Back in June, my prose poem “Instructions for Perrine” was published in an Ekphrastic Review challenge. Inspired by Helene Schjerfbeck’s Factory Workers on the Way to Work, I joyfully toiled over the piece for a few days and was so pleased to see it in print. It’s only 100 words! If you’d like to take a look, click here and scroll down to the 9th piece.
Did you know that first editions of Martha Stewart’s 1982 Entertaining sell for $100 or more? This cookbook occupies a chunk of my childhood kitchen memories. Mom’s baguette recipe, or “Homemade French Bread,” is from Entertaining. Her battered copy—a first edition—was often open on the kitchen counter. It has been so loved that it no longer has its cover. I have my grandmother’s lake house copy, also a first edition. I pulled it out this week and reunited with Martha in her frilly blouse, reigning over her dining room table. The lake house copy is gently used. The dust cover has a tear and the spine is askew, but the tome is intact.
Since I possess the vacation house copy, I can only learn so much about Grandma’s relationship to Martha’s seminal publication. The French bread pages are stained, so she surely tried her hand at this recipe. The pages for the Midnight Omelette Supper for Thirty are rumpled and splattered. I’m guessing she made Swiss Cheese Omelettes or possibly Creamed Spinach Omelettes for friends who were up for the weekend. I am confident that the Red Caviar and Sour Cream Omelettes never happened in the Clear Lake Kitchen.
Grandma Mary Ellen was my “cookie grandma,” and she was forever in search of the next best cookie. A few scratchy brown spots tell me that she may have tried her hand at Alexis’s Brown Sugar Chocolate Chip Cookies. Given the splashes on page 125. she must have made Almond Cookies as well.
Martha’s recipes speak to me too. I savored delectable Lions’ Head Meatballs at a dinner party in France last year, and I discovered that Martha has a recipe for this dish in her Chinese Banquet for Ten to Twelve menu. Mom suggested I make the Stuffed Chicken Breasts from the At-Home Wedding menu. I could serve these the next time I invite students to dinner. The Apple Tart Normande is calling my name; I’d just have to acquire a bottle of Calvados.
It’s good to be back in this space. Stay tuned for future musings…
“I am that living and fiery essence of the divine substance that glows in the beauty of the fields. I shine in the water, I burn in the sun and the moon and the stars.” –Hildegard of Bingen (1098-1179)
Could you ever imagine being able to circumnavigate the city of Paris much like the 16th century explorer Magellan circumnavigated the Earth? Back in the late 19th century, such a form of transportation was made possible through the construction of the Petite Ceinture during the era of the Second Empire in France. In English, it translates to “little belt”, a connotation which rather undersells the immense scope and importance that this railway network possessed.
Deep in the heart of Paris, under the Gare de l’Est exists a perfectly preserved relic from WWII. Tucked away behind a secret hatch on the platform rests a WWII bunker completely undisturbed by time and modernization. A set of tunnels was built under the train station to help transport luggage, but when the war began, it was transformed into a safe haven. The bunker was initially created by the French government but was unfinished before the German military took over France and occupied Paris in 1940. Both the French and German government had wanted to keep the trains at this station running because there are tracks that lead into Germany.
The most macabre tourist attraction in Paris, the Catacombs, was initially a very practical solution to a serious 18th century sanitation problem. Cemeteries in Paris were overfull, so the remains needed to be moved to a separate, safer location underground. The skeletons were taken from many cemeteries around Paris, but primarily from les Saintes-Innocents, a very popular burial location for Parisians from the 12th to the 18th century.
This massive architectural wonder hides many secrets within its walls. Located in the Fifth Arondissement, the Mosque is constructed in the Moorish style, as seen by its arches, courtyards, intricate tiling, and lush gardens. The towering minaret reminds onlookers that the Parisian skyline boasts more than cathedral spires and the Eiffel tower. While impressive from the exterior, the true beauty of this structure lies within. The interior is linked by open-air courtyards surrounding a botanical garden and a bubbling fountain. La Grande Mosquée de Paris offers something for everyone: a school, library, restaurant, tearoom, prayer room, and bathhouse are all found within its walls. However, the Mosque’s worth extends beyond its physical features.
In the 12th arrondissement of Paris exists a colorful and refreshing line of English styled cottages. This line of 35 residential and private houses is located on the famous Rue Crémieux; named after Jewish lawyer and advocate for human rights, Adolphe Crémieux. Avid users of social media are very familiar with this pastel painted street as it is known as, “Instagram’s most favorite street”. With one search, #RueCremieux will locate 31,000 images that have this hashtag. Proof, this enchanting stretch of houses has captured the attention of many and has served as the perfect backdrop for an Instagram post.
Nearly every tourist in Paris plans to visit the Louvre. The Louvre is seen as one of the quintessential French experiences, even though most of the art pieces it contains hail from other nations. Yet, when approaching the Louvre, tourists seem to be focused solely on the looming glass pyramid over the neatly cut treetops of the Jardin des Tuileries, completely missing the structure to their left. This imposing yet unassuming wing of the Louvre Palace houses le Musée des Arts Décoratifs, or MAD, one of the premier museums of Paris. The Musée des Arts Décoratifs is itself historical. Opening on May 29th, 1905, MAD has seen two World Wars, the end of the Cold War, and the establishment of the European Union by the time it was renovated between 1996 to 2006.