Baking from scratch isn't always necessary

At home, I never use a box mix to bake something.... it just doesn't feel like baking. It feels like cheating. It's not from "scratch", and you can definitely taste the difference. Yes, I'm a bit of a baking snob. So for me, if I don't have the time to bake from scratch, I just use that as an excuse to go visit one of my favorite local bakers!

Here in France I'm living in the dorms at school and using a community kitchen for some of my baking escapades. It's rather challenging for SO many reasons - for instance, we only have one mixing bowl in the entire kitchen. Sometimes there are no spoons. There is no electric mixer or hand mixer. There's no hot water from the tap, so if hot water is needed, it has to be boiled. There is an oven, sort of.... it's actually a miniature countertop oven, or an over-sized toaster oven. Although originally I thought I would not be able to bake here, with a little creativity I've been able to make it work, and I've discovered that a standard size pie plate just fits!

This week I was having a chocolate craving and a longing for some time in the kitchen, but I wasn't up for the challenges of international baking, so I indulged in a box mix..... and it was GOOD! I was pretty skeptical when I saw the paper baking pan that came in the box, which was in two pieces and required some assembly, but amazingly it worked great. One bowl, some water, and a couple of eggs was all I needed. Quick and easy.... and delicious!

A few days later I was still (or yet again) craving chocolate, and remembered a recipe I'd found for some chocolate cookies. I use that word loosely because they turned out more like chocolate truffles or bonbons, rather than a traditional cookie.They are Brazilian Brigadeiro, and with only three ingredients and no actual baking, they were SUPER easy, and perfect for my kitchen situation.



Plain sugar for some, Speculoos cookie crumbs for the others

So, I'm learning to admit my prejudices against boxed baking mixes, and am letting go of some of my preconceived notions about baking. I am embracing the convenience of boxed mixes, and "baking" cookies that don't actually require baking. And through this process I am experiencing a little more freedom and a lot more goodness in my life!

Finding Beauty Around Every Corner

After a very busy and hard couple of weeks, I recently found myself with an unexpected free afternoon and I decided I needed to go explore somewhere new to gain some fresh perspective. So, within an hour I was boarding the train and headed to the village of Maintenon.

Random side note: When I arrived at the train station I found out that the train was free all weekend because of the high levels of air pollution. Evidently, when the pollution gets too bad, they make public transportation free to encourage people not to drive. This was a pleasant surprise and nice way to start my excursion!

I arrived in Maintenon and realized I had no idea which direction the village was, nor where the château was. I was so excited to get out and explore, and I guess I'm comfortable enough with traveling, that I just hopped on the train and knew I'd figure things out once I arrived.  The train station was out in the country, with just a few buildings around, and there were two roads leading away from the station, so I just started walking down one of them. Along the way I stopped someone on the street to ask for directions and was pleasantly surprised to find I was heading in the right direction, and it was only a short walk before I arrived in town. The village was exactly what I had imagined a traditional French village would look like before I ever came to France, and I was awestruck by the unique beauty that surprised me around every corner.

 

I made my way to the château of Maintenon and enjoyed a stroll through the nearly empty gardens, which is a rare luxury at most monuments and museums here in France. There is an ancient aqueduct that runs through the village that was truly awesome, and there were many canals running through the village and surrounding the château that felt very peaceful and romantic.

Look closely at the view through the arch and you'll see the aqueduct!
 

 

 

After thoroughly exploring the chateau both inside and out, I stopped for a cup of tea and a pastry at a little brasserie and enjoyed some people-watching.

It was such a rewarding excursion - exploring a new village, being surrounded by beauty, realizing that I actually can speak some French, and having some time to reflect and remember why I made this crazy decision to move to a foreign country.



Shopping in the Suburbs

This weekend I had the opportunity to go to IKEA with a couple of friends. Yes, I consider it an opportunity here because it requires someone to have a car and be willing to drive in the chaos of Paris. The first IKEA we went to was a fake IKEA - it only had kitchen and bathroom stuff, so we set out to find a real  IKEA and on our way we happened upon a little outlet mall so stopped to do some shopping. 

