The Wayfaring Wordhack

I didn't post to-do lists the past two day, but that does not mean I was slacking.  Wednesday was filled with doctor stuff for Soëlie, as well as errands and grocery shopping and the "normal" daily stuff I want to do, like write, art journal, and keep the house tidy.

Yesterday was consumed by my Battle Against an Invisible Foe.  According to the doctor, the bumps all over me and the Sprout are bites. She first said spiders and then maybe fleas. I mostly have bumps on my thighs, stomach, chest and a couple on my back.  Soëlie has some on her legs, on the insides of her elbows, and her armpits (at least 7 on each side). For my part, I'm having an allergic reaction to them; they last close to two weeks and remain inflamed--between penny- and quarter-sized (5 centime and 2 euro coina, respectively)--and itchy for almost the duration. This is the second "attack" I've had in the last month and I am Tired.Of.It.  

I don't know if it is fleas or if it will help, but I washed all our bedding yesterday and vacuumed the house, which is tile throughout, excepting the two sisal-carpeted bedrooms, where the cats are not allowed. I've confined the poor kitties to the terrace and yard until I can treat them and wash their bedding; I did 4 loads yesterday alone and my weekly quota is 4, so.... Oh, and I want to wash the doormats and the couch cover.

Ugh. When will it end. Will it end?

Enough whinging; now to do something about it:

~ Wash, fold, and put away laundry
~ make fromage blanc
~ fax important papers to Julien -- post about that to follow
~ re-vacuum the house
~ write 750 words
~ go to the pharmacy
~ get S an appt for an immunization Actually saw the doc right away and got it done.
~ art journal
~ make Honey Nut Medley.* Not going to happen tonight, but I put it at the end of the list because it was the least pressing. Maybe tomorrow...

ETA:
~ Talk to landlord about the move
~ Take care of administrivia
~ go to post office

Soëlie has had me awake since 5:40. Not the first time, believe me, so you'd think I'd be smart enough to just get up and get busy instead of trying to coax her back to sleep.  If I 'd done that, I'd be halfway through my list now.

_________________
* I feel like I'm always the last one to figure things out, but did you know that if you use the LJ Rich text button for inserting a link, after entering the link in the URL field, you can click the "Target" tab at the top, and select "New Window (_blank), and your link will open in another navigator page (or tab is your browser is configured that way) so the person clicking doesn't leave your page? 

I'm always saying that I'm going to post recipes and then don't get around to it. Not this time, I decided.

The problem is that I usually want to do a fancy photo post, and I don't always feel like getting the camera out while I'm cooking. First, food stylist I am not. Second, baby underfoot. Third, lighting and tidy kitchen issues. Julien believes in the clean as you go method, whereas the kitchen looks like a bombsite as I go. :P

Still, I gave it a shot last night with these pots de crème à la lavande, not getting enough photos for a step-by-step recipe but just a few to put you in the mood.


Lavender is in bloom and I can't walk by a shrub of it without wanting to eat crème à la lavande. I do not give into the temptation on a regular basis because a) just wait until you see the amount of cream in these puppies, b) I read that pregnant and nursing women should avoid lavender (the article didn't state WHY and because I know the "dosage" I get from this dessert is minimal, I choose to still eat it. Just FYI).


Pots de crème à la lavande, (Lavender Cream) recipe by French chef, Marc Veyrat.

Ingredients:
25 cl or grams (1 c) milk (We use whole milk, fresh from the farm)
1 T dried lavender buds (We have used fresh flowers, gathered in the courtyard of our first apartment. Ah, those newlywed days)
4 egg yolks
40 g (about 1/4 cup minus 1 T) caster sugar
330 g cream (You can use whipping cream, I would imagine. We use cream fresh from the farm, which is very thick--the ingredient called for in the French recipe is "liquid cream"--but as the dairy farmer pointed out, leave cream at room temperature and it will liquefy)

Julien's variation (pictured above):  Add a couple of chunks of dark chocolate to the ramekins before the cream for a surprise OR grate chocolate on the top.  Chocolate and lavender get along famously.
__________________

Bring the milk to boil in a saucepan, then add dried lavender flowers, cover, remove from heat,  and let steep for 10 minutes.

Preheat oven to 150°C / 300°F. 

Vigorously whisk egg yolks and caster sugar until the mixture is pale and thick. Fold in the cream. Pass milk through a filter to remove lavender flowers as you add it the other ingredients.

