Southern Fried French

A New Way to See the French Countryside

If you travel to France to experience the French countryside, you may be missing the best activity you don't read about in the guidebooks : The Sunday Village Randonnée.

Randonnée in French means a hike. The "Grand Randonnées" in France are marked French hiking trails, sometimes hundreds of kilometers long. For the serious hiker who owns hiking boots, a backpack, nordic walking poles, and an outback hat.

That would not be me. If you are a fellow casual walker, as I am, and you're in France with a Sunday morning free, then the Village Randonnée is just the ticket. Depending on the village, they may be set up for bikes and/or horseback riders as well.

Riders get ready for a randonnée in La Vineuse

Many villages and hobby or charity organizations hold these events annually, most often on Sunday mornings, so let me walk you through the one we had in our former village of La Vineuse each year, planned by the village social committee, of which we were a part.

The posters had gone up, fliers had been distributed for our event. The festivities started at 7 am at the pique nique shelter at our school/mayor's office. We set up a coffee station, trays of croissants and pain au chocolat. As our visitors arrived, they paid a small fee and were given maps of the three marked trails (a choice of one, two, or three hour walks) to pour over, while we poured the coffee.  

The serious hikers arrived first, booted up and bursting with energy despite the early hour. This was the 3-hour crowd. 

Throughout the morning and afternoon, the more casual flâneurs drifted in, dressed in t-shirts and les baskets (tennis shoes). They came in pairs, with packs of friends, or in multi-generational family groups. We set them off in convivial herds. Couples pushing strollers, hiking clubs, college kids in lycra, seniors out for a spin, they were all there. There was laughter and camaraderie as they headed off down the hill.

A view from the randonnée course in our village

Mid-morning we did our next set-up, for the finishers who were starting to trickle in (except for the 3-hour crowd, who did not trickle, but strode in energetically as if they might take in a couple of aerobic classes and some weight-lifting in the afternoon). There was wine of course, to celebrate; plus trays of cheese and saussison, and cookies. The visitors lingered to discuss their walks and share a glass.

We've done other village randonnées, and they are great fun. There's a party atmosphere as you chat with other groups along the way. We've passed through hamlets, along farm paths, by beautiful country houses and gardens, by lakes and ponds, and there is usually a château or a church along the way, hidden deep in the countryside. If there is a better way to experience la France profonde, I don't know what it is!

If you can't find a randonnée fête, these signs help you go it on your own.

IF YOU GO: If you can’t catch a planned randonnée on a week-end, you can go on your own. Most villages have marked walking paths you can take anytime; look for the large maps signposted in a central location in many villages. Or you can download randonnée maps at http://www.france-randos.com (select your language at the top). If you want to participate in a week-end randonnée event, the local tourist office is your best bet, and you will always find them in the digital or print version of the local paper.

 

In the COMMENTS: Ann, I'm hoping the French breakfast is going to help with those pesky hips too! But then again, brioche with cherry jam, Jan, could tempt me in a skinny minute. Julie, at least your dog gets you moving in the morning, they are great for that. And Colleen, isn't that French bread wonderful? They've come a long way since it was only baguettes.

Favorite READS: Our favorite book critic Natalia checks in with some great new reads. I'm always looking for books in French that are not overly difficult, and my friend Debbie got me reading Guillaume Musso. By this author, Natalia recommends Skidamarink . She says: odd title, interesting story. Musso is hugely popular in France. To read one of his in English, try his thriller, Central Park. Natalia also recommends Cara Black and her Aimee LeDuc series, mostly set in Paris. And speaking of Paris, my friend Sandi is currently immersing herself in books about the city, and she says, "Your readers will LOVE A Paris All Your Own, by Eleanor Brown. She also recommends Paris Street Tales and Paris Was Ours: Thirty-two Writers Reflect on the City of Light.

 

 

Is Breakfast the Secret to the Skinny French?

There is the famous Full English Breakfast, with eggs, beans, sausages, tomatos, mushrooms, and toast (below). There is the American breakfast: bacon and eggs, maybe some Cheerios or corn flakes or pancakes. And of course there is the uniquely American tradition of brunch. Then there is: le petit déjeuner. It’s no surprise that breakfast is different in France. Does it perhaps have something to do with why the French are thin?

The English are not as thin as the French...(photo courtesy of i am a food blog)

In France, there is no grabbing a bowl of cereal while standing at the kitchen sink. I once quizzed the Lyon Ladies (Nicole’s big group of French friends from Lyon who lunch together periodically) about le petit déjeuner. “Breakfast is an essential meal, like any other,” they told me. “It’s important to sit down for half an hour, to relax, to start the day in a stress-free manner”. On this they all emphatically agreed. Eating slow and easy: good for the body, the mind, and the diet.

