At the Market in Paris

I love to do my food shopping in Paris. Whenever we visit Emily, we're sure to go to the fabulous market in Le Pré St Gervais. The best of the best French products come to Paris for distribution to the capital. The choices are wide and the quality is superior. Farmer's markets are not a novelty in France, but rather the most normal way to purchase one's food. As my friend Françoise has pointed out, good locally-grown organic produce is available everywhere. Most families eat fresh and seasonal fruits and vegetables as they have down through the centuries. Fall has its many pleasures when it comes to produce. Potatoes, tomatoes, onions of every color, apples, squash, carrots and some of the other tasty root vegetables are plentiful. It's getting to be time for more hearty meals. Here's one to try:

SAVORY FALL STEW serves 4

2 T olive oil 12 oz spicy sausage 12 pearl onions 1 1/2 c crushed fresh tomatoes 3 c chicken broth bundle of fresh herbs, such as rosemary, thyme or oregano 1 medium butternut squash (peeled, seeded and cut into bite-sized pieces) 3 parsnips (peeled and cut into strips) 1 fennel (trimmed and cut into thin slices) 12 Brussels sprouts (cut in half)-otional 2 t salt 1/8 t freshly ground pepper 1. Heat oil over medium heat and add sausage, stir, breaking into small bits. Cook until no longer pink (about 10 minutes). Remove from pan with a slotted spoon and set aside. 2. Discard all but 2 T of sausage fat. Heat to medium and add onions, stir and cook until golden (5 minutes). Add tomatoes, stock, and herbs. Cook until the liquid begins to thicken (20 minutes). Add sausage, squash, carrots, parsnips and fennel. Cover and simmer until vegetables are tender (10 minutes). Add Brussels sprouts and cook covered for another 3 minutes, until sprouts are cooked. Remove cover and allow stew to thicken, boiling lightly for 15 minutes more. Add salt and pepper and serve.

One thing that is hard to find in the U.S. is really good cheese. Once you've become accustomed to French cheese, it's hard to do without it. At least for me. I have a strong cheese addiction. Charles de Gaulle, when he was president of France, famously said "How can anyone govern a nation that has two hundred and forty-six different kinds of cheese?" French cheese is one of life's enduring pleasures. And the variety here is truly extraordinary. If you want a decadent fall/winter treat, buy some Camembert, Brie, Colombier or Mont d'Or cheese (these are creamy cheeses that often come packaged in little wooden boxes). Remove any plastic, wrap the cheese (box and all) in tin foil and place it in the coals of a fire until the cheese, inside its crust, is fully melted. The crust stays firm. Spread the warm cheese on a piece of baguette. Oh la la! It took us a little time to get used to French beef, as we were used to the corn-fed American beef, marbled with fat. If you read Michael Pollan's Omnivore's Dilemma, as we did, you'll discover that there's a problem there! We have to appreciate the meat we get in France, knowing that it is raised naturally. Fish is abundant in France. The fish man is a character and teases me as I take portraits of his products. Our favorites are bar (sea bass), cabillaud (cod) and lotte, Not to mention, of course oysters (huitres), crab (tortue) and prawns (langoustine), all now at the height of their seasons. A neighborhood cat visits the fish-monger on market days. He politely sits on the counter and enjoys the smells. He receives a morsel or two as a treat, but he's willing to wait patiently for it and never tries to take any fish unless it's offered. In my next post I'll be talking about neighborhoods where artists in Paris live and work and about where to purchase gorgeous handmade books and journals.

