Au Revoir Victoria!

November 7th
Today this project of mine is due.
It is sad I know and I am sure you will all miss my very brief time here on blogger covering the french related happenings of my life.
(If you think a world without me is intolerable you can always follow my regular all the time blog here)
So I debated how to properly say good bye and it was determined that a french themed fair well picnic would only be right...unfortunately the other ladies in my class are too busy with exams so this will be a picnic of one...
Too make it truly french we were going to style it after the Beret Baguette video we watched for homework one day...only it's really cold outside so we were going to do it in my friends living room. Remember party for one here and I live in a low ceilinged basement sweet with few windows. I try my best!
First I must dress as a french hipster from the early 1900s, careful to throw in some stereotypes. I've got my mime stripes, beret and scarf. (Side note: the beret and scarf are actually from Normandy so there's some true authenticity in this blog post!)

Then I open the wine...only I don't usually drink wine because I really don't like it. Luckily, instead of going out and buying a bottle I would never drink, my friend Julie who I mentioned earlier brought me back a juice box of wine from Italy this summer. A genius idea really to have wine juice boxes in a nation of wine drinkers...though I suppose I lose authenticity points for it being Italian wine...I try my best.

Also since I do not drink wine I have no wine classes...only margarita glasses from Mexico. Oh well, the wine will still taste like wine.

Now that we have our wine! 

We are in need of some super classy, Frenchish, finger food! I know usually their appetizers would be much classier with a lot of attention to detail and care in each morcel...but I am a poor student on a budget. So we've got Grapes, sesame crackers, baked garlic and baked brie!

Delicious!

So there you have it! My final post to my french project blog. I hope you've enjoyed your time reading, perhaps I've inspired you to begin your own blog and the random occurrences of your life! Who knows where we will go from here but if we never meet again,

Joyeux Noël! And good luck with all your life adventures!

Cecilly <3 

Un Canadian Croque

November 16th
It has happened!

I have finally made un croque monsieur! TADA!

Yeeeess! Feast your eyes upon it in jealousy that you did not think to make one yourself! 

It's really quite easy.

All you need is 2 slices of bread
Some sliced ham
Some cheese squares whichever flavor you'd like ( I used swiss)
And lots and lots of butter!

To all my Canadian friends sitting at home reading this and are thinking "this is just a grilled cheese sandwich with ham in it" you are absolutely right! Which makes it all the more easier to make since no Canadian has lived to the age of 20 without eating a grilled cheese sandwich...unless they're allergic to one of the ingredients.
There are other variations to the recipe if you'd like to give it a little twist:

• croque provençal (with tomato)^[8]
• croque auvergnat (with bleu d'Auvergne cheese)^[9]
• croque gagnet (with Gouda cheese and andouille sausage)
• croque norvégien (with smoked salmon instead of ham)^[10]
• croque tartiflette (with sliced potatoes and Reblochon cheese)^[11]
• croque bolognese / croque Boum-Boum (with Bolognese sauce)
• croque señor (with tomato salsa)
• croque Hawaiian (with a slice of pineapple)

• the "Croque McDo" sandwich at McDonald's locations in France (which is kind of terrifying to think of)

So yeah just put it all together! I like to fry one side and then sprinkle cheese on the top of that side as the other side is frying so it melts everywhere.
There are variations to this recipe of course. A Croque Madame is a Monsieur with an egg on top of it
It's super easy and super quick and makes a great snack.
When I went to Normandy a few years ago I would have at least one of these a day. Of course mine pales in comparison because those bistro chefs are experts and they use the best ingredients where as I am a poor student who buys processed ingredients because they are cheap. But it's the thought and the memories that count I think.
I could not tell you if this snack is originally French. The earliest documentation of it in France was in 1910 but clearly many other cultures have something similar to it.
We in Canada have the grilled cheese sandwich.
In the UK they have Welsh Rarebit where they pour a hot cheese sauce over the sandwich and this documents back to the 18th Century.

So what came first? Well the Croque Monsieur probably came before the Classic North American Grilled Cheese but could the Croque Monsieur be a less messy version of the Welsh Rarebit?
Who's to say what came first.
All I know is that it's delicious and a classic snack I think should become more popular in Canadian cafes.
Until next time.
Cecilly <3

Mmm Mmm Senegale

October 25th
So today instead of class we had to go on a little field trip to this restaurant downtown called Le Petit Dakar.
It's true Senegalese food! Rich in taste and flavour.
We brought my friend Julie along because she's a great food appreciator and loves to try new things and I figured we're supposed to speak french when we get there to the chef Bintou...Julie speaks french. It should be great! And it was!
I had the Domoda (Senegalese beef bourguinon which is kind of like a stew) and it was absolutely delicious. I also just threw caution into the wind and ordered some couscous as well! I had never had it before but it is super good. Perhaps I will buy some the next time I go shopping and try making it for myself. Sadly they did not have corn bread today which was most distressing as it is one of my favorite things to eat but you can almost never find it! I guess I will just have to go back one day when they do have it. Maybe I'll buy a whole loaf.

The restaurant was really small but also cute and colorful and it seemed pretty busy with all the downtown workers coming in on their lunch break! 

We met Bintou and she was very kind, asked us all about schooling and where we learned french, told us a little bit about Senegal. 

Senegal is a country in the West of Africa and Dakar, for which the restaurant is named, is the capital city of Senegal. Once a colony of France it became independent in the 1960s but there are still many influences on their culture like the french language. The food they eat though it may be customized for the other cultures in the country. Senegal for example is largely Muslim so they don't eat bacon or drink wine which would usually go in a bourguinon. They give it their own Senegalese twist with spices and lemon juice.

One of the greatest things I think about how Bintou runs Le Petit Dakar is the traditional dress her and the other woman wore. It brings a certain feeling to the restaurant of friendliness and the idea that they care about the food they make and the service they provide. You might get the impression that the two women are right at home there in their little restaurant.

It was probably one of the best field trips I've ever gone on and I can't wait to go back!