And what do they eat? Mostly unsweetened yogurt, and perhaps a breakfast tartine: a baguette spread with jam or butter, or topped with a slice of gruyère.  Though these days, a pain aux céréales, a whole-grain loaf, may take the place of the baguette. The offerings at le bougangerie are likely to look like the lavish spread pictured at the top.

Breakfast is taken with an espresso of course, and maybe un jus d’orange.  This sort of light breakfast has spread across Europe, hence the English term, “continental breakfast”.

le petit déjeuner

What the French do not have is a tradition of going out for a big breakfast at a restaurant. If you want breakfast while traveling, you pop into a café, where they will offer a tartine or a croissant, served with an espresso and orange juice (though for the chic and trendy French, especially the Parisians, American style brunches are popping up). 

So now when you travel to Europe, you can order breakfast like a pro. And in the French fashion, be sure it’s leisurely!

 

RECIPE: A different sort of Breakfast

I was at my sister’s house recently, and for breakfast she pulled out a big plate of some delicious looking baked pears with pecans. “I keep some of these in the fridge all the time”, she said. “They make a great breakfast.”

Nutty, caramely baked pears for breakfast? I’m in! I made a batch right away, but I used apples instead, because that’s what I had on hand, though the pears were even better. I added oats and raisins to the filling, to make them even more  breakfast-y, and I used just a small amount of maple syrup—honey would work as well— to caramelize them. They take just a few minutes to make, and then you’ve got a fabulous breakfast to look forward to, all week.

No recipe needed really. Here’s what I did, with my sister's advice: I cored the apples and cut them in half, and brushed them with maple syrup (or use honey). Then I put a handful of chopped pecans in a bowl with another handful of regular oatmeal. Raisins are a nice addition too. I added plenty of cinnamon (pumpkin pie spice, if you prefer), and just enough maple syrup to hold it all together. Add a sprinkle of cinnamond and bake them until they are as soft as you like; mine took 45 minutes, but pears might be quicker. We preferred them chilled, but zap them in the microwave if you wish.

This is a healthier version of the traditional baked apples, which are loaded with butter and sugar and are typically slathered with whipped cream or ice cream. Instead, fruit, nuts oats, minimal sugar— a breakfast fit even for the French! 

 

For other breakfast recipes, a bit more decadent, check out this post on cinnamon biscuits,  this post on baked eggs, or this post on morning buns.

In the COMMENTS: Your comments on Emily were most entertaining! I think y’all are equally split on loving or hating this “candy-coated romp”, as Jan calls it.  I think my friend Nancy got it right—she alternates between watching “Emily in Paris” and “I Am A Killer”. Cuts the sweetness a bit. And Susan V., I’m with you in that the little digs at the French AND the Americans keep us amused. Meanwhile, Francine and Jan mentioned some good French Netflix alternatives, which I’ve listed below.

Favorite READS & VIEWS : A friend has given me a copy of Suite Francaise, which I'm looking forward to reading. For French or French-themed shows on Netflix, our readers recommend Lupin, Call My Agent! (Dix pour cent in French), Balthazar (violent) and Paul Hollywood's Big Continental Road Trip. One more for you: We are really enjoying the charming French crime series Candice Renoir, about a single mom of 4 who is a detective. Find it on Acorn TV, where you can find lots of British and French shows.

 

 

Much Ado about Emily

We’ve weighed in before on Emily in Paris (you can read my original season 1 letter to Emily here), but she is causing such a stir again, it must be time to take another look. Season 3 of the show that people love to hate but watch anyway has arrived. So, fellow Francophiles, what do you think?

Is it a great show or what? True, it does depict Paris as a sort of perfect fairy tale kingdom. And yes, Emily SHOULD be speaking French by now. Bien sûr, it tosses around every French stereotype and cliché that ever existed, some true and some awful. For sure it makes American expats look bad. And no, if you worked in Paris at an entry level marketing job, you could NOT afford clothes like Emily’s. Unless, like Emily, you could conquer complex French luxury branding in little puffs of instant inspiration, without even speaking the language.

Emily's candy-colored, Disney-fied, Paris

 My take is, it’s all much ado about nothing. The show is a silly, sugary bit of Franco-American fluff that, for all its faults, is great fun to watch. I do have great sympathy, however, for Parisian residents who’ve had their favorite haunts overrun by the new Emily tourist crowds, desperate to replicate some of her experiences.