Place parchment paper, paper towels, or a dishcloth at the bottom of a dutch oven (in French, the recipe calls for a dutch oven, but we use a casserole dish, too, and it turns out fine). Place 4 ramekins on the paper/towel (We've found that it makes closer to six ramekins) and fill them with the cream. Pour water into the dutch oven, halfway up the ramekins. Put dutch oven on the hob and bring water to a simmer. Cover and bake in oven for 30 minutes.

Note, if using a casserole dish BOIL THE WATER first! Cover casserole dish with foil and bake as above.

Chill at least 4 hours before serving.

Bon appétit!

 Went to Paris today to file a Consular Report of Birth Abroad, and the "officer" officially declared the Sprout an American citizen!  So woohoo!  asakiyume  and sunflower_sky , I cannot thank you enough for filling me in on what I needed to do.  I have no idea where I found that outdated, erroneous information, but boy, was it easier just filing the report.  We also applied for her American passport and will receive it in a couple of weeks.  

It seems like a trip to Paris is not complete for us if we don't go to the Indian Quarter, up by Gare du Nord, where J and I had our first date, so we went there for lunch.  The restaurant where we dined almost 11 years to the day (!!!!!)* has long closed and been replaced by another--and then another--restaurant, but today we saw one across the street with the same name, Gandhi Restaurant, so we ate there.  S had her first taste of Indian food (eggplant, manioc, daal, and lamb) and she seemed to like it just fine!  She is our girl. :D

__________
* We met exactly here 11 years ago on June 27:




...and had our first date a few days later on July 2. This pic was taken in April, when the temperatures were decent, not today when it is 37° C/98.6° F. And yesterday it was 37 IN THE HOUSE! and 38 (102° F) outside. ::melts::

 It only took me three weeks to get to this post, but here it is at last, pretty bare bones because, well, the Sprout doesn't leave me much time for "frivolous pursuits."" 

(For those who don't know, Julien and I take turns planning our anniversary celebration, and this year was his turn.)

Julien slipped out of bed early while I was still cuddled in sleep with Soëlie. He came back just after I finished nursing her, carrying a tray laden with breakfast.  Breakfast in bed: Always a good way to start the day. 

While I got ready for his surprise, he dressed Soëlie.  Our first anniversary as parents. Very different. 

I love surprises, so once in the car, I closed my eyes to keep up the suspense. However, the curves in the road around the house quickly gave me a headache and put an end to that bit of fun. We ended up driving for two hours, but that's nothing. I once kept my eyes closed for five hours  on our way to Amsterdam from Paris. 

( Donjon but no dragons )

*We weren't at all impressed with the hotel that first time, but the restaurant was very good.  It's since changed hands, so I can't speak for the current state of the rooms, but the food is still good.

**I really don't have a right to complain because I'm familiar with the French adage "En avril, ne te découvre pas d’un fil ; en mai, fais ce qu’il te plaît!", meaning, April is too early to break out your spring clothes, but dress how you like in May. 

We've been back in Sancerre for almost a year and this week is the first time we've gone down to sit by the river!  Last year I was too tired, too busy, too hot, too puffy to want to go, and when, by some odd stroke of fate, I had one day where all the toos had left me in peace, the water level was too high.  This year is off to a good start, though; we've already been down twice, once just to enjoy the sunset and another time to picnic.

Sprout seemed to enjoy the outings, and even though her daddy says it looks like she was checking out the boys over her sunglasses, there were no boys to be checked. :P


While the food cooked, J and I sat on the mat we bought from this lady--

______________________

Early this morning, frost was thick on the ground and the sun red in the sky, but a lack of sleep drove me back to my bed even though I sorely wanted to go out with the camera.  When I woke up later, the frost was still there, so we decided to go for a walk.  Alas, we thought to go further afield and when we arrived, the glittering was gone and the sky overcast.

We decided to stop at Chateau de Nozet just outside Pouilly-sur-Loire for J to taste some wine.   Pouillly and Sancerre are basically wine rivals, with Sancerre being the better known wine but not necessarily the better wine depending on who you ask. And who the winegrower in question is. Everyone's wine is different. Mostly Sancerre has more press because it perches charmingly on a hill that dominates the vineyards and the Loire River. Pouilly is located right along the river, hardly on a rise at all.


The wine was good, said he, but too expensive. The asking price was to pay for the chateau's name basically, a chateau we could not visit because it is private property, warded by nature,


and by man

Little Bean will not be showing his or her nose this week, thank goodness. At least that's what the midwife assured me today after examining me.  J is away for the week, and I really want the baby to wait for Papa before putting in an appearance. I do not relish the idea of going to the hospital in a medical taxi, and I want J there to live the experience with me.

