The sun is still making it's grand entrance here. The clouds have disappeared. They were out only one morning and some of another afternoon, and that was pure bliss. My skin was surely thankful. I here that the sun will still be strong here throughout the summer. I am enjoying feeling the sun in the afternoon, though, when it is lower. The sun sets very slow here. When I close my shutters to my bedroom at around 10:30pm, the sky is still a deep blue and I can easily see the outline of the mountains. Evening and night-time walks are really pleasant!
On Tuesday, we spent over 5 hours in the late afternoon bringing in the hay! We had a total of six people working in the fields, including the neighbor, Fred, who willingly helped out. For a bit if a boost of energy, Ja-Ja picked some fresh cherries off of some cherry trees. They were very sweet and a deep red! We also spotted some snakes in the fields. They were small, but numerous. Amena, one of the daughters, threw one at me and I screamed so loud! I think that I am used to them now and I am not so scared. Thank you, Amena! My favorite part of the day was just smelling the hay. I love the smell! I told Chérif that there should be a hay-scented candle. He laughed and like the idea, but the girls thought the idea was really strange, haha. I brought a waterbottle with me that had fresh rosemary sprigs in it. If you enjoy a different taste to your water, try putting in some rosemary, or mint! It's very refreshing.
For dinner that night, I enjoyed a glass of my organic Louis Julian wine! It was definitely necessary and helped me relax before falling into bed. I also ate raw beet slices for the first time. I can't believe that there wasn't any sugar injected in them. They were super sweet and delicious. Dad, I am a beet fan now! Other wonder dishes that I ate were finally traditional French recipes. One of the dishes was a whole, roasted chicken with a lot of tarragon stuffed in the cavity. Tarragon and chicken is an amazing match! Naoko was shocked to see a whole chicken on the table. She said that Japanese markets and grocery stores usually sell the pieces separate. I told her it was similar in the United States, probably because cooking the pieces is quicker than cooking an entire chicken. Ja-Ja also cooked a casserole of Swiss chard and potatos in a creamy sauce topped with a layer of Gruyère cheese. I loved it! All of the vegetables and herbs come from the farm, adding a huge flavor punch to each dish.
I was disappointed with the steak, though. It was grilled, tender, and organic, which is how I like it, but lacked good flavor. There is nothing like Dad's steaks! Period. I also think that Americans just know and love their cows and have better ways of fixing and eating steak.
Last night, I went over to the grandparents' house to watch the soccer game of Germany vs. Turkey with the daughters. It was a great game! Germany won 3-2. The final game is this weekend. I suggest trying to watch some of it! During half-time, Said, the grandfather, gave me a Coca-Cola. I gave a huge smile, with the tips of my mouth reaching my ears. This Coke was the first one I have had since arriving in Europe. I have never felt so satisfied after just taking the first sip! I guess I really missed soda, haha! Desperate Housewives was on TV after the match and we watched it in French! I couldn't understand what was going on, really, but seeing the familiar show and Eva Longoria doing her yoga made me smile, too.
On July 4th, I will be cooking a feast for the family to celebrate Independence Day of the United States! Chérif's brother will be making a cake for us. I said that it has to be red, white, and blue, but everything else is up to him. I have prepared a basic outline of what I will cook: sweet potato fries, corn pudding, green bean stew, fried chicken with BBQ sauce, corn bread, bean chili, and a fruit salad. I will also have grilled cinnamon peaches and vanilla ice cream for dessert. If you have any recipes to share with me, or have any other suggestions to make, please let me know! I made this first draft based on what is available here and could represent an all-American meal (with a southern touch!).
I miss you all and I am very much looking forward to coming home! I have only 4 weeks left now! Vous me manquez! (I miss you all!)
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Monday, June 23, 2008
Farewell, Alison!
First, I would really like to thank you all for writing comments on my posts. It's so uplifting and encouraging for me to know that you enjoy reading the posts, and to read about any information that you give to add to my posts. Thanks, Ann, for giving more information about Steiner! I hope these posts give you a better idea about what your son will be up to in Ireland!
