Southern Fried French

A Vegetarian Cooks for a French Carnivore

Happy thanksgiving to all! Which is a uniquely American holiday, and which I love to prepare for friends in France. For our post today, we are of course going to be talking about food.

Have you ever been to a French marché? You may have drooled over Les étals (stalls) groaning with the most gorgeous vegetables you've ever seen, and lingered over a dazzling display of fruit. But here's what I've always wondered: when and how do the French EAT all these veggies, and in such grand quantities? French meals are decidedly meat-heavy. 

With these abundant markets, it's easy being a vegetarian in France, except when you go out to eat. I am a vegetarian, or rather a semi-pescatarian; if I didn't eat fish, I might perish from hunger  at French restaurants. To be fair, that's slowly changing; the French chefs are finally becoming enlightened, offering up more veggie choices. 

Fall squashes

I am married to one of those pesky carnivores, with a French attitude. So he alone gets meat at least a few times a week, chez nous. Which makes cooking a challenge, but over the years I've learned to manage two diets with a minimum of effort. If the thought  of divergent diets overwhelms you (as it did me, at first), here are des astuces: some tips. And they are tofu-free.

Have you ever been to a really good steak house in the US, where they typically have such a mouth-watering list of sides that you want to order them all? And even the meat-eaters dig into them, even before cutting their steaks? I use those for my inspiration. At most meals I try to make at least one delicious side dish--which is what I eat for my dinner--and then sometimes I cook a piece of meat on the side, for Ron. A scrumptious salad is always an option too.

I have my list of veggie sides (or main dishes) that please us both. Think baked mac and cheese; fried rice, rich with eggs and lots of veggies; a tomato and zucchini tart; a spinach/red onion quiche; fresh asparagus with brown butter, almonds and bread crumbs; a cheese and black bean enchilada casserole; a mushroom bourguignon; a luscious French vegetable gratin--you get the idea. Keep a list of the veggie side dishes and gratins you really love, and feature them. Pasta dishes are especially vegetable friendly. Who doesn't love a spinach and mushroom lasagne? Also note that with some casseroles, it's  easy to add meat to half of it. An example is a Chicken (or turkey!) Divan, which is layers of chicken and broccoli and a rich cheese sauce. Just leave the chicken layer off, on one side of the casserole dish, and you've got a vegetarian meal.

Even the carnivore didn't complain about this fresh tomato and zuchinni tart

The other tactic is to use minimal meat, just to flavor a dish. Just a bit of bacon, ground beef, or ham can transform a pasta, rice, or veggie dish.

My resident meat-lover has been known to order vegetarian dishes at US restaurants, because they are so tempting there. I make note of these, and try to make them at home. Ethnic restaurants seem to do the best job of this.

Like this week, when we went to an Italian restaurant. He bypassed the boulanaise sauce, the moradello, the proscuitto, the veal, in favor of a mushroom ravioli  with tomato cream sauce that sounded so enticing that everybody at the table ordered it. And it was delicious! Trying to copy it at home, I skipped the homemade ravioli for fresh refrigerated pasta, and it was still yummy (and super easy).  Make if for a post-Thanksgiving meal that won't keep you in the kitchen long, when you've overdosed on leftovers.

Here's a photo of the ravioli--my copycat version is below.

Bon appetit, y'all! And on this day I'm particularly thankful for my loyal readers who have stuck with me these many years!

 

RECIPE: Ravioli with Tomato Mushroom Cream Sauce

This is an approximation of the wonderful Italian dish we had.  It serves two.

• 1 small onion, chopped, or a shallot
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• 8 oz (250  grams) cremini mushrooms
• 1/4  teaspoon red chili flakes
• a dozen grape tomatoes, cut in half
• 1/2 cup chicken or vegetable broth, white wine, or a mix of broth and wine
• 1 heaping tablespoon tomato paste
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 2 packed cups of baby spinach
• 1 8 oz (500 gram) package cheese ravioli ( or your favorite kind. Toretellini works just as well).
• 1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan

Sauté the onions and mushrooms in olive oil on medium heat for about 5 minutes in a large skillet, until mushrooms are cooked thorough (if they give off more liquid than will evaporate, drain mixture in a colander, then return to pan and finish cooking). Add the garlic and the tomatoes and cook for 1 minute more.  Add the chili flakes, a generous pinch of salt and black pepper, and stir for another minute.

Meanwhile, cook ravioli, per package directions, drain, and set aside.

Add the broth/wine and the tomato paste to the skillet, stir, and reduce for a couple of minutes on a slow boil. Then add the cream, bring back to a simmer, and add the spinich. Cook and stir until spinich is just wilted; this will only take a couple of minutes. Stir in half the parmesan and then the ravioli, just to heat. Dish it out into pasta bowls and top with remaining parmesan.  If it's handy, a little chopped basil on top would be welcome.

 

In the COMMENTS: Paula, grandkids seem to be the number one thing that keeps folks attached to a particular spot—and understandably so. Not an issue for us, since ours are far away in Australia, but I certainly understand the pull. I think in fact you are living the dream, if not the one you envisioned. Monty, thank you for your enlightening comment—readers should know that you and Ali were a huge help to us, in making the leap to move. Candi, yes I also thought that photo said so much! Christine, I admire your resolve to give up the news, but I haven’t been able to do it—I sometimes wish I could (and I love Louise Penny). Bonnie you are a kindred spirit, as is Tom, a loyal reader who’s journey from the US to France I have followed over the years. Martin and Natalia, je suis d’accord--it’s hard to over-emphasize the importance of learning the language.

Favorite READS: If you liked the last post, you might enjoy Karen McCann's post, "5 Things We've Learned about Living Abroad. Karen and her husband are expats living in Seville. Natalia has a Christmas gift idea for your favorite sugar addict (of which I am one), Life’s Sweetest Moments, by a famous French pastry chef. Her description in the Comments will make you want to run out a scarf up a copy.

 

Moving to France: A Cheaper Retirement Option?

 

We are often asked, is it cheaper to live in France than in the US?

 

The answer is yes. If you are exloring a cheaper retirement option, which is also an interesting and exciting one, come on over!

 

At a time when many Americans want to escape the Recent Unpleasantness (to use the term that the ever-polite Charlestonians use for wars, hurricanes, and other traumatic events), it seem a good time to try and answer this question in detail.

 

Lady Liberty packs up to go back to France

 

I thought about the economic issue lately when a friend sent me an article from Forbes, suggesting that you might move to Europe if you want a more reasonably priced retirement.

 

So here is the situation on the costs of retiring in France, from our personal observations.

 

Is day-to-day life in France cheaper? Not exactly. Clothing is comparable, groceries are quite a bit cheaper, and dining out is way less expensive here if you compare it to prices in any sort of sophisticated foodie city, like Charleston. Cars are slightly more expensive here. Gas is more costly, about double the US price.

 

The real savings, however,  are in two big areas. 

 

The first one is real estate. if you are set on living in central Paris or on the Côte d'Azur, or in one of the uber-trendy perched Provençal villages popularized by Peter Mayle, then be prepared to spend big. But once you get out of these areas, real estate is quite reasonable and can be amazingly cheap, especially if you are interested in living in the countryside or in a village. Forbes estimates that real estate prices are 34% lower than the US. That's a big chunk of change. And you can do much better than that, depending on the area you choose. Rentals, by the way, are surprisingly affordable.

