More ramblings - a post by Jill

Steak tartar is a very common french food and is found on the finest french menus and brasseries alike.  From what I have observed, steak tartar is a totally raw ground steak patty that comes with or without a raw egg on top!  It is also served with ketchup, hot sauce, chopped raw onion, chopped fresh parsley and probably a few other things.  Now if you were to mix all these ingredients together, form into a loaf and bake it would make a perfectly delicious meatloaf!!!  But I have watched many eat this dish totally raw!  It fascinates me and I can't help but observe them eating and tasting this raw ground meat!  I wonder about the texture and taste and how we americans are nervous to eat pink hamburger for fear of getting seriously sick with e-coli!  Don't the french worry about e-coli?  Why don't they?  Do they have a better, cleaner way of butchering and storing their meat?  From what I see at the open markets the better, cleaner way of butchering and storing meats is a little hard for me to believe...Why are we so fearful?  Remember how I said I was more adventerous in trying new foods in Paris...not adventerous enough to try steak tartar!
 
A leaky faucet or plumbing repair can usually be fixed by calling the plumber and within 24 hours the plumber is at your service~at least in the good old USA!  In France, you have to call and "take an appointment."  If you are lucky, the appointment will be sometime in the next 2 months...really, this is the truth!  It took two months to get our kitchen faucet replaced and now we have a leaky radiator!  We showed the plommier when he was here replacing the faucet and he said we have to "take an appointment!"  We are not sure when we will see the plommier again, so in the meantime we have to have the valve turned off on the radiator so we don't ruin the hardwood floors and of course, this means no heat in the sitting room!  Good thing summer is coming...
 
Our days are getting longer!!  It is daylight around 6:50am in the morning and the sunsets after 7pm in the evening.  It is nice having the longer days and we have been fortunate enough to have plenty of sunshine!!  We have seen a couple of 50 degree days and looks like more to come...perfect spring days!!  How lovely...
 
Do you remember in one of my first blogs about apartment living, I mentioned being able to hear the man upstairs peeing into the toilet?  Well, come to find out in many apartment buildings it is a rule that men have to urinate sitting down after 10pm so as not to disturb their neighbors!  How funny is that...gotta love the french!!!  But again, dog poop doesn't seem to bother them.  I would rather listen to men peeing in a toilet then have to worry about stepping in dog doo all the time!  But that's just me:)
 
I must applaud Paris and perhaps all of Europe for what seems to be a very green environmental practice.  Paris is known to be the "city of lights", yet the use of lighting seems to be very deliberate.  The street lights come on right at dusk and turn off right at dawn.  There are not as many lights in use and many streets are somewhat dark with dim lighting.  When you enter your apartment building it is dark until you hit the light switch that automatically goes off in a couple of minutes~you have just enough time to get to your apartment, unlock your door and get inside before the light goes out!!!  If you enter the apartment building and the light is on it means someone has just come in before you.  It is wise to repress the light switch so the light doesn't go out half-way up the stairs~been there, done that and the stairway is REALLY dark!!  The appliances and electrical equipment do not all have clocks and flashing lights and because of this I never know what time it is(ha-ha)!  Anyway, there doesn't seem to be a lot of electical waste, at least to me!
 
My last rambling for this blog is about canned tuna... One day Mark and I decided to purchase canned filets de thon au naturel(filet of tuna in water).  I was a little nervous because it comes in a can much like canned sardines~a rectangle shapped can with a pull off top.  I was a little nervous about what I was going to see when I opened the can, but all was good...in fact, the thon was delicious!  It is two small tuna filets that break apart nicely to make tuna salad or just eat as is...it is much better tasting than the white albacore I eat all the time at home!  Sometimes taking a risk works out for the better...
 
Au revoir!  A bientot, mon amies!!!