French Onion Soup in France

I'm frequently reminded of the French Onion experience when attending a BBQ or other similar affair. For a while there, before things like the "philly-chilli" dip, or even hummus or tzatziki were en vogue it was the time of the cocktail frankfurt and the French Onion dip. I didn't bother looking for any of that dodgyness while in France but I did partake of the less dodgy and more classic staple French Onion Soup.

I had not really been exposed to a serious attempt at the soup and I'm not normally a huge fan of onion (unless it is caramelised and much reduced) so didn't expect to enjoy it as much as I did. It was an extremely tasty and satisfying soup and I can understand why is prized as a restorative, "comfort food" when feeling seedy and/or after a night out on the town.

I'm somewhere in central Paris in this photo - couldn't really tell you exactly where. We'd been wandering the streets and exploring and suddenly, desperately needed a good hearty lunch.

French Dressing in France

Hmmm what's that I see on the salad supplied with my (rather delicious) croque-madame? Could it be?

The extremely ubiquitous vinaigrette, or as we often say here in Australia "Just some French Dressing, mate". The French really are good at sauces you know. This humble yet powerful little gem really shouldn't be forgotten.

French Press Coffee in France

I love coffee and really don't function well without it. Although we used a stove-top espresso maker for a while using a plunger took over as our preferred method, for a variety of reasons.

So guess how pleased I was when I found out that the thing we call a "coffee plunger" in Australia is also called a French Press. Not to be confused with the French Pressure Cell Press. This is for preparation of coffee (for drinking!) not disrupting the plasma membrane of cells by passing them through a narrow valve under high pressure.

So, yes, the French Press is something I do every day. I like to tell this little repetitious stock joke that the "French Press" (ie I'm referencing the "bench press" here) is my only regular workout... imagine my amusement when I heard there really is an exercise by that name.

For such a delightful apparatus its history isn't terribly exciting. As wikipedia says it was "probably invented in France in the 1850s, but first patented by Attilio Calimani in 1931". Though, as expected there's a slightly more floral and myth-y version of how it came to pass.

As mentioned I do like coffee, and I'm not alone. Though the temptation is there I'm not going to link to any of the legion of coffee connoisseur/enthusiast/geek/snob websites that exist. I've never really trodden down that internet path and don't really intend to. I suspect it's like taking the Red Pill - OK no - more like following Alice down the rabbit hole.

We rented a very pleasing apartment in Montmartre and I was relieved to find that the kitchen was well stocked and included said apparatus.

Quiche Lorraine in Lorraine

Why was it maligned so? I'm really not sure. A good quiche is a hearty, manly meal that one could pack as one set off to work on something manly.

Here I am in Metz, in the Lorraine region of France eating a Quiche Lorraine. So powerful is the 'Lorraine that essentially it is the default quiche. If you've eaten a quiche there is an extremely high chance it was a Quiche Lorraine.

Why? Simple to make. Tasty. Classic. Contains bacon.

We were around the region (Ha! As if I wouldn't have detoured for this one anyway!) as we were visiting France and wanted to stick near the border of Germany to avail ourselves of the Christmas markets in Strasbourg. As is unsurprising with a border area the Lorraine region was once annexed and was German for a while. Actually probably a few times. You can still see the legacy of one such occurrence, from infrastructure works like the water tower near the station at Metz, the use of the Lorraine Franconian dialect in the region, the style of the cooking in the quiche – and indeed from the evolution of the very name of the dish from the German word "kuchen".

Bath Bun in Bath

I'm not sure just how I found out about this one - possibly tipped off by my travelling companion, who spotted it on the Bath tourism website as we were planning the trip, attracted as she was to the sites of many a Jane Austin shoot, and the prospect of the thermal baths. I should probably confirm, given the nature of this blog yes we did attend said spa, and have a bath.

But yes, the buns in bath are famous I'm told, or infamous for their waistline expanding attributes amongst the health-conscious spa-goers.

There's a lovely covered food market in the centre of town and it was at one of the permanent bakery type installations there that I spotted my target. "Excuse me, is that a Bath Bun?", I said. "Why yes it is!" came the delighted response, obviously impressed by my culinary adroitness.

English Breakfast Tea in England

Tea. There’s nothing more English than tea, is there?

The wikipedia article has some interesting information about the deep dark origins back in Yunnan Province, China. Both science-wise and the 2737 BC origin myth.

It's extraordinary just how culturally important this little drink (not the English Breakfast Variety per se) just really is. Random examples - the Japanese Tea Ceremony and the English and their "You just need a cup of tea and you'll be right".

But goodness, as a trade item it's had a bit of a history. Basically the popularity of tea came down to the East India Company needing something to fill their holds with and sell on the way back. The degree of success they had is extraordinary. Let that be a lesson to business eh? You could be making very long term cultural changes you had no idea about. I'm not even going to mention the opium. Or the Boston Tea Party.

Actually I was a bit shocked in London. The coffee wasn’t too bad.