Revealed: The Paris Olympics medals
We tested non-alcoholic wine. It’s good!
Sing C’est la Vie by Sonny and Cher
Reflections from an old timer in Paris: Les PTT
Christmas Poem
A Christmas poem, how about two ! To wish our readers a “Merry Christmas to all et Bonne Année à tous!” One is two centuries old and the second a contemporary piece that shares the same rhythm.
The first is the famous Christmas poem thought to be written by Clement Clarke Moore "Twas the Night Before Christmas" in a bilingual version. Moore was a 19th century American writer and scholar and is mostly remembered for his Christmas poem which was originally title "A Visit from Saint Nicholas" which legend says he wrote on Christmas Eve in 1822 during a sleigh ride home from Greenwich Village (imagine riding in a sleigh in New York city!) after buying a turkey for his family (no doubt fresh from the farm). The poem is known for having defined our now timeless image of Santa Claus and for naming the eight reindeer! It was published (in English only and anonymously) the first time on December 23, 1823 by a New York newspaper, The Sentinel, one of t…Do you know these French facts…
Do you know these French facts and tidbits…
the western most point in France is the Point du Raz at the tip of Brittany. The department is called the Finistère… do you hear it? Fini-terre? The end of the earth. these town names in France that will make an English speaker giggle: Plaisir, Bitche, Les Cars, Brainville, Contest, Le Sap, Stains, Dangers, Brest, Hompes, Bard, Félines, Linge, Facture, Le Barp, Condom, Anus, Ars, Seix, Tendon, Bard, Nevers, Grouchy, Le Bugue, Saint Hilaire-ious! this jingle by British Victorian poet Erskine, c.1850:The French have taste in all they do,
Which we are quite without;
For Nature, that to them gave goût
To us gave only gout.
the Buttes-Chaumont were built on a mound of clay where …A Quatre-quarts is a Pound cake
The French use the word "cake" or quatre-quarts (four quarters) or sometimes even fondant for what English speakers call a pound cake. Like muffins it can be either savory or sweet. The sweet version is in fact four ingredients (eggs, flour, butter and sugar) in equal quantities measured by weight (the French cook using weight not volume), so each is a quarter of the total, hence the name quatre-quarts. It is best to start with the eggs because you can't use just part of an egg! So whisk and weigh your eggs (4 - there's that number again - will make an average loaf) then weigh out the same amount of each of the other ingredients as you have eggs. Whisk the sugar into the eggs for 4 (!) minutes, then gently mix in the flour and lastly the melted but cooled butter. Some people like to add a sachet of levure chimique as well for a fluffier loaf. Add a bit of vanilla, rum, lemon peel, orange flower water to the batter... for extra style! Pour the batter into a loaf pan and pla…