Crème Fraiche Verrines

I've written before about some of my language adventures at the supermarket in our town. I told you about the preservatives and the cuisses de canard. But I haven't yet told you about the incident of the crème fraiche. When we first moved here, I went to the supermarket one day looking for whipping cream. All I could find was crème fraiche. Everywhere I looked—crème fraiche. I didn't want thickened, cultured cream, I wanted whipping cream. And there was none to be seen. 

Merry Christmas!

In

this

season

of star light

and candle light

when hope lights up

all our lives, we gather to

decorate

a tree

Each ornament is a shining reminder that happiness comes one thought, one action, one day at a time.

Best wishes for happiness from our house to yours. 

.

Snow Days

We have about 30 cm / 12 inches of snow on the ground here. It has snowed 18 of the 20 days of December so far. Last night we had another 15 cm / 6 inches of fresh snow. For me, a child of warmer climes, snow equals playing hooky. Schools closed, an unplanned free day. There's a part of me that still wakes up hoping there will be new snow.

Lemon Polenta Cake

Cooking without wheat is presenting me some challenges, some of which are difficult, and some of which are very enjoyable. One of the benefits of this way of eating (I don't like to use the word 'diet', because that makes me want to break it!) is that I get to explore other grains. I find foods that I wouldn't have found otherwise.

Bagna Cauda and a Winner!

Bagna Cauda means 'hot bath' in Italian. Why are we talking about hot baths? Because we have about 6 inches of snow on the ground here and a hot bath sounds pretty nice right now? Nah, it's because this specialty of Torino is the perfect thing for a cold snowy day.

If you're thinking apres-ski, you're in the right ball park. If you're like me, though, you're probably just thinking instead-of-ski. Heh, I went skiing once. It took me about 5 minutes to tear up my knee. That was my ski career. Whenever I see those amazing athletes barreling downhill, I head to the apres-ski zone toute de suite. Just watching them makes my knee hurt!