 

In rural areas, rentals and home prices can be astonishingly cheap

 

The other big savings will be in healthcare, and the healthcare system is excellent--above the US in most rankings. You can apply for entry  into the French healthcare system after 90 days in the country, if you plan to be a French resident. In which case the cost of your healthcare and insurance will drop drastically, compared to US costs. Or you can buy international policies for a sensible rate.

 

Depending on your interests, there is one other big savings: if European travel is your thing, your budget is going to go a long way. France is central, and you can travel to other places in France or most anywhere in Europe by train or with an inexpensive flight. Or, you can easily drive to other European countries (especially from Burgundy).  

 

For the European travel lover, France is a paradise

 

France and the US have a tax treaty, so you will not be taxed double on US pensions, social security, etc. But you must file French tax returns. You will only need to pay local taxes like property tax. 

 

But you might need to factor in this cost: the price of flights back-and-forth to see family, and friends, if this is something you plan to do regularly.

 

If your language skills are stopping you, well, then it's time to get to work! It's never too late to learn a language, at least enough to get by. Of course there are parts of France where you can get by with English just about everywhere. BUT that should not stop you from learning the language. It is simply respectful of the country you're going to spend time in, to make a concerted effort to learn their language.

 

 

So what are you waiting for? C'est le moment! Time to get packing! 

 

My other French expat readers, I hope you'll jump in with your experiences, in the Comments.

 

If you're really thinking of moving, check out our previous post on the practical stuff you need to do to move: Moving to France? Here's What You Need to Know.

 

In the COMMENTS: Laura, you are the first haggis lover I know! And it sounds like they really know how to fluff it up, or maybe disguise it. Julie’s husband might not agree, but he was a brave lad. And we are still talking about French hairdressers. Julie, your hair swings both ways, that’s a new one. And it sounds like your hairdressers went to the same French school as mine.

 

Favorite READS: The Charleston Literary Festival just ended, so I've been inspired by some new authors. I just finished Leaving, about a mid-life romance. A bit sad, but beautiful. We watched a one-man play by the author of All the Beauty in the World, based on the book, which was fabulous. It's about author Patrick Brinkley, who takes a 10-year hiatus to work as a security guard in the MET in NY.  And if you like the "Bruno, Chief of Police" series, Martin Walker has a new book out, A Grave in the Woods. Natalia has an uplifting book for us, which many of us need this week: Counting Miracles, by Nicholas Sparks.

 

How to Address a Sausage, and Le Hamburger too

Clockwise from top left:  Portabello Smash Burger, the Scottish Special, Lynn's Bean Burger, French Onion Burgers

 

Le hamburger is all the rage now in France. And surprise, they are even doing veggie burgers! And we have some really unusual ones for you today.

I have blogged before about veggie burgers, the homemade kind. I would love it if the world would kill fewer animals and eat less meat. And here is the thing about a veggie burger: A lot of the burger experience is about a good sesame bun, a wonderful sauce, lettuce, tomato, and cheese, not to mention those French fries that go with it. By the time you get down to the actual burger, you hardly notice that you're eating a well-made veggie burger, instead of a cow.

So I have three new ideas for veggie burgers for very satisfying, vegetarian burger- like sandwiches for you today. But one has a good story behind it.

We were dining with a new friend named Ann who is from Scotland, and she started talking about the Scottish national dish, which is called haggis. If you are not aware of this culinary treat, this is what it is: minced sheep heart, liver, and lungs, mixed with suet, oatmeal, onion, and spices like cayenne, nutmeg, coriander.

 

 The odiferous mixture is packed into a sheep's stomach  and boiled to make a kind of sausage. A bit like the dreaded French andouilette. (And by the way, haggis is illegal in the US because they do not allow the consumption of animal lungs.)

 

Haggis

 

Haggis is more than just a dish in Scotland. It's a symbol of the Scottish soul, their resilience. It's so popular you can even get haggis-flavored potato chips, or ice cream (non merci).

 

But what our friend Ann actually brought with her, and served to us, was VEGETARIAN haggis. Vegetarian haggis is the ultimate example of an oxymoron. There could not be a more animal based dish than haggis. How to make it without the involvement of a sheep?

 

The fact is, it was quite tasty, and the way it relates to our post is this: it tasted very much like a spicy ground beef! I think would make an interesting veggie burger--and I found recipes for it.

But there is more: when the Scottish eat haggis, it is first traditional to Address the Haggis. On formal occasions, this is preceded by bagpipes, and parading the haggis around on a platter. This ode to this beloved stinky dish is by the famous Scottish poet, Robert Burns, who throws in a dis to the French for good measure. Read it below, then watch the video, in Scottish brogue,  of the formal (and amusing) Addressing Of the Haggis.

Roddy the Piper Addressing the Haggis

Address to a Haggis (Translation)

Good luck to you and your honest, plump face,
Great chieftain of the sausage race!
Above them all you take your place,
Stomach, tripe, or intestines:
Well are you worthy of a grace
As long as my arm.

The groaning trencher there you fill,
Your buttocks like a distant hill,
Your pin would help to mend a mill
In time of need,
While through your pores the dews distill
Like amber bead.

His knife see rustic Labour wipe,
And cut you up with ready slight,
Trenching your gushing entrails bright,
Like any ditch;
And then, O what a glorious sight,
Warm steaming, rich!

Then spoon for spoon, the stretch and strive:
Devil take the hindmost, on they drive,
Till all their well swollen bellies by-and-by
Are bent like drums;
Then old head of the table, most like to burst, 
'The grace!' hums.

Is there that over his French ragout,
Or olio that would sicken a sow,
Or fricassee would make her vomit
With perfect disgust,
Looks down with sneering, scornful view
On such a dinner?

Poor devil! see him over his trash,
As feeble as a withered rush,
His thin legs a good whip-lash,
His fist a nut;
Through bloody flood or field to dash,
O how unfit.

But mark the Rustic, haggis-fed,
The trembling earth resounds his tread,
Clap in his ample fist a blade,
He'll make it whistle;
And legs, and arms, and heads will cut off
Like the heads of thistles.

You powers, who make mankind your care,
And dish them out their bill of fare,
Old Scotland wants no watery stuff,
That splashes in small wooden dishes;
But if you wish her grateful prayer, 
Give her a Haggis!

Parading the Haggis

So it you're not into "gushing entrails bright",  here are 3 recipes for veggie burgers. You can find my previous veggie burger recipe here.). See recipe photos at top.

These Mushroom burgers are simple and really delicious. From NYT Cooking.

 

Recipe: Mushroom Smash Burger

Serves 2

• ¼cup neutral oil, such as grapeseed, plus more as needed
• 1teaspoon onion powder
• Salt and black pepper
• 4 large portobello mushrooms, stems removed, wiped clean
• 4 slices sharp Cheddar
• 2 hamburger buns

Toppings (such as lettuce, sliced tomato, sliced onion, and pickles) and condiments (mayonnaise, ketchup, and mustard), as desired

In a small bowl, stir together the oil and onion powder and season with salt and pepper. Score the top of the mushrooms with an X. Coat the mushrooms all over with the oil mixture.

