Open Thread - Homesteading in France
Food and Eating in France
This is the time of year when France goes into a deep slumber. This time of long sleep is punctuated by Fêtes such as Noël, Epiphany (coming of the Three Wise Men on January sixth), and lately Valentines' Day.)
But long-cooked meals and intimate gatherings are also looked forward to in these long nights.
Daily Rhythms
Unlike many countries, France is on a very reliable daily schedule. It is comforting and maddening all at once for people from a country where goods and services can be had twenty four hours a day, seven days a week.
In France the daily timetable is something like this:
Le petit Dejeuner - Is from approximately 7 heures matin (morning) to 11 heures 30 matin. Usually it consists of one or two tasses des cafés plus a croissant.
It is often taken in a local café or at home to get the day going. Very simple and savored.
Midi or le Dejeuner - Is from 12 heures to 14 heures et demi (2:30 pm). It can be the big meal of the day. In many locations it is still eaten at home and French people work in a distance they can make it home and back to work in that two hours. If not the offece-workers decamp to a nearby bistro or restaurant for the midday meal.
This is often a three course meal with wine or not. Entrées in France are not the appetizer they are the first course, usually a soup and possibly a light salad. Bread is always brought but eaten lightly. The plat is the heaviest course which can be a meat or fish portion with a vegetable and a potato or noodle side. Another very satisfying course is a meal salad, with salade mixte (greens), olives, carrots, cucumbers, fish or steak sliced with a light dressing.
Finally, a small dessert or pâtisserie.
Diner is often en famille and can be the big meal of the day. Eaten with family or friends in a restaurant, it is a multi course meal which takes from one to two hours beginning at 19 heures (7 pm) to 20 heures et demi (30) or 8:30 pm.
It is a meal to be savored, with conversation and appreciation for the sight and taste of good food. If the Midi was light this meal will have a similar pattern, opening with apero (not appetizer, but awakening of the appetite, to prepare for the meal) usually alcohol and possibly chips, or olives, or crudités.
French people don't eat in restaurants as often as Americans, but when they do they enjoy their meals to the maximum.
Here is a link to etiquette in French restaurants:
All manners are local - watch what others are doing.
One thing that is very noticeable, is that if you take a walk in summer around 19 H 30, you will hear the sound of plates and cutlery, soft conversation as you pass by green screened patios. You can be sure that all over France people are having their evening meal and conversation.
Now the Maddening Part
The daily schedule frequently drives the hours of shops, stores and availability of goods and services. A shop or store will close at Midi for two hours, whether privately owned or a small chain. Lately, some of the box groceries are now open or have an in-store small restaurant/bistro for both shopping and eating.
However, many shops are open until 19 H for convenience after the day or work.
But after it's time to be home most stores of any kind with the possible exception of the designated pharmacy, are closed until 7 H matin.
Likewise, Sundays are usually closed. One must get used to the daily times and weekly closures to time going to the post office, buying groceries and getting home repair items for DIY (Bricolages).
It looks like another topic on food, which is a whole culture unto itself, is the Apero. So I'll save that for another time.
Enjoy your meals; savor your conversations; love your family and friends.
Comments
Additions: cheese is not served as an appetizer.
It is an after the meal, before the dessert plate. Even at home it may have a minimum of three cheeses: say a Brillat Saverin (Double cream - de vache, cow); Comté a medium solid cheese also cowmilk; a small Chevre (goat cheese); and a Bleu.
Coffee is also offered at the very end after dessert. We who love coffee with a chocolate cake or sweet have a tough time changing our tastes. At home we can do as we choose. Some restaurants when they hear our accent will ask if we want our café early.
A society grows great when old men plant trees in whose shade they know they shall never sit. Allegedly Greek, but more possibly fairly modern quote.
Consider helping by donating using the button in the upper left hand corner. Thank you.
You make me hungry...
We've totally changed our eating habits in the last few years. We eat at most two meals a day, and most of the time just one (the OMAD diet). The limited eating window has had excellent health benefits for us. Not sayin' its for everybody, but in the US, studies indicate only 12% of people are metabolically healthy.
Someday we hope to go to France and enjoy the excellent cuisine.
Thanks for the OT!
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
I make myself hungry, too. We adopted the
Paul Jaminet Perfect Health Diet. It caught our attention long before the latest news on fasting and dropping gluten, seed oils, sugar and sticking with good fats/oils, proteins like meats and fish, fiber carbs and dark fruits.
We both lost weight without watching portions, and felt better. We now struggle to bring down inflammation after exposures to toxic air in our home and other domiciles. It goes way back to pesticide and herbicide exposure in the Pear orchards. Lots of work, but we don't give up.
Thanks for your suggestions, we always look at common sense approaches to diet and eating.
ETA:
The ranking of croissants is based on butter content. The seed oils tend to leave the flaky pastry tasting like cardboard. Rich, buttery, flaky pastry is best made with butter. Same goes for breads, and tart shells.
A society grows great when old men plant trees in whose shade they know they shall never sit. Allegedly Greek, but more possibly fairly modern quote.
