bleudauvergne

Good Morning and Happy Easter! The flower is a Jacinthe, or Hyacinth in English.

It was so funny, the lady who sold them to me, was quite instructive. "this is French Broccoli. We have some Italian Broccoli down at the other end." I of course bought some immediately. I'm now wondering if those bettes are really bettes - but of course they are.

Goodnight!

They're calling it 'Brocoli Francais' but I'm calling it Collard Greens. First time I've seen it at the market - love it. Chevre plate - Le Villegeois, and upwards, Le Galletout, a chevre made 'dans le respect des regles ancestrales' in the Cazillac region, A crottin d'Antin made by Poitou in La Mothe St. Heray, in the center a Rigotte sold by a new (to the market) farm vendor today, and a Picodin sold by the same farm. Around holiday time, there are always vendors who come in to fill space left by people who have left on vacation. I'm not sure how this works but it would be something interesting to find out.

Actually it's Porto.

Oh, by the way, Lunch. Magic Love Soup. Look familiar? To celebrate Loic's return to Lyon, the soup was followed by a Salade Lyonnaise.

It mystified us too. Figuring out how to make it work was like writing a haiku. I had some experience in boat kitchens so that helped. The first idea was to do some major restructuring and expanding it into the livingroom, but we decided against it because of the woodwork in the room which would have been a shame to mess up. Here's what we came up with. Don't laugh, ok? REMEMBER YOUR WORK TRIANGLES! We embarked on an exhaustive shopping adventure, then once we'd chosen our model, I worked it out in my notebook, to have two columns stacked as follows, and this is what we proposed to the 'cuisinist': One thing that would not work was the bottle rack on top, since it wasn't stable enough to support the weight of the bottles suspended. We made some small adjustments to the upper cabinets to accomodate for not having the bottle rack, but stayed with the initial design. Then the work began, or the work of lining up the work. At first we were going to put in a stone tile mosaic floor, I figured if we had such a small place, we might as well put the best of the best in. We quickly figured out that it would cost the price of a new car to have it, even for a kitchen that small. Furthermore, we could not wait about 8 months for a 'stone tile artisan' to have a spot on his agenda. I got fixed on this idea of a rubber floor, since my dad had installed in the downstairs kitchen at our summer lake house when I was a teenager. So we located this absolutely perfect rubber floor made by an Italian manufacturer called ARTIGO. It was pretty expensive by the square meter, but we figured we could swing it, because it was perfect, after all. But when we tried to buy something like 5 square meters of it, the French distributer refused. I then spoke to the France headquarters, who also refused. "We do hospitals, theaters, and airports, madame," he sneeringly crooned. "We do not sell to individuals like you." So I asked him if my next call was to be to the headquarters in Italy. He lied and told me he was the President and General Director of the whole company "Voila. Fin d'histoire.". Duh. Italian companies don't have French PDGs. So I just wrote a general e-mail to the Italian Headquarters and explained in detail with illustrations etc. the reasons why I loved this particular model of Artigo Flooring. Then I explained my experience in trying to obtain the floor, telling them that if their President and Director General treated regular people like peons like that, I wasn't sure where their company was headed. The next day I got an e-mail from the Italian Headquarters telling me that their President and Director General, who was indeed Italian, liked my project and that they would like to give me the floor, for free. Finally someone talking sense here! So Loic took a day and drove down to Italy and we got the floor. It's a bit dirty in this photo but you get the picture. It reminds me of linoleum but it's 100% rubber. We picked up the wall tiles from discontinued stock at a villeroy boch factory outlet. Quite cheap. I have documented the whole work process but it's too long and detailed to get into here on the blog. Anyway I'll take you on a tour of the kitchen tomorrow.

Thank you, Tepee, I have noted this information. When I left the house it was hazy but the sun burned through the haze by the time I reached the other end of the Market St. Antoine. Several new things this week - Lots of leafy greens, for one, the cherry buds have been trimmed from the trees and are for sale by the branch to bloom at home, the garlic is beginning, I saw a few strawberries, but they're not local, and the mache which was not out last week. I've been choked up with emotion all morning. I walked down the quai past the book sellers Went in to look (again) at a portrait of Dostoyevsky. Every time I ask them to bring it out and every time I know I should not do this. Yep, it's Swiss Chard alright. The Lyonnais call Blettes - 'Bette'. It's the same thing. It's nearing the end of wild chickory season. In a couple of weeks we son't see this anymore. Diots de Savoie are wonderful in soup. This vendor gets them direct. What is the name of this tarte and does anyone have a recipe? New this week: Mache. There is a new vendor at the Quai St. Antoine and very welcome indeed. They are selling their products from Corsica! (What a wierd coincedence.) This is a smoked ham called Lonzu. I will try everything they've got.

