Often, fresh nutritional food is spoken of as "fresh from the garden".  I want to bring to your attention that there's food in "them there woods".  On one of our trips to France, I have a fond memory of going out looking for chestnut trees on the side of the road with my husband, Chef Roland, and his parents.  It was a wonderful experience for all of us and a great reason to go for an outing.  They are in their late 80's and you could tell they really enjoyed being our guides to a choice spot and that they were able to "pass down" part of their food culture to me, their American daughter-in-law who had never harvested chestnuts in the wild.  It was beyond a Kodak moment.  After we located and gleened the chestnuts from a quaint country French farm road, we took them home where Chef Roland's mother cooked up a scrumptious chestnut soup for part of our evening meal.  That experience beat out anything else France had to offer!  Since I've not been diligent to post anything for the holidays, I will make this my contribution because ,really, it's about family and memories.  So, I've posted a link for a nice chestnut recipe.  Unfortunately, they are a little expensive in the store.  However, you can contact the Missouri Department of conservation and purchase a bundle of chestnut trees for a nominal cost and start your own chestnut orchard!! 

http://frenchfood.about.com/od/soupsandstews/r/chestnut.htm


Merry Christmas & Bon Appetit!

I soooooooooo apologize for neglecting our blog for so long.  Life just keeps getting in the way of things I want and need to get done.  That's my excuse....it's the best I have.


I just came across this clip and, SERIOUSLY, it tells the story of WHY France is so well known for their fine cuisine and their outstanding reputation in Food Culture. 


We actually visited one of these schools that has a similar program in a small community and it was incredible how the program is managed and the food presented.  It takes school lunches and school cafeteria workers to a whole new level!!

Enjoy!  Bon Apetit!



http://www.wimp.com/schoollunches/

What a wonderful time of the year to pick up some new receipes to share with family and friends!  Looking around I found some fun projects that are a little different than the usual fare and bring that French flair to the party!  Some of these would make great gifts, as well.

http://frenchfood.about.com/od/desserts/r/orangette.htm?nl=1

http://frenchfood.about.com/od/desserts/r/cranberrypound.htm


http://frenchfood.about.com/od/cookies/r/cinespresso.htm

http://www.aftouch-cuisine.com/recipe/walnut-cake-295.htm

http://www.traditionalfrenchfood.com/french-desserts.html

Bon Apetit!