397th geocache in the process**.

Sallertaine is full of artists and craft workers. It is called the l'île aux artisans where the île part comes from Sallertaine being on what what was once a island before the surrounding marsh was drained. A map app I have shows contour lines just outside the town as 0m, which is mean sea level of course.

The artists studio/shops etc generally have a painted bicycle outside them.

But not always!

Pots, paintings, jewelry and leatherwork all on offer. Charlie needs a new collar but sadly this is one line they don't seem to do here.

I realise I have been neglecting to photograph the aires.

It looks busy here in this shot.

But turning the other way the place is only a quarter full.

The explanation for everyone being close together is the trees gave shade for part of the day. It hasn't been as hot today as yesterday but tomorrow is forecast to be over 30°C again.

* The Green Oak Canteen. (I didn't see it on the menu. Probably another winter dish which requires boiling for a few weeks)

** Yes, I know, I'm a geocache lightweight, some folk have collected thousands.

A recipe for the beans.

Grillée de mogettes, un plat emblématique du terroir Vendéen

La grillée de mogettes de Vendée est un plat emblématique du terroir Vendéen. Il s'agit d'une tartine de pain de campagne beurré recouverte de mogettes cuites.

www.papillesetpupilles.fr

 

[f6c]

My I ask how much your Lunch cost?

 

[DBK]

My I ask how much your Lunch cost?

We could have saved some money by not buying the €22 wine, they had another for €14. We might also have gone for the full menu for €17 which included pudding and a small carafe of wine each but even so to get a starter and main course for €13 is surprising. There is still good value to be found.

 

[Norfolk Nige]

A journey of less than an hour this morning brought us to Sallertaine, in the Vendée region. Blue blob, lower centre in the map below.

View attachment 804590

We have been here before, in mid-October 2019 on our last trip before Covid put a halt on everyone's travels for a while. There were a lot of mushrooms in the fields then but I haven't seen any yet, too early I fear.

One of the reasons for returning is when we were here first I remember the restaurants all offered a dish I'd never heard of: grillée de mogettes. It was on the top of every menu. We didn't eat out so I didn't discover what it was although from the name I wondered if it was grilled kittens.

Back home a bit of research revealed the back story involving a pope from the Vendée and his liking for beans coming across from the New World. Mogettes are a particular type of dried bean. You can buy them easily around here but they cost a fortune in the UK. However, you can make this dish perfectly well with any dried bean, such as cannelloni or use a mixture of more than one as I do.

The recipe is simple, cook the beans, which can take a couple of hours or a little less if you soak them overnight first. Then toast some bread, mix butter in with the beans and after seasoning crush about a third of the beans with a fork then spoon over the buttered toast. Except, this description misses out the garlic as recipes seem to vary how it is used. The first recipe I found used a raw clove of garlic rubbed on the toast, which is delicious but massively anti-social if you're the only person eating it. So I developed the habit of putting a couple of cloves of garlic in with the beans while they are cooking. You can then remove them at the end or just mash them with the beans as they will be very soft. This is my preferred recipe now.

So it was with high expectations I set out with Mrs DBK for lunch today. The expectations were all on my side I fear as no doubt I was probably going to be eating them alone! And probably sleeping outside tonight if raw garlic was involved.

A quick tour of the two eateries open saw no signs of grillée de mogettes on any menu! Of course, it must be a cold weather dish. Who wants to eat beans on toast, even up-market beans on toast when it is 30°C? I would have but then I've grown to like this dish and have it at least once a week for breakfast.

But we did find something which sounded attractive, even if we weren't exactly sure what every dish was before it arrived. The restaurant, La Cantine de Chêne Vert* had a pleasant terrace where we managed to find some shade, although we had to move our chairs a little towards the end of the meal as the sun crept out from the umbrella above us.

View attachment 804591

I was pleased to see several tables had reservation signs on the which I think is always a good sign. From the owner's perspective they would probably prefer all the tables to have been reserved but that would leave no space for random strangers like us turning up unannounced.

This salad was grated carrot and celeriac but with added bits of pineapple, small shrimps and a faintly sea-food tasting dressing. It was very pleasant.

View attachment 804593

To follow we both had a steak, mine came with "grenailles" which Google Translate thought meant "shots". I suppose the logic to the name is they look like little cannonballs. Little potatoes roasted in their skins and also very tasty.

