French for a While

I EXPERIENCED IT today!

Can you believe that? A Pepsi machine selling only Coke and Coke products. I'm writing a letter to Pepsi Co. and Coca Cola, Inc. right now -- this injustice must be rectified. I can't face that kind of disappointment again.

CJS

KERRI'S PARENTS ARRIVED earlier this week and we are all very happy to see them. The kids, in particular, are thrilled to have Pop Pop and Gi Gi around. But as nice as it was to see my in-laws, it was even nicer to see the two boxes they hand-carried with them from DC:

10 months without a Dunkin Donut. How is that possible?

CJS

THE MARKET: ESPERAZA. Nectarines: 2 kilos for €5. Everything else on the plate: €5.10 -- total. Not bad.

OUR VERY GOOD friends from DC email this weekend to tell us they had been to Sierra's Grill -- our favorite Mexican restaurant back home. That wasn't very nice of them! You see, we don't get much Mexican food in the South of France (I think the French might be scared of the spices...shhh!!). So this afternoon we decided to try one of the few Mexican places we've seen in the area, a little place called Le Ranch in Cagnes-sur-Mer just off the beach.

Here's the quick summary: super good and super expensive.

Now the details.

We were quite surprised by how good the food was: lovely quesadillas, crisp tacos, cheesy (but not too cheesy) enchiladas, and above average guacamole. All in all, a very good meal when you consider that it wasn't exactly a typical plat du jour. Of course, it could be that our deprived taste buds were tricked into thinking it was good simply because they haven't experienced the joy of cumin, cilantro, and lime all in the same bite in quite some time.

There were no chips/salsa before dinner and I would have preferred a little more heat (hello habanero!), but everyone was quite content when the meal was over -- even after looking at l'addition (the bill). Patrick's enchilada platter was a cool €15, and my Mexican Deluxe platter was a tick higher at €17. But the quesadillas were reasonably priced at €7 and Kerri had a fantistic salad for only €5. Then, just for fun, we added a big Banana Split and two coffees.

It's not the comfort of Sierra's, but we might just find ourselves back at Le Ranch one of these days -- like when Pop Pop and Gi Gi come to pay...uh...I mean visit.
CJS

IT ONLY TOOK us 9 months to realize that Picard (a French grocery chain that sells only frozen foods) sells frozen bagels. Tonight's dinner menu: bagels with cream cheese. Lots and lots of bagels with cream cheese. And, of course, a nice cup of coffee.
CJS

LAST WEEK DURING our trip to the western part of Provence, we rewarded the kids by stopping for dinner at...McDonalds. It's been a long time since I've eaten at McD's, but I was quickly reminded of two things: 1) if you haven't had one in a long time, a Big Mac is really, really good. 2) 30 minutes after you eat a Big Mac you feel really, really horrible.
CJS

YOU KNOW, IF you have really good bread and really good cheese, those are the only two ingredients you need for a really good sandwich.
CJS

FOR SOME REASON, whenever we have visitors staying with us we often end up eating at Zens's Place in Antibes. But I always leave feeling a bit guilty -- because Zena's is a Fish n Chips place run by a local British woman, not a French Bistro run by a guy named Florian.

But Zena's is quick, easy, kid-friendly, and really, really good. Not very French, but really, really good. Especially the mushy peas.
CJS

ONE OF THE really nice things about this area of France is the number of olive trees that can be found throughout the region. We are lucky to have 10 or 11 in our garden and each year the owner of our house (we're renters!) has the trees harvested and pressed into olive oil at a local mill. Yesterday afternoon a large bottle of olive oil was delivered to our house -- made from the very olives that were growing on our trees 4 months ago. The bottle came courtesy of the home owner.