But let’s talk about those clothes! Even my husband, who has zero interest in fashion, tunes in for the fashion parade alone. A zebra get-up with giant wings! A hot pink confection that seems to be raining flowers!  Plunging black cut-out dresses that seem to be held together by air and a prayer! And that’s before we get to the French scenery porn. It’s a French feast for the eyeballs.

Below: Emily as a flying zebra, frothy in feathers, wrapped in ruffles, and bow-tied. Plus Mindy and Camille, in the (very) Little Black Dress.

 

My favorite deliciously cynical take on the show comes from sassy French academic Arthur Asseraf, a Parisian who watches while doing a live twitter feed commentary—“I suffer so you don’t have to,” he quips. He settles down to watch the show with this tweet:  “I’ve poured myself two glasses: one is full of wine and the other is full of righteous judgment, and I’m double-fisting hard.”

He also proposes an Emily drinking game: every time there is a gratuitous shot of the Eiffel tower or a person wearing a béret, you take a sip. Having tried it ourselves, we can tell you that you are going to need a very large glass of wine. His favorite scene is a double hit, a shot of the Eiffel tower with a guy walking by in a béret. “Take two sips and kiss your dog!”, says Arthur exuberantly.

Drink up! Emily sports a béret.

So how about you, dear readers? Is Emily your favorite show, or is it your French nightmare? Or maybe a little of both? 

 

In the COMMENTS: Natalia, a French teacher once told me that the subjonctif tense is going away slowly because the young people don't use it. Problem solved, I'm declaring myself young! Holly, the cookie cutters came from Amazon, they have every shape you can imagine. Colleen, hope you feel better and best of luck with your new children's book, It's a Rainforest, which we featured in the last post. Chris, looking forward to trying that oatmeal bread. Anne, be sure to send photos of those cookies.

Favorite READS: Next up on my reading list is The Billionaire's Vinegar, which my husband is currently reading, about the most expensive and famous bottle of wine ever made. And while we're on a Paris theme this week: Like Natalia, I've read Ann Mah's Jaqueline in Paris, which she is loving. Chris recommends Paris by the Book, by Liam Callanan, a mystery novel about love and loss. 

 

 

A "Sable" for Every Season

Every Christmas I buy pounds of butter and make mounds of sugar cookies—as I’m sure many of you do—which in France are called sables. The American and French recipes are similar, though the sables I buy in French boulangeries are slightly drier and less sweet than our sugar cookies, and equally delicious.

I love decorating the cookies as a group project—this year with my daughter and sister. We are not pros but we like to get creative. We were pretty proud of our wreaths, below (an idea we stole from Instagram--directions for those are here).

But decorated sugar cookies are not just for Christmas. They can make any occasion festive. I have a variety of cookie cutter shapes which are now overflowing in my cabinet. You can get the letters of the alpabet to spell out a name or phrase; my daughter has a tic-tac-toe set. Any theme is possible. And last year I bought a simple decorating kit for just a few euros, which made it all SO much easier.

So shall we broaden our sable horizon? How about heart shapes for your Valentine this year? For our beloved châtelain Pierre, I made châteaux for his birthday one year (see below). I did French-themed cookies for a party for a friend who was off to France for a month (pictured above). And at a French village flea market we sometimes set up a booth to benefit my cat rescue group, and I made the cookies you will see in the recipe below, to sell at the market.

My secret for making them delicious is to use lemon juice instead of milk for the icing. My daughter likes to add almond extract instead. Sugar cookies can be chocolate too, or other flavors, like the caramel-y castles above.  And while you have to be a bit of an artiste to make the fancy ones like you see on Pinterest, don’t be deterred. My daughter and I didn't get the  painterly gene, but we managed to turn out something respectable. If we can do it, anyone can. It’s like getting in touch with your inner child, no skill required.

My Thanksgiving dessert platter, with turkeys, leaves and pumpkins

I decorated this batch for Christmas in a hurry: no food coloring necessary.

 

RECIPE: Chocolate Sugar Cookies

For regular sugar cookies, I use this recipe from Ina Garten or this one from Sally's Baking Addiction. Or try a French sable recipe like this one.  Most of the recipes are very similar, but this chocolate variation (from Melissa Clark) is different and quite good. I've included three icing recipes as well.

• 2 cups/255 grams all-purpose flour
• ½ cup/40 grams unsweetened Dutch-processed cocoa powder
• ⅛ teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1 cup/225 grams salted butter, preferably European-style butter (2 sticks), softened
• ⅔ cup/135 grams granulated sugar
• 1 large egg yolk

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder and salt.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat together butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in yolk, scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary. Mix in flour mixture until just combined. Form dough into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour and up to 3 days.

