This carved wooden statue of Tintin and his fox terrier, Milou, standing about four feet high, was in Antibes (near the old port) selling for 800 euros (just under $1000). I really wanted it.

The Adventures of Tintin was quite popular in France and Europe in general, though it’s originally from Belgium created by Herg� (aka George Remi) in 1929 as a comic for a Belgian newspaper. Launched initially as a comic series, later became comic books, then a cartoon series with subsequent animated films. Tintin was a reporter who traveled all over the globe with his fluffy white “Milou” (Snowy). The series covered a wide span of genres: swashbuckling adventures with elements of fantasy, mystery, political thriller, and science fiction. It was known to be silly and slapsticky but oftentimes incorporating a very sophicated outlook on politics and culture.

Early works of Tintin were criticized as a racist and colonialist because Hergé caricaturized non-Europeans in overly exaggerated and unflattering ways, or he simply implied his racist leanings. Some American publishers, in fact, required Hergé to change his drawings to minimize the offensive impact of certain portrayals. For example, The Shooting Star originally had an American villain with a Jewish name, who was changed to an American with a less ethnically specific name in later editions. I think it was just the mindset of the times just like in the subject of this post.

Despite its very un-PC history, I do love Tintin memorabilia but it’s sometimes hard to find anything Tintin. I remember going to a Tintin store in San Francisco, near the square by FAO Schwartz but haven’t seen much more.

A couple of weeks ago, I did see a small boutique in Paris (in the 6th) that sold lots of Tintin stuff but was way too expensive. A little plastic statue of Tintin standing about 4 inches high was priced at over 300 euros. I wonder how much they’d charge for the same 4 foot, sculpted wooden statue I saw in Antibes!

Socca is the crêpe’s southern cousin, so-to-speak; it’s the savory pancake of Nice made of chickpea flour and beautifully bears the golden tan of the Mediterranean browned and crispy at the edges, soft and tender inside…

Best when eaten warm and crisp straight from the vendor in Nice, Socca is a sensual, culinary delight especially when eaten out in the generous sun blessed salty sea air.

Recommended Restaurant for Socca
Restaurant: Socca D’Or
Address: 45 Rue Bonaparte
Directions: It’s in the Vieux-Nice (Old Town Nice), close to the harbor and Place Garibaldi.

Their hours of operation change so please call ahead of time.
Phone: 04 93 56 52 93

If you care to bring a bit of the Niçois spirit into your home, preparing a nice Socca for your family and dinner guests as an appetizer would be a welcoming enriching treat. Here’s a recipe for those wanting a taste of the Riviera chez vous.

Recipe for Socca

1 1/4 cups (150 g) chickpea flour
1 1/2 cups (375 ml) cold water
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
freshly ground black pepper
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, for the pan

Whisk the olive oil and salt in a bowl with the cold water. Sift in the chickpea flour. Whisk the mixture gradually to form a thin smooth batter. Let it rest for 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 425°F/220°C. Spoon the oil into a 9 x 13 inches (24 x 31 cm) roasting pan and heat through in the oven for 3 to 4 minutes. Stir the chickpea batter once more and then pour into the hot pan, and return immediately to the oven. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, until the mixture has browned around the edges and slightly pulls away from the pan. Take out of the oven and season with black pepper. Let it stand for 5 minutes. Cut into squares or strips. Eat immediately.

You can spice it up if you’d like with tapanade, or tomatoes, balsalmic vinegar, and extra virgin olive oil. Or improvise using your imagination. Or consume it the traditional Niçois way and eat it straight from the table. Serves 4 to 6.

I’ve never met a French dessert I didn’t like so with me and French desserts, it’s a love affair and a serious business, in fact, thus far, I find little here to mock or malign! Whoa. So. Now….what do I write about?

How ’bout French Desserts 101? The first of a series of sweet posts including recipes. I’ll begin with a popular one that you can order at restaurants. It’s called, L’ile flotante (floating island).

L’ile flotante is an “island” of fluffy light airy, fresh merengue floating on a dreamy creamy ocean of creme anglaise, decadent and irresistable. Do NOT even think about the calories, you’ll only be scared. Just enjoy the lovely simple flavors and sensual dessert beauty perfectly playing with your palate.

There’s a restaurant in Semelay (Burgundy) where they leave a WHOLE BOWL of ile flotante on your table to SERVE AS MUCH AS YOU WANT FOR YOURSELF! i took the picture above AFTER i’d already served myself, as you might be able to tell. no wonder everyone around says it’s such a great restaurant. i ate WAY TOO MUCH. but it was soooooo goooooooooooooOOOOOOOOOooooood…(recipe follow)…

Here’s the recipe for L’Ile Flotante.

“Sea” of Custard
3 eggs
3 egg yolks
2/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon flour
2 1/2 cups milk
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

“Island” of Meringue
2 egg whites
1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 dash salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup sugar
2 cups milk

1. Beat eggs and egg yolks lightly with a fork and strain them (to remove cords) directly into the top of a glass or stainless steel or enameled double boiler
2. Stir in sugar; sift and stir in flour.
3. Scald milk in a separate saucepan, heating just until bubbles form around the edges.
4. Gradually stir the milk into the eg g mixture, and cook over simmering, but not boiling water, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon until the mixture coats a metal spoon.
5. Remove from heat immediately, stir in the salt and vanilla, and pour into a large shallow bowl.
6. Stand the bowl in cold water to cool rapidly, then chill in refrigerator.
7. Beat egg whites with cream of tartar and salt until frothy.
8. Add vanilla and then add sugar one tablespoon at a time, beating well after each addition.
9. Continue beating until stiff and shiny.
10. Heat milk in a frying pan.
11. When bubble start to form around the edges, drop in the egg white mixture a tablespoon full at a time. Do not cover.
12. Cook over low heat until the meringues are firm, but not hard, about 5 minutes.
13. Using a slotted spoon, lift them carefully out of the milk and slide them onto the custard.
14. Chill until ready to serve.

Enjoy!

[recipe via]

should the cashews be called “womengirls”?

I took this photo of olives we helped harvest for a friend living in the Var, right before it got pressed. In France, quality oils are some of the most unparalleled, absolutely to-die-for: olive oil, hazelnut oil, walnut oil, and grapeseed oil are amazing here; it’s healthful, superior and costs much less than outside of Europe. Walnut oil and hazelnut are not really cooking oils, but rather, go so nicely in salads and just adds a subtle nutty flavor to braised vegetables. It’s summer so there’s no shortage of haricots verts (green beans) and zucchini and gobs of tomatoes and herbs.

In the south of France, if you’re lucky enough to have your own olive trees, you can actually just pick your olives, bring them to a company that will then (initial) cold press them for you, and bottle the olive oil for you. Your very own quality home-grown olive oil!

I wonder if they do that for walnuts as well. We have so many huge walnut trees it would be so cool to have our own “vintage” walnut oil. I’ll have to check on that and report it later.

When i think of Paris, one of the first things that come to mind is: style. I had to take a picture of this traffic cop, who, unlike his foreign counterparts (flourecent ORANGE, anyone?), looks good. (I don’t think we’re allowed to take photos of cops; i’m not sure but i had to) who, unlike his foreign counterparts, looks good.

Nice’s long, tumultuous history has wildly influenced the current unique language of Nice, “Le Nissart,” incorporating Roman, Provençal and French vocabulary, yet it still somehow manages to retain its Nice specificity.

While meandering the winding narrow webbed alleys of Old Town Nice, open up your senses to the quirky sound of the Nice dialect, and notice the street signs written in French as well as in Nissart.