To be a Mother, I once heard it said, is to go around forever wearing your heart on the outside of your body. Truer words have never been spoken. I also concur with the old adage: "Time is the enemy of a mother." Raising girls is the most amazing experience of my life--and I am certainly learning more from them than I will likely ever teach. Isn't life funny that way? One of the best lessons they have for me is to SLOW DOWN and to find adventure in the every day. To that end, we are forging our own path together; taking the road less-traveled, knowing that there is more to this life than what it seems. And do you know what fosters togetherness and peace in our hearts and household more than anything else? Dinnertime--together and at the dining table. No distractions, no exceptions. I think if more families would sit down together for dinner at least a few nights a week, it would change our world for the better. So raise a glass and toast the lost art of dinnertime. Won't you join us?

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Next Stop... France!

Bonjour! The long-awaited French evening finally transpired in our dining room last night. Wouldn't you know, the study of France--home to some of the world's most complicated cuisine--would correspond to the same week when 35 kids would be descending upon my house to decorate cookies. Sooo... my plans to conquer the French culinary classic, Boeuf Bourguignon, were thwarted by an sudden onset of coming-to-my-senses.

Not that I couldn't handle it, you see. I was looking forward to rising to my inner Julia and meeting the challenge. But a recipe involving a 12 hour, 7-step process with two dozen ingredients was daunting for a school night, I'll admit. Besides, there is no Cognac currently residing in my cupboard, and I really didn't feel like dodging out to the liquor store post-gymnastics lesson to procure some.

Pressing forward with the comforting mantra of "blessed are the flexible," I opted for a much (MUCH) simpler recipe, a one-dish number called Baked Chicken & Brie. http://allrecipes.com/recipe/baked-chicken-and-brie/detail.aspx Complementing the entree was Zucchini de Provence http://allrecipes.com/recipe/baked-zucchini-de-provence/detail.aspx and, but of course, zee baguette. It was rather a Rachel Ray-esque take on the French experience, but what I perhaps lost in authenticity, I made up for with faux Chardonnay and corny French accent.



The kids were so impressed by the effect of the candles and fine china, that they ran to grab their stash of play money so we could make it like a "real restaurant." Voila! Bienvenue a Chez Maman! Un table por quatre, s'il vous plait... (Don't be too impressed--that's the sum total of my year of French lessons. And honestly, I had to look up how to say "table.")


We had a wonderful evening of French culture and learning, capped off by the reading of Anatole over Paris, while enjoying strawberries in chocolate fondue. Of course, it was brought to my attention rather quickly that fondue is actually Swiss and not French. Sigh. I knew I should have made the mousse... Luckily, however, my children were oblivious to this faux-pas and skipped off to bed to dream of bon-bons and cheese wedges.


Viva la France, y'all! Au revoir...

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