Showing posts with label French food. Show all posts
Showing posts with label French food. Show all posts
5th April 2015
It's Easter. Which shops are open tomorrow and which ones shut? French websites never tell you. No commercial spirit.The Lidl and Aldi car parks around here are empty most days anyway! Now that does tell me something. When it comes to food, the French always know best. I was watching Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares (US) on TV. The Americans, like the English, have their priorities all wrong. They go for food bargains, quickness and quick-chill options served in large portions. That's also why Lidl and Aldi do so well in the UK. Here, although the French in the poorest banlieues obviously look for food they can afford, they go to the popular Food Coops or the street markets. With French living costs constantly rising (a retired couple here apparently need 2,437 euros/mth), France is hoping to open a food co-op like Paris's Louve in Toulouse soon. Ramsay, although a millionaire, with all his bluster knows a thing or two about food: go for fresh, simple and quality food. Your own body will thank you in years to come. When the chips are down, get your priorities right.
2nd December 2012
Why are French women so thin? For decades now, countries like England and the US have assumed that the French must be eating less fat. So, since the 1980s we stopped eating butter, cheese and fatty meats like duck and lamb. Success? No. English and US obesity levels have doubled since then, and we all seemed to be yo-yo dieters. Well now a leading UK diet doctor, Dr. John Masefield, says that to be healthy we should all eat French. Here's his list of what to eat: Eggs, butter, full-fat milk, cheese, all meats including the fatty ones, all fish, all vegetables including potatoes (but not chips), all salads, wholemeal bread, grains and pulses, all fruit, one glass of red wine a day, water. Avoid: sugar, confectionery, white bread, cakes, desserts, beer, soft drinks, processed foods.
Of course, we all live in a body that has its own unique way of metabolising food. If you've got a body that, despite what you eat, never puts on weight, then still follow the above diet for good health. If yours is otherwise then you MUST do something about it. So, during the festive period eat that fatty roast duck, ditch the margarine, buy whole fat milk and cheese and from now on don't search for the cheapest food, only the best quality. (For economy, cut down on those cheap nasty presents that will only get thrown away in the new year.). What you put in your body is the most important thing of all - it'll help you live longer. Him indoors says all this is very hard to swallow.....
Of course, we all live in a body that has its own unique way of metabolising food. If you've got a body that, despite what you eat, never puts on weight, then still follow the above diet for good health. If yours is otherwise then you MUST do something about it. So, during the festive period eat that fatty roast duck, ditch the margarine, buy whole fat milk and cheese and from now on don't search for the cheapest food, only the best quality. (For economy, cut down on those cheap nasty presents that will only get thrown away in the new year.). What you put in your body is the most important thing of all - it'll help you live longer. Him indoors says all this is very hard to swallow.....
20th June 2010
According to a recent report in the Guardian, apparently more and more English expats in France are ordering food online from cheap UK supermarkets like Asda: even stuff like wine and croissants! Can you believe that? I don't believe it for one minute, and I certainly haven't seen any giant Asda lorries in our village - not that they'd be able to fit into our tiny lanes anyway. Maybe in the Costa del Sol, where cafes advertising 'Tea like mother used to make' and 'Pie, beer and chips' are always full of red-necked English. But in France? No, no, a thousand times no. One of the first things you learn here is that the food we eat must have a greater priority in our budget: it's what governs our health and the length of time we live. Far more important to spend more on the superior quality and freshness of French food and less on so-called 'must have' consumer goods.
There was another report that English people moving to France were 'quite mad' - especially when moving from a busy working life in a city to the quiet French rural countryside. I can understand this report a little more. It's certainly a big culture shock - not only is it so very very quiet, but me and 'him indoors' are together 24/7 for the first time in our lives.
Enough said.
There was another report that English people moving to France were 'quite mad' - especially when moving from a busy working life in a city to the quiet French rural countryside. I can understand this report a little more. It's certainly a big culture shock - not only is it so very very quiet, but me and 'him indoors' are together 24/7 for the first time in our lives.
