FRENCH WORD-A-DAY

Un Jour à la fois: One day at a time during the holidays + Tarte Tatin recipe

Take inspiration from these jolly characters, left, and hang in there when this holiday season speeds up! More words and encouragement in today's update.

Offer a book this holiday season! Thank you for keeping my collected stories in mind for a French-themed Christmas present. Click here to purchase Words in a French Life or another book to put under the tree.

TODAY'S WORD: Un Jour à la fois

  : one day at a time

A DAY IN A FRENCH LIFE by Kristi Espinasse

J’hésite. I am unsure as to what to share today. I've got Christmas on my mind, as do many of you, family, and a To-Do list I'm avoiding (nothing too important. Néanmoins…).

Heureusement, I also have the reminder that “today" all will be well. Even during the holidays… It is when I think of tomorrow, the rest of the week, la semaine prochaine, and Christmas Day that pressure sets in. When I recall my responsibilities beyond today things quickly superimpose one atop the other for an imminent, all-at-once effect and suddenly I'm feeling overwhelmed, dépassée. 

Un Jour à la Fois
I know the key is to take things one day at a time. And today there is a Tarte Tatin baking in my oven, a new/old dog napping on the couch, a husband working across the table from me, and my Mom peacefully sleeping in her studio on the side of our house. If Ricci gave us a scare a few weeks ago, it was Mom's turn to worry us next. Several weeks ago Jules experienced severe pain behind her left eye. Was it a migraine? Had she scratched her eye? A visit to the ophtalmo revealed Mom’s ocular pressure was high. "She's been seeing more and more floaters," I pointed out. The optician assured me they would not cause the "detached retina" Google had warned about. That was a relief—until recently—when the pain returned and Mom's vision fell like a curtain during intermission…. 

It was back to the eye doctor on Friday and a troubling report: Jules' eye pressure had more than doubled since the previous visit. Mom insists she has used the nightly medicated gouttes prescribed to her, but I’m not so sure.

Now she has three new medications to take and a thrice daily visit from "Sargent Kristi" to make sure they're taken. 

Health issues during the holidays are like unexpected guests: they can leave you scrambling. But when I keep things in the day, letting life unfold, everything tends to work itself out, often beautifully. In this moment I have the comforting warmth of a pie baking, the muffled bark of a dog dreaming, and the rattling of my husband's keyboard and my own here now as I type. Best of all, I have my beautiful Mom, who spends these days counting her blessings and, in so doing, inspires me to do the same.

One more thing that is helping this last month of the year: I've got my husband cooking and he is also taking Mom to her early-morning lab appointments, for a bimonthly prise de sang. Jules and Jean-Marc--the two are a dynamic duo and they love nothing more than to tease me as I chase them to the car, with a list of instructions on how to get through the next hour: don't forget this, and be sure to do that!

Even after the family car disappears around the corner, I’m left wondering if Mom could have had that glass of water before her blood test. Oh well, she’ll drink it when she gets home! 

I'm still working on "lâcher prise" or giving up control, and letting go. Life gives us so many chances to practice during the holidays, doesn’t it? How about you, dear reader, how is the end of 2023 going for you and yours? What is the temperature of your current mood? Thanks for sharing a few things you are grateful for in the comments, and, as always, any corrections to this post are welcome and appreciated. See you next week!

COMMENTS
To leave a comment click here. Merci beaucoup!

Photo archives. 2017. Max and his grandmother, Jules, when both lived in Mexico.

FRENCH VOCABULARY

Click here to listen to the sound file

un jour à la fois = one day at a time
J’hésite = I hesitate 
néanmoins = nevertheless, nonetheless 
heureusement = luckily, fortunately
la semaine prochaine = next week
dépassé(e) = overwhelmed
la tarte Tatin = upside down pie
ophthalmologue = eye doctor 
la goutte = drop
la prise de sang = blood test
lâcher prise = letting go
le sapin de Noël = Christmas Tree

KRISTI'S BURNT TARTE TATIN
When the holidays make life topsy-turvy, what better than to make this upside-down pie?

3 apples (I used "golden delicious)
2 TB sugar (more to taste)
a few dollops of butter

Sauté the quartered apples in the butter and sugar. Add some pinches of salt and spices, if you like. For the shortcrust pastry:

85 grams of butter (I used salted)
3 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon oil (I used olive oil)
1 tablespoon sugar (I skipped this)
1 cup flour

I discovered Paule Caillat's French Tart Dough via David Leibovitz's website. First, melt the butter in an ovenproof bowl for 12 minutes (or until the edges brown). Carefully remove the butter from the oven and stir in the flour, forming a ball. Transfer the ball to some wax paper then add another sheet on top before using a rolling pin to smooth out the dough, to roughly the size of your tart pan. 

Place the sauteed apples at the base of the tart pan, then carefully transfer the shortcrust pastry dough over the top. (I mixed chopped pecans into my pastry dough before rolling it out). Bake for 25 minutes at 210C (410F).

I was unable to flip my pie over for the presentation (it was a burnt sticky mess, let me know your tips for improving it). But it tasted good all the same with its caramelized apples with a crumbly short crust topping. It disappeared quickly!

REMERCIEMENTS / ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Thanks in advance to readers sending in a blog donation for the first time, and to my returning patrons listed below. Your support keeps the wheels of this digital journal turning, and I am truly grateful!

Tom D.
Linda C.
Karen L.
Sheryl W.
Louise H.
Barbara B.
Holly R-J
Suzanne D.

