Monday, August 13, 2012

Freezer Diving...

 Note to Reader:  

The following photos have no relation to this post...  


They are photos of pretty places in Paris... 

This post is not about pretty places
or about Paris, 
for that matter... 

In fact, it is about old food...

Read on at your own risk...

We are headed out of town shortly 
to visit the grandparents for a couple of weeks 
and I  need to clean out the fridge before we go...

Tom is not joining us right away and he will, 
in no way, conspire to cook 
anything unless beer counts as a meal... 


So, in order to spare myself the olfactory pain 
of science experiments locked in Tupperware, 
I need to use up all perishables...  

It's like an episode of "Chopped", 
only not as much fun...  


 Okay, how this pink, feathery helicopter got
inside the palace of Versailles
is beyond me.
Maybe Lady Gaga accidentally left it there...

This is not Paris...
But you knew that already...

The rule of the game is to not choose a recipe 
that requires a trip to the grocery... 

Last night it was stuffed peppers...  


I had all colors of peppers left over 
from an Aldi run, a pound of ground beef 
and there is always rice in the pantry...

Throw in some cheese and tomatoes 
and you have it... 

Actually, the recipe I used is here.  

There was one head of broccoli 
that I steamed and parceled out for the four of us... 

I used up the boxed pie crusts 
and a bag of peaches from Trader Joes 
to make a pie... 

I even whipped up a pint of cream 
to top it off... 

That meal made a serious dent 
in the contents of the fridge, so much so, 
that I was a little stumped as to what to make tonight... 

Digging deep in the freezer, 
I found a frozen container 
of beef enchilada filling made a few months ago... 

There were also fresh flour tortillas, 
cheese and some sour cream, 
but damn if I was plumb out of enchilada sauce...

Here is where a stocked pantry 
and a little imagination comes into play... 

I tossed two cans of diced tomatoes with green chilis 
and some tomato sauce into the food processor 
and pureed it...  

Voila'!  

Enchilada sauce!  
This photo is not pretty...
In fact, it's creepy and we saw it everywhere...
I was compelled to share...
Sorry.


For dessert, I might make one of those 
cookie in a pan recipes 
I see on Pinterest now and then...  


It feels good to clean out the refrigerator, 
kind of like cleaning out my closet, 
except that the fridge 
has a distinct connection to my closet...  

If, perhaps, I would just fill the fridge 
with less food,
then my closet would house smaller sizes...  

And then again, maybe not...

Friday, August 10, 2012

Paris Revisited...



There are days when I wonder 
if this entrepreneur thing is worth it....


When the factory security alarm goes off
at 10 pm on a Sunday...

When I spend weeks single-parenting it 
while Tom is in Kerplakistan 
or working yet another long weekend...

When the roof leaks and we can't afford to fix 
the half dozen holes 
or to buy groceries, for that matter...

When the roller coaster 
of our business causes heart palpitations....

Oh, but then there are some perks, 
silver linings to smooth out the bumps....

Air Miles...

Sporadically, I get to tag along 
on Tommy's trips, 
redeeming some of the many miles 
he has arduously accumulated...  

Thank God for that precious mileage, 
or I might succumb 
to gallons of Aldi Pinot Grigio 
or resort to a few hours
locked in the bathroom
reading issues of The Enquirer 
about Tom Cruise
keeping little Suri all to himself...

For us, it was a quick, 
barely planned escape to Paris for a few days...

No doubt, I am grateful to be able 
to leave the lower 48...

For most of my life, I did not cross its borders, 
not even for a high school trip 
or semester abroad...

The horror of 2009 provides some rationalization, 
in my mind,
that I deserve a getaway now and then....


Why I need to justify a trip 
is a sign of our frugal times, I guess, 

but whatever...


We all have challenges in life 
and if some jamoke can skip off to Paris, 
more power to 'em!

So we did...

We joined Tommy's parents, 
who were checking out Ireland 
and the UK before we met up with them 
at a cafe' in the sixth arrondissement...

We visited Paris a little less than a year ago, 
so this getaway was about really digging into the city, 
noodling around, 
savoring the life there...

