The last two Sundays have been off my regular routine. The first was because it was pouring down rain and I did not want to walk the 20 minutes to the St. Aubin market. last week was the Toulouse Urban Trail so no shopping at St. Aubin’s or the Victor Hugo market.

This week the weather was beautiful and I did not have a run/race scheduled.

I walked over to the St. Aubin’s market and was rewarded for the effort. The olive purveyor finally had the small size of their olive oil. I had been looking for it each week and had been assured that it would be here soon. I was glad to see it this week. It cost 15 euros for the size I buy but it is really good. I like the container as well – for those of us who are old enough to remember metal oil cans for motor oil it is the same. I, also, like the flexibility and nonchalance of the pricing. I bought olives as well and they were 6 euros 53 but when it was time to pay, the young lady said with a shrug – 20 euros.

I bought fruits and vegetables as well. I got some red beets that looked good and planned to roast them. That way I could have them for dinner as well as salad for lunch.

I did my regular shopping at the Victor Hugo market for the protein. In my quest to cook and eat things that I do not get in Alexandria but are easily available here, I bought a quail. It was already stuffed and wrapped in bacon so I thought it would be fairly easy to find the information for baking it. The quail was a little more expensive than I usually pay but I thought it was worth it as it was all prepared for cooking. I, also, got some trout filets. I thought they would be good for two meals. I bought some pate as well for lunches instead of my usual charcuterie ham.

As usual, I went to St. Sernin’s for church. It is always amazing to worship in the building. The contrast between the building (12th century) and the service being accessed by a QR code is challenging. The music is always beautiful even though it is played on the “small” organ as the “grand” organ is being restored.

I realized I did not have wine to go with my quail so I walked over to the Boutique de Vin in Carmes (my usual wine store) in hopes it was open as it was after 1:00 pm on Sunday and lots of stores close around noon. Luckily it was open and I was excited as it had a wine I had seen at the Fete du Vin in the Place du Capitole last fall. I had originally been drawn to it by the label (I know that is not a good way to choose wine). It was a clever take on an old French TV series from the 1960s – Les Tonton Flingueurs (The Gunslingers Uncles). The wine is called Les Frontons Flingueurs. Fronton is a wine region just north of Toulouse so they are saying their wine is the gunslinger of the area. There tag line is I knew a lady who drank it for breakfast. Fronton is an AOC and requires 50% Negrette (the exclusive grape of the area). Negrette can ben call Pinot St. George in the United States. After I tasted the wine, I liked it so bought some then. I was happy to find it again and be able to buy it.

On the way back since it was a lovely afternoon, I decided to stop at La Reserve and have an Aperol Spritz and read. The temperature was perfect and I sat in somewhat shade so it was perfect. It was a great way to spend the mid-afternoon in Toulouse. La Reserve was not too crowded unlike Friday nights. I do like the ability to just sit, read and enjoy a beverage. I have to be careful that I do not imbibe too much as it is easy to just sit and let the afternoon waste away.

In the evening, I decided to cook the quail and see how it came out. It was very easy, the recipe said drizzle it with olive oil, add a little thyme and then cook. The recipe I found was from Europe so I did not have to convert the temperature. It gave some advice that made sense with my oven. The writer said her German stove had a bake setting with a fan indicator (which mine does as well), she said that was the best setting for cooking the quail. She said cook it for 40 minutes and then turn on the broil (fan) setting and cook for 5 more minutes to get the skin a good crisp brown. This is what I did and the quail turned out great.

My whole dinner turned out well. The roast beets came out perfectly and I cooked a little sauteed zucchini. The final was a fresh salad. The wine went well with the game taste of the quail.

All in all it was a good day.