Ding Dong

Ding Dong merrily on ...sigh, my ears are gently ringing. Ding Dong merrily on...sigh-my son  has just stopped screaming.
Gloria....Gloria...Gloria...

Only once a year-lots of build up but gone in a flash! Is it worth all the worry, stress, pondering, time and trips to the store? You bet.

Who would have known that my husband's favorite gift would be the alarm clock/gadget that changes colors and has nature sounds? I'm no fool-I knew as soon as I saw the instruction booklet that his beautiful leather briefcase would be stowed away in a corner whilst he perused the pages of the mystery clock which I will surely never be able to figure out. This is truly one of those "Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus" situations.

Merry, Merry, Merry Christmas....la, la, la, la, la, la,

I had a fight with a hanger and why it's my husbands fault

They say you have to pick your battles and out there in the real world I do okay with that. In general, I can let the things slide, not react to provocation and coast along pretty well with the bumps and grinds that life swings my way. At home it is another story...When I'm all alone (that's me, my personal jury which has an opinion about everything, and let's not forget my inner demons willing to jump at the chance to remind me that life is in fact, tortuous). Yesterday, I chose to wrestle with a coat hanger situated within my tangled web of a closet where everything I EVER want to wear is inaccessible to me. How could that be? Well- that is a good question to ask my 6ft4 husband who installs every cupboard, cabinet or shelf at least 6 inches too high for me to reach...Yes, I am thankful that he at least assembles the occasional purchase, but how is it that there are always leftover screws and a drawer that won't quite pull out without some serious muscle?

Once his mission is accomplished and the aforementioned cupboard/cabinet is put together he gives me very specific instructions which always imply that I'm a brute and break everything in the house. Now I am sorry but appliances can only live so long, especially the ones bought with my fidelity points at the grocery store and that were made in Russia! I remember the time we got a phone that way, it worked perfectly fine as long as you didn't need to telephone anyone whose number had a 9 in it!

Ironically despite the fact that every time I ask him to repair something he reminds me that he is a lawyer and not McGyver, he refuses to let me call a professional. As things stand now, the toilet is NOT running constantly but my dear hubby patrols the bathroom door checking everyone's flushing technique. Here's how he explains it:  "A gentle and quick tap on the button, but whatever you do-Don't hold it for longer than 30 seconds or the damn may flood!".

I should just be grateful for the crooked bookshelf and the extra exercise I get going to get a stool every time I need a dish or a dress-at least I don't have to do it...

Random Acts of Kindness

I was never much of a believer in "random acts of kindness", mostly because I had rarely, if ever, been the receiver of one. Then about 5 years ago as I was riding the bus to work in Paris, minding my own business like any good Parisian  (that prevents one from having to give up a seat BTW), when an elderly lady beside me began to talk. Before I knew it, I was having a delightful conversation with the most charming of women. She was very curious about my culinary interests and when I confided in her that I was a real" Foodie" who spent lots of time pouring over cookbooks, she made me a proposal I couldn't turn down. "Meet me in front of the Louvre tomorrow at 1:00 and I will give you my most treasured cookbook!". She explained that she  only has one child, a son,  who wasn't interested in cooking and she would like to give it to someone who would put it to good use. Being the optimistic person that I am, I took her for her word and showed up the next day in a timely fashion. Sure enough, after only waiting a minute or two, she came to greet me with a divine French cookbook. titled  "Le Livre de Cuisine de Mme E. Saint-Ange" dated 1926. It's a real gem and I refer to it often for basic French recipes and techniques.

One year later I found myself in the post office of my local village when I heard a lady speaking French with an American accent. I couldn't help but laugh as I listened to her struggling a bit with the postal worker. I introduced myself and she proceeded to tell me that she was returning to the States that very morning and would I like two big bags of pecans she had intended for someone else. I said,  "Yes Mam",  and that's how I ended up making all those pecan balls and pecan pies that Christmas. We exchanged addresses and this kind person has continued to send me and my family Christmas goodies every year.

I just love these stories because they reaffirm to me what the Christmas spirit is all about. It just goes to show you that you never know who you're standing next to in line-they might just be your new friend you haven't met yet!

Spotify

My girlfriend recently told me about this great website Spotify, where you can listen to an album in its entirety -whoops-a senior moment-I meant CD. For my friend it was an opportunity to check out the new Rhianna CD, for me it was an excuse to revisit my 20's ...I was in Heaven on Friday- as the snow blanketed the countryside I listened to George Winston's December. I was suddenly back in Boston seeing snow for the first time in my life. Being a Southerner, the closest thing I experienced to snow was sticking my head in the ice maker of the Holiday Inn-I loved the cool air, the quiet and the relief from those sticky, breeze-less Florida  summers. I was so enamored with this site that I was sure that my husband would be too. On Saturday morning I put on Steely Dan's AJA CD. As jazzy sounds played in the kitchen, my husband's rumblings could be heard. He blew his top at Black Cow and actually turned off my computer...OK-it's true I do change the radio station when his old French favorites come on - but I  am tolerant in other ways...Is this what they mean "For Better and For Worse"? Marriage is about compromise, (preferably him compromising and me agreeing that he should)so rather than try and persuade him of the musical merits of "Aja" (a true departure from previous albums which were much more rock), I shall happily listen to my old albums when he's not around. I'm pretty sure he would have more to say about : Little River Band, Joni Mitchell, and the Doobie Brothers...and as we used to say-"Keep on Truckin..."

