Wandering around the hamlet with my camera

I'm having a lot of trouble with my eyes these days. I think it might be pollen allergies.'Tis the season. I'm also having a lot of trouble with Blogger this morning. Maybe the two are related. It's hard to read tiny print (Blogger uses plenty of that) when your vision is blurred.

Risotto

For yesterday's noontime meal, Walt and I made an Italian rice dish called risotto.The rice for it is not boiled but sort of steamed and sautéed at the same time. The first step is is to start cooking the rice grains by filming the botton of a non-stick pan with a little bit of olive (or other) oil and tossing them in it over medium-high heat until the grains start to become translucent. Then you start adding hot meat broth (beef, veal, chicken, turkey...) to the pan over high heat and letting the rice absorb the liquid. Keep stirring the rice and scraping the bottom of the pan to keep it from sticking. You repeat that step as many times as necessary for the rice grains get tender — no longer crunchy — and for all the liquid to be absorbed or evaporated. It takes 15 or 20 minutes.

We bought the type of rice you need to make risotto at one of our local supermarkets. It's called Arborio rice. I had plenty of home-made turkey broth in the freezer. Walt went to the outdoor market in Saint-Aignan and bought some green asparagus spears. We poached the asparagus spears in the turkey broth until they were tender. The asparagus gave added flavor to the broth. After they had cooked we cut the spears into half-inch pieces and added them to the rice. As the rice and asparagus finished cooking, we stirred it all together with some grated parmesan cheese. It was really delicious.Don't forget the salt and pepper. This would also be good with green beans or mushrooms instead of asparagus.

One day I want to go over to the Saint-Aignan train station, just three or four miles from our house, and take to train to Bourges, a small city with a long history. The ride takes an hour. I've been there before, but I've never spent enough time wandering around in the town's historic district, where there's a fantastic cathedral.

If you take the same train in the opposite direction from Saint-Aignan, you end up in the bigger city of Tours, and that ride also takes an hour. Above is a photo of the train that links us to Bourges and Tours, both of which are worth a visit. The train is a TER, un Train Express Régional.

Un chien dans les vignes

Callie dans le vignoble de la Renaudière, le 27 mars 2008. Notre maison est visible de loin.

Pulled turkey barbecue. I pulled (shredded) the slow-cooked turkey leg and thigh meat with my fingers after it had cooled down. We ate it in a sandwich on (a whole wheat hamburger bun) with lettuce in a cole-slaw dressing. We had a side dish of new potatoes that were browned after a first cooking in boiling water, so were never cooked in oil or butter.

Shredding by pulling

There's not much to say about the term "pulled" in the expressions pulled pork or pulled turkey, etc. Recently I saw a package of "pulled chicken" (in English) at our local Intermarché supermarket here in Saint-Aignan. "Pulling" means, first, pulling the meat off the bones. The first two pictures above show what the two sides of the two cooked turkey leg-and-thigh pieces looked like once I pulled the skin off the meat. Then I pulled the meat off the bones and shredded or pulled it some more (photos tomorrow). No more skin, bones, or fat. A second step in pulling the meat is to shred it as finely as you want using two forks or your fingers. Some BBQ restaurants also chop the meat with a cleaver after it has been shredded/pulled.

Here are some of the spices and herbs I seasoned the turkey legs with as they cooked. Plus salt and black pepper, of course. In Eastern North Carolina, the cooking liquid is vinegar-based. In Western North Carolina, BBQ chefs might add ketchup, tomato paste, and even sugar to the cooking liquid, which in turn flavors the meat and keeps it moist.

Pulling your leg

Unless I'm talking to a turkey, my title is pretty lame. I'm talking about a turkey leg (une cuisse de dinde) that I'm cooking this morning to make "pulled turkey". Pulled meat is a North Carolina specialty which is usually made with pork. Recently I've seen more and more N.C. BBQ joints making turkey barbecue, as it's called. Here in Saint-Aignan, I bought two turkey legs for about 12 euros. Pulled meat barbecue freezes really well, so we will enjoy it for a while, in sandwiches, tortilas or just plain with a knife and fork. Turkeys parts (legs, breasts, wings.) are nearly always available, year-round, in French supermarkets. That's not the case in the U.S.

Pulled meat BBQ is by definition spicy. You can see that in the photos just above. Paprika, hot red chili flakes, powdered cumin, fenugreek, cloves, black pepper, etc. — at your discretion. As I was browning the legs, I gradually added the spices I like. Then I turned the legs over, and poured in a little bit of vinegar. You can add some ketchup or tomato paste if you like. I turned the heat down at that point and started the slow cooking, which will take several hours over low heat. More tomorrow about the pulling part...

Le confort des pieds

Homebody that I've become, it was about time for me to buy myself a new pair of shoes. They're "slip-ons."

