One Potato...Two Potato...Three Potato...Four!

This old childhood counting/elimination rhyme has been on my mind the past couple of weeks. Every morning, I've been on the métro, going back to school again!  This year, a two-week  "cours intensif" at the École Langue Onze  over in the 11th arrondissement. Every morning, I get off the métro at Parmentier, a station right at the busy intersection of Avenue de la République, Avenue Parmentier, and Rue Oberkampf. The first morning, I got off the train and found myself facing this statue, set into a recess:

I was running late, so didn't bother to check it out, but each morning since, I've been lingering longer and longer on the platforms, and learning a whole lot about the gentleman on the right, Monsieur Parmentier, who was responsible for the acceptance of the potato as human food in France!!

As an army pharmacist, Antoine-Augustin Parmentier (1737-1813) was captured during the Seven Years War and imprisoned in Prussia. His only food was potatoes, known to the French as hog feed. In fact, in 1748, believing that potatoes caused leprosy, the French Government had passed a law forbidding the cultivation of the potato.

On his return to Paris, Parmentier pursued his studies in nutritional chemistry, discovered there was much to be said for the humble potato, and began promoting it as a great and healthful source of nourishment. He ran into a lot of opposition, but persevered, even using publicity stunts such as hosting dinners that featured potatoes and inviting such luminaries as Benjamin Franklin to participate. He even offered bouquets of potato blossoms to the King and Queen!

Eventually, he succeeded in persuading the Paris Faculty of Medicine to declare potatoes edible in 1771. Then, during the siege of the first Paris Commune in 1795 potatoes really came into their own. The Tuileries Gardens were converted into potato fields and their harvest staved off certain starvation and famine during the siege.

Antoine-Augustin Parmentier is buried in Père Lachaise cemetery, and in his home town of Montdidier, a bronze statue looks down on the townsfolk as they pass through Place Parmentier. Almost 200 years later, a postage stamp was issued in his honor..

...and on the platforms of the Parmentier métro station today there are extensive panels, honoring the man, and distilling an amazing amount of information about potatoes...

...including their real roots in Peru, where, in 1532,  the conquistadores discovered gold, spices, AND 2300 different varieties of potato!



 Going home from school, waiting on the opposite platform, I've been learning more about the healthy values of the potato, vitamin and mineral content...

...the huge numbers of different varieties, their seasonal harvest times, even how to cook them!

Who needs to go to school when you can learn so much on a métro platform!

But I have been going to school, and back at the real school, Langue Onze, the language program has been intensive indeed, lots of focus on grammar, exercises to do in class, homework to bring in the next day, and lots of good conversation...

...between the three students (me, Francisca from Chile on the left and Eva from Israel in the middle) and our very young and lively teacher, Lise -- on the right! It's been an excellent class because with only three students, and a three hour class each day, you find yourself learning a lot! I told them all about M. Parmentier and how lucky we are that he persuaded the French to adopt the potato. Imagine a world without "pommes Dauphinois", "pommes Anna," pommes gratinées", etc.

The name Parmentier, by the way, also extends way beyond the street and the métro station. Any foods in the frozen section of the supermarket that includes "Parmentier" means that there are potatoes involved. And there are many of them. And the menu at any good bistro -- specially at midday -- will inevitably include a dish called "Hachis Parmentier", meat and vegetables topped with creamed and browned potatoes. In England, we call it Shepherd's Pie, and I made one last night in honor of M. Parmentier! 

Bon Appetit, et À Bientôt!

From Field to Fork

Our particular neighborhood in Paris is blessed with an abundance of food stores. Across the street, literally, is "Bio c'Bon" (whose name is a nice play on words in French), with an extensive selection of fresh produce, dry goods, breads, cheeses, oils and fresh and frozen meats. All "Bio" (organic).  On our side of the street and half a block away is "Naturalia", another all organic market. And then there's the rue Montorgeuil itself, packed with butchers, bakers (no candlestick-makers that I've noticed), cheese shops, fishmonger, greengrocers, chocolate boutiques, etc. etc. It is a foodie paradise.

So, it came as a bit of a surprise when we learned of a new enterprise, recently opened on the rue du Nil, which is one block away from us, across rue Réaumur. History note: there are several streets in our quartier with Egyptian names: rue d'Aboukir, Passage du Caire, etc., all honoring Napoleon's military expeditions along the Nile.

The rue du Nil is short, narrow and its only claim to fame so far has been that it is home to "Frenchie" a tiny, hip, chic, expensive bistro where we've never been able to reserve a table! Across the street, is "Frenchie Wine Bar" -- no reservations, and packed to the gills most evenings. The rest of the street once housed fabric manufacturers, dress shops and other businesses to do with the garment trade. Today, most of the store fronts are shuttered.

