la cuisinière rustique.

Readers, let me introduce you to my principal appliance currently in residence in my kitchen.

This is actually an almost exact replica (see kitchen photos below) and I am ever so thankful to J-Y for loaning it to me. Because of this *cough* stove, I am able to have a coffee in the morning, soup at night and I've even branched out into cooking. Yep that's right, I've made multi-dish meals on this baby. Three times. Two dejeuners and one petit dejeuner.

The first time, I had grown weary of lunches out and the dents in my pocketbook. I'm sure it would have happened sooner if I had some means of refrigeration. In any event, I bought some potatoes, shallots and garlic, a steak and one zucchini. I started by quartering the potatoes and boiling them with a couple of cloves of garlic. Drained that, threw in some butter and set it aside. Next I sliced the zucchini and steamed them in a pot. After that, I heated some butter in the cast iron fry pan and cooked the steak on lightly both sides (I like mine rare), put the steak on a plate and quickly sauteed shallots and fresh garlic, reducing them with red wine. This was the sauce for my steak. Took a fork and mushed up the garlic and potatoes with a little more butter and sel de mer. Served them on the plate. Had some leftover cubed feta salad with red peppers and vinaigrette ... mixed that with the zucchini and finished plating my meal. A glass of red wine completed my feast ... my first meal prepared in my house. Dessert, you ask? I forgot to mention that I took a glass, sliced a nectarine and macerated it with sugar, a sprinkle of orange juice and red wine and crumbled biscotti to make a fruit compote of sorts to enjoy after my meal.

My next effort was chicken. I sauteed the chicken with onions and butter, simple and delicious. Of course, the French chickens help that along. I served this with lentils and a nice cucumber and beefsteak tomato salad ... dressing of olive oil and lemon juice.

Finally, I have been craving an eggy breakfast for awhile. Haven't bought eggs due to the refrigeration issue. But yesterday I broke down anyway and this morning I dined on eggs scrambled the French way (soft soft), toasted fig bread (toasted over the camp flame), cafe creme and orange juice. Quite the process ... boil water for the coffee (cone drip), heat the milk, melt the butter and stir the eggs (2 pots involved in repetitive fashion), hope the eggs don't get cold while I toast the bread.

It is all reminiscent of those Thanksgiving meals where it seems the eating takes 1/10th of the cooking time!

With no refrigeration, I guess I will boil the remaining eggs hard and use them in a salad. I haven't bought any of the lovely lettuce because 1-the heads are colossal and 2-have you seen unrefrigerated lettuce after a day or 2? S'okay the tomatoes are incredible right now ... so tomato and egg salad with perhaps some cucumber? delish. And the nightly soup is heaven for my waistline.

Even so, I confess I am excited for my appliances to arrive on Saturday. Even though the stove won't be hooked up, at least I will have refrigeration. Although now my guilt factor has multiplied tenfold since reading Riana's Blog, especially the bits about Keeping Cool and consumerism. See, I didn't get the hugungo American refrigerator but I also didn't get the office style French refrigerator. Mine is not an under counter mini but it is about a 3/4 size of US standard. A freezer/fridge combo, very sleek and euro looking with its silver coloring. I'm not big on frozen foods see, so as lovely as Riana's efforts appear with the freezing the water every night to cool her unplugged fridge daily... it just isn't me. Does this make me a big fat greedy American? I hope not. But I suspect so. Even when you market daily or every other day in France, you still want safe food. Now I sound like I am justifying things to myself, don't I?

At least we (Riana and I, who by the way I have only ever read not interacted with) have the same mindset when it comes to big box stores and reducing one's consumption. But I also kind of secretly think that all pursuits can lean toward the obsessive if we aren't careful ... whether they are massive over-consuming obsessions or neuroses involving puritanical frugality. Thankfully, both Riana and I appear to be somewhere in the middle, separated by degrees toward either side.

Basically we are all a bit obsessed in one way or another, I suppose. But now I've gone and gotten off track when all I really started off to do was crow a bit about what a great indoor camper I've become. Although I'm not sure that was my exact intention in moving to France.

*sigh*