Consider helping by donating using the button in the upper left hand corner. Thank you.
one doctor...
in CB's vreveal series suggest using apple pectin (700 mg) as a toxin eliminator, along with Mg, high dose Vit C, and selenium.
Just something to consider. Couldn't hurt.
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
Hi Dawn
Wish I was there.
The France your columns evoke is the stuff of my dreams. Gardens, flowers, excellent wine. Sensible real food. Maybe in my next life.
Thanks for these essays to look forward to each week.
NYCVG
Hey there, so very good to see you.
My dad grew up in Astoria-Queens. Went to school with Ethel Merman. Also the home of Anthonio Bennedetto (?). otherwise known as Tony Bennett.
Most of my cousins on that side of the family are still in the East. All of our great grandparents came from Mezzojuso, Sicile, an Albanian/Italo/whatever stronghold near Palermo. We have visited and it's amazing to meet all the neighbor of the Albanian Orthodox (no quite Catholic) church with our last name. Spelled and pronounced correctly.
The J letter is not in Italian, but indicates a North African influence.
Mr. Meta and I love NYC. We have been many times and been to MOMA, the Natural History Museum, oh the restaurants, The Met to see Faust, La Boheme, and a couple more. Grand Central station and so many icons of NY/US. Our cousins on LI took us all over the place.
The France we first saw in 2010 and even as recently as 2014 when we arrived is so much different. There was so much more soliderité, and sense of being French than there is now. People regard Macron as pure evil.
I will say if you come out this way, let us know. We are a twelve minute local train to Lyon or Paris on TGV. It is comfortable an easy. We would love to meet C99ers IRL.
Take care.
A society grows great when old men plant trees in whose shade they know they shall never sit. Allegedly Greek, but more possibly fairly modern quote.
Consider helping by donating using the button in the upper left hand corner. Thank you.
The horror!
Oh Gawd! Make it stop!
In addition to the philosophical difficulties to staying in
the US, coming to France was calculated to give us a better standard of living on our limited income from SS and a small pension.
We didn't know it for awhile, but after three months, as residents planning to stay for a long if not indefinite duration, we qualified for the French health care system and the top up. It makes medical so easy as far as paying goes. It's all automated and we never see a bill, just the money to the provider then the reimbursements into our bank account.
They don't rely on emergency rooms either. The idea is to work with the primary doctor (medicin traitant) to fix the things that need fixing as a part of life.
Such a socialist way of life. Hah.
A society grows great when old men plant trees in whose shade they know they shall never sit. Allegedly Greek, but more possibly fairly modern quote.
Consider helping by donating using the button in the upper left hand corner. Thank you.
Since it is the season, we have a new tradition:
Papillotes Révillon. Silly us. When we arrived in the Fall of the year and saw the grand displays of chocolates from our own area, we thought, great, we'll have them when we want them. Not so.
They are seasonal, much like fruits and vegetables. Around Christmas and at Easter.
Révillons
The slideshow
And a bonus from a friend who ate quite a few in one sitting.
[video:https://youtu.be/gU8ckNkKbDA]
ETA: OK while we're on the subject of Chocolate, we better talk about one of the two best chocolatiers in France - Maison Dufoux. The Queen Mother used to vacation in Bourgogne each summer. Her personal chocolatier here, was M. Dufoux.
We have eaten the best chocolate in the world, when we found these chocolate shops in our area. Elegant in flavor, presentation and wrap. The tastes of this chocolate is marvelous.
Maison Dufoux
In his eighties, we met him twice in his original shop at Christmas. His daughters and grand-daughters hold down the shops, as he sits in his whites to greet customers. Shaking his hand and thanking him, was like meeting a rock star.
A society grows great when old men plant trees in whose shade they know they shall never sit. Allegedly Greek, but more possibly fairly modern quote.
Consider helping by donating using the button in the upper left hand corner. Thank you.
Corporate Senate Dems are sh*t again
so-called moderates
Most Republicans are sh*t too.
It’s SNOWING
We are finally getting snow and yippee! The lakes here are in dire straits and unless we have a very wet winter they are going to stay that way. There is 2 inches already and it doesn’t look like it’s going to let up soon. The plows have been out already cuz they are either bored or they know something I don’t.
Our walk is going to be fun! Sam was born in a barn and loves to be outside no matter the weather. It’s also why she doesn’t close the door.
Was Humpty Dumpty pushed?
Yay snoop! We've had snow in the last two weeks.
All around us are higher hills which gathered snow. In our slightly lower altitude, it's been not much sticking.
However, we've had incredible amounts of rain. Our little river is truly a river. We use a Walnut to watch how wide the water is. Two days ago it was in the middle of the stream. One tree from the opposite bank, crashed across the water into our lower yard. It was a grown Ash tree.
More chainsaw work ahead.
Croisé lès doigts for lots of snow for your lake. The winter is young.
Those dogs, they have a very full imaginary life. Teddy looks at anything that's on the ground as a hiding place for rodents. He goes up to a pile of pallets or piping and starts digging and barking...I know there's a little guy in there. We're hunting aren't we? Bark, bark.
A society grows great when old men plant trees in whose shade they know they shall never sit. Allegedly Greek, but more possibly fairly modern quote.
