Saturday 10/1: Want to Make Friends? Cook for Them.

Ah, sleeping is wonderful. I feel like I appreciate it even more here because my brain has the time to rest completely. Of course, sometimes I dream in French… I slept until 10:30am today, then (after breakfast…which included a croissant!) I helped Catherine with the laundry. In France, people typically don’t own (or don’t often use) a dryer. Everything is hung to dry outside, or—during the winter —inside. It saves a lot of electricity (and money!) and is better for the environment. Also, the laundry smells really fresh when it’s dry!

In the early afternoon I went to a German grocery store with Catherine and Margot in search of the ever-elusive buttermilk. Truly, people hear don’t use it. Most have never even heard of it! We ended up buying something that is between yogurt and cheese, but I’m not exactly sure what it is! I’ll mix it with milk and try using it in the place of buttermilk when I make pancakes tomorrow morning… we’ll see!!

After lunch, I showed Margot and Catherine how to make bread dough (my family’s traditional Italian recipe). They were enthralled because I they don’t make bread very often (if ever!), since it is so easy to buy fresh bread nearby. It is normal here for people to walk down to the boulangerie and buy a fresh baguette (or two) every morning. And, since it’s not expensive, there’s really no need to make your own bread!

I was, however, making “savory” (bread filled with cheese, broccoli, and cauliflower), so it was essential to make it from scratch. After we let the bread rise, I put together the first savory and Catherine made the second.

She was very impressed with the idea and is planning to copy down my recipe. The oven wasn’t working on the bottom, so we had to flip over the loaves so they would cook all the way through. But, in the end, we succeeded!

As soon as the savories came out of the oven, the whole family (and I) piled into the car and headed for Hossegor. It’s a town on the beach that is well known for its surfing competitions.

We arrived in time to see the gorgeous sunset—it was absolutely amazing watching thesun slip down into the ocean. I played catch with Margot, Lucas, and Hugo (with a rugby ball…they showed me how to throw like a rugby player. I don’t think I’m quite a pro yet…), then Catherine’s sister arrived with her family. Chantal and her husband, Philippe, have three children: Jeanne (13 yrs old), Pierre (11 yrs old), and Claire (7 yrs old).

We had a picnic on the beach and everyone liked the savories. Catherine (who, while looking through the dvds I’d brought, discovered that I was an extra in Twilight) had fun announcing to everyone that they have an “American movie star” living at their house. She’s decided to tell everyone so that she can start charging for autographs. ;)

Around 8:45pm we headed to a beachside restaurant to have ice cream. It was a real sit-down place with ice cream sundaes! Unfortunately, because the weather has been so beautiful—and it’s a weekend, the restaurant was packed. And there weren’t very many waiters… so, we waited 1 1/2 hours for our ice cream! At least we had lots of time to sit around and chat. And the ice cream was really good (when it finally arrived)—I could barely finish mine! I definitely eat less sugar here, so a huge sundae was pretty intense. Catherine and Ralf are super generous and paid for my ice cream (8.40€!!).

Tomorrow: I attempt to wow the family with pancakes made with “yogurtcheesemilk”….. on va voir!