Photo Friday: Olives of Provence

I never could have imagined being an "olive person" before I came to Provence. Olives were generally something you found, at best, in your martini glass, and, at worst, diced up & displayed artfully next to the shredded lettuce at make-you-own-taco Tuesday (I do quite miss those tacos though).  

Here in Provence, you can't pass a market without bumping into bowlfuls of the most plump & magnificent olives on the planet.  And since winter in the South finds us investing our time in all kinds of creative & culinary pursuits, I've recently been on a quest to try as many different varieties of these little gems as possible.

I have to give a very favorable nod to the regional specialty, olives mixed with herbes de provence, but let's not overlook a very spicey pimento, parsley, & curry version, and I also found a surprising mix that quickly became a hands-down favorite: garlic, cumin, sweet pepper, & laurel (pictured above). Now that's one flavorful olive.

And we'd certainly be remiss if we didn't mention a few treasures I picked up at the supermarket in the form of almond & red-pepper stuffed olives.  That's one olive just dying to get plunged into a designer Martini - or just maybe one of my spiffy aperitivo bowls. 

Are there other olive fans, or budding pimento lovers out there? Got a favorite to share? 

Well, I'm going to try to keep my French going this weekend since my class is already on a 2-week vacation (have I told you *France* lately that I love you...) & there's a raclette evening in the works (cheese heaven), so I bid you adieu, bon weekend, & tres bon olive!