NON! Not the same at all! Please, don't say that! ← Calm yourself dear. I too could not see the value of potatoes in the broth. There must be some history or tradition involved which is why they keep doing it. And I long for the day when I can taste the famous couscous in the French Algerian Cordon Bleu style of Chefzadi with a Korean touch to the harissa. We don't get to LA often at all. (we did spend one year there before coming to France, though) But one day, one day...

It's quite a simple process, Jon. I know this might sound insane but I recently took stock of and made backup CDs of the photos I've taken here in Lyon. It all started as a way of recording the things I'm cooking and what I see at the markets here. I come to realize that I have taken more than 51,000 photos, yes, that's right, 51K, in the last three years, most of them food photos. Taking into account the various friends' weddings, where I can take a few thousand over the course of a couple of days, I calculate that his averages to about 300 photos a week. Now that's not too wierd is it? Up to a few weeks ago I never even considered photography even a hobby, it was just something I do, and well, now, I see that I can call it a hobby. You read about how they find people in houses full of thousands of cats. Well, I'm that lady who takes thousands of food photos. Since Loic got me a 1.5 gigabyte card for the camera, I take print quality photos in general, and then go through the photos I have every day, and for each one that I like, I put a border on it. I change the number of pixels per inch to make them easier to share on the net, and I resize them. I then save them in special folders for uploading. I back them up once a week. We can't afford any special software. So I use Microsoft Photo editor which came with our software package on the computer. There is a feature on that software where you can add the borders, which do not cut into the image, they are added on the outside. I have tried and tried to add black borders, Like Paula did on her clafouti photo. But I can't figure out a way to do it. I loved that clafouti photo. My software is in French. But I think the feature is called 'crop'. It doesn't really crop though, because it adds the border to the oustide if you don't choose an area to crop. be careful to tab down and set the 'corner' setting to '0' because it makes stupid looking corners if you don't.

Yes Pan, Chinese was my first serious 'other' language. It was also in China that I first became fascinated with food. I took a year long intensive language course and then went there to work for three years. French and Chinese cooking are similar in that they are both codified to a certain degree, there are well established signposts in both of these cuisines that you can use as markers, which makes the discovery process quite satisfying... Picking up where you left off and deepening your knowledge is as easy as finding your bookmark and going back to a chapter you want to read again. Thanks for the notes and PMs guys! Today's breakfast cheeses were Tomme de Savoie, Salers, and the last of the Rocamadour. That Rocamadour is a wonderful little chevre. It's a bit like a picodon, in that it's small and packs a powerful chevre flavor, but at the same time it's a totally different cheese. It ripens more evenly all the way through and the rind develops along with it in a marvelous tasting way. I love it when it gets to where it spreads like soft butter, and you can sprinkle a little pepper on it. It's one of those small chevres that the fromagerie Marechal does well. Reminder pic from earlier in the week: The Rocamadour is the one in the middle. The crackers in the picture are Montignac brand crackers that I picked up last week at a bio shop. I like the home made ones better (and the home made ones are infinitely cheaper) but these are alright with cheese. I am not dieting but for awhile there I was always searching for 'legal' things to eat and when I saw that box of crackers I instinctively grabbed it! Today I want to make an apple pie, and I want to get a chicken, and I want to go to the market, and put my clothes away, and iron the napkins and make sure I look good because Loic is coming home and will be here at Lunchtime! He's had a long week in Torino with the physicists and called every night to tell me about what went on there. He likes the cafes because in Torino they give you snacks for free. RING! He just called to let me know he's on the train! YAY!

This is so exciting! I can't wait to see how it all works out. What happened with the sink brackets?

I did not take any photos, as it was a neighborhood place and I didn't want to come across as a freak. However I did draw a few pictures. Forgive me I'm not in practice. The person on the left was a very beautiful and woman and her companion was in a stance of proud protection of her the whole evening. A lemon wedge leftover from that excellent 'salad ocean' I promise tomorrow I will cook and cook. Lolo is coming home and will be here by lunchtime. We then have the long weekend... It's going to be nice.

virgule huit clicks from the railroad track - yea This probably does not make any sense to the english speakers, 'virgule huit' translates to ".8" and that's how many kilometers is a half-mile. Got it?

