Bon Appétit!

In general there were three questions

asked after my return from Paris:

What did you see?

What did you buy?

What did you eat?

 

This was the most difficult

post to compose.

Hardly surprising when we consider how the textures,

aromas, presentation, and accompanying

soundtrack of conversation and clinking tableware
contribute to our dining experience
as well as the actual taste of the food.

Alors, in no particular order,

a few impressions:

 

Our breakfasts of variations on

 toast or croissants,

 cheese,

creamy yogurt,

and mandarins

were a delightful start to each day.

 

We cooked at home several times

with frozen selections from Picard (!)

or fresh-from-the-market ingredients.

Local-resident chic.

 

Bread.

 

Omelette Concorde at Ladurée?

Delicious in it's simplicity.

The macarons purchased on our way out the door?

Everything I expected.

 

Bread.

 

A leek soufflé with champagne butter

and caviar at Bon Marché?

Exotic.

(That's Naphtali's butternut soup in the foreground)

 

Fresh tomato basil soup on a rainy day stop at

Galleria Vivienne?

A reminder of why I leave certain

tasks to professionals.

 

Wine and frites to fortify us for the final

leg home on a late night.

Bracing.

 

Bread.

 

The arrival of my chocolat chaud:

two small pots

- one of chocolate,

one containing hot milk -

flanking the small white cup

in which I will mix my own drink.

Decadent.

 

We scoffed at the warnings of the dangers

of sidewalk crepes - until we shared one.
 

Haricots, mushrooms and potatoes

will henceforth elicit

an inside-joke smile from me.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fragrant reminders

 

 

The official start of each day was marked with

 the invigorating burst of citrus

as the first mandarin

was peeled. 

 

(We consumed soooo many of these little gems.)

 

In the way that warm and cold currents run through

a body of water

the aromas of Paris washed over us in turn.

 

Baking bread? Check.

Melted butter?  Bien sur.

The sleepy scent of chocolate?  Mmmmm.

Falafel?  Just around the corner. 

 

Fresh cut trees.

Roasting chestnuts.

Espresso.

 

 

 

 

Flower markets.

Fish markets.

Herbs.

Oils.

Cigarettes.

The occasional cigar or pipe.

Today's special.

 

 

Lavender sachets.

Soaps, lotions,

and perfumes.

She chose SacreBleu.

 

Monday Evening

It was snowing

- unexpectedly -

this morning as I got ready to

 leave for the gym.

It snowed most of the day.

 

I ran errands in the snow.

Found some bargains

shoveled the driveway

checked the mail

brought in garbage cans

made granola

did laundry

brought in firewood

created new Pinterest boards

put away the Christmas dishes

surfed for beret patterns

shuffled stuff for the new shelves

and a surprising number of

other things

while it snowed.

 



Rainy Day

It's raining today so outside activities and

projects have been postponed.

There are a couple things calling for my attention

before work but they can wait

a few more minutes.

 

I baked gingerbread cookies yesterday

using a maple leaf cutter.

I love the mellow combination of molasses

and spices.  We enjoyed our portion and the rest

will go to work with me today.

 

This is the view outside my bedroom window.

It creates a gentle rosy glow throughout the room

but the leaves are thinning quickly

and soon we'll be surrounded by bare branches.

 

Hard to believe from this shot, but Charlie

seems to be having some anxiety issues.



I'm working to incorporate more exercise into his day,

hoping it will have the same positive effect

for him that it does for me.

 

This is the new bracelet. 

It's going to work with me today, too.

Friday!?

Did your week pass as quickly as mine?

 

Two days were spent sitting in

the dark as training sessions introduced 

the staff to a new cataloging/records

system for the library.

That kind of disruption in normal routines

always challenges my sense of

days/time.

You know that feeling, right?

 

It has been a productive week, though.

Furniture has been re-arranged.

Closets and cupboards addressed.

And with the onset of colder days my

kitchen has seen some action.

