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Choose your speciality on the left
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The wearing of a beret
This custom is acquired with age, a bit like the eating of tripe. You can wear it to look scruffy, or to look cool. Sunday best, or after-work aperitif. All over the Midi-Pyrenees, these berets made with brushed wool protect the heads of our balding men. It’s worn how you like – pushed forwards, back, either side; it’s even becoming popular with young ladies who wish to cultivate a slightly “resistance” or Latin-American type of image.
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Mushroom picking
A good spot for mushroom picking? You’ll never be told. You’ll hear rumours. You’ll have to pack up very early, as the first light falls on the distant Pyrenees, put on your walking boots and slip you Laugiole knife into your pocket. Take a basket. Trust those in the know. You have to mix and blend various rumours concerning the weather and location, and treat every story with a pinch of salt (“Honestly, I picked so many that I could hardly close the boot of the car!”)
Around Saint-Girons, the Toulousains enjoy rooting out Cêpes. You can also find Cêpes in the Vicdessos Valley, smooth and delicious in an omelette. In the 1980s a coach full of punks turned up with a mobile radio station, looking for magic mushrooms… they spent an entire Sunday on the Plantourel Massif – to no avail!
On Monday, don’t reveal the location where you found your mushrooms. Just spread your hands wide to show how big the basket was. And the rumour will continue
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Doing the duck
This is a serious business. Calls are made in preparation, suppliers researched, friends consulted. Once the season begins, word gets around about where to buy the freshest, plumpest ducks in the region. You never go off to buy them alone – it’s an experience that needs to be shared. Make the most of it, discuss all those delicious ducks of yesteryear. Weren’t they more tasty, more… well, revel in a little nostalgia, it doesn’t do any harm. Once bought, it’s into the kitchen with these lovely birds, and start dividing them up, the foies gras need to be conditioned, the confit de canard prepared. The tiny fritons are reserved too, they’re a sort of local substitute for peanuts. Once the ducks are immaculately arranged in their jars, it’s time to clean up. You may even need to redecorate the kitchen…
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go back to the art of living home
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