AROUND 9:00 PM there are some people who like a nice glass of wine. There are others who like a nice hot cup of tea. Me? I like a little carton of chocolate pudding.
CJS

BECAUSE TODAY IS the last day of the February break, the kids wanted to 'celebrate' by having High Tea. But not just any High Tea -- High Tea that they would create from scratch all by themselves, and High Tea from 'the really olden days.' So while I went out for a bike ride, the kids (with a bit of help from Kerri, but not too much), created the following menu:

IT'S NOT JUST Super Tuesday today, it's also World Nutella Day (thank you Poppy Fields for letting us know). We eat the stuff almost every day, especially the kids.

So today you've got to put Nutella on something -- what are you going to put it on? (don't be dirty, Jim!)
CJS

DO YOU REMEMBER the scene in Ratatouille when the super-pretentious French food critic Anton Ego (great name) tasted Remy's cuisine and his thoughts immediately rushed back to his childhood? I had that experience last night.

My mother is Swedish and I grew up eating traditional Swedish food on holidays and special occasions. I still have it every once in a great while, but only when my mother makes it. But last evening I opened the door to our house after a long day of work and was greeted with an unmistakable aroma; an aroma that I instantly recognized: kottbular! I think this is as good an English spelling as I can come up with for Swedish Meatballs!! Hint: the 'k' should be pronounced like 'sh'...I know, the Swedes have some crazy ideas about phonetics.

Kerri had prepared this dish for me as a surprise. This was the first time I have ever had Swedish meatballs that were not prepared by my mother or my Mormor (the cafeteria at IKEA doesn't count). They were superb! Obviously, Kerri was paying close attention when my mother made them for Christmas dinner a few weeks ago. What a treat! Kerri was amazed that I knew what we were having for dinner the instant I walked in the house. I tried to explain that the smell of Swedish meatballs is a smell I never get wrong. Ever. It reminds me of my childhood.

Oh, and the special occasion this time? Yesterday was our anniversary. 13 years, and I finally get a good meal. (that's gonna cost me)
CJS

I'VE TASTED TRUFFLES before, but I don't think I've ever seen them for sale until today. Our village held a large Marche de la Truffe today and the main square was packed full of people wanted to learn more about, and get their hands on some of the the 'black gold'. The Alpes Maritimes and the Var are becoming more and more well known around France for their production of Truffe Noir. At the prices they sell for, I'm thinking about getting in the market myself.

THE FRENCH CONTINUE to find ways to surprise me.

Today was a dreary, cold, rainy day on the Cote d'Azur so we decided...to go out! We thought a nice drive along the coast would be fun, especially if it included a quick stop at some popular shopping spots in Cannes. Despite the weather, we had a great time. And because we got a bit hungry around lunch time, we made our maiden voyage to a French (or maybe it's Belgian)hamburger place called Quick (think McDonalds, but less healthy). The food turned out to be pretty good for a fast food joint; the kids got magic boxes which are kind of like happy meals. I had a chicken sandwich, and Kerri had a salad.

YOU'RE GOING TO have to refer to the next entry to get this one:

About 20 minutes after I posted the last entry we hopped in the car and headed to Auchan (think Target but with a large food section). The whole point of our trip was to get food for the holiday meals we'll be having in the next few days. When we got there we realized -- that's right -- we didn't bring any bags!!

Dammit!

Oh, and in case you are wondering (why wouldn't you be?), we just finished our New Year's Eve meal (the French make kind of a big deal out of the NYE meal). Our menu:

• Fillet of Sole with bell pepper beurre blanc sauce
• Herbed basmati rice
• Fresh tomato and cucumber salad with lemon and herbs
• baguette with cheese (tonight it was Morbier and Saint Nectaire)
• and for dessert...Ben and Jerry's Cookie Dough Ice Cream

That's a good meal, folks! Simple, too. And I know it was a success because my wife -- who doesn't exactly love food that comes from the sea -- had three helpings of the fish. I think it helped that the beurre blanc I made had a good white wine and about 3 lbs. of butter in it.

Happy New Year everyone.

