The 'F' Word

If you google 'in a funk' you will get 149 MILLION results in 2.3 seconds.....try it.  F-U-N-K.......

Definition:	Depressed or upset.
Example:	1) This winter weather really has me in a funk. 2) Holly is in a funk about her new haircut. She thinks it's much too short.
Etymology:	Derived from the Flemish word 'fonck', meaning 'disturbed' or 'agitated'.
Synonyms:	got the blues

I think it's an expression that is getting pretty close to being expired.  It is vintage slang...as I recall my Mom has used it, not recently....but a long, long time ago....maybe when I was in college......yeah, that long.

But lately I have been hearing it a lot....a lot-lot.  It is the ever present excuse for sleeping in, having frozen quiche for dinner, and not putting on make-up.  I am guilty of feeling I am in a funk since my parents left now almost a month ago....even though they just let us know they are making plans to come back again.....in SEPTEMBER.....too far away.

Poor general health can put you in a 'funk' too.  Me?  Okay--I have had 'conjunctivitis' in my left eye for FIVE weeks (I know! It should typically last for 5-7 days!) and it finally just went away!  Woo-hee!  And now I have it in my right eye!  Uh-huh.  That puts me in my glasses (absolument aucune lentilles de contact!) which keeps me oh-so-pretty, which keeps me from wanting to put on make-up, which makes me not want to go out, which makes me in a bad mood, which makes me.....wait for it........in----a----funk.  I am on the third round of meds--I can't drive, I don't want to go for a run....and the worst?  Shooting pictures is a big pain in the.......eye.  Might as well be blindfolded!  Aim, shoot and hope for the best.

Hey, but I am not the only one!  I invited a friend to get together recently and was answered, "Well I am kinda in a funk right now'.....okay, I get that.  But makes me think--what did we call it before the expression 'funk' was in vogue....what will we say when it is not? Or what will we do if said expression in banished from the English slang language due to over-use?

"I am not myself today".....begs for--Well then who are you?
"I am just not feelin' it"....I don't know--kinda vague and maybe even rude.
"I am feeling poorly"......maybe evokes the need to call the doctor?

The problem is...being in a funk becomes an excuse (at least for me) not to rise above a situation and make it better.  Maybe this sounds like self-imposed 'tough-love'.... but truthfully, the only one who can get you out of a funk is...you.  There will always be reasons--the weather, missing someone, health, a disappointment, a spoiled surprise, an unplanned complication.  The challenge is to find reasons not to be in a funk rather than more reasons to be in one!

Okay so here goes......

1. We have had sun....lots of sun, sweet previews of how amazing this summer will be.
2. As sleep-deprived as I am--'Petite Fille' is mind-blowingly-amazing....really--she is the perfect baby!
3. I live a 5 minute (probably less) walk from the BEACH.....our beach....most mornings I am the only one out on it....and if not that, only woman....only woman jogging.....absolutely.
4. Food--I am in cooking mode--and I just found a source for Thai ingredients (in France) that's big.
5. Routines are falling into place--and more importantly 'rituals' after living here almost a year...like the ritual of washing down my last swig of coffee in the morning with a cube of dark chocolate--like that ritual--okay maybe that's not the best example.

So here's to being 'un-funky'. Let me be the current and most recent convert to 'un-funky-ness'...... I will light the way....I will be the pioneer, the trail-blazer, the, the......(going too far with this?).  Well....just join me!  Get the heck out of 'funk-dom'.... and I will go first.....I know we will be glad we did!

Bonne soiree mes amis!

Taste the Sea

Last summer, when we arrived in France going to the market became an immediate 'must-do' routine.  Not the super-market, but the market-market....if you have been to France then you know.  It's the large outdoor market that runs in each town, year around.  I have blogged about it before, it's a place full of life; locally produced foods and wares...some not so locally produced goods (t-shirt vendors and DVD sellers, yes they are there too.)

The one we go to normally is in Trouville Sur Mer, and of course, because it is across the street on the next block from 'French Guy's parents, we also go to the market in Deauville.

Right now the produce is abundant and it keeps getting better as each week goes by.... my favorite thing to do is grab a fresh seasonal ingredient when it first shows up at the market.  I know a lot of true-'foodies' operate this way.

