Food à la ƒrançaise

She's carrying the staff of life - a mega baguette and enough wine for the loaves and fishes.  Hungry? Let's go to the market at Chateauroux.

A sign that cats are in treatment in this town.

The saucissons and cheeses

More saucissons and I brought one of these to Janet Rudoph's salon where Jeff, a veggie, politely declined.

Escargots

Artisanal confiture

un gateau, a Berrichon speciality

and desserts

I'm reading my friend Jean-Damien's new book 'à la bonne franquette' at the good table - which just came out in Paris. It's a guide to the etymology of food related sayings the French use in daily life. Since mealtime centers on the family, manners, appreciating taste 'gout' and the accompanying wine much of life comes into play.

French children learn the coda of the above at meals - and it helps them navigate through the rest of their life of which a lot is lived at mealtimes. Jean Damien shows  how the sayings apply not just to meals but to life. Fascinating.
 Here are some examples from Jean-Damien's book.
'Sugar the strawberries' - not just to sweeten something good but overdo it.
-Which puzzles me because I've seen my friends spoon sugar over strawberries and raspberries, but there you go.

'Cooked your carrots' - now you've done it or you're in big trouble now

'Fall on your tie' - drink a glass of alcohol, a more designer term or metaphor for tipsy

'Plat du Jour' - no not just what is today's dish - the special - in the bistro, but an old term for a house prostitute in a bordello before they were -supposedly - closed in 1948 by the Marthe Richard law.
Even further in the gastronomic vein a 'soupeuse' as Flaubert noted in his correspondance, was a prostitute who became the hostess and dined with their
clients. A few culinary highlights I enjoyed - a fish in foam

some of the seven course tasting menu at l'Epi Dupin

 An egg fresh from the hen house at the old mill

Cara - Tuesday