Joyeux Noel Kristi. Your new dog is wonderful! Sheryl W.
Continued thanks for brightening my inbox. Always a smile to be found. Merci bien. Karen L.
Joyeux fêtes from Suzanne and Don and Loulou LOVE Ricci. . . love love love Ricci. Suzanne D.

Le Sapin de Noël - Christmas tree above the port of Bandol. Happy holidays and take good care!

Thanksgiving Vocabulary + Périple: Jean-Marc's Journey from France to New Zealand & Bike Tour

Jean-Marc and Ricci at Port des Capucins. "I'm going to take her with me to New Zealand!" he teases. Read about my husband's 2024 périple in today's update.

Joyeuse Action de Grâce!
I can't guarantee that's how you say "Happy Thanksgiving" in French. But I hope you have so much to be thankful for and that your lives are brimming with blessings in any language. In addition to the blessings of my Franco-American family, friends, health, and our new dog, I'm grateful to have overcome my fear of making pumpkin pie...

La Tarte à la Citrouille
For a scrumptious tarte à la citrouille I roasted and puréed some farm-fresh potimarron, for 500 grams of pumpkin, mixed it in the blender with du lait concentré sucré (1 cup), 3/4 cup of sour cream, 2 eggs, 1 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 muscade, a pinch of salt and baked it for 40 minutes at 200C (392F was a bit hot!) in a ready-made pastry--une pâte brisée. It turned out delicious! A refaire! Don't miss the photos at the end of this edition but, first, enjoy Jean-Marc's nouvelles, just below.

TODAY'S WORD: le périple

    : trek, expedition, journey, long haul


NEW ZEALAND PERIPLE VIA BICYCLE by Jean-Marc Espinasse

Dear Kristi's Readers,

As my New Zealand trip is getting, day after day, more realistic, I would like to thank all of you who have already offered to help me during my 3 months stay in this fabulous country.

Three months... Actually, in 3 months, I will be right in the middle of the bike ride I have just put together. With my long-time friend from Marseille, Bernard, we will start in Greymouth on the West Coast to end in Christchurch. After much hesitation over whether to bring our own bikes from France, we decided to buy some electric hybrid bikes in Christchurch with an extra battery and plan to ride from 40 to 80 miles per day. We will follow the West Coast South bordered by the Alps and in Haast, we will get inland, pass by Wanaka Lake where one of the best NZ wines is, so I will definitely stop there to behold the spectacular vineyard slopes and enjoy the delicious biodynamic wines of Rippon.

Copyright-free image via Google

The first leg of our trip will eventually end up in Queenstown where we will stay for 3 days to rest after 350 miles in 6 days and to explore the beauty of this city on the Waikapu lake surrounded by magnificent mountains.

The second leg of our bike tour will start by riding through the beautiful vineyards of Gibbston Valley before heading North, inland, to reach, 3 days later, the beauties of Pukaki Lake and Mount Cook

Copyright-free image via Google

It will then be time to head back northeast to reach the Banks Peninsula where we hope to see dolphins and other beautiful landscapes before returning to Christchurch at the end of February to complete this 900-mile trip.

After a needed rest, I will say au revoir to Bernard and travel North and join the Blenheim area where my job at Whitehaven Cellars starts March 4th. I found a very nice cottage located 7 miles away from my work so I will continue to enjoy my bike for commuting back and forth for another 7 weeks.

When I am done with this exciting period, I plan to explore the North Island. I am not sure if I will use my bike or rent a camper (or both) for that, those plans are still up in the air. 

What is certain is that I am going to have a wonderful time in this country that has always fascinated me.

Any suggestions, help, or contacts during my different "périples" will always be welcome at [email protected]

Happy Thanksgiving.

Love and Peace,
Jean-Marc

FRENCH VOCABULARY

Click to listen to the French and English terms
le périple = trek, journey
Joyeuse Action de Grâce = Happy Thanksgiving
la tarte à la citrouille = pumpkin pie
le potimarron = red kuri squash
le lait concentré sucré = condensed milk with sugar
la noix de muscade = nutmeg
à refaire = to do again
une cuisse de dinde = turkey leg

We celebrated Thanksgiving a day early to accommodate friends leaving town. Thanks, Sandra Zirah, for this photo of Jean-Marc and me cooking green beans and une cuisse de dinde over my mother-in-law's chestnut and girolle stuffing. Present at table were Sandra and Patrick, our son Max and Ana, and (vicariously) Mom (she enjoyed her plate of turkey back in her studio. She has a little cold and did not wish to share it with our travelers.).

REMERCIEMENTS 
Sincere thanks to readers sending in a blog donation for the first time and to my returning patrons listed below. Your support keeps me going, and I am truly grateful!

Debbie L.
Richard L.

Love reading each week. Look forward to our next trip to France. —Richard 


So excited to have finally made pumpkin pie. In case it didn't turn out (and it did!) I also made chocolate chip cookies.

Joyeuse Action de Grâce! photo of me and Ricci by Sandra Zirah

COMMENTS
To comment on today's post, click here. Your edits are always appreciated, too! Merci beaucoup!

Cordon-Bleu: From Winemaker to Top Chef

Our garden this July is so dry. But the tomatoes Jean-Marc grew from seed are flourishing. There are hardly any on the vines because we are eating them all the time.

A LITTLE FAVOR FOR THOSE READING...
When you support this site by sending your donation via Zelle, there are no fees. Zelle is found within most US bank apps. Thank you for considering Zelle as a means to send in a fee-free contribution to this journal. Click here for more info.

