Comments by "CuteCatFaith" (@CuteCatFaith) on "Munchies"
channel.
-
23
-
22
-
18
-
15
-
14
-
13
-
12
-
Friends, family and contacts in the United States have ridiculed me (and worse) for over two decades for living as I do in Europe. They "pity" me for not having gadgets and frills. I got a new lease on life and wouldn't exchange this for anything. Some have come to visit and actually, some freak out. They just cannot handle all the quiet, peace, polite human contact, nature, culture, and quality of life. Others just blossom here and find they have little anxiety, stress, and have pleasure in little things such as walking, eating, waking up refreshed, et c. Invariably, many ask to smoke even if they are not smokers! (I try to warn them not to -- Paris has a bad climate.) Our country places in Brittany BLEW AN OLD FRIEND'S MIND! He loved meeting the peasant relatives and seeing all the Roman roads, megaliths, vipers, birds of prey, horses, et c.
10
-
10
-
10
-
10
-
9
-
9
-
9
-
8
-
8
-
8
-
8
-
I moved to France long ago from the States and learned to eat slowly, "less is more," and it's quality, not quantity. If you eat on a regular schedule, it's nicely served even in a modest setting, and you do courses, no matter how humble, your health improves, the weight comes off, and the objective is that you are never, ever hungry at the end of the meal. You learn to savor food. My guests here from the USA kept shoveling in junk they were buying and gobbling things down without even tasting them. After we set a good example and they tried what WE eat, one guy, black guy from NYC and AZ, said, "This cheese is OUTRAGEOUS!" The flavor is the focus here, and you're supposed to have your fill, and you can take more plain bread, more cheese, and fresh fruit near the end of lunch and dinner, even everyday, if you need it, so you learn not to panic -- you're going to get enough. "Why can't I have another bite?" The more, more, more, more is better American thing is not for me any longer. :)
8
-
8
-
8
-
8
-
8
-
Hey, this American guy was visiting me here in France and wanted me to see a clip of his "friend" who had the fastest battery-operated motorcycle on record. I said, "That's stupid. You don't need to 'go fast' on a motorcycle." Sure enough, in the clip, the guy wiped out and is now paralyzed. I said to my visitor, "Oh, great, think of the cost and he's wrecked himself for something so pointless! This is horrible. You really think this is great? That's stupid." He looked stunned, hadn't thought of it that way, and kind of had to agree. Really, it was shocking! That fool made himself a burden who will suffer horribly! For nothing!!
7
-
7
-
7
-
6
-
6
-
6
-
6
-
6
-
Uprated. I LOVED the North of England, and the South of Scotland! I was FINE with the food in both countries, since 1980, many times, mostly for pleasure but a little bit for work. I just stuck to local specialties and game. No problem! Crab fishing by boat is horribly hard and dangerous. Seafood and shellfish, any sea or water products, in fact, are generally way too toxic to eat or too stressed to harvest, however, so I reluctantly avoid them. (But do not exclude them. Depends.) The parmo is, at this point, after living in France so long from the USA via Italy, too gloopy for me likely, but I certainly would try it! I really like doing some British and Scottish dishes here, making my own pastry, getting the gnarly supplies and cooking them all down. Fun clip. I think the North of England is a bit like the North of France, which has a bad reputation. Undeserved. I can really recommend the Northeast of England as a visit destination. Go look, study the history, behave, and try some things! Very fun clip, thank you.
6
-
6
-
5
-
One of the reasons I don't eat the beef tartare here in France is that I'm not nuts about their presentation of it. This method looks better. We like it served French style with horse meat, however, the egg yolk right on the meat in an indentation, and you put chopped onion, a pickle, a few capers, et c. around on the side of the plate. Usually the condiments offered (and this is easy to make and do at home) are Tabasco sauce, Worcestershire sauce if it can be found, mustard, horse radish maybe, and I've seen oil offered. The bread is on the side. It's considered to have a raw meat meal at least seasonally here very healthy. Fun to garnish with a radish, et c. Oh, I've also seen lemon juice as a condiment. The diner can pick the mix they want to bite at, a little at a time, with nibbles of bread. I like raw meat meals once in awhile. This chef does a nice job, and adding a dash of cognac looks good. Uprated.
5
-
5
-
5
-
Uprated, shared. Another interesting one. Hormonal problems, fibroids = soya. I can't handle it, unfortunately. Lots of stuff in this one. Here in France, a lot of stuff like the "cupping" is at least partially covered by basic universal health care. Mésothérapie, acupuncture, homeopathy, sophrologie, lymphatic drainage, physical therapy, chiropractors who use pressure points on the neck to give you the feeling of a long weekend vacation of rest, and plenty of Asiatic doctors who tend to be excellent. I've taken friends visiting from the States around to have eye checks and glasses, dental care, et c. Enough about France, I like it here. Again, I would have had at least a bite of everything shown here, even the tofu. I agree with what you said at the end, very much -- one culture is not better than another, just it's own thing. I studied Chinese herbology decades ago, formally, and still refer to my materials. Just cleared up a tooth abcess in two days, will just go next week to a regular dentist for a classic check. Very informative despite the rudeness often, ha ha ha! Thank you. You are what you are, Mr. Huang. Salute!
