Tarte au caramel beurre sale

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caramel, chocolate, desserts, French pastry, patisserie, postaday2012, tartes

Today before lunch, Francoise and I went to the boulangerie to get bread as Francoise does daily. While we were waiting, Francoise asked me if we should surprise the baby girl with a French patisserie, since they were right in the display case, all of them, little works of art, each one saying “pick me! pick me!” Of course I said yes, the baby girl was going to be so excited, well only if I picked the right one. I saw my favorite, the eclair au chocolate, but this one was for her. As my eyes were going down the case; all of them were small individual pieces, there were shiny strawberry tarts, religeuses in both coffee and chocolate creams, it is a creation of two cream puffs one on top of the other, dressed up in a pastry cream made to look like a personage, there were apple tarts, baba au rhum, napoleons and right there was the tarte au caramel beurre sale with a chocolate crumb pastry crust. I pointed it out to Francoise and she said, that was her favorite. That settled it then, we asked for three tartes au caramel beurre sales and a chocolate eclair, a childhood favorite of mine. Actually, a chocolate eclair is a type of litmus test for a patissier, you have to be an excellent pastry chef to be able to make an excellent eclair au chocolate. It is in the simplest pastry that we see the majesty of talent and skill.

Francoise made us the lightest and healthiest of lunches, steamed salmon, steamed rice and steamed spinach. It was delicious but my mind was on chocolate. Francoise wasn’t exaggerating when she said that the tarte was exquisite, the crunchy chocolate tart crust eaten with the silky smooth caramel lingered in your mouth right on contact with your taste buds, it was beautiful. However after the complex pairings of texture and flavors with the tarte, the chocolate eclair was a little lost in the crowd. Pas grave, I simply have to wait for another occasion to taste one, on its own, all alone so that I can focus.

What is your superpower?

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humour, Laughter, postaday2012, sad times

I think that my superpower is laughter. I have a huge capacity to find humour in anything and everything. The times in my life when it seemed fairly bleak, finding the silliness and the comedy in everyday and ordinary things kept me afloat. They say that laughter is the best medicine for a reason. They can’t be wrong, now can they? As my theme song suggests, don’t worry, be happy and laugh.

Heat wave in Normandy

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climate, Normandy, postaday2012, rain, sun, weather

Francoise still can’t believe that just the day before the baby girl and I came to town, it had been raining for three months straight. We have had clear blue skies and 82 degrees for the past four days and tomorrow promises to be a scorcher as well. Normandy I’d say is beautiful in the rain and fog, what with its vast forests but add a whole lot of sun in the mix and it transcends beautiful, it jumps to glorious.

However, this heat makes one tired and lethargic, especially when a strong summer sun is beating down on you while you are visiting various sights. So today, we took a day of rest and stayed in the cool interior of Francoise’s beautiful house. While the baby girl was lounging about, Francoise and I were in her office, caught up in a project of hers.

When I was at Pierre and Isabelle’s house, Isabelle introduced me to the latest variation on the good old photo album, it’s called the “livre de photos” or photo book. I  don’t know of any website in the States that offers photo books but I’m sure that they must. This was the first time that I had seen one. Pierre and Isabelle go to Venice with their children annually, so with all the digital pictures of several years of trips left on the computer, Isabelle wanted to showcase the pictures and the memories so she went on the photo website and produced her own photo books. She has been doing it for a while and has gorgeous books illustrating their travels.

Given that introduction to photo books by Isabelle, it was a nice surprise to spend the afternoon helping Francoise do the actual layout for a photo book that she is putting together as an important family gift due in a few short weeks. Working on the website with Francoise and getting the feel for what was possible, what was hard to do and what was visually appealing was a lot of fun and a huge learning experience in the French terminology of computer language. I learned so much in this one afternoon, I am looking forward to getting back to it tomorrow.

If upon waking up, you could speak a new language, which would you choose?

