I certainly showed my patriotism on Friday the best way I could on the farm: preparing a feast, the American way. After all, the French helped us during our fight against the British. I should thank them for support. I think I'm making the holiday sound like Thanksgiving now with a French spin. I'll just say that I wanted to share my native culture in a foreign country on the day we celebrate our birth as a country.
I starting cooking on Thursday night. I made homemade barbeque sause. I was a bit surprised how much ketchup went into it, but the end result was great. I think the fresh ginger really boosted the flavor. On Friday morning, Chérif cut two chickens into pieces for me and salt and peppered them. I did work on the farm collecting greens to sell at Saturday's market and weeding around tomato plants. She has many varieties here. The eggplant plants are about a little more than a foot high now. I think that this plant is the corn of France then because it is "knee high by the fourth of July!"
At around 2pm, I continued my cooking. I made all of the following: fresh lemonade, watermelon and cantalope fruit salad, baked beans, corn bread, grean bean stew, fried chicken, and sweet potato fries. It took a lot of time of finish everything. I took breaks throughout the afternoon to hang up laundry, take my shower, and do other things around the farm, so I didn't finish cooking until very late: 10pm! I know that sounds strange, but it was actually good timing. We ate the neighbor's house and Ja-Ja and Fred (the neighbor) arrived just at that time from gathering things in the gardens for Saturday's market. They work very late here sometimes because there is still enough light outside until very late at night. During the middle of the day, farmers usually take a break and stay inside for some time because it is so hot outside.
Anyway, all 10 of us sat down to eat together very late. They all were looking at me a lot, probably waiting for me to say which dish is better to start with. Finally, someone asked if they should eat the fruit first. I said that you can eat whatever you want. There aren't any courses. Just put on your plate, "comme tu veux." Fred liked that. He liked telling his daughters to take whatever they wanted, whenever they wanted it. Everyone still started with the fruit, though, haha, and then went for the meat. Afterwards, more people just started taking whatever they wanted. Finally a little more freedom was at the table.
The kids (all five of them) loved the lemonade! Thanks for the idea, Uncle Rick. Naoko liked the fruit salad the best. Fruit is very expensive and somewhat luxurious in Japan, so she was very happy to be enjoying summer fruit in France. Fried chicken was a first for everyone at the table (except me, of course). They all loved it, especially with the sweet and tangy barbeque sauce! Ja-Ja and Chérif particularly liked the sweet potato fries since they love the sweet potatoes from Algeria. The way I cooked them was new to them (I baked the fries in the oven). Everyone put ketchup on them! Thanks Mom for sending the US Heintz ketchup bottle and the Old Bay seasoning! They all gasped at the size of the bottle, haha, saying it was huge! I said that they are lucky my Mom sent the big one for them to enjoy because everyone was pouring it on their plates. I also sprinkled the Old Bay seasoning on the fries. It was perfect! Everyone was very interested in the spice, so I got to show off some of my Maryland pride, too. Fred loved the baked beans, and the corn bread was nearly all finished. They thought it was very strange to put corn in bread, but then loved the idea after eating it.
Dessert was a fruit mousse cake that Chérif's brother, a professional pastry chef, made just for the occasion. It was beautiful! Don't worry, I took photos. It was good, but very light. I needed some ice cream or chocolate syrup! I still felt so happy since everyone celebrated this day with me. Fred told me that he played baseball when he was younger in school and loves the game. He also knew some of the Founding Fathers and said he liked the wine he tasted form the US, even though they were a bit sweet for his palette. He said he would love to go their and experience the big cities. I'm very glad we had dinner with the neighbors so that I could hear this from Fred and have pride in my country.
We din't go to bed until very late, but I still got up at 6:15am to go to the market. We put out the first baskets of small tomatoes and eggplants that were grown in the greenhouses. They have already grown because it is so much hotter in the greenhouses and were sheltered from all of that rain in May and June. We also brought and sold a lot of bunches of basil, four different potato varieties (one is called Mona Lisa, hehe), really large green beans, and the first batches of red currants and gooseberries. Most people looked at the goosberries awkwardly having no idea what they were. I would be with them if it wasn't for my work on the farm. I saw a lot of tourists, too: British, German, French, etc. I got to practice my German! Chérif came to help this time, which was a blessing because it was very busy. The customers came in waves and often like to chat with Ja-Ja, so his assistance was surely needed. Naoko came, too, so we were a good team behind the tables of the farm's produce.