The Harvest Festival

Montmirail, the village where we live, is generally very calm and quiet. At night, when the sky is clear, the stars are as visible as in the middle of the countryside. There is no light pollution or noise. Even in the middle of the village square, nothing stirs. Every so often, however, Montmirail comes alive. On a normal Sunday morning the Place de l'Eglise is full of cars. There are two Catholic services every week; one in French at 9:30, and Latin mass at 11. When there is a special event or holiday, the normally busy activity becomes exciting indeed. Last Sunday we celebrated the Fall Harvest Festival and no ceremony was spared. A band dressed in the traditional red hunting coats and playing their French horns appeared in front of the church just as we were serving breakfast to our clients. They played a short concert and then hopped into their carrage and were whisked away to the Hippodrome, where the main Harvest Festival events took place. Quite a lot of preparation went into the festival. It's a time-honored tradition to celebrate the bringing in of the summer's bounty and the end of another growing season. For the farmers in our region it also is a time to show off their animals. The fattest and most attractive animals are awarded prizes. Percheron horses are named for our region of France, le Perche. The breed was developed here in the middle ages. These large and strong animals were breed to carry knights dressed in heavy metal armor. Before farming was mechanized, the Percheron was indispensable for carrying out heavy lifting and pulling tasks. Every farm had their horses. There are still many horse farms in the region and the Percheron is much admired all over the world. Percheron horses generally have docile and sweet natures, so despite their tremendous size and strength, they make great companions. Farmers now, of course, have replaced their horses with horse-power. On display were some bright and shinny tractors. Not many mules were in attendance, but this little guy made his presence known. He was not a small mule, but next to his Percheron neighbor, he seemed diminutive. Little pigges are awful cute, even if they grow up to be much less attractive. John Berger, the British author who won the Booker Prize in 1972 with his novel, G, also wrote a trilogy of French country-life. The first book is entitled Pig Earth and traces the importance of pork in traditional French peasant life. Not one morsel of the animal is wasted when it is time to slaughter it. In our area the cow is undoubtedly the most important animal. There were some large and handsome examples at the festival. The calves are raised by the farmer's children, and they were on display as well. Both the priest and mayor talked to us at some length about the crisis for milk producers in France. It has made international news as French and Belgian farmers are protesting the low EU price of milk. The price of production for French and Belgian dairy farmers, who pay higher taxes than the rest of Europe, is no longer being met by the EU price structure. Dairy farmers are dumping their milk and refusing to bring it to market. Belgian farmers created a milk lake in front of the EU headquarters in Brussels last week and in Paris, farmers handed out thousands of liters of free milk to the public.

Métiers d'Art

Last weekend we had a stand at an art festival in La Perrière, a lovely village not far from our home. It is the first time we have participated in something like this. Art markets are quite common in France, and not just at Christmas time. People enjoy seeing handmade items and these events can be quite well attended. They expected 1500 people to visit the one we were part of. In June there is a Marché d'Art where painters, sculptors and fine artists of every persuasion bring their work. This entire little village is crowded with stands and parking is held in large fields. It's almost like a rock concert or a ball game. When we attended last summer we found it phenomenal that so many artists and spectators came to this litte out-of-the-way village to participate. When we went to the tourist office to gather more information for possible participation in next year's event, they told us that in September, they hold another marché, but this time for crafts people, rather than fine artists. We felt that we probably fall somewhere in the middle of those two categories, but decided to give it a go for the September event. Certainly the crafts market was not so well attended as the June event, but it was lots of fun nonetheless and we met some interesting other crafts people. The woman on one side of us made painted porcelain jewelry. On the other side the woman made theatrical costumes. There were several wood workers, furniture makers,people doing trompe l'oeil, potters, clever toy makers, jewelers of every description and some embroidery artists. It was a very diverse group of people. We received some publicity as two newspapers featured our photo and wrote up a bit about us for their local circulation. We weren't the only English-speakers featured at the market, but we were the only Americans. I guess we're a novelty and so make a good focus for an article. Rick had a lot of people interested in our photogravure process. The idea at the festival was to give demonstrations of our crafts. We brought our little letterpress and ran off some cards which we gave away to children. We did sell some prints, but our books and cards were the biggest hit. La Perrière itself is a really charming village, well worth a visit if you're ever in the neighborhood. We have enjoyed lunch or tea at the chic Maison d'Horbe many times. It is a magical place, overgrown with vines, alive with bubbling fountains and birds, richly decorated with statuary and potted plants. Tea is served in mismatched antique tea cups with antique silver spoons. They have a boutique with a gourmet food section, selling their cakes, creams and jams and an antique section where they sell all manner of little knick knacks. We have several photos of La Perrière up on our website. La Perrière is perched on a hill and the view of the Perche countryside all around is unspoilt. The view from most of the residences is spectacular. Since the Perche is close to Paris, lots of Parisians have second homes in this area. La Perrière is a particular favorite, because of its charm and location. It makes the village prosperous and well-tended. As we left town after our weekend as artist/merchants, we took a new road and discovered this pretty château just outside town. It's a pleasure to discover something new around an unexplored bend in the road.