5
-
5
-
5
-
5
-
5
-
5
-
5
-
4
-
My French spouse forced me to watch some documentaries some years ago and to visit one of his family member's industrial farms (which is quite nice, modern and humane by many standards, but yeow!). I got the message. Reducing meat, sticking to free range, organic, equitable, local, seasonal ... in fact, it's the cheaper option here in France for the most part. I used to sometimes get a free range organic turkey on order in the States. Turkeys go for 70 to 100 USD equivalent here in France but they prefer goose and other things anyway. Scott Rea has a great recent clip up of what lovelieness can come of an ordinary turkey, however, and I recommend his channel. Enjoy, and do go hunting or fishing once and kill and process it ALL yourself! :)
4
-
4
-
4
-
Fun! Uprated. I always liked to cook in the USA and learned in Italy, where I studied. I've been in France for 21 years, and actually landed a job as a chef's assistant in Paris on a short-term contract. Wow, that chef was nasty, but I shut up, obeyed and learned a lot. "Tripéries" are popular here in France and I live in Saint-Denis on the border of Paris and people are poor a lot of them, so the "tripes" vendors in the huge greenmarket here three times a week (one of the largest in Europe) are always thronged. I love "tripes" (offal) and nailed Tripes à la Môde de Caen my second try. He's right, it is more work. If you do it right, the stuff tastes amazing. Ask any Soul Food afficionado! Chitlins here are "andouilles" and "andouillettes," and so on. I have done half a suckling pig in a way I learned from Sardinians in Italy, splitting it with another woman right there in the greenmarket here. Stuffed lamb hearts, I'll try anything! A lot of this stuff has to be cooked all day, cooled, chilled, then continued next day so it can bloom. I miss a North American cocktail and I think this is a winning combination! Never been to Thailand but any Thai dish I had, however inauthentic, was wonderful. You're SUPPOSED to take a long time with this, and then scent the aromas, eat slowly, chew, talk, think ... taste. Uni (sea urchin) is a bit weird but I like seeing it here fresh and alive in January and look forward to doing it Inch'Allah (ha ha!). Italians love it as a seasonal treat, too. I really like the presentation in the dishes shown here, and the thoughtful zaniness. It all seems to ought to work, to me. I'm also one of the few people I know who likes any caviar or fish eggs. Wonderful, colorful clip. Thank you so much! "Bon continuation!"
4
-
4
-
4
-
4
-
4
-
4
-
Zach Harter
I know, I'm from Cleveland, which went bankrupt in '75 after largely burning in the '60s. Moving to the Lower East Side of NYC in the late '70s was scary, but I tried to buy the Christadora House, which was only 60k USD!! People thought I was NUTS!! There were other properties up for grabs and I was so frustrated not to have any money or connections. The few I knew who could get money were terrified of that place. So many young people such as myself had fled the Rust Belt for NYC, where at least you could go to or finish college and find "a job" and kind of try to survive. (It was hell!!) When I bought an abandoned place in Saint-Denis, France for cash in '94, people thought I was INSANE! But I love it here -- it's better than NYC, and I can walk into Paris! The very same day I closed on this place, the same place upstairs sold for DOUBLE THE MONEY. Now, I couldn't even rent here, let alone buy. If it's a place where many, many languages are spoken daily and you have a lot of students and young people from all walks of life, it's at least going to be lively. There is often a chance it will develop. When you have places such as NYC where most people share horrible, buggy, dark, run-down apartments, they will likely go out to clubs and restaurants and will need services, transportation, et c. No one wants to "stay home" much in such places. When I see places where people can "cocoon" and "burrow," there's always a stagnation. At least, an inherent one. I don't mind seeing lively, trendy places pop up as long as they are mindful of their trash and noise and quality of life issues and stuff.
4
-
4
-
4
-
4
-
4
-
4
-
4
-
3
-
3
-
3
-
Terribly cute, and uprated. Fish are stressed, overfished and toxic, ditto shellfish, but I would eat this like a total hypocrite! Fish farming is a no-no -- BUT I WOULD EAT THIS!!!!! I loved ramps in the States. I am in France now permanently, and we do love our eggs sunnyside up, super soft. Brilliant to use nasturtiums -- almost the whole plant is edible. Petals, leaves, even roots, in theory. Wonderful, thank you for the demonstration.
3
-
Indomitable They wouldn't eat it. A grillade, yes, but it isn't the same. They don't understand the sweet/sour thing. Well, they do in Alsace. They want for food flavors to stay very pure and hate spicy food, too. There are some seasonal and regional exceptions. They will not eat hot corn. I've been a chef's assistant here in Paris. Around where I live in Saint-Denis, which speaks 80 languages a day, some will eat food in the Antilles way, but like once a year. I've been here 20 years. They also don't like heavy sauces. Lyon is famous for them but that is an exception. No, sweet and sour they do not like here. Alsace is over by Germany so there is a potential appreciation of sweet/savory mix. There are four sacred foods in France: bread, wine, meat and cheese. They don't even like cooked cheese -- yes, there are some dishes with cooked cheese but every lunch, every dinner ends with a cheese platter and fresh fruit -- they want a selection of cheese, unadulterated. They want it plain. There are exceptions for some recipes. I was a cook in the USA and my offerings over here from the US were flops -- they couldn't or wouldn't eat, say, a casserole. They detest chili con carne. Ethnics, who are not French, who are of different origins here, yeah they will eat different stuff. I was really surprised by the actual daily French diet and what they consider good! I do understand it, however. They like to buy organic, from farms, and there are, for example, master cheese inspectors. GMOs are illegal here. I know, it is maddening! No, no bbq here. There is a specialty chef in Paris you can hire to do it for you as a caterer for American bbq. I miss bbq, but there you go.
3
-
3
-
3
-
3
-
3
-
3
-
3
-
3
-
3
-
3
-
3
-
3
-
3
-
3
-
Uprated. Funny, because in NYC for years I always kept champagne, little breads for toast, quality butter, a few hardboiled eggs, Perrier, lemons and caviar ... for breakfast, especially! I didn't know a little onion could be good, too. I quite like it sometimes. I did find that if it stains your teeth black, it's just inferior fish eggs, dyed. I'm okay with lumpfish eggs, however -- it doesn't have to be the fancy stuff. Not everyone likes this, for sure.
