Oh how I wish there really was an actual croissant in my new oven. Because that one up there? I ate it. And I could really use another one. Why? Well, I can tell you it’s not my usual appetite for pastry at work here. There’s something far more serious going on. And franchement, I…
Husband and I just had a moment over a bowl of Jell-O chocolate pudding: We were spooning the velvety goodness into our craws, discussing the possible health merits of Jell-O pudding made with skim milk, when my dear husband took a particularly large spoonful and stopped dead in his tracks. I thought it might be…
I eat a lot of eggs. Like probably way more than my fair share, to the point that I’m scared to have my cholesterol tested. Sometimes I eat oatmeal with the sole intention of cleaning out my arteries because I’m pretty sure I can feel bits of scrambled yolk clinging to my blood cells. It’s…
Meet my new oven. Well, “new” is probably not the most accurate term. Sure, it’s new to me. But it most definitely looks like it came from someone else’s apartment. Oh well. Beggars can’t be choosers, right? Anyway, she was wheeled in this afternoon, as the old pièce de merde was unceremoniously wheeled out (sans…
You would think that shopping for food in Paris would be a dream come true. Visiting the butcher for fresh cuts of meat you can’t identify, stopping by the cheesemonger for a wedge of something smelly, visiting the vegetable stand for only the ripest avocados. Sounds simply idyllic, no? But what if in addition to…
After several castle tours and a few hours cramped into a compact European diesel with my in-laws, we decided to pull off the highway for a pit-stop. Tired and hungry, I can’t tell you how excited we were to finally get some…Flunch. Huh. Would that be short for “french lunch”? Or “fast lunch”? Or is…
A few weeks before heading home for Turkey Day, I found myself sitting around a table discussing the very American holiday with several Frenchmen. They were asking all kinds of questions about what we ate, what was typical, did we really put marshmallows on vegetables, etc. I explained that every family had their own traditions,…
OK people of France, we can all agree on your many superior aspects: You have foie gras and the Musee D’Orsay, chateaux and miles of pristine vineyards. You’ve got croissants and pain au raisins. You’ve got a clear champagne monopoly. You’ve got Paris, with perfectly charming little ramshackle streets and gloriously grand boulevards alike. You’ve…
In t-minus 2 days I will be home. Did you hear that? In two days! I’ll be home! Well, not in my home home, because that’s rented out. And not in my dad’s home, because I haven’t lived there since 2000 during the Summer of Hell, which was a black period in my life not…
After nearly a year of living here, I have quickly learned that France is a place of many contradictions. It’s a land where stunning beauty nearly knocks your socks off at every corner, but also where dog poo threatens at every turn. Where one can fathomably subsist on cheese, pastries and wine and still not…
Unlikely Diplomat 