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fluency, German, language, postaday2012

Just for kicks, I would choose German. There is something very attractive about German and its commanding tones, at least to my ears. I guess that since I am timid about asking people for help and I’m horrible at giving direction, that perhaps being fluent in German would help me overcome my reticence. My logic here comes from my experience with the French language, I find that the language is built around politeness. The pronoun “you” is specified to be either formal or informal and the speaker makes a conscious choice when he addresses a person, thus the formal “you” which is always used with strangers and acquaintances tends to create a polite atmosphere. Hence, that is why I am making my assumptions with regards to German, a direct and commanding language. I do not mean in any way that it is therefore callous or disrespectful, just direct and strong. I would be tickled pink if I woke up tomorrow saying Guten daag and immediately could launch into a full blown conversation. As of this moment, I would have to track down some German tourists since I’m in France, but that shouldn’t be too hard to do, they love vacationing over here.

Battleship, the movie; a review

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Arby's, Battleship, Brooklyn Decker, Liam Neeson, movies, postaday2012

Tonight was movie and dinner, this time dinner was before the movie and it was Arby’s. I had my usual, a small roast beef sandwich with horseradish sauce and black pepper with a large order of curly fries, mega salty and spiced with a 30 oz chocolate shake. My daughter ate with my hubby and myself, she decided to forgo the movie instead, she chose to go see her boyfriend and she decided that she wasn’t feeling her chocolate shake, so I made a glutton of myself. To top it off and make it worse, I even had Nestlé bunch a crunch during the movie. I am sitting here on the couch typing this with my belly looking as if I’m five months pregnant, gluttony I tell you.

Anyway, the movie wasn’t bad. It is based on the Hasbro game Battleship, a game that I really loved playing. It took a bit of time for the movie to show how it related to the board game and when it did, it wasn’t silly or contrived, it made sense. I was hoping that Liam Neeson wouldn’t be wasted and for the length of time he was on screen he served his purpose and his role well. It was a decent movie, the only critique that I have is that the previews were poorly done. The movie leaves you thinking it was a lot better than I thought it was going to be, and that means that the previews stunk, which is horrible for the box office receipts because most movie goers aren’t as easy going or as forgiving as my hubby and I.

Summer in Normandy continues

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beaches, heat, Normandy, postaday2012, Seine river, summer, sun

The countryside of Normandy is lush, green, full of hills, mountains and valleys. The forest is everywhere, surrounding the towns, it plays an important role in the background of the Normandy tapestry, the towns and cities stand out in much sharper contrast against the majesty of all those regal trees. This morning Francoise, the baby girl and I went on a small hike through the forest which led out to the top of a falaises,  a cliff overlooking the Seine river. Any view from up high tends toward the picturesque and this view was no exception. The Seine river runs through Rouen down towards Paris and past meandering through further on in France.

After a few minutes of admiration, hunger started calling and we went back home. Francoise had purchased sausage, breast of duck kebabs and chicken and pepper, onions and tomatoes kebabs, those went on the electric grill and Francoise served them with a tabbouleh salad. Dessert was homemade yogurt and fruit. Once lunch was eaten, the kitchen cleaned up and put away. We stayed inside in the cool until 6:00 when Francoise suggested that we visit Rouen plage before it closed for the season.  Rouen plage means Rouen beach; the city of Rouen, for its residents, creates an urban beach setting along the river complete with sand, playground, a rope bridge climbing structure, a scuba diving tank and two cafe’s. The dock along the river is temporarily closed for a month on the left side and the effort doesn’t go unappreciated. The children were having a blast and all the adults seemed to be enjoying their time at the beach.

I promise that as soon as I get back I am going to post every single picture that I have taken and explain them so that it all makes sense.

So far the weather here has been magnificent, Francoise has, so far, every day mentioned that we are experiencing a rarity in Normandy weather, 3 whole days of cloudless blue skies and 80 degree weather. Tomorrow will be day number 4, I haven’t a clue as to what we are doing but I don’t care. I told both Francoise and Nicholas that I am doing what I cam here for, visiting with them. The rest is all gravy on something great.

Beach or pool?

Tags

beach, pool, postaday2012, sand, swimming, vacation

I really dislike sand, I love picnicking and there is nothing worse than when you are eating your favorite sandwich, fresh ham and butter on a crunchy French baguette, and you bite down on gritty sand, kills the moment of pleasure. However, I love the ocean, swimming in salt water, smelling the sand, the sea and the sun, there are few smells as divine as those three. We have an in ground pool and eating lunch and dinner out there is pleasant as well and when my flowers are in full bloom, the air is sweet and floral, perfect ambience for eating and relaxing. Swimming in chlorine isn’t my favorite but there is no sand! so I shouldn’t complain. I should be happy.