A Visit to Paris

We spent most of last week in Paris. I've heard it said that the best time to visit Paris is in August, because most of the Parisians have gone on vacation. I don't agree, of course, since I'm rather fond of Parisians and would rather have Parisians on the street when I visit, than the swarms of tourists who descend on the city in August. I think September is one of the best times to visit France and especially Paris. When Parisians come back from their month-long summer break and take up their work again and when children begin the new school year, there is a real feeling of excitement in the air. New movies are out, museums and theaters launch new seasons. The weather has cooled down, the crowds have thinned out and there's a definite change in the light. The French have a word for this time, it's called la rentrée, the reentry. Not just back to school, since almost the whole country takes the month of August off, it's back to work for everyone and it is a special time of the year. If you're planning to visit Paris this fall, and you've already seen the Eiffel Tower, and waited in the endless line to catch the view, if you've visited the Louvre and paid respects to the Mona Lisa, seen Seurat, Degas and Van Gogh at the Musée D'Orsay, enjoyed Notre Dame and Sacre Coeur, why not visit a few much less well-known but stunningly beautiful places? There are two I'd like to recommend. You probably won't find these in the Paris guide books. One doesn't usually think of a library or a bank as a "must-see" site in Paris. The fact that these two buildings are open to the public and used by the population for mundane daily-life activities makes them all the more special. One of my favorite places in Paris is the middle of the pedestrian bridge, le Pont des Arts. You have a wonderful view of l'Ile de la Cité. At the right bank of the river you have the Louvre, and on the left bank, the Académie Française. It's in this beautiful building that you will find the Bibliothèque Mazarine. This is not a museum, but the oldest public library in Paris. Cardinal Mazarin (1602-1661) was the guardian of Louis XIV before he reached his majority. Mazarin was a scholar and amassed an enormous number of volumes. He left his library to the State and it has been open to the public ever since. It is an absolutely spectacular space and provides a wonderful place to read and study. Diane Johnson, who has a house a few steps away from Bibliothèque Mazarine, writes in her delightful memoir Into a Paris Quartier that she went there almost everyday to work on her novel L'Affaire. To visit the library, one enters a door on the left front of the Institute building. A small sign points the way. It is well worth the effort to seek out this exquisite interior space. You'll be among a very few tourists to have found it. Another "ordinary" building is the headquarters of the bank, Société Générale, located between the Paris Opera and the Galleries Lafayette. from the outside there is no indication that within is one of the finest examples of art nouveau interior design in the city. Opened in 1912, this space is richly decorated with art nouveau motifs. The floors are exquisite The enormous glass dome filters light into the space. A round desk for the tellers is placed in the middle of the space. One is surrounded by glass and richly decorated surfaces. The bank is also opened to the public, one needs only open the door and enter. You will be very glad you did.

