"La Chaleur, La Chaleur!" a constant refrain heard around Paris on this hot and humid Sunday at the end of August...but the heat and humidity doesn't bother me, I actually find it somewhat invigorating, call me weird but I enjoy it! An early morning run along the Seine and through the Tuileries, allowed me the opportunity to catch the city of lights before it came to life...The next time I stepped foot onto the streets of Paris around half past ten in the morning, the city was full of life, at least for a Sunday morning that it is.
The idea of an afternoon picnic with rose, fresh French bread and a delectable selection of cheeses beckoned but instead I had to make a trip to the suburbs to visit one of my oldest friends who has recently given birth to her first child...a little anecdote from our chat about Fromagical and my love of cheese, wine, food, locavorism, and decreasing the distance food and beverages have to travel to reach your plate...My friend who has lived all of her life in France, granted has been to North and South America, all around Europe and to South Africa, asked me, does America actually make cheese? Or is all of it imported?
Of course to which I answered that although America may be centuries behind the French, English, Italians, and others, there are plenty of very delicious cheeses in a plethora of styles crafted by American cheesemakers...yes we maybe have catching up to do, and we may not have the seven plus centuries of history of a cheese like Pont L'Eveque, but we sure are experimenting and constantly creating new cheeses, perfecting our current recipes, drawing on inspiration from the French and more. So out with the cans of Cheez-whiz and Kraft singles that parts of the world imagine Americans to enjoy and in with the farmstead artisanal cheeses.
Don't get me wrong -- there is absolutely nothing in the world like a perfectly aged goat's milk cheese from the Loire Valley with a glass of Sancerre and some fresh crusty French bread, but that doesn't mean when you are in the US, you have to settle for strictly imported cheeses. Cheese in France knocks your socks off that's for sure!
Moving along from our cheese conversation to a perfectly simple dinner at one of my favorite small neighborhoody cafes in the Marais. There is really nothing quite like enjoying a glass of wine or an aperitif and people watching on a Parisian corner. It is the height of relaxation -- watching the world go by and at dinner tonight, I did just that. Here's to more Parisian adventures to come...bonne nuit!
No comments:
Post a Comment