A Taste of Garlic

That was the week…

that was the week That was the week... because we all love reading blogs about life in FranceEvery Tuesday I intend to do a quick review of some of the posts from the last week that have made me smile, made me chuckle or, even…. just made me think.

Some of these you may have seen yourselves.

And some of them you may have missed.

I don’t think of these in any competitive sense at all.

This isn’t a top-ten listing.

They’re merely the posts that have stuck in my head.

that was the week That was the week... because we all love reading blogs about life in France1). I was hoping to award Brooke at Sky Machines the Al Capone Chicago Gangster of the Week Award for her post entitled you want to see crime? but, unfortunately, some bugger has stolen it!

I have a sneaky suspicion that, for the rest of my life, every time I meet someone from Minneapolis, Chicago or, in fact, anywhere in the United States, I am doomed to say…. “City of crime, eh? Look out everyone!”

And for that, Brooke….

I thank you from the heart of my bottom!

that was the week That was the week... because we all love reading blogs about life in France2). Sarah at St. Bloggie de Riviere was having a bit of a vampire alert when she said Beware Your Blood.

At least, that’s what I thought she was going on about.

And that would have been interesting – a vampire attack (or, preferably, lots of vampire attacks) in Montpellier would have really been something to blog about!

Unfortunately Sarah was just explaining that there must have been a mix up at the clinic with her blood test results as it would appear that she has too much of this and too much of that in the red stuff that courses through her veins!

As I told her, it’s simple! The problem with her lifestyle/diet is TOO MUCH MODERATION!

Too much moderation is not good for you!

Take it from me; you only live once. You might as well enjoy yourself!

A nice healthy Andouille is what you need, Sarah!

that was the week That was the week... because we all love reading blogs about life in France3). David Lebovitz tickled my tastebuds this week (as always) with his ode to Le Sandwich!

Actually, I think this is one of the best bits of writing that David has done for a long time (and that’s saying something, bearing in mind the normal high quality of his writing) and would make a great introduction to this great man for those of you who havem’t had the great pleasure of reading his great restaurant reviews.

And I am sorry for the repeated use of great but I just wanted to see if I could get away with using great four times in the same sentence; it’s something that I haven’t done for a long time and I’ve been patiently waiting my chance to do so!

Davis’s little essay about the humble sandwich made come over all hungry and I had to rush to the kitchen to prepare a little Pig’s Trotter and Mustard masterpiece!

I love David’s writing but sometimes it does seem a million miles away from the world I live. in. Which is here – Rural Brittany, my favourite bit of France.

This post was nicely down to earth – even if he eats his sandwich just round the corner from The Ritz!

that was the week That was the week... because we all love reading blogs about life in France4). Carol at Paris Breakfasts deserves a mention for her exhaustive study on Yr Fav Paris Salon de Thes.

I imagine that it must be a very hard and difficult job – reviewing all those tea-shops and, as such, we ought to give Carol a big hand of applause!

I used to want to be a charcuterie reviewer for a living but could never find anyone prepared to offer me that job!

Carol… lovely photographs, a lovely article – hope you feel better soon.

that was the week That was the week... because we all love reading blogs about life in France5). And Jacqui at The French Village Diaries has A Sad Tale to tell us on Wednesday.

Apparently, Hay, her 7 year old rabbit, passed on to wherever it is that bunnies hop off to.

I agree that 7 years is a pretty good innings for a rabbit!

If I had a rabbit I don’t think it would last 7 months before I introduced it to Mr Cockpot and Mr Mustard but then…

I am aware that not everyone considers their pets to be edible delights!

Jacqui, I am sorry for your loss – I imagine that Hay had a good life and must have enjoyed every moment of those 7 years!

that was the week That was the week... because we all love reading blogs about life in France

OK – now all that stuff is out of the way, let’s get on to the really important stuff…

Of course, it’s Awards Time!

And, I am proud to announce a new winner of the Blog of the Week Award!

This is awarded to the Blog post that has tickled my fancy the most during the past seven days.

that was the week That was the week... because we all love reading blogs about life in FranceThis week’s Blog of the Week has been won by Kirsty at You had me at Bonjour for her detailed reportage of a Blogapalooza in Provence.

Now, for those of you who don’t know what a blogapalooza is (or, for those like me who don’t get invited to social events), a Blogapalooza is where a bunch of girlie bloggers get together in a restaurant and gossip like mad for a few hours.

At the blogapalooza in question well known blogging queens such as Tanya, B, Sara Louise, Aidan, Charley, Piglet and Kirsty got together to eat… “duck risotto, salmon pasta, warm goat’s cheese salads and veal. Not to mention the all-you-can-eat carpaccio!”

I noticed that there wasn’t a pig’s trotter to be found anywhere on the menu – perhaps that’s not the local delciacy in Provence that it is in rural Brittany.