TODAY’S WORD: Le Cordon-Bleu

    : A whizz in the kitchen, a master chef

A DAY IN A FRENCH LIFE by Kristi Espinasse

When chatting with other couples one of the things I love asking is, "Qui fait la cuisine chez vous?" Who does the cooking at your place? Often they'll reply, "C'est mon mari." It's my husband. He loves to cook! I feel a little wishful when I learn about this delicious arrangement. Quelle chance to have a partner who cooks for you and takes charge in the kitchen. What a treasure!

This summer, after 29 years of marriage, I finally realized I had the very same trésor right here at home, buried beneath a stockpot of resistance. Reasons for not asking my husband to cook include anything from he won’t clean as he goes to he doesn’t believe in expiration dates. And his excuse for keeping (and using?) moldy cheese is: “Consider roquefort!” (How about considering botulism!) 

But all that doesn’t mean my husband doesn’t know how to faire la cuisine. He even has a few specialties up the sleeve of his chemise: Spaghetti au Roquefort, les Moules Marinières, le Magret de Canard, and his spectacular Les Bananes Flambées. He has also mastered le braséro (an elevated fire pit that is all the rage in France at the moment) so why not let him loose in the kitchen and finally put up my feet and rest during the lunch rush?

"Do you think you could cook those bell peppers?" I cautiously began, testing the waters. "And add in the crevettes?" Just like that, some three weeks ago, I handed over meal prep to my husband much like I do with our travel plans (with one mutually understood caveat): Jean-Marc would cook, and I wouldn’t complain if I didn't like his choices.

Just as I kept quiet when the rain began trickling into our rented RV (my husband's choice for our recent travel accommodations), I didn't make a peep when he added some freshly-cooked sausage to my 3-day-old potato salad (I was saving it for myself. It wasn't intended for our guests!). 

Thankfully, our cordon-bleu-in-training hasn't revived any other leftovers lately: mostly he’s innovating in the kitchen. This week, he took a favorite tomato pie recipe to a new level, by using his own garden fresh tomates grown from seed. Our son said it was the best tomato tart he’d ever tasted. Did you really have to rub it in, Max?

In addition to the freedom and extra time delegating these kitchen duties has given me, it's also offered up some good grub. Just thinking about la bouffe is making me salivate. Are you, too, hungry for some of Jean-Marc’s cheese-based tomato tart? I’m sure he’d be happy to share it with you, but méfions-nous du fromage! He likes aged varieties, whether or not they're meant to mature....

***

COMMENTS
To leave a comment or to read the comments, click here. Thanks in advance for your shares. I love hearing from you and learning from your experiences.

 

Look at those homegrown tomatoes! Jean-Marc is making a tomato pie or tarte tomate. Recipe here.

FRENCH VOCABULARY

Click here to listen to Jean-Marc and me pronounce the following words:

Qui fait la cuisine chez vous? = Who does the cooking at your place?
C'est mon mari = it's my husband
quelle chance = what luck
le trésor = treasure
faire la cuisine = to cook
la chemise = shirt
le braséro = fire pit cooker
la crevette = shrimp
le cordon-bleu = master chef, a whizz in the kitchen
la bouffe = grub
méfions-nous = let’s beware

REMERCIEMENTS
Sincere thanks to the following readers who recently sent in a blog donation or purchased our online memoir. This truly is a reader-supported journal and I appreciate your help in publishing it week after week. Merci beaucoup! --Kristi

Gail L.
Dana S.
Bobbi F.
Susan L.
Betsy G.
Gary & Lou M.

"I really love every post you graciously give to us readers. They are a calming and lovely break from this crazy world." --Gail L.

Jean-Marc, me, and our son Max, out on the boat. Photo by Ana B.
STORY ARCHIVES: Read about the time Jean-Marc "cooked" the police. Story here.

La Chandeleur: Candlemas, Santons, Crepes (and a Sobriety update...)

Brushes, paint, and clay figurines at a santon maker's in Marseilles. Read today's story about a few French traditions taking place on February 2nd. And don't miss a very personal update in the post note.

Today's Word: la chandelle (shahn-del)
 
    : candle

Hear Jean-Marc pronounce the French word for candle in today's proverb: Download Chandelle.wav
  Le jeu n'en vaut pas la chandelle.
  The game is not worth the candle. (It’s not worth it).

A DAY IN A FRENCH LIFE by Kristi Espinasse

All good things must come to an end and in Provence santons are no exception. On February 2nd, at Candelmas (what the French call "Chandeleur") the meticulously arranged crèche is finally taken down and the colorful clay figurines are carefully put away. That's when the party begins--for February 2nd is also known as Crêpe Day!

Regretfully, our family didn't have any hand-painted santons to store, but boy did we put away the pancakes! When Jean-Marc couldn't find his mother's crêpes recipe, he rolled up his sleeves and made the batter au pif--mixing together a bunch of flour, several eggs, a drenching of milk, a dash of salt, a swirl of warmed butter, and a few larmes of water.

Meanwhile, I prepared the fillings tray: the salty and sugary additions that would top off the delicate crêpes. The salé selections included le gruyère, le jambon, le tarama, le saumon fumé, and l'houmous. As for the dessert crêpes, we had sugar for sprinkling and other sweet spreadables including fig jam, caramel sauce, chestnut purée, Nutella and Aunt Marie-Françoise's lavender honey. Missing were the whipped cream and my mother-in-law who, if she were here (instead of in Marseilles preparing sarrasin crêpes for her neighbor) would've loved a drop or two of lemon juice and a powdering of cinnamon to go with the sugar on her crêpes.