Heat a large cast-iron skillet over medium-high. Add the mushrooms and place a second heavy skillet on top of the mushrooms. (Wrap the top skillet in foil for easier clean-up.) Cook, flipping the mushrooms every two minutes. Once the mushrooms are flattened, about 4 minutes in, occasionally press down firmly on the top skillet to promote browning. (If you do this before they are flat, you risk splitting the mushroom.) Continue flipping and pressing until the mushrooms are browned and thin, 8 to 10 minutes, reducing the heat if they begin to char. If the mushrooms become matte and wrinkly, drizzle on another tablespoon of oil.

Reduce heat to low and top with the cheese. Cover with a lid or sheet pan and cook until the cheese is melted, 1 to 2 minutes. Add two mushrooms per bun and desired toppings and condiments.

 

This is a Ron favorite, it's really special.  All the fun and flavor of French Onion soup, in a sandwich, if not a true burger. From NYT Cooking.

RECIPE: French Caramelized Onion Burgers

 

Serves 4

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
•  3 tablespoons butter (unsalted or salted)
• 4 large yellow onions, thinly and uniformly sliced, see Tip
• Salt and pepper
• 1tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 3 cups shredded Gruyère, shredded
• 4 brioche buns, cut crosswise

Caramelize the onions: Heat the olive oil and 1 tablespoon butter in a Dutch oven or large, heavy skillet over medium. Once the butter melts, add the sliced onions and a large pinch of salt. (If your onions are particularly large, you may need another tablespoon butter to thoroughly moisten them.) Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are softened and translucent, 7 to 10 minutes.

Reduce the heat to medium-low and continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until the onions are deep brown all over, 1 hour to 1 ¼ hours total, reducing the heat to low if they are browning unevenly. (If the onions start to stick to the bottom of the pan and burn, reduce the heat to low and add the balsamic vinegar, stirring to deglaze the browned bits from the bottom of the pan.) When the onions are caramelized, stir in the balsamic vinegar if you haven’t already added it. Remove from heat.

Heat the oven to broil (on low, if possible). Place the halved brioche buns open on a sheet pan. Divide the cheese evenly among each bun half and broil until melted, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove the buns from the oven and sprinkle with ground black pepper. Add caramelized onions to the bottom half of each bun. Sandwich the two halves and serve.

TIP

• Onions that are sliced uniformly will brown more evenly, and onions that are sliced thinly will caramelize faster.

 

And if you are feeling really adventurous, try this, by a Scottish lass at My Inspiration

RECIPE:  Vegetarian Haggis Burgers 

• 2 cups chopped button mushrooms
  1 can brown lentils drained and rinsed, approx 1 ¾ cups (or dry lentils soaked for 3 hours then cooked)
  1 can kidney beans, drained, rinsed and roughly chopped, approx 1 ¾ cups (or dry kidney beans soaked over-night then cooked)
  ½ cup of oats (toasted)
  1 large carrot, grated
  2 clove garlic, minced
  1 white onion finely chopped
  1 tbsp light soy sauce
  1 heaped tsp of garam masala
  1 ½ tsp black pepper
  5 tbsp chickpea flour

Heat 2 tbsp of water in a deep pan and then saute the onion, garlic and mushrooms for 3 minutes before sprinkling over the garam masala, white pepper and soy sauce, stirring to mix everything together.

Using a stick blender, quickly pulse the mixture until it starts to break down, don’t turn it to mush, you just want to get rid of big chunks of mushrooms and onion.

Add the lentils, chopped kidney beans, oats and the carrot and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally to avoid the haggis sticking. Finally mix through the gram flour, shape the mixture into 6 patties ("I used a large cookie cutter and spooned the mixture inside, pressing it down to compact it, my burgers were approx 1.5cm high") pop in the oven to bake for 20 minutes. "I didn’t need to turn them over half way through so you can just leave them in the oven for the full 20 minutes." Serve with guacamole and French fries.

 

In the COMMENTS: So many great hair stories! Anne, I love the “slutty or classy” choice. I wonder what the slutty choice looked like? The hair color you are talking about is super common in France; and there was one year when it was really in vogue, and I swear every woman in France had that same mauve/burgundy hair. A friend calls it  “a color that does not exist in nature”. Connie, if anyone needs to know how to get semi-permanent color out of your hair tout de suite, I’m your girl. Mine is now back to light brown anyway. Pete, we have never quite known what to make of you, but we love you still. Martin, I hope you really trust that armed shop owner! And Francine, communication problems may be at the root of all this—see Anne’s comment. 

Rudy did in fact get a French crop which is très cool at the moment, but I hope he will let his curls grow back. Kristi, a coiffeur who doesn’t want to wash your hair is a new one on me. Cynthia successfully changed her part in France; and Natalia, I love the beret story—that’s a great rescue move.

And a real live barber checks in, thank you Oscar! I love that you’ll be discussing the post in your shop. And I do think your part explanation is the best.

 

Favorite READS: And speaking of cooking, Natalia is reading Ina Garten's new memoir, Be Ready When the Luck Happens. She is such a beloved  and inspiring writer and cook, I think a lot of us will be checking that one out. Great title, too.

 

 

Parting Ways with French Hairdressers

Are you parting your hair like a French girl? (photo, ellebangs)

I’ve posted about cultural differences many times, and please add this to that list: going to the hairdressser. Fun fact: France has more coiffeurs per capita most other European countries.

Which is why, when I see young French women with long flowing locks, I wonder why their hair often looks a bit stringy and, well, dirty.

We just watched a long French TV series, each with a different leading lady. All of them it seemed had gone quite a while without a good wash, and they certainly didn’t appear to own a comb. Vogue describes the current French look as "bohemian, poetic and soft" and even suggests that you go to bed with your hair wet and do nothing when you wake up.  But they add: "There is nothing natural about “natural”; messy and we look like we don’t care; too controlled and we can appear too prim.  There will be nothing quick or easy about this dishevelment." Hence, the proliferation of hair salons, to acheive messy yet poetic hair.

I found another answer to the stringy hair look from the many French hair salons I’ve visited (at least a dozen, over the years). They alway ask how often I wash my hair, and they are invariably appalled when I give my very American answer: every two or three days. Mais quel horreur! Never, ever more than once a week, I am admonished, and even longer is better. Over-washing will dry your hair out.

In the (politically incorrect) ad below, you see the French look: what we might call "beach hair", unwashed and uncombed. (And ladies, don't you always dress like this when you're using power tools?)

Then there are the haircuts. You can tell the stylists exactly what you want, but that may not matter much. Once, after having told a new hairdresser that I am tall so I never wear my hair short, and please just trim it lightly, I left in tears with what was nearly a buzz cut. Just this past week, I asked my stylist to tone down my summer-blonded hair just a bit. He proceeded to dye it a deep, dark brown.

Me, after getting my poetic French haircut

 When I asked a French friend why my style frequently varied so dramatically from my instructions, she looked at me like I had just fallen out of a coconut tree. “Why because they are French, of course. They do as they please.”

But after 20 years here, we’ve just learned another astonishing difference. Ron noticed that his coiffeur always tries to part his hair on the wrong side. I’ve noticed the exact same thing, with mine. So Ron asked him: is there a reason you always try to part it on the other side?

Monsieur’s response: “In France, women part their hair on the right, and men on the left”.