We go to the market and find our inspiration....rather than the other way around...starting with a list of inspired meal plans and shopping accordingly.

This weeks ingredient was 'Salicorne'....do you know it?  It is sometimes called 'sea-pickle', 'sea bean' or 'sea asparagus' and a lesser known name, 'glasswort'.  It is bright green, succulent-like little branches and is found here in Normandy and Brittany beginning as early as February and then throughout the summer. Salicorne is mildly 'herby' tasting and can be very, very salty...the first time I cooked it I added salt.....big mistake.  I have heard you can soak out some of the salt, but I just adjust by not adding salt to the dish.

Cooked simply in olive oil it is perfection!  I love serving it as a cold 'salad' in the summer--every bite is a taste of the sea.....And of course, it goes well with any kind of seafood!  So this time I tossed it with some shrimp.  If you can get your hands on some---try it!

Simple Sauteed Shrimp with Salicorne

1 pound cleaned deveined shrimp

2 tbs. Olive oil

Rinsed and cleaned Salicorne

Fresh chives

Lemon juice

This is so easy--I could almost just post the pictures without the 'how-to'.  This dish has so few ingredients yet the simple combination is full of summery fresh flavor!

Saute shrimp in olive oil until pink and opaque then snip-in fresh chives....remember NO SALT.

Toss in Salicorne and saute until warm.  You can add a small hit of lemon juice if you like.  

Serve warm or chill to serve as a salad. 

I served it this Sunday with Saffron Potatoes--purchased at the market from the Morrocan food stand--again, can be cold or warm, as you like.

A taste of summer?  A taste of the sea.....Bon apettit!

Sunday Dinner

'French Guy' and I have an on-going 'conflict' about the term "Sunday dinner"..... you see when I was growing up, after church we would return home and have our big meal of the day--in the middle of the afternoon, but called it "dinner" or "Sunday dinner"--(we did not call it lunch.)  Then in the evening in front of the Lawrence Welk show or Wonderful World of Disney... we would have a light meal; grilled cheese sandwiches, mac-n-cheese, hot dogs.....sometimes even spread out on a blanket on the floor infront of the TV--'picnic style'.....

So back to the argument, conflict, differing of opinion ... sometimes I slip-up and say 'Sunday Dinner' when I am meaning, Sunday 'lunch'.... old habits die hard.  'French Guy', although he knows exactly what I mean, never misses the chance to correct me, "It's not dinner, it's lunch!".... okay, okay.... Je sais!

Now I will take a little slack here ... as many know, lunch and dinner are a bit reversed here in France. Lunch, déjeuner is a big meal, a few hours long with starter, main, salad, cheese, desert, coffee.....and sometimes also an aperitif while everything is being prepared.  Realistically, not every lunch is like this...on a work/school day of course it is not so 'formal' but still is the main meal of the day and is prepared and eaten sometime from 12 to 2 (while all of the stores and businesses are closed for lunch).  Later in the evening; a light meal, salad, cold meats, an omelette, soup...something small, a 'petit portion'....absolutely nothing heavy or substantial before bed!  Not to say that on the weekends or vacations that the French don't have big dinners in the evening--sometimes we don't go out to a restaurant until well after 8 pm, order an aperitif, starter, etc. and eat dinner at 9ish and have desert at 10--but then the intention after that is to stay out and awake until 2 or 3 am--then you are not going to bed with a full stomach!

Finally, before I share yesterday's Sunday dinner lunch, which we had at 3pm after a morning of brocante-ing...one last choice word to throw into the mix-- 'supper'.....My mom uses the word 'supper' for dinner.  I think with the way she uses it; a meal in the evening on a weeknight is 'supper' and a more formal meal is 'dinner' which is also in the evening, but fancier (maybe?) and then also on Sunday at lunch time when lunch is not lunch but is dinner because it's Sunday and you have dinner after church and supper at night or lunch in place of dinner ... supper.

I'm sorry--but the word 'supper' (although I know it is very New-England-y to say it) makes me think of Leonardo Da Vinci......and that last one.  Enough said.  Time for a recipe!

