Projet culturel

I found out today that the project I've been coordinating at work is going to be one of the main and thus most-advertised projects in the region for the Journées du Patrimoine.  This weekend of cultural heritage events is one of the biggest times for people to get out and go to museums, visit places that aren't usually open to the public (like government buildings or privately-owned places), and do other things that they basically ignore all year.  We had always planned the project for presentation in the six regional parks that weekend, but then the regional branch of the Ministère de la Culture (la DRAC) stepped in and mentioned that they'd like to feature it heavily in their documentation.  I'm so excited- everyone throughout the parks and the collective has been working so hard to make this project work, and it's going to reach so many people now.  I'm working on a press kit now, and seriously, I get to put pictures of the churches and CASTLES where the cinema concerts will be performed in it. And really, who doesn't want to go to a concert in a CASTLE? 

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Fluffer nutter cupcakes, or feeding peanut butter to the French

This is a special dedication to the wonderful E, one of the best people you could ever hope to meet, who I was lucky enough to go to college with.  E has become not only one of my favorite experts on sociology (I would turn to her over Bordieu any day) but also one of the best chefs I know, as evidenced by the lovely Foodaphilia.  (This is a side note, but it's funny- our senior year we lived across the hall from each other (I know, in the dorms!) and since people called me G and her E, and there was a window in between our rooms, we seriously considered putting a F on the window.  End side note) 

Anyways,  she went to Philly to get a doctorate in Sociology, I went to Eugene and then came here, and long story short we haven't seen each other or cooked together AGES. Really, oodles and oodles of time.  Mega oodles.  So we've talked about, but never gotten around to finishing, a "thing" where we cook the same thing, but in our separate places of residence on opposite sides of the ocean (far far away).  A little while ago, though, E told me that I should make her famous fluffer-nutter cake, yes, based on that sandwich, and then give it to French people and see what happened.  I took this as a DARE. 

This presented several challenges which I will now list-

I've never eaten a fluffer-nutter sandwich

I don't own a cake pan (here)

Access to marshmallow fluff and peanut butter is rather slim and expensive

I might kill some French people in the process from sugar overdoses

Ok, though, I had to at least try. It was a dare! So I decided to make cupcakes instead, to try and limit the sugar and make up for the lack of cake pan. Then I had to assemble the ingredients. Did you know that this fakey American store in Lyon sells marshmallow fluff but that it is over FOUR EUROS for a jar? I knocked that one off the list. I was left with this... 

I made a basic yellow cupcake and E's peanut butter frosting (cutting down on the sugar a little), but was then left with the problem of what to do with the marshmallows.  I wanted them to be a surprise, so on top was out.  Making sandwiches seemed like a one-way trip to a mess.  So I finally decided to cut a hole in the cupcakes, then stuff marshmallow in, stuff the top back on, and try to cover it up with frosting.

I had a lot of cupcakes left over (I wasn't going to make a zillion of these cupcakes, just in case), so I jammed them. I mean I basically did the same thing as with the marshmallows, but with raspberry jam, some with a rose water glaze. Then I served them to a friend's family. They seemed happy. Also, that's my law final under the cupcakes. 10 points if you can answer a question!

I luckily had a captive audience to try these cupcakes- my coworkers.  I expected revolt, but it actually went ok.  Jérôme ate 3. But it was sugar-overload, and some people wouldn't touch them because of the peanut butter. I ate one, and enjoyed it, but then felt like I might get a cavity.  But it could also be the ingredients, since I find marshmallows less sweet in the states.

This is the original recipe from E.    

I can't wait to cook with E for real, but until then maybe she'd like to tackle pig's feet?

Sunny pont days...

... should not be for writing inside.  But writers beware!  Taking a macbookpro out on your sunny balcony with the intention of writing (sigh, only a little more than a page) could cause the metal to become HOT thus causing discomfort on your bare legs and difficulty reading the screen. That means it's time to go back inside.  

On the subject of writing, I'm finding it harder and harder to write this piece in the order in which it will be presented.  I keep wanting to jump to another part instead of write about the history of the Arfi, for example.  But yes, it will be easier if I just stick to this outline (it was approved twice, after all) and keep going! 

Luckily I inherited this taste for cultural geography.  If not I would be rather dans la merde right now.

Aix en Provence

Lazy Sunday morning, sitting at a café Rue d'Italie where there were other people by themselves.  Grand crème, wind blowing leaves onto the tables, smell of roasting chickens from across the street.

This is the part of France that is going to be hard to leave behind.

An introduction to a mémoire...

... is better than no mémoire at all.  But it's a long journey to those 80-90 pages.

I've decided to (try to) turn it in for the first session in June, since the second is in September and I won't be here. But that leaves, oh, 6 weeks.  I've done most of the reading, but since the project I'm coordinating is in progress I have this nagging feeling that I'm going to be changing a lot of text as I go.

This is the point where I realize that amounts of sleep are going to be low for May.