I don’t usually post on Sunday nor do I do two foodie stories in the same week…but then again…this isn’t any ordinary Sunday. So while I prepare the long wait until 8pm when the election results start rolling in, I am taking comfort in comfort, wherever I can.
My grocery store roses help, even if they are bruised and fading fast. I still love their leathery petals and spindly form that pulls me into the gateway of a labyrinth with a simple gaze.
And of course, there is food. I have been cooking even more than usual, if that is possible. Actually, it isn’t, so I will add that I have been putting a little more thought into what goes in the pan and onto the plate as I need an extra outlet for the brimming anxiety within.
First up, for those of you that might be pondering your Sunday brunch, a funky mixture that worked well. I have the fantastic Deb Perleman at Smitten Kitchen to thank for both the “just put it in a bowl” and the “everything tastes better with a fried egg on top” concepts which are fun to play around with. Here, the bottom layer is shredded zucchini sauteed in cumin and crushed cherry tomatoes, then perfectly ripe Haas avocados were spliced around the sides, topped with eggy and crumbled feta and there you go. I will be making this again.
Have you already eaten? Europe just finally swung around to the time change last night (I know, I don’t understand why we can’t just do it all on the same day either), so depending where you are, that is entirely possible. All right then, well, if comfort is what is called for, there is nothing that fits the bill better than this dish, a riff from the most amazing Patricia Well’s “The Provence Cookbook” which has been sleeping up on the top shelf for far too long.
Get out your trusty Creuset (or any deep iron casserole dish) then brown chicken legs on each side and remove with thongs so as not to pierce the skin (p.s. France, you may be in crazy politics mode, but I love you for providing chicken fermier or straight from the producer so readily). As they are in season, sauté some sliced spring onions until tender and then replace the chicken, add two cups of white wine (or less if you are not as greedy about sauce as I am), add olives (I happened to have some that are stuffed with chorizo on hand and I have to say that it added mucho gusto), more of those perky cherry tomatoes, additional spring onions and sliced lemons on top. Cover and cook over lowish heat for about an hour until done. This has to be the easiest and yet most rewarding dish I have made in forever. Don’t go by the mi-cooked crappy iphone photo, just trust me.
And since we know by now that roasted cabbage is actually vegetable bacon, why not make some? Along with eggplants roasted with a little olive oil and a delightfully wacky product that is a mashup of Tabasco and teriyaki sauces plus some strips of whatever fish you have on hand (I used leftovers of Remi’s excellent trout), voila, another healthy stack in a bowl idea. P.s. I also made a lemon tahini vinaigrette for this but it doesn’t really need it so if you are feeling lazy, like a true Food E, then skip it.
So there we are. I am currently roasting asparagus (two huge bunches for only 4.50€ at the market yesterday) to surprise Remi with a salmon benedict for when he comes back from voting…
…for something tells me that I am not the only one that is going to need to take comfort in comfort today.
So I will leave you with this absolutely gorgeous version of one of my very favorite songs in the whole wide world…turn it up and calm down…
…and sigh it with me now, “Ommm“…
…”Shanti, shanti, peace, peace, peace.”
Before we adopted Kipling, our second dog, we used to go up to this tiny but wonderful cabanon in the Luberon to get away: http://lostinarles.blogspot.fr/2012/09/charming-cabanon-rental-in-luberon.html
The family that owns it have been lavender producers for generations and they were the first to explain to me all of the incredible properties that real lavender essence holds. No wonder that it was originally cultivated for medicinal and household purposes as much as it was for the scent!!
Patrica Wells is a legendary figure. The first book that I ever read about France was my parents copy of her original "Food Lover's Guide to Paris" – this was before we talked about being a "foodie"… 🙂
Pascale Molland, the florist shop owner, suggested the lavender oil. Her family has used it after bringing home animal carcasses from hunting and I guess for removing any nasty odor…I guess we are talking about generations of family here, too. Her parents go to Manosque to get the stuff from the producteurs and they got some for me when they were there this winter. I'm grateful.
My aunt and uncle who had (but sold when the grandkids started being produced) a 30 M2 apartment in Paris 7th arrondissement and that are my closest family laughed hard when I told them of the problem ( I probably would have never ventured into a property overseas had they not done so) and she suggested the Woody Allen similarity. I havent seen Blue Jasmine and actually wonder about the accusations made again recently against WA by Mia's daughter. My Aunt then told me about a night at the opera in Chicago when an audience member keeled over and died. They thought it was the way to go….They are still reasonably healthy but are reasonable when it comes to the fact that life (as we know it ) ends for everyone.
I'll put Plenty on the list to view eventually. I saw Streep's last film (August Osage County) and even though she is always good, that film didn't do it for me. I am often disappointed by movies.
