I never liked that hairclip

Bit glum today. Seem to have an infected finger as one of Elizabeth's hairclips was hiding in my handbag and then jammed down my fingernail. It was a spiky purple metal butterfly thing. It is now in the bin.

The only positive thing is SOS Médecins. I couldn't get an appointment with GP 1 for four days, GP 2 won't be taking calls until 4pm and the pharmacist said that I really needed to see someone now.

In Paris you don't call Ghostbusters, you call SOS Médecins. A doctor arrived within 45 mintures and cost 40 euros - same price as a regular French GP and 25 euros less than than my English speaking GP. All fully reimbursed.

Superman in the class photo

It rains, it hails and then it is sunny - le giboulés weather of March.

Jack wanted to wear his Superman costume for his class photo. He was quite insistent. He said that his teacher told them to wear good clothes.
Jack's Superman costume comes in two parts. Part 1 is the classic red and blue cape and underpants combo. Part 2 is an all in one suit and tie number that goes over the classic costume and does up with velcro at the front. It even comes with Clark Kent's glasses. Jack figured that Papa wears a suit when he wants to be smartly dressed and so Clark Kent's suit would be just perfect.

Note - Velcro is known in French as "scratch" - as in "Vous voulez les chaussures avec le scratch?"



Note - who is this Superman?!!

Cecil Beaton in the window

Quick visit to a French GP this morning to deal with headaches. Am given an ordinance for a MRI. Seems a little over the top for a first visit. Thought he would start with eliminating foods first but rather pleased that can keep eating chocolate.

Quick lunch with Chic Parisian girlfriend at Mamie Gateau ( Grandma's Cake) in rue Cherche Midi. Always superb and exactly right for lunch. Foolishly had the goats cheese and courgette tart instead of soup and so no room for truly delicious cakes. Last visit the fig tart was perfection - perfect crisp pastry with jammy figs on top. Had to buy a slice to take home to French Husband.

Quick visit on way home to Au Fils des Couleurs (smart wallpaper shop in rue Abbé Grégoire). They are stocking the wallpaper collection from Cecil Beaton Fabrics which just happens to be owned by very wonderful friends in the UK. Window display is full of the fabrics and wallpapers. Looks wonderful and very proud of friends.

More Easter eggs stolen from children. Headaches can't possibly be from chocolate or would have had a killer one and been committed to bed for a month after the amount of chocolate consumed over the Easter weekend.

www.cecilbeatonfabrics.com

Mamie Gateau 66 rue du Cherche Midi 75006

Au Fils des Couleurs 31 rue Abbé Gregoire 75006

Easter Sunday and Chocolate Pasta

I woke to the smell of baking Hot Cross Buns. I know, you are meant to have them on Good Friday. I couldn't find them in La Grande Epicerie so I decided that we should make our own. Once Nigella was consulted, we were on our way with a Choc Chip version - had to sell them to the kids. The dough was made yesterday and French Husband thought he had the easy job to finish them - but forgot about the re-kneading, making the crosses and glazing.

I wish I could rave about them. They looked good but seemed to lack both salt and sugar. For once in my life I wished that I would smother something in salted butter.

By the time I got up, Jack and Elizabeth had already found all of the eggs, chickens, rabbits and sardines hidden around the apartment. I found it rather sad that the hunt this year was indoors but it didn't worry the children one bit. They were pleased to be able to hunt in pyjamas.

Easter eggs are usually distributed in France by church bells. I know that the Easter Bunny is a rather far-fetched concept but at least a rabbit can move of its own accord. But church bells? That have already been to Rome? The children have chosen wisely to believe in the bunny.

Easter Lunch was roast lamb followed by a chocolate pavlova. I did cook the chocolate tagliatelle that has been sitting in the cupboard since last Easter but no one was impressed. It had a very faint taste of cocoa and cardboard.

Chocolate and Wine Heaven

To think that because of jet lag, I had decided not to go to an event that had two of my favourite things? How could Julie Andrews sing of crisp apple strudel and yet not mention chocolate? I suppose Austrian chocolate is not so good.

The invitation was from the food hall of Le Bon Marché, La Grande Epicerie. There was to be an atelier with La Maison du Chocolat (Gods of chocolate). The invitation was poetic and flowery the way that only the French can be. A direct translation:

Lovers of good wines and chocolate, tonight you will discover the undreamed of harmony of the perfect matches, the impossible matches, the magic matches.

It sounded like an add for a dating agency.

French Husband (FH) and I had a rendez-vous by the poultry counter. There were only about thirty people gathered for the event seemed ridiculously low but we weren't complaning.  There were four combinations.

Match 1: Sparkling ganache with Champagne Veuve Cliquot Ponsardin rosé brut

A small cube of chocolate ganache on a wooden fork was dipped into a chocolate fondue and then dropped into a glass of rosé champagne. The ganache was flavoured with red fruits. Sounds odd but was delicate and delicious. Large bubbles formed around the ganache and lifted it to the top of the glass so it looked pretty too!

Match 2: Red Pepper Ganache with Domaine Roc Des Enges "1903" Cotes du Roussillon

A shot glass was filled with a warm ganache flavoured with red peppers, tomato, chili and a touch of raspberry. One crisp peanut was placed in the glass. It was neither sweet nor savoury but a delicious hot chocolatey thing. The wine was full bodied and slightly spicy and was a perfect match.

Match 3: Guayaquil Chocolate and Portos Ramos Pinto Tawny 20 years

I know I enjoyed this chocolate at the time but all I now remember is the conversation with FH about how much we liked port and that we never drink it. Mind you, the French drink it as an aperitif. Poor French, they will never know how good it is with stilton.

Match 4: Rigoletto lait Chocolate and Bohème Chocolate and Cognac Rémy Martin Coeur Cognac Fine Champagne

I have been rather indifferent to milk chocolate for quite some time but the Rigoletto Lait chocolate was a revelation. It had a caramelised mousse centre coated in milk chocolate. The caramel was ever so slightly burnt so it was not cloying. Delicious.

Something extra Zagora - a mint chocolate beyond expectations of what a mint chocolate should be. The ganache in the centre was infused with mint leaves. I will never eat another Mint Slice.

The highlight of the evening though was a chat with Gilles Marchal, Director of Creation of Chocolates from La Maison du Chocolat. He was so passionate about his craft and was incredibly modest. He said that he had no preference for milk or dark chocolate but dismissed white chocolate.

When I asked what his favourite chocolate was, he listed off the beans from different countries ... I like the beans from Ecuador, not so much from Trinidad.... and said that his favourite chocolate was the one that he has not yet created.

Is there one g or two in blog?

I woke up last Thursday in Paris and realised I was planning my day around the opening of Pierre Hermé. Pierre Hermé is a patisserie. I spoke to my brother in Sydney and was lamenting this fact. He said that I needed to blog. That's when I asked him if there was one g or two in blog. 

I didn't get to the opening of Pierre Hermé (a fact I would later rue as it was National Macaron Day) but by later in the day I knew all about Blogger, Vox, Six Apart and Word Press. The whole blog idea had me hooked . I would blog, get a book deal and then a movie deal. I would be played by Naomi Watts (just read she was also born in 1968). But does she do comedy? French Husband would be played by George Clooney with a French accent. Can he do accents? Wouldn't matter. Sean Connery never does them.

I would need all the fodder I could get and duly accepted an invitation for that evening to a chocolate and wine tasting at La Grande Epicerie. I hadn't even started to blog and yet blogging was changing the course of my life.

And so here we are. Not the first day of Spring but Easter Sunday. He is risen and a blog is started.