Tasting Tuesday

 

 

No need to leave Paris to take a trip through France.

 

Above: cheeses from every region heaped high at a Montmartre fromagerie

A buvette

(click to enlarge)

 

A simple lunch in the SoPi district.

Buvette Paris

28 rue Henry Monnier 75009

 

*** 

 

A buvette is a small eatery or counter serving light meals and drinks, often found in train stations or theaters.

 

 

 

Bonne Année

 

The evening began with an intimate champagne apèro.

- Bonne Année / Happy New Year 2024 -

 

🎉

 

 

 

 

Wine Wednesday

 A casual evening of tasting: good food and fine wine

 

Above: l'art de vivre in a Paris apartment

 

Below: surrounded by the work of our host, a local artist, who paints with wine

 

Wine Wednesday

 

 First came the wine...

 

Then came the cheese.

 

Cheese please

Raw milk cheeses at a local fromagerie.

 

 

A planche in winter

 

Warming up a Paris afternoon with a classic planche mixte - selected French cheeses and charcuteries - and wine.

 

Cheese tease

A café cheeseboard of five classic French cheeses with toasts, butter and, to assure un bon transit, a simple mixed salad.

 

A Paris escape #6

 

 

 

The Cantal, our last stop, was a refreshing few days... moreso knowing Paris was in the middle of a heatwave. The region, renown for its tranquil beauty, gets its moment of fame almost every year during the Tour de France and is on the Auvergne Cheese Route.

 

 Above: Puy Mary (yes that's snow), an ancient volcano

 

Below: on The Cheese Route; contented cows; at hotel in Salers

 

***

 

Mad Cow Dept: How to Prevent an Attack by a Cow

 

(Short version) 

Due to the location of their eyes - on the sides of the head - cows do not have a straight line of vision, so make sure they respond to your voice. 

 

If you detect an aggressive cow continue to move calmly and do not make direct eye contact.

 

 Keep your body facing the cow at all times. Do not turn your back or run.

 

And finally, if you are attacked, striking the cow directly on the nose will deter it. (As some of you know this actually happened to me, and the cow lumbered away.) - BPJ

 

 

(Long version) 

When it comes to preventing an attack by a cow, there are several key steps you can take to ensure your safety in such a situation. First and foremost, it’s important to understand a little bit about how cows perceive the world around them. Due to the positioning of their eyes on the sides of their heads, cows don’t have a perfectly straight line of sight like humans do. This means their vision is more focused on the sides rather than directly ahead, which can sometimes make them a bit unpredictable. To work with this, it’s a good idea to make sure the cow is aware of your presence by using your voice. Speak calmly and clearly, allowing the cow to hear you and respond to the sound, which can help them feel less startled or threatened as you approach or move nearby.

 

Next, if a cow starts to show signs of aggression - maybe it’s pawing the ground, lowering its head, or giving an intense stare. In this case, the best thing you can do is keep moving, but do so in a calm and collected manner. There’s no need to rush or panic here; slow and steady is the name of the game. While you’re moving, be mindful not to make direct eye contact with the cow. Staring straight into its eyes might be interpreted as a challenge or a threat in the bovine world, and you definitely want to avoid escalating the situation unnecessarily. Instead, keep your gaze soft and averted while still staying aware of what the cow is doing.

 

Another critical point to remember is how you position yourself during this encounter. Always, always keep your body facing the cow. This doesn’t mean you need to stand there stiff as a board, but you should avoid turning your back on the animal completely. Turning away or, worse yet, running off in the opposite direction could trigger the cow’s instincts to chase or charge after you, and that’s a scenario you want to avoid. By keeping your front toward the cow, you’re showing that you’re present and aware, which can help maintain a sense of control over the interaction. Plus, it keeps you in a better position to react if things start to get dicey.

 

And finally - here’s the big one - if despite your best efforts, the cow decides to launch an attack, don’t panic. You’ve got one solid move up your sleeve to deter it. If the cow comes at you, aim a firm, direct hit right on its nose. Yes, you read that right - give it a good smack on the snout! The nose is a sensitive spot for cows, and a solid tap there can startle or discourage the animal enough to back off and rethink its approach. But that's a last-resort tactic, of course, one worth keeping in mind just in case things take a turn for the worse. And btw this can apply to various homo sapiens who cross your path as well. Stay safe. - BPJ

 

L'apéro du jeudi

Radishes are back in season.