Once chilled, remove plastic wrap and sandwich dough between two sheets of parchment paper. Roll it out into a 1/3-inch-thick slab. Leaving dough between the parchment, place it on a  plate and refrigerate for 30 minutes (or up to 24 hours).

Heat oven to 325 degrees, and line two cookie sheets with parchment paper, or a Silpat.

Pull dough from refrigerator, and remove parchment from dough. Cut out as many cookies as possible.  Transfer them to the prepared cookie sheets. Reroll the dough scraps and repeat (my tip: if they stick, instead of flouring your hands, the board, or the cutters, use dry cocoa).

Bake cookies for 15 to 22 minutes, until puffed and set, rotating the cookie sheets halfway through. Transfer pans to wire racks to cool completely.

 

For the icing: Use the lemon for regular sugar cookies, and either of the others for the chocolate ones.

Lemon: Mix 3 cups confectioners sugar with 1 tablespoon meringue powder (the powder is optional, but helps the icing set up better). Stir in fresh squeezed lemon juice (it will take several tablespoons) and beat until icing is very smooth. Stir in food coloring. Icing shouldn’t be so thick that it’s hard to stir , and a bit slow to drip, sort of like honey. Almond: As above, but use milk instead of lemon juice and add 1 teaspoon almond extract.

Chocolate: Melt 6 oz  dark or white chocolate. Frost cookies and top with sprinkles or colored sugar.

My Francophile cookie set

Next project: Charleston coastal cookies!

 

Favorite READS: Félicitations to our loyal reader, the artist Colleen Taylor, who has a new book out! It's a Rainforest is a children's book with illustrations by Colleen. Check it out, it's gorgeous!

 

 

Bits of French Wisdom for a Happy New Year

My friend Sandi in Charleston  is a book collector. Her house is full of books, old and new, from floor to ceiling. She's started selling old Charleston and southern themed books on her Etsy site, Charleston Ink and Art, so she is always on the prowl.

So as a gift, she gave me a real find: a little antique tome called "French Wit and Wisdom", stuffed with quotes from famous French authors of another era. The original price is printed on the leaf inside: $1.00 (which speaks to how old it is: 72 years to be exact).

This is perfect since we are in Charleston for Christmas this year, and I won't be able to share the  French quotes from the wrappers of the chocolate papillotes as I usually do (like this former post, and this one).  This little book is actually in English, but as usual I've got some French homework for you--I've posted  the quotes in French,  too, so you can practice. (Exception: no translation for a couple of quotes because I could not locate the original citation in French).

I've picked a sampler for you. Some of the quotes are appropriate and cautionary for our scary world at the moment, and some are just good advice. Inspiration for your new year's resolutions maybe? Joyeux Noel et Bonne anneé to all!

Here are some some wise quotes that seem right on target for our difficult and polarized times: 

Politeness acts as a guard over the rough edges on our character, preventing them from harming others. We should never lay it aside, even in contact with coarse people.—Joubert

La politesse est une sorte d'émoussoir qui enveloppe les aspérités de notre caractère et empêche que les autres n'en soient blessés.

 

In those countries where the morals are the most dissolute, the language is the most severe; as if they would replace on the lips what has deserted the heart—Voltaire

 

A sovereign is called a tyrant who knows no law but his caprice.—Voltaire

On appelle tyrant le souverain qui ne connaît de lois que son caprice.

 

Anyone who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities.—Voltaire

Ceux qui peuvent vous faire croire à des absurdités peuvent vous faire commettre des atrocités.

 

Religious zeal is a a pure and enlightened attachment to worship of the Divinity and its maintenance and progress; but when it grows blind and false and takes to persecution, it becomes the greatest scourge of humanity.—Voltaire 

 

Prejudice is the reason of fools.—Voltaire

Le préjugé est une opinion sans jugement.

 

Narcissists, like dwarfs, have the stature of a child with the face of a man.—Joubert

Les orgueilleux me semblent avoir, comme les nains, la taille d'un enfant et la contenance d'un homme. 

 

And some life lessons:

 

Jest with Life; that's all it's good for.—Voltaire

Je joue avec la vie, madame; elle n'est bonne qu'à cela. 

 

The more one judges, the less one loves.—Balzac

Plus on juge, moins on aime. 

 

We should wear our velvet next to the skin--that is we should be the most amiable and agreeable to those of our own family.—Joubert

Il faut porter son velours en dedans, c'est-à-dire, montrer son amabilité de préférence à ceux avec qui l'on vit chez soi. 

 

Had we ourselves no faults we should find less pleasure in discovering them in others.—Rochefoucauld

Si nous n'avions pas tant de défauts, nous ne prendrions pas tant de plaisir à en remarquer chez les autres.

