FRANTS and FRAVES
After living so many years in one country moving to a new one can be, on one hand, exactly the same as the country you came from, and wonderful! On the other hand it can be shockingly different and cause one to raise ones eyebrow! Add the Pandemic into the mix and things get a little strange.
Basically we do a lot of sitting in our rental house as we are supposed to do. Restaurants, bars, cafés, museums, galleries, and all forms of public places are closed, and with an 8pm curfew, there is a lot of hanging out. Like little American Super Heros we venture out for masked and caped (it is really cold right now) walks around the deserted streets of our hood, and even occasionally venture to the open air market which is oddly still open. There is not anyone to meet or become friends with as the most human beings you will see are at the grocery. We do a lot of road trips, getting out to see the French countryside. We hop into our temporarily leased SUV and choose a direction. We have seen a lot of the south east and are branching out to the west.
Driving in France is my first Frave! Roads in France are fabulous, generally outside of the large cities traffic is light with speed limits that are appropriate for your location. A majority of intersections are (Frave) round-abouts and keep traffic moving quickly! Frant… The only downfall to driving in France is the testosterone levels of French males driving in the fast lane. The left lane of major roads is for passing and you must respect that, but for some reason beyond my comprehension, (mind you I am a fast driver) if you move into the left lane to pass another car inevitably a lone Frenchman will immediately pull right up behind you (dangerously within a couple feet) and insist you move over. Most often you don’t even know where they come from, its like they magically appear out of nowhere! Part of me wants to turn on my former Southern California freeway driving style and take care of the situation, but fortunately I reason myself out of that and move over.
Food has been a huge issue for me since we arrived. I have am actually loosing weight and can now wear clothes that belong in the ‘I will fit into them someday‘ category. Most everyone knows that I have a difficult palette (too sensitive) and an affliction for all foods from the sea. (Am I allergic? I have never been officially tested, but if it goes in, it comes right back out!)
Seafood, fresh water fish, and Umami are simply not possible for me, and as most restaurants are closed, we cook at home. Going to French supermarkets is an adventure all in itself. After one month of visiting a variety of French markets here is what I have learned… Frant… Judge the market by the smell! I have heard people say something to the affect of ‘that is just how they smell’, Wrong! If it smells bad it is bad! The smell is coming from unclean surfaces, and rotting food, and during a pandemic this is a major problem for me. There is nothing charming about stinky markets, when there are lovely markets that smell fresh, feel fresh, and look fresh. Frave… Grand Frais markets in France are like Whole Foods before they went Amazon, Whole Foods without all the prepared foods. These markets are a joy to shop in and although they do have some of the myriad of strange and unknown concoctions in jars and cans, they do carry very health minded selections, and very fresh meats, poultry, and seafood. Another Frave in France is food cost, even the nicest of foods is infinitely lower in price than similar food items Northern California.
Flavor profiles are tough, trying to cook without everything tasting completely foreign and at times inedible is a monster task. I am improving in the learn to like it department, but the going is slow. French markets seem to really focus on foods produced in France. Frant… Import foods are minimal to nonexistent. Spain and Italy are a breath away and yet almost zero foods from either country. And yet pasta is a big food item, in the markets, but not Italian pasta, French pasta that tastes like, well, French pasta, or just a little off. Since it is winter this really holds true when it comes to tomato products, sauces, paste, or whole tomatoes in cans have a very different flavor. One evening a few weeks ago I attempted a bolognese. The beef is overly lean grass fed, grass finished, the cheeses very French, the 100% tomato, tomato products strange smelling, with an odd consistency, onion and fresh garlic (fortunately just fine), and herbs… oh wait, no herbs, or dried spices that resembled Italian cooking at all… I minced and sautéd, simmered and then baked to develop flavor, ladled over pasta and had. smell… (now mind you I was crabby by the time I had finished cooking it) First I smelled dog food, and then it hit me… Chef-boyardee! Like spaghettios… I was done!
I will close todays Frants and Fraves with one more imported food comment… American foods. Like other foreign foods the import of American food products is almost nonexistent with the exception of Doritos and Soda Pop. However, in all of the large Hypermarchés (big box grocery) there is an isle of (Frant…) Mexican food items. A Tex-Mex company from the states… ‘Old El Paso’ brand… and with that frightening thought…
Until next time, a bientôt mon amies
