The Winds Blog
On Simple Pleasures
The South of France and Provence in particular have loomed large in my life. I’ve written before of wanting to become an artist during my teens and early twenties. Van Gogh’s paintings of hay fields inspired my own art and his tortured writings had resonance to an angst-filled Beavercreek teenager. As fate would have it, I would come to love the food and wine of the region as well as the art. It seems the people of the region have mastered the art of honest simplicity. Not the kind of contrived simplicity you find in magazines, like It’s Simple. Sure, it’s “simple” if you want to buy a bunch of plastic junk to organize all the junk you already have. It’s “simple” to dress perfectly simple if you shell out the cash for the 10 blouses you can’t live without this summer. The simplicity I’m talking about is serving tiny radishes with sea salt as an appetizer or grilling the freshest fish and presenting it bathed with buttery, green olive oil and a shower of fresh herbs. This is the essence of the region. It’s seasonality. It’s the best ingredients available that day. So grab some good bread, roast some garlic and buy a little goat cheese. Pour yourself a glass of the first French rosé of the season and enjoy life’s simplest, affordable pleasures.