I hope that everyone celebrated well, no matter where you were. I guess life will continue as normal now for a while. The produce is really peaking here, so the food is superb. Ja-Ja has made fresh basil pesto twice now and I can't get enough of it! The fruit is also getting very sweet. Ja-Ja had us pick all of the gooseberries from their plants because some are even drying out. The plant has lots of thorns, though, so my hands certainly didn't enjoy the work, but my tummy did!
Oh, I should mention that I never found any molasses and used brown sugar and water as a substitute. It worked, but I could tell their was a difference in the beans and barbeque sauce. I hope that you all are grilling outside this time of year and enjoying the seasonal produce as well!
Saturday, July 5, 2008
Thursday, July 3, 2008
Chicks and Champs
Did you all watch the soccer game, the European Cup Final?! It was really fun, even though Germany lost, the team I was hoping would win. Spain won instead. There were many wonderful plays, so I still had a great time watching the game. I think that will be the end of sports while I am here. There is a foosball table in the house. Maybe we can have our own live games!
On Monday morning, I did get to sleep in. I sent a package from the post office. France is so expensive! I won't say how much I paid, but it is more expensive than sending things from the States. I don't think I could live in France because I would fear going to the post office. The system is pretty confusing, too. Even the name of the family of the place of destination has to be on the package or letter being sent within France. I think our system is much more efficient because the name doesn't matter. Oh, the small things I take for granted back home, like trusting the postal service!
I quickly got out of the evil post office and didn't look back. I walked straight to the Monday market going on in Lasalle. I said hello to some friends I've made: two men from Senegal who sell their artwork there and a Thai woman who sells lots of random things (Thai jewelry, Thai food, painted woodwork, spice baskets, etc.). One of the Senegal guys has a sister living in Rhode Island. He called her on his cell phone so I could talk to her, haha! She was very sweet and spoke English very well. I also bought some fruit from a family that always gives me free samples of what they have. I bought watermelon and cantalope, which I will cut up and put in a lime-honey-mint sauce for July 4th, and some dates to share with the family and Naoko in particular because she has never eaten them before. I had a great time running around and visiting these familiar faces. I even got some free items because I come to say hi when I can and sometimes buy things from them. I like being with these foreigners and supporting their way of life! They are all very generous and friendly!
On the farm, Ja-Ja has already been preparing for Saturday's market. She has picked a lot of potatoes, which is what she usually starts out gathering because they can last in good condition for quite a long time off the plant. She has also been collecting a lot of squash, zucchini, and green beans. All of these vegetables are starting to get very large! She wanted to pick them before they get too big and difficult for her customers to cook with. Naoko, Amena, Mishka, and I have been gathering the black currants. They are fairly ripe now. Some are sweet and addictively delicious, but others are still a bit tart. We are picking them all anyway because Ja-Ja plans on making a lot of jam with them. Black currant jam is pretty spectacluar if you get a chance to try it! It takes a long time to pick the currants, though. The pants look somewhat like grape plants, and the currants grow in small bunches sort of like grapes, too. The plant and its leaves are beautiful. Try to put one in your garden if you can!
We also have been trying to fill orders placed by other farmers and neighbors. One order was for 10,000 leeks! My job was to help count them and carefully place them in crates in a very orderly fashion. These are baby plants and the farmer plans on replanting them, farther apart than from what they were here in the ground, so that they grow into larger leeks. My other big job here has been helping out with the hay. We are still cutting, raking, bailing, transporting, and storing the hay. It takes a lot of people, a lot of arm strength, a lot of sun screen, and a lot of patience. The process can last all day, depending on the size of the field, the driness of the hay (wet hay can brake the bailing machine and make the bails heavier), the amount of wind spreading out our hay piles that we have to re-rake, and the amount of workers. You also have to have a tolerance for bad tan lines because my sock tan is getting pretty obvious now, eep!