Cooking & Eating in France

We're preparing some art work to sell at a lively local art fair in a couple of weeks. It will be the first event like this we have participated in. We are particularly interested in introducing our photogravure process to our local public. So I began to look through my enormous photo library to find an attractive image to transform into a photoetching. The kitchen at Danièle Mazet-Delpeurch's house immediately caught my eye. We took a cooking course with Danièle in 2005 and the weekend yielded a number of wonderful photos, and inspired my art work over the next year. This memory has made me stop to consider again, why the place of food and the experience of eating is so different in France than in the U.S. It also put me in mind of the very funny comparison between Paris, France and Paris, Kentucky, which made it's way around the internet a few years ago. Of course it's by no means true that every American is obese and certainly not every French person is slim, but it is true that the U.S. ranks absolute first in the world for obesity, while France ranks 23rd. About one out of every three people in the U.S. are considered obese, while less than one in ten are obese in France. Still, this is a huge increase for France and this number is staggering to them. It is considered a real national crisis. The problem particularly effects student-age children, who have picked up American's bad habits of fast and junk food eating. When a new report came out revealing a significant increase in child obesity, the government immediately took action. They outlawed anything in vending machines at schools other than fresh apples. It was quite impressive to see how quickly and efficiently this occurred. It's also interesting to note that France ranks 9th in the world for life-expectancy while the U.S. ranks 50th. That seems rather remarkable when you consider that 30% of the French population smoke, as opposed to less than 20% in the U.S. Another bit of news which is not often discussed in the U.S. media, is that the World Health Organization ranks France's Health Care as the best in the world. The U.S. is ranked 37th. The French do get a lot of things right, and cooking, eating and their relationship to food is one of them. The good health follows naturally. Some people have theorized that the U.S. dysfunction with food and the lack of importance given to really enjoying our meals, may have its root in our Puritan history. We were taught not to appreciate some of those basic, sensual aspects of life. Even while the French eat quite a bit more fat than the average American, they don't gain weight nearly as fast. People have been talking about this paradox for years, trying to understand what makes the difference. Some people believe that it's the red wine/resveratrol factor, while others just see it as a completely different philosophy of eating and food. One also has to consider the time factor. French people are horrified to hear that children in U.S. schools get only a half hour for lunch. All school children in France are provided sit-down meals at lunch. It is considered essential for their concentration and success in class. Family meals in France are very significant and lengthy. Even small children are taught to sit at table for very extended periods. A gathering of friends and family think nothing of taking four hours at table for Sunday lunch. Lunch hour is often two hours even for working people. I read about Danièle's cooking course in the Dordogne in a 2003 Travel & Leisure article. I saved it for a couple of years as it captivated me. Two and a half years later, I finally gave Danièle a call and arranged a time for our visit. When we took our class with her, she first took us to the large and bustling market in Brive-la-Gaillarde to purchase ingredients. Markets are located in every nook and cranny of France. People naturally look for fresh food and a personal relationship with their suppliers. Danièle taught us how to look at food, and of course she knew which vendors to trust. The standard of perfection in the U.S. for fruit, for instance, always seems to be big, bright and blemish-free. The first time we returned to the U.S. we were amazed at how big and red the strawberries were. We had forgotten. But that size and color are a bit artificial and the taste is effected and the nutrition value diminished when the food is grown for consistency of size and color primarily. Danièle bought us some peaches which were small, malformed and pock-marked. They are called pêche de vinge, and they were incredibly sweet and delicious. Another important point in Danièle's approach to cooking, is to use fresh food in season and to plan meals around the bounty of your own garden. Our meal together featured fresh figs prominently, as they were ripe on her tree. Danièle is a natural cook, who has had so much daily experience, year-in and year-out, that she has an intuitive understanding of how to put a meal together. She follows no recipes, and she makes no mistakes. Cooking is still an endlessly rewarding and satisfying activity to her and she shares her knowledge with her students in the most loving way. The time in her kitchen flew past. We all helped prepare our several-course meal and more than gathering recipes, we learned to pay attention. It was a basic and sensual experience, we received great pleasure from each step. After we had prepared our meal, we sat down together to enjoy it at Danièle's table, which she set with superb care. This one short weekend has lived long in my memory as one of the most charming and nurturing experiences of recent times. After spending the morning working on this blog post, I took my usual lunch break to read the International Herald Tribune. In today's paper was an op-ed piece by Roger Cohen, called Advantage France. He and I are definitely thinking alike. At Maison Conti we also offer a cooking course with the lovely Alexandra Tallen.