Book Club: Week 4

“The only time to eat diet food is while you’re waiting for the steak to cook” – Julia Child

Welcome back to another week of My Life in France by Julia Child with Alex Prud’homme.  Is anyone else annoyed that there are no translations for the French words and expressions?  I am. And there is just one more teeny annoying thing.  She talks about living off of their meager government wages, yet has the money to rent fabulous apartments and dine out with famous French chefs.  Trust fund?  She had the money and connections to be able to live out her passion, but for some reason, downplays this fact.

“Noncooks think it’s silly to invest two hours’ work in two minutes’ enjoyment; but if cooking is evanescent, so is the ballet.” – Julia Child

Oh, who cares.  She’s still an amazing woman.  And she is a woman obsessed.  Did you know that she tried her strawberry soufflé 28 times before she got it right?  That is determination and passion. She’s also an incredibly adventurous gastronome. Did you like this merry description? – “The Patron beautifully and swiftly carved off legs, wings and breast, and served each person an entire bird, including the back, feet, head and neck (when eating game, you nibble everything).” I suppose when it’s served with chopped bacon, butter and wine I might take a nibble myself.  Maybe.

gas·tro·nome // (gstr-nm) also gas·tron·o·mer (g-strn-mr)

n. A connoisseur of good food and drink; a gourmet. Also called gastronomist.*

Her passion continues as Paul and Julia move to Marseilles and she searches for the ultimate French bouillabaisse.  Her description of the hard-headed women giving her their own version of the true bouillabaisse had me thinking of my aunts and their wild rice hot dishes (that’s casserole to you non-Minnesotans).   The idea confirms our freedom to throw out the recipe card and use what we have.  Each version will have its own special flair – different seafood for bouillabaisse, ham or chicken for the hot dish.  Don’t you think Julia is rolling in her grave to hear me compare wild rice hot dish with a French bouillabaisse?

Keep reading – let’s find out if she gets that manuscript published.  That’s kind of like waiting to see what happens at the end of Miracle (on ice). Will they will the game?  It doesn’t help that I have a copy of Mastering the Art of French Cooking sitting next to my computer.

If you’re feeling like a fabulous home-cooked French meal but don’t want to spend two hours in your kitchen, you must check out FoodieMama’s recipes.  They are divine (trust me, I’ve tried them).  And the true test . . . my three little eaters loved the food, too!  Thanks, Kelly.!!

Next Assignment: Chapters 5, 6 and 7