View attachment 804594

We didn't have a dessert but washed everything down with a wine from the Vendée.

View attachment 804595

The whole lunch from arrival to bill-paying was not much less than two hours. The two-hour lunch is still thriving in France and it was very pleasant.

Afterwards I took Charlie for a short walk, grabbing my 397th geocache in the process**.

Sallertaine is full of artists and craft workers. It is called the l'île aux artisans where the île part comes from Sallertaine being on what what was once a island before the surrounding marsh was drained. A map app I have shows contour lines just outside the town as 0m, which is mean sea level of course.

The artists studio/shops etc generally have a painted bicycle outside them.

View attachment 804596

But not always!

View attachment 804592


Pots, paintings, jewelry and leatherwork all on offer. Charlie needs a new collar but sadly this is one line they don't seem to do here.

I realise I have been neglecting to photograph the aires.

It looks busy here in this shot.

View attachment 804589

But turning the other way the place is only a quarter full.

View attachment 804588

The explanation for everyone being close together is the trees gave shade for part of the day. It hasn't been as hot today as yesterday but tomorrow is forecast to be over 30°C again.

* The Green Oak Canteen. (I didn't see it on the menu. Probably another winter dish which requires boiling for a few weeks)

** Yes, I know, I'm a geocache lightweight, some folk have collected thousands.

A recipe for the beans.

Grillée de mogettes, un plat emblématique du terroir Vendéen

La grillée de mogettes de Vendée est un plat emblématique du terroir Vendéen. Il s'agit d'une tartine de pain de campagne beurré recouverte de mogettes cuites.

www.papillesetpupilles.fr

I have to try your beans on toast. Looks way nicer than Hienz 57. Thanks for the recipe

 

[Jenben]

Just don't buy cheese from a blonde dutch lady in Sarlat market, she saw us coming

We had a similar experience in a French market , the lady packed up her stall and headed home shortly after our purchase as if she had made her money for the day

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[DBK]

I have to try your beans on toast. Looks way nicer than Hienz 57. Thanks for the recipe

It's basically beans on toast without the added sugar of baked beans but with added garlic. I love it and hopefully my microbiome does as well - to link to a hot topic in health circles.

 

[DBK]

Having started this trip with the intention of not driving long distances that's exactly what we did today with a two and a half hour haul south to near Rochefort.

Zoomed in.

We are at Tonnay-Charente on the right of the map above. It's an ex-municipal site now managed by CCP. Shade available on some pitches and grass.

The reason for coming here is I want to follow the Charente river upstream to its source, or as close as we can get in the van.

We haven't started at the mouth of the river because we've been there before and described it here:

Two Potter Around Northern France

We drove south for about an hour and a half today, seeking the sun which obliged with an extended appearance this afternoon. We are staying, if not in the middle nowhere, then somewhere close to it. :) We are at another CCP site beside the tiny village of Manteney-Montlin, also CC 68574...

www.motorhomefun.co.uk

There is an island at the mouth, Île Madam, which has a campsite, also now fallen to the all-conquering CCP. I wanted to start there but it can only be reached at low tide along a causeway and the tides are wrong now unless we were prepared to hang around until the middle of the afternoon which wasn't an attractive prospect in this heat.

So we are starting this trip from a slightly inland position.

Francis I described* the Charente as "the most beautiful river in France" which seems like a good recommendation from the king who acquired the Mona Lisa for France. However, this was 500 years ago and I suspect he had never seen the Tarn, which would get my vote. Or perhaps the Lot which has some very pretty stretches.

What I can say is the Charente this near the coast wouldn't feature on anyone's top ten as it is tidal with very muddy banks.

It didn't look too bad when we arrived as the tide was in. Note the fishing "engine".

This is the suspension bridge which sits above the town. Taken as the tide was going out.

They are big on boat trips on the Charente and I suspect several start from here.

The top of the quay was covered in mud from the very high tides last week.

Minimalist flood defences.

Obligatory church photo.

The town isn't striking but we shall see what we can find as we start to proceed upstream tomorrow.


* Possibly, the quote is also attributed to someone else.

