A vegetarian-friendly photo taken on the island of Cres in Croatia. (Herbivores may stop reading at this point… and check back to the next edition).
News: I will be joining two authors at the American Library in Paris, to talk about "fish-out-of-water experiences" living in la belle France. If, by chance, you are in Paris on Oct. 7th, we would love to see you at this meet-up.
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viande (vee-ahnd) noun, feminine
: meat
la viande hachée = ground meat
la viande séchée = dried meat
la viande fumée = smoked meat
…do you know of any more viande terms or expressions? Thank you for sharing them with us in the comments box.
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France and Monaco Rentals.
Exclusive Vacation Rental Properties throughout France.
Audio File: Listen to my daughter pronounce these French words: Download Viande
Homme seul est viande aux loups. Man alone is meat to the wolves. (or: The solitary man is wolves' meat). Medieval French proverb
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A Day in a French Life…
by Kristin Espinasse
You may have noticed that I never write about meat. No, I am not a vegetarian: I am a people pleaser.
Having
noticed that some of the readers of this word journal are herbivores, I
have tried to be sparing with certain "food for thought"
(careful to leave out family recipes for foie gras… or Provençal daube). But, in theme with the latest post,
I will press on, or persevere, as my Grandma Audrey used to say, and
try to diminish–if I can never quite obliterate–some of the more
glaring personality "pépins"* that continue to torment me in my 41st
year, namely, wanting to be all things to all people–whether that be a
born again vegan or an extrovert.
At the butcher's yesterday I asked about steak marinade. Just as expected, the boucher was baffled. En haussant ses épaules,* he listened to me repeat my request (this time taking care with my accent) : mah ree naahd poor stek?
"De la marinade pour steak?" he questioned, in a charming Provençal accent. "Non, il n'y a pas". Next, he added, "il n'y a pas besoin!"*
I
sensed the butcher's pride but couldn't help feeling it was misplaced.
After all, the best steaks come from Texas! And even Texans use marinade
(all this is supposition on my part. I have never been to Texas, but it
seems to me that the steaks of my Arizona childhood were from there… then again, maybe the cows were from Flagstaff?).
I did not share my next thought with the butcher: French steaks need marinade! A vrai dire,* I have never had a melt-in-your-mouth filet in the time that I've been in France. Not even boeuf Charolais*–purported to be one of the best, could rival the buttery filets at Ruth's Chris steakhouse back in Phoenix.
"In sixteen years I have not had a marinated steak," I informed the butcher, adding "not since moving to France.
So I thought I'd finally ask — as it has been so long." The butcher
looked at me while my daughter, hidden now–three store aisles away–tried
to get my attention : "Maman. MA-man. We need to get some cereal…."
When
pressed, the butcher offered this recette*: "alors, un filet d'huile d'olive et des herbes de Provence."* I knew he'd say that, that's so typically southern French.
"MAMAN, il faut qu'on y aille!"*
My daughter seemed embarrassed, so I cut short my nostalgie* and my
questioning… with an offer: "If I ever come across a bottle of good
marinade, I'll bring you one!"
"Merci beaucoup," replied the
butcher, to which I answered "de rien," only, when I looked up, I
realized he wasn't addressing me–but thanking a colleague who had
just delivered a new roll of wax paper. And just like that, caught up in our
own dreams, we wake to find the world–even la France–continuing on with its own, fast-paced functioning.
***
Comments, corrections–and stories of your own–are welcome and appreciated in the comments box.
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~~~~~~~~~~French Vocabulary~~~~~~~~~~
le pépin (m) = snag, hitch; en haussant ses épaules = in raising his shoulders; il n'y a pas besoin = there's no need; à vrai dire = truth be told; le boeuf (m) charolais = beef from the Charolais (AOC) appellation; la recette (f) = recipe; alors, un filet d'huile d'olive et des herbes de Provence = well, then, a dribble of olive oil and some herbs of Provence; maman, il faut qu'on y aille! = mom, we need to get going!
Shopping:
The Life of a Simple Man – I reread and reloved this book over summer vacation. You might read it in English or read it in French.
Paris door mat: makes an original gift for a francophile.
Olive Oil Infused With Herbs de Provence (thyme, rosemary, basil and tarragon): a favorite!
In film: "In Babette's Feast, a woman flees the French civil war and lands
in a small seacoast village in Denmark, where she comes to work for two
spinsters, devout daughters of a puritan minister. After many years,
Babette unexpectedly wins a lottery, and decides to create a real
French dinner–which leads the sisters to fear for their souls." –Amazon
* * *
Update: the puppies, born on Sunday, are doing well! Braise is a real maman poule and is looking after her lait-swigging litter round the clock. More later… for now, enjoy the pictures.
