LOVE SIMPLE FOOD PREPARED IN A SIMPLE WAY

We live a simple life away from the city crowds. Love simple food prepared in a simple way.
Trying to achieve balance and simplicity is our aim. At least we can start doing that with food and figure it our philosophically how can we make positive spillovers to other areas in our life.
Roast duck with apples is self making dish. Not much effort needed, cuisine for relaxed cooks.
All You need is free range duck bought at the local farm, basket of dry apples picked an autumn time in our small orchard, grey sea salt from Guerande and freshly ground pepper. Stuff the duck with apples and rub it with salt and pepper. Fill the pot with apples and crown them on the top with the splendid duck. Pour glass of water into the pot. Water is needed for protection against burning the apples, just before juices dissolve and mix with the duck fat to make sweet and sour apple hummus to be consumed along the duck.
We use cast iron roaster, fire wood oven made of; mineral clay, fire clay brick and ceramics. It provides us with stability so much desired and needed in life. Stability helps to reach balance, rapid twists in mood and temperature brings risks. Firewood is used to make a healthy long lasting heat.

The cast iron roaster with the duck is put in the closed oven with rapidly rising temperature even to 400-500 C. After a while, an hour or so the damper is lifted a bit to allow entrance of bigger amounts of air, burning out wood quicker and lowering gradual temperature inside the oven. It makes duck crisp and tender at this same time. Using duck „unfriendly” terminology, killing two ducks with one stone. Nature makes a wonder, regulates itself, electric oven with complicated programming is not required. It takes overall 2-3 hours depending on the duck weight. Pull it out from the warm ashes.
Complimenting simplicity of the duck is red beet salad, made from boiled beet roots, cut into pieces and sprinkled with lemon juice squeezed out. Basic side dish that we discovered in Argentine, most likely brought over there by European immigrants from Italy.
Mashed potatoes, tomato salad with Italian olive, vinegar and chopped onions do do any harm to our simple delight. “La simple vie des paysans.”