It's interesting to note that all the billiard tables in your photos are pocketless. I find it difficult to walk past a pool hall without turning my head to look inside. When a pool hall is half empty, and the patrons converse in whispers, I get the feeling that something sinister is brewing. Could the players at the corner table with the grim faces be gambling for high stakes? Could the group gathered in a cloud of cigarette smoke be plotting a bank robbery? Or maybe they're just trying to decide where to go for dinner? ← Pocketless? How does one play pocketless billiards? [RICKY RICARDO] Lucy...you have some 'splainin' to do! [/RICKY RICARDO] ← With three balls ← Oh thank you Laksa! I was beginning to think I was in the twighlight zone!

Chufi, that is an excellent question. I must think on this and respond fully.

Who caters for your cafeteria? Is it one of those big catering companies like Sodexho?? ← One of them. Today's meal just reminded me that I cannot eat there any more. Tonight is my last night alone. Considering that I'm exhausted from some long hours today battling with an excel spreadsheet from hell, (remember a blog is a real life real time thing!), I am going to try another place in the neighborhood. I've always been drawn to this place called the "Restaurant d'Alice" around the corner. Having memorized every single word to Arlo Guthrie's album as a child, this has me curious. They have a table waiting for me. I am taking my camera but if the lights aren't good or it's an atmoshere where I can't take photos, I'll just have to tell you what happens. I'm taking a notebook just in case.

You got it! I put things like cloves and spice grains and and herbs in it sometimes when I'm making soup or preparing something that needs an infusion like octopus.

Danielle, that is precisely what I should do. That, and get some proper dishes like Kathleen did. It's a great idea. I would also like to get a microwave for the office. I once worked in a place where we installed a dishwasher in the coffee room. Now that was good. One of my barriers I think is that I still cannot get used to the idea that my day job is my vocation. I completely separate it in my mind and in my actions from "my life". I have my work, and my life, which are constantly battling each other. I should do more to make myself at home at the office, but something within me keeps insisting that it's a temporary parking spot. I never really thought about it, but your question has brought this out. Thank you.

Oh it was terrible. I'm not sure I think they were trying to do a flan or something, it sucked. Full of watery canned fruit and it was raw in the middle.

I'll post the shots of lunch today with a disclaimer: The cafeteria has gone horribly down hill in the past 6 months. They really do serve terrible food these days. So in the interest of full disclosure, here's lunch in its naked ugliness. I didn't eat the rice, it tasted bad.

Back to food - typical "traiteur" food. "Traiteur" a French take-out place, or what we might call a deli. This one generally carries some French and Italian dried sausages plus cured and boiled ham by the slice. I took this picture this morning at the traiteur located just next to my bus stop. She was getting ready to open up for the day. I generally don't pick up things for lunch at this place because she's not open by the time I have to catch the bus. This traiteur does a lot of things "en gelee" and vegetable and fish terrines, although not everyone does this. Every traiteur has their own personality and line of things. This one has a lot of hot food or home cooked things for sale by weight. The lobster tails on the half shell is something we see commonly in the windows of a lot of traiteurs. As you can see by the decor they are getting ready for Easter.

In France, there are brocante shops and antique shops, which are different, mainly because something has to be at least 100 years old to officially be an antique. In France, Antique shops are generally stuffy and expensive with a few very high end furniture pieces in excellent condition running in price from €4,000 on up. General clients in an Antique shop here will wear large solitaire diamond earrings, be tan and svelt, and generally be dressed in black leather and fur. Others will choose to adorn themselves with artisan smythed precious metal medallions, and wear hand made silk and linen gyspy costumes with coordinating fine hand sewn lambskin booties. Brocante shops are for the things less than a hundred years old. Someone who often frequents brocante shops can be identified by their trench coats. So I was looking at stamped pattern plates from the 30's, 40's and 50's. I picked up a nut dish in the shape of Corsica from the 1950s. These things here are not considered antiques. I have always particularly been drawn to glasses and things that have things printed on them. I don't know why. Last night I went through a whole bunch of glasses. I rarely enter the shops because it's extremely difficult to get out of them. As long as we're covering this type of thing, the next level down is the puce, which is where I do most of my rummaging for kitchen and food related items and dishes. This takes place weekends and is mainly the only place where you can find good stuff and convince someone to take your price for it. I generally feel more comfortable at the puce, because I can really talk price. You have to put more effort in at the puce to find anything worthwhile, i.e. get up very early, move quickly, make offers on the right things without hesistating. It should be noted that everything in a brocante shop is generally found at the puce and then marked up. In American English, 'brocante' translates to 'antique' for all intensive purposes.

This morning's weather was foggy. On the bus.