Enough said.
20th December 2009
There's snow all around and 'tis the season for goodwill, so we decided to go to the annual festivities put on by the old-age group in the village here. I know! It'd be all right if all those old people weren't there. But, him indoors was in the right spirit -or rather he'd had a tot of the right spirit before we left - so we tottered along. And you know what? It was really rather good. The catering was the usual French fare: 500 courses, so if you didn't like anything, you just waited around and, like the buses back home, another one was sure to turn up. Whilst eating the salad, I asked the toothless French lady what was in the salad. She kept saying something that sounded like 'mashmash'. I thought it was her lack of teeth, but asked someone else. It was 'mache' - lamb's lettuce. So now we know.
Of course, him indoors not wanting to waste a comedy moment whilst the accordionist was playing, regaled all the English with his usual patter. 'A man went into a '60's/70's music shop and asked the proprietor if he had anything by the Doors. The moronic man replied Yes sir: a fire bucket and fire extinguisher'. And during the dessert course: 'What d'ya call a blindfolded horse? Mascapone!' And, whilst talking of sport: 'A jockey, whilst winning the race, was hit by an apple seed. He was pipped at the post.' Can't leave out football. 'The Sheffield football manager was fired for only working 5 days a week - he couldn't manage Wednesday!'
Hope all that has cheered one and all. Season's Greetings from Olga - your favourite blogger in France!
Of course, him indoors not wanting to waste a comedy moment whilst the accordionist was playing, regaled all the English with his usual patter. 'A man went into a '60's/70's music shop and asked the proprietor if he had anything by the Doors. The moronic man replied Yes sir: a fire bucket and fire extinguisher'. And during the dessert course: 'What d'ya call a blindfolded horse? Mascapone!' And, whilst talking of sport: 'A jockey, whilst winning the race, was hit by an apple seed. He was pipped at the post.' Can't leave out football. 'The Sheffield football manager was fired for only working 5 days a week - he couldn't manage Wednesday!'
Hope all that has cheered one and all. Season's Greetings from Olga - your favourite blogger in France!
2nd August 2009
Have you noticed how TV's obsession with gameshow formats is seeking ever-strange genres? Recently I was watching Masterchef with that cheeky Greg Wallace - the one with the dimples, hinting of a seedy past. Masterchef is a kind of Hell's Kitchen meets Pop Idol, putting contestants through hell for the gullible viewer. And now I read that Meryl Streep is to appear in a film about America's original TV chef, Julia Child.
Why food as a genre all of a sudden? We live in an age where more and more people are over-large. I should know. What I don't need is TV programmes showing me the delights of wonderful food. The irony is that when I was young, I was skinny in an age when everyone aspired to be a curvy Jayne Mansfield, and now I am Jayne Mansfield, everyone aspires to be Victoria Beckham. You just can't win.
And yet I live in the land of le bien manger. What to do? Well, I've learned more about food in the last 4 years than I ever did in the UK. Just think: I now know how to open a jar or bottle that's jammed tight. No, don't laugh. I remember in the '50s my late mother ruining the kitchen door by twisting the offending lid in the door jamb. It was actually a Frenchman who told me pityingly that all I had to do was turn the jar upside-down and run hot water under the rim for a few secs. Similarly, to avoid crying while peeling onions, don't cut the root off until you've finished chopping.
And la piece de resistance? If you want to lose weight, don't return to all those horrible foods in the UK like oily cheap diet margarine. Eat good quality food, but use a smaller plate.
Voila!
Why food as a genre all of a sudden? We live in an age where more and more people are over-large. I should know. What I don't need is TV programmes showing me the delights of wonderful food. The irony is that when I was young, I was skinny in an age when everyone aspired to be a curvy Jayne Mansfield, and now I am Jayne Mansfield, everyone aspires to be Victoria Beckham. You just can't win.