We knew the French had rules for most everything, but hair parts? This was news.

I have just googled this and I discovered that through the Middle Ages and into the Renaissance period in Europe, left-side hair parting was associated with nobility and sophistication. And so it continues, I suppose, but for French males alone.

The "French crop". Real Men part their hair on the left. (photo by Boss Hunting).

So now we are both experimenting with reversing our parts to the French way. For me, it’s a bit hard to get used to the right, after a lifetime of left. Ron wonders, if we visit the States, will we go back to our usual parts, then have to flip our parts back when we land in Paris?

 I discovered this week, when I posed the "part" question to a couple of other French coiffeuses, that there is no agreement on the subject (that too, is to be expected from the French). One said, it all depends on if you are droitier or gaucher (right or left handed). Another sniffed that it depends on which side "opens up your face" the best. 

Dear Readers, I would love to hear your experiences with French hairdressers. Any tales for us? Or maybe you've had bizarre encounters in the States as well. Do tell.

 

In the COMMENTS: Emily and Francine, un grand merci à vous aussi.  And also on Facebook, to Sandra, Joan, Linda ,and Ali. And of course to Natalia who has great books for us as usual. Ellen, you are right, Antwerp has more of a human scale than Amsterdam, and is imminently walkable. Anne Marie--ha! I wondered what Bunny Bowling was too.

Favorite READS: Natalia has two books for on the subject of art, and the art of the table: Renoir's Table and Monet's Table.

In the bad news department: Hurricane Milton followed close on the heels of Helene today, and our hearts break for those in their paths. I've been reading about the best way to help--which, unless you are close by, is to send money to the pros who know how to deal with this.The American Red Cross, and United Way   are working hard. And don't forget all those poor lost and abandoned animals. The Humane Society of the US has teams in the south, and are helping shelters. (Natalia, your quote about animals is one of my favorites!).

 

So Hip, So Urban, So ANTWERPEN

The Stadsfeestzaal Shopping Center in Antwerp, formerly a city banquet hall

 

We had been to Antwerp before, briefly, (the Belgians call it Antwerpen, the French call it Anvers), and  I didn't remember much about it. So when we decided to go there to meet up for a day with some old friends, and then added a few more days onto our trip, I wasn't all that excited to spend time in the city. After all, the French, as you may know, have a sort of ongoing distain for the Belgians, who are the brunt of many a joke. The stereotype is that they are a bit simple and all they eat are french fries.

 

Example:

Q: Comment fait-on pour rentrer douze Belges dans un coffre de voiture ?
A: On jette une frite à l’intérieur.

( Q: How do you get twelve Belgians in the trunk of a car?
  A: You throw a french fry inside.)

 

The Belgians, by the way, can give it right back to them, usually based on the stereotype that the French think they are superior to all.

Example:

Pour devenir riche, achetez un français au prix qu'il vaut, et revendez-le au prix auquel il s'estime.

(To get rich, buy a Frenchman at the price that he's worth, and resell him at the price that he thinks he's worth).

 

But I digress. What I want to tell you is that, in spite of myself, I was totally charmed by this Belgian city, both edgy and elegant. The architecture is fabulous. It seems there are more pedestrian streets than auto ones, all connecting charming little squares.

 

A tantalizing glimpse of a bistro off a narrow alley

 

 

This gorgeous building was on our favorite small square, Hendrik Conscienceplein

 

As far as I can tell, the main occupation of the citizens is DRINKING. Day drinking, night drinking, anytime drinking. The city is brimming with bars and their outdoor terraces,  and they are packed with locals all day. Do these folks ever WORK?

 

 

Primed with alcohol, everyone is quite friendly. This is the Dutch-speaking part of Belgium.  The Dutch are a fun-loving group, and some of their esprit seems to have spilled over the border, which is close by. Including the tradition of going everywhere by bike, with the whole family aboard. Amazingly I don't think we met a single person who didn't speak fluent English.

 

It helped that we had a hotel that we loved, the Hotel Franq. The lobby used to be a grand bank, and the vault now holds their wine collection. There was a surprise inside the internal courtyard: a historic Belgian bungalow.

 

The lobby at the Hotel Franq

The walled courtyard, with its little maison

 

 

We dined on the river, climbed to the top of the iconic city museum, visited gardens, and peeked into the luxury hotels that were out of our budget.  Come along for the tour, and you may be inspired to put Antwerp on your travel list too!

 

(There is one other special place we visited on our trip. But that is a post for another day).

 

We started each day at this tucked-away breakfast place. If you go, you must try this Antwerp specialty: a "pecan plait"--basically a croissant with a pecan pie filling.

We had a pecan plait every morning

 

 

First stop, Antwerp's famous MAS museum, with its theme of global connectedness. One can ride a series of escalators to the top, and the views just keep getting better. One thing I liked: pix of Antwerp residents of all ages lining the escalator walls, showing off the things they loved.

 

 

 

A little detour to the Cat Café. Gotta love a city that has a busy cat café on one of its main streets. Take that, JD Vance!

 

 

 

Cat: I'm in your lap, you ARE taking me home, aren't you? Me: How I wish!

 

Next, off to the Botanical Garden. Here are some pix of the statuary, and the tearoom:

 

Man emerging--or descending?

 

Next to the gardens was the Botanic Sanctuary, a new 5-star super luxury hotel in a renovated abbey complete with chapel, which we could only dream over:

 

the Foyer

 

The restaurant

 

The Lobby

 

Street Scenes:

 

The Antwerp cathedral, with a belfry an impressive 400 ft. high

 

Madonnas on buildings were a reoccuring theme; they protect the city

 

 

We passed this restauraneur at the Caramba several mornings, and he kindly became our de facto tour guide

 

 

Pick out your tattoo, from this storefront window

 

Whimsy was everywhere:

In a square, a famous statue of a boy and his dog, from a beloved children's book

 

 

 

Statues climb a building

 

 

 

Bye-Bye! We left from the "World's Most Beautiful Train Station".

I took this photo of the train station from the Grand Duca restaurant

 

Favorite READS: Natalia likes a new book by Jodi Picoult, By Any Other Name. Did Shakespeare write all of his own work, or was a woman behind it? She explores the question in this novel.  A book that's on my list that seems to be closely related is Shakespeare's Sisters, by Ramie Targoff, which follows the lives of four women writers in the English Renaissance--a time when women were not supposed to be writers. By the way, this author will speak at the Charleston Literary Festival in November. Book lovers, you will want to check out this festival! Or if you don't want to leave your armchair, peruse their schedule to discover the hot books du jour. 

 

 

The French Olympic 'Muffin' that Captivated the World

Lynn is baking again! That's always trouble. But here is the deal: if you live and breathe, you have heard about the viral  Olympic Chocolate Muffins. When the Norwegian swimmer Henrik Christiansen posted about them from Paris, the world went nuts. Muffins, which the French don't do at all, are a complete misnomer here. They are actually deeply chocolate baby-cakes. However, with the muffin moniker, you can then justify eating chocolate cake for breakfast. 

 

This swimmer will forever be known as "the Muffin Man" (photo from Honey)

 

It seems every cooking blogger is trying to hack the recipe. Someone in New York actually managed to overnight a batch of 300 of the originals from Paris, and the line at the pop-up to buy them snaked around the block. 