So, to celebrate, I came home and made Calcutta Curry, one of my fav Indian recipes because it is so darn simple.  I, of course, had to de-simplify it by making my own garam masala. But, yum-oh-yum, was it worth it!  And the house smells heavenly to boot.  I like to stock up on spices when we go to Paris--we always try to visit the Indian Quarter before leaving--and the last time we were there, I looked at the ingredients on a pre-ground pack of garam masala. I realized that I tend to have all the necessaries on hand and put the melange back on the store shelf.

There was a little work involved--not too much--but the taste is so zingy and pungent that I doubt I'll go back to buying the mix already made.  Yes, frigg , just another sliding step down the slippery slope of foodsnobbism.

And, thanks to a recent post by asakiyume , I had to have pecan pie for dessert. Yes, had to.  I am pregnant after all. I made mini pies and ate a whole one. Delicious and decadent. I wanted to eat a second but refrained. I'm pregnant, not insane.

A meal of disparate influences, perhaps, but tasty all the same.

I'm not much of a wildcrafter, though I would love to be. I'm like the little child, always curious about the way things smell and taste, and Julien is forever telling me, "Don't put that in your mouth."  However, since getting pregnant, I'm much more careful what I consume, never you fear.  Still, even babe-in-the-woods me can identify with ease and surety the bounty that surrounds our home, from the wild asparagus and strawberries growing (well, that *were growing;* season is sadly at an end) just on the other side of our excuse for a yard, to the wild onions, cherries, and plums in the fields bordering the Loire.

Like the strawberries and asparagus, the season for onions and cherries is at an end. I picked the 1.2kgs of cherries in the photo below just the other day, but already I knew that it was too late. The fruits were drying, hardening around their stone hearts, and bees and flies were not happy to share the last of the bounty with me.  I do, however, have some of my juicier first pickings in the freezer and am anticipating a cherry pie or, if I want to make my husband happy, a clafoutis. The prunes are just starting, though, and I gleaned two kilos, which have been made into jam and canned whole* to enjoy later in a yoghurt or a fruit salad.

You might wonder what a photo of pizza is doing amongst my other finds. Well, the last of the wild onions found their way into those glorious seafood, spinach, and goat cheese creations, so I thought why not.

Jam is not the only thing I have been making. Someone very dear to my heart (*refrains from pointing fingers at her husband*) bought a canister (500g) of yeast that expires August 13. Of 2010. That is enough yeast to transform 100kg--yes, kilograms--into leavened goods. No way I can use all of that, but I made a start with whipping up a batch of whole wheat, grainy pizza dough (for the yumminess above). I also baked a loaf of bread yesterday. Does the season for baking ever transform into something else?

And speaking of seasons, soon I will be able to harvest blackberries, walnuts, hazelnuts and apples! Even milkweed pods if I'm adventurous and wildcrafty.** Bring it on, Mother Nature; I'm ready for you.


________________
*This is an easy, delicious thing to do, which I learned from my mother-in-law:  Put your washed fruit into a canning jar along with a tablespoon of sugar (the fruit makes its own juice) and pop the jars into your pressure cooker. Steriilze for 10 minutes once the cooker has started whistling. Let the pressure fall off naturally. Cool the jars and check the seal.  Voila, nothing could be easier.

This is my first attempt. Pretty, huh?

I'll let you know how they taste once Julien comes home to try a batch with me.

** Has anyone on my flist ever eaten milkweed pods?

Yes, I know that those long, slightly curved yellow things are bananas.  The only problem is that they don't *taste* like bananas.  Not like how I know, after living in Mayotte and traveling to various isles and countries, bananas are supposed to taste.

Bananas should not taste like cardboard mush.  No food should.  Only cardboard mush should taste like cardboard mush.

Even organic bananas here taste blah, so I'm throwing in the towel.  Oh, I'll still buy bananas from time to time, but not to enjoy them by themselves. They shall be used in smoothies as a thickener, in banana nut bread and banana muffins. But that is all.

In other news, I've reached the attractive stage of my cold. Translation: My nose is dripping so much it is advisable to walk around with wads of paper stuffed up my nostrils to prevent any accidents of the leaky sort.  Pretty.  Very pretty.

Honey, can I have a kiss?

And in still other news: Remember way back when, when I said that after Mayotte, Julien and I would like to go live on St Pierre-et-Miquelon, another French collectivity?  Welllllll, for only the second time in his career, Julien has just seen a job offer posted for a position there.  Applications must be in by June 4th.  If Julien is accepted (in all honestly not extremely likely; there are verrrrry few positions open), he will start work September 1st on StPM's chilly shores.  

And guess who will have a baby on StPM?  Hint, her name resembles that of one of the isles.  *squees! but not too loudly*