I also notice that some of the husbands were there too. Perhaps they were drafted in to ensure that the bread fight didn’t get too riotous?

I did here a little rumour that when the restaurant learned that Sara Louise was going to be attending, they wanted to use paper plates and plastic glasses. Luckily they allowed the staff to lay proper grown-up place settings once Sara Louise promised to keep Fifty in her handbag!

And am I the only person to notice the bottle of Tomato Ketchup in front of Piglet? Must be a pregnant craving? Perhaps best if we don’t mention it? After all, my own mum had a craving for coal when I was a little piggie waiting to be born!

Kirsty, if you’d like to place your award on your blog sidebar just email me and I’ll send you the code.

P.S. Thanks for the lingerie shot! Much appreciated!

New blogs on the block….

A new blog that I have only just come across is the annotated zeotrope by a charming authoress called Pacifica.

Pacifica lives in Pau, Aquitaine and told me… “that although I am living in France, I do not always write about France. Out of my 25 posts up so far, many have been about France, but some have also been about Venezuela, Spain, England and California so far…and some posts are not about places at all but personal experiences that maybe transcend place altogether.”

And that’s fine – there’s no rule that says every blog has to be about Fosses Septiques and recipes for Pigs Trotters and this blog is exceptionally well written. I like it a lot!

And French Photo du Jour looks interesting.

No 2CV photo et but I’m sure it’s only a matter of time?

Fil de la vie is a newish blog that has only just popped up on my screen.

Cat describes her blog as…. “Musings of a reluctant transplant in search of ‘joie de vivre’ in France.”

I’ve had a little delve and I have to say that I’ve noticed a healthy amount of rather yummy recipes!

Breaking news….

that was the week That was the week... because we all love reading blogs about life in France Emily at and then i moved to france seems to get asked… Are you English? rather a lot.

A difficult one to answer – especially if you don’t want people thinking that you’re British or German?

Best use Emily’s solution and just say… “Je suis Canadienne.”

I think I’ll give that one a go myself!

And Laura at The Everyday Life of a Young American Girl in France was recently asked… Parlez-vous Anglais?

She says… “would be lying if I said the French language hasn’t left a mark on my abilities to speak correctly.”

And I find the exact same thing – only, in my case, my ability to speak properly is in inverse proportion to the amount of Ricard consumed.

Thankfully though, I’ve never (yet?) managed to ask for a shrimp to match my shirt in a clothes shop (although, on one memorable occasion, I did manage to ask for a pair of socks to go with my oysters in a poissonerie in Boulogne – and very tasty they were too!)

Which puts me one up on Mlle Norvégienne who asked “Do you have a shrimp that goes with this shirt?” when she visited the Boss store in Grenoble.

Now for the rest of the awards….

The That’s Very Nice but How Do You Cook It? Award goes to Leesa at News from France for The Tepezcuintle – In Costa Rica…

I’m not sure of the indigenous method of cooking those little beasts but I would be tempted to use a traditional French recipe for Hamster or Guinea Pig and just adjust the timings according to size?

Oh, and for an of you who have been wondering….

Yes, Leesa is still sunning herself in Costa Rica whilst we’re all freezing out knockers/knackers (delete as appropriate) off!

Meanwhile, the fiercely fought over I’m A Lumberjack and I’m OK Award goes to the Barley family and friends at La Vie en Foussais for their They came, we sawed, we conquered in which a wheelbarrow is fixed and various trees are pruned.

And, just in case you were wondering….

Cold beer and bacon butties were served for lunch which is the only acceptable reason for anyone wanting to spend their weekend doing the aforementioned wheelbarrow fixing and/or tree pruning!

A special prize had to be made up in a hurry for Elizabeth’s 12 year old daughter at Elizabeth Destouches Paintings who absolutely stole the show with her polar bear displayed in My talented daughter.

Now, I don’t know how cold it is in Picardy at the moment but it’s certainly cold enough for Polar Bears here in rural Brittany!

I’m sure I saw one the other morning?

The Cheesy Recipe of the Week Award gets shared between Delana at Du Jour for Cheese Louise…I’m off to Switzerland! and MilkJam for her cheesecake “french” style.

I loved the simplicity of both Delana’s Tartiflette recipe and MilkJam’s Cheesecake one – well done girls… much more of this, please!

Amy75 at C’est la me… get’s the Award for Trying to explain Tipping in France for her post on (surprisingly) A Tip on Tipping in France.

A well needed guide to this tricky business – congratulations, Amy75!

that was the week That was the week... because we all love reading blogs about life in FranceA wonderfully special Award for the Best Ever Travel Guide to the Lore Valley goes to MJ at An American Mom in Paris for her Loire Valley Misinformation (you want to read the bits about who had a goat orgy in the big green bedroom and who shoved who into the giant bread oven!)