 

Confession: At home, I scorn the suburbs, as I prefer the mountains, the country, the beach or the city..... really anything but the 'burbs.  In France I am living in a small village and I visit Paris from time to time, which is perfect for me. So this weekend, when I found myself in the suburbs of Paris, I was shocked to find that I felt very comfortable and almost a sense of "home".  Maybe the truth is, I'm much more of a suburbia girl than I care to admit?

 

I spent my shopping time in a shoe store because shoes make my heart happy! I remember when I was a young teenager telling my mom that when I walked into a store I could hear certain shoes calling my name. She thought I was crazy, and you probably do to, but it's true.... there are some shoes that just speak to me, and it's nearly impossible to walk away without taking them with me. On this occasion I took lots of pictures, and only brought home one new pair of shoes. Here are some that knew my name and made my heart smile, but I had to leave them at the store, for now.

When I packed my bags to move to France, I agonized over which shoes to bring with me, and I ended up bringing only eight pairs.... which means I put nearly thirty pairs of shoes in storage and giving away more than ten pairs. I consoled myself with a promise that I could buy four new pairs while I'm here (one for each season, of course!) Ok, so I might have a bit of a shoe addiction.... but alas, every gypsy needs a good pair of traveling shoes!

I don't have a picture of my new shoes, but I'm sure you'll see them on my feet in future posts!


Aix-en-Provence

When I first started thinking about moving to France, I thought I would like to live in Aix-en-Provence. I didn't really know anything about France, but I had heard stories about the beauty and tranquility that can be found in the South. However, as things progressed, my opportunity to live in France landed me in the forest just outside of Paris. It is beautiful here, and I am grateful for this experience, but last weekend I finally had the chance to travel south and see what I had dreamt about for years.... Aix-en-Provence.

It was everything I had imagined and then some! The weather was warm and sunny. The people were kind and generous. The atmosphere was calm and relaxed, and I had time to simply enjoy all of these things.

As a true foodie, I managed to eat my way around the city, doing plenty of sightseeing along the way. My first morning I found a delightful patisserie that was very reminiscent of a Denver coffee shop, and it was just a few steps away from my hotel, so this became my morning hangout. The baristas were friendly, the pastries were delicious and it was a great atmosphere for some quiet morning reflections.

The best almond croissant I've ever had!

 I was fascinated by the creativity of the various flower and herb gardens I saw around the city. I'm definitely copying this when I have a place to call my own again.


Creative gardening

Before I went down to Aix, I was connected with several "friends-of-friends". One of the best surprises was the couple who own a delicious shwarma shop - La Goullette. I was told by a friend to stop by and order a specific sandwich that's named after him. I assumed I'd get a good sandwich, but I also made new friends. After lunch, they insisted that I stay for tea, and then they joined me every day for some sightseeing and each afternoon we did a little language exchange conversation - French, Arabic and English.


Tunisian mint tea

Aix is known for it's many open-air markets. There is one that supposedly has been open every single day for the past 700 years!! And don't even think about trying to get a spot to sell your wares, as they are handed down amongst family from one generation to the next.

 

Cheese, cheese and more cheese!

One of the many things I love about France are the plates du fromage et charcuterie. After a day of tasting my way around the city, I wasn't really hungry for dinner, but needed to eat something.  This was the perfect conclusion to the day.

Cheese, meat, salad, bread and wine - the perfect dinner

After all of the grey days this winter, it was wonderful to be in the warm sunshine and surrounded by rainbows of color at the flower markets. I was so tempted to by myself some fresh flowers, but I decided they wouldn't travel well.

This reminded me of Seattle's Pikes Place Market

Aix has so many beautiful fountains. You can find one in nearly every square and intersection. Some were funny sculptures with water shooting out, others where serious pillars of granite with cascades of water, but this one caught my eye.... It was a big ball of ferns and moss with this sweet little spurt of water bubbling up from the inside and quietly dripping down the sides.

 

 

The food in France is delicious, but one thing I've missed has been the organic, local, vegetarian, natural food scene from Denver and Boulder. So maybe in addition to being a foodie I'm also a little bit of a hippy.... Anyway, one of my new friends in Aix recommended this delightful epicerie - the woman buys her ingredients at the market each morning and then creates beautiful meals that are organic, vegetarian, gluten-free, and so good! I arrived late in the afternoon and these were her "left-overs" from the day. 