3
-
3
-
3
-
3
-
3
-
3
-
Uprated. Until one has hunted, killed and processed an animal, or killed and processed a captive animal, we don't really grasp the whole thing. I think only once is necessary to see what it is. Personally, I feel that water creatures are sentient, feel pain, et c. Octopi have a full range of emotions, for example. Hey, even common flies sleep an average of 12 hours per day, and have REM, so they might dream. I'm worse: I feel trees, plants and the very ELEMENTS are sentient! I was reluctantly glad my spouse made me watch a movie on industrial poultry, as he'd get annoyed when I'd buy supermarket chicken. It really changed our lifestyle a few years ago. Interesting clip, thanks.
3
-
3
-
3
-
3
-
3
-
3
-
3
-
3
-
3
-
3
-
3
-
3
-
Uprated, likely to share. What he said reminded me of the intensity I felt in Iceland. All the dark, cold, snow, ice, danger, morosity gives sharp contrast to the joy of art, the pleasure of still being alive, any warmth or sun or mild times, color, scents, touch, it sharpens you. I enjoyed smoked puffin there.
2
-
Max Avila I'm looking for clips by him of France. I really was ill a lot my first six months here! The tap water has a lot of limescale (I had the same problem as a student in Italy -- takes time to adjust). I found the diet in France heavy on meat, fat, salt and sugar. It was hard to learn to "eat French," slowly, thoughtfully, on time, no snacks, small portions, little or no beverage with food, et c. I have a terrible weakness for the dry cider here, which is at 12% alcohol content (the sweet has only about 4%). You can go nuts with the wine here and it's easy to drink too much!! Brittany actually is not known for cheeses, due to its climate, but it IS known for "the best butter in the world." The soil is poor, the climate harsh, the people traditionally poor and working often with the sea and subsistence farming. If you get there, try to stick to local foods. They may seem very limited (I suppose they are, if they are local and seasonal) but this is not a French culture -- it is Celtic -- and French was not required to be used in Breton public schools until 1936. I recommend Quimper, at the tip of Brittany. There is an international airport not far away, and you get Celtic and French culture there (people do still speak Breton), the architecture is superb, the culture lively (universities are there, a good sign), there are canals, the sea is nearby, lots of water around, and you can get the most traditional with the most edgy and trendy there. Quimper has "something for all ages." If you then want to go to Paris or anywhere else, there is the TGV train (book in advance for best rates). The "party cars" for socializing and first class really are not necessary -- if you ask for a second class "quiet" car they are fine, and you can enjoy the bar area (take your own food and drink, discreetly, however -- they often run out of their overpriced fare). Brittany is highly favored by many French (and savvy others) for visits and vacation, because it usually costs way less and is very welcoming to families, travelers and yes, gourmets! It's huge, bigger than Normandy, and we still hope to visit the wild island of Ouessant, way out there beyond the tip and often cut off by bad seas for a week at a time. Breton food is very different from all other French food. I think I've been pretty much all over Brittany in the past 20 years, and there is an area inland or by the water to suit you. I recommend a three-week visit if you can manage that. If you want to contact me for ideas, I have a website noted on all my clips and there's a contact point. (I am retired and don't do guiding anymore for declared money.) If you want to try some Breton recipes in the meantime, I like the Susan Hermann Loomis book FRENCH FARMHOUSE COOKING. It is designed for Americans but works for anyone who is English-speaking. This is one of my go-to books for French "real" cooking. On a budget, even. She limits the anecdotes, but they are charming. Anyone can cook with French flair and authenticity with her book. Kenavo! (This is both hello and goodbye in Breton.) :)
2
-
2
-
2
-
2
-
2
-
2
-
2
-
2
-
2
-
2
-
2
-
2
-
2
-
2
-
2
-
"Garde Manger" is a great name. People, that is a French cabinet or cupboard, large or small, fairly open or pretty closed, and subs for a fridge. Traditionally, the French do not have refrigerators. If in a city or town they shop daily or often, and if rural, they likely know how to store their produce, meats, et c. for up to a year, naturally. The garde manger keeps the kitty cat or vermin away from your paté and cheese and stuff. Things will keep in there for a little while. You find a lot of French with maybe only a tiny fridge but possibly a small freezer unit, separately. I've seen country folk and some city folk here who have cabinets over all their kitchen appliances -- they really don't want to see those machines when they are not in use.
2
-
2
-
Vulgar, as usual, but funny, and interesting. Uprated. This guy on YT has Parkinson's, and he's Balinese, in the USA. Loves surfing. Was still well enough to do it about a year ago, and he and his wife saved and took their child to Bali so he could surf. The wife adores chewing betel nuts but got so sick, they had to stop the trip immediately and repatriate. Bummer, huh? He didn't say much, but I could tell he was crushed. All that money, and probably his last chance ... I would have tried one of those garnished sausages, absolutely. I will remember that and try something like that, vaguely, here in France. Thank you.
2
-
2
-
2
-
I'm not nuts about people who have never hunted or fished a creature, killed it, and processed it fully, then cooked it fully, at least once. It's essential. One time, and your whole perspective changes. About the animal smells -- out by our place in the country in Brittany, France, a nearby farmer neighbor has a big turkey raising hangar. Stinky! Free range pigs are much appreciated in France, and they love it and are generally smarter than dogs, and cleaner, too, on their own. I kept buying industrial meats (and eggs) and my French spouse put his foot down and made me look at a documentary, and we went to visit his cousin and their industrial pig and veal farm. Even with their modern facilities and their experience with old-ways animal husbandry, it was quite an eye-opener. We took an American friend who was kind of stunned. I won't even drink cow milk anymore unless it's raw, organic, free range. (I prefer goat or horse milk, anyway.) I enjoyed New York City for 17 years and like Paris even better. Huge mix. I like learning other cultures, and have no specific bone to pick with, say, Muslims. That'd be like saying I don't like redheads or something. It does depend, as it does, for me, with, say, dogs! I don't like them all. Nicely presented with a polite and enthusiastic lady. Food is a tenuous but fun way to "travel" a bit. Uprated.
