Wednesday Night Supper

Growing up we went to the church for dinner on Wednesday nights followed by choir. It's a tradition that I rarely think about really, but it was a fairly huge part of my childhood decorated with a remarkable amount of people and fun memories.  The world, working in its intriguing way has kept me going with the pattern of eating out of the house on Wednesday nights (come to think of it, my friend Caroline and I had a running date Wednesday evenings last year) 

This year, I spend my Wednesdays eating at the home of one of my colleagues, Odile. I go in the afternoon to her home to babysit/speak English with her kids.  She has three boys Elliot (12), Felix (9), and Antoine (7) all three of them speak English so well that sometimes I forget I'm in France, then dinner time comes along and the strangest thing happens. Odile will put something like grapefruit or beets on the table and all of the boys will eat them ferociously. As I have spent quite a bit of time with American children I find this fervor for healthy things to be perplexing. Alas, that's the beauty of the French food culture, meals and mealtimes are sacred, don't think about messing with any of it.  Here is a typical French day: 

Breakfast is bread with butter and jam, parents will drink a warm beverage like coffee or tea and children get hot chocolate. Lunch is at noon and has more than one course, generally ended with yogurt and fruit then a coffee or tea. Children get a "gouter" or snack at 4:00 and dinner is around 7:30 or 8:00 also eaten in courses. 

Between meal times the kitchen is closed. As in, no snacking! When I first discovered this I think my little American heart stopped beating for a bit. At home I thrive on snacks but as this year I am doing my darndest to BE French, no snacks it is. This has not been easy even as I type I'm thinking of the amazingly good almond chocolate I have in the kitchen, one little square doesn't count, right?  

Odile has made me feel better about my little desires for snack in the afternoon by admitting that she has been known to sit and munch a bit with her kids at 4. I guess you can do that when the first course of your meal is half of a grapefruit followed by slow-cooked cabbage and apples with curried pork. 

I told her last night that I am going to start writing down what we eat for dinner every night and make a book out if it, she laughed and said "Oh Claire, that will be a very short book." however, I disagree she is so creative in the kitchen, yet it's all so simple.  Each meal we've eaten I've left thinking that was delicious and why the hell have I never thought to have balsamic dressed stringed carrots followed by an onion tart? Or Lentils as a main course? I sometimes find myself spending hours in the kitchen for an overly complicated dish that generally is not worth repeating, but everything I've had at Odile's she has made in less than 30 minutes and I've come home to try to replicate. For example, she makes the most delicious creamy balsamic dressing and I was fortunate enough two weeks ago to walk into the kitchen as she was pulling it together. So I stuck around to watch as she made it. It was an egg with olive oil, huile de tournesol (sunflower oil), balsamic, some dijon, and honey she pulled out the immersion blender and voila! No measuring, no fuss,  just delicious. I think the key to cooking the way she does is to simply be light, with your ingredients and soul. She lets each ingredient stand out on it's own, pasta isn't covered in a thick sauce, vegetables aren't mixed together bathed in dressing. She doesn't stress about dinner and it is reflected in each thing that is put on the table.  

If I haven't made it abundantly clear, I LOVE my French Wednesday night suppers, a tradition I hope continues.