 

Sweet potato quiche, lentils, herb potatoes, and a beet, carrot salad

 

 I am so thankful that I hired a guide (yet another friend of a friend) to do a walking tour of the city. We spent two hours roaming all over the medieval parts of the city and I learned so much history and saw things I never would have found on my own. When we finished the tour we stopped for tea and pastries just as the sky opened up and poured down rain. It rained for the rest of the afternoon, so I took the opportunity to check out one of the museums.

 

The wind and rain at one of the markets

On my way out of town I made one last stop for one more crepe from this amazing little crepe stand that can be found under ground at the edge of this fountain.

 

All of the people who said I would love Aix were right - this city has captured a little piece of my heart and resonated with my soul. I felt at home here. It is a beautiful, interesting city where nobody seemed to be in a hurry, but instead everyone seemed to be intentionally enjoying life.... or maybe this was simply me projecting my personal joy and contentment onto my surroundings. Whatever the case may be, I am grateful for this adventure and the beauty I experienced.

The French Office of Immigration and Integration

As an international living in France for more than three months, I had to visit l'Office Francais de l'immigration et de l'ntegration (affectionately known as OFII - pronounced OhFee) last week. This is a mandatory, two-step process including a medical exam and an interview, and if both steps are successfully completed, then a stamp is added to your visa to allow you to legally stay in France. I had heard several horror stories from colleagues and students about their experiences, so I was rather apprehensive as I boarded the train to Paris for this adventure.


 

I arrived 25 minutes early for my appointment only to find a sign on the door indicating that they were closed until 1pm (my appointment time).  Now that I knew where to find the office, I went for a little walk and enjoyed the sun that had made an appearance, and then returned at 12:55pm, only to find nearly 10 people loitering around the doors. When the security guard came to open the doors, he only let one person in at a time, and it was simply a matter of whomever was pushing their way closest to the door as to who got in first. Now, we all know how much I love crowds and people pushing into my space, so I was not the first one in, but there did become some sense of order and I finally made it in. Once inside, but still in the breezeway between the two sets of doors, I had to have my bags examined.  Typically this is not a big deal; however, this is the French government (who are very particular), and... I had two bags packed for a long holiday weekend, for which I was leaving immediately after my appointment.  Therefore, when I opened my bags for the guard to check, he saw layers of neatly folded clothes, which he insisted that I remove. Now mind you, I'm in the breezeway, and everyone outside can see what's happening. So, as I begin to unpack my bag, I'm trying to be discreet about what I pull out and he keeps telling me to remove more. As I hesitate, he gets impatient and asks which country I am from, and when I tell him I'm American he immediately says it's not a problem and motions for me to repack my bags and go through.



Proud of packing light - two small bags for 5 days!

Immediately inside the doors I check in at the front desk and am directed to a waiting room where I join the others who entered before me.  We wait there for maybe 30 minutes, until every chair in the room is occupied (nearly 30 seats), and then they call seven names - one of which was mine - and we all follow a nurse into another waiting room where we sit down and wait again. When my name is called, I talk with a nurse at a little counter in the waiting room where she confirms the accuracy of my paperwork and sends me on to the next stage, which is a urine sample - although there thankfully was a private stall for this, once finished you just carry your sample out to the next nurses station and set it on the counter! Ugh! I was weighed and measured (Surprisingly, I haven't gained any weight... yet!) and then was sent to another room to do an eye exam. Next I was pointed to a changing room type stall which had two doors (one that I entered through and one on the back side). This is the prep room for the chest x-ray, and for whatever reason, they don't provide you with any sort of cover up, they simply make you undress from the waist up and tell you to wait.  Suddenly the back door opens and the doctor tells me to come out into this big x-ray room. He pushes me up against the x-ray machine, takes the picture and then sends me back to the stall to get dressed.  I exit through the front door and am once again in the waiting room.  The people ahead of me continue through the process and then leave, and I'm still waiting. Eventually a nurse comes to tell me that the x-ray machine is blocked and we have to wait a little bit longer (or at least I think that's what she said, since it was all in French). More time passes and them I'm told to go back into the changing room, where I go through the whole x-ray process again and then wait some more. There's more talk amongst the nurses about the machine being blocked, and they decide to move the next group of people through the rest of the process without an x-ray. This leaves me stuck in the middle - not part of the next group, and still without an x-ray.  Finally the nurse calls my name and sends me back into the changing room. I tell her this is my third time and ask if I really have to do it again or if they just overlooked my second one.  She tells me that the second one didn't work and so yes, I have to do yet another x-ray. Thankfully, this one works and I continue through the process.  Through all of this, I must say that everyone was surprisingly kind - we were even laughing a few times!