Jean-Marc had pre-cooked the crêpes for reheating at the dinner table, this, thanks to the handy dandy "crêpes party" machine (a Teflon coated unit with six mini pancake-shaped warmers). Because I didn't see my husband grilling the cakes, I can't be sure if he remembered to flip them with the right hand while holding a coin (une pièce d'or) in the left (an old French tradition for prosperity (and good crops!).

Some say the golden, round crêpes are reminiscent of the sun and, therefore, the coming of printemps. While our pancakes reminded me of those things, the golden disks had me thinking of back home where the Arizona desert is lit by the large chandelle in the sky. I remembered my nieces and nephews, little southwestern marmots who were probably just coming out of a long slumber in time to celebrate Groundhog's day, awake in time to enjoy my sister's homemade waffles (a sort of square-shouldered, dimply-cheeked big brother to the dainty crêpe and, in my experience, all the better for hogging).

***
POST NOTE: A CELEBRATION
I wrote today's story in 2007, in the medieval village of Les Arcs-sur-Argens. This is where I lived, where I began my blog, and where I made a life-changing decision to quit drinking. This week marks 19 years of sobriety! I will never regret the decision to stop drinking, which has led to so many improvements in my life and innumerable blessings. It led to a career in writing, an occupation that focuses my mind and allows me to turn life's frustrations and challenges into comedy (and on occasion, into meaningful reflections). One more thing: while editing this post, and researching Candlemas, I learned it is also called “The Purification.” In 19 years I have never made that connection, and I just had to run over to Mom’s and share the accidental significance: 

“I'm no saint,” I said to Jules, “and I’m not saying I’ve been purified. But I like how significant this is--my sobriety corresponding to The Purification!

Mom looked at me and shared her own no-nonsense definition. In Jules’s Dictionary, and in all caps:

PURIFICATION = FREEDOM

Leave it to Mom to come up with a rockstar definition. I love it! And I feel it, with each sober anniversary. Freedom. 


photo by Jules. Sobriety is one of three themes in our memoir "The Lost Gardens" (the other two topics are marriage and starting a vineyard). If any of those themes interest you, please check out our book.

FRENCH VOCABULARY
Listen to Jean-Marc read the vocab list:

Click here for the audio file

le santon = clay figurine, nativity figure
au pif = "by the nose" (by guesswork)
une larme = tear
salé = salty
le gruyère = swiss cheese
le jambon = ham
tarama = a pink-colored, fish roe-based creamy spread
le saumon fumé = smoked salmon
le sarrasin = buckwheat
une pièce d'or = a gold coin
le printemps = springtime
la chandelle = candle
le brocanteur, la brocanteuse = second-hand goods seller, antique trader


A brocanteur selling santons at an outdoor antique market in Suze-la-Rousse

Words on Love and an "au pif" recipe

Our golden retriever, Smokey, enjoying shade under the peppercorn tree. Today's entry begins with the French version of Love Is Patient, Love is Kind and ends with a recipe (the two sections have nothing to do with each other but are, like today's recipe, au pif (spontaneous). 

L'amour est patient, il est plein de bonté;
l'amour n'est pas envieux; l'amour ne se vante pas,
il ne s'enfle pas d'orgueil, il ne fait rien de malhonnête,
il ne cherche pas son intérêt, il ne s'irrite pas, il ne soupçonne pas le mal,
il ne se réjouit pas de l'injustice, mais il se réjouit de la vérité;
il pardonne tout, il croit tout, il espère tout, il supporte tout.
L'amour ne meurt jamais. 
   (1 Corinthiens 13:4-5)

Audio File: Listen to Jean-Marc read Love is Patient in French

Love is patient, love is kind.
It does not envy, it does not boast,
it is not proud. It does not dishonor others,
it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.
Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.
It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
Love never fails.

(If you find a better English version--a better match with the French--thanks for sharing it in the comments box)

A DAY IN A FRENCH LIFE by Kristi Espinasse

Paring tomatoes at the kitchen sink, I thought to google "recette salade lentilles." But with my hands dripping le jus de tomate, I didn't want to reach for my smartphone and begin typing.That's when an inspiration came to mind:

The recipe is whatever you desire….

Voyons... Just what did I desire? And, equally as important, what ingredients were on hand? I suddenly remembered some boiled eggs in the fridge….and pickles (which go well with des œufs durs…).

"It would be nice to have some salmon," I said to Mom.

"I've got some left over...from the salad you brought over yesterday," Jules offered. Parfait! 

Too bad we were out of onions… Attends une minute! There’s one, hiding under a branch of drying peppercorns on the buffet….

Eggs, salmon, onion, and how about those concombres I bought last night, while visiting Cynthia at her corner épicerie? 

Any crumbs and seeds on my planche à pain are automatically added to whatever salad I'm making--lentil salad is no exception! Allez hop! In they go! (Mom wrinkles her nose at this crummy ingredient. But I have no problem with days old miettes - and will add them to a recipe here...if only to give you a good vocabulary word. Miette--un mot chouette!)

Some olive oil, mustard, and the white truffle vinegar (we're lucky to have a supply of this élixir. Jean-Marc stocks it at his shop!)....

Salt, pepper, and voilà!  The only other ingredient is time. But hunger knows not patience. Alors souvenez-vous: 

The recipe is whatever you desire
Using ingredients you have “sous la main”
Hunger knows not patience
Mange quand tu as faim!

