La cuisine

Sorry to have been MIA longer than intended...my classes have really picked up now, plus my internship started for real last week, so there hasn't been a lot of down time. I'm going to try to update chronologically...

The Sunday after St. Tropez, I decided to try to make brownies to take to our soirée. I couldn't find vanilla extract or baking powder, so I went without and ended up with a really good cake. (Chloe--it still rose!!) I have since learned from a friend's French roomie that baking powder is "la levure," so next time I can ask for it if the employees in Monoprix are ever not busy. We also don't have a measuring cup, so I was just eying and tasting everything. Some of the girls said they used shot glasses to measure ingredients for Patrick's birthday cake. That option didn't occur to me, which I guess is maybe a good thing.
Elyse made deviled eggs à la her mom's recipe, and they were a huge hit
Voila le gâteau.

As long as I'm on the subject of food--last week we had our first papers for Contemporary France. I chose to write about organic food (la nourriture biologique or bio), which is way more easily found in Aix than I would have at first guessed, and it's really not much more expensive either. I left the research and mandatory interviews until the last minute, so I was relieved when the guy working at the first shop I went into sat me down at a table covered with brochures and pamphlets and answered all of my questions while giving a commentary of his own. I had bought a nectarine and some carrotes rapées beforehand, but I think he would have been just as helpful if I hadn't. The paper was fine, probably, although I'm going to try to plan ahead for the next one so that I can enjoy writing it a little more.