2
-
2
-
2
-
2
-
2
-
2
-
2
-
2
-
2
-
2
-
2
-
2
-
2
-
2
-
2
-
2
-
2
-
2
-
MusingsofaJay
I wouldn't say Paris is dirty, per se. Saint-Denis is grungy. The air is foul in Paris. Your plan sounds good. It does take time to make connections in France. For everyone! The expat and student community here, like that, do have ideas and possible contacts, but I find that stuff is always about 20% costlier. Even settled here, married, owning a domicile, it took me 13 months of constant searching to find a real job here. It's smart to stay here for a year continuously. Also, two to three visits in a year is a good idea. Gives you some ideas, some contacts. Even if a place likes you very much, they may not need you AT THAT TIME. It's up to you to keep polite contact and be available, and keep looking into it in general. I call it "the warm body" theory. I've gotten jobs where ever because I was the warm body they needed and at least reasonably fit the profile. All work here is by contract and there is a trial period for you and for them. It's actually a good thing! No one here, whether they like you or not, will inform you about the Code du Travail or the Convention Collective, so you have to do that yourself. Different legal system, different banking, et c. If you travel for training, it can be expensive, depending on from where, but season passes can make it much more reasonable. It's also tiring but if you are motivated and it's just for a year, likely you can do it.
2
-
*****
A lot of people here pick on you, and I don't know you, but I think they are not reading what you are typing and are just hurling epithets. The old rule of thumb for NYC was "one year." Once you got even a day past the one-year point, it was said you have the "right" to call yourself a "New Yorker." (I left in '94 and don't know the US really at all anymore, let alone NYC.) I didn't grow up in great surroundings in the dying Rust Belt of the USA (born in the '50s). I must say, immigrants or "different" neighbors who were new were met and supported immediately by their neighbors. They might need help with the language, getting work, sorting out stuff. Why was this done? We didn't "like" them (necessarily). But we didn't want them to be a problem or a burden. NYC took the same attitude in the '80s. There were signs up in the subways in various languages about getting work permits. It was very clear these were not "green cards" or anything but a work permit, and all you had to do was show up downtown, pay a low fee, prove you arrived in the country legally, and the same day you'd get something to carry around and show to potential employers that they could actually hire you legally. The infrastructure in NYC was a disaster, and the city had nearly gone bankrupt in the '70s. These work permit people were needed for the "horrible" work, the boring stuff, the dangerous stuff, and right away, they were producing revenues. It took a decade, but things did improve at least infrastructure-wise. I was there -- I saw this happen. I'm not saying this method would work again -- this was only for NYC, back then. But as far as I am concerned, or was, those people were "NYers" a day after their first year there. I was glad to be able to buy fresh produce and not have to walk a shaky plank over a huge ditch up First Avenue downtown. No guard rails, nothing. Long, smelly walk to the subway -- blood on the sidewalks. Coolest years in hell, ha ha ha!!
2
-
2
-
2
-
2
-
2
-
2
-
2
-
2
-
2
-
2
-
2
-
2
-
2
-
2
-
2
-
2
-
2
-
2
-
2
-
2
-
Really fun clip! Sorry for triple posting. Hilarious guy, can't say I approve of him entirely, but I can absolute relate. I'm so lucky to have been kicked out at 18 and have been as many places as I have, studied and worked in so many countries, and be, finally, expat American. The lamb really brought back memories: one Egyptian guy in Paris who did wood-fire lamb chops ... well, as our host here says, "A cure for AIDS!" I recall being a bit freaked out by the food in Turkey, but by day three, I was in! In Turkey, often, in the smallest villages, in the brightly lit, clean and tacky places where families were happily chowing down in the evening, I was NEVER disappointed. Italy, get outta here, studying there was wonderful, making so many friends I still visit there, learning the language, and learning cooking. The UK, Scotland, Iceland, Mexico, Martinique, Belgium, (mixed feelings on Dutch food in The Netherlands), Switzerland, all of France for 21 years (chef's assistant), on and on ... and get outta here with African foods and "Arab" foods! Indian! Asiatic! I learned to make souse from scratch at home this past Winter. Cooked a whole pig's head! Oh, and nothing wrong with some of the American dishes I so fondly recall (half Pennsy Dutch). Super-fun channel. Easy uprate. Shared. Bless. Greetings from Paris.
