The First Things to Buy in Aix-en-Provence

 1.  Two cloth napkins. Yes I could just buy paper napkins but what’s the fun in that?  These I can take home as souvenirs.  Notice that the napkins to the left have cicadas (cigales) in them.  The blue one is for me and the red one for Fernando.

2.  A Bottle of Pastis.  I should buy this at the very start of our 6 weeks because it will undoubtedly take us that long to drink it.  But I can use it in cooking too.

3.  Orgeat Syrup.  This is so we can make a Mauresque with the Pastis instead of drinking it straight with water.  Orgeat typically includes almonds, sugar, water, orange flower water and a brandy or rum.  The Mauresque is 2 ounces of Pastis, 1 ounce of Orgeat Syrup and sparkling water.  It should help the medicine go down.

4.  Espelette Pepper.  This is from the French Basque country but I haven’t been able to find it in stores here.  I could order it from Walmart, Target or Amazon but I’d rather wait until I’m in France.  Plus I can use it there since I won’t have my Chipotle or Gochujang.

5.  Salt from the Camargue.  I should be able to buy this in the grocery store.  I’m going to need salt so I might as well make it local.  There’s even a Sel de Camargue with Espelette Pepper!  I could bring one home for Willy!

6.  Olive Oil.  Let’s make sure we pick up a local bottle from Provence, not Spain or Morocco.

7.  Mayonnaise and Aioli.  I know I should make my own mayonnaise like any decent French cook, but the last time I routinely made it was in Colombia more than 50 years ago and that was with a blender.  The apartment might not even have a whisk.  There are several brands we could try out.  

As for Aioli, don’t look now but Hellman’s sells a Garlic Mayonnaise/Aioli.  I’ll wait for a French version or maybe just grate a little garlic into my mayonnaise.