It’s “summer“–though it felt more like March this weekend.
(“We had our summer in May,” said my egg supplier in the market early Saturday morning.)
It’s the busy season of guests–and the unexpected.
It was brighter Sunday morning and we took our visitors from Washington D.C., Irv and Iris, to Lautrec for lunch with two other friends.
Café Plum (charming bookstore/café, a touch of the Left Bank in Lautrec) was finding it a challenge being popular.
A table of twelve had just ordered when we arrived.
We waited twenty minutes, and then were told, politely, it would be another twenty if we wanted to eat!
The six of us decided a salad in the courtyard chez nous might be a better bet–though we might be chasing the sun.
Iris and I got back first.
“Shall I make a tomato salad?”
“Good idea,” I said.
Iris and Meredith had picked some of our tomatoes Saturday evening–five varieties–for a taste test.
Plenty were ripe, despite the weather. (Do they get tired of waiting for the sun and say to themselves: “time to go red?“.)
They cut them up in bite-size chunks and arranged them on a pretty plate with salt & olive oil for the sampling.
“Delicious!”– though some were sweeter than others.
Certainly good enough for a quickly improvised salad.
To go with the sweet tomatoes, Iris found black olives and buffalo mozzarella in the fridge, added some torn basil, thinly sliced red onion and sunflower seeds (dry roasted).
She dressed this good-looking mix with Tuscan olive oil (Liquid Gold) made by our friends, Keith & Helen.
We had it with tuna salad (A saucy tuna lunch for two), slices of melon and Parma ham, followed by local cheese.
We poured out more of our favourite everyday red– Gaillac’s Clément Termes and continued the animated chat.
Next time we go Café Plum we’ll make sure we pip “the party of twelve” to the post!
Robin Ellis 
How I would have enjoyed that lunch “chez Meredith et Robin”!! You make it sound so delicious.
Hi Rosemary!—you would have been welcome.
Buffalo mozzarella sounds intriguing! How does it differ from a standard mozarella?
Hi Miranda, buffalo mozzarella is the standard mozzarella!
Tomatoes look absolutely delicious. Your writing style feels like you are talking to me. I can’t believe Poldark is talking to me! Thanks for your web site and posts, you have clearly put a lot of work into it. I take a look everyday.
Maria in Colorado
Thanks Maria–good talking to you!!
Aha! Thanks, Robin! (Boy do I feel sheepish!)
Eating in Lautrec.
My husband and I visited Lautrec in August 2006. It is a beautiful place. We were renting an apartment in Albi and travelled to Lautrec by bus, changing at Castres where we wandered round the market.
Our plan was to have lunch in Lautrec and made our way up to a restaurant near the windmill, but that was the day it was closed. We then decided to buy food at one of the local shops, but by the time we had admired the views and wandered back down to the enticing shops we had seen earlier, but by then, they too were closed for the afternoon. We found one still open. It sold gingerbread. The choice at this point seemed to be gingerbread – I have no idea what the French word for that is – and garlic. Fortunately, we did have bottled water with us and enjoyed lunch of gingerbread and water relaxing in the picturesque centre of Lautrec. I recall a friendly passing cyclist smiling and wishing us, “Bon appetite!”
We then walked in the scorching sun along a country road, passing fields of sunflowers, to Venes(?) where we located a welcome hostelry and enjoyed some refreshment before getting the bus back to Albi. A memorable and pleasant day. (I didn’t know then that there were snakes around!)
Delightful-thank you!
The restaurant choice has improved a little–you might find more than gingerbread.
That’s a fair walk to Venes–but pretty.