They are not as easy to slip on as I thought they'd be, but never mind. The fact is they are supremely comfortable. I'm going to wear them indoors for now. They are much softer and warmer than the Birkenstock-style sandals I've been wearing as indoor shoes for years... until yesterday.

Are my eyes failing?

Why has the font my blog is displayed in gotten so tiny? It wasn't my choice. Blog text and the text that displays comments are different this morning. Both are much smaller. I can barely read them. I think Walt's blog has a much smaller font than it did before, too.

Of cars and batteries

Last Saturday morning, I went out to start the Citroën and drive over to the pharmacy in Saint-Aignan. The car wouldn't start. The engine wouldn't turn over at all. However, when I turned the key in the ignition all kinds of warning lights started flashing on the dashboard. There was an unfamiliar clicking noise coming from the dashboard. The battery seemed okay because the car's lights, radio, and electric windows opened and closed when I pressed the button on the clicker.

It was Saturday, so the mechanic's shop was closed for the weekend. I had to wait until Monday to go over there. I went  Monday morning and told them about the problem. They said it sounded like the starter motor had died. What should I do? Call your insurance company and have the card towed over here this afternoon or tomorrow. I decided to wait a day, hoping the car would miraculously start if I continued trying. It didn't. I called the insurance company that afternoon.

On Tuesday morning, the guy from the insurance company came over. He tried to start the car. He listened carefully and said: It's the battery. Let me get my battery charger out of the truck. When he did and he tried, the Citroën started immediately. It purred like a kitten. He said the battery was still good but didn't have enough juice to start up the engine. He told me to keep it running, drive it for 15 or 20 minutes, and then turn it off. It would start right back up. He was right.

It was our mechanic who sold us that battery just three years ago. Why it failed was and is a mystery. The "old" battery was okay, the mechanic said. He said we just need to start it up and drive it for 15 or 20 minutes at least once every month or two. I'm afraid we had already been doing that over the past three years. I don't think I've ever had a car battery failure so early in any other car I've owned. Of course, when we lived in California I did a long commute by car several days a week. Wait didn't in his car because it was simpler for him to take public transit most of the time. The battery in his car never failed.

So I went ahead and bought a new battery. The mechanic installed it. Right this minute, I have to go out and try to start the Citroën after it has spent the night outdoors. It's pretty cold this morning, about 5ºC = 40ºF. I'll be right back... It started. I guess the other battery was somehow defective.

 

Banana Pecan Cake

with maple syrup

 

For the topping (optional)

15 or 20 banana chips (dried banana slices)

15 or 20 pecan halves
1 Tbsp. maple syrup

 

Make the topping by putting the listed ingredients in a small bowl and mixing them together. Set them aside. 

For the cake
1 cup (215 g) flour 

2½ tsp. baking powder

¼ tsp. bicarbonate of soda
1 pinch of salt

8 Tbsp. (75 g) butter, softened

½  cup (110 g) sugar "soft brown" or "raw, called cassonade in French

2 eggs, beaten
450 grams (1 lb.) of bananas, weighed in their skins (about four small bananas)
75 g (½ cup) chopped pecans
2 Tbsp. maple syrup

Preheat the oven to 180ºC (350ºF. prepare a 20-cm (8-inch) round cake pan.

 Set them aside. Peel and mash the bananas. Set them aside.

In a stand mixer, cream together the butter and sugar using the whisk attachment. Mix in the eggs one at a time. Stir in the flour, pecans, maple syrup, baking soda, and baking powder. Level the top of the batter and spoon or arrange the topping ingredients over it. Drizzle over any residual syrup over all.

Bake the cake for about an hour, covering it loosely with foil after 30 minutes. Cool the cake in the pan on a rack before serving.

 

By the time I remembered (two days later) to take a photo of the cake, we had eaten most of it.

C'est quoi comme plante ?

I don't know what plant this is that's growing and flowering in our hedge near the back gate.
If you recognize it, let me know.

Japonica

This a Japanese Quince tree (Chaenomeles japonica). I recently posted a photo of it as it looked a few days ago.
The photos above are some that I took of the same plant on March 12, 2014. Yes, 2014...

Taking the weekend off, if I can

 I don't think I'll try to post anything for a few days, as I wait for my current allergy attack to end. See my reply to comments on yesterday's post. I can't see well enough, despite my glasses and my cataract surgery a couple of years ago, to read the screen and try to post something besides typos, incomplete sentences, and a kind of alphabet soup. Maybe I'll be able to find a couple of photos to post. I haven't taken any photos recently.

