An old high school friend and I were talking about a French teacher we had and I had mentioned that I still used the French onion soup recipe she taught us in french cooking class. I actually make reference to this teacher and the recipe in my book, Evanthia’s Gift. The original post was from last October when I was already complaining about the impending cold weather. Well, here we are again, so I thought I would repost it along with an excerpt.
“Mmm, French onion soup,” he grinned. “Just what the doctor ordered.” He sat down and breathed in the aroma. “I remember the first time you made this for me.” He looked at her, thinking of those high school days. Her hair wasn’t waist length anymore, but it was still long and time had been good to her. She looked nowhere near her forty-one years.
“Thanks to Madame Le Claire’s French cooking class. I still use her original recipe.”
“I think I remember her — tiny blonde lady?”
Sophia nodded. “That’s her.”
“I took Italian. Vinny and me… Mr. Morel. Cute little guy. We fooled around so much I don’t think we came out learning more than a couple of sentences. Do you still remember any French? Mmm… this is even better than I remember,” he said, cutting into a crouton, while struggling with the stringy cheese.
“Of course! I teach ballet. The positions are all French terms. Plus, the month I spent in Paris helped my fluency.”
Silence ensued as they both realized which summer she spent in Paris, and for the first time that afternoon, awkwardness hung between them.
For me, this time of year is the most difficult to negotiate. I hang on to summer until the first day of autumn is officially declared, and even then, I extend summer with my annual trip to the Epcot Food and Wine Festival in Orlando. Until then, I continue to wear my summer wardrobe and our pool remains open. After all, late September temperatures often reach the 80’s, and even early October can provide warm days. However, unlike the summer, it’s cold in the morning, but warms up by the afternoon, which creates the problem of what to wear. So what does this have to do with food? Nothing really, except that I find the same dilemma this time of year with what to cook. One day I am outside happily grilