Blanquette de veau is on the menu around here…
It is delicious… and we do have the benefit of correctly reared animals… and crops… so, it’s a win-win… hurrah.
I can see it being raised from my kitchen window. It has actually spent a week in our own field.
the calves are still with their mothers, but are given extra feed to being them to marketable size.
This is no doubt a consideration. It is for us (as I might have mentioned before) - the gite complex, swimming pool and 2-acre grounds we have here - and 20-minute walk into the village - will become completely unmanageable. We’ve already decided that in 3-5 years we will move to a town house with more facilities on the doorstep, and a train station no more than a short taxi-ride away. But we’ll almost certainly stay in Brittany (or not far outside, eg. western Normandy or north-western Loire).
I understand people going back to the UK for many good reasons - family/friends there, poor French here, etc - but for me the only-too-evident problems with the UK health and care systems, and what I see as a less caring and supportive society generally, make it an unattractive place in which to grow old.
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I’m really fond of veal from ‘chipos’ to escalopes to queue de veau and all the the cuts from our local butcher (Aveyron / Cantal border) have a tag stating ‘veau de Cantal, 9 mois sous la mère’. However our guy’s a whole animal butcher and yesterday when I tried to order some osso bucco for the coming week, he apologised and told me I’d have to wait.
But that’s fine, because I’ll appreciate it all the more when I get some! For me one of the many pleasures of buying from local people is that one is more closely linked to seasonal produce. When I lived in south Africa, I was initially surprised when pavement orange sellers (40 orange sacks sold at road junctions) would appear,disappear and reappear several times over the course of the year. However, now I embrace seasonality and while, I’ve nothing against Peruvians, I don’t want to tbuy an avo that’s come all the way from Peru. Unfortunately,I’ve yet to find a good breakfast coffee from anywhere closer than the Ethiopian Highlands. But the quest will continue!
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Apparently, there is an enterprising chap in Sicily who is growing coffee beans. Small stuff for now, but it’s believed that climate change will make Sicily ideal for growing coffee beans within 20 years. They already have the soil, and varying altitude, and climate will come. I look forward to trying Sicilian coffee.
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Yes - we see similar responses to climate change here in Brittany with wine - some producers selling up in south-west France and buying land here. Problem is the primary effect of climate change is not simply heating - it’s increasing uncertainty.
A lot of the good wool that I use for my knitting comes from Peru.
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If you had to choose between Aveyron and Cantal food-wise, which would you choose?
Neither but if pushed aveyron by allegeance and for l’estofinade and fouace 
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Tough one, both have great meat and poultry and although the Cantal has some fantastic cheeses, would roquefort, supposedly the king of cheeses, swing it the Aveyron’s way? Maybe if we throw in our local Lot Valley producteurs (and especially their heritage tomatoes).
Not sure if stockfish counts as Aveyronnais, but if one counts wine as food, I think the Aveyron wins hands down, though I do like a Salers apèro and enjoy Cantal AOC (when I can find it).
It’s just so difficult living in France if one has to make these sorts of choices (and of course we’ve not even considered the adjoining Lot). Cahors v. Marcillac anyone?
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