To reply to Uncle Rick's comment, I followed up with Chérif about the copper. He described the copper as being a sort of preventative agent to stop "microscopic mushrooms" from growing in the plant. When Chérif and Ja-Ja see these spots on the leaves of the plant, they know it is possible that this type of mold could go further into the legume or fruit (potato, grape, onion bulb, etc.), ruining the crop. The spots are appearing because it has been so humid and wet here. The weather is getting hotter and dryer, so the plants are getting healthier. I figure that means that the pH may be changing. I hope so! Alison, who has WWOOFed (volunteered) in many other farms around France and Italy has seen this practice many times. She told me she thought that it was an accepted method among organic farmers, or else so many of their plants might die. I don't know what happens in the United States, though. As for the French cuisine, I guess I really haven't had much at all, haha! I have eaten pizza with olives, french fries dipped in mustard, sausage links in baguette bread with mayonnaise, fish baked with lemon and rosemary, duck from a can to spread like paté, and maybe some other things that I am forgetting. We haven't had ratatouille because eggplants and tomatoes still aren't ripe to pick of the vines yet, and no bouillabaise because their actually isn't very much fresh seafood available here, particularily shellfish. Ja-Ja, I have found, likes to cook traditional Algerian dishes that she probably learned about from her youth in Algeria. The eggplants are growing, though, so I am looking forward to some ratatouille! Oh, I've also been buying some French wine, so I do feel a bit more French with that, and having cheese after dinner all the time. I will have to return to Provence with you so that you can show me the real French cuisine!
This weekend has been a quiet one, but Alison did leave to go back to the UK on Sunday morning. Chérif and Ja-Ja drove her to the train station. I woke up to say goodbye, give her a big hug, wish her luck, and wave goodbye. It's bitter-sweet to see her go. I know that she will have more adventures coming up and she will be traveling more, so I am happy for her. At the same time, I wish she would stay. It's nice to talk to someone about everything: feelings about the host family, how it can be tough to be an American abroad now, missing home, cooking, traveling, favorite food indulgences, music, etc. I just have to feel fortunate that we crossed paths at least. I guess it's the same situation that happens when you work somewhere for a short time or meet someone while on vacation with whom you would like to have a longer friendship. These people are the ingrediants that add flavor to our lives, even though they may seem to disappear from sight. You can still taste something that they left, though, and it will stay with you forever. Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what flavor you will taste next, but you will remember it!
Saturday's market was beautiful. More tourists are coming, so I think Ja-Ja's glad I'm there to speak English with them. They are typically from England or Holland now. One English woman who I have seen for the past three weeks invited me to her chateau! Her and her husband are retired and own a chateau a few miles from the market where they live during the winter and summer. What a wonderful lifestyle! I said that I couldn't drive here, though, since I don't think my driver's licence means anything here, and I can't drive Chérif's manual car, urgh! Maybe we can work something else out! This week was the last day for us to sell peas and fava beans. We are already pulling out the plants from the soil to make way for other things. Ja-Ja is keeping some of the beans, though, to freeze for the family for winter time. We brought a lot of black currants and raspberries to sell, and they sold well! I think that the prices are expensive for the fruit, but the French and tourists can't seem to resist! The zucchini, squash, lettuce greens, and carrots are getting much larger as well. Hurray for the sun!
When we got back to the house, Naoko was already preparing lunch! She made us a type of Japanese pancakes called Econoyaki. I believe that they were made with eggs, flour, soy sauce, water, green onions, yellow onion, and salad greens. Usually Japanese bouillon goes in it, too, and cabbage instead of onions and salad, but it's not the season for cabbage now. I was surprised to see no milk in it. They were supurb! She made a sauce with soy sauce and shredded ginger to drizzle on top. Japanese cooking seems so wonderful to me! I will have to try it more when I get home. I think that using fresh, local ingredients makes it taste much batter, though, no matter what is supposed to go in it.
Alison also made cheese biscuits one day, which surely took me back home! Fluffy biscuits with butter was a heavenly reminder of home for me. I also tried to cook the family a Tex-Mex dinner on Friday as a farewell dinner for Alison. She had told me that she would love to go to South America some day and Mexican food isn't very popular in the UK. So I got avocados, chicken, salsa, beans, canned corn, tabasco sauce, and more to cook up guacamole, cinnamon rice with raisins, and a Mexican salad, which had a bean, corn, and tomato topping, spicy chicken, and a honey dressing. Everyone enjoyed it, even the kids. The guacamole disappeared, and Ja-Ja put the salsa on everything (and still does, haha)! They don't have jalapeno peppers here, nor black beans, chicken breast, or haas avocados (only little, weak ones from Israel). Even so, it worked.
Today marks the half-way point of my trip here. Wahoo! I can start counting down the days for my flight back home, where I can't wait to see my family, Andrew, and friends and share more of my stories (and shop for some new clothes and eat some of Mom's chocolate brownies and perfect sweet potatoes, hehe)! Thanks again for leaving your comments! C'est très gentille. (It's very nice.)
