Back in the Saddle

We went for a ride today, my first since I broke my wrist in February. It was great to be on a bike again, and I made sure there were no terrorist squirrels waiting to attack.

We rode on the Voie Verte, a walking and biking path that runs along the route of an abandoned train line.  It's nice because there are no cars.

Then we drove up to the hillside village of Lacoste and had lunch at a favorite restaurant.  The food is nothing special but we love the view, looking out over the Luberon valley and across to Bonnieux.

KVS


In the colors of the Dutch Racing Team

The view from our table

Val looks pretty content

What's for Dinner?

Food is at the very heart of French culture.  It is not unusual for the conversation at a dinner party to revolve around food – how was this dish prepared?  Where did you get your asparagus?  Did you salt the lamb before or after you grilled it?

So it was no surprise that we talked about food last night when our friend Mathias came for dinner.  After all, he’s a retired chef.  And while there were a few moments when we talked about family, or dogs, or broken bones (my contribution), mostly it was hours and hours about food.

We learned about the different types of cattle, and pork, and chicken.  We learned about the special pastureland of Provence, the various herbs that grow there, and how they affect the taste of lamb. 

We discussed industrial versus small-scale farming and its moral implications.  We learned of the secret chemicals that some chefs use (not Mathias) to add flavors like truffle or vanilla to a dish.  And as a beekeeper, Mathias told us the sad story of how pesticides have wreaked havoc on his colonies.

And then there was fish.  Mathias loves fish.

We heard all about his weekly shopping expeditions to the Cavaillon market and how he gets there early to have the best selection.  He described how he starts from the cheapest fish (sardines, anchovies) and works his way up, rarely buying the more expensive varieties.  If you know how to prepare fish well, who needs the high-priced kind?

We got a whole discourse on fish cleaning, fish preparation, fish storage.  How a little vinegar should be put on the front of a fish before freezing.  How some types of rouget should be fried and others baked.  How you can tell if a fish smells bad because it is supposed to (there are some stinky varieties) or because it is spoiled.

You would think that after hours of this talk we would be bored.  But Mathias was so enthusiastic and knowledgeable that it was fascinating. And as he talked about different dishes he likes to make, I found myself getting hungry even though I was eating!

As we said our goodbyes at the end of a delightful evening, I thought, “Only in France.”

KVS

Mathias brought us "boules de neige" from his garden and wine from his cellar - guess who got what?

Danger!

It is dangerous to leave me and Christian unsupervised.

It happened a few weeks ago at the Caves d’Estezargue.  This is one of my favorite wineries, with perhaps the best-value wines in France.  I go every year to stock up and even have a “carte de fidélité” where they keep track of my purchases.  I have bought so much over the years that I think they are going to name a wine after me soon.

Sara and Christian joined us for some wine buying, followed by a picnic.  But of course you have to taste before you can buy, so we went to the bar and got started.  Serious business, this.

Before long, Val and Sara got bored and decided to go outside with the dogs.  Bad idea.  As we watched them leave, Christian and I looked at each other knowingly.  “This means we get to buy more wine,” I said.  Christian grinned and said, “Mais oui !”

The girls were shocked when they saw how many cases we wheeled out to the car.  They tried to blame us but it was their own fault for not providing proper supervision.  You would think they would take responsibility for their actions, but no.

This lesson apparently didn’t sink in because yesterday we went to another favorite winery, Notre Dame des Pallieres in Gigondas.  We greeted the owner like old friends and she even pulled out special chairs so we could sit comfortably at the bar.  It’s nice to be a regular.

We had only tasted a few wines when the girls got bored again and went outside.  This left Christian and me alone with the owner, who was more that happy to let us taste all her wines, including a special one she keeps in the back for her best customers. 

When Sara and Val eventually wandered back in, Val looked at all the open bottles on the counter and demanded, “There were only three open bottles when we left!  What have you been up to?!”  As though she needed to ask.

My wine cellar is now full and I don’t need any more for this year.  But the problem is that I still haven’t been to another favorite winery, Chateau Romanin.  And my friend Steve the winemaker is coming for a visit soon…

Hm, we’ll see if Val has learned her lesson.

KVS

Ready for action

So much work!

Among the vines

Good friends

A Multicultural Evening

Passover celebrates the ancient Hebrews’ deliverance from slavery in Egypt, as told in Exodus.  During Passover, Jewish families and friends gather for the Seder meal and service.  We give thanks, perform certain rituals and recount the Exodus story.  

It is the responsibility of each generation to pass this story on to the next, and it has been happening for thousands of years.  The Last Supper of Jesus, for example, was a Seder.

Passover happens in the spring and we haven’t fully celebrated it recently because we’ve been in France.  We weren’t confident enough in our language skills to pull off a French Seder.   This year we thought we should try.

We figured we could just use a French Haggadah, the booklet you use to guide you through the Seder.  But that didn't work because not all Haggadahs are alike.  Yes, the basic story and prayers are the same but the details can vary depending on how conservative or liberal you are, whether you come from the Sephardic or Ashkenazi tradition, what country you live in, etc.

The result is strong differences of opinion, and this from a people known for being opinionated.  As the old joke goes, if you have two Jews, you have three opinions.

So when we found French Haggadahs, they were much more conservative than we wanted.  And the prayers were written only in Hebrew, without the phonetic transliterations we need to read them aloud. 

This led to a project - constructing our own Haggadah.  How hard could that be?  Not so hard, right?  Silly us.

What it meant was taking the segments of the French Haggadahs that we were ok with, then translating other parts of our favorite English Haggadah into French, then getting phonetic transliterations of the Hebrew prayers, then stitching all that together and hoping it was right.  

Oy vey!  I think we should get extra credit on this one.

Last night was the test drive.  We invited our “French family” to join us – Sara, Christian, Monique and James, plus Christian’s visiting grandson Mathias.  I was nervous because I was leading the service.

We encouraged our guests to ask questions and to debate, in the best Jewish (and French) traditions, and the whole evening was quite animated.  Of course, the traditional four glasses of wine might have helped.  There was a lot of discussion about the similarities and differences of major world religions – Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Buddhism – and the role that religion and spirituality can play in our lives.

Val did a great job with the meal but had trouble with the traditional Ashkenazi dish of brisket. It turns out they cut cows up differently in France and brisket doesn’t exist here.  Who knew?  So she went instead with a Sephardic lamb dish, full of nuts and dried fruits and spices, which was absolutely delicious.  

I think we may have eaten our last brisket.

And while everyone else had to suffer through eating Matza, the unleavened (and dry, and tasteless) bread one eats during Passover, it is made of wheat so I was excused.  Yet another advantage of a gluten-free diet!

The only off note was with the Afikomen, the special piece of Matza that you hide.  Near the end of the service the children hunt for the Afikomen and whoever finds it gets a prize.

When we got to the Afikomen part I didn't hide it right away, instead setting it on the chair next to me while I continued the service.  Bad idea.  

A few minutes later I heard a crunching sound.  I looked down and there was Mica, happily finishing off the last bits of Afikomen.  Merde ! Maybe she figured that because she’s the youngest it was her job to find it.

I wasn’t sure what to do because an Afikomen is needed to finish the Seder.  And there were no rabbinic authorities to consult.  So I made an emergency decision and made a new Afikomen.  I am hoping that God does not strike me down!

KVS

Looking Good

The Seder Plate

Ready to Go!