Pork Loin with Roasted Vegetables and Creamed Sorrel

Pork Loin Roast

Shallots and Garlic

Rosemary

Olive Oil

Herbe de Provence

Salt and Pepper

Potatoes and Carrots

Parsley and Chives

Season the pork loin with olive oil, salt, pepper, herbs and crushed garlic. Let the roast sit in the fridge seasoned for 3 or 4 hours or overnight.  

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.  Wash and peel potatoes and carrots and slice thinly.  Toss with olive oil, salt, pepper, chives, shallots, herbs and surround roast with vegetables, drizzle with more oil and add rosemary and fresh thyme.

Place roast and vegetables in 400 degree oven for 20 minutes and then reduce oven temperature to 375 and cook for 30 more minutes or until meat temp. is around 160 degrees.

Creamed Sorrel:

A quick word about Sorrel, which grows prolifically in the Spring in Normandy--it is somewhat like spinach or kale, but with a snappy-citrus 'bite'...my cher-father-in-law gave me about 2 pounds from his garden and this was my first go at making it!

2 pounds Sorrel, washed well, stems removed

1/2 cup heavy cream

2 tbs. creme freshe (or sour cream--not 'lite')

1/4 cup diced shallots

2 cloves garlic, crushed

olive oil and 2 tbs butter

salt/pepper

Chop the cleaned Sorrel and blanch in boiling salted water for 30 seconds.  Saute to soften shallots, garlic, butter and a splash of olive oil,  add heavy cream and simmer just under a boil to combine. 

Add blanched, drained Sorrel, and gently add cream fresh--until blended.  Season to taste. Serve hot.

A lovely Spring, 'Sunday Dinner' !  --Served at lunch.

Bon Appetit - Mes Amis!

Becoming 'French'...

Next month we come up on our one year anniversary of moving to France.  We left on June 17th, two days after school ended for the boys.  Life then was a blur of yard sales, good-bye parties and shipping sea-containers.....I was just under three months pregnant, already feeling 'different' and excited and thinking back we had no idea what we were heading into.  We had ideas on what it would be like, but not one idea was right...in both good and bad ways.

Almost a year later, I still feel like there is so much more that has to happen and more that I need to do to feel completely "at home" here....but it is happening.....
....s-l-o-w-l-y.  We have started doing things outside; gardening, planting, setting up...we have squeezed, stretched and filled our little house with our personal things to make it feel more 'homey'.... the beach down the road, has become 'ours', the garcons go almost every day to play, explore, sometimes swim .... the so-important routines have been created; Thursday night pasta-night, Pizza and movies on Friday, weekend markets, brocantes on Sunday....

One thing that occurred to me as I was thinking about this pending anniversary, was that feeling at home in a place is not about not missing the previous place anymore, it's about becoming a part of the new place.  In order to do that here, I need to become a little French.  (maybe even a little less American but I am not willing to go there yet!)

Of course the most obvious thing would be the language... a subject I am pretty worn out about and not so keen on.  French (as in the language) has become a 'four letter word'...... it is a source of frustration and self doubt...and keeps me at an uncomfortable and discouraging arms-length from truly feeling at home here....

But I have been becoming a little more French in other ways ... maybe.  I now eat plain, (unsweetend, 'nature') yogurt ... and I LIKE it! In fact, I eat it a few times a day!  On eating; I SIT to eat lunch now (oh, and I eat off a plate rather than a paper-towel or napkin...or my hand!)  I do, on occasion, have a glass of wine at LUNCH....not normally, but sometimes.  I wear scarves...a lot.  A LOT.  (Well actually I have always had a thing for scarves but now I blend in with all the other ladies wearing scarves year around). I eat chocolat -- any time I want--and I don't feel guilty about it....oh, and I don't diet ... (but I do jog--and as I have said before..French women don't!) I wear my hair in a chignon....and I know how to spell chignon!!!

The interesting thing... the 'ah-ha!' moment in all of this, is that to be at home here, I may have to be a little more French, and may want to be a little more French, but that doesn't mean I have to be any less ME.

Some things will never change, and don't need to.  I am in love with cuisine and cooking... I love to read, write and create, (I love to talk too!....and believe me, when I get within a mile radius of another English speaker -- look out!)  I love my kids, our silly pets (most of the time)...my darling husband (most of the time)...who after almost 17 years together I am 'meeting' in a whole new way....