 

We never live; we are always in expectation of living.--Voltaire

Nous ne vivons jamais, nous attendons la vie.

 

The most completely lost of all days is the one on which we have not laughed.—Chamfort

La plus perdue de toutes les journées est celle où l'on n'a pas ri. 

 

Merry Christmas and the happiest new year to all!

A Christmas scene, spotted on a village house in Burgundy

P.S. No new recipe today, but I did stumble across a recipe for my Lucky New Year's Pie, which made an appearance in a guest post for Kristin Espinasse's French-Word-A-Day way back in 2010. Some years back we decided to forget the Hoppin' John and make something with Gran Marnier every New Year's day, for some sweet good luck. And so far it's working! Lately I've been making a Gran Marnier soufflé, but this year I'll go back to this Lucky Gran Marnier pie recipe, loved and lost.

 

Favorite READS: I have one more quote from the book for you, from Joubert: "The one drawback of new books is that they prevent our reading old ones."  Le grand inconvénient des livres nouveaux est de nous empêcher de lire les anciens. In that case, why not revisit the ultimate French classic, Le Petit Prince, as I did recently--I hadn't read it since my high school French class. Better yet, read it to your kids or grandkids. or even more fun, you can find Le Petit Prince on youtube, narrated by Kenneth Branaugh, with the simple illustrations in the book brought to life with animation.

 

 

 

An Overnight Pilgrimage

“The sun was coming up. There was a thick mist hanging over the valley, and I could see the treetops piercing through it here and there. Up above, the village stood, like a pyramid reflecting the light. It was a magnificent sight, and it was full of admiration that I made for the Church of St. Madeleine.”—Prosper Mérimée, 1836

 

If you are a any sort of francophile (or of a religious persuasion), you have no doubt heard of the pilgrimage town of Vézelay, in the northwest corner of Burgundy.

As I’ve said before, one of my favorite things about living in France, and in La Bourgogne in particular, is the ability to go to an exciting new area, or even another country, for a week-end trip. We hadn’t been to Vézelay in a couple of decades, so when our dear friends Carol and Bill came to see us, off we went for a brief séjour, pilgrims for a day.

So what’s so special about Vézelay? A lot.

First of all, it’s not every church that (reportedly) has relics of such a famous saint, or that has been around since the 9th century. Pilgrims have been visiting La Basilique Sainte-Marie-Madeleine for 1000 years. It’s now a Unesco World Heritage site. It’s still a common starting point for the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela in Spain (if you’re up for a VERY long walk). The town has a long and rich history, as the originating point of crusades, a medieval mecca, and more.

The Basilica, a 12th century Romanesque masterpiece of a monastic cathedral, sits on top of the “Eternal Hill” that is the town. Most of the small village, which is packed with charm, is set along the one main road that leads from the base of the town, steeply, up to the church.

A visit to the inside of the church will surely fill you with awe, then you can descend to the small chapel below ground where the relics are kept. Behind the church is a jaw-dropping view of the lush rolling hills of the Morvan.

Semur-en-Auxois is on the way, so we did a quick pass through and gazed at the town from its perfect viewpoint. We also wandered through nearby Flavigny-sur-Ozerain, which is where the famous movie Chocolat was filmed (Johnny Depp, Juliette Binoche, Judi Dench. We watched it again, to put us in the mood for our trip).

IF YOU GO: In Vézelay we stayed at the very pleasant Hotel de la Poste et du Lion d'or. It was right at the base of the hill so you will have to walk up to the church. It’s mostly a pedestrian road but when we went to dinner we managed to drive up and park behind the church. In the past we’ve stayed a few miles away at a marvelous château, called Chateau d'Island.

If you pass through Semur, don’t miss lunch at Cuisine de la Fontaignotte, farm-fresh food with  a terrace that has a sweeping view of this exceptionally beautiful town.

In Flavigny, we got a very casual lunch on the Place near the church—picnic tables outside, and self-service—at La Grange, billed as a farm-to-table place, and it was quite a fun  pique-nique in the sunshine.

 

Vézelay:

Here is La Basilique de Sainte-Marie-Madeleine

 

Flavigny-sur-Ozerain:

This is the entry gate to the village

 

Lovely architectural details were everywhere

 

Our friend Bill peeps inside the window that was the chocolate shop in the movie Chocolat

 

This was a photo-op in a little square, and the first and last time you will see my husband in drag

 

Semur-en-Auxois:

One of the most beautiful towns in France, with dramatic views all round. You can read my previous post with more photos of Semur here.