FRENCH VOCABULARY

la recette = recipe
la salade = salad
la lentille = lentil
le jus de tomate = tomato juice
voyons = let’s see
parfait = perfect
attends une minute! = wait a minute!
une épicerie = grocer, grocery
le concombre = cucumber
la planche à pain = breadboard
allez hop! = off you go!
une miette = crumb
choutte = nice, neat, good
le frigo = fridge 
sous la main = on hand
Mange (manger) = eat
tu as faim = you are hungry
alors = so then
souvenez-vous = remember

In our garden. Photo by Jules. Thank you very much for reading today's au pif--spontaneous--post. I have been working on a story about some dolphins, and will hopefully share the rencontre chanceuse in the next post. Have a lovely weekend. 

Pâte Brisée : Jêrôme's 4-ingredient wine-based shortcrust pastry is easy, versatile, delicious for savory quiche or sweet, delectable pie!

I can tell you--after seeing them in the bathroom mirror this morning--this shortcrust pastry recipe will give you les poignées d'amour. That's French for "love handles." Même pas peur? Not even scared? Good! Read on and discover a truly delicious and versatile pâte brisée. I should know...I've tested 10 of them in the past week--ever since you asked for the recipe!  

Today's Word: la pâte brisée

    : shortcrust pastry, a rich dough for making pie crust

Audio: Listen to the words pâte brisée in this soundfile
En cuisine, la pâte brisée est une pâte servant de base aux tartes salées ou sucrées.  La pâte brisée désigne généralement une pâte composée principalement de farine et de matière grasse sans sucre.
In cooking, shortcrust pastry is a dough used as a base for savory or sweet pies. Shortcrust pastry generally refers to a dough composed mainly of flour and fat, without sugar.

Jérôme's Pâte Brisée: 4-ingredient Shortcrust Pastry
(makes one large or two small tarts!)

Ingredients...
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup white wine
1/2 cup sunflower oil

Note: ordinary white wine is all you need. Leftover wine will work as long as it hasn't turned to vinegar. For oil, we used sunflower, but olive oil or other oils could work.
 
Optional additions to the dough: pinches of salt, poppy or sesame or flax seeds, cumin, herbes de Provence or other spices.... The sky's the limit!

Method:
Pour 1/2 cup wine and 1/2 cup oil into a cup. Heat 1.5 minutes (until very warm) in a microwave. In a bowl combine flour and baking powder. Slowly pour in wine/oil mixture, stirring as you go with a fork or your hands.

Do not over mix. The shortcrust pastry dough is ready when it is no longer sticky.

Note: Having gradually added it to the mix until a good consistency was achieved, I had about 1/8 cup of wine/oil liquid mix leftover. 

Roll out the shortcrust pastry dough on a floured surface. Or roll it out onto some cooking paper, for easy transfer to the pie pan.  (No rolling pin? You could use a bottle of wine or similar.)

Pre-cook the dough
Cook the pâte brisée at 180c (350F) for 15 minutes or until golden and firm. (No need to add weights, such as beans, to the shortcrust pastry dough).

Your pie crust is ready! Just add your favorite filling: for savory tarts try grilled vegetables, one or two eggs whisked with sour cream, salt, pepper, herbs = a good basic (cook in a 180C/350F oven for approximately 30 minutes. For sweet: fry some bananas in butter, add a little sugar (and rum if you like), and arrange in pastry (photo below). I recommend Mimi Thorisson's simple and delicious lemon tart (pictured in the opening photo, above), using Jérôme's Pâte Brisée. A winning combination!

Give this oil and wine-based pâte brisée a try and let Cécile and me know here in the comments how it worked out for you. Bonne chance et bon appétit!

Cécile, rolling out the shortcrust pastry, a recipe she learned from her friend Jérôme. Little does he know what a big part of our lives his 4-ingredient recipe has become. Mille mercis, Jérôme! And a thousand thanks, Cécile, for all you gave when you were with us these past two weeks. Thank you for cleaning up our porch, for all the cooking, for repairing those broken tiles on the outdoor stairs, and for the mega project of creating a tool room in our unruly cafoutche (before and after photos coming!). You are truly my rock star sister-in-law, and you will never know what an example you are to all of us. 


The last quiche  Cécile made for us using leftovers in the fridge--including leftover pastry dough. There are sauteed yellow peppers, mushrooms, and she added Dijon mustard + cumin to the egg/sour cream base. Our son Max loved this one!


Thanks to the additional pâte brisée in my frigo (as mentioned, today's recipe will make one large or 2 small-medium tarts) it will be easy to throw together another meal. I'm off to make an All-time Favorite Tomato Tart for lunch (recipe here). Will worry about those love handles--those poignées d'amour--later. On second thought, même pas peur!  

FRENCH VOCABULARY
la pâte brisée = shortcrust pastry
les poignées d'amour = love handles
même pas peur! = not scared! (word of the day on Jan 7 2013)
bonne chance = good luck
bon appétit = enjoy your meal
le frigo = fridge

Banana tart with caramel filling.

