Recently in French Culture category: - Page 16 of 17
The Sales
There are two periods during the year when stores are allowed to have Les Soldes, or The Sales. They occur once in the winter, beginning shortly after New Years Day, while the summer soldes start in late June. Although Americans think it’s odd, the government’s official explanation is that les soldes give stores a chance to blow-out all last season’s merchandise quickly by creating a…
Paris is Degrading
According to LoI n° 2006-11 du 5 janvier 2006 d’orientation agricole, article 47… …as of January 1, 2010, all plastic bags in France will be compostable and biodegradable. The new sacks are being introduced this week as part of a campaign to promote people shopping at the outdoor markets. What a great initiative. Go France!
What They Say vs. What They Mean
When they say,“Non”, they mean, “Convince me.” When they say,“We do not take returns”, they mean,“Convince me.” When they say,“It’s not broken“, they mean,“Convince me.” When they say, “You need a prescription for that”, they mean,“Convince me.” When they say,“The restaurant is completely full”, they mean,“Please come up with a better story.” When they say,“The restaurant is completely full”, they mean,“We already have enough Americans…
Homemade Cottage Cheese Recipe
Where did I find the inspiration for this little bowl of white, creamy cheese? At the pharmacy in Paris, which are at the top of my list of favorite places to visit in the city. There’s everything you can imagine at la pharmacie, like thyme oil, Rescue Remedy, baking soda, and best of all, friendly advice. Many also advertise in their windows, pills that will…
Chouquettes: French Cream Puff Recipe
Dinner in Paris generally starts at 8 pm, especially in restaurants, and I get ravenously hungry between lunch and dinner. Parisians do dine rather late – often not until 9:30 pm or later, and that’s an awfully long stretch. So French people visit their local pâtisserie for an afternoon snack, known as le goûter, although nowadays Parisians often call it le snack. Le snack is often…
Ingredients for American Baking in Paris
Although we can’t expect things to be like ‘back home’, many of us do miss certain things that we are used to in American recipes. While French has wonderful ingredients, for bakers, it can be a challenge to adapt to new ingredients or ones that behave differently than what we’re used to. Here’s a list of commonly used baking ingredients and where you can find…
Les Carottes Rapees
You won’t often find much in the way of vegetables on the menus of many cafés in Paris. I don’t mean the over-hyped restaurants with the fancy chef names attached that the slick food magazines tend to worship. There you might find a coin of grilled zucchini, a dot of sauce, and perhaps a leaf of parsley as a carefully-draped garnish. But most of the…
Alligators and Flies
When I was a kid, it seems like everyone was wearing Lacoste polo shirts (they were also called Izod shirts back then). The shirt was introduced in 1933 and named for French tennis star René Lacoste who was nicknamed “the alligator” after winning a game bet, the prize being an alligator suitcase. The shirts came in a riot of colors during the 60’s and 70’s,…
