Pomme de Terre/ Apples of the earth

Liliana awoke early today with great excitement as it was THE day that she was going to her great friend Blandine's house to play...it was finally Blandine's birthday!

The morning passed slowly with a stint of gardening planting a Lilac tree the Madam Paris had duly delivered the day before and a bit of digging in the vegetable patch whilst Madam looked over my shoulder...there was three winter worn celeriac plants in the garden that she felt should be dug up and eaten rather than composted immediately as I was suggesting....so I dug them up and she went off happily with the celeriac in her grubby plastic bucket having left behind a huge pile of her potatoes. A more than fair exchange!

Two o'clock finally came around and we drove to the small village where Liliana's friend lives and with much excitement she was duly deposited for the afternoon...Blandine was wearing a lovely new T-shirt which had a bright sloppy puppy on it with the English words underneath 'One Cool Doggy'....her lovely mothers attempt to meet us in the middle with the language and a generous gesture of friendship....these girls have 'clicked' since starting nursery together...mutual adoration!

On my drive back the temperature reading was 20 degrees and the blue skies and sunshine made the surrounding countryside look fantastic...As Blandine lives in the same village as Liliana used to go to nursery school I used to do this drive four times a day. I have seen this countryside in all weather and as Liliana now catches the bus to the 'big' school it has been a while since I have passed this way....

It was lovely to see the soil all perfectly tilled for miles in preparation of the planting of potatoes and sugarbeet over the next few weeks....some 70% of all of the potatoes grown in France are grown in Champagne-Ardenne so even the supermarket potatoes have almost as few 'miles' as Madam Paris from paddock to plate.

All of these photos along the route home...today the drive was an absolute pleasure...now I have also got the pleasure of Madam Paris' potatoes for supper...tonight they will be served 'crushed' with lots of fresh herbs from the garden...

CRUSHED POTATOES...another recipe from Julia's kitchen...

1. Boil the potatoes in salted water for 8-10 mins and then drain and place on a flat shallow baking tray.

2. Crush the potatoes gently with a fork or potato mash so they still resemble the original shape but are a flattened version.

3. Drizzle with good quality olive oil, sea salt, pepper and a mix of fresh or dried herbs...rosemary, oregano, thyme, parsley...

4. Bake in a moderate oven for 20 - 30 mins...until the potatoes are brown and crispy around the edges and still soft like a roast potato in the centre...keep an eye on them so they do not dry out too much.

5. Serve with a fresh handful of chopped parsley thrown over the top and enjoy with a roast lamb, well cooked BBQ steak, juicy roast chicken or a pork chop with apple...