Croisssants aux amandes — almond croissants

I'm thinking of making a batch of croissants aux amandes over the next few days. The weather is forecast to continue to be rainy for a while longer. And since I buy at least seven croissants, one for each day of the week, for my early-morning breakfast with 'Tasha every day, I have plenty. I buy them mostly at Intermarché, one of the three local supermarkets in the Saint-Aignan area, because I like theirs the best. They are made in the store using butter, not margarine, and I think they're pretty good. 'Tasha likes them too. I put them in the freezer when I buy them, and I heat one up in the toaster oven for breakfast every day. I tear a croissant apart and feed half of the little pieces to the dog while I eat the other half myself, with my morning tea. No jam, no jelly, no extra butter.

The pictures in this post are from March 2008, which was, I think, the last time I made croissants aux amandes. I realized about a year ago that I had been living in France for years, but I hardly ever ate a croissant any more. That seemed like a shame, so I decided to do something about it. That "something" won't change my breakfasts with 'Tasha. I'll eat the croissants aux amandes myself, and perhaps with Walt, later in the day, if he wants one.

Almond croissants are usually made using already-cooked, slightly stale croissants. In fact, they are one way French bakers use up rather than waste the day's croissants that have been baked early in the morning and haven't found a buyer. The next morning, while fresh croissants bake in the oven, the baker slices the day-old croissants and stuffs them, like a sandwich, with a filling made with eggs, sugar, and cream. Then said baker dips the filled croissants into a sugar syrup, or paints them with a brush dipped into the sugar syrup, before sprinkling slivered almonds over the top. The almonds stick to the top of the croissants and are cooked in the oven until they are nicely browned. The ones dunked in syrup can go soggy. The "painted" ones stand a better chance of getting crispier as they bake.

Arbustes = shrubs

The forsythia in our back yard is in full bloom right now. Problem is it's raining outside. I wonder if there will still be any blossoms on the bush when the rain ends later today (according to forecasts).

 

This is the plum tree at the northwest corner of our back yard. It was at its peak blossom days a couple of weeks ago. A lot of the blossoms have fallen now. I imagine the current rains and winds will blow the rest of them away.

This is, unless I'm mistaken, a Japanese quince bush. I noticed yesterday afternoon that it was really covered in red blossoms. This morning it has a lot of red blossoms but I couldn't take any photos because it was raining. Yesterday afternoon was the same.

February showers bring March flowers...

 ...Or something like that. We've had some really warm, sunny afternoons recently. It's nice not to have to bundle up before going out for the afternoon walk with Tasha. And it's nice to walk on ground that has dried out and is no longer slushy and muddy.

A French recipe for Bœuf bourguignon

 Bœuf bourguignon 

2.5 lbs. of stew beef or other tender beef
3 cups good red wine
2 level tablespoons of flour
200 grams of smoked bacon (pork belly)
2 oz. of cognac
0.5 lbs. of button mushrooms
5 tablespoons of cooking oil (olive, canola...)
75 grams of butter
salt pepper
1 large carrot
thyme and rosemary to taste

Cut the beef into 1,5-inch cubes and put them in a mixing bowl. Add 1 tablespoon of cooking oil, 4 or 5 black peppercorns, a carrot cut into disks, the thyme and rosemary, and the cognac and wine. Let all that marinate for at least 4 hours.Then take the pieces of meat out of the marinade and wipe them dry. Pour the marinade through a strainer (into a bowl).

In a thick-bottomed cooking pot, heat up the remaining (uncooked) oil with 25 grams of butter and brown the beef and bacon. Take the meats out of the pot and set them aside. Pour off and discard the cooked butter and oil. Melt 50 grams of fresh butter in the same pot. Add the to make a roux and pour in the strained marinade liquid. Bring it to the boil until it has thickened and put the beef and the bacon back into it. Cover the pot and let it cook for 2.5 hours on low heat. Fifteen minutes before the cooking time is up, wash and slice the mushrooms and add them to the pot. De-grease the the sauce and serve the bourguignon in a hot serving dish.

The recipe above is my best attempt at a translation of the French recipe I base my Bœuf bourguignon on. The original French recipe is below.

 

Making the bœuf bourguignon

Instead of marinating the beef in red wine with onions, carrots, garlic, and thyme, which many recipes call for doing, I decided to coat the meat with black pepper, a little bit of ground allspice, and litle bit of smoked, spicy paprika as a dry marinade, and let it rest for an hour. (Some recipes say it's not good to use a liquid marinade because you want the meat to be as dry as possible when you brown it.)

Next, slice an onion, crush some garlic, and fry those in a pan with some smoked pork lardons (bacon). Sprinkle a tablespoon of flour over the onions and lardons let it brown as they fry. Finally, put that mixture in the pot with the the browned beef, a cut up carrot or two, most of a bottle of dry red wine, and a splash of cognac. The liquid should just barely cover the beef and onion mixture and the flour will thicken it as it comes to a boil. Put the pot on low heat and add wine or water as needed or desired while it cooks for two or three hours.