 Until last December, that is, when two enterprising young men, Alexandre Drouard and Samuel Nahon, opened up "Terroirs d'Avenir", which is hard to translate, but basically means promoting foods of the local region - ie, encouraging consumers to become "locavores"!!

In three small shops on the rue du Nil, they offer an impressive selection of seasonal foods, from over 60 local producers, 15 or so of them located on the Ile-de-France itself. The two young men had been working with these producers for four years, providing their products to local restaurants. Now, they are ready to offer the same to members of the general public, like Matthew!

Following up on a tip from our good friend, Alain, it didn't take us long to cross rue Réaumur and find out for ourselves. And it didn't take long to fall in love with the little shops, and the philosophy behind the enterprise.  Being February, root vegetables predominate -- lots of orange, yellow and white carrots, turnips, rutabagas, various types of potatoes, squash, etc. We loved the fact that they looked as though they had just been pulled from the field, traces of soil still clinging to them.

Matthew was very taken with the size of the Céleri Rave (celeriac)! The proprietors' main mission is to seek out farmers who respect the land (ie follow crop rotation practices, etc.), who grow seasonal plants, with no chemical additives, assuring that the natural, good flavor is preserved. They know the producer of each vegetable and will recite their names...la famille Berrurier, Jacques Mercier...les fromages de Sylvie Gardes, and so on.


And speaking of cheeses, there is substantial selection of Comtés, Cantal, Salers, Saint-Nectaire and Brebis cheeses, as well as farm butter, creamy milk, yoghurts and other products that belong in a "crémerie". Yum!

We found small containers of fresh herbs, like this "oseille de la lune" which is some kind of sorrel, and below it "oca petit", which we had never come across before. Turns out to be a small tuber, like a potato! To be tried on some future visit.

Meanwhile along the other wall of this small shop, a big array of dried herbs and infusions stood ready for selection...

...along with a big display of oils and vinegars and wines and champagnes.

This first visit, we contented ourselves with some carrots, potatoes, brussel sprouts and Cantal cheese before heading across the street...

...to La Boucherie, the second arm of Terroirs d'Avenir, with home-made saucissons, smoked hams...

...and a display case packed with an excellent selection of fresh meats: lamb, veal, beef, chicken, pork, etc.

The very cute young butcher, sliced us two escalopes de veau for our dining pleasure, and we headed home for the evening, promising we would return the next day to visit the fishmonger, the third boutique of Terroirs d'Avenir.

Friday saw us back on the rue du Nil, this time at "le poissonnerie," run by a young Japanese man, whose display of this big old ugly monkfish head kept Matthew strictly out on the street!

Too bad, really, because he missed a pretty spectacular display of fresh fish, centered with a swordfish "sword"!!

Along with turbot, plaice, hake, mackerel, and other fish that I have to learn to identify in French, you could buy sea urchins, squid, clams and mussels.

I settled for a dorade (sea bream), which the young man told me came from waters near the Spanish border. He carefully fileted it for me, and wrapped it with great care in three different pieces of paper.

Once home, I got to work, roasting the brussel sprouts, creaming the potatoes, and "egging and breading" the fish. We were hungry by this time!

The results were absolutely delicious, accompanied by a lovely bottle of chilled Graves!

So, we are delighted with this new addition to our shopping map. It will be fun to follow the seasons, anticipate the arrival of the first white asparagus, and support this enterprising group of young fellows, who would fit in so well with the manners and mores of all the locavores of West Marin.

And with the news today of frozen English "pure beef" Lasagnes actually being made of 100% horse-meat, it's not a bad idea to know exactly where your food has been produced!

 

Meanwhile, the bewitching "winter light" continues to shine down on us...

...and there's one little blossom peeking through among the hyacinth bulbs for sale at the florist on the rue Montorgeuil!

À bientôt!

Orders, Decorations and Medals

In France, there is a long and proud tradition of bestowing awards, insignias, honors and medals. Some, such as the National Order of the Legion of Honor (the highest order) date back to Napoleon's era. Awarded for "excellent civil or military conduct", it is primarily given to French nationals, although several notable foreigners have also been honored.

Other awards are more regional, but no less international -- several years ago, Matthew was initiated into La Commanderie du Bontemps de Medoc et des Graves, an organization honoring the wine growing brotherhoods along the Gironde and Garonne rivers of the Bordeaux region of France. A photo hanging in our house in Inverness shows Matthew, clad in long maroon velvet robes, pledging fealty to the aims and ambitions of the Commanderie. In fact, this had nothing to do with any particular expertise he might have had in the wines of Bordeaux. Rather, it was the climax of a screenwriting "atelier" he happened to be attending at the fabled Chateau Beychevelle at the time!

Most awards, though, are not so casually given, and we were very honored to receive this invitation shortly after our arrival last week.

