At first I was very excited to participate in Charcutepalooza, a meat-filled year of "salting, smoking and curing" that is the creation of Mrs Wheelbarrow's Kitchen and The Yummy Mummy.
Since moving to France I've learned to make simple things like frozen yogurt, red wine vinegar and fromage de chèvre, so I thought it would be fun to try my hand at making pancetta, bacon, duck prosciutto and all the other delicious charcuterie projects planned for the coming year.
Then I started to think about where we live. About our tiny fridge and our stone house with no basement or cellar. And about the long, sweltering, south of France summers.
Suddenly the idea of curing raw meat in our kitchen in July and August when temperatures inside our house hover around 80-85° Fahrenheit became somewhat less attractive. And probably not very safe.
So I decided not to join the challenge.
But for those of you 250+ bloggers who did sign up for Charcutepalooza, I hope you work very hard at winning the grand prize. Your time and effort will be worth it!
I first met Kate Hill in 2007 at Camp Cassoulet and over the years have been fortunate enough to spend a few weekends with her in Gascony.
Her knowledge and passion for real food, France and traditional cooking is immeasurable. And contagious. Also her home, the Relais de Camont, is a little piece of heaven on earth.
Believe me, you want to win.
Good luck!
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