 

These two ideas/recipes were from

Pinterest:

 

 These pumpkin muffins contain just a dab

of molasses which makes them so

moist and mellow.

 

The apple chips - easy and oh, so tasty -

were a hit at work.

 

So I started thinking...

why wouldn't this work with potatoes?

 

Guess what's in my oven?

 

I used our garden potatoes - flavorful! -

 tried different thicknesses

sprinkled salt

and added cayenne to a small sample.

 

The very thin slices took hardly any time

to crisp and were so delicious!

Yes, that past tense is correct. 

 

My mantra for the rest of the day is

Mustsavesomefortim.

 

 

Saturday Night

The day is winding to a close.

The radiators have us all feeling coddled

and a scrumptious dinner has put

us in a mellow frame of mind.

Chickpeas with cumin and tomatoes

fingerling potatoes roasted in olive oil and rosemary

grilled chicken breast

a salad that defies its simple designation

warm baguette with dates and feta.

 

How will we'll actually remember this evening?

A good meal after a busy day

served with love by candlelight.

Aidan whistling nonchalantly as he scootched

his chair toward the light switch.

Waving a cutting board under the fire alarm.

Several times.

Dogs inching closer to the table.

The butterscotch versus caramel debate.

Laughter.

Plenty of laughter.

 

Tomorrow will find us headed home

- trying to avoid construction delays -

and thinking about our own

projects to tackle before winter.

 

We have everything - and a few extras -

crossed off Naphtali's list

for  this weekend.

Her cottage is cozy and ready for

whatever weather comes their way.

Aidan's homework is done.

Grandpa is tired.

 

And we'd do it all again in a heartbeat.

Surrender

Who am I kidding?

 

There will be no wrap-it-all-up

posts to finish the trip to Oregon.

We returned about a month ago

 and I don't know how that is possible.

 

Much has - as it does - happened in the last month

and keeping up is enough of a challenge

without always trying to catch up.

 

So forget about a description of the

incredible fresh crab bisque

I enjoyed at the coast.

Not going to happen.

 

There will be no tales of

grilling fresh fish

fingerling potatoes from the garden or

steamer clams.

 

Fajitas

 featuring peppers, onions and tomatoes

from the garden?

You'll never hear about them.

 

Fresh eggs from backyard chickens?

Pretend it didn't happen.

 

The polite, handsome,

cowboy/students

who offered to replace our broken

windshield wipers in Laramie

will not get the ink the deserve.

 

The last blurry, rain-soaked

seventeen hours in the car to make it home

will simply remain a memory.

 

I'm through talking about it.

 

 

It's 5AM Monday morning and

I'm headed to the gym.

 

 

 



More

This past weekend we did

squeeze in some fun between all

necessary chores.

 

Tim's brother, sister and their spouses met at our place

and together we took in the

World Food & Music Festival

in downtown Des Moines

on Saturday night.

 

The weather was perfect.

The crowd was just the right size.

We heard great music.

and ate some amazing food.

We laughed, chatted and ate our way through

several hours of relaxed camaraderie.

It was a fun night and the food - so delicious.

 

Did I mention how good the food was?

 

But if I'd known how this was going to work

I'd have brought my own spoon.

My own family knows that sharing food from a common plate

or a sip from a common glass is a challenge for me.

They love me in spite of it.

 

On this night, the festival spirit required

that you buy whatever delicacy

caught your fancy

and share it among the six of us. 

Sometimes we even shared the utensil.

 

 

At  some point I began to think

that I could survive the coming apocalypse.

 

 

 

 



Portland was expecting temps in the upper 90's

 today so we decided it would be a good time to visit the coast.

 

We drove up to Oceanside and frolicked along

the beach.  We had just learned

about agates found along the beach

and spoke with several people who were

happy to show us what

they had found. 

We actually found a few. 

And had a great time just dawdling around.

 

Crab bisque at a local eatery was

more than delicious.