Giverny and Claude Monet’s beautiful home and spectacular gardens

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Claude Monet, gardens, Giverny, Impressionism, postaday2012, sightseeing, water lilies

Francoise took the baby girl and I for a drive to Giverny to see the house where Claude Monet lived and created his gardens that served as his inspiration for much of his work throughout the rest of his years. I had always thought that Monet had painted his landscapes more towards the south west of France, I was happily surprised to learn that Monet’ home in Giverny was only 45 minutes away from Rouen. The reason that I was surprised was because the region of Normandy isn’t known for its sunny climes and the bounty that made up the gardens was amazing. Monet in all of his paintings at Giverny showcased the abundance of sunflowers, lavender beds, upright phlox, butterfly bushes and a myriad of other varieties of flowers that I know by sight but not by name. The house and gardens open in the spring and stay open into the fall. I would love to do a seasonal tour of the gardens to see the transformation from the early spring awakening through until the fall starts its descent into hibernation mode for the coming year. My baby girl took her canon and I could hear her camera shuttering away so that when we get home I’ll be able to put together a photo montage for you. the house itself was large, two stories, with the upstairs comprised of two open bedrooms, showing us Claude’s bedroom and the other was the bedroom of his second wife’s. The other closed doors, I assume we’re the bedrooms for the children, eight altogether, two from Claude’s first marriage and six from his second wife’s first marriage. The dining room was an immense room with a huge table, obviously someone enjoyed entertaining his many friends and fellow painters. Francoise told me that the light, that which is the lifeline for most painters and photographers, is very special in Normandy, it has to do with the overcast skies and the ephemeral presence of fog at dawn and dusk. I can imagine there can’t be anything better than having wonderful meals, great wine and conversation and then spending time in a magnificent garden painting nature at her best.

What was so interesting about the dining room was the color of its walls and ceiling; the richest, brightest yellow that I have seen used for interior paint. Francoise and I were commenting on the color scheme and we overheard a Frenchman say that given Normandy’s propensity for rainy days and cloudy skies, the color yellow was necessary to brighten the room and the spirits. Next door obviously there was the kitchen, an homage to blue and white detailed tile, it housed a huge stove top and oven, fueled by wood. Right next to it on the other side of the doorway was a stone-lined very wide sink. There was ample working space for the kitchen work, in short it was one of the nicest kitchens from the nineteenth century that I had ever seen, did I mention all the copper pots hanging against the wall? I love copper, it has warmth and personality as far as metals go, in my opinion. Seeing where all cooking and the preparation was done made me very happy to have my modern appliance; some have difficulty with roasting in a oven of today, imagine roasting in an oven fired up with wood, much more difficult.

After we were done with the house and the gardens, we headed back home with a detour to Carrefour, the super huge supermarket, we needed fruit, sparkling water and vegetables. I have to say that French supermarkets are just as nice to visit as other real tourist attractions. It is aisle after aisle of culinary delights coupled with an extensive array of fresh fish, an impressive range of different meats at the butcher’s corner. The baby girl’s favorite aisle is the yogurt aisle with the cookie aisle a close second.

Today, another great day of discovery and just being with my cousin who is very much like an older sister for me.

What are your three favorite places locally when dining out?

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dining out, local eateries, postaday2012, restaurants

On our Friday movie and dinner outings, I love going to Arby’s for their regular roast beef sandwich with black pepper and horsey sauce, washed down with a 30 ounce chocolate milk shake. I really love that date night with my hubby and with or without kids. Any occasion to go eat gourmet sushi is welcome and we found a lovely place in Great Barrington called Bizen. It is not only a fantastic sushi place but serves as a tea ceremonial salon and a Japanese pottery art gallery. It is an amazing find. For my special treat, we found a very exiting and charming farm to table French restaurant in Northampton called Les Gras. We have been there several times for Mother’s day and my birthday.

If you had a theme song, what would it be?

Tags

postaday2012, theme music

I’m a little stuck with this one but funny enough, I have the song “Don’t worry be happy”  stuck in my head. I can see the music video in my head with Robin Williams and the two funny guys, one of which is the singer. I can’t think of his name, I hate getting old, I get these holes in my memory, they drive me nuts. Wait, what is my theme song? Oh, yeah Don’t worry be happy.