 

 

Favorite READS: Speaking of French travels, who doesn't love Provence? Our book expert extraordinaire Natalia recommends An American in Provence by Jamie Beck. On a road trip recently, Ron and I listened to two Peter Mayle audiobooks, French Lessons and Twenty-five Years in Provence. I recommend the audiobooks because the readers, with their posh English accents, deliver the dry British humor with aplomb.

 

Santé et Salut!, with Gratitude

Happy Thanksgiving , y'all! “Thanksgiving is a joyous invitation to shower the world with love and gratitude.” says Amy Leigh Mercree. So let’s take a look at some appropriate toasts and inspirations for the day, from Americans, the French, and beyond, to guide you not just through Thanksgiving, but maybe through life. As Robert Lintner said, "Thanksgiving was never meant to be shut up in a single day.”

“What if today, we were just grateful for everything?”--Charlie Brown

Let’s start off with some toasts/quotes which are very appropriate for these polarized times, when a holiday meal in many families has become a fraught war zone:

 

“May the roof above you never fall in, and those gathered beneath it never fall out. Here's to health, peace, and prosperity.”—Irish blessing

 

Author Nora Ephron offers us a bit of hope:

“The turkey. the sweet potatoes. The stuffing. the pumpkin pie. Is there anything else we all can agree so vehemently about? I don’t think so.”

 

And a few more:

“If there’s one thing I’ve learned over the eons, it’s that you can’t give up on your family, no matter how tempting they make it.”—Rick Riordan

 

"Thanksgiving day is in the same month as election day so that we can drown our sorrows in gravy."--anonymous

 

"After a good dinner, one can forgive anybody, even one's own relations.” --Oscar Wilde

 

Now let’s move along to something a bit more inspirational, to express gratitude and love to friends and family:

 

Here is a lovely thought from Marcel Proust

“Soyons reconnaissants aux personnes qui nous donnent du bonheur; elles sont les charmants jardiniers par qui nos âmes sont fleuries.”  

(”Let us be grateful to people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.” Gotta love his use of the feminine pronoun here).

 

And while we’re going international, here is a bit of inspiration from a German poet:

“To speak gratitude is courteous and pleasant, to enact gratitude is generous and noble, but to live gratitude is to touch Heaven.” --Johannes Gaertner

 

Simple but beautiful:

“When we give cheerfully and accept gratefully, everyone is blessed.”--Maya Angelou

 

And finally, here are inspirational words from Voltaire that we absolutely do NOT want to follow on Thanksgiving Day:

“La modération est le trésor du sage”.

(Moderation is the pleasure of the wise).

Pas aujourd'hui, Monsieur Proust

 

On my part, I'm particularly grateful, today and everyday, to the loyal readers who keep this little blog going. Have a wonderful  and Happy Thanksgiving !

 

 

RECIPE: What to do with that Leftover Turkey

This year, we're making sandwiches from fresh biscuits, for tucking those delicious leftovers inside. Just make some biscuits, (recipe here), maybe with an oversized cutter, and pop some turkey and cranberry sauce inside. They would be even better with last week's sweet potato biscuits.

We did a trial run earlier this week with some leftover roasted chicken in a biscuit, spread with dijonnaise (for Ron), and for vegetarian me, I stuffed mine with a fried green tomato and some pimento cheese. Actually, the possibilities for a biscuit sandwich are endless! Or just go with the classic: biscuits smothered in leftover gravy.

 

In the COMMENTS: Tom, who knew Thomas Jefferson made sweet potato biscuits! I’m a little slow to catch up. Amy, buttermilk is absolutely an option, I use it for biscuits when I have it around. Susan, I confess I’ve never known the difference between sweet potatoes and yams, but I’m guessing either will work. And Natalia, an ooey gooey sweet potato casserole will for sure be on my thanksgiving table.

For your Thanksgiving viewing: We have been loving Magpie Murders, a PBS Masterpiece series based on the Anthony Horowitz book, which should be fun holiday viewing for the whole family. It inspired me to sample aHorowitz mystery in print; I chose A Line to Kill, which was as clever and creative a romp as the show.

 

 

"Les Patates Douces" Go South

When we first moved to France, you couldn’t buy a sweet potato for nothing. The French call them patates douces. But a couple of decades have passed since then, and now most grocery stores will have a few tucked away somewhere.

I figured the French grocery stores carry them for the Brits, as my French friends have never served them to us, but when I googled some French recettes lately, I found that adventurous French cooks are doing all sorts of interesting things with them: stuffing them with jambon cru and mozzarella, roasting them with honey and hazlenuts and feta, slicing them into a gratin with ginger, garlic, and cream, with a dusting of grated gruyère. They have, it seems, embraced the patate douce. 

