France in an RV

Tonight, Bob and I enjoyed a French feast outside on the picnic table! It's getting that time of year that when you turn on the oven to bake something, it completely runs you outside because of the heat! Holy Hot!! On the menu tonight was: Mediterranean Summer Tomatoes http://allrecipes.com/recipe/mediterranean-summer-tomatoes/detail.aspx Mushroom Liver Pate http://allrecipes.com/recipe/mushroom-liver-pate/detail.aspx Croissants http://allrecipes.com/recipe/croissants/detail.aspx and my variation of Blueberry Clafouti http://allrecipes.com/recipe/blueberry-clafouti/detail.aspx I'll get back to these recipes in a sec! I've got to share something super exciting!!! Do you see my birdhouse?? Do you see what's happening?? I saw these guys scoping out the situation last week and didn't think much of it until I went outside this morning for my morning coffee and smoke...

And apparently, they have decided to build their home in my birdhouse!

I wasn't sure what they were so I googled blue and white birds and the nearest I can come up with is that they are Arctic Bluebirds. But if anyone knows for sure, let me know!! The mama bird looks fat and full of eggs, I think!

I have to thank Beckey Dodds for helping with this research for France...she did a wonderful job...I know you said you didn't want me to, Beckey, but I have to give credit where credit is due!

We all pretty much know that the capitol of France is Paris and that's the city of LoVe! But...

France is the gastronomical center of the world! No country has more diverse natural ingredients or more human genius for transforming them into culinary delicacies. Each French region has it's own distinctive recipes, cooking methods and utensils based on local produce. The produce varies greatly from region to region.

In the cool north, by Artois and Picardy, the soil is ideal for growing root vegetables: turnips, beetroots, carrots and potatoes. The green pastures of Normandy feed the cows which produce the rich milk that makes creme Fraiche and good butter. The fertile La Beauce Plain, just below Paris, provides the wheat that goes to make French bread, and across the Loire in Touraine, the so-called "Garden of France", cauliflower, celeriac, leeks and other green vegetables grow in abundance. In the south, along the coastland, aubegine (eggplant) and green peppers thrive, as well as peaches, melons, cherries, artichokes and asparagus. Towards the Alps, fig and nut trees flourish and gnarled olive groves produce the rich oil that provides the basis for the regions many dishes.

Each French cook feels that his or her way of cooking is the correct way and therefore there is an enormous number of French recipes for any given dish and techniques vary from village to village.

This is the variation of the Blueberry Clafouti...I didn't use blueberries, I used strawberries, cherries and peaches...and it turned out delicious!

The finished Clafouti...

I worked on the croissants since 8 am...I was going to make brioche, but figured a pate would go better with these and that they should be light enough for Bob to eat with no problems...and they are sooo worth the effort...I used to buy them at Safeway and thought Holy Bread!!! These are expensive, now I know why...they take a looonnnggg time! But so worth it in the end.

I'm proud of myself here, I'll tell ya!

I know it looks like canned cat food...don't let that deter you! If you like liver or liverwurst, you WILL love this recipe! It's not Purina, it's not Friskies...it's made with liverwurst and sour cream and is super filling and rich and delicious and.....I could just go on & on, but Bob and I are in the pro-liver group. I have found with liver, you either love it or you hate it, there really isn't an inbetween.

These are the Mediterranean Summer Tomatoes and these are great! I bought a red, an orange and a yellow tomato to use and I'm glad I did...I wish I could have found heirlooms or mine would grow faster, because this is a wonderful salad! Super simple to make and really pretty to look at!

And this was dinner tonight...my extra Bob next door gave me 2 thumbs up on it...I made a ton of food, and I still have leftovers...anyone want to come over???

My groceries for tonight's French dinner cost me $15.42 which left $4.58 to go into my Beach Bag. The total after week 19 is $121.40...that's close to 3 nights at the beach!!

Bob pulled Baking Nana and RockyMountainKat from the hat. Baking Nana (I can't help it, I have to call her Ba-Nana) picked England and RMKat chose Germany. 50 people voted and the slim majority want to see Germany next week 26-24. So Germany it shall be!

Bob's voice is near gone and we are working on a sign language system (thumbs up, thumbs down, flipping the bird...) to do some of the communication. The ol' RV is pretty quiet nowdays...except at night...that guy can still out-snore a Stihl! Between his and the girl dog, Sasha's snoring, it's dang near impossible to fall asleep before 10:00! So, I'm tired! Until we meet in Germany next week...say something randomly nice to one person a day! Peace!