2
-
2
-
2
-
2
-
2
-
2
-
2
-
2
-
2
-
omegazthebadass
It was kind of funny. I had a short-term work assignment in The Netherlands, not far from Germany. We were in an office complex, shared space. It was nice, with bike paths and cows around. It had a tidy, orderly parking lot. In the center were some conveniences such as cash machines, some postal stuff, and a central subsidized cantine. The Dutch were very pleasant, punctual, friendly and efficient at work. They knocked off on time and rode away for their private lives but put in a full day's work! Lunches were bad, however. There were various gloops to choose from, often sweet and sour (which I like) and strangely shiny and non-descript. There was no texture, no crunch. I am an adventurous eater, or was, but there was no joy in this. I really understand why this form of cooking existed and persists. In the North of France, approaching Walloon and Flemish worlds, some traditional dishes are still gloopy and made with beer, et c. It was nourishing, and only one hot meal per day was the norm in much of Europe and the UK throughout history. Things had to be boiled for hours to be sanitary. Babies, the infirm, people with no teeth, all had to be able to eat from one pot. Dutch food tends to be too heavy for me. :)
2
-
2
-
2
-
2
-
2
-
2
-
2
-
2
-
2
-
2
-
2
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
Blayer PointduJour
You might want to look into my Slovenian relatives in the Cleveland, Ohio area. I don't even recall their name, but the clevelandmarko channel can direct you. My Parisian spouse quit drinking well over a decade ago, but he was an absolute wine snob, and he was thrilled with that wine on a visit to my family in Ohio. He felt it compared with the lower tier types of French wines just fine, and I recall I found it highly, highly affordable. The regions just South of Lake Erie are great for vines. The weather is horrible, the people are horrible, but hey. I went nuts over the wines of the North Fork of Long Island, New York. You will likely have to bite the bullet when you find something you like, and buy a case at a time. I relied heavily on Astor Wines in NYC back in the day. I could get a human on the phone to help me select my orders, and even though I lived in Brooklyn most of my time in NYC, I could get in on their weekly Brooklyn delivery. I think when an economy is busy, wine prices can be quite reasonable. It's just a theory. I am in my sixth decade, and have lived, worked and studied in four countries. The poorer the population is, the more any vices will tend to cost. Despite what I hear from the sour grapes crowd in the USA, France is doing fine -- not everywhere, but in and around Paris, things have been gangbusters since 2010. The recession was hell in 2009, you could hear a pin drop, but it was very, very, very short term. A lot of people in France have a NICOLAS in their town, city or village. This is a "caviste." You can arrange for cases of wine and any specialty alcohols they have, but they also have these cheapies from family vineyards, general label, and it's about 2 USD per bottle. PointduJour means daybreak, right? xo bises
1
-
Blayer PointduJour
I know it to mean "daybreak." "Pont" is bridge, "point" is a period in grammar or some other things. I knew some really nice Haitians in NYC. Very hard-working. There are some pretty funny names for people among blacks, in French. A flower or a month is a man's name, such as Hyacinthe or Violet, or Avril, and Dieudonné is a fun one, "God-given." Aimé (Amy) is also a man's name in French ("beloved"). A lot of people in the South of the USA have French names and they don't know why. They are probably descendants of French child slaves. Any unaccompanied child was seized until about 1800 (a little before). The parents or guardians had to show up and pay the fine, or the kid was sent overseas "to propagate the French race." This was highly lucrative for the régime(s). They either got the fees, or the price on a kid for free labor. I have an ancestor in the USA who was named "Favorite." He wasn't the favorite at all, she just had a lot of children, and that was the easiest birth, so he was "Favorite William." How did you end up with "Blayer?"
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
Uprated. Well, I'm impressed, he's terrific! I've always heard about puddings, which I know can be sweet or savory. This would not fly with my French spouse, but I know it's good, I've been there, yes the stuff usually looks strange. The Italians do a version of an English trifle, which are also a dumped mess, but fantastic, called a "Zuppa Anglese" if I remember correctly. "English Soup." Theirs is a gloop also, but you know that in advance, and it's wonderful. It's their version of a trifle. The fully meat puddings, I'd certainly try them. Apparently, a pudding is very loved in the UK and marks a special occasion.
1
-
1
-
1
-
I'm watching this again! Italy is fantastic. I've never been South of Rome but I'm sure the South and Sicilia have wonderful things. I studied in Firenze and have friends around Lucca and Pisa and we visit as often as we can, and we also enjoyed a long vacation in Venezia, which I already knew very well. I like to stay in room five at the Hotel Carpaccio, which is on the Grand Canal. It's in the old Terraced Palace and it's funny, when you phone, they deny they are a hotel, then it's full, then they quote you a high price, then you have to argue them down and say no, I know you're a hotel, I've stayed there six times, I want room five, please! The food is excellent in Italy, and I just bought an award winning oil in a port in Hyères, France. It was expensive but great to have back here in Paris. Not all the "small mill" oils are good, I bought one in Gordes my spouse didn't like, but a good vendor has a way for you to taste and smell it and usually you can visit their mill. I like the clandestine restaurants in Italy. I was taken to one way up on a mountain by an old castle near Lucca and Pisa. A Sardinian family was expecting us, you have to phone. For something like 20 euros each, we had great Sardinian wine, olives and appetizers, homemade ravioli and a roast suckling pig garnished with radishes. It was all fantastic, and I speak Italian and learned some Sardinian, which is really pretty. The food is awesome here in France and I've worked as a chef's assistant here in Paris, but really, Italian food is special. I really recommend a visit to Italy. You'll be hooked on the food so fast it's scary -- you'll realize you had no actual idea what Italian food is!