The point here...what I have realized just less than one year after moving to France ...  is that ALL of these things I have brought with me...and have with me...no matter where I am...

...and that is what makes a place home. N'est-ce pas?

A bientot, mes amis!

Worlds Away

A blah day .. the boys returned to school after the two week Spring Break and two more bonus days after that to say good-bye to Grandma and Grandpa and then one more day, Wednesday, when there is no school normally ... the construction (destruction) continues around our house.  My favorite French road utility workers 'Spie' are tearing up the roads all around us, digging trenches for water, power and something else I have no idea what-for, banging, bumping, screeching (are you familiar with the sound of concrete-cutters?) SCREECHING ... from 7 am to 5 pm for the past FIVE weeks with no end in sight.  It's a war zone, huge machines, mountains of red clay and gravel, bright red barriers... revving engines, the beep, beep, beep, beep of 'dozers backing up...the thumping (the house sometimes shakes) day, after day, after day.... Oh!  The sweet life in my 'French Country Home!"

Petite Fille does not nap.  The noise and chaos is too much...even with the shutters closed and the drapes pulled tight, she naps for minutes at a time between the mayhem.  Last week we did plenty of car-naps, just to get out of the 'hood' but let me tell ya--gas is pricey here in France!  It takes about $100 to fill the tank of my Mini Cooper and about 30 minutes for Petite Fille to catch a decent sleep in the car--it adds up!

So we are holed-up in my bedroom, she is finally, if only temporarily, dozing-off.  I was catching up on my blog-reading and Facebook, when I came across the blog of a mom of a friend of mine.  My chere amie, Kim http://kimberlytaylorimages.com/mimicharmante who I have mentioned a few times in my blogging...well her mom is doing some amazing work and I hope you take 5 minutes to read about it...and think about it.

'Jaaja Barb's Home of Angels, One Brick at a Time --
Read it here: http://jaajabarbshomeofangels.blogspot.com/2011/05/reporting-from-abandoned-side-of.html

Because I did and it turned my entire day around.  It put perspective on my day, the chaos, the dust and dirt which is a temporary situation.  It made me look differently at the sweet baby kicking around on the bed next to me, who is growing so fast and is so healthy her nickname has gone from being 'Monkey' to 'Chunky-Monkey'...

...and I compare her health, her day to day safety and security, closet full of sweet clothes and a clean bathroom with a big tub and pure running water... to the children in Barb's world right now.

Sometimes you need to jump outside of your own world and look around a bit... Worlds away, close to the heart ... from France to Uganda. Thank you Barb! I am glad I did. 

All Good Things....

 

....must come to an end? .....  

"There is an end to everything, to good things as well."

The proverb dates back to about 1374 and was penned by Chaucer.....

Geoffrey, I am not liking you very much at the moment. Actually, in the original version, it was closer to 'all things come to an end' and the word 'good' was added later.  Either way ... not liking it.

Mom and Dad departed about an hour ago to head to the Charles De Gaulle..... the house is quiet -- too quiet.  Even though I kept 'middle guy' home with me today while 'French Guy' and my oldest boy took Grandma and Grandpa to the airport which is about 90 minutes from our house.  So I encouraged my youngest boy to 'play hookie'  (like encouragement was needed!) and stay home with me, 'lonely, sad, Maman' ... I need the company...of course 'Petite Fille' (who is 4 months old today!) is here, at my side, co-editing this entry, as usual.

Yep, my heart is heavy. This has been a hard visit to end.  Mom and Dad met their TENTH grandchild for the first time, spent priceless time with the boys, spoiled the pups, showered the kitties with affection and experienced our 'vie en France' for two very short weeks.

I am sad and feeling a little lost.  I hope to head to the beach later, maybe this evening, to get my head straight again and to sooth my heart -- it always works.

Until then mes amis--words of wisdom for the day:

Enjoy the current moment; enjoy the people around you today; enjoy your life as it is in the present, because the past can never return and the future is still a part of your imagination. The past can help shape your present and future ... but your only reality is before you at this moment.

A bientot!