Steve and I have been keeping ourselves busy this past week so opted to stay in bed on Saturday when the others chose to visit the market in nearby Penvenan.  They thoroughly enjoyed it and came back with Vietnamese treats for lunch when we were having our breakfast around noon!!!!

Amongst a lot of other local produce that grows in Brittany, and which we are thankful to have access to in the grocery stores (unlike at home where most of the year our produce comes from California, or Mexico, or South America), there are fields and fields of artichokes in various stages of ripeness.

    

None of us has eaten, or cooked, a fresh artichoke so we decided to have them for dinner, along with another BBQ of chicken breasts, baked potatoes, salad.  This was topped off with the traditional Breton dessert, Kouign Amann, a sugar/butter/caramel flan, kind of like a tarte au sucre but more cake than pie.  Everyone loved it, and I mean LOVED it, except me – too sweet.

The artichoke experiment worked well enough.  Rosanne and Rudie took charge after a bit of consultation with Mr. Google.  First, they had to concoct a steamer, made up of a few parts of different pots, then they (the artichokes, not R&R) were steamed for about 45 minutes.  In the meantime, Rosanne made an aioli from mayo, lemon juice, and garlic.  Each couple shared 1 artichoke and we pulled leaves, dipped them, and scraped the veg out of the leaves with our bottom teeth.  No one could figure out what to do with the inner portion, after we scooped out the fuzzy stuff (perhaps called the choke?) and, by the time we were done, we had more leftover than we started with – an interesting concept!  They tasted okay – the best part, in everyone’s opinion, was the aioli 🙂

It rained all night and into Sunday morning.  By the afternoon, I had cabin fever and, where the others were content to stay put, Steve and I headed out to explore some local beaches.  I engaged in some serious beach combing, scoring some very nice shells.

                     

So far, regardless of the weather – and although it hasn’t rained much (and mostly overnight when it does) it has been more on the chilly side – there have been wind surfers on the beaches, frequent swimmers, and overall general use.

   

As Rosanne, Rudie, Joe, and Maria are leaving tomorrow, we went to La Rocca Restaurant Italien in Trelevern for our last meal together.  The ambiance was lovely – a very old building, beautifully decorated with paintings by the locals, with maybe 12 tables for 4.  Steve and I shared Carpaccio, and we each had a green salad of mache.  I tried their house specialty, a Noix St. Jacques (coquilles St. Jacques) rolled inside a very thin pizza crust (based on the picture, I thought it was rolled inside a crepe).  I would have preferred the crepe and the contents were very tasty.  If we go back, I’ll try the same sauce on pasta.  Steve thoroughly enjoyed his pasta Carbonara, followed by his new favourite dessert, Kouign Amann.

There were lots of toasts to good times with old friends and new friends.