CJS

IT'S A SIMPLE concept, really. We just can't seem to master it.

KERRI WENT WITH a friend to an English (as in the country, not the language) grocery story a few days ago in a town called Mouans-Sartoux and came back with a few goodies that we haven't had since our arrival in France (that's what the English stores are for, you know!). One of the 'treats' was a real hit with the kids; so much so that they decided to have a bit of it for dessert that evening. When was the last time your kids asked for this for dessert....?

At nearly 6 Euros per box (the small box, no less), this is one dessert we won't be having too often. But it sure was good!
CJS

IT'S BEEN OVER a week since we returned from our trip to Italy. The truth is that I had hoped to put something up right away, but I just don't have the energy to chronicle the whole trip because it would take too long (and bore too many people). So here's the super-short version, and if you want more you can watch the short video we made of the trip (available below or by clicking 'videos' at the top of the page).

The trip was wonderful, partly because we decided to visit some parts of Italy that are a little less well known -- so no Milan, Florence, Pisa, or Rome (we did cheat a bit and spent a day in Venice). Instead we spend our time in Italy's central region: Romagna -- known around the world for cheese (home ofparmigiano-reggiano cheese), performance cars (Ferrari, Lambourghini, and Mazerati are all headquartered here), balsamic vinegar (it originates in Modena), and Tenors (Pavarotti was born and lived in Modena). Since Kerri and I have both travelled a bit in Italy, it was nice to visit some new places.

Since this was their first real trip to Italy, Patrick and Julia were in charge of keeping the official record of what we did and I will now consult their notebooks for some more of the details. Here's what I found:

• We visited: Emilia-Reggio, Modena, Bologna, and Venice
• We stayed in a Holiday Inn Express every night (go figure)
• We visited three official (DOC) Parmigiano-Reggiano farms and bought some cheese from each farm (all in Emilia-Reggio)
• Number of tunnels we passed through in the first 2 hours of the trip: 103...then we stopped counting. (It's true!)
• Number of Ferarris and Lambourghinis we saw: 12
• Number of cars that passed daddy even though he was driving 135km/hour: A LOT.
• Times daddy swore because he was lost: [entry removed by editor]
• Favorite meal: just of the Piazza Maggiore in Bologna -- Pasta e fagioli, tagliatelle bolognese, penne and tomatos, tomato & mozzarella salad. Yum.
• Favorite part of trip: riding the bus with no roof (Henry)
• Number of time we had to stop 'for a quick coffee': too many!

If you want something visual, here you go:

CJS

IT SEEMS ODD that we have been here for a month and haven't yet talked about food. After dinner tonight the kids said 'you have GOT to write about this on the blog.' Not because dinner was anything spectacular -- in fact it was quite the opposite: two salads, soup, fresh bread and cheese.

But it's the fresh ingredients that make a meal great. On my way home this evening I stopped off for a few items and decided to buy some fresh tomatoes. I don't know why, but I had a desperate craving for a tomato and fresh mozzarella salad even though we had the same salad two nights ago. [Note: I think my craving stems from the fact that I can by gorgeous tomatoes for about $1.25 per pound, a far cry from the $4.00+ I often paid in Maryland. It also helps that I can get a very large chunk of fresh mozzarella for just under 1 Euro.]

So our simple plat du jour this evening included the following:

• tomato and mozzeralla salad (with fresh olive oil made from the trees on the property where we are living -- a gift from the owner of the house)
• a tomato soup (from a box, no less...but we don't need to mention any more about that)
• a wonderful salad that Kerri made - with greens, apples, strawberries, chick peas, shredded carrots, and a sweet-tangy vinagrette
• two warm baguettes that the kids picked up after school
• a bit of cheese (comtè)

But the reason Patrick and Julia wanted us to mention the meal on this blog was because of the dessert: two crisp, fresh, succulent...Twix bars! Ah, now that's good eats.

CJS