 

In the originals, the French baker bored into the middle of the cooked muffins and spooned chocolate ganache inside. Most copycat recipes skip that step, and we will too, because we are dieting, sort of. Well, except for the breakfast 'muffins'. 

 

So you don't have to, we searched the Internet for the very best copycat recipe. What's interesting is that the ingredients are all over the map. Things like instant pudding, molasses, and powdered milk all make appearances. 

 

The recipe we tried came from an article by a professional baker in which the author dived deep into a dozen recettres before choosing her gold star muffin. We chose this one partly because I related to the name of her site (I Bake Mistakes) and because it has normal pantry ingredients, plus a lot of sour cream, and how can that be bad? Except for the aforementioned diet, but hey. I felt it was important to get you francophiles up to speed on this. Ganache optional.

 

Not having tulip muffin liners, I watched a youtube video by a woman who made own, instead of buying them. She whipped them out beautifully on fast forward. I tried this and do not recommend it, unless you are crafty and have a free afternoon. Here is my pathetic effort (brown parchment paper would be more authentic.). But I have to say, they worked just fine. But our baker has given us alternate baking instructions if you want to make smaller muffins with just baking cups.

My unlovely origami tulip liners

 

Recipe: The Viral Olympic Chocolate Muffins, or nearly

 

The ingredient list is long, but they are actually quick to put together, unless you go the ganache route.

 

This recipe is by Kassie Mendieta, with a few minor simplifications by me. This makes 9 jumbo muffins with the tulip liner, or 12 with regular ones. You'll need to adjust baking time if you make 12.

 

It's optional, but she says they are better if you freeze them overnight before serving. A note on serving: before we ate them, I ran them briefly through the microwave, a few seconds or maybe 20 if you use the defrost setting. This made a HUGE difference--they were more tender and the chocolate chunks became soft.

 

Like any good baker, Kassie weighs all her ingredients on a digital scale. If you don't do this, I highly recommend trying it. It's so much faster, not to mention more accurate.

 

• 200 grams all-purpose flour
• 70 grams Dutch-processed cocoa powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon instant espresso or (or instant coffee powder)
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 275 grams light brown sugar 
• 100 grams whole milk
• 150 grams  (5 oz) vegetable oil
• 2 large eggs 
• 225 grams sour cream
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 113 grams semisweet or dark chocolate chunks (plus EXTRA for the tops)
• 113 grams ( milk chocolate chips or chunks (plus EXTRA for the tops)
• (MY NOTE: I used one 205 gram dark semi-sweet chocolate bar instead, which I cut into chunks).

Preparation

For the muffins:

1. In a large bowl, add dry ingredients; whisk to combine.
2. In a separate bowl, add wet ingredients; whisk to combine.
3. Add the wet ingredients into the center of the dry ingredients; stir with a wooden spoon until no dry pockets remain — you do not want to overmix the batter.
4. Gently fold in the chocolate chunks with a rubber spatula.
5. Set the batter aside for 30 minutes to an hour to rest before baking, and go do your morning triathlon.
6. Or while the batter rests,  prep the (optional) filling.
7. Preheat the oven to 420 F 

To bake the muffins:

1. 1. Once the batter is done resting, place the muffin liners in every other cavity of the muffin pan. 
   2. Scoop the batter in to the liners. For jumbo muffins, each cup should be filled a little over 3/4 of the way full.
   3. Bake for six minutes. When the timer beeps, do not open the oven! Drop the temp to 350 F and bake for an additional 15 to 18 minutes. Muffins are done baking when the center is set and a tooth pick inserted into the center comes out with a few crumbs stuck to it, or when the internal temp is 200-205 F.
   4. Remove from baking pan and allow to cool completely. Add the ganache if desired. To serve: They are so much better if you run them through the microwave briefly, not to make them hot but to soften the chocolate chunks.
   5. NOTE:To make regular sized muffins you’ll need to adjust your bake times. For regular muffins 420F for 6 minutes 355F for 13-15 minutes. Fully set in the center is what you’re going for, and an overall the internal temp of a muffin should be 200-205F when checked with a thermometer.

* * * * *

If you want to make the optional ganache for the center:

• 130 grams water
• 95 grams granulated sugar
• 35 grams Dutch-processed cocoa powder
• 20 grams corn syrup
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 80 grams heavy cream
• 140 grams dark chocolate chips

1. In a saucepot, combine the water, granulated sugar, cocoa powder, salt and corn syrup.
2. Bring this mixture to a boil over medium-heat, stirring often to avoid burning the cocoa powder.
3. Once the mixture reaches a boil, drop the heat to medium-low, cook it while stirring frequently until it reduces by approximately 1/3 of its original volume, 5 to 8 minutes.
4. Add the heavy cream and allow to boil for another 2 minutes.
5. Pour the mixture over the dark chocolate chips. Allow the mixture to sit for a few moments to heat up the chips before whisking to combine. Optionally you can use an immersion blender to really get things nice and smooth.
6. Set aside to cool until it’s time to fill the muffins.

 

Favorite READS: My library finally sent me The Paris Novel, a fun bit of fluff if you are a Paris lover or a foodie. Next up in the Paris category (that name in the title must really sell  books) is The Paris Understudy, a story of two opera singers under the Nazi occupation. Natalia's choice this week is Guillaume Musso's Quelqu'un d'Autre. Natalia, as you suggest--a friend gave me one of his books to read, they are a good choice if you want something very readable in French. And, Natalia has another great tip: go to French Books Online if you're looking for a good place to purchase your French books.

 

The Winner of the 2024 Olympics? Paris

The Paris Olympics poster

Have you ever gotten a really exciting, engaging Christmas letter, that you couldn't wait to read? Me neither. Except for one: Terry, husband of my college roommate at Furman (also named Lynn), often writes one that we happily anticipate. So when Terry and Lynn said they were off to the Olympics, their son and friends in tow, I immediately signed them up for a guest post. Since everyone else I know (including us) planned to avoid Paris like the plague this summer and watch the Olympics in safe and air conditioned comfort, I was thrilled to have these courageous adventure travelers to help us out. Turns out they made a brilliant decision.

Here is the report from our team:

"Ignoring the pleas on Instagram from Parisians begging us to stay away, and surviving United’s cuisine and sardine passenger packing, we arrived to join another 12 million visitors, for the Paris Olympics. The city, bathed in warm summer sunshine, was as lovely as ever.  

"We shared space with our group in three airbnbs scattered around Parmentier in the 11th. Like most Parisians living with too many people in too-small apartments, we depended on Paris’ welcoming neighborhood parks and corner cafes for our living rooms and backyards. Each morning early risers could spill out of the apartments to the cafe below to plot our day over café au lait and pain au chocolat. Quelle routine! As others got up, they could lean out the window to see what progress was being made on the planning. The picture below was taken looking up from our café at a few of the jet-lagged late risers.

"Parts of the city and most access to the Seine were fenced off to ensure security for the opening ceremony, but there was much to see anyway. If we couldn’t get into Notre-Dame, we could hear the evening organ recital at the second largest church in Paris, St. Eustache; we could walk the Champs-Elysées without any traffic, tour the three museums in les Invalides almost without other visitors, and admire the left bank undisturbed.  

