Look closely… Jean-Marc has some new products–including truffles!–in his épicerie fine. Stop by his Le Vin Sobre wine shop here in La Ciotat and check them out–along with a vast selection of French wine and champagne!
Learn the French word for mason jar and find a selection of the charming and useful French brand, Le Parfait, here.
TODAY'S WORD: le bocal
: jar, mason jar, storage jar, glass container
(Today's audio is found below, along with the sample text–which holds the answer to today's mystery…)
A DAY IN A FRENCH LIFE by Kristi Espinasse
This morning in our kitchen, while preparing an eye-opening second cup of coffee, I noticed something was amiss. Our little table-on-wheels was curiously vide. There had been fresh eggs there, carefully collected from our suburban hens over a two-week period. And just yesterday I was thrilled to add to my stash a impressive two-yolker!–an oeuf so big it was sure to have an extra serving inside. Merci les poules! But just where had that egg–and the rest of my stock–disappeared to? Was it another burglar? Or, on a lighter note, was somebody in my family playing a yoke on me?
Eh bien, ce n'était pas drôle! Studying the cardboard egg holder, all twelve slots were empty! My heart sank. There would be no omelets for lunch, no delicious yogurt cake for dessert, and no hard-boiled egg for Jean-Marc's daily packed lunch…. Not that he deserved the made-with-love gamelle! C'était lui qui a pris mes oeufs? My blood began to boil before this latest Who Dunnit… Who dun mess with my supplies again?
Don't tell? Is that what Max is saying to Smokey? Were these two the culprits?
I remembered the expensive crêpes mix Max bought from the supermarché… (following the in-store demonstration by the animateur de pancakes, Max felt obliged to buy the 15 dollar protein-enriched mix!). Had my son made a late-night snack for all his friends? I know all those eggs–veritable protein-in-a-shell (no need for a mix) were there when I went to sleep at 10!
More evidence could be found on the comptoir, via my brand new pèse-aliment — the one I had bought for bread-baking. What was it doing out? The mystery deepened….
Stomping back to bed with the two cups of coffee I had been making for us, my words reached the bedroom before I did:
Jean-Marc. Do you know what happened to all the eggs?
And this is the response I got (you can even hear it yourself via the soundfile below….)
Hier, j'ai reçu des truffes noires de Moustiers Sainte Marie dans les Alpes de Haute Provence. Je les ai mises dans un bocal avec des œufs afin que les œufs puissent s'infuser de l’arôme de la truffe. Yesterday, I received black truffles from Moustiers Sainte Marie in the Alpes de Haute Provence. I put them in a container with the eggs so that the eggs could absorb the aroma of the truffle.
Well that explains everything. And even though, as Jean-Marc later explained, he is only borrowing my eggs (we'll enjoy the infused version later, after he's sold those truffles) my husband is not out of the dog house yet–those bocaux he mentioned amounted to every last container he could find in our kitchen!
I had finally gotten all my jars and glass tupperwares back (from all those lunches I'd packed), and now they were gone again–back to his wine shop. How does he expect me to pack his meal? Oh, well, as Marie Antoinette might have said: let him eat truffles! On second thought, we need to find a better punishment….
* * *
In stock at Le Vin Sobre La Ciotat: Smoked salmon, foie gras, truffles and my eggs! Jean-Marc is simply storing the truffles there–pour bien profiter de leur arôme–to take advantage of the aroma they give off. He'll bring home the truffle-infused eggs once he's sold the truffles. Did you know the price for truffles changes weekly?–like a stock at the stockmarket! Thank you for reading today's story, and if you see any coquilles (typos or mistakes), feel free to send in edits via the comments. Always appreciated! I'm rushing to lunch now (no omelette today…). Max has offered to take me for a cheeseburger at our favorite burger joint La Vieille Chouette!
Listen to Jean-Marc's explanation: Click here for the soundfile
They may be trendy but I love these Le Parfait mason jars, (and use them interchangeably with empty peanut butter and jam jars, etc.) which permit you to see everything in your fridge–and I love packing Jean-Marc and Max lunches in them. Fill the bottom with pasta and the top with salad and slices of cheese. Miam miam.