Instead of a day by day journal, 
I think it's more interesting 
to talk about different aspects of the city 
and its people... 

Anyone can find major landmarks, 
to view the Mona Lisa 
or the Champs Elysees...  

But it's the comforting warmth 
of the morning's Cafe Creme',
watching the dapper elderly Frenchman stroll by

and discovering a centuries old doorway on a hidden street...


Fashion  



Of course, Paris is a fashion capital, 
but I did not see any skeletal models rushing past, 
portfolios in hand, 
dressed in the latest ensemble...  

What I was struck with were the locals, 
who, for the most part, looked fabulous!  

In Paris, there are no flip flops, 
no glaring white sneakers, 
wife-beater tee shirts or baggy cargo shorts...

You will see them, but worn only 
by us embarrassingly tacky Americans.... 

From the littlest tot to the most senior Parisian, 
the locals dress nicely...  

The ladies wear skirts, dresses or crisp trousers, 
always with pretty, heeled shoes..
We saw many older Parisian women shopping on Rue du Cler, 
pull carts stuffed with baguettes, fruits and vegetables.  
All of them, dressed to a T...

Younger ladies favored shorter skirts 
and these women do NOT have cellulite...
What is UP with that?! 
It must be the lack of artificial feed
like McNuggets and Whoppers
that keep their gams smooth...  

And I rarely saw tattoos on Parisians...  

Apparently, long hair is in style...  

As are elf shoes for men...  
Those pointy shoes won't ever grace Tom's feet, to be sure...

Overall, the French population makes most of the U.S. 
look like the crowd  at a county fair demolition derby...  
I speak from experience as I have been to more than one...
Rock Island County Fair, Y'all....

Cuisine

You can't visit Paris 
and not fall in love with the food...  

Unless Diet Coke and Cheetos are your thing...  
Then you are out of luck, Friend!  

The French aren't fat, yet they eat, 
GOD FORBID, 
real butter, fresh cream, loads of bread 
and buckets of wine!  

Why don't they look like candidates for "The Biggest Loser"?  
Because of this crazy idea called moderation...  
They don't Biggie/Grande/Supersize 
their cappucino's or croissants for breakfast... 

They actually sit down and enjoy the meal...
Ridiculous, huh?  

They don't wolf down 1800 calories 
while driving the Kennedy Expressway, 
simulaneously putting on mascara 
and texting their girlfriends about last night...  

Nope.  

They sit in a lovely cafe or in their kitchens, 
read a paper or talk, 
FACE TO FACE, 
with another human...

It's nuts, I know....

Okay, small confession....
Tommy is on his tablet computer in this photo...
Not exactly engaging me in conversation...
Ha ha....it is hard to unplug this guy sometimes...

The French take their restaurants seriously...  
Wait staff treat their bistros like their home, 
and customers do, too, with respect...
  

Great food is to be lingered over, 
and who wouldn't savor one's meal 
when dinner is escargot, 
chicken with morel mushrooms, 
sauteed skate over mashed potatoes, 
chocolate mousse, 
or meringue over lemon curd with raspberries....

And the wine...  
Every lunch and dinner I had glasses 
of the house rose'...  

This ain't your Gallo box of vin rosie
as we like to call it...  
It is light and delicious and perfect with everything...

Eating in Paris is an expensive enterprise, 
so we planned a picnic for one night...  

There is this massive lawn 
across from the Eiffel Tower 
where the locals picnic, 
Ravinia style.  

In July, it doesn't get dark before 10:30pm, 
so we saw many little kids 
still frolicking at eleven pm, 
all surprisingly well behaved, too... 

Mine would have scaled the tower, 
sending spitballs into the crowd at that hour...   

To plan this picnic, we needed a little help 
and the kind staff at the little hotel 
we stayed at, 
They lent us utensils, blankets 
and other sundries to make it happen... 

Then we hit the Rue du Cler for food stuffs...
  
Rue du Cler is allegedly the street 
upon which Julia Child 
shopped for her ingredients...
 
It is quite picturesque....  
Cobblestone streets lined 
with every kind of food shop imaginable....