There is a new addition to the farm: baby chicks! There are five in total: four black and one yellow! They are extremely small and furry. They like to hide under their Mom's belly a lot. I will keep you updates in their growth! They like to stay indoors, but they can't hide from me!
On Tuesday evening, we all went to watch Inès in her school play. It is the end of the school year now for the elementary school here (yes, I think it's pretty late, too). This event is mostly to help raise money for the next school year. The kids sang songs, which were actually mostly all in English, read poetry that they wrote, and did small skits. The major theme was nature and using every items, like tin cans and wood boards, to play games or do silly things with your body. I got to drink a free kir as an apéritif. It was a mix of white wine with black currant liquor. It is a regional favorite. The wine was really cheap and bad, though. I'm glad it was free. My head hurt the next day, even though I only drank half a glass! Chérif knew my headache was because of the wine and he felt bad because he wants me to enjoy the culture and food here. He let me work less that day.
The food here has pretty much been the same. We are eating a lot more onions and leeks because they are in season here now. They are especially sweet and very good in omelettes or salads. Ja-Ja made a lasagne with a lot of diced carrots. I thought it was a great idea for a healthier dish. I like it, but it gave the lasagne a sweeter taste, which I didn't like much. Maybe diced zucchini would be a better substitute for me. On the night of Inès's event, I pan fried steak for Naoko, Amena, Mishka, and I. Naoko wanted me to show her how to make gravy with the left over sauce. She had it before in London and wanted to know how to make it from scratch. I showed everyone and they loved it! Thank you Aunt Linda for teaching me! Your cooking expertise has now traveled to France, hehe!
I am now looking forward to cooking for July 4th tomorrow! Wish me luck. I hope that everyone has a great holiday and celebrates well! Eat some cake, drink some ice cold soda, and watch some fire works or parades for me! I want to lastly thank you all for the ideas for the molasses substitutions. I appreciate the help. The grocery stores here don't really cater for foreign tastes. Rubbish! (N'importe quoi!)
On Monday morning, I did get to sleep in. I sent a package from the post office. France is so expensive! I won't say how much I paid, but it is more expensive than sending things from the States. I don't think I could live in France because I would fear going to the post office. The system is pretty confusing, too. Even the name of the family of the place of destination has to be on the package or letter being sent within France. I think our system is much more efficient because the name doesn't matter. Oh, the small things I take for granted back home, like trusting the postal service!
I quickly got out of the evil post office and didn't look back. I walked straight to the Monday market going on in Lasalle. I said hello to some friends I've made: two men from Senegal who sell their artwork there and a Thai woman who sells lots of random things (Thai jewelry, Thai food, painted woodwork, spice baskets, etc.). One of the Senegal guys has a sister living in Rhode Island. He called her on his cell phone so I could talk to her, haha! She was very sweet and spoke English very well. I also bought some fruit from a family that always gives me free samples of what they have. I bought watermelon and cantalope, which I will cut up and put in a lime-honey-mint sauce for July 4th, and some dates to share with the family and Naoko in particular because she has never eaten them before. I had a great time running around and visiting these familiar faces. I even got some free items because I come to say hi when I can and sometimes buy things from them. I like being with these foreigners and supporting their way of life! They are all very generous and friendly!
On the farm, Ja-Ja has already been preparing for Saturday's market. She has picked a lot of potatoes, which is what she usually starts out gathering because they can last in good condition for quite a long time off the plant. She has also been collecting a lot of squash, zucchini, and green beans. All of these vegetables are starting to get very large! She wanted to pick them before they get too big and difficult for her customers to cook with. Naoko, Amena, Mishka, and I have been gathering the black currants. They are fairly ripe now. Some are sweet and addictively delicious, but others are still a bit tart. We are picking them all anyway because Ja-Ja plans on making a lot of jam with them. Black currant jam is pretty spectacluar if you get a chance to try it! It takes a long time to pick the currants, though. The pants look somewhat like grape plants, and the currants grow in small bunches sort of like grapes, too. The plant and its leaves are beautiful. Try to put one in your garden if you can!
