Reunited with good friends

The best thing about meeting old friends is that you can effortlessly pick up where you last left off; it doesn’t matter that years and miles separate you from the last time you saw them, or that the kids have all grown about a foot. You just seamlessly melt back into the friendship you had, and wonder at how small the world can be despite the immense size of it.

Our Greek friends from Clermont-Ferrand moved to Oklahoma last year, and thanks to business in Charlotte and Greenville, we have been able to spend a bit of time with them. These were the friends that so kindly welcomed us to Greece for our summer vacation, and along with Maël, Stephane and Lauris were the “three amigos.” Only two days separate them in age! (And Maël, we missed you and your family, and thought of you often!) 

For two days last week we enjoyed time just hanging around, getting caught up and relaxing, but along with the weekend came some beautiful weather and the chance to show them around town. Saturday we spent downtown, starting off in Falls Park and working our way to the Children’s Garden before finding all nine Mice on Main.

It is so easy to take our little town for granted, but through the eyes of our visitors we learn to appreciate it more with every tour. Not every town can boast a waterfall in the middle of the city, or such a family-friendly downtown… We are lucky to call Greenville our home, and luckier still that here our paths cross with such good friends.

On the hunt... for Easter eggs!

Easter is almost upon us! This means spring has arrived, with warm and sunny days enticing us outdoors away from the housework, the computer and winter clothes!

On the hunt for Easter eggs

We headed to a birthday party/Easter egg hunt last weekend for a wonderful kick-off to the warm weather. The kids had a blast finding the chocolates hidden across the yard, and I had a blast kicking back for a bit to soak up some sun and chat with my friends.

Lauris showing off his find to Ba-Ba's mom

Strawberries have reappeared in the stores and marchés, Lauris could eat a kilo if I let him. (The other moms we meet have started to bring extra just so Lauris won’t eat them all before their kids get some…) The irresistible red berries inspired my contribution to the potluck party – a fruit bowl. Maybe the day will eventually come when I can get my act together to bake or cook my contribution, but this time (and probably next) my theme was simple, fresh and easy.

Getting the kids to pose took longer than finding all the eggs...

I believe I could have sat in the sunshine all day while Lauris played in the fenced-in yard and Mikus traveled the arms of my friends, but housework and the anticipated arrival of our friends from Chatenet had us saying our goodbyes far too early. Thanks to Marine and Emma for an absolutely lovely afternoon!

The first of the three amigos to turn two. Happy birthday!!!

Meteņi

When the days start getting longer and spring is just around the corner, Latvians celebrate Meteņi. Seven weeks before Easter, it is celebrated the day before Catholic Ash Wednesday. In other countries this day is called  Shrove Tuesday, Pancake Tuesday, Pancake Day, Mardi Gras, and Fat Tuesday. The coming of spring is associated with old fertility rituals to promote and enrich the new growing season, and one of these rituals is sledding. During meteņi the higher the hill and the faster the sled, the higher and faster your crops will grow. Lauris and Mikus have already commenced with the growing, no sledding necessary; yesterday came the moment I put away a good portion of Mikus's 0-3 month clothes and sorted through Lauris's old clothes for all the 3-6 month outfits.

Baby boot camp: Mikus doing his daily pushups

We celebrated Meteņi with the traditional foods, Latvian pancakes and Meteņa maizītes, or as called in my family, štopkūkas, and a few guests to help eat them (instead of going sledding). The ladies came over with Lauris’s best buddies, and in no time the living room was transformed into a crèche, with toys spread evenly over the floor like a carpet, the decibel reading at levels just under “earplugs needed”, and unbelievably, only one ice-pack required over the course of the afternoon.

The three amigos reunited

So back to the štopkūkas*... Our adventure with whipped cream continued as we bought several varieties of cream and did some research. A comment left on the Bizet day post mirrored what my friend Evdoxia had advised, to use a powder with the cream to help it whip better, while another friend recommended buying cream over a 30% fat content (whipping cream in the US I believe is 36%). So we searched our local stores but didn’t find the powder, and we now have at least five different types of cream in the refrigerator. Our luck turned when Evdoxia showed up Thursday with a bottle of the needed cream (crème fluide with a fat content of 30%) and a box of the Chantifix (Vahiné brand in this case), and we were able to finish the štopkūkas without using the back-up bottle of onctuesuse (Reddi-wip in the US) I had found. 

This recipe is my mother’s, and I’ve noted the minor modifications we made to utilize it here in France.

Ingredients for Latvian Meteņu maizītes:

            ¾ cups milk

            ¼ cup sugar

            1 tsp. salt

            ¼ cup butter (unsalted)

            1 tsp. lemon zest

            ¼ cup warm water

            1/3 of a 2 ounce cake of fresh yeast (we used 1 envelope of dry yeast)

            1 egg + egg for brushing the tops

            3 ½ cups sifted flour (we used only about 3 as the flour is finer)

            1-2 tbsp. chopped or sliced almonds

            1 cup whipping cream (we used 20 cl crème fluide  + 1 packet Chantifix)

            3 tbsp. powdered sugar + more for final decoration

            vanilla is optional

           

1. Preheat oven to 400º.

2. Heat milk to almost boiling, then add sugar, salt, butter and lemon zest. Stir until sugar has melted and then set aside to cool.

3. Proof the yeast in the warm water with a little sugar.

4. Beat the egg, and once the milk mixture has cooled add the egg and the yeast. Slowly, and mixing the entire time, add the flour until it becomes too stiff to mix, then knead with hands. Be careful not to add too much flour.

