Nouveau Roman d'un Ami

Voir l'océan pacifique pour la première fois
Seeing the Pacific Ocean for the first time

San Francisco, CA USA octobre 2009
J'ai fait la connaissance de Mabrouck Rachedi pendant un Salon du Livre à Metz en juin 2009. On a resté en contact et a passé un jour en explorant San Francisco quand il était ici quelques jours en octobre pendant son temps avec l'Université d'Iowa programme d'écriture. Et maintenant, j'oserais dire qu'il compte parmi mes plus chers amis, au moins à distance!

J'ai eu le privilège de lire ses romans précédents pendant cette dernière année et quoique mon français est un peu faible, j'ai apprécié ses œuvres.  Il écrit avec l'humour qui atténue les effets des circonstances qui peut être un peu triste ou au moins doux-amer.

Alors c'est avec plaisir que je vous annonce (à mon seul lecteur!) la sortie de son nouveau roman qu'il a écrit avec sa sœur Habiba Mahany, La Petite Malika. Malika sortira le 15 septembre chez JC Lattès dans les librairies en France et sur amazon.fr. J'ai hâte de la lire!

 I met Mabrouck Rachedi during a book fair in Metz in June 2009. We stayed in contact and explored San Francisco one day when he was here for a few days during his tenure with the University of Iowa Writing Program. At this point, I'd be so bold as to say he is one of my best friends, at least from afar!

I had the privilege of reading his previous novels this past year and although my French is weak, I enjoy his work. He writes with humor, which has the effect of softening what can sometimes be sad, or at least bittersweet, circumstances.

So to you, my one remaining reader (hi Martina!), I am pleased to announce the release of his new book, La Petite Malika, on September 15, cowritten by his sister Habiba Mahany, by publisher JC Lattès at bookstores throughout France and at amazon.fr. I can't wait to read it!

Mabrouck Rachedi a aussi écrit / Mabrouck Rachedi has also written:
Le poids d'une âme, Lattès, 2006
Eloge du miséreux, Michalon, 2007
Le petit Malik, Lattès, 2008

Habiba Mahany a aussi écrit / Habiba Mahany has also written:
Kiffer sa race, Lattès, 2008

Small Kindnesses

I have been fortunate to have two kindnesses bestowed on me in a short time frame.

One day, my friend, Mickaël brought a bouquet of roses that his aunt, Zora, had picked up for me. Both Zora and Mickaël had taken time (their days are mentally and physically demanding, and often long) to pick out and bring me the flowers. It was a beautiful gift, given with no expectation other than the wish to make me happy.  It made me cry.  I decided that this bunch was special enough to try to preserve. I pressed two of the roses to make it easy to transport home to California, where they will be displayed in glass.

The rest of the flowers have been dried, and are currently in the town of Cluses in the French Alps, near Geneva, with the bestower of the second kindness. Didier is one of my oldest friends. I have not seen him in over 20 years, but he is storing four boxes totaling four square meters and 20 kg of my junk for me.

For whatever reason, my perceptions of my life experiences have made me a glass half empty sort of person, but I want to believe in happy endings.  Since these two people brought happiness to me with their kindness, I think this is a good time to close this book with a happy ending. My time in Lorraine came to an end far too soon, but I hope to return soon, and if I do, I may just reopen it! Until then, please feel free to visit me on my main blog, Mindless Meanderings of a Middle-Aged Maniac (click on the blog name to get there from here).

Pour mes amis à la Lorraine, j'espère de vous voir bientôt.  Ma porte est ouverte à vous, où que ça soit!

Below, one of my final views of Paris on this trip, from Gare de l'Est.  Across the street at l'Ecu (on the right), my new favorite Parisian waiter, Chris, works breakfast.  Okay, technically, he isn't Parisian, he's English!  If Chris worked at l'Insulaire, my favorite restaruant (thanks to my sister for bringing me there), that would be the perfect combination for me.

Happy Bastille Day!

Although here I think people just call it the National Holiday. There are dances, music, fireworks, and other activities planned around the holiday, and I will hopefully be out there tonight. Hopefully, because last night I also meant to head out to see what was going on and I accidentally fell asleep.

How could I fall asleep?!? I went out early in the evening for drinks with Anne-Lise and Arnaud (no cooking lesson this time), who are off to Iran on vacation today. We went to a bar in the city centre, of which I cannot remember the name, but liked enough to track down again before I go. I had a raspberry beer. It has about half the alcohol of regular beer, sweet, fruity flavor, and beer undertones.

For those who know me well, I actually drank the whole beer! And then had hot chocolate while Anne-Lise and Arnaud had a second drink. I was feeling a little drowsy when I got back to the apartment, so I picked up my laptop and brought it over to the sofa, so I could sit comfortably while I perused local activities to see. The next thing I knew, it was three hours later, and after midnight. At that point, I was too lazy to even pull the sofa out into its bed form, so I drew the blanket up and passed out for the rest of the night.

So ... I have been awake since somewhere around 6 this morning. I am starting to feel a little drowsy again, but am afraid to take a nap!

Economies and People

Need a container? The man at left (whose name I did not catch) has one for everything. The market was packed this weekend, although from what I heard, it was mostly lookers. Not so many buyers at the end of the month! And, I suspect, not so many this year.

I sit in my apartment, tapping at my laptop, clenching my jaw at the bleak outlook of my future. No responses to job applications other than the automatically generated "thanks for applying" responses. The governor slashed the community college budget back home. Physical Education in particular has been dealt a severe blow, so my backup plan may no longer be available to me come August. And though there is demand for the product my company sells, the companies who want them are not willing to extend loans to have them made. For the first time in my life, I am tasting defeat, and I am not so sure how to handle it. I know that things are tough all around, and that work is scarce for everyone, but if you are someone who has always landed on your feet, it is a lot more painful when you finally don't. The golden child has tarnished.

On a brighter note, I had my Quiche Lorraine lesson with Arnaud. The man eyeballs everything! Luckily, he emailed the recipe with approximate amounts:

Ingredients: pâte brisée (shortcrust pastry -- savory, not sweet); 3 eggs; 100g smoked bacon, 50g enmental cheese (optional, and not traditional), 15cl cream (Arnaud used crème fraîche, but I think heavy cream and whipping cream will work, too -- he also added a little milk); salt & pepper.

Lay pastry in a shallow baking dish with straight sides. Cut bacon into small pieces, and place into bottom of pie pan -- it should be evenly distributed, but not not too dense. Beat the eggs until they turn light yellow. Add cream and milk, and continue beating until the mixture becomes frothy. According to Arnaud, the cream/milk proportion controls the pouffiness of the quiche. More cream = more pouff. Pour over bacon. Shred the cheese and distribute evenly across pan. You can also add onion, which makes it a quiche Alsacienne. Put in a 200c / 390f oven until lightly browned and cooked through.

Between the cream and bacon, it is a very rich dish, and is therefore traditionally served with a salad. Arnaud sliced tomatoes and basil for his salad. Alas, I forgot to bring my camera that day! I assure you, everything was delicious.

According to Food Reference, quiche Lorraine "originated in Germany, in the medieval kingdom of Lothringen, under German rule, and which the French later renamed Lorraine," and the word quiche is from the German Kuchen, for cake. Let's just say it's a dish from a region that has experienced several changes in administrative authority, and leave it at that.