Security barriers were a necessity

"The Hôtel de Ville was decked out, including areas for games, cooling tourists down, offering information and restrooms, eager volunteers, and family entertainment.  Outside of Paris Centre, neighborhoods were quiet, Paris seemed remarkably normal—with many Parisians off for les vacances; the Assemblée Nationale abandoned except for the coca cola delivery truck, and the corner of St. Germain and St. Michel was empty of students.  

l'Assemblée Nationale

Spritzing the tourists

The Hôtel de Ville offered multiple activities

The Hôtel de Ville (photo, Ville de Paris)

"This was a remarkably digitalized Olympics, with apps for transportation, events information, transportation directions, the buying and selling of tickets. There was no room for scalpers, no paper tickets, everything was on-line and worked remarkably well. We still needed maps ourselves, being of a certain age, but were impressed by just how well everything worked. Until it didn’t. We made it to the Stade de France for the Rugby 7s only to find after the matches ended, one of two major metro stations, the one closest to the Stade had been closed just as the crowds left the stadium. The reason—too many people—and we were directed to the next closest, a terrifically modern and efficient new station, but an unshaded, 90 degree walk at least a mile away.

Their friends Dick and Carolyn plot the day's course

The crowds at rugby

"And there were lots of free spectator opportunities. We’d never seen Canal St. Martin or, Père LaChaise Cemetery, the resting place for Edith Piaf, Jim Morrison and Oscar Wilde. Time trial cycling whirled around La Bastille for most of a day despite a drizzle, and the flame was anchored in the Tuileries.  We missed the triathlon swimming in the Seine—the e-coli count was too high, but it did go off the next day.

Cyling in the rain

The Olympic Flame

Pollution was touch and go on the waterways. This is Canal St. Martin

"Crowds were impressive and complicated by security and matches running overtime. But the Parisian reputation for surliness towards foreigners no longer is deserved—waves of volunteers and staff tried valiantly to be helpful.

The crowd scene

"If you couldn’t get into events, there was much to see outside. Who knew that right next to tennis was one of Paris' horticulture gardens? Le Sacré Coeur is still lovely at sunset, and the Parc des Nations at Parc de la Villette, with houses from India and Taiwan to Slovakia and the Netherlands, offered lessons in archery at the Mongolia House (evidently Mongolians are great archers and are particularly good shooting while riding at full speed on wild ponies). At the Parc there were also sobering reminders of war in Ukraine.

 

Lynn and Terry at the Mongolia House

Lessons in archery at the Mongolia House

Persevering in the face of war; note the tire "dumbells"

"At Club France, you could try out various olympic sports yourself: field hockey, cross country, cycling, and what it would be like to be a Paralympian. Thousands watched France win a fencing match, and Tuga, the mime, was there as well, only to show up the next night at beach volleyball under the Eiffel Tower.  

At Club France, you could get into the olympic act!

 

A watch party for the fencing match

 

Tuga the mime

Beach volleyball

"Food at Club France was excellent, as to be expected, but at many of the individual event venues, there was not much to get excited about. We took a picture of the menus as proof.  

Pop-up food venues

 

Not so exciting. Except for those double chocolate muffins which have acheived international fame! We will have to make them.

"There was merch to be had, and now we can sit at home, contemplating our visit, over coffee in our souvenir mug. The Olympics are a remarkable celebration of human aspirations. As we watched skateboarding on television a few nights ago, with the Concord’s obelisk and the Eiffel tower in the background, we were struck by the vision and ambition of those who decided to turn Paris, with its beauty, history, art and culture, into a stage for the games and impressed at the extent to which they succeeded."

 

 

 I award our reporting team a gold medal for their guest post. Mille mercis!

Did anyone else attend the olympics? We were glued to the TV, it was so fun and inspiring!

 

Favorite READS and VIEWS: Cinda, by email, has a book recommendation for us: In France Profound : The Long History of a House, a Mountain Town, and a People, by T.D. Allman. This one is set in southwest France. Natalia has a feel-good book for us this week: Seven Perfect Things by Catherine Ryan Hyde, a novel about finding joy. And if you're looking for an interesting read this week, try Karen McCann's blog, always entertaining. She pays a visit to Immigration Station on Angel Island, and learns all about our sorry history of taking in immigrants there. Sadly we still demonize the immigrants that are essential to supporting our country. She quotes FDR: “Remember, remember always, that all of us, and you and I especially, are descended from immigrants and revolutionists.”

On TV, two European favorites are back: Emily in Paris (Netflix), and Signora Volpe (Acorn), set in Umbria.

 

Three Cooks and a Cherry Tree

Black Forest Cake from Sally's Baking Addiction

 No self-respecting French person living in the countryside would be without un verger--an orchard--no matter how small. When our châtelains Nicole and Pierre downsized from the château, they bought a village house with no verger but with one grand, magnificent cerisier that shades the large patio (where the parties continue, château or no). In a good year, when the fruit is abundant, after our French conversation group ("Ecole Nicole") is over, everyone grabs bowls and ladders. We go home with baskets brimming with fresh cherries.

I'm not sure how I got on this bee in le bonnet, since I'm not a baker, but this year I decided it was essential for Nicole and I to make a big fat Black Forest Cake together, with her beautiful cherries. 

Our big summer party, with all of our expat and French friends, was held this week. Everyone brought a favorite dish. And ours was to be this grand cake.

I chose the recipe pictured above. Here are a couple more renditions to drool over:

Of course I got to wondering how this internationally popular cake came to be. Turns out it was created in 1915 by German chef Josef Keller, as a treat for his tea room. The Black Forest is a dense pine  and fir forest and the area's main crop is of course cherries, plus they make good chocolate. At fêtes in the area, traditional dress is worn, with the colors of the costumes echoing the colors of the cake: black for dark chocolate,  white for the cream. The rather fantastical hats, with huge cherry poufs on top, are called Bollenhuts (red cherries for single ladies, dark cherries for married ones. Though if these hats are designed  to help catch a mate, they may want to try a different tactic).

I made a 3 layer chocolate cake--following the recipe exactly, which is normally against my principles-- and then took it over to Nicole's early that day, so we could layer it with cherries, smother it in whipped cream frosting, and make a chocolate ganache to drizzle over the whole she-bang. Our friend Dee, visiting from the Alps, got right into the choco-cherry spirit. The more bakers, the better. I used the recipe from Sally's Baking Addiction.

And did our cake look like Sally's photo at the top? Um, pas exactement. Cake by Committee may not be the best idea, for the decorating phase. Let's just say it was a Cake of Character.

Our  slightly lopsided and gloppy cake may not have looked like the photo, but there was not a crumb left. 

 

RECIPE: Not Quite Sally's Black Forest Cake

I've included directions here to help you avoid the gloppy look!

• Author (with minimal changes): Sally
• Yield: 12 servings (mine easily served 15)

Ingredients

Chocolate Cake

• 1 and 3/4 cups (219g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
• 3/4 cup (65g) unsweetened natural cocoa powder
• 1 and 3/4 cups (350g) granulated sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons espresso powder (optional)
• 1/2 cup (120ml) canola or vegetable oil
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• 3/4 cup (180g) full fat sour cream, at room temperature (I used crème fraîche entière)
• 1/2 cup (120ml) buttermilk, at room temperature (I added 1 teaspoon of lemon juice to whole milk and let it sit 10 minutes).
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup (120ml) hot coffee
• 2 (15 ounce) cans dark sweet cherries in heavy syrup (or make your own, SEE  MY NOTE)
• 2 Tablespoons cherry liquor (sold as kirsch or kirschwasser. Or use what you have: brandy or amaretto or creme de cacao, or skip it).

