My Life in France

Thanks to spring break, I have had some time to read books of my own choosing.  Now, people commonly make the mistake of thinking, "oh, you are a professor, you must read intelligent, informative literature."  Not so.  My first choice is fluff that will allow me to escape - the kind of thing ladies read in the bath with bonbons, etc.  I also love travel and food writing, so on a recent visit to the Cambridge Public Library I finally checked out Julia Child's "My Life in France."  Knowing I would love it, my friend Anne has been pestering me to read this book for years.  She will be pleased to know that I finally read it - rather, I became obsessed, could not put it down, and finished it in a day and a half. 

www.amazon.com

This book is truly about local eating and utter devotion to food, science, and writing.  Julia and her husband Paul Child lived in France for many years, starting with Paul's foreign service work after World War II.  They continued to spend significant time in France by building a small house in Provence until they grew too old to visit.  Julia had a remarkable life: she met the most famous French chefs, traveled the world, and found fame through her "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" and television.  While this was fascinating, my favorite portions of the book were her descriptions of her food routine, not the fame and glamor.  She describes how she set up the kitchens in her many homes (from Cambridge, MA to Oslo, Norway), how she found the local markets and made them her second home, the vendors she befriended, and why the food she loved was so memorable.  This is much more than thinking about our food as "local," it is an anthropological perspective of cuisine that changed Julia Child's life course.  Her book could be a travel guide, though I am certain that many of the places she treasured are gone or changed forever. 

The first thing I did after reading this was to flip through my own copy of "Mastering the Art" and realize that this book was meant for someone exactly like me.  I love French food more than any other cuisine, I love to cook, and she will guide me through the recipes I want to make.  As she would say, it's "fool proof!" 

On the ragged edge...

I opened the blog today only to find I haven't posted anything since October!  I am a bit shocked that I have let it wane, given that I am still eating three square meals a day, but I realize that most of those meals have been pretty dull.  Boring.  Not exciting enough for a blog post.  Case in point: the only picture I could find of recent food adventures was this fried egg on sauteed potatoes and leeks.  All of these ingredients come from New England and made a delicious, comforting feast, but not one I could write about in much detail...

Now that I am on spring break and not slogging to the office in sub-zero temperatures and snow, I will make it my mission to find better eats!  We made carnitas last weekend, but it was so popular that I never had a chance to take a photo - only this sad shot of the pork before it was boiled and fried into submission.  We head to England tomorrow, where delightful local foods await...stay tuned.

Carnitas:

I have spent years in New England searching for good carnitas.  While living in California, I became addicted to this heavenly pork dish (usually in tacos) and I am now ready to admit failure.  I have not been able to find it here, so I have taken inspiration from my friend Cristie, who helped me make it at home using a recipe from Smitten Kitchen.

3 pounds boneless pork shoulder or pork butt, cut into 2-inch cubes
1/2 cup orange juice
1/4 cup lime juice (from about 2 to 3 limes)
4 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon Kosher salt, plus more to taste
Corn tortillas, for serving and avocado slices, cole slaw (Andrew makes his with a touch of tequila), and other fixings of your choice.

Place the pork in a large Dutch oven or heavy pot. Add the orange juice, lime juice, garlic, cumin, salt and enough water to just barely cover the meat. Bring the pot to a boil and then reduce the heat to a simmer. Simmer uncovered for two hours. Don’t touch the meat.

After two hours, increase the heat to medium-high and while occasionally stirring and turning the pieces, continue to cook for about 45 minutes, or until all of the liquid has evaporated, leaving only the rendered pork fat. Let it sizzle in this fat long enough to brown at the edges, turning pieces gently (they’ll be eager to fall apart), only as needed.

When pork has browned on both sides, it’s ready. Adjust seasonings to taste and serve on warmed tortillas with fixings.