At this point I'm sent into yet another changing room with two doors. On the other side of this door there is a small office where the nurse makes me remove my shirt yet again, simply to take my blood pressure. Once I'm re-clothed, she asks for my medical history. This is the first part of the process where I resort to English because I simply don't have the French vocabulary for this. All goes well and I'm sent back out to the front lobby where they issue me an official form stating that I'm healthy, and then I'm directed to yet another waiting room where yet another person calls my name.... which I must say is not easy to recognize because in French it sounds like Ezeure Taileurre, and I end up in a tiny office to complete the interview.  I was really anxious about this part because of my level of French, but it was really quite simple, just some basic questions about why I'm in France and how long I intend to stay, and she was gracious enough to use some English...... and then she issued my visa stamp, three hours after I started!!!

I was exhausted but thankful to be finished with that process and excited to board the train headed down to Aix-en-Provence for a vacation in the south of France. More to come on that in the near future.

Meandering in Paris

I finally had my first solo trip to Paris and it was delightful! Nobody but myself to worry about, no agenda, no obligations, no plan - just a free day to explore. It was a beautiful sunny day; perfect for meandering around the city, window shopping, sightseeing, café-hopping and people-watching.

 

 

I took the train in to the city and then hopped on the metro with no real plan other than to explore a new part of the city, and so I ended up in the Etienne-Marcel neighborhood. The sun was out ALL DAY and the sidewalk cafés were bursting with people, as were the streets and the parks.





I wandered in and out of shops, and found a sunny café for some tea and crepes, and then eventually found myself at Notre Dame. Once inside, I took the opportunity to just sit for a while and soak up the beauty and history.


I left as the sun was setting, and then wandered into Saint Michel, where I spent some time in various book stores before stopping for dinner at a little Asian bistro. On my way to the metro I grabbed a couple of macarons for the train ride home. It was a fabulous day of leisurely exploring this beautiful city!








The other macaron was already in my mouth before I thought to take a picture!
 

"Normal" Life in France

It's hard to believe that I have already been here THREE months! Thankfully, I feel much more comfortable here as I begin to settle into some sense of normalcy (which I hesitate to even type, knowing that things are always unpredictable and changing). So, here's a little random glimpse into my "normal" life: 

I can now order an afternoon treat for myself, in French, and have been checking out all of the local patisseries and boulangeries to see who has the best pastries.



Chocolat chaud et un macaron a la framboise

....and at the farmer's market this weekend I wasn't terrified that somebody would speak to me, but instead was eager to practice my French and chatted (very briefly) with one of the vendors after I ordered my pastry. 



A beautiful day at the market

The Farmer's Market/Swap Meet/Flea Market

This week I had the pleasure of dining with some new friends in their home. A very kind couple who are a host family for our students.  They cooked a beautiful, organic dinner - pumpkin/carrot soup and a leek quiche, all made with veggies they grew themselves. But the best part is that the majority of the evening the conversation was in French, and I understood it!! They were very gracious and patient to repeat and explain things slowly, and then to occasionally clarify in English, and I was even able to respond in French (very broken and heavily accented, but still French). It was a pleasant, but exhausting evening for which I am truly thankful.

Last week I got to go to an open mic jam session - I wasn't playing, just listening. It was rather chaotic, but fun to watch the various musicians put their names on the board and then assemble other musicians to play songs. No rehearsal, just live music. Some of it was surprisingly good, none of it was awful, and all of it was interesting. The venue is an old hat factory that has been converted into a community center, this provided some interesting things to look at during the music.

The first round of musicians

Les chapeaux

We finally got snow this week! Just enough to make everything pretty, and then the sun came out and made everything even more beautiful.

 



Unique ice formations on a car windshield

Beautiful sunshine after the snow