 

Then, while back in Charleston, I saw a recipe that grabbed me. Sweet Potato Biscuits! Now how had I missed out on that deliciousness? And just in time for Thanksgiving.

 

I’ve made them twice now,  and they are pretty wonderful. They are even better the second day, if you split them and butter them and slide them under the broiler.

 

Got to run, I’m off to make these and introduce them to our French friends!

 

RECIPE: Southern Biscuits with Les Patates Douces

 

Be sure to throw a sweet potato in the microwave in advance, for the mash.

•  2 cups  flour (I used part whole wheat)
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice, or cinnamon
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
• ½ cup cooked, mashed sweet potato, (1 medium sweet potato), chilled if you have time
• 3/4 cups whole milk
• Heavy cream or egg wash for topping

Preheat the oven to 425°F (210C)

In a food processor, add dry ingredients and pulse about 8 times. Add the butter and distribute dollops of the sweet potatoes around the top. Pulse until you have a coarse meal, 8 to 10 one second pulses. Small lumps of butter are okay.

Turn out into a bowl, make a well in the center of the mixture, and add the milk all at once. Mix together with a fork just until the dough comes together. Do not overmix or knead—you are not looking for a cohesive, smooth dough.

Dump the dough out onto a well floured work surface and use your  (floured) hands to pat it roughly into a rectangle  about an inch thick (it's a bit stickier than regular biscuit dough). Dip a knife in flour and cut into squares. Use a floury spatula to lift biscuits onto a baking sheet. Put them close together, not quite touching. 

Brush the tops with heavy cream or an egg wash (an egg beaten with a splash of water).  Sprinkle the tops with coarse sugar and a bit of cinnamon or pie spice. Plain white or brown cane sugar will work too). Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the tops are golden brown. Serve with butter, or with honey butter or maple butter if you want to get fancy. 

If this recipe gets you on a biscuit binge, try these peach pie biscuits.

 

In the COMMENTS: Thanks for checking out Aryn's moulin project, so many of you were interested, and we are quite fascinated by it as well! We look forward to seeing her progress, and sharing it with you. It was fun to hear from those of you who have made the leap to France, as well as those who long to. And Paula, we know all about the pull of those grandkids (but ,sigh, we also know kids can move away unexpectedly, so following them can be tricky!).

Favorite READS:  If you haven't done so already, please take a detour and congratulate Kristi Espinasse on 20 years of blogging at French-Word-A-Day. She has been a great inspiration to me, and I'm sure to many of you too. And since many of you are avid readers, I think you will love reading Book Lovers, a very funny novel by Emily Henry, which has me staying up late these days since I can't put it down.

 

You Think You Went Crazy During Lockdown? Read this...

One day toward the end of the pandemic lockdown I got this amazing phone call from a reader, Aryn, in California. "My husband and I just bought an old moulin (a mill) near Beaune and I saw your blog. We've never seen the house--in fact, we've never been to Burgundy! Could you go take a look?" Well now that's adventurous, n'est pas!  Here is Aryn's story, in her own words, and you too can visit the "before" of the moulin, in photos.

Bonjour!
I’m Lynn’s crazy friend, Aryn.  My husband and I bought a 10,000 sq ft French mill which we had never seen in person, in a region of France we had never visited… from California… during a pandemic.  Oh, and it was built before the United States of America was even a thing.  Like I said…crazy.

I have always been a Francophile.  We’ve visited France several times and I love the style, history, architecture, gardens, & food.  My husband loves wine and cheese and investing in real estate, so buying a property in France seemed like something we would eventually do. We had been looking, though not very seriously, for years.  Then came 2020.

We were on lockdown, fires were raging in California where we live, the sky was literally orange, and America was one election from our beloved republic becoming an autocracy.

(Our house in the Bay Area 2020 in the middle of the day.  The smoke was so bad the automatic porch lights turned on)

Meanwhile, I was homeschooling two boys, and trying to determine which wine paired well with 4th grade math.  My escape was property hunting in France.   My husband and I had developed a long wish list of what we wanted in a property.  Regionally we narrowed it down to Burgundy, though we had never been there (temperate weather, wine, food, proximity to Paris & Geneva, etc.).   

One day in June 2020, a realtor based in Beaune sent me the link to an old flour mill built in 1767.  A quarter of it was livable, and the rest was a shell with several out-buildings. It was a mess and like twice our budget, so of course I fell in love with it.  However, we couldn’t even get to France to see it in person

While we waited impatiently for the borders to open, we did virtual tours via WhatsApp which I recorded, replayed, and analyzed with the attention to detail of a prosecutor investigating crime scene footage in a murder case.  I basically cyberstalked Beaune and the surrounding area via YouTube and social media (and when I found Lynn and this wonderful blog).  The more research I did, the more sure I felt that this was the place for us.  We just couldn’t get there. 