Un coup de bol + ras le bol and recipe for "le pain en cocotte" (dutch oven bread)

photo by Cynthia Gillespie-Smith

A SPECIAL WELCOME to students who have just signed on to this journal. It is an honor to have you with us! This blog began in the South of France in 2002 when our children were 5 and 7, and I worked at a  Swedish-owned winery while my husband sold Italian wine bottling machines. (I am American and he is French.) We left our jobs, focused on writing and wine and eventually bought a vineyard of our own. Currently, we are sharing a more personal story and you may follow along as we write it: The Lost Gardens goes behind the scenes of this lighthearted, cheerful (in the style of today's column, below) blog to the dark and hopeless moments that punctuated our private life. Feedback on our memoir:

"A raw, honest, and heart-wrenching telling of a trying period. So vividly told." -Janet
"Your combined story is powerful..." --Chris
"This book will be a great help to others, and a testament to the strengths you have each discovered in yourselves." -Ellen 

Anyone who has ever chased a dream while trying to hold on to their loved ones will be moved by our book's dual narrative: my husband writes about his ambitious pursuit of winemaking, and my chapters focus on our relationship as our vineyard rises.... and ultimately falls. But that is not the end of the story.... Purchase the memoir here and begin reading right away.  

Today's phrase: un coup de bol

    : a stroke of luck, a fluke, lucky break

Sound File: click here to listen to the French phrase below

Un coup de bol... à ne pas confondre avec le ras le bol (ce qui veut dire " fed up").
A stroke of luck... not to be confused with le ras le bol (which means "fed up").

A DAY IN A FRENCH LIFE

by Kristi Espinasse

"Wonder Bread"

Quelle Trouvaille! I was hunting through the second-hand shop, with Mom, when I stumbled upon a dutch oven. Le Creuset no less. The torn white sticker read 5 euros. But it weighed a ton! Did I really want to buy this empty canon ball?

Oh, but it was canon! A real knock-out as go dutch ovens. Cherry red. A slate-black handle (so handsome you'd forgive it the first time it blistered your fingers). The retro typography L E  C R E U S E T. The creamy enamel interior. Tu vas regretter, a little voice said as I began walking away. And so I turned back...et on connâit la suite....

I am typing this with burnt fingers which reminds me to include the following disclaimer: pay attention when baking today's wonder bread and porter des gants!

Now that you've been warned, and you promise to be mindful while making this fastoche bread recipe--don't hold back! This is every bit as good as a French baguette and simple comme bonjour...to make.

NO KNEAD BREAD -- EASY!
Two ways to make this easy, delicious bread. 1) Follow the simple video instructions at the end of this post or...

2) Suzanne Dunaway's recipe from her Instagram:

- 4 cups all purpose flour
- 2 cups water
-2 teaspoons salt
- 1 envelope dry yeast

In a large bowl, mix all ingredients and leave overnight (cover bowl with a dishcloth). The next morning, with the help of a rubber spatula or spoon, pour into a greased (or paper-lined) baking pan and bake at 230c (450 F) for 30 minutes.

Any old baking pan will work. Lately, I use a glass rectangular pan (no lid), lined with cooking paper.

*The "pouring" part is my own. I got tired of touching the sticky dough and wasting dough (and doughy countertops). I find that pouring or emptying the dough straight from the mixing bowl and into the pan works just fine!

FRENCH VOCABULARY

le pain en cocotte = dutch oven bread
quelle trouvaille! = what a find!
canon = gorgeous
on connaît la suite = the rest is history
porter des gants = wear gloves
fastoche = easy
simple comme bonjour = easy as hello

The antique hachoir berceuse (rocking chopper) was another find at the second-hand store! You can find these new here

Even the underside is beautiful, reminiscent of the marbled French yogurt cake!

I've finally run out of farine, or flour, after making so many loaves :-) Latest obsession: to add Everything but the Bagel seasoning mix to the top. So good! I leave you with the video that simplifies the steps:

Ragout: Simple recipe for Provencal stew + kitesurfing in Giens peninsula, near Hyérès

For those reading our autobiography, The Lost Gardens, see the update at the end of this post. If you have purchased our book-in-progress and lost your passwords to access the chapters, leave a message in the box at the end of this post. 

The beauty of an online book-in-progress is all that can be included in it! I've just added the first photo album to our memoir, and will continue to enhance the story with images. To purchase The Lost Gardens, click here and scroll to the end of the page to purchase.

Today's Word: le ragoût

    : stew

A DAY IN A FRENCH LIFE, by Kristi Espinasse

Yesterday I was making a delicious ragoût with the fresh fèves from our garden...when my son invited me to the beach to watch him kite-surf. 

After a busy week, I wanted nothing more than to eat this delicious Provencal stew and then take a nice long Sunday siesta. But I know that stealing away with my son won't be as easy as the years march on, and so, You're on! I said, and we headed back to the Giens peninsula, near Hyérès.

After renting gear, we found the popular kite-surfer beach and hurried to the shore to unravel some important strings. The sandy beach was dotted with colorful cerf-volants and all the kite-surfers wore wetsuits. 


 

Even if the sand was being whipped up into my eyes and the sun was burning down (igniting my fears after a frightful experience) I felt so alive beneath the colorful, kited sky, listening to the joyful voices of those wind-harvesters: Mec! Tu peux m'aider? Man, can you help me? Max said, asking a stranger to help send off his orange and white kite. 

I watched my 23-year-old inch back into the sea, slip his feet onto his kite board, and disappear into the sparkling horizon, his kite flying high with the others. I might have dreamed such a beautiful scene, had I stayed home and rested. But this--this salty scent in my nose, this wind in my hair, these vibrant colors above and the gentle tones below of sand, grass, and charming picket fences--this was real.   