1
-
1
-
Germanmusicnerd89
Eh, I lectured history here in Europe after leaving the USA. It really is a sure sign of the last days of an empire, et c. Really. I hear you. I was a chef's assistant in Paris on a half-year contract and found it fascinating, have written two cooking columns, cooked for pay in the USA, such as it was, once as a live-in servant, and even still do sloppy, unedited cooking and market haul, sometimes even restaurant clips on my two channels here and Dailymotion. I love Europe's food culture, and the fact that so many French still don't even have refrigerators doesn't surprise me. Often, if they do have them, they hide them behind cabinets! They'd rather use a garde-manger, maybe have a small freezer, wrap, store and cure things themselves, even in cities, and shop daily for fresh stuff. It's still the tradition. It is my understanding from many of my German coworkers and clients here over the years that many German households still have someone there to be the hausfrau whether male or female, things may really close by the end of the day Friday until Monday morning (depends on where you are), so the shopping and errands have to be done during the week, during the day. Some small places in France still are closed entirely on weekends or only open until noon sharp on Saturdays, then BOOM! WEEKEND! Good luck if you want tobacco, alcohol, bread, a DVD, a newspaper, anything, hee hee hee! I'm half Pennsy Dutch, half Slovenian, so yeah, I get it. I've been right on the border of Deutschland so many times and worked in Heerlen, The Netherlands. I love Alsace. I'd like to at least visit Heidelberg, and I have American friends long-term in Berlin. xoxo
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
paucceri
Yes, there are also a lot of superstitions about boats, ships, water, the sea, et c. Some things are considered highly inauspicious. Last year I read a rather long piece on some of them, and also, the cost and trouble you have to go to to rename a vessel. Otherwise, the sea will not recognize her and will reclaim her quickly. If the TITANIC was, indeed, her sister ship, badly damaged in a mishap, then refitted, and disguised, not only was their structural damage, but the new, fake, cheating ship was doomed, if you believe superstition. At the very least, it's pretty rude to do what he did, in and of itself. At least to document it.
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
adam torres
Probably, today. I was born in '57 and had to cook for my brother of 4, alone, when I was 8. I always had to cook, clean, know how to iron, sew, fix things, garden, this was in a city, yet in Ohio. I had to keep highest marks in school. I was shown the door at 18 and said, go succeed.
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
jms
Yes. For some reason I found acupuncture in the USA and France terribly painful, but the first time I had it, it really helped move a flu along. I understood what they are going for. Pressure points are useful, and I like curing my own headaches or migraines in minutes myself, alone, and quieting a fussy baby or kid in a meltdown. I see people doing all the wrong things. I found a chiropractor here in France who does an eight-minute touching using the weight of your head, and I only had to pay 15 euros extra myself. Worth it, as it felt like a long, restful four-day vacation weekend. I mentioned it to some pals and same as with me, first try, they were clear and rested. I learned long ago how to feel where a person's chi is blocked. I don't even have to ask them to undress or actually touch them. Never fails. I don't advise how to resolve it, ever, but they consult and I hear, yup, they feel better, easy to help. It's very painful and confusing when you're blocked somehow. I actually learned about pressure points from a Native American.
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
It looks gross and I've lost my taste for it, generally, but it's part of my upbringing in the USA. My first fiancé liked a pig's knuckle. It was only a dollar five at the Odessa on Avenue A in NYC in the late seventies. I'd definitely sample anything shown here, however. Looks like tacky, beery fun. Greetings from France. Oh, I want to say, that being of Germanic extraction is kind of embarrassing to me -- even when underweight, I never looked "skinny," and I have "apple cheeks," an annoying complexion feature. Sorry, starting to get very off-topic. Cool clip, uprated, thanks.
1
-
1
-
1
-
Looks nice! (I am gluten-intolerant, no beer for me. No alcohol anymore, either, for that matter, ha ha!) I liked a bull-shot in NYC. Mike at Morgen's East in Manhattan made nice ones in the '80s. Sort of a bloody bull -- lots of very strong beef bullion, a little tomato juice, and a strong liquor. (Don't recall which.) It could be treated as a Bloody Mary, with a touch of horseradish, a touch of hot sauce, a touch of Worcestershire sauce, a nice fresh lime wedge, even some celery. The Bloody Mary was named for the heiress to the Wanamaker Department Store by Astor Place in Manhattan. Drink killed her young, but she would ask for that, and her name was Mary. She drank with Ted Healy, who also died drink-related, was from Manhattan, and is known for The Three Stooges. Apparently, Mary was quite nice.
1
-
fedemonsalve
Well, my health no longer allows for alcohol, but thanks for that advice. Beer ... I had some nice ones around the world. Made me sneeze violently! One of the last ones I had, I shocked my French inlaws. We'd been on an outing in sweltering Summer heat and took a break at a pleasant woodland terrace which served drinks, to cool off a bit. I asked for a glass of cool water, no ice, the way most Europeans like it, fine, and a "demi", which is just a half-liter or so of domestic French beer. The French can be snippy about women drinking. A Ricard or a Suze or a sirop and water might be better regarded. But dang it, I wanted a super cold beer! (Egad beer is good in Belgium.) For a lady to sip a demi in France in heat ... it is not unseemly. But when it came, I asked for a salt shaker, salted it (foamed up) and chugged it!! THEY WERE HORRIFIED! I tell you, that tasted MARVELOUS. No regrets!! I have been very polite and circumspect with three sets of inlaws, in the States and Europe, and sometimes, you just gotta do what you gotta do! xo from Ohio, NYC and Paris.
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
Wow, that black guy is UGLY! I'd be angry if you peed publicly around me, too, and dogs drive me bananas. Men, carry an empty Pringle's or tennis ball can, sheesh! Do that in your vehicle! I'm on diuretics, I understand, but UGH!! What a horrible place. I always remember Detroit and most environs as bad, going back to the sixties. That burger reminds me of the GEORGE SPECIAL sold at the Corral Drive-in on Arlington Street in Akron, Ohio. Quality burger with ham and other stuff on it. I didn't like it, but I didn't mind trying. There were some nice foods in the Midwest.
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
Yaarvis1
Salt activates things such as baking powder. All salt does for humans in flavor is stimulate saliva. It "makes" things taste better because our saliva flows more and begins to analyze and digest it faster. Not big on chemistry, are you? Salt draws the liquid from things; hence, vegetables we wish to drain and sweat, salt draws out acids and juices. Salt should never be used on red meats, as it toughens them -- draws out the blood. This might be desirable, as in koshering, or in making beef jerky, et c. Human needs for salt are real, but a single olive per day is enough for most adults, unless the weather is extreme or there is great exertion. "Soda pop" is heavy on salt -- does soda really really quench your thirst, or do you "need" more? Salt "makes sweets taste sweeter" due to the saliva increase. Again, it's needed in the development of doughs, batters and certain ingredients. Class dismissed.