Thankfully, indecisiveness has never really been a problem for us.  My husband told me he loved me on our 3rd date, and I got married in the first wedding dress I tried on.  That’s just how we roll.  So we submitted a very low-ball offer and to our surprise, it was accepted on the condition we could close in May of 2021.  This worked out really well because it would give us the time to come up with the funds.  In the end, the process of buying a home in France was easier than in America.  Notaires are awesome!

The first time we went to Burgundy and saw Moulin des Fleurs was July 2021.  We were so happy! It is a massive project, but we adore it. We rented e-bikes and went riding through the vineyards.  My husband, who collects wine, has found his happy place.

I can already see the final renovated project my mind and it will be stunning (just give me like 5 years).  The neighbors are friendly and have horses that we can see from both sides of the house.  

The river running through the property is idyllic. It’s like living in a Carot painting.  We are so excited to start this adventure and a new chapter of our lives.  Feel free to follow our progress on Instagram at @lemoulindesfleurs

Thank you, Aryn, for this wonderful post. Welcome to Beaune and we look forward to seeing the progress. Stay tuned for the "after" post! 

 

In the COMMENTS: Debra, you are right, it’s not just France but a lot of Europe, who are leaders in energy conservation. Like the washers, we time our dishwasher for off-hours. Leslie, your long and interesting comment about energy conservation at home could be a perfect primer for being a responsible consumer in the age of climate change. Imagine if everyone did that! As Ali notes, Americans are not always the best at that (and how great that you added solar!). Colleen, your comment brought back memories of hanging sheets on our clothesline when I was young. We need to get back to that. And Natalia, I love the “dance of the shutters”, I am now twirling and leaping as I open and close my shutters every day!

 

Saving the Planet, French Style

In SO many ways, the French have taught us to change our habits. And in this day of high energy bills and climate change, the frugal practices they’ve used for years are looking pretty smart. We have gotten on board.

Let’s start with dryers. All that spinning and heating eat up a lot of energy. Most French folks don’t even have them, and if they do they use them sparingly. They hang their clothes outside, and not just for energy savings. They like the fresh air smell, and the sun helps to “blanchir” (whiten, brighten) things like sheets and towels (it’s better for your clothes, too).

If clothes lines are banned in your neighborhood (an unthinkable thing in France), try an expanding wall rack. I manage to dry almost all of our clothes this way.

The drying rack in my "bouanderie". Some of them fold back against the wall when not in use.

...but clothes can be hung out most anywhere.

 Then their is heating and cooling. The French use a passive solar approach. You may have noticed that almost all French houses have (fully operational) shutters. Houses have fewer windows here, and they rarely face north. When it’s hot, shutters are closed as the sun moves around the house, and opened back up as it moves along. It’s a bit of work, but it’s second nature for us now. Because it makes a HUGE difference. If your walls and floors never really heat up, the house stays cool. Everyone has standing floor fans, and the breeze they create is wonderful—much better than ceiling fans, I find. Despite a prolonged heat wave this year with temperatures often hitting 100 degrees, we very rarely turned on our  AC system. The French in general are not fond of AC—it’s fresh air all the way for them. Je suis d'accord!

Shutters in France serve a decorative function, but also a practical one

In cold weather, these same shutters are closed at night, to block out a bit of the cold.

American houses tend to have vast expanses of glass, and if they have shutters, they typically aren't functional or aren't used.  Partly due to the fact that screens are usually necessary to keep out bugs, but we don’t need screens here. However, we did have screens on our bedrooms windows in our former French house (to keep the bats out at night!), but they were retractable, so we could still use the shutters. I don’t know why all screens in the States aren’t retractable, it’s such a clever thing. There is something wonderful about a window that swings wide open to the sky.

No bugs--but bats! A couple of our bedroom windows, under the eaves of the galerie, were on their evening flight path.

One more thing: the French will never turns several lamps on for ambient lighting (guilty as charged!). Only the ones they need, which are always switched off when not in use. 

 

The French are by nature super frugal, and it’s serving them well in these troubled times. We could all be a little more French these days! Now what about y'all? Any energy saving tips for us?

 

Favorite READS: My friend Suzanne in Charleston, an avid reader, suggests a new French themed book for us: In Love with Paris, Recipes and Stories from the Most Romantic City in the World. Oh la la! Our voracious reader-in-residence Natalia recommends Lost in Translation by Ella Sanders for language lovers, and The House of Fortune by Jesse Burton, which she says is a "page-turner". And happy anniversary, Natalia!