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aventures dans les denrées alimentaires

I know I’ve said it before but I really can’t get over what I’m eating. Forever I replay the conversation that had me embarrassed in California admitting I was terrified to try foods that had previously caused me to feel ill but time and again I seem to jump right in. The feeling I had was one of shame that in many ways while I was curious, I had worked myself up so much over the issue and what remained was sheer fear.

Somehow I’ve avoided bringing it up because I didn’t even want to admit it, I’m not saying that I’ve enjoyed everything I’ve eaten, but I’ve tried many more items than I once expected. I’d list out the fish but the truth is I don’t know the names of most of them but I will say that I prefer salmon and white fish and I have no desire to try squid again as my stomach is still turning since yesterday and it wasn’t even worth the feeling I have now. Oh and I tried raw salmon in sushi while I was in Paris last week and frankly, I wasn’t impressed. I’ll take avocado rolls and yam rolls over the raw salmon any day.

Beyond fish it was pate and fois gras, a whole lamb steak and then there was one night… I felt beyond uncomfortable and like the right prude of the bunch and it was a strange place for me to be sure where I didn’t really fit and I’d already turned down something else so while I said I wouldn’t eat much I did eat… the smallest, bloodiest little corner of steak. There I said it. I ate steak and I’ve even had veal and tonight… I’m eating confit de canard in a large soup called Garbure. To tell the truth the whole house smells like we’re preparing for a Turkey dinner on Thanksgiving and it doesn’t seem so bad. I just don’t know how these things happen. I’m sort of excited to try cooking lamb myself one day or maybe veal or well, I don’t know just something different though I’m still perfectly happy eating mostly vegetarian all the same.

So this is all to say that my time in France if nothing else has been one of true culinary adventure. I don’t have much in the way of photos of these foods I’m telling you about (probably because I’d feel rather silly to admit in some of these cases that this is a BIG deal for me) I do have some photos of a few other occasions.

April 11th, one of my own sisters birthday also so happens to be Gunta’s birthday. We were all at the grocery store the day before and I pestered Janis about what kind of cake he would make for her but he raised his shoulders and gave me a typical French look where the eyebrows raise, the mouth contorts a little and you put your chin out a little in an expression I like to liken to a, “I have no clue.” Gunta jumped in saying she’d be happy to make herself a cake but I insisted that this just wouldn’t do and that Janis and I would make her a cake and while she was free to watch, we WOULD make her a cake, and a cake we did make. So as I’m sure my brain ties itself in knots when I think about all these foods I’m eating they both gave me equal looks of confusion (as did everyone else) when I exuberantly exclaimed, “we should make chocolate zucchini cake!!!” Vegetables and cake just don’t seem to jive in the average food vocabulary and I admit even I had trouble for years with the idea of carrot and cake but I admit my error now, it’s fabulous (sadly – that idea didn’t cross my mind while at the store) Hearts and minds seemed to reform after they tasted how moist this cake was. Yes mom, I made believers, it’s true. The cake has done it again!

I’ve also got a few photos from our Chinese tea ceremony drinking Pu-er and boy was that tasty but also from Oliviers first experience trying to make a clay cooked chicken but unfortunately there wasn’t enough clay though it did taste wonderfully it just didn’t look so lovely as it was being peeled back!

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