Consider helping by donating using the button in the upper left hand corner. Thank you.
Yay
My neighbor just used his 4 runner to get the snow off my drive. Nice that he looks out for little old me. My blower has a leak in the gas tank but I’m thinking of getting an electric one. I’m not trading in my lawnmower since it gets me back up the hill with power to spare!
Was Humpty Dumpty pushed?
Change of subject here
Our medical system, hospitals are in deep trouble, overwhelmed. I'm just home from major surgery. The medical care I received was good. But the whole thing was quite different than after past surgeries. Beds are needed. Staff shortages. Patients sent home as soon as they can even stand up holding onto walls for support to keep from falling.
Don't have a heart attack, stroke, get in car wreck. You do not want to need a hospital.
This is a hit and run comment. I'm not up to more right now.
Hi Granma, if you are still here, there maybe good news
coming on medical in general and specifically on hospitals. There are indications that doctors and nurses leaving the medical field might be starting to form new independent limited liability corporations. Apparently especially nurses. They then hire primary care physicians. Establish clinics and set up hospitals and day surgery centers.
Breaking away from corporate/hedge fund hospitals and returning to the stand-alone medical services typical until twenty or twenty five years ago, may be just what we need.
Thank you and take care.
A society grows great when old men plant trees in whose shade they know they shall never sit. Allegedly Greek, but more possibly fairly modern quote.
Consider helping by donating using the button in the upper left hand corner. Thank you.
This is a good development
Sensible.
Thanks Dawn!
Thanks for checking in
I have been wondering how you were doing after surgery and hope it was successful and not too painful. Will your son help with your needs?
Take care!
Was Humpty Dumpty pushed?
Your Account
is exactly what an elderly neighbor (late 80's) told me about this week.
She was looking well and I asked her how she is feeling and what she said was that after the surgery she had a few weeks ago, she told her children, "no more hospitals. No more medical attention. Painkillers only. Let me be in my home where I can live the rest of my time peacefully."
The details of her recent hospital experience were horrific.
Again this woman, very old, but fit, mobile, (as many NYC residents are into old, old age---we do not drive anymore, but walk a lot and eat sensibly,) chooses to live out her time in her snug home.
My choice also.
NYCVG
Hi Dawn. Having been raised working class, I was
raised in the religion of hearty breakfast, hence petit Dejeuner was always a problem for me. Once I found a small place "Cafe Americain" or somesuch over near the Sorbonne that served regular US style breakfasts. They also had a classic 50's lunch burger + fries + milkshake. Under a small poster of the burger (steak hache') they had a sign claiming that Paris was the true home of all things hache'. Could be true, anywhere on the continent is a more likely contender than the US.
One has to adore the chocolate there, but your column reminded me that I got some Normandy caramels on a visit to Honfleur and they were the unsurpassed best ever. It appears that this is a Normandy specialty. On subsequent trips I've never been able to find that particular brand, but they're all above average. If you ever tire of the chocolate and want something different, give them a shot.
be well and have a good one
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --
Hi el, buttery caramel sounds soooo good.
We've had soft caramel in a jar that we dip apple slices into. Very good.
I would love to go to Honfleur sometime. By train if possible. Our Tekel, Teddy, travels very well and is a good cafe dog.
I used to eat hearty breakfasts, and I love them. But over the years we have drifted into a different eating model. However, if I can get breakfast for lunch, now we're talking.
We can get buckwheat crepes in our grocery fridge case. They are usually made with butter, organic with no additives. They heat up well and we have Maple syrup from Canada always in the pantry. A treat once or twice a year.
Like pie and tarte pastry we can get crepes of all kinds in the fridge or freezer case.
In Europe there is no corn syrup only cane sugar if it's there at all.
In Paris we rarely see an overweight person. People are generally thin. In the last several years there has been more Coke and Pepsi. They don't have corn syrup, but definitely cane sugar. Malheureusement, we are seeing more over weight teen boys especially.
It's a creeping problem. Fast food is also becoming more mainstream here. It's amazing how quickly things are changing.
Good seeing you, and thank you.
A society grows great when old men plant trees in whose shade they know they shall never sit. Allegedly Greek, but more possibly fairly modern quote.
Consider helping by donating using the button in the upper left hand corner. Thank you.
Does Maison Doufoux ship to the US?
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --
I'm sure any fabrique en France atelier will ship.
It's really a matter of how much it costs. I could look at their website to see if they will take overseas' orders.
The other things I look for and we have done this for friends and family in the states, are the French import store located in the states. Not at all sure Dufoux will be represented in one of those, but boy I hope they are.
The French Farm
French Wine
Gourmet food
I'm going to look at Dufoux' site and be back, but here's some we have seen. Le Panier shipped to a wrong address and did not help us at all, so they are not on our list.
ETA:
A chocolatier, we don't know.
ETA again:
I sent them a form with the questions about shipping and whether they have an outlet in the US. We'll see if they respond.
A society grows great when old men plant trees in whose shade they know they shall never sit. Allegedly Greek, but more possibly fairly modern quote.
Consider helping by donating using the button in the upper left hand corner. Thank you.