 

[DBK]

The suspension bridge above the town is interesting. It seems to be closed to all traffic including pedestrians now but for a time took cyclists which is how Google got their Street View.

 

[sedge]

I know you've moved on - but years ago Challans used to be known for it's famous black chicken - which our classically trained chef No 1 daughter assured me at the time was equally as well known in her circles as the poule du Bresse. I've had the local mogettes, which are huge in comparison to a 'butter bean' and had been ruined by someone cooking them with half a ton of salt.

 

[DBK]

I know you've moved on - but years ago Challans used to be known for it's famous black chicken - which our classically trained chef No 1 daughter assured me at the time was equally as well known in her circles as the poule du Bresse. I've had the local mogettes, which are huge in comparison to a 'butter bean' and had been ruined by someone cooking them with half a ton of salt.

I bought a packet of mogettes in a French supermarket a few years ago and they weren't very big. But the beans in the link I posted were indeed huge, as you describe. I must see if I can some but may have left it too late.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[DBK]

This map shows where we are now, having completed the first leg of our epic navigation up the Charente.

We started this morning at Tonnay-Charente in the upper left of the map and 40 minutes later arrived at Taillebourg in the lower right. On the way we passed through Saint-Savinien which has an interesting free aire on a island between two arms of the Charente. We saw signs for it on the outskirts of the town but missed any others there might have been but as we were only 5 minutes from our planned destination we ploughed on. I remember now I had looked at it online but had misread a review which seem to suggest there were only two spaces, which was wrong I now realise.

This is where we are, zoomed out a bit.

That's us under the blue blob on the far right. The town is too small to show at this scale.

Île de Ré and Île d'Oléron are off to the left which seem to be MHF magnets. We prefer d'Oléron but can see the attractions of Ré. The big blue bit at the bottom is the mouth of the Gironde, which you will search in vain for if you are looking for a river. The Gironde only exists at the tidal bit where the Garonne and Dordogne meet a little north of Bordeaux.

Taillebourg has a large castle, although only fragments of it remain after numerous battles, remodelling and conversion to a house. The earliest battles were from a period of French history which I didn't know about. "La Fronde" was a civil war between 1648 and 1653 where the French nobility and others rebelled against the power of the monarchy and in particular the influence of Cardinal Richleau - he who has appeared in numerous films and TV series. The struggle was lost and led to the absolute power of the later kings called Louis (insert number) which was finally ended a hundred and fifty years or so later with the aid of Madame Guillotine.

The town I mentioned earlier with the free aire, Saint-Savinien (the place we are not at) is the limit of the tidal section of the Charente. The river splits around an island (where the aire is) with one arm having a lock and the other a weir. Above this the river is a bit more er.. river like.

The town itself is typically sleepy, here Mrs DBK showing the only signs of life.

The castle does have one remaining tower. Guided tours available I believe. The rest is fenced off.

There was a replica trébuchet in the grounds. Charlie helpfully added a point of reference for scale.

The bit looking like a hen house would be filled with rocks in order to throw the projectile.

There are a couple of bars/restaurants beside the river.

Where we had a glass of wine this evening.

Bucolic view with cattle.

The aire we are on is built on old terracing for the château gardens after it stopped being a military building. It's very pleasant, grass and shade but with some road and train noise - but nothing we can't cope with. The toilet block is still working!

 

[Riverbankannie]

That photo with the cattle at the river could be a Constable painting.
I see Charlie either hasn’t learnt French yet or, more likely, has developed a French laissez faire attitude to rules and signs.

 

[DBK]

That photo with the cattle at the river could be a Constable painting.
I see Charlie either hasn’t learnt French yet or, more likely, has developed a French laissez faire attitude to rules and signs.

I did think to mention the only thing missing was the haywain!

 

[Shrimp]

I bought ours off Amazon. It isn't a great fit but works.

www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B004ZL0DEI/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Here being modelled by Charlie today.

View attachment 804294

Thank goodness, I thought Charlie had been left at home!
Is he going to post or is he too busy snuffling out the cheeses?

 

[DBK]

Thank goodness, I thought Charlie had been left at home!
Is he going to post or is he too busy snuffling out the cheeses?

He's had an active day by his standards and has been taking it easy tonight, finding a relatively cool spot under the hedge by our pitch.

It may look like a crime scene but all is well!

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}