Chocolate Ganache

• 1 cup (240ml) heavy cream 
• two 4-ounce semi-sweet chocolate bars (226g), chopped

Whipped Cream

• 2 cups (480ml) cold heavy cream or heavy whipping cream
• 1/4 cup (30g) confectioners’ sugar
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• Whip cream fixative, SEE MY NOTE

NOTE : We used fresh cherries, not canned.  I cooked them down to make cherries in syrup using this recipe at Magnolia Days.

Also, our cake didn't hold together so well when we cut it. Next time I would add either a whipped cream fixative powder, or a couple of teaspoons of instant vanilla pudding, to stabilize and thicken it.

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C). Grease three 9" cake pans lined with parchment paper rounds, then grease the parchment paper.  (if like me you have just 2 pans, cook the first two, cover and refrigerate remaining batter, then cook third one).
2. Make the chocolate cake: Whisk the flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and espresso powder (if using) together in a large bowl. Set aside. Using mixer fitted with a flat beater, beat the oil, eggs, sour cream, buttermilk, and vanilla together until combined. Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, add the coffee, and beat until completely combined.
3. Divide batter evenly between 3 pans. Bake for 21-25 minutes. Baking times vary, so keep an eye on yours. The cakes are done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Set on a wire rack. Cool 30 minutes in the pans, then remove  from pans and set on a cooling rack. 
4. After the cakes have cooled, use a large serrated knife to slice a thin layer off the tops of the cakes to create a flat surface. (mine were flat, so no need!).
5. Prepare the syrup: Drain the cherries, reserving 3/4 cup (180ml) of the heavy syrup (if it's not thick, reduce it down, on a simmer. You will only need about 1/4 cup).
6.  Brush reduced syrup all over the cakes.
7. Slice the cherries in half, leaving a few whole cherries for garnish. Set aside.
8. Make the ganache: Place chopped chocolate  in a medium bowl. Heat the cream in a small saucepan until it begins to gently simmer. (Do not let it come to a rapid boil). Pour over chocolate and let it sit for 2-3 minutes to gently soften the chocolate. Slowly stir until completely combined and chocolate has melted. Set aside to cool for 10 minutes as you prepare the whipped cream (mine needed longer; I put it in the fridge for a bit).
9. Make the whipped cream: Whip the heavy cream, sugar, and vanilla extract on medium-high speed with a mixer until soft peaks form, about 3 minutes (add a fixative if you like).
10. Assemble: Place 1 cake layer on your serving plate. Spread 1 heaping cup of whipped cream evenly on top. Dot with half of the halved cherries and drizzle with a spoonful of reduced syrup. Top with 2nd cake layer and evenly cover the top with 1 heaping cup whipped cream, the remaining halved cherries, and another drizzle of reduced syrup. Top with the 3rd cake layer. Spread the remaining whipped cream on top and all around the sides in a thin layer using an icing spatula. Use a bench scraper to smooth out the whipped cream on the sides of the cake.
11. Pour chocolate ganache on top of the cake, in small amounts at a time to see how it's going to drip. Thick enough to barely drip unless you help it a little, is the best. Spread to the edges of cake. Take a flat, narrow spreader or table knife and pull some to the edges gradually until they drip over. Top with whole cherries. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before serving.
12. Cover and store leftover cake at room temperature for 1 day or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

 

PS. My apologies if you are a subscriber and received two emails instead of one this time. My email server decided to do this with no input from me! I hope I have fixed the problem. 

In the COMMENTS: Gwyneth, what a beautiful name, English I’m assuming. Thanks for joining in. And yes, I think those straw finials are a kind of signature as well. Creative, n’est pas? Libby, the driving is absolutely terrifying. And Cambridge is now on my travel list. Merci for all the nice comments.

Favorite READS: Natalia has something different to  recommend to us this week: a coffee table book called Empress of the Garden. Full of gorgeous rose pictures. I share your love of roses, Natalia and your maman's—especially the antique ones. 

For art lovers: Our good friend Julie Messerschmidt is a painter extraordinaire. She shows at the Stevenson & Co Gallery in Charleston, and sells on-line as well. She has a new exhibit of paintings inspired by seasonal fruits and vegetables. She used Amalfi lemons for the winter-inspired one, below, in progress. I love this photo from her atelier in Mersault, which shows how she sets up a real still-life vignette to paint from. You can see more of her work here or at the gallery site, above.

And the finished work: Wonderful!

A Very Mysterious University

For years, our favorite mystery series on TV has been a British show called Inspecteur Lewis. Erudite and cerebral as mysteries go, it's set in the English town of Oxford. Although there is always a body, there is also usually poetry, a literary reference, or some intellectual trope that sets it a cut above your typical crime drama. But certainly Oxford seems a dangerous place to be, as the series has had 33 episodes. For a small town, that's a whole lot of bodies.

So we were very excited to visit the scene of the crimes. The actual reason for the trip was to visit our dear friends John and Joan, who happened to live in Oxfordshire (which is close to the Cotswolds, recently covered in this post.).  John is a Senior Research Fellow at Oxford and has managed to survive, without encountering a single diabolical villain.

An Oxford selfie with John & Joan

There is a reason the series is set in Oxford: it's a town of great architectural beauty and rich  history. Oxford is the oldest English speaking university; one could have studied at Oxford in 1096. It is also much loved and visited, so they've closed the city center to traffic. Our friends gave us an insider tour, including entries to several of the many colleges of Oxford, and the best historic pubs, of course.

It was fascinating to discover that Oxford is set up quite different from American universities. There are a series of "colleges", 30 in all, and you apply to the one that suits you.These are not based principally on subject matter; they each have their own personality, and you find one that fits yours. It makes the university experience more intimate, and less over-whelming perhaps. Some colleges are made up of beautiful old buildings, arranged around a classic quadrangle. Others are in new, modern buildings.

A student studies in the gardens of a college

 

More photos:

On the green of John's college, a cut-throat game of croquet . See the guy in PJ's-- Joan says it's a campus trend to wear them out and about.

 

Our friend John's office has a beautiful view, inside and out.

 

In the very heart of Oxford is the baroque Radcliffe Camera, circa the 1700's, an iconic building built as a library that still serves as a reading room for one of the colleges.

 

Of course there are cozy historic pubs.

 

John told us that many students come back to Oxford to get married on campus, like this bride and groom we encountered.

Remains of the Day: sweeping up the rose petals.

 

The day we visited there was some sort of graduation ceremony going on, and it was fun to see the happy faces.

This grad's son proudly accects Dad's diploma

 

A bit of window shopping: I coveted this English fascinator

 

Now on to Oxfordshire. Our friends' village in Oxfordshire is as postcard-pretty as the Cotswolds. We were charmed by the village church. Can't you just see Elizabeth Bennet chatting with the vicar?

 

Houses in this area tend to have names, not numbers. The postal workers have to memorize where each is located.