Uncle Mike's Spicy Shrimp over Linguini

Finally over my stomach pains  I was craving something delicious and spicy (the spicy part was surely not helping my sensitive stomach) but tasty always wins out over reasonable. I am sorry but low-sodium diets are for hospitals and old folks homes and I'm not there yet! Here's one of the most delicious and  quick shrimp dishes I know of and it's all thanks to my brother in-law's fine ways in the kitchen...

 For 4 people

Ingredients for the sauce:
800 grams of fresh shrimp-peeled & deveined
1 garlic clove crushed
2 cartons of whole cream (50cl)
Louisiana hot sauce (to taste-at least 1 tablespoon but I used 2)
1 bottle of clam sauce
1 teaspoon of olive oil

Begin by putting on your water (salted)  for pasta in a large heavy pan, then get started on  your sauce while you're preparing you shrimp. In a medium sized saucepan sauté the garlic for 2 minutes in olive oil, once slightly golden add you clam juice, cream and hot sauce and cook on low until sauce thickens (about 20-25 minutes). As soon as the pasta is ready drop the shrimp in the cream sauce for 2 minutes max then serve directly over pasta. Season with fresh pepper.

As I live in France , it's not always easy to get your hands on some of these ingredients so you have to be inventive. For the clam sauce I drain the juice from a can of tuna. I actually have Louisiana hot sauce but I imagine you could use red pepper flakes and /or a little Tabasco for the kick needed. Lastly I don't put any herbs in this because, frankly, Uncle Mike got it just right but I did happen to have a little leftover grated Parmesan cheese mixed in with lemon zest and I just threw it in at the end and it was sooooooooo good.

Happy Eating!

Aches & Pains

Getting sick on a holiday week-end is no fun as we all know. Getting sick , in general is a real drag although there's nothing like a batch of intestinal flu to help lose those extra pounds that have been hanging around. This compounded with throwing out my back has made this a truly memorable week-end. I do have to say that if awards were given out for "husbands of the week" then mine would  win, bringing me aspirin, pulling up the covers and entertaining our 10 year old-his qualities are innumerable . Keeping to our commitment of a get-together this afternoon with friends I show up-bundled up to the gills and  an ice pack stuffed down my trousers. Being the great friends that they are, they gave me lots of medical advice, homemade soup and before you knew it I had completely forgotten about all my aches and pains. Apart from the brief discussion on menstrual cycles and colonoscopies it was a delightful afternoon. It's true what they say-laughter truly is healing...now I shall limp back to my kitchen and try and muster up something to feed my brood....

Teddy Thompson

I just discovered this male vocalist-he is so talented....


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ld7ugE1wiy0&feature=fvw

Fishbone in the Tongue

Okay, I was taking risks when I decided to cook fish tonight, extremely daring, as it was neither salmon nor cod. I saw the glazed eyes of the Daurade looking blankly out at me and knew right there and then-this will be delicious! Having just run across a recipe for cooking Daurade whole in the oven I asked the fishmonger to prepare my catch. How could it not be good? The recipe included-ginger, garlic, lemon grass, fresh coriander and hoisan and soy sauce. Perhaps it was my son's expletives and he took in the opaque eyes staring back at him. Maybe it was my husband's doubtful expression as he bit back the words he so badly wanted to utter "FISH-YUK!" I have to admit even I lost my gusto after picking out long, sharp bones from my mouth with every biteful-not helped by the skin I sometimes ended up chewing. Midway through the meal my son said "Barf" for the umpteenth time and gave up. I told him he could just eat the rice but could he PLEASE stop saying that. I then proceeded to thread my tongue with one of those sharp bones which involved the whole family going into the bathroom to help me remove the aforementioned weapon...I mean bone.
So why didn't I just make salmon after all....

Figgy Galore

As fig season winds down, I sigh inwardly as I review this years' batch of  recipes. The highlight was a simple fig compote sweetened with a little sugar, lemon and topped of with orange zest. I cooked it down to practically a confit which I preserved and will pull out  in December with our traditional foie gras. I also liked the roasted figs we had on several occasions-once with mascarpone& honey and several times with  vanilla sugar and butter-once out of the hot oven topped off with a dollop of creme fraiche. But I  love figs so much that nothing beats biting into fat juicy delicious one -green, black...I truly love figs!!!

Jeff Abbott

I love  a good thriller like nobody's business and this quick read just hit the spot. "Adrenalin" is a great  page turner with a clever CIA agent who always does the right thing. A few surprises kept this story going and it left you with a cliff hangar to ensure a sequel...Can't wait til that comes out!