And who knew that… “that Leonardo DiCaprio invented the life preserver and the suspension bridge, and had an affair with King Francois I who may or may not have liked to be called “Uncle Frankie” in the bedroom?”

And I think I might just have concentrated a little bit harder in history lessons if my teacher had explained… “Chenonceau was pretty darn incredible. There were many large rooms which we determined could only be used for goat orgies. We were also pretty sure “The Bedroom of Five Queens” was waaaay dirty.”

And just for the people who didn’t win an award this week….

Here are the famous Awards for not Winning an Award!

In a desperate effort to win the Weirdest Pet of the Week Award Merci Paris told us all about My first pet in Paris: la coccinelle

However, the judging panel weren’t convinced that a ladybird could actually be a pet and were amazed that anyone could be mad enough (even in mad, mad Paris) to pay 38 euros for something so small that it wouldn’t even make a decent amuse bouche when it comes to the end of its natural life!

One of the judges was even heard to exclaim… “Good grief, man! You could get two and a half litres of Ricard for the price of that bug!”

So, Merci Paris – it’s an Award for not Winning an Award This Week for you!

Poulette at Poulette Paris almost won an Award for Dying on the Blogging Field for her post Am I Dead?

But then one of the judges noticed her chest moving and realised that she just just pretending to be dead so we put away the decent award and got out an Award for not Winning an Award This Week for Poulette!

Honestly, the lengths some people will go to in order to win an award!

And the stench of desperation was clearly in the air when Lost in Cheeseland made a spirited attempt to win the 2CV Post of the Week Award for her Weekend Recovery./p>

She even went as far as to call the car Awesome!

Unfortunately for her, one of the judges spotted that the car was, in fact, an Ami 8 and, even though it was blue (the blue ones generally go faster, you know), the extra body weight tended to hinder the measly 602cc two cylinder air-cooled engine’s ability to perform!

Although, and not a lot of people know this, a Wankel engined derivative of this car was made (and you try saying that when you’re on the wrong end of two and a half litres of Ricard!) – I think they called it something silly like, Sport or Special?

Lost in Cheeseland, nice try but it’s an Award for not Winning an Award This Week for you, I’m afraid!

Lyndsey at A French Affair attempted to win some sort of Award for her valiant study of French Toilets described in Faire Pipi.

However, as she obviously didn’t have the guts to try one of the creepy, free-standing, self-cleaning toilets in Lyon, I’m afraid it’s only an Award for not Winning an Award This Week for her!

Lyndsey, these days you really do have to get your feet wet if you want to win a decent award!

All the best

that was the week That was the week... because we all love reading blogs about life in France

If you like a Taste of Garlic, why not share it with your friends on Facebook

Links to go here

categories That was the week.... | March 8, 2011

10 Comments

  • By Gigi, March 8, 2011 @ 1:09 pm

    I totally agree with your comment on Sarah’s Blood post, Keith. Too much moderation is a dangerous thing…

  • By PigletinFrance, March 8, 2011 @ 4:40 pm

    So much catching up to do! I really should be catching up instead of having lunches!

    Yes, you caught me out with the ketchup, fancy requesting it in France! I had hoped no-one had noticed, I guess that didn’t work out! I’m having serious cravings for chips and ketchup and don’t have chips at home so…

    No pigs trotter on the menu because I was attending I am sure! Otherwise there would have been a riot and no paper plates or glasses would have saved restaurant staff from a rioting piglet!

  • By laura, March 8, 2011 @ 5:23 pm

    I love the animated GIF thingy for all of us people having trouble with language!

  • By Sara Louise, March 9, 2011 @ 4:52 am

    I do carry Fifty around in my handbag! It’s very large :-)

  • By Poulette, March 10, 2011 @ 9:20 pm

    Was it my winking at the audience that gave me away?

  • By Kelsey, March 11, 2011 @ 6:59 am

    Just thought you should know “Faire Pipi” was written by Lindsey, not Lyndsey.

  • By Keith Eckstein, March 15, 2011 @ 8:10 pm

    Whoops…

    My bad!

    Personally, I blame it on a loose nut on the keyboard!

    All the best

    Keith

  • By Keith Eckstein, March 15, 2011 @ 8:11 pm

    Possibly……

  • By Kelsey, May 12, 2011 @ 8:26 am

    Haha…technology is getting pretty tricky these days :)

Other Links to this Post

  1. Getting back into my groove (with a frog) | Grow Paint Cook — September 19, 2011 @ 9:41 pm

RSS feed for comments on this post. TrackBack URI

Leave a comment

Rss Feed Tweeter button Facebook button Technorati button Reddit button Digg button Stumbleupon button