A creature of habit, a creature of comfort--these are tags I need to send off, like a kite. I am first and foremost a creature: I was created to go with the flow of life. And oh, the places Life takes us, when we let go and grow.

*   *   *        

FRENCH VOCABULARY

le ragoût = stew
la fève = broad bean, fava bean
le cerf-volant = kite
le mec = guy
tu peux m'aider? = can you help me?

PROVENCAL RAGOUT RECIPE
A warm stew to pack for the beach on a windy day!

-Fry some lardons (sliced, fatty bacon), 2 onions, 5 diced potatoes, and garlic
- add the fava beans and cover with water (I like to add a can of tomato sauce).
Add some bay leaves, salt, pepper and thyme. Simmer an hour.

Serve with a side of plain couscous (cooks in one minute!) or bulgur and some hard-boiled eggs. We had a nice Compté cheese. Max deemed the meal 'the perfect thing to eat before surfing!' :-)

BOOK EXCERPT
One day as I rushed to fill platters with charcuterie, hard-boiled eggs and cheese, one of the harvesters meekly asked could she have that can of kidney beans in the cupboard? That is when I learned that part of the harvest crew we had hired were vegan. What did vegan even mean in 2007?

Fast forward, now, to 2012. Sunk down into my driver's seat, I clutched the paper pharmacy sack and wondered, would it all unfold like the last time, when a gigantic surge of energy was both the gift and curse behind my husband's vision? Gazing at our new (old) house (another home in need of renovation) I took a deep breath, stepped out of the car, and headed over to the front porch....

(For those who have purchased our book, read all of chapter two, here.)

To purchase The Lost Gardens, a book-in-progress, click here and scroll to the end of the post.

Reader feedback from Chapter Two:

Dynamite!!!! I more impressed than usual. Your writing seems to have one upped your sharing and it's a good balance back and forth. I'm eager to "follow along" but encourage you to take your time. After all you are living it! --John Hawke

A field of phacelia flowers, a soil amendment planted by Jean-Marc the year before he planted his dream vineyard. Thank you so much for buying our book-in-progress. Your support has helped us to begin our book and to keep going, chapter by chapter. Mille mercis!

Fastoche Loaf--you must make this savory bread (via this cool hack for the favorite French yogurt cake!)

You must make a cake salé! It is everything from a casual main course to a late-night snack in bed (extra good warmed--just like the sheets this time of year)....

Today's word: le cake salé

    : loaf, savory cake

Audio File & Example Sentence: click here
Le mot « cake » s'est étendu à un gâteau salé... fait avec des légumes, des olives, du jambon, etc. On parle alors de « cake salé ». The word "cake" has been extended to a salty cake ... made with vegetables, olives, ham, etc. This is called "salty cake".

A DAY IN A FRENCH LIFE...by Kristi Espinasse

A Cake Hack?

Ever since I learned to make my brother-in-law Jacques yogurt cake--and after watching the French bring delicious savory loaves to various fêtes--I have wondered about the possibility of combining the two: that is, using the easy-to-remember cake recipe... for a savory loaf. Savory loaves are practical, economical, and among the best comfort foods! If you need further motivation to make one then listen to my Mom who, on tasting the slice you see above, exclaimed: Why make bread when you can make this?! 

And what could be better than knowing recipes by heart? This is what the handy-dandy yogurt cake recette allows us to do (it brilliantly uses the yogurt's container as the measure. No need for measuring spoons or cups or balances, and in no time you are able to toss together a delicious entrée or dessert! Having mastered the super fastoche yogurt cake, I've been on the lookout for another easy offering for my family or something to bring to a social gathering--like my friend Cynthia and Ian's crémaillère in Bandol (I brought the gâteau de yaourt...but now I wished I'd taken along this cake salé--because it is my family's new favorite it'll soon be yours!).


        This recipe tastes better when you make it with a family member or friend.  

Tésté et approuvé
So the cake hack worked. Génial! All I did was follow the traditional yogurt cake recipe while ignoring the sugar part. Here's a reminder for the yogurt cake recipe....

Ingredients:

- one small (individual size) container of plain yogurt (reserve for measuring the remaining ingredients)
- flour
- sugar
- vegetable oil
- three eggs
- one package levure chimique (that is 2 teaspoons of baking powder)

Instructions (Easy as 3-2-1...):

Fill/empty the yogurt container...
...3 times with flour
...2 times with sugar
...1 time with vegetable oil (if I'm out of vegetable oil, I'll use olive oil or butter...)

Crack 3 eggs into a mixing bowl, and beat until mixed. Add one container (around 150 grams) of plain yogurt. Add 1 measure of oil (half the amount, if you prefer), three measures of flour, and mix in the  savory ingredients... here are the savory ingredients I added for our cake salé or savory loaf:

- 1 can of tuna fish
- large handful of black olives
- sauteed red onions
- fresh tomato
- salt, pepper, herbs of Provence
-a generous sprinkling of chia seeds on top make an agreeably croquant topping for this savory loaf!

Pour mixture into a cake pan (I like this kind with removable bottom ) and put into the oven at 180C (350F) for 25 minutes. (temperature and time vary--keep your eye on the cake and use a knife to test the center. When le couteau comes out dry it's ready.

Enjoy with a simple green salad. Hide a few slices for your late-night snack!