What a pleasure to stroll to this fanciful mail box to post your letters

 

Many houses in their village have beautiful tucked-away gardens.

Our friends' charming garden includes a wishing well.

 

The many thatched roofs are a marvel. Traditionally when finished, they place a small animal statue at the top. These are called straw finials, and they ward off evil spirits.

 

Merci John and Joan, for a super visit!

 

Recipe: Joan's Mini Pavlovas

Photo credit here.

Pavlovas are the ultimate light summer dessert, and Joan made these lucious individual ones for us. Joan makes merigues like this: use 2 oz of sugar for every egg white. Beat the egg whites until stiff, then whisk in the sugar. Pipe or form into nests and bake at 275 (140C) for one hour. Turn off the oven and leave them there for several hours or overnight. (But sometimes Joan just buys them--making it the world's easiest dessert if you can find them! She gave me some as a gift, after I bugged her for the recipe, and complained that I'm terrible at making meringues:

Fill the meringues, homemade or not, with whipped cream, and top with berries (Joan sometimes uses Greek yogurt). Drizzle with fruit coulis if you have some, or you can just sweeten the berries with a bit of sugar ahead of time, then chill them, so they give off some juices. Or, just melt some berry jam, strain it and chill.

 

PS: The olympics start today! We aren't going, but we're sending a crack team to report on the story and do a guest blog for us.

We did watch the olympic flame pass through Beaune last week, though. It was fun to see. There were 5 runners in Beaune (though they mostly stroll). Here's a photo of the hand-off.

 

In the COMMENTS: Paul, the crazy logistics are part of the fun, aren’t they? It’s quite a production. Ian, I agree—worth watching just for the visual tour de France. Chris, Yikes! Please stay cool in Sacramento. That is scorching hot even for Charleston. 

Favorite Reads: Natalia likes the French edition of Danielle Steel’s book, Second Vie. I do what Natalia does sometimes, read a book in one language and re-read it in the other. When I am disciplined enough to read in French, which is not often enough! Chris liked The Paris Apartment, a light read we’ve talked about before—good to pick up for your summer vacation.

 

From our Friends at EuropeanMarket: If you're looking for a gift for a francophile (or yourself!), check out the collections of curated gifts from EuropeanMarket.

Un torchon from EuropeanMarket, for the kitchen

 

 

Your Virtual Day at the Tour de France

Is watching the Tour de France in person on your bucket list? If not, maybe it should be. All the details you need are here. This week was our fourth time to see it (see previous post), and it's always great fun. Even watching it on TV is amusant, because you get a free aerial view of the French countryside, and it's gorgeous. The route changes yearly and the Côte d'or was on the route this year. You could see aerial views like Semur-en-Auxois (the start of the July 6th stage), Château de la Rochepot, and Château Sainte Sabine.

But don't think you're going to just stroll out and watch the bikes go by and go home--even though the pack, or pelaton as it's called, take about 20 seconds to zip by you. It's always a big event, an all day affair. Well, any excuse for a French party.  Our stage also happened to be the 4th of July, so we had lots to celebrate.

If you're not familiar with the tour, there are 176 male riders and 22 teams. The race goes on for 21 days (a day's race is called a stage), along a punishing course, about 2200 miles total. It ends July 21 this year, so you can still check in. Though individuals win various stages and categories, plus the grand prize, it's mostly a team effort.

This year, our friends Julie and Paul hosted our watch party of 20. The day before, they scouted a good spot to pitch a party tent, deep in the vineyards near Mersault. Even the day before, one could see lots of camper vans parked along the route, getting set up to watch it. (Note: don't pick a spot at the bottom of a hill, where they will go by in a blur). This particular day the stage went from Macon to Dijon, and it wound around the narrow vineyard roads  through several pretty wine villages near us.

We arrived at 1pm, with coolers of wine and snacks, to see the "caravan". This is a sort of pre-game show, a parade of fast cars. There are various gendarmes in cars or on motorcycles, lights flashing, and lots of press vehicles. Then come the sponsors. They ride on fancy decorated trucks, music blaring and shouting to the crowd. They throw swag at the crowd as they zip by.

Everyone dives for the goodies. We collected T-shirts, hats, detergent, samples, candy, packages of cracker or olive oil, all sorts of treasures. A friend was standing next to a a three-year-old boy, so adorable that the sponsors aimed a lot of swag right at him. He collected quite a cache. She shamelessly negotiated with him, and was able to get a nice zebra print sleep mask in exchange for a pack of candy.

Our friends Heather and Kent, who traveled to see the race. Both scored some swag: 2 great hats.

Our crowd waits for the tour

By 3 o'clock the caravan was over and we started to see more press cars coming by. Everyone was eagerly awaiting the riders, who were to arrive around 3:30. There is a helicopter that follows and videos the tour the whole way, so this harks their  arrival, and everyone was straining to see and hear the distant chopper. Other helicopters zipped by, taking those aerial views of the beautiful countryside.

Winners from the stage the day before wear a particular color jersey. Here is what to watch for: the leader of the race so far wears a bright yellow jersey, called the Maillot Jaune. The white one is worn by the fastest rider under age 26. A green jersey is worn by the winner of the the complicated daily points system, which means in fact he is a strong sprinter. The garish, red and white polka-dot jersey is worn by the "king of the mountain",  the best climber.

Photo of jerseys from the site, The Tour de France, Explained.

The excitement grows with the buzz of the approaching helicopter, and the revelers abandon their lawn chairs to position themselves along the route. Finally, we spot the peloton about a half a mile away. Allez allez! A couple of quick snaps with our phones, and they leave us in the dust. The crowd where we were watching was uncharacteristically polite, no idiots jumping out in front of the riders or trying to touch them.

Ils arrivent! The guy on the back of the motorcycle is filming the leaders.

 

By some miracle I managed to get a shot of the yellow jersey, Tadeg Pogacar of Slovenia

 

The helicopter hovers right above us as the race passes by

The riders are followed by a series of cars carrying the back-up bikes on their roof. Literally Hundreds of bikes go by!

a parade of back-up bikes

And at the very end is the balay van, or the broom truck, whose mission it is to sweep up any riders that give up, dropout, fall, or experience some other catastrophe.

The white balay truck signals the end of the parade.

 Then it was time to pack up and go back to Mersault to Julie's and Paul's house, for an afternoon barbecue that went well into the evening. Phew! It's pretty exhausting, this Tour de France!

Ron in party mode, wearing his yellow jersey (Ron's famous 20-year-old  yellow jersey is explained in this post.)

 

In the COMMENTS: Karim  has some new wine terminology for us. Colleen, ignore those folks! I didn't drink wine for a year after Covid, so I know what you mean. Natalia, thanks for your nice comments. I neatened up for the shots! Dottie, I did not remember that Alex is a sommelier, he must come to Beaune sometime. 

Katherine, the cork kindling idea is brilliant, that's news to me. Vicky and Rollin's suggest a wreath, and Rollin has included a link for that. and Melinda suggest trivets. Ellen, I have no doubt your creative husband will come up with some fabulous idea, if you don't come up with one first.

Favorite READS and VIEWS: If you want to watch the race without spending hours every day, try the one-hour highlight show every evening on Peacock.

Natalia has a good book for us, comme d'habitude: The Lost Bookshop, by Evie wood. Merci Natalia!




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