Jennie Goutet's Blog: A Lady in France, page 43

News and Parties and all that

So. I had a post ready yesterday – on France. This is my hardest subject, by the way, because it requires that I get out of my comfort zone and notice (and photograph) things that you would not see if you don’t live here. Or I have to use my tired brain to make creative vocabulary lessons that are informative and fun. It doesn’t come easily when I have a lot on my mind.

It’s not that the other subjects don’t require work. I usually prepare and study for the faith posts throughout the week. And the recipes usually take some planning and organisation. The family posts are generally easy-peasy, and are, of course, the extended family favourites.

(My computer auto-corrects in British English and I’m too lazy to correct it).

Anyway, so I had a post for yesterday, but I decided in honour of Thanksgiving to hold off until next Thursday. That – and I’m still swamped. I’m still editing my book, but this time in the final layout form, which makes errors jump out of the text more clearly. I’m trying not to panic about all the split infinitives, one-word sentences, too many commas, not enough commas, lack of flow and potential typos that will all reflect poorly on the author. It’s hard to be a perfectionist on a 440-page document. Oh yes. The book will be 440 pages, less however much we can reduce the font.

Sooo . . . I’ll be taking another mini, self-imposed hiatus this coming week. Perhaps not the whole week – just until I can get everything done to get the book ready. This weekend I’m also dressing up and going on a date with my husband to a charity gala. And I’m wearing heels!

But I’m also contributing two gluten-free cakes to the said gala, one of which is the mocha chocolate cake I posted here, and the other is an even more complicated cake, which I’ll post on the next available Tuesday if it’s a success. I’m making an Opéra cake. gulp. Why do I do this to myself?

In the meantime, since it’s family day, let me tell you all about the parties we’ve been having! It was my birthday and my husband cooked. I turned 44. (Ten of me would make the number of pages in my book). And I got super cute cards like this:

and this

and this

And then there was a festive circus party with 12 five-year olds in honour of our youngest. William was so excited to have his friends from school over for the first time.

I swear, next week I am off duty from all social engagements!

Helium balloons are a must, of course.

I made a multilayered rainbow cake with whipped cream for frosting.

But I think the kids preferred the clown cupcakes.

When they could get their attention off the helium balloons, that is.

Everyone attacked the spoils

and William opened his presents. With help.

And then, of course, there was the piñata.

(Oh look! My computer auto-corrects in Spanish too).

Juliet handed out the bags for the loot.

And everyone got a turn to beat that sturdy circus tent piñata.

Until – weary, battered and broken . . . it gave in.

Hunter was all “What is going on?”

“And why am I not invited?”

But for William, the day was a huge success. His friends came, they ate cake, they played with every ounce of energy they could possibly get from that sugar high, and they trashed the place. What more could you ask for in a party?

So this guy was happy, which is all that matters.

I, however, can relate to the piñata.

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How to Make Rice

Ready for the dullest, most colourless post ever? Presenting  . . . (drum roll) . . . How to Make Rice!!! (Confetti! Cheers from the crowd!)

Actually it’s only half of what I planned to post this week. The other half was how to make flavoured brown rice – you know . . . how to make it actually taste good. But then our dishwasher broke, and in order for my husband to pull it out and examine it, he had to remove the sink, which was siliconed in place (can you say “siliconed?”). It was pretty genius, actually, because the sink is heavy and large, and in order to safely remove it and lower it (and then raise it and re-silicone it) he used the piano bench as a mini jack, which can be adjusted up and down.

Anywhooo. I didn’t have a working kitchen, so I’m sticking with just the first part of the post for this week. I might do the brown rice part next week or I might show you how I’m going to make a gluten-free version of the French pastry called “Opéra.” So many choices. So many colourful choices.

Unless you’re just making white rice.

Measure out a cup of rice – I was doubling or tripling this because we had guests coming - and put it in a sauce pan. The best rice is Basmati or Thai. Even the cheap long-grain white rice is better than Uncle Ben’s yellowish, modified rice.

Pour water in the pan

and swirl it around with your fingers to rinse it well.

Pour the excess water off. (You can repeat two or three times if you want). As with any grain, if any of the grains float out with the water, it’s not a problem. They weren’t good anyway.

When you’ve mostly drained it, measure double the amount of water. If you measure one cup of rice, put two cups of water. If you measure two cups or rice, put four cups of water, and so on and so forth.

Bring it to a boil.

Then cover the pot and turn the heat down to low and let it simmer.

It takes about 18 minutes or so, but by the time the water is soaked up, the rice is done.

Done and perfect.

It doesn’t matter that it’s plain.

You just serve it with a festive sauce and it will become festive too!

There’s always colour to be found somewhere in life!

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What is Faith?

Hi everybody! It’s great to be back! Although I’m still buzzing. I’ve successfully finished the final edits on my manuscript and sent it off – but I’m not going to be easy until I’ve read the entire thing again in…Read more ›

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Fall Days at our House

When it rains out, the dog still needs to be walked. William came with me because his teacher (actually his whole elementary school) was on strike. Again. He didn’t seem to mind the rain one bit, and I changed him…Read more ›

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How to Read French Real Estate

My goal for this week’s French post was to show you one of the types of houses found in the Parisian area. But it has been raining pretty solidly and I didn’t feel like going out with my camera on…Read more ›

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Cottage Pie

Cottage pie is similar to shepherd’s pie, but more people have heard of shepherd’s pie than cottage pie. Do you know what they are? I had always heard of shepherd’s pie, but when I did, I imagined it was like…Read more ›

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The Optimism of Jesus

I don’t know about you, but the last adjective I would have used to describe Jesus was “optimistic.” Nor would I have used its distant cousin – “joyful.” I mean, the shortest verse to appear in the Bible is “He…Read more ›

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Five (Moniversaire)

“C’est moniversaire!” yells William as he runs up the stairs at 6:30 a.m. He has this tendency to drop the first syllables of his words. “Mon maillot de bain” (my bathing suit) becomes “mon yo de bain.” So bathing suits…Read more ›

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Châtelet-les-Halles

Châtelet-les-Halles is located in the centre of Paris – the 1st arrondissement, and it’s pronounced  (pretty close to) shot-lay-lay-all. It’s one of the oldest parts of Paris, the “halles” part referring to a covered market. In 1137 Louis XII decided…Read more ›

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Blanquette de Veau

Blanquette is referring to the fact that the dish is full of white ingredients. White = Blanc. You can use any white meat, such as poultry – think turkey legs – but it’s principally prepared with veal. Veau is pronounced…Read more ›

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