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
metodex
That's pretty much what it is. It comes in very yellow or whiter form. I find it tricky to cook and my spouse has little or no interest in it, so I don't do it, but it is typical of the North of Italy, say, Bergamo comes to mind, and once cooked, it can be chilled and then later sliced and heated up or fried and be quite a nice little side dish. I've only found the French to use it sometimes in the Southeast, mixed in with a cassoulet. My late father in law here in France did know what cornbread is when I made some and served it hot and fresh, but he remembered an impoverished childhood and they'd had to eat that and milk from their goat, so it brought back bad memories. Corn is sometimes served vinaigrette here in France, but not often. My French mother in law had it as a first course for farm relatives and they said, this is good, what is this yellow stuff? She said, "You grow it! It's corn!" Idiots.
1
-
1
-
1
-
King Z
True, and I'm glad you saw a documentary. While bulking up initially, they may be required to get up and eat rice during the night, then go back to sleep. Many cultures do not actually count calories. France tends to be like that. Hey, many people think chicken has less fat. It has more than veal! The luxury of being sponsored, showing status for the lord patrons, being fed a lot, learning agility and discipline, must have been quite enviable in the old days. Overall, it does not seem great to be so bulky, but my French spouse and I took the time to learn and were happy to watch some Sumo competitions we could see. We could see how fast, hard and ritualized it is. I recommend a Japanese movie called, I think, FACES. It is not very old, really. About the young guy who becomes a ritual funeral man, and how he is stigmatized and his wife has problems with it when she finds out, and yet, he does it beautifully and it brings great peace to the bereaved and dignity to the deceased, no matter their station in life. Fantastic, powerful movie. We were just about knocked flat by that one! eeek Best regards.
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
Fun! We had a General Strike in France here in '95 for six weeks. (I do have a clip up about this on one of my two channels here.) I couldn't get to work, followed the procedure, and was at home, of course not paid, and people DIED during that. I went to a local hypermarché and got 1/4 of a sheep at a good price, all cut up into various stuff. For the next month, I read all my cookbooks about mutton and made so many different things. (It has to be twice-cooked to get the yellow fat off.) My spouse was dealing with anorexia and bulimia so wouldn't eat, but I really did some nice things with it, recipes from many countries. Some complex. One I tried involved a week-long marinade at room temperature with a light covering and keeping all the meat submerged, or it would spoil. I was amazed -- it worked! I do make game dishes also, and try to process the fish or animal myself. This looks fine, and the trap line system seems very good. Animals on roads and rails who die are sad, and it's dangerous. We have a lot of wild boar here, and if you hit one, say goodbye to your vehicle, and you could die. There are places which have free range bulls, horses, lots of different types of deer here, and near Paris, there are wallabies! No one knows how they got there, but they are prolific now and it's kind of funny to see the alert signs, but really, decades ago in the States it was late at night, very dark, and a big deer crossed in front of the car I had been asked to move from one place to another. I took it as a good sign, opened the window, turned up the radio, to avoid being asleep at the wheel after a long day of work in the heat. I've been a passenger in the car and a HUGE animal passes in front and the driver DOES NOT SEE IT! Incredible. I had this happen twice with my spouse -- a deer, and then there was a car stopped in the wrong place on a highway and he was going to plow right into it! Egad. Thank you so much, shared and uprated.
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
MusingsofaJay
Non, c'est bon, je suis de langue maternelle anglaise, ce n'est pas facile! Je crois que vous trouverez du travail ici si vous êtes ici légalement et correctement et si vous trouvez le "droit au travail," ou si vous devenez citoyenne française. Votre français est déjà bon. Paris, c'est complexe et il faut de l'argent. Mais, je vous jure, les asiatiques sont beaucoup apprécié ici en génèrale. Les français, mêmes xenophobes, sont très habitués. Ils n'ont pas peur. Attention: le mariage avec un français vous donne uniquement le DROIT au travail! C'est tout! Avec le mariage en france, IL FAUT UN CONTRAT DE MARIAGE. Je suis triste témoine! Autrement, vous êtes un meuble, ou pire. Si vous avez une domicile stable ici, si vous avez le tampon sur votre passeporte quand vous arrivez ici (essentiel!!!!) et si vous êtes ici en légalité, vous pouvez gagnez un compte banquaire, peut-être avec votre petit employeur pour votre "petit boulout" quand vous serai élève ici (je crois que 10 heures du travail par semaine sont accordés), et vous pouvez demandez immédiatement d'être citoyenne, mais c'est dur! Département Seine-Saint-Denis, c'est l'enfer!!!! Je l'ai fais! C'est vraiment chouette ici mais aussi le reste de France est suberbe et beaucoup est plus facile que Paris et très intéressant. TRAVELAUTEURS ici sur YouTube a fait un entretien téléphonique avec moi vers février 2014 et c'est sur sa chaîne, 40+ minutes en anglais, au sujet d'immigration vers Paris (je suis née aux Etats-Unis) et j'ai deux chaînes ici sur YouTube, ainsi que Dailymotion. Beaucoup au sujet du travail, la vie ici, et c. Je serai contente si vous restez en contacte avec moi. J'ai un site Internet personnel et je suis assez facile à joindre. Ciao!
