Take A Wild Bunch...

The telephone rings about 7 P.M.

The voice of my son-in-law, Matt, announces that he cannot find the key to the tractor  The tractor, the primary player in harvesting the hand picked grapes, is now silent. The key always safely kept in the tractor ignition is residing in some very secure place known only to itself.  Matt, however, continues his announcement that he has collected wild arugula from the fields.  

Do we have tomatoes, pasta, Parmesan, garlic?   Now, what kitchen wouldn't always have those ingredients for an emergency.  Matt declares that he will be right over with Molly to cook dinner and later play a little Mah Jongg.

The arugula has a brilliant lemon yellow flower and is dotting all of the fields during the fall harvesting season.  As one walks through the plants, a spicy fragrance arises, another sign of cooling weather.  Plucking the leaves from the wild plans produces a bowl of emerald green.

Tomatoes are halved, garlic is chopped and....

and all are sauteed quickly to produce a wonderful bowl of Matt's Arugula Tomato Pasta.

This is a "take a handful" recipe and if you have fresh arugula enjoy Matt's recipe.

Matt's Wild Arugula Pasta
A handful recipe---
A large handful of wild arugula (roquette), or store acquired, leaves striped and roughly chopped.
3-4 cloves of garlic, chopped
Generous amount of olive oil
4-6 handfuls of cherry tomatoes, halvd
Salt and Pepper
Penne or farfalle pasta
Parmigiano reggianno (Parmesan), grated

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil to cook the pasta.  When boiling, add the pasta and cook according to the directions.
Harvest a large bunch of wild arugula (roquette.)  Strip off the leaves and chop in large pieces.
In a shallow sauté pan, sauté the garlic in a generous amount of olive oil until golden.  Be careful not to burn or it will be bitter. 
Add the cherry tomato halves to the pan and sauté for another 2-3 minutes.  Combine the chopped arugula with the tomatoes and garlic and cook another 2-3 minutes.  Season with salt and pepper.
The goal is for both the tomatoes and arugula to be lightly cooked only.  You want to retain the freshness of the ingredients.
Meanwhile, drain the cooked pasta and place in a large serving bowl.  Add the arugula tomato sauce and toss gently.
Sprinkle freshly grated Parmigiano reggiano (Parmesan) over the completed pasta dish.
Serve with a bottle of La Gramiere (lagramiere.com ) Rosé.
Matt Kling

Yes, the tractor key was found.  It was residing, not on a key chain, but in the very bottom pocket of dirty work pants.  It now, however, is attached to a vibrant orange

gummi bear.

Á Bientôt,
Cindy

Maybe, maybe this weekend!

The grape harvest is taking forever.  Every other year we have begun and ended with only a few days between picking.  This year, however, we began by picking grapes for the La Gramiere rosé and waited.  A week later we began the grand picking---for three days--- and waited.  Four days later saw us picking more Syrah and now we are waiting.  Maybe this weekend we will complete the harvest.  Just maybe.  The grapes are very leisurely ripening and enjoying the warm Provencal sun.

As the foods we buy at the outdoor markets are freshly picked by the producer, they are ready to eat---now.    Sitting a pear on a shelf for a few days can result in mush.  Not exactly how we buy things from our grocery stores. This made it difficult for me to shop for the lunches.  I planned and we ate between the harvest what I had planned, so I began all over.

Twenty-five volunteers, friends, family, dogs, and a camera crew began the harvest at the beginning of last week.  The chill of the early morning greeted everyone as we began the careful picking of the organic grapes.

Peta Mathias, (petamathias.com ) New Zealand author,cooking, and travel personality met us with Jane and Jeff, her producer and camera, man to film the harvest of La Gramiere ( lagramiere.com ).  Peta was teaching a Provençal cooking class in the area and creating a series of shows for New Zealand TV. Amy was interviewed about her adventures in wine telling the story of how she and Matt got into vines and wines.  Traveling through the vineyard, they filmed us hard at work collecting the 2010 pre-wine or grapes!

Coffee time arrived with conversations, French muffins and new friends.  In her sun catching hat, Joan, Matt's mom, and Linda, our neighbor enjoy the morning break.

Ronny who is in communications work on St. Barts discusses Jeff's new HD camera, fascinated by its lightness.

Lunch time brought us all to the table for an Albania feast of dolmas wrapped in brined La Gramiere grape leaves and a fresh beet salad.  Two young girls, Julianne and Alysa, were staying with Amy to learn the intricacies of wine.  Alisa, with her mother's input, created the dolmas from a family recipe.  Yum!

Joining us for lunch, walking through the vineyards and enjoying the conversation was our neighbors eighty-nine year old mother.  All ages gather as on a following day we had a four month old who cried when I looked at him.

 

What fun we have in the vineyards!  And oh, what a good sleeping pill it is.

Bisous,

Cindy