FRENCH VOCABULARY
vide = empty
un oeuf = egg
une poule = hen, chicken, chook
eh bien = well
ce n'etait pas drôle = it wasn't funny
la gamelle = lunch box
c'était lui qui a pris mes oeufs? = was it he who took my eggs
le supermarché = supermarket
l'animateur = presenter
le voleur = thief
le comptoir = counter
le pèse-aliment = kitchen scale
miam = yum
Discover more from French Word-A-Day
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
What a fun story – and one with a good ending, once you finally get to eat those truffle-infused eggs! Please write another story when you use them, so we know what you decide to do. (I think savory crepes, with mushrooms, would be amazing!)
Merry Christmas and Joyeux Noel to your whole family, Kristi!!
xoxo, Kate & Jack
My mouth was watering as your story of eggs with truffles reminded me of the times we have enjoyed scrambled eggs with truffles when we were in France.This year, I found a small jar of sliced truffles which I will use with my pan of scrambled eggs. I am sure it won’t be as delicious as your fresh truffles will be , but the old saying, “Something is better than nothing !” will apply! Blessings to you and your family, Kristen.
Wonderful story Kristi! I look forward to the truffled eggs follow up! Best holiday wishes to you and Jean-Marc. Bisous
Bonjour, Kristi,
Cute photo of Max and Smokey! You’re a good egg; it’s a challenge when there is an emprunteur in the household, but the most enduring relationships always seem to have that element of « le mystère « that keeps them alive. Fortunately, J-M did not store the eggs with the raclette!
Miam miam. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.
You always brighten my day!
Thanks for sharing this adorable mystery.
I have never eaten truffles but can only imagine how wonderful they must be…
Hi Kristi,
Thanks for the fun story and photos! I was wondering what the eggs were doing under the truffles! I wouldn’t have thought the aroma could infuse the egg shells! You know I have never had a truffle! I should have tried some when we were in France in the summer but maybe that was the wrong season for them?
I hope you and your family have a wonderful Christmas!
Thank you, Gail. 💕
My favorite storage jars are from France, bought in a US shop long ago. Jars in so many sizes with the the metal clasp and the rubber seal, like the ones in your photos. They are the best way to store dry foods like rice and oatmeal, especially when I bought in quantity. Now I should call them les bocaux.
Thanks, Eileen. Incredibly, the aroma travels right through the shell, and the eggs (often scrambled) are delicious and très très truffle-tasting! Good question about when to eat them. Maybe somebody else can answer.
What a delicious story! It makes me hungry for a visit to Jean Marc’s store and the local restaurant.
Jean-Marc needs to communicate with you before confiscating your household goods! I think men tend to act first, then tell you what they did later. I know my husband is that way and it drives me nuts sometimes. I’ve never really addressed the problem. Maybe a little sit-down chat–Honey could you PLEASE?!–is in order for both of us.
Never a dull moment chez vous! I never realized that the shell of an egg could absorb an aroma. What liquid is Jean-Marc using in the bocaux? Another revelation for me: not all kitchen ranges look the same. When I saw the pic with J-M & Smokey I thought he was using the bedroom dresser for his concoction. Naive me! Upon further inspection, I saw a pan on a cooking surface and an oven beneath. I love your writing. Joyeux Noel et Bonne annee a touted la famille!
Thank you, Diane! There is no liquid in the jar (just the eggs and truffles). Normally Jean-Marc puts them in a Tupperware, to seal in the aroma, but glass is better. Plus you can see the pretty (okay maybe not so pretty) truffles!
Those eggs will be DELICEUX!!!!
Well, seems like a good trade to me! I eat eggs every day but NEVER get to have them with truffles…or even the flavor of truffles. Enjoy them and your hens will lay more un-infused ones! Smile…and Hugs
Fun. As always, you know to make any story delightful/see the fun in life 🙂
Happy Holidays to writer, family and readers!
Lucky chooks! I have to lock up my chooks every night to protect them from urban foxes… in Brisbane, Queensland.
I can’t help it, I’m singing an old spiritual song, “Nobody knows the truffles I’ve seen, nobody knows but Jesus” Wait, I don’t think that’s quite right….
Double yolkers are Good Luck! And what fine fat hens you have! 🙂
Love it. Thanks for the smile, Joan.
I remember a story you wrote years ago about special boxes people used for eggs and truffles to infuse the eggs with the truffle aroma. I wish I could shop in Jean-Marc’s épicerie for my New Year’s Eve feast!