You know how much I love to travel.  Well, sometimes — with the right ingredients available — I can travel, and never leave our kitchen.  Last night’s dinner and related bread-making for today provide good examples for vegan dining in the spirit of Provence.

It’s been about 20 years since my last visit to Provence, but the food, wine and beauty have stayed with me.  I’ve always been a fan of Patricia Wells’ cooking.  While I have not used her book The Provence Cookbook nearly as often as Bistro Cooking, it jumped off the shelf yesterday while I was browsing my cookbooks and provided inspiration for the evening meal.

I made four dishes from the fine selection of vegetable recipes in her book:

• Provencal Carrot Osso Buco
• Eliane’s Zucchini Gratin (using vegan sour cream and bread crumbs to make it vegan)
• Mireille’s Eggplant
• Braised Baby Potatoes with Garlic, Shallots and Onions
• oh, yes, and I threw in a few reheated Rancho Gordo Christmas Limas for protein

The results were as delicious as they were salubrious, perfectly complemented by a bottle of Patricia Wells’ own Cotes du Rhone, Clos Chanteduc 2005, from my cellar.  Recipes are shown below.

Bon appetit!