Update: The second time I made this recipe, I used leftover mussels which I shelled, added grated gruyère, black olives, and sunflower seeds--not to forget the crunchy chia seeds on top! It was nice and moist, but a little bland (I'll stick to tuna next time! And think about feta cheese for a nice kick). The olives really make it and are a part of the most traditional version--and for a reason! Some like to chop up the olives for a better distribution throughout the cake. Next time I might try anchovies and capers. What do you think? What would you add to this versatile cake salé? Add your suggestions in the comments below.


Those sprouted greens in the back are Les blés de la Sainte-Barbe--a Provencale tradition I learned from Jean-Marc's family. My husband sprinkles the wheat grains on paper towels, in three different coupelles and (my Mom) waters them until the new year. It is said:

Blé bien germé, c'est la prospérité pour toute l'année. (Wheat well-sprouted is prosperity all year.)

FRENCH VOCABULARY

la fête = party, gathering
la recette = recipe
la balance = scale (for weighing)
une entrée = starter, first course
fastoche (from facile) = easy-peasy, a walk in the park
la crémaillère = housewarming
le gâteau de yaourt = yogurt cake
lé cake salé = loaf
génial! = brilliant!
tésté et approuvé = tested and approved
la levure chimique = baking powder 
croquant = crunchy
le couteau = knife
la coupelle = small dish


Don't miss the video Smokey and I made for the yogurt cake. Click here

Caviar d'Aubergine: An easy, delicious family recipe for you

Merci beaucoup for the sweet messages, encouragements, and support you left following the anniversary post. I am fired up for another 16 years of writing and will read your bonne continuations whenever I need a motivational pick-up!

Fun fact: this post will take you 2 minutes and 38 seconds to read to the end. If you were to read it out loud, that would take 4 minutes and one second (stats from wordcounter.net, which I use to check my article drafts).

Today's word: la chair

    : flesh, meat, body

avoir la chair de poule = to have goosebumps


A DAY IN A FRENCH LIFE by Kristi Espinasse

With so much wind under my wings (thank you again for your notes regarding the 17th year of this journal!), I thought I would simply share (funny, I typed *chair* first time around--the word of the day was on my mind and that is how the French pronounce it!), yes I thought I'd chair or flesh-out the story of a simple meal.

This impromptu dinner happened last night, after Mom and I sat down to déguster a few of the vegetables I'd prepared during the day: some patates douces that needed attention, as well as aubergines that were getting so big and ripe in the potager they would soon go to seed! Fearing sabotage--that weird emotional trance that has us ignoring our opportunities--I grabbed my shears and went to collect the two giant eggplants. A very dear golden retriever, our Smokey, followed along to help....

Cutting open the giant berries (unbelievably eggplant are classified this way!), I was amazed to see how beautiful they were: la chair was firm and bright--only some small seeds that were easily removed with a handy jagged-edged grapefruit spoon. I had in mind to make my mother-in-law's caviar d'aubergine dish, only, skimming her handwritten cahier, I could not find la recette (I did bump into Michèle-France's delicious bananes flambées, and her instructions very much as in the au pif recipe I gave you last week!).

So I did a google search, combining the gist of a few French websites to get exact ingredients for the most basic recipe of eggplant caviar. Here's my simple version, and it was simply delicious over toast--and as an accompaniment to les cuisses de canard (canned, talk about an easy dinner!), and the roasted sweet potatoes (simply halve the patates and sprinkle on olive oil, herbes de provence and salt and pepper on top, then into the four at 350F for 30 minutes).

CAVIAR D'AUBERGINES
 Eggplant Caviar

- 2 large eggplants, halved and scored
-2 garlic cloves
- sprigs of rosemary (optional)
- swirls of olive oil, sprinkles of salt, pepper, herbs
- half a lemon
- olive oil to taste (a few tablespoons to a half cup!)

After topping the eggplant halves with olive oil, salt, pepper, and herbs, tuck a few sprigs of rosemary and some quartered garlic cloves into the cuts of the scored eggplant. Now turn the eggplant halves face down on a cooking sheet and bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until the eggplant is soft enough to crush inside.

Once cooked, remove only the rosemary, then scoop out the flesh and add to a mixing bowl. I do not have a food processor, but a simple fork was enough to crush and blend the eggplant flesh. Add the juice from half a lemon and olive oil (and more salt and pepper) to taste.

Oh, and what taste! My Mom absolutely loved it, and she is not a fan of eggplant! She actually had seconds and thirds--so you must tenter la recette--give this recipe a shot--and share it with your friends and loved ones. It is wonderful comfort food, too.

It's lunchtime here in France, and so I'm off to reheat and repeat last night's meal. I will try to take a picture and add it to this post. So please check back, and thanks, as always, for reading. I'm so glad you are here. 

Amicalement,

Kristi

P.S. Vocab section coming soon. I'm reheating lunch now for Mom and me..... Update: here's the photo. That's the caviar d'aubergine, on a piece of toast smothered in pan juices (fat) from the duck!:

FRENCH VOCABULARY
la chair = flesh
déguster = to taste, savor, eat
la patate douce = sweet potato
une aubergine = eggplant
le cahier = notebook
la recette = recipe
au pif = by guesswork (or by eye-balling it)
tenter = to attempt something

Photo and caption from my Instagram: I know it is early, and I don't want to stress anybody out...but it was Mom's idea to get a Christmas tree today. Then again, Mom keeps a Christmas tree all year round--dazzling with lights, because, she says, Light is everything! Amen!

I fell in love with mousse before caviar. In the first case "mousse" was a charming street in Marseilles... and "caviar" was what was waiting for me at the end of that winding road, just a French football field from the sea. (Read the rest of this tender story, from the archives here).