Method:
Take nine well-travelled, amusing, intelligent women and place them side by side around the kitchen table of a lovely old French house.
Supply each with an apron, a sharp knife and a chopping board.
Give each person something to slice, dice, peel or chop.
Select one woman with expert skills to combine all the ingredients.
When ingredients are ready, remove women from kitchen and place them around beautifully laid dining room table.
Add rose wine.
Serve the four courses
Share in excellent conversations, laugh loudly, listen with amazement.
Sample superb flavours and learn new methods of eating.
Raise glass to hostess and applaud loudly.
After two hours, remove guests from dining room table, bid them a fond farewell and go and put feet up for a well earned rest.
Note: Be prepared for return of certain guest who forgot her cardigan and the large bag of vegetable peelings.
Yesterday was the monthly American Women's Group "Cook and Eat" function, and fortunately I had managed to get my name onto the restricted list. The list has to be restricted, or else I imagine that almost every member of the Group would be wanting to attend, and we would have to hold the function in a large tent. I for one would like to ensure that I have a regular spot at the table and am prepared to peel, slice, dice, wash-up and do whatever else it takes to earn my place.
The menu was Thai, and Carol M not only opened her beautiful house to everyone, but shared her excellent knowledge of Thai cuisine. In the past, I had enjoyed such relatively simple dishes as Red Thai Curry which came in a bag from Sainsburys in England, or from the kitchen of my clever Son-in-law, but never had I seen such a variety of dishes. Just to get your juices flowing, let me describe how the first course worked.
Select a number of baby spinach leaves and form them into a little dish in your hand. Onto the leaves, place a selection of peanuts, garlic, roasted coconut, finely sliced shallots, fresh ginger, tiny shrimps and a small sliver of lime. Pop a spoonful of a most delectable sauce onto the heap, carefully fold the leaves around the mixture and you are ready.
"The trick is to put the whole thing into your mouth and bite immediately" said Carol, and a hush descended on the table as we put this theory to the test. It was like the most wonderfully exotic taste explosion and quite impossible to describe. All I can do is to give you the name which is Miang Kum. Now you have to either find a top rate Thai restaurant, or track down the China Vina supermarket south of Montpellier to buy all the bits and pieces. I have already found it on the Google map and we are off next week to make our purchases.
The spicy coconut and chicken soup which followed was the sort of flavour that took you straight to the Orient, and the Pad Thai fish course was unsurpassed. We rounded it out with a bowl of fruit salad and another splash of rose, before working out our share of the expenses. I won't bore you with the details, but all I can say is that what we paid for a four course lunch with wine, wouldn't have covered the cost of a Perrier water in the hot spots of Miami South Beach.
I felt privileged to be there and I enjoyed every moment. I can honestly say that since joining this amazing group, I have met more women and made more friends than I did in the entire five years that I lived in America. I get the feeling that it's because all the good ones are living here in Montpellier with the sole exception of my dear friends Sybil, Valerie and Mary, and even Mary informed me that she had joined up while in London and said it was the best thing that she could have done. I know just what you mean Mary!
