![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.chefmorgan.com\/engine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/conte-sign-350x215.jpg\" "\\"conte")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
venez avec moi en Provence:\u00a0 Contes<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n You have never heard of<\/span> Contes<\/span> <\/span><\/em>? <\/span>Ne vous en faites pas<\/span> <\/span><\/em>(don\u2019t worry) most travelers to France have not.\u00a0 It is not a typical vacation destination point unless you are as obsessed with food markets and the people that grow the food (as I am). Contes<\/em><\/span> is a small country village in the south of France, approximately a twenty minutes drive north of Nice. The tiny town is home to the usual quaint French village charm found throughout the south of France: the small country homes surrounded by olive trees and fields of lavender; the town center with the father and son butcher shop and the family-owned p\u00e2tisseries <\/span><\/em> with neighbors chatting over a cup of coffee; the little town school, and\u00a0 les f\u00eates <\/em><\/span>throughout the summer.\u00a0 One thing that makes Contes particularly\u00a0 special is its food cooperative.\u00a0 I learned of the cooperative from my close friend and her mother who themselves make the weekly pilgrimage to Contes.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n Every Saturday morning in a one room building that looks like a barn there is the\u00a0Contes cooperative<\/em><\/span> .\u00a0 Contes residents and those living in surrounding areas bring their finest fruits, vegetables, herbs, cheeses, meats, preserves, and oils to sell.\u00a0 The cooperative is something everyone plans their week and day around because if you want a good selection, you have to go early.<\/span><\/p>\n The selection changes weekly depending upon what is grown. The array of fruits and vegetables displayed transform the barn-like room into one of color and aroma. The herbs are so fresh and plentiful that you can smell them outside the large cooperative door.\u00a0 The cheese is made by local farmers from the raw milk of their goats and cows.\u00a0 If you ask, they can tell you the name of the animal from which the milk came.\u00a0 Meat from animals that were recently slaughtered (but aged enough that the meat is no longer green), raised in the hills of Provence by local farmers who can tell you exactly what the animals ate when when they were butchered.\u00a0 Locals also proudly display their homemade items presented with French simplistic style: bottles of olive oil pressed from local trees; jars of tomato sauce made with the Proven\u00e7ales tomatoes; and confiture to slather on your morning baguette.<\/span><\/p>\n However, the cooperative is not merely a place to buy your vegetables but it is a way of life. This is a community event and there is a lot of pride and enthusiasm behind this \u201cshare day\u201d because people are eager to show their treasures and see what others are growing or making. There is no English spoken and the room is abuzz with hushed <\/span>les potins du march\u00e9<\/span><\/em> (the market gossip) that centers more on the food, than the people:\u00a0 \u201c<\/span><\/span>Les saucisses ont \u00e9t\u00e9 faites avec un aqneau qu\u2019on vient juste d\u2019abattre\u201d<\/span><\/em> (the sausages were made form a lamb that was just slaughtered) . . . \u201c<\/span>Marie a les meilleures p\u00eaches !\u201d<\/span><\/em> (Marie has the best peaches).\u00a0 I took advantage of the tips of which I was the unintended beneficiary ..the lamb was delicious and Marie\u2019s peaches were the best I think I have ever tasted.<\/span><\/p>\n When we left, the aroma of the market goodies filled the car.\u00a0 No sooner had we left did my children buzz through the fresh berries which they found in the bag, changing my plans for our dessert that night.\u00a0 What was on our dinner menu that evening?\u00a0 With our friends that night we enjoyed gently braised summer zucchini with blossoms, grilled sausages, fresh ch\u00e8vre with our salad, and apricot\u00a0tart for dessert. Simple food, simply prepared. The aromas drew the children in from their game of hide and seek in the lavender fields to which they quickly returned as fast as they had materialized to take advantage of last of the country’s daylight (which thankfully lasts until 9 p.m.).\u00a0 We watched their heads bob above the walls of lavender and their happy screamed filled the air competing only with the horses and chickens also settling in for the night.\u00a0 Just another day in Provence…<\/span><\/p>\n Visitez Contes et mangez bien.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n <\/span><\/em><\/p>\n Je vous souhaite un bon appetit ! <\/span><\/em><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.chefmorgan.com\/engine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/Ifruit-display-350x233.jpg\" "\\"Ifruit")
\n<\/span><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.chefmorgan.com\/engine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/baskets-200x300.jpg\" "\\"baskets\\"")
\n<\/span><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.chefmorgan.com\/engine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/gd-eggplant-350x233.jpg\" "\\"gd")
\n<\/span><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.chefmorgan.com\/engine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/bolsoms-350x233.jpg\" "\\"bolsoms\\"")
\n<\/span><\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.chefmorgan.com\/engine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/in-line-350x233.jpg\" "\\"in")