We also have been trying to fill orders placed by other farmers and neighbors. One order was for 10,000 leeks! My job was to help count them and carefully place them in crates in a very orderly fashion. These are baby plants and the farmer plans on replanting them, farther apart than from what they were here in the ground, so that they grow into larger leeks. My other big job here has been helping out with the hay. We are still cutting, raking, bailing, transporting, and storing the hay. It takes a lot of people, a lot of arm strength, a lot of sun screen, and a lot of patience. The process can last all day, depending on the size of the field, the driness of the hay (wet hay can brake the bailing machine and make the bails heavier), the amount of wind spreading out our hay piles that we have to re-rake, and the amount of workers. You also have to have a tolerance for bad tan lines because my sock tan is getting pretty obvious now, eep!
There is a new addition to the farm: baby chicks! There are five in total: four black and one yellow! They are extremely small and furry. They like to hide under their Mom's belly a lot. I will keep you updates in their growth! They like to stay indoors, but they can't hide from me!
On Tuesday evening, we all went to watch Inès in her school play. It is the end of the school year now for the elementary school here (yes, I think it's pretty late, too). This event is mostly to help raise money for the next school year. The kids sang songs, which were actually mostly all in English, read poetry that they wrote, and did small skits. The major theme was nature and using every items, like tin cans and wood boards, to play games or do silly things with your body. I got to drink a free kir as an apéritif. It was a mix of white wine with black currant liquor. It is a regional favorite. The wine was really cheap and bad, though. I'm glad it was free. My head hurt the next day, even though I only drank half a glass! Chérif knew my headache was because of the wine and he felt bad because he wants me to enjoy the culture and food here. He let me work less that day.
The food here has pretty much been the same. We are eating a lot more onions and leeks because they are in season here now. They are especially sweet and very good in omelettes or salads. Ja-Ja made a lasagne with a lot of diced carrots. I thought it was a great idea for a healthier dish. I like it, but it gave the lasagne a sweeter taste, which I didn't like much. Maybe diced zucchini would be a better substitute for me. On the night of Inès's event, I pan fried steak for Naoko, Amena, Mishka, and I. Naoko wanted me to show her how to make gravy with the left over sauce. She had it before in London and wanted to know how to make it from scratch. I showed everyone and they loved it! Thank you Aunt Linda for teaching me! Your cooking expertise has now traveled to France, hehe!
I am now looking forward to cooking for July 4th tomorrow! Wish me luck. I hope that everyone has a great holiday and celebrates well! Eat some cake, drink some ice cold soda, and watch some fire works or parades for me! I want to lastly thank you all for the ideas for the molasses substitutions. I appreciate the help. The grocery stores here don't really cater for foreign tastes. Rubbish! (N'importe quoi!)
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Sleepless in the Cévennes
I have the best family ever! Thanks for writing all of the comments everyone! Aunt Linda, I have seen whole chickens in our grocery stores, and have cooked with them often. I should have been more clear in my blog. I just don't know many people who typically buy the whole chicken, especially my age. I think that more people find it easier and more simple just to buy pre-packaged pieces, such as chicken breasts or wings. I'll still take you up on the shopping trip though so you can teach me more cooking secrets of yours, hehe! Uncle Rick, I hope that we do start spraying less! Many plants are still sick because it is still humid. On Friday, I sprayed the green bean, squash, and cucumber plants! I also sprayed the eggplant plants quickly because their flowers don't like the extra copper. I am really looking forward to July 4th, and the 14th! Thanks for the recipe! I'm not sure if I will be able to find cans of creamed corn here, though. If not, I'll be baking corn bread, and I think I'll take up your idea of sprinkling cardamom on top of the bread. Thanks for the great idea! Mom, I'll get back to you if I need to recipe. The sweet potatoes here are not orange (they're white), so I may not do the sweet potato fries. Pooie! I'll get back to you on what I do. Thanks, everyone!