To reply to Uncle Rick's comment, I followed up with Chérif about the copper. He described the copper as being a sort of preventative agent to stop "microscopic mushrooms" from growing in the plant. When Chérif and Ja-Ja see these spots on the leaves of the plant, they know it is possible that this type of mold could go further into the legume or fruit (potato, grape, onion bulb, etc.), ruining the crop. The spots are appearing because it has been so humid and wet here. The weather is getting hotter and dryer, so the plants are getting healthier. I figure that means that the pH may be changing. I hope so! Alison, who has WWOOFed (volunteered) in many other farms around France and Italy has seen this practice many times. She told me she thought that it was an accepted method among organic farmers, or else so many of their plants might die. I don't know what happens in the United States, though. As for the French cuisine, I guess I really haven't had much at all, haha! I have eaten pizza with olives, french fries dipped in mustard, sausage links in baguette bread with mayonnaise, fish baked with lemon and rosemary, duck from a can to spread like paté, and maybe some other things that I am forgetting. We haven't had ratatouille because eggplants and tomatoes still aren't ripe to pick of the vines yet, and no bouillabaise because their actually isn't very much fresh seafood available here, particularily shellfish. Ja-Ja, I have found, likes to cook traditional Algerian dishes that she probably learned about from her youth in Algeria. The eggplants are growing, though, so I am looking forward to some ratatouille! Oh, I've also been buying some French wine, so I do feel a bit more French with that, and having cheese after dinner all the time. I will have to return to Provence with you so that you can show me the real French cuisine!
This weekend has been a quiet one, but Alison did leave to go back to the UK on Sunday morning. Chérif and Ja-Ja drove her to the train station. I woke up to say goodbye, give her a big hug, wish her luck, and wave goodbye. It's bitter-sweet to see her go. I know that she will have more adventures coming up and she will be traveling more, so I am happy for her. At the same time, I wish she would stay. It's nice to talk to someone about everything: feelings about the host family, how it can be tough to be an American abroad now, missing home, cooking, traveling, favorite food indulgences, music, etc. I just have to feel fortunate that we crossed paths at least. I guess it's the same situation that happens when you work somewhere for a short time or meet someone while on vacation with whom you would like to have a longer friendship. These people are the ingrediants that add flavor to our lives, even though they may seem to disappear from sight. You can still taste something that they left, though, and it will stay with you forever. Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what flavor you will taste next, but you will remember it!
Saturday's market was beautiful. More tourists are coming, so I think Ja-Ja's glad I'm there to speak English with them. They are typically from England or Holland now. One English woman who I have seen for the past three weeks invited me to her chateau! Her and her husband are retired and own a chateau a few miles from the market where they live during the winter and summer. What a wonderful lifestyle! I said that I couldn't drive here, though, since I don't think my driver's licence means anything here, and I can't drive Chérif's manual car, urgh! Maybe we can work something else out! This week was the last day for us to sell peas and fava beans. We are already pulling out the plants from the soil to make way for other things. Ja-Ja is keeping some of the beans, though, to freeze for the family for winter time. We brought a lot of black currants and raspberries to sell, and they sold well! I think that the prices are expensive for the fruit, but the French and tourists can't seem to resist! The zucchini, squash, lettuce greens, and carrots are getting much larger as well. Hurray for the sun!
When we got back to the house, Naoko was already preparing lunch! She made us a type of Japanese pancakes called Econoyaki. I believe that they were made with eggs, flour, soy sauce, water, green onions, yellow onion, and salad greens. Usually Japanese bouillon goes in it, too, and cabbage instead of onions and salad, but it's not the season for cabbage now. I was surprised to see no milk in it. They were supurb! She made a sauce with soy sauce and shredded ginger to drizzle on top. Japanese cooking seems so wonderful to me! I will have to try it more when I get home. I think that using fresh, local ingredients makes it taste much batter, though, no matter what is supposed to go in it.
Alison also made cheese biscuits one day, which surely took me back home! Fluffy biscuits with butter was a heavenly reminder of home for me. I also tried to cook the family a Tex-Mex dinner on Friday as a farewell dinner for Alison. She had told me that she would love to go to South America some day and Mexican food isn't very popular in the UK. So I got avocados, chicken, salsa, beans, canned corn, tabasco sauce, and more to cook up guacamole, cinnamon rice with raisins, and a Mexican salad, which had a bean, corn, and tomato topping, spicy chicken, and a honey dressing. Everyone enjoyed it, even the kids. The guacamole disappeared, and Ja-Ja put the salsa on everything (and still does, haha)! They don't have jalapeno peppers here, nor black beans, chicken breast, or haas avocados (only little, weak ones from Israel). Even so, it worked.
Today marks the half-way point of my trip here. Wahoo! I can start counting down the days for my flight back home, where I can't wait to see my family, Andrew, and friends and share more of my stories (and shop for some new clothes and eat some of Mom's chocolate brownies and perfect sweet potatoes, hehe)! Thanks again for leaving your comments! C'est très gentille. (It's very nice.)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