 Above: w/bacon-wrapped prunes, piment d'espelette chips, AOC French cheeses

Drinks: kirs bretons (crème de cassis + chilled apple cider)

 ***

 Today is National Cheese Day (March 27 in France) 

The cheese snuggled into its tiny box (below) is Le Petit Gaugry, a delectable raw milk discovery I made years ago staying in a village in Burgundy. Despite its size, it packs a punch, possessing all the character of the region's heady Époisses, but ripened for weeks in Marc de Bourgogne, an eau de vie distilled in oak vats, giving it an amber hue. - BPJ

 

Say cheese

Palate (and palette) pleasing AOC cheeses from a local fromagerie enhance the stay-at-home experience.

Truffling

Cheeses marbled with aromatic black truffe have taken over Paris fromageries and are gravitating to many more places besides the apéro planche: fondues, omelets, mac-cheese, pizza, risotto....

 

Below: grilled (truffle) cheese sandwiches

 

 

Cheese whisperer

 

 

Lowering his voice in reverie he will suggest the perfect cheeses for a weeknight planche.

Cheese is always a good idea

French cheeses and champagne.

A safe distance

Three plates away from each other.

***

Merci Caroline

Evening apéros

Well before the lockdown, we'd made it a tradition to have a pre-dinner apéritif almost every evening, whether chez nous, chez friends, on a café terrace in nice weather or at a favorite wine bar, wherever we are. And the drink needn't be alcohol - it could be a fruit juice, iced tea or sparkling water, with accompaniments of anything from peanuts, chips, pretzels or olives to cheeses, sausages or more elaborate canapés. - BPJ

Above: dried mango, almonds, whole wheat grissini, two kinds of cheeses

Below: yesterday's gin tonics, cheeses, spicy cashews, cured sausage w/fennel, dark German bread

 

Let them eat cheese

A neighborhood cheese shop runneth over.

For every cheese

... there is a wine. 

 

Above: small plates of AOC / AOP cheeses are meticulously paired w/quality wines at a tiny wine bar behind the Montmartre cemetery

Below: selection of charcuteries from France and Spain

  
What we had:

- Cheese: aged cheddar, honey onion chutney, toasted pine nuts

Wine: Thokozani Shiraz Mourvédre Viognier 2018 - shown 

- Cheese: brébis from the Aveyron, fresh peach, chives, poppy seeds

Wine: Catherine & Pierre Breton Epaulé Jeté Vouvray blanc AOC

- Cheese: Gorgonzola DOP, crushed hazelnuts, dried apricots

Wine: Coteaux du Layon Les Terriades Prestige

***

Le Discret

3 rue Eugène Carrière 75018

Some like it hot

Beat the heat in The City of Love and hole up à deux for a sizzling night (or two - why not?) at one of the capital's many air-conditioned hotels - ask if the hotel is climatisé or has climatisation. Indoor swimming pool, cocktail bar and spa a plus.

Above: afternoon room service

 ***

The heat is on. Again. But you won't hear that refrain on everyone's lips these days, "Il fait chaud!", coming from me. In comparison to summers I've known in Arizona (dry), New York (humid), the South of France chez my French in-laws (cigales chirping in unison each evening), Morocco (early errand runs) and Spain (¡Ay, que calor!) - and how about those five weeks in India? - Paris' brief canicules seem almost tame. It helps living in an airy apartment / artist's loft in always-slightly-cooler Montmartre in a well-insulated historic building. A plus: an interior courtyard with shade trees reduces the need for AC; a fan will suffice as temperatures rise. 

 

Some tips for keeping your cool in Paris:

Sip water throughout the day (skip ice-cold and sugary drinks), take cool showers, avoid caffeine, heavy physical activity, and the métro. Uber and G7 taxis are your friends - they usually have AC. Get your errands and sightseeing done early while it’s still fresh out, stay out of direct sunlight, and if possible, nap during hottest hours (in other words, copy cats). More: libraries, parks, gardens, churches - search: air-conditioned spaces open to the public Paris. Come evening, treat yourself to a tall cool one.

 

Pro tips: The city’s many chocolate shops, larger movie theaters and supermarkets (Carrefour, Champion, G20, Franprix etc.) all have strong AC - sometimes so strong the cashiers are wearing sweaters. Keep shutters and windows closed during the day to block out the heat. Or, if you can, head to the mountains. - BPJ

 

***

Fans / ventilateurs
  Space air conditioners / climatiseurs available at:

Darty, Castorama, Conforama, BHV, Bricorama, Mr. Bricolage, Leroy Merlin, Lidl

No room for dessert

Unseasonably warm weather and an evening stroll on the Left Bank led to:

- Drinks in a beautiful passage with

- Glorious planche mixte (charcuteries, cheeses) to accompany then

- Mediterranean mussels and prawns à l'ail