Established in the late 1950s by the Minister of Culture, l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres honors “significant contribution to the enrichment of the French cultural inheritance.” The honoree last night is a dear friend of ours, Amanda Sthers, a playwright, novelist, author, screenwriter and filmmaker, who is barely in her early thirties! A seriously prolific and well-regarded artist, her newest book, due out next week, is a biography of Johnny Hallyday.

To our surprise and delight, when we stepped into the dimly lit B.B.B. restaurant last night, the first person we saw -- lounging on a stool at the bar -- was the craggy-featured Monsieur Hallyday himself! He lives in Los Angeles these days, but was in town for both this event, a new movie, the book, and he's planning a new concert tour to Japan.

In the midst of chatting with the very charming M. Hallyday, who should next approach us but Bertrand Delanoë, the bold socialist Mayor of Paris! We all shook hands and exchanged more pleasantries. Clearly, this was to be an "A" party list!

After much meeting and greeting, it was time for the ceremony. Christophe Girard, the mayor of the IVth arrondissement presided. Reading from hand-written notes, he recounted Amanda's precocious life story pretty much from childhood on. She smiled graciously throughout, but seemed relieved when M. Girard finally opened the little box and removed the Insignes de Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres.

The medal itself is an 8-pointed, green-enameled star. The central disc has the letters "A" and "L" on a white enamelled background, surrounded by a golden ring emblazoned with the phrase "République Française." The reverse central disc features the head of Marianne on a golden background, surrounded by a golden ring bearing the words "Ordre des Arts et des Lettres." The ribbon is green with four white stripes.

M. Girard concluded his remarks, and with all
due solemnity, carefully pinned the insignia on Amanda's left chest, as her two little sons looked on proudly, and behind the older one, her old Sorbonne teacher also looked on with equal pride. What a wonderful span of generations!

Amanda's remarks were brief and eloquent. She was so happy!

With the formalities concluded, everyone moved to tables and sat down to a delicious dinner.

We were seated with Amanda's sister and brother-in-law, and a very lovely young actress, Chloe Lambert. Somehow we muddled our way through a lot of French conversation, although the noise level became so high, that I eventually found myself nodding and saying "ah, bon" at what I hoped were appropriate moments!

As the second bottles of wine came around, Amanda's brother and sister took to the microphone and entertained us all with a great selection of familiar "soft rock" numbers.

And if that wasn't impressive enough, up next came Amanda's father, a distinguished Parisian psychiatrist by day. However, it was soon evident where his true love lies! He belted out song after song with such gusto, he had the crowd cheering for more. His son-in-law gave us a link to a u-tube video from 1970, which some of you might enjoy.  I especially love the name of the song he is singing way back then: "Un Jour de Chance" - a lucky day. Clearly it was a lucky day when he helped produce so many talented children.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rud5SavoB28&feature=youtube_gdata_player

 Brava Amanda!

À bientôt!

It's déjà-vu...

...all over again, as Yogi B. would say. Did we just take a long nap, or have we really been gone six months? It feels as though we never left. On the other hand, it is January, not June and it has been f-r-e-e-z-ing cold. We missed the big snow by just a few days, when the bassin at the Luxembourg Gardens looked like this.

Even without the snow, though, the temperatures have been hovering around the zero degree centigrade mark. The normally packed, bustling rue Montorgeuil has been nearly empty, save for a great selection of long fur coats, and pretty furry hair in this instance!

Brave, hardy hyacinth bulbs look small and lonely outside the florist, waiting for the mercury to rise and push those blossoms out.

Happily, the usual indoor January traditions continue, including our neighbor's annual "galette fête"...

...where, this year, it was little Gisèle who found the treasure in the galette and was crowned "Queen for the Day".

For the most part, the freezing weather has kept us house-bound, although I did manage a quick walk to our nearby Passage du Grand Cerf, with its soaring vaulted glass roof and bright red carpeting. Here, I was glad to see the familiar boutiques...

...the ethnic art gallery with its striking displays of figurines and carved animals...

...and the Indian antique market with its bowl of brightly painted knobs.

I was surprised, though, to find that the former ladies lingerie shop has been replaced with a gentlemen's underwear shop, displaying singularly traditional, not very exciting offerings!

Happily at the far end of the Passage the Lil Weasel shop is still in business, with its floor to ceiling cubbies of beautiful wool, as well as racks of embroidery silks, fabrics and other haberdashery goods. I quickly bought some Debbie Bliss cashmerino to begin a garment for a friend's baby -- the perfect activity on these cold winter days!

In our lovely cosy flat, we've been finding places for the various new treasures we brought with us, including this jolly rooster, holding my kitchen utensils...

...and these pretty Saxony blue bowls from Dresden.

We have even taken delivery of four boxes of fine wine from our friend Alain's brother's winery!

So, as we plan some outdoor adventures -- a trip to Avignon perhaps in early March -- we will be snug and warm as we wait out the cold snap (and get over our jet lag), watched over by the ever-brooding presence of St. Eustache. It's good to be back.

À bientôt!