Here's what the meat looked like after it was seared and browned in the pot. One funny thing is that in the two 1970s-era cookbooks I referred to in making this bourguignon — Monique Maine's Cuisine pour toute l'année and Ginette Mathiot's Je sais cuisiner, the two recipes are very similar, even though one never mentions onions and the other never mentions carrots. Most Beef Burgundy recipes call for both.

And here's the finished bœuf bourguignon, served with linguine and wax beans (haricots beurre). You can substitute green beans or another green vegetable as you like or want. Oh, I almost forgot to mention that you can add sliced mushrooms to the stew toward the end of the cooking time.

Beef Burgundy with beef cheeks

 

I decided a few days ago that I wanted to make beef Burgundy (boeuf bourguignon) for my birthday dinner. I went to the local butcher's (we only have one left; the other retired in January) and asked about ordering a kilogram of joue de boeuf (beef cheeks). They are supposed to be the standard when it comes to tender, succulent cuts of beef.There they are above. On the right are some smoked pork lardons, (bacon) the other meat in a Beef Burgundy. The vegetables in the stew are just onions, garlic, mushrooms, and carrots. More tomorrow...

Adventures with Tasha

Tasha is our nine-year-old Shetland sheepdog. Recently, she has started drinking more water than usual. We've been re-filling her water dishes a few times a day for two or three weeks now. Last Friday, our neighbors who live up in Blois and have a country house across the road from our house, were spending a few days here. I mentioned to one of them who is a nurse how much water Tasha had started drinking. She told me that that can be a sign of diabetes, and that we'd better get her to the vet's as soon as possible. I went to the local veterinary clinic on Monday morning to get an appointment. The woman at the front desk there asked me if I could bring the dog over that afternoon for a blood test. I was glad to do so.

The vet, a man we've known for more than 20 years now, examined Tasha and then drew some blood for the test. Walt and I had been pretty worried about the prospect of havin a diabetic dog. If it turned out to be the case, she would need frequent treatments and visits to the vet's — maybe for years. But when the vet ran tests on the blood sample. He saw no sign of diabetes. He said the thought Tasha might have a urinary tract infection. A UTI can cause a dog to need increased water intake. He prescribed antibiotics and took a urine sample to see if there was, for example, blood in her urine. He had to send the urine sample up to a lab in Blois for the analysis. We should get the results in a few days. Since we started giving her the antibiotic — it's a pill that we wrap up in some pâté. Tasha swallows the lump of pâté without chewing it, so she doesn't know she's being given medicine.)

The process of getting a urine sample from the dog was funny. The vet told me to go outside with Tasha, acompanied by one of his assistants, who was armed with a kitchen ladle of the kind we use to dip soup out of a pot and transfer it two a bowl at lunchtime. I kept Tasha on a leash and she, the vet's assistant, and I went for a walk around the yard outside to see if Tasha would be cooperative and willing to pee for us. The assistant would try to stick the ladle unter Tasha's rear end while she was peeing. Well, Tasha would have none of that. She peed a drop or, I think, two but so quickly that there was now way we were going to get the ladle under there to collect a sample. While the vet's assistant and I strategized to see how we might succeed in our task. As we talked, Tasha peed again. She was too quick for us, though. She probably wouldn't be able to pee a third time. We gave up.

When we went back into the clinic and told the vet that we had had no success, he said he'd have to get a sample directly out of Tasha's bladder using a needle and a syringe. To do that, he had to sedate her. He asked me to wait while he and two of his assistants took the dog into a back room for the procedure. He said my presence was making Tasha too nervous. I wasn't sure how to take that, but... never mind. A few minutes later the vet and the two assistants came back to the waiting room with Tasha and the sample. And with smiles on their faces.

Success! I'll share news about my own current woes for tomorrow.

The sun rising

Sunrise at
La Renaudière
outside Saint-Aignan
in central France

8:00 a.m.
27 February 2026

Forsythia

The name of this flowering shrub is the same in French as in English. One example I found on the Forvo application pronounced in English as [for-SIGH-thee-uh], but most say [for-SIH-thee-uh]. The -th- is said as in "thing" or "think", not as in "the" or "thus". In French it's pronounced something like [for-see-SYAH] with a French R and the stress on the third syllable. Ours has started blooming in our back yard now.

My plum tree

This is the tree I call "my" plum tree (mon prunier) because I grew it myself from pits, first in pots and then in the ground at the northwest corner of our back yard. It's a rustic variety that blooms in late winter or early spring. Most years, the birds get the majority of the plums, but I've had a few good harvests over the years. The plums themselves are small and not very sweet, but they make really good tarts, clafoutis, sauces, and jelly or jam.

I started the day with a bang early this morning when I got out of bed. I tripped on a rug and fell down, slamming into a wall as I hit the floor. Luckily I didn't get hurt, and Walt was able to hold me by the wrist and help me get up off the floor. I hope an accident like this one will teach me to be more careful in the future.