There should be some work starting on the apartment so you may see some windows open.
Thanks to you both about the blogging advice. This is totally new for me. I am learning a lot , for example I have never heard of Patricia Wells but spent some time looking at her books and history and (expensive) classes she holds….quite a "gig". I will get some of her books for sure.
Have to get back to work.
Take care,
Mike
Oh, Heather?????????? You don't find "any moment" in "Plenty" amusing?
I'm sorry, but one of my favorite comic lines of-all-time occurs when she's spent an entire year trying to play the respectfully dutiful "Assistant" (this is, after all, 1950's England) for that smarmy producer with whom she's rather obviously also sleeping (mistake then, just as it is now).
Don't you recall when the scene in which about fifty frantic people are circling around a set, trying to get some damn dog to actually EAT some of the dog food for which they're shooting an expensively-produced commercial? Some underling on the set wails (as the actess playing the happy housewife scowls) "We've tried everything…I even put steak in the bowl….the dog WON'T EAT!"
Streep's character (who isn't known for subtlety or dpilomacy, despite being married to a diplomat) just exhales a mighty cloud of cigerette smoke, and she disgustedly/exasperatedly delccles "Well….the dog has TASTE!"
She stomps out,as the smarmy producer clutches her wrist, announcing "I have spent over a YEAR trying to sink to the level of this enterprise. I QUIT." (there are a lot of shift-caps in this dialogue, as you'll know).
Sorry to argue with you, Heather, but It's a terribly funny scene…..particularly in that nearly everyone has, at one point or another in his/her life, tried to hold down a job that's both utterly boring and absurdly demanding.
Advisedly yours as ever,
Uncle David
Même les enfants! Even though I do find the French New Yorkers to be more chic than their Arlesienne counter-parts – national pride goes a long way…
Hopefully not "Blue Jasmine"!! 😮
Mike, David is right. When writing a long tome, it is good to back up or feel free to publish in shorter bits too. And nope, I didn't get anything beyond what you see here. I only start to moderate comments after having a post has been published for two days, otherwise I don't interfere.
And David, you have really been making me laugh. I loved your comments at Sharon's yesterday…
David! Only you would find any moment in "Plenty" amusing! I am shaking my head in wonder over that one…
And Mike, oh goodness, I do know well how frustrating it is to type out long, carefully considered words only for them to disappear into the ether. I apologize for being the source of such frustration but must add that even from what you wrote here, it is clear that it was a complex situation all around.
I looked up at your place as I placed with the dogs this morning. You would never be able to imagine such a thing. And I never heard about it in the local gossip either. As for the neighbors, I know their son Alex, who is lovely. Yes, in France it can be tricky for someone to take action. I definitely have seen that here and in a way, am glad that you have learned the looseness of "amis" already. There is a saying that is current here, that people open their arms to embrace you but never close them. If that makes sense.
That doesn't surprise me about the lavender as it is known for its anti-septic properties as well. Who suggested that to you? Fascinating.
And I am relieved to hear that, while alone, your friend passed being exactly where he wanted to be. That is quite unique, I think.
P.S. Mke?…..explanation: I'm American (born and raised in East Tennessee, to be exact); my longtime partner is French (from Tours). So we go back and forth regularly. Folks always seem to make a big fuss over this, but It seems perfectly unremarkable to me; as I regularly tell them, "Well, when you're French, France is the sort of place you just kind of go to a lot?"
English is Herve's third language, and he doesn't really have an indentifiable accent when he's speaking English. It's always amusing when folks ask him (as they have on many occasions) a variation on "Oh!…so you and David went to France! Did you like it? What'd you think of it????"
—-david terry
Dear Mike,
You (and everyone else, I suppose) should see the Meryl Streep movie "Plenty". I love this movie (it really is one of my all-time-favorites….for several reasons); it's by NO means a comedy, but there are, indeed, several piercingly (if somewhat "Dark") comedic scenes in it……..including an early scene at the British embassy in Brussels, circa 1947 or so. John Gielgud (sp?) plays the inpenetrably stuffy (is he thick-headed, stunned-by-privilege, or does he just not give a damn anymore?) ambassador. Charles Dance plays the hapless, sub-attache…..and they have to deal with an obviously lying Meryl Streep who is, in fact, NOT actually married to the man who's just up&suddenly kicked the bucket in the lobby of a luxurious hotel. It's all very funny, as the three characters maintain a veneer of oh-so-proper British-ness. The final fact is that they've got a dead body on their hands (figuratively speaking), there's a an actual wife back in England who's wondering why her husband hasn't telephoned to say how his road-trip is going.
As I said, it's sort of wince-making, but very amusing.
—david terry