Produce, 

poissonnerie, 


fromagerie,

chocolates,

l'epicerie, 

wine... 

I nervously repeated a sentence from one of my app's, 
"Nous sommes un pique-nique. Que dois-je acheter?" 
(We are having a picnic.  What should I buy?)

Just making the attempt seemed to warm up 
even the weariest proprietor... 

It was late July, just days away from vacation 
for most of France... 
These folks have put up with us obnoxious Americans 
all summer and they were ready for a break... 

You could sense that these lovely people 
were just tolerating us, 
counting to days to their holiday... 

We ran into plenty of Americans 
and I am sad to say a number
were annoying, to say the least... 
 

Note: Tommy on his phone, AGAIN...
Sigh...

So we bought brie, 
Camembert, sausages, grapes, 
apples, baguette, chocolates, five bottles of wine, 
pate of two kinds and macaron cookies... 

We surprised Tom's parents 
with the picnic bounty 
and we ate with Parisians on the Champ de Mars 
as the sun went down.  



Sorry about the butt crack
 that snuck in this photo...
I guess the French do have wardrobe malfunctions now and then....


At the top of the hour, 
the Eiffel Tower sparkles like diamonds 
for five minutes...
 
It is breaktaking.  

One last note about food....  

The French have figured out ice cream 
and Amorino is one of the best.  
They have several stores throughout the city...  

If you order a cone, they form the three flavors 
you choose into a rose...  
How gorgeously delicious!  

Banana was my favorite, followed by coffee...

All you have to do is leave the U.S. 
to discover what a bunch of PC, uptight, 
over-regulated bunch of buffoons we are... 

Life is much more relaxed 
in some other parts of the world...

I am proud to be an American for many reasons, 
but I gotta say we could learn a few things 
about the French way of living...

They enjoy food... 
Cheese is allowed to sit out on the store counter
 to breathe instead of being wrapped in 99 layers of plastic, 
chilling in the refrigerated case....  

The fish monger can lay out the fresh fish on ice 
for you to see and touch instead 
of walling it behind glass 
only approved by the local health department...  

Kids manage to stay up late 
and still know how to behave 
with some measure of decorum... 

Lots of people ride bicycles or mopeds, 
thus easing traffic in the city... 
gasp! Without helmets...!

People can sit outside at a brasserie 
and drink and socialize without shouting, 
fighting or causing a ruckus...

Now the incessant smoking I can do without, 
but on the whole, life seemed more civilized....

I love Chicago and all it offers, 
but it was good to get away 
to witness another window of the world...

Julia Child turns 100 next week...
  

After reading her book, "My Life in France" and visiting her haunts, 
I can now understand her love and fascination with Paris...  

And with that, let's celebrate with one of her classic recipes: her Mayonnaise....

Julia Child's Mayonnaise in the Food Processor

Julia says, “Certainly the easiest way to make mayonnaise is in the food processor, where in 2 or 3 minutes you have 2 or 3 cups. Regardless of method, the best mayonnaise is made from the freshest and best ingredients, since nothing can disguise a cheap-tasting oil, a harsh vinegar or a fake lemon.” I would add to that that nothing can substitute for fresh farm eggs either — who knew mayonnaise is supposed to be yellow!
For about 2 and 1/4 cups:
  • 1 whole egg
  • 2 egg yolks
  • 1 or more teaspoons strong prepared mustard
  • ½ teaspoon or more salt
  • 1 tablespoon or more fresh lemon juice or wine vinegar
  • 2 cups best quality light olive oil or salad oil — all one kind or a combination (I use half Bertolli olive oil and half canola oil)
  • Pepper to taste
Using the metal blade, process the egg, yolks, mustard and salt for thirty seconds. Add lemon juice and process another 30 seconds. Finally, in a very thin stream, pour in the oil very slowly until the emulsion forms. You can add the rest ever so slightly faster.
When oil is completely added, stop machine and check for flavor and consistency. Add the pepper to taste. You can add more lemon juice or vinegar for flavor and a few drops of water to lighten the mixture if it seems too stiff. Pulse several times to incorporate the new ingredients.