So We are Moving to Paris: Fresh

It's been exactly one year since I moved to France. Obviously there have been many changes, but one of the most delightful has been the evolution of our culinary habits. We went from eating out multiple nights a week to making our own pizza - sauce and dough included!

Part of the change has been due to necessity. Our little town has three friendly, but mediocre restaurants. We have a great market with high quality meats, vegetables, cheeses and breads, but we have the occasional craving for American food. We have had to resort to making those things we miss, and ventured into re-creating dishes we've discovered here. The French also use less preservatives even in their processed foods leading us to buy less food and shop more often. And if we are going to shop for everything on a weekly basis, then we might as well buy fresh ingredients and make things ourselves.

It is surprisingly easy to make things from scratch. I think there is only marginally more effort, but there is definitely more clean up. Worth it though, because you can taste the difference. We make pizza dough from scratch, the sauce as well adding herbs from our little window herb garden. Today, I had a craving for cup cakes, so I made carrot cake with honey cream cheese frosting (the recipe is for maple frosting, but I didn't have maple syrup. I had honey so I used that instead). Instead of opening a box cake mix, I just mixed the dry ingredients myself -- easy as, well, cake. Things might be different if we had kids demanding our time and attention. But we don't, so we indulge in good eating, good wine, and the luxury of living in France.

We've tried good restaurants every now and again, but more and more people (french and long term expats) tell us that it is really hard to find a good restaurant that is worth the money. Our restaurant outings however are good for discovering good wines that we might not hear about otherwise.

I'm still deciding if the French museums are any better than those in DC. They are plentiful around here, and the French take their culture and history seriously. The museums and cultural sites are as plentiful as their vineyards. And like restaurants it is best to do some research before going to those off the beaten path. They are rarely free (unless it's the first Sunday of the month), and some are not worth the entrance fee.

All in all we are enjoying our lives here in France. We've met some extraordinary people. Sampled some good wine. We are still working on the language. Thomas has progressed enough to be able to scold the woman at the Marie for not being helpful. And my level is where it was when I finished grad school. The dogs are adjusting well, although I am pretty sure Scout prefers the US (more grassy spots there). But she is slowly getting used to the new life. I still don't understand why the French do certain things, but I've learned to just let it pass and move on. Because ici, c'est comme ça.