 

At Garabaldi

- a working port -

we purchased fresh clams

and two kinds of fish

which we grilled for supper.

mmmmm

 

We found a couple back roads,

taking the long way home

and enjoying the sights.

 

Tomorrow - Mt. Hood.

Quickie

Just to let you know I'm still here.

 

 

A friend recently passed along a tip to use coconut milk

in smoothies.

 

After reading labels

I decided to go with coconut water.

 

So my first experiment was

to make ice cubes which could then

be added to my protein shakes.

(I make it at least an hour before consuming

so it can thicken a bit.)

 

Yesterday I added 4 of these ice cubes

to my standard ingredients

fresh strawberries

vanilla soy milk

malt powder

protein powder.

 

It was fine.

 

Today I added 4 coconut water ice cubes

to vanilla soy milk

protein powder

malt powder

and

unsweetened cocoa.

 

"My word," said the bird!

 

 

 



Passing Time

I've just applied the top coat to my nails

so I'm doing a bit of surfing waiting for everything to dry.

I work tomorrow and need nice nails.

 

Scrolling through Pinterest it occurred to me

that I haven't eaten any  pasta for over

three months.

Brown rice, wild rice, potatoes, but no pasta.

 

Last night I sautéed

 banana peppers from our garden

with red and orange peppers,

mushrooms, spinach,

and potatoes from the garden.

Of course, there is no photo.

You'll have to believe me when I say

it was colorful and tasty.

And will be repeated soon.

 

This pin:

 

will be used in the next few days.

It looks so tasty!

And the ingredients are already on hand!

It's too easy

- and enjoyable -

to eat the same rotation of foods.

 

Pinterest provides a nudge from time-to-time

 reminding me that some options

are really quite simple.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Good Morning

Such a beautiful morning!!

I ate my breakfast

(my second breakfast)

on the deck.

Fresh blueberries and

bran flakes.

Yum.

Food! Glorious Food!

So.

The food.

 

This program does include/advocate

a system of six small meals daily,

(taken every 2.5 - 3 hours)

emphasizing proteins and good carbs.

And water.

Lots of water.

 

Palm-sized protein portions.

Fist-sized carbs.

 

 

I'm not hungry.

I'm not bored with my options.

The biggest challenge, so far,

has been to stretch my day to accommodate

an 18-hour period between first

and last meal.

Especially, when my preferred schedule

doesn't see me out of bed 'til around 7:00 am

and I want to stop eating around

7:30 each evening.

Back in bed by 9:30.

It's tough.

 

It makes me laugh to think of the day that I returned from class,

picked my spinach and prepared an egg for my

second breakfast. 

(This is the only meal that I actually take the time to prepare.)

(as opposed to a bowl of bran flakes with strawberries)

(or peanut butter toast)

(or nuking a bowl of rice and beans)

Fresh spinach

onion

red pepper

some cheese

one egg

1/2 a whole grain wrap.

 

Anyway.

By the time I finished my breakfast

cleaned up

took a shower and got ready to

run errands

it was time to eat again!! 

I'll have to learn to move faster...

 

I use my chart and log faithfully.

Starting with a plan for the day is necessary, though

adjustments are often made as I juggle

schedule and intent.

 

For the last few years it has been our habit to

grill enough meat for a week's meals.

Appropriate portions are frozen and

ready-at-hand.

This works well with my new regimen.

 

I've learned to make a

batch of brown rice to keep ready in the 'fridge.

I make it with vegetable stock.

 

Last week it was eaten with black beans,

cheese and fresh salsa.

Sometimes hot, sometimes cold.

Sometimes early in the day.

Sometimes as supper.

 

This week, I sautéed a portion of cabbage, onion, red pepper

and carrots (kept ready for several meals)

which I will add to the rice when needed.

 

I carry a portion of almonds whenever I leave the house.

Water, too, bien sur!

I'm making the effort to save my

greek yogurt closer to bedtime, which I find

a hard habit to cultivate.