1
-
MusingsofaJay
I wish to add I just checked the "translation" of my French and it isn't very good. I say that Paris is EXPENSIVE and that Seine-Saint-Denis can be okay to live in, but to apply for citizenship is hell in it, because it is the most populous département in all the Paris/Great Paris region, and you have to apply in the region in which you are domiciled. I started in Val de Marne département but moved to Seine-Saint-Denis and they lied and refused to transfer my dossier so I had to start all over again and pay all over again for certified translations and everything. I do not recommend entering France as a student hoping to work enough to live on or stay very long. I've never seen it really work out, or it was hell. I do encourage people to apply for work visas for a year at a time, because they are tedious and do cost something but then you do not have to worry, you can be here legally and no hassle, you can work, it is authorized. You might like "La Petite Couronne," which is all the near-suburbs and towns of Paris and usually has fairly good access to Paris via public transportation. Ivry-sur-Seine is hugely Asiatic, too. They are connected by tramway now, it's great, and the buses here are fantastic. I am totally used to them. You don't have to live right in Paris to enjoy it. I could actually walk into Paris were I in better health, from my apartment in Saint-Denis. They say the suburbs are nasty, but it depends, and I know three nasty areas of Paris I won't even drive through! So, there you go. Good luck!
1
-
MusingsofaJay
Yes, I am from Cleveland, Ohio and it was dirty and so was NYC where I lived for 17 years. To be an intern here ("stagiare") pays about 350 euros per month, taxable I think, but you are likely to get half your public transport half-paid by the employer, and may also get lunch vouchers, which you pay a bit for and the employer shares the cost. It's essentially slave labor, but you can definitely gain experience in this way, and it's considered valid experience here. If you are strong enough to endure study abroad plus work, and not flip out as most seem to do, it will likely hugely enrich your life and give you more options. I loved studies in Italy long ago, and looked into work there, and found out it's not the greatest country to work in. I did a lot of research, made friends, applied for stuff and enquired. Great to be in Italy if you don't have to work! You will get a million miles ahead of most Americans with French pastry training. I had lots of cooking jobs in the USA and it was handy! I was a chef's assistant here, too. :)
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
Tammc09
We are not under Anglo-Saxon law here. I do not have my married name -- I forever have my maiden name (but can style myself with the married name, as long as I specify the maiden name for administrative purposes). I'm French now, so how they slot me me in is most pertinent for me. You can't be buried where you want here -- you have to be domiciled there, own property there, or get rare permission. (You can plan and buy in advance, but again, have to be "of there" in some way legally valid here.) I am still "the American" in France, which bothers me, but it's just their way. Legally, I am of Ile-de-France -- Paris and its immediate environs. Misfit females historically become parisiennes. Chanel, Dietrich, Collette, and so on. We qualify quickly and are left alone as long as we can "dance the minuet," as I call it. Some, such as Baker, Baldwin and Simone choose a French domicile and are thus French. It does depend on your citizenship, your domicile, but again, it is a different legal system from the USA. Were I to call myself anything but a "dionysienne" here would be considered strange and incorrect. (My home is in Saint-Denis, just north of Montmartre, Paris.) If asked or it's required, I specify that I come from "l'amérique profond" (sp?). I can also say that, "Je suis aussi new yorkaise." But that's just something to add, if I care to respond.
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
Patrick McStarsky
That photo is of me. I had a more current one up, but it got blipped away during a structural change. I work as a private investor these days and am online a big chunk of the day. If you think I'm kinda weird, you may not know many people who worked for a total of 42 years, declared, on two continents, who are retired, and who earn via investing for themselves, writing, doing radio, sometimes consulting, et c. Do you seek to censor me? To judge me?
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
Justin Yau
I'm not surprised. I live in a highly mixed area just beyond the Paris, France border, and the ethnic buffet places get booked for an evening way in advance for annual events, such as a wedding, a retirement, a communion, et c. As long as the place is good quality and some parking can be arranged nearby, I haven't seen many of these places actually fail. Of course, most of them are open other times for walk-ins. Dining out can be pretty costly in France, even at modest levels, but people have a really different attitude toward it. A lot of people may only dine out once a month or once per season, even. I think I'd be more than willing to shell out for this Persian buffet shown here. This looks superb and I like to linger over special meals.
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
*****
Yes, Wencher-not. I have a very old English language cookbook from what is now the UK -- early, early 19th c. There is talk of "bruising" cherry pits in the processing of making cherry brandy. I think in this case, however, since these are solid objects, it really meant putting strong weight on them to begin to damage them, so they'd yield more essence. Right about the gin. Not my drink, but I've had it shown to me how the oils must swirl correctly atop a properly made martini with gin treated correctly. I must say, one of the best martinis I ever had WAS gin and was way up in Northumberland, nearly in Scotland, at a manor house in the country with accommodations, dining and a small, bright, serious cocktail area for imbibing "at the correct hour." It was a Tanqueray martini and that lady did me proud. YEOW!!! I watched her and it did take a good minute or so. WHOOOOOOOO!!! :) Greetings from France via the USA.
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
omegazthebadass
Yes, it smells as though they are frying or cooking chickens with the guts in and feathers on, on a burning tire, with hot peppers thrown over. I just talked last Friday with my lady pal from the Ivory Coast and she chuckled and said yeah, it's disgusting, but they gotta have it and they chop it up and cook the heck out of it. The next time the neighbors do this, after years of enduring it for a few days at a time, I will take over my big, good rotating fan and say, please leave your kitchen window closed, it's right next to our two bedrooms, borrow this super fan, pull the smoke and odor out into your living room and open THOSE WINDOWS or quit doing this! I just can't take it anymore, and it takes days to air out and clean our rooms. I prep, cook and eat all kinds of funky things so I'm not going to point a finger, but really, in an apartment building, hey! :)
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1