5. Once the dough is smooth, place in a greased bowl with a towel covering it and let rise in a warm spot until doubled. Lightly knead, then let rise another half an hour.

6. Divide the dough into 12-15 pieces. Stretch each piece into a square, then fold corners under to form a sort of ball before placing on a greased cookie sheet. Brush lightly with egg yolk, sprinkle with almonds and let rise another thirty minutes.

7. Cook in preheated oven 15 minutes or until lightly browned.

8. Whip cream with powdered sugar and vanilla.

9. When the little breads have cooled, cut the very top off with a sharp knife and scoop out the insides. Fill with whipped cream, place the top back on and decorate with powdered sugar.

Labu apetīti!

Un daudz laimes dzimšanas dienā manai mīļai māšelei Annai Pannai!!! Ieēdīšu štopkūku tev par godu!

* My French friend Marion informed me that there is something similar in look (but is in fact a pastry, more than a bread) to the štopkūka here in France, the choux à la crème.

December in the Auvergne – raclette

Nāc, māsiņ, ciemoties

Ziemassvētku vakarā:

Būs pupiņas, būs zirnīši,

Būs cūciņas šņukurīts.

“Come for a visit on Christmas eve, there will be beans, peas and pork!” (Sounds a bit better in the Latvian Christmas carol!) This post is not about pork and beans, and honestly, it didn’t even happen in December, but since the holidays are upon us along with the various dinners, lunches and gatherings, I felt it was an appropriate “December in the Auvergne” post. During the very last days of November we were invited to a friend’s house to celebrate the November birthdays: among the five families that attended there had been seven birthdays (including mine)! The menu? Raclette!

The three amigos meet again!

A dish originally from Switzerland and the Savoy region of France, it involves melted cheese, potatoes and charcuterie/jambon cru. According to Wikipedia, the term raclette derives from the French word racler, meaning "to scrape", because traditionally the heated cheese was scraped from a large round onto diners’ plates. The modern version involves an electric table-top grill with small pans for heating the cheese and a griddle top for cooking the ham.

Melted cheese with bacon and potatoes, I believe I’ve mentioned a pregnant woman’s affinity for such dishes in posts such as Truffade, and Happy New Year. Actually, I’m surprised how little I’ve written about this particular weakness of mine, considering how much I’ve been thinking about it the past months. Why do my pregnancy cravings center around bacon, cheese and fried dough instead of healthier options such as veggies and grains, I do not question.

The evening was a wonderful success. The children spent all their energy while the adults dined and talked, and the raclette grills were turned off much too soon (in my opinion) to make room for dessert (well that did change my mind). Four different birthday cakes with candles appeared, happy birthday was sung twice, and I have my doubts that anyone left without a stuffed belly and that inner peace that comes after such a pleasant occasion.

* Thanks Robert, for all the pictures! Pregnancy brain struck again, as I left my camera at home!

La fête d'anniversaire

Latvian wedding celebrations traditionally last three days; Lauris’s first birthday celebration, five days! All week little presents and cards have been arriving in the post, and we continue to eat kliņğeris. Today was the culmination of the partying with our IWC mom and baby club-organized party. I’ve previously mentioned that one of Lauris’s friends, Stephane, has a birthday only two days before Lauris, but another boy, András, also just had a birthday, turning two. The three mothers decided to celebrate with a small party in lieu of the usual meet at Parenthèse café.

The birthday boys!

Evdoxia was kind enough to host, and the combination of the weather and her ideal yard guaranteed a beautiful setting and wonderful time, for mothers and babies (there were almost 30 of us!). Lunch was an international affair; Viktória’s Hungarian goulash was the starter, and the kids especially were big fans. Then served with a Greek salad were the crêpes, which were lovingly made by Marine over the course of the afternoon. There were loads of possible filling choices; mushroom sauce, ham, cheese, peppers, chicken, and plenty of other combinations I couldn’t get around to try, followed later by the sweet stuff; the Nutella, jams and honey. Once everyone was stuffed, out came the cakes, one for each boy. “Happy birthday” and “Joyeaux anniversaire” were sung and the trio received some help blowing out the candles. I had made another kliņğeris, this time with almonds, to add a little Latvian flair to the celebration. Then presents; Lauris received a wonderful shape-fitting toy from the moms, to my amusement they are in the shape of eggs… œufs blancs at that!

...and there was cake!

All three of the “three amigos” are walking now, and they got in plenty of practice today. They followed one another around, tried out the swings, shared toys and ate plenty of  crêpes and chocolate, and in sum had a wonderful time. Lauris surprisingly even took a short nap, allowing us to stay a bit longer.  This was one of those ideal playdates where a mother does not need eternal vigilance, as it was a pre-tested, very safe environment and there was always another mum willing to ‘watch him for a second.’ Not only did I also get enjoyment from watching Lauris in his excitement, but I also ate some good food, drank a couple of cups of coffee and had grown-up conversations with a great group of ladies (and a few with the one- and two-year-olds!).

Later this evening we went out for dinner, originally thinking of sushi but ending up stopping at a brasserie because they had one table left in their outdoor seating area - and because they had a TV to show the ASM-Biarritz rugby game. Roberts was happy to watch the first half, and Lauris was happy to watch the boisterous crowd in his yellow-and-gold number “1” ASM jersey. My happiness was due to the excellent food, as I am repeatedly surprised because I expect “American bar food,” not the higher-shelf dishes I receive. Now home, Lauris asleep, and resting after the long day, enjoying a few minutes of peace before turning in for the night, we hear much honking, shouting and celebration on the streets. I hope it is due to an ASM victory (or, are there others still celebrating Lauris’s birthday?)!