Aside from the spraying on Friday, I did experience something new: I witnessed my first kill of a bird with a knife. Ja-Ja killed a duck because it was young, lonely, and bothering the chickens. She explained to me something about it not staying with other ducks, but I couldn't really understand. She said that I didn't have to watch because we would be eating the duck one day, but I thought that it would be good for me. It wasn't too shocking for me. I'll leave out the details. I did get a bit emotional later when I was on my own. I realized that we eat God's creatures to stay alive and keep well-nourished, without giving much regard to the lives of the animals. I hope to sat grace more at meal time and thank God for what I eat. What we consume has already had a life, whether it's an animal, vegetable, fruit, or anything else.
Saturday's market was fun. One of the daughters, Amena, came for the first time of the summer. Now that school is out, the girls will come more often. I was extremely tired. We leave by 7am for these Saturday markets, so I got up early. Ja-Ja saw that and let me relax a bit more than usual. I mostly helped with refilling the baskets and crates with more produce. Ja-Ja brought some strawberries, tomatoes, and baby eggplants for loyal customers since they are limited on the farm now. We had a lot of green beans, huge lettuce heads, raspberries, monster zucchinis, fresh basil and parsley, and black currants. The currants are sweeter now and taste fabulous (I couldn't stop snacking on them when I was picking them, hehe, and they make excellent jam). There were no radishes this time. I went to the grocery store in town meanwhile to get July 4th ingredients. I found pretty much everything I needed (even Heintz ketchup, phew), but no molasses! Ja-Ja doesn't even know what it is herself. This is a crucial ingredient for my BBQ sauce and baked beans. Ja-Ja is going to ask Chérif's brother, who is a baker living in rown here, if he has some. Otherwise, I think I will have to substitute with corn syrup. Any other suggestions?
I also made a trip around the market. I bought some gifts, hehe! I has a good time talking with the producers, trying their samples, and learning about some of the ingredients. For example, one lady selling fig products told me that the first picking happens in July/August, and the second in September/October. The figs if the second picking are always sweeter and better! I'm sure that rule goes for other things, too, like maybe strawberries.
We spent at least three hours on Saturday afternoon bailing the hay. We are nearly done with the first harvest. Chérif said that he will cut the same fields again in about another month for the second harvest. He said that the sheep like this hay better (like the figs, right!). I think that I will be on my way home by then, but I may catch the beginning of the second harvest. My arms are certainly getting a workout, raking up the fields after the bailer passes attached to the tractor and throwing around the bails in the barn to stack them to the ceiling. It's fun, and I feel very productive. To keep up my momentum because it can get boring sometimes, I just keep thinking that I am cooking for the sheep and putting everything in the freezer to eat later. A little grass here, some of that herb here, a sprinkle of those leaves...
We didn't eat dinner until around 9:30! Ja-Ja wanted to cook a healthy meal for everyone, though. We ate freash, steamed vegetables that were not sold at the market: green beans, potatoes, and some carrots. I have been eating more french cuisine here. I think it's because the onions are getting big and sweet. We ate an onion tart and an onion omelette over the weekend. Both were incredibly sweet and flavorful! Eating off the farm is truly special.
I was a zombie agin this morning because we got up early to go to the flea market in Andouze, a nearby town. Naoko really wanted to go to keep cheap clothes and the daughters want to go to get DVDs. It was hot and crowded. I bought a ring for 1 Euro and a gift for the family. We then walked around the town and ate lunch. I had a salmon salad. I saw a lot of American tourists, wearing Broncos and San Francisco T-shirts. The fresh fish and American voices made me feel like I was back in the States. I was definitely attracted to the touristy streets just so I could be with my kind. Tourists turn out to be a good thing sometimes when you are one yourself.
Hopefully I will get more sleep. Oh wait, the UEFA Final is on tonight! I am certainly doing a lot here to get as much as possible out of this experience. Chérif is letting Naoko and I have the morning off tomorrow, so I'll sleep in then. Yippee! I'll dream of my sheep in the mountains, where it's cool and breezy. I hope we take a trip to see them soon! Bonne nuit. (Good night.)
