Fooding

Fluent in Fromage

September 12, 2013November 23, 2020 by Rasmenia Comment Closed

After exchanging emails, letters and phone calls for 8 months with a French guy I'd met online, it was time to go to Paris to meet him face-to-face; time to look one another in the eye and discover if our long-distance chemistry would hold up in the flesh. I'd been in Paris one other time, 7 years before, but this time was different. This time, I wasn't a tourist.This time, I was on a crazy, international, first-date adventure that would last for 2 weeks.Olivier picked me up at Charles de Gaule airport. We went to his apartment in Montmartre and listened to April in Paris. Because funny enough - it really was April and we were in Paris.httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JCJRoG6W8yQHe told me he'd planned a road trip for us and that he wanted to introduce me to some of his friends. After talking every day for almost a year, I knew quite a bit about most of his friends already, so I...

Star Wars Burgers & the Everlasting Star Cheese

April 6, 2012 by Rasmenia Comment Closed

A couple of months ago, I got a few messages from friends back home in the States about this:Oh... & also, this:For a few days, the Internet was abuzz with various articles about the Star Wars burgers in France & Belgium. Not surprisingly, those articles were riddled with comments from all of the very smart Americans who made it their mission to correct the spelling of "Dark Vador." Even the very smart writers at Huffington Post were confused as to why the name was "misspelled."To avoid that here - & to prevent me from having to make fun of you - let's clear it up right away & make it known that the character's name in France is Dark Vador. Okay? Got it? (This translation prevents his name from being pronounced like "Dart Vah-day.")Now, then... moving on. As soon as Olivier & I found out about these, we knew we had to give them a try. We don't eat at...

Don’t Call Me a Foodie

February 22, 2012 by Rasmenia Comment Closed

“You can't just eat good food. You've got to talk about it too. And you've got to talk about it to somebody who understands that kind of food.” ― Kurt Vonnegut“Watch a French housewife as she makes her way slowly along the loaded stalls… searching for the peak of ripeness and flavor… What you are seeing is a true artist at work, patiently assembling all the materials of her craft, just as the painter squeezes oil colors onto his palette ready to create a masterpiece.” ― Keith Floyd“Americans are just beginning to regard food the way the French always have. Dinner is not what you do in the evening before something else. Dinner is the evening.” ― Art Buchwald*A while ago, someone read several posts on this blog & said to me, "I really enjoyed reading through all of your food posts. I'm a big foodie, like you."Uh... what? Like me? Me? A foodie?No.I like to eat, sure. I love...

Anti-Peanut Butterism. Yes. It’s a Thing.

December 2, 2011 by Rasmenia Comment Closed

“Man can not live by bread alone ... he must have peanut butter.” - Bill Cosby“I mostly eat peanut butter sandwiches. Peanut butter and banana, peanut butter and jelly, peanut butter and potato chips, peanut butter and olives, and peanut butter and marshmallow goo. So sue me, I like peanut butter.” - Janet Evanovich“Peanut butter is the paté of childhood.” - Florence Fabricant*I've heard a lot of people say that the French hate Americans. Before I moved to France, a few people asked me, "You sure you want to move there? They hate us in France."After I moved here, a couple of people asked about me when talking with my relatives, or mutual friends. "What's she doing over there? Doesn't she know that French people hate Americans?"I'm happy to tell you that this is complete bullshit. These are the concerns of the gullible, the ignorant & those who have never set foot on European soil. I've been here for 6...

Champions of Breakfast

January 10, 2011January 12, 2011 by Rasmenia Comment Closed

There are so many things that France does right. The wine, the food & the healthcare. The 35-hour work week & the apéritif. Some things about living in France have just been too easy to get used to. The fact that in France, bad grammar is a worse offense than profanity just makes me feel at home. I can no longer sit down to a meal without a glass of red wine, or go without an espresso after lunch - especially when lunch can often be around 2 hours long. So many things about life in France are - yeah, I'll say it - better than that in the United States. But, you already knew that, right? It's hardly a secret. People here have longer life lines for a reason. That's not to say that I don't ever have a few complaints. Believe me... I do. (You knew that was coming, right?) Sometimes, it's just a matter of homesickness, or missing something from home...

Lebanese Cuisine: A Love Story

April 1, 2010November 23, 2020 by Rasmenia Comment Closed

"There is no love sincerer than the love of food." -George Bernard Shaw *In the winter of 2004, I had the brilliant idea to take a trip to France. I thought to myself, "Sure... this'll be great. I'll go out there all alone. I've been talking to that French guy on the Internet for the past few months... yeah, this is a good idea."Ok... so it was a little wacky. But, my gut said that it was a good idea, even though my head was making fun of me constantly, using words like "careless" & "daft".But, hell... since when do cautious & rational have all of the fun?It was November. The plan was set for me to spend 2 weeks in France during April of 2005.Fast forward to April in Paris.Skip ahead to me & him, in his apartment in Montmartre."I rented a car," he said. "I thought that next week, we'd take...