As my partner did, I am losing my appetite for meat. In the UK I never ate massmarket chicken. Stuck in rural France with no motorised transport there is so little choice in decent proteins I’ve been forced to
I’m not able to read your article above Jane - I’m not strong enough. You can see on the meat sometimes .. I won’t go on.
No longer in France after a very enjoyable ten years living there. I am surprised that some say it is cheaper than the UK. I only found wine and housing - yes that is a big one - to be cheaper.
Plus
Bread
Bread
Bread
Seafood availability
Wine
Rural tranquility
Healthcare
Minus
Food variety
Local transport in rural areas
I would be happy to live in France again. I think there is a strong public as opposed to political right in France. Anti Maghreb feeling runs high.
So many delivered options now, which we avoid as like to stick with real shops. But have found local producers where we can collect.
Maybe try this recipe below. Loads of variations on white beans and fennel and generally gotta love southern Italian cuisine!
I caramelise the fennel and add garlic a dry chilli flakes and top it off with a splash of white wine. I sometimes soften a leak and then add the beans.
The white beans don’t need to be creamed either…
Try it and you’ll get your proteins.
Takes less than 10 mins start to finish and eat with fresh bread. Yummy 
Oh…love the comments above and like others, didn’t come to France for the cuisine which apart from Paris and Lyon, difficult to say it’s anything other than….hearty.
Indian restaurant??…gotta go to Pak or India for that and a close second…. Glasgow.
BREXIT. But we had bought our house here in 2008.
Cycling, few cars where we are, lots of little, well maintained roads, considerate motorists.
Beautiful countryside, though the UK also has this.
Moved from London, which felt cramped.
Pluses
The French language!
The French
Forests
Distinctive regional architecture
The seemingly limitless space in the beautiful countryside (especially compared with the overcrowded, over-developed SE & E England)
Minuses
Absence of meaningful restaurants/menu choice for vegetarians
The Bise ‘formalities’
Nice recipe Mikey. The method is interesting but white beans I am not quite ready to cook yet. I think it’s very adaptable though so thank you. Though I suspect I’ve heated many white beans in tomato sauce as beans on toast in UK 
…just give a try?..the white beans morph into a creamy heaven when you mix with softened leek or onion (unlike baked beans).
I promise.
If you don’t like it, come knock on my door and I will cook something else 
It’s worth a try, Karen. I buy beans of various types from Grand Frais and cook with them. Even James Martin said that life is too short to cook your own pulses.
I have a recipe for garlicky butter beans with kale or spinach and parmesan if you’re interested. It’s really hearty.
Good offer . Btw I didn’t see any garlic there ? Only shallots. It felt like it would start with garlic…
…it’s a dish you can vary according to your whims…the link I sent is not the way I do it which is…;
Cut the fennel and introduce into a hot pan with olive oil. High heat
Turn the fennel.
Add the chilli flakes
Splash of white wine or Vermouth or sherry.
Add crushed garlic (low heat now)…
Summer it a bit…
Salt..
It’s ready!
Serve on a bed of Haricot beans already warmed up with some softened leaks or onions (don’t drain the beans and use the juice in the jar…full of voodoo goodness).
Olive oil it and a squeeze of lemming (
).
Eat and think about all the goodness you have done to stop global warming by not eating meat
Yes that is the method I use. I can do half of it while I look round to see what bits I’ve got around to then toss in.
Being serious I am more likely to turn it into a 1-pan pasta. Fairly sure I’m allowed green beans but have to stay off most other beans.
But the video was almoat a risotto method.
the phrase to use is “desi style” or ask for the crew curry - i.e., the curry the waiters etc have for dinner/lunch
Ooo…would love to see the results with green beans?
…I asked the owner of a Pakistani place in Alès if they could do desi….he asked his cook and then came back and said (of course) that they make their masala (gravy) in batch and that was that…so I did not done there because it’s not difficult to make a recent masala.
Well, in Karachi and in Delhi, I asked for a side of fries chillies and that did the trick!
Miam.
Bonjour Sue, I’m very surprised by your comments about the food! I know French cuisine is a big deal, and you either agree or disagree, but I have to admit that while living abroad, it was French food that I missed the most (bread, cheese, butter…). I know that Michelin-starred restaurants are much more common abroad, but I found the overall quality and diversity of food in France to be very rich. The markets, local producers, and small businesses make it possible to eat well every day.
My friend (a New Zealander) is always disappointed by Thai food because almost all Thai restaurants that want to keep their customers have to reduce the amount of spices in their recipes; otherwise, the intensity of the dish is unbearable 
.
Agree absolutely, Iove being able to buy direct from the farm or producteur, but also love having drifted into eating local/regional and seasonal. No desire whatsoever to go and look for curry or sushi.
I’m from Belfast so leaving my home country was easy. I went to Dublin to study but found that the Theocracy running that part of Ireland was most oppressive … so, after graduating in Philosophy and Law I took off for Berlin (West) in the early seventies to find work. I found employment easily enough and the city was an exciting place to live. Towards the end of the seventies I met a French girl who suggested we move to France. I had never considered the idea up until then but went along happily enough.
Since 1980 I have lived in a number of French cities - Paris, Strasbourg, Ajaccio and Toulouse. I couldn’t live in the country; I prefer the anonymity of the city. Compared to Germany the bureaucracy in France is easy enough to deal with and I have had no problem finding work.
What has kept me here? Laïcité. The freedom from religious intimidation whether it be the crosses and bleeding hearts in schools or holy men dictating one’s morals is something that only people who have lived through theocracies or religious strife can appreciate.
But do you only use garlic, thyme and the feeble piment d’espelette? I’m not hugely bothered about a Thai restaurant (outside Thailand or a real Thai area) but I want to be able to add flavourings to my food as I wish. Asafoetida has many uses outside a curry.