And yet I live in the land of le bien manger. What to do? Well, I've learned more about food in the last 4 years than I ever did in the UK. Just think: I now know how to open a jar or bottle that's jammed tight. No, don't laugh. I remember in the '50s my late mother ruining the kitchen door by twisting the offending lid in the door jamb. It was actually a Frenchman who told me pityingly that all I had to do was turn the jar upside-down and run hot water under the rim for a few secs. Similarly, to avoid crying while peeling onions, don't cut the root off until you've finished chopping.
And la piece de resistance? If you want to lose weight, don't return to all those horrible foods in the UK like oily cheap diet margarine. Eat good quality food, but use a smaller plate.
Voila!
3 May 2009
A couple of weeks ago I wrote about my identity crisis (and a belated thank you to Margaret for her kind words). The longer I live here, the more I notice the subtle difference between English and French attitudes to life. England has become a mini-USA with its commercialism, price-reductions, 2for1 syndrome etc. However, this inevitably has its consequences in shoddy goods and 'built-in obsolescence' (as my brother used to say). Gone are the days when things were built to last. England has become a throw-away nation. Don't even think of repairs - just buy a new one (even cheaper and shoddier than the last).
With food, the difference is even more noticeable. French chefs have greeted a UK plan to put calorie counts on menus (to beat Government anti-obesity guidelines) with a mixture of horror and laughter. The French, quite correctly, say that the English don't understand about food and about our responsibility to eat well and nutritiously. It's not about buying the cheapest possible or ready-made convenience foods to fit into busy lives - then having to cope with the inevitable obesity that ensues. Le 'bien manger' is the most important French phrase ever. It's what fuels our bodies. Eat the best (not the cheapest), in small portions, at regular mealtimes. And don't snack on rubbish inbetween.
No wonder the French are laughing. They see the English spending their greater incomes on all those consumer items, expensive cars, expensive houses - then taking their children to McDonald's.
Enough said!
With food, the difference is even more noticeable. French chefs have greeted a UK plan to put calorie counts on menus (to beat Government anti-obesity guidelines) with a mixture of horror and laughter. The French, quite correctly, say that the English don't understand about food and about our responsibility to eat well and nutritiously. It's not about buying the cheapest possible or ready-made convenience foods to fit into busy lives - then having to cope with the inevitable obesity that ensues. Le 'bien manger' is the most important French phrase ever. It's what fuels our bodies. Eat the best (not the cheapest), in small portions, at regular mealtimes. And don't snack on rubbish inbetween.
No wonder the French are laughing. They see the English spending their greater incomes on all those consumer items, expensive cars, expensive houses - then taking their children to McDonald's.
Enough said!
25th October 2008
France seems to like having special 'weeks'. Last week was a new one - the Semaine de Gout - a national event aimed at promoting kids' taste-buds. Sounds like the producers have heard of our own Jamie Oliver's food programmes. (Let's hope the kids aren't encouraged to watch Gordon Ramsay's Hell's Kitchen series, or they'll be learning something entirely different - *!!!). Strangely, in a land famed for dismissing anything culinary coming from the other side of the Channel, there's a new kid on the block in France. I'm talking about Trish Deseine, a 44 years old, Irish divorced mother of four. The daughter of a beef farmer and a teacher from Ballyclare, Co Antrim, she moved to her sixth floor Paris flat after meeting her French husband at university, tried cooking when she lost her job as a press officer and worked her way to the top of Gallic gastronomy. She now writes a bimonthly cookery column for French Elle and her practical recipes have been acclaimed by French dinner-party hosts weary of complicated recipes by Michelin-starred chefs.
This Irishwoman may have taught the French how to throw a dinner party, but getting them to shed some of their many other prejudices may take rather more time.
P.S. Don't miss tomorrow's episode of the 'Bruno' serial.
This Irishwoman may have taught the French how to throw a dinner party, but getting them to shed some of their many other prejudices may take rather more time.
P.S. Don't miss tomorrow's episode of the 'Bruno' serial.
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