… and look at this little "lamb". (PS: in case you were wondering, all babies were issued from Sam).
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Congratulations to you and Braise on the beautiful puppies.
With all due respect to your vegan and vegetarian fans (not to mention the Texas purists), here is an absolutely killer steak marinade:
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 Tbs soy sauce
1 or 2 Tbs minced garlic
1 Tbs honey
1 Tbs olive oil
1 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp liquid smoke flavoring
1 pinch cayenne pepper
Whisk all ingredients together and use it to marinate a 450g (1 lb) rib-eye for one or two days; then grill the steak over a hot fire, discarding the leftover marinade.
Gretel: encore une fois: félicitations! J’adore le prenom “Elise”. Enjoy adoring her, as well.
Douglas: please continue to post these uplifting quotes and thoughts; enjoying every one of them! Re loving school: this reminds me of the “tableau noir” that I have always meant to find for our home (on which to chalk down such lovely thoughts!). My mom hung such a blackboard in our hallway. As children, my sister and I checked the latest morsels of wisdom each time we passed by it.
Sandy: will add “full night’s sleep” to my gratitude list. Keep cool over there in AZ (hope your air-conditioning unit is fixed by now…)
Enjoying everyone’s thoughts. Keep ’em coming and merci buckets (as my fourth grade gym teacher used to say. On second thought, that was “for cryin’ in the bucket!”. Oh, well — both expressions bring a smile, as do your comments).
The puppies are *trop chou*!
What do you want? Slang or other ‘normal’ words meaning viande?
Slang : *bidoche*, *barbaque* (also barback, barbacque) *carne* and *semelle* are used for hard to chew meat.
Another ‘normal’ word used by vegetarian to speak about meat is *chair*
Dearest Krisitn,
Because you have so many wonderful readers with such full-life experiences, I am just going to throw out a completely random question, having nothing to do with puppy breath (although I agree, it and baby breath are heavenly scents): have any of you pursued acupuncture and homeopathic treatments for chronic pain, and how successful was it (is there a French word for acupuncture???)? Just had my first treatment yesterday in an effort to avoid going under the knife of an orthopedic surgeon. It was a delightful experience and I have two more to go. Is it worth it?
I must not be doing my math right!! How long does it take for a dog to have puppies? I thought she just got pregnant in July? What is going on?
Jeanne
Diane: ouch! sorry to hear about your chronic pain. I don’t know the French word for acupunture — good question. I hope you will find some feedback here. Bon courage!
Jeanne : Re When did Braise get pregnant? That would be when she was with Sam — I’ll have to look at my calendar (it was just after Braise and Sam got lost in Marseilles… I believe that was end of June. That brings us to 9 weeks. I think Braise waited for us to return from holiday to have her babies!
First to Robert who regrets that 6 puppies have been added to our planet causing misery to other canines — have you any children that you assisted in adding to the over population problem, adding misery to the countless starving and wretchedly poor homo sapiens? If so, why didn’t you first get a vasectomy?
Sorry, Kristin, and all your supporters. My uncouth side could not be restrained.
My better self wants to say “ditto and amen” to Pat Cargill’s 2nd paragraph. Kristi, tu es un bijou very rare and beautiful.
Oh, I love those puppies!
Chris
Here here, Fred — you took the words right out of my mouth!
Merci, Fred, and you said (far better) what I bit my tongue not to say today. For once I thought, just ignore those types, they’ll wither and pouf! away. They are truly to be pitited because their tunnel vision, often with fixation on a few ideas that generate “deep-felt” beliefs, rob them of developing a broader, more meaningful, worldview. It leads to foolish sputterings of the sort here today that are inappropriate and unwelcomed and add nothing to the discourse.
I so appreciated the Blake quote offered today (merci, Douglas), worth repeating to dispel the little breath of intolerance:
‘For everything that lives is holy, life delights in life;
Because the soul of sweet delight can never be defil’d.’
And, dear Robert, that would be you too, a holy wonder. I send a deep heartfelt prayer that you will discover this and have many opportunities to grow in love and appreciation for all the marvelous world we inhabit. It is grander than you know.
Sincères félicitations à Madame Braise et à toi chère Kristin, te voilà “grand-mère” ;-))))
Kristin:
A bottle of Teriyaki sauce works as a great marinade – especially when marinated overnight. Try it on London broil or flank steak.