Aside from the spraying on Friday, I did experience something new: I witnessed my first kill of a bird with a knife. Ja-Ja killed a duck because it was young, lonely, and bothering the chickens. She explained to me something about it not staying with other ducks, but I couldn't really understand. She said that I didn't have to watch because we would be eating the duck one day, but I thought that it would be good for me. It wasn't too shocking for me. I'll leave out the details. I did get a bit emotional later when I was on my own. I realized that we eat God's creatures to stay alive and keep well-nourished, without giving much regard to the lives of the animals. I hope to sat grace more at meal time and thank God for what I eat. What we consume has already had a life, whether it's an animal, vegetable, fruit, or anything else.
Saturday's market was fun. One of the daughters, Amena, came for the first time of the summer. Now that school is out, the girls will come more often. I was extremely tired. We leave by 7am for these Saturday markets, so I got up early. Ja-Ja saw that and let me relax a bit more than usual. I mostly helped with refilling the baskets and crates with more produce. Ja-Ja brought some strawberries, tomatoes, and baby eggplants for loyal customers since they are limited on the farm now. We had a lot of green beans, huge lettuce heads, raspberries, monster zucchinis, fresh basil and parsley, and black currants. The currants are sweeter now and taste fabulous (I couldn't stop snacking on them when I was picking them, hehe, and they make excellent jam). There were no radishes this time. I went to the grocery store in town meanwhile to get July 4th ingredients. I found pretty much everything I needed (even Heintz ketchup, phew), but no molasses! Ja-Ja doesn't even know what it is herself. This is a crucial ingredient for my BBQ sauce and baked beans. Ja-Ja is going to ask Chérif's brother, who is a baker living in rown here, if he has some. Otherwise, I think I will have to substitute with corn syrup. Any other suggestions?
I also made a trip around the market. I bought some gifts, hehe! I has a good time talking with the producers, trying their samples, and learning about some of the ingredients. For example, one lady selling fig products told me that the first picking happens in July/August, and the second in September/October. The figs if the second picking are always sweeter and better! I'm sure that rule goes for other things, too, like maybe strawberries.
We spent at least three hours on Saturday afternoon bailing the hay. We are nearly done with the first harvest. Chérif said that he will cut the same fields again in about another month for the second harvest. He said that the sheep like this hay better (like the figs, right!). I think that I will be on my way home by then, but I may catch the beginning of the second harvest. My arms are certainly getting a workout, raking up the fields after the bailer passes attached to the tractor and throwing around the bails in the barn to stack them to the ceiling. It's fun, and I feel very productive. To keep up my momentum because it can get boring sometimes, I just keep thinking that I am cooking for the sheep and putting everything in the freezer to eat later. A little grass here, some of that herb here, a sprinkle of those leaves...
We didn't eat dinner until around 9:30! Ja-Ja wanted to cook a healthy meal for everyone, though. We ate freash, steamed vegetables that were not sold at the market: green beans, potatoes, and some carrots. I have been eating more french cuisine here. I think it's because the onions are getting big and sweet. We ate an onion tart and an onion omelette over the weekend. Both were incredibly sweet and flavorful! Eating off the farm is truly special.
I was a zombie agin this morning because we got up early to go to the flea market in Andouze, a nearby town. Naoko really wanted to go to keep cheap clothes and the daughters want to go to get DVDs. It was hot and crowded. I bought a ring for 1 Euro and a gift for the family. We then walked around the town and ate lunch. I had a salmon salad. I saw a lot of American tourists, wearing Broncos and San Francisco T-shirts. The fresh fish and American voices made me feel like I was back in the States. I was definitely attracted to the touristy streets just so I could be with my kind. Tourists turn out to be a good thing sometimes when you are one yourself.
Hopefully I will get more sleep. Oh wait, the UEFA Final is on tonight! I am certainly doing a lot here to get as much as possible out of this experience. Chérif is letting Naoko and I have the morning off tomorrow, so I'll sleep in then. Yippee! I'll dream of my sheep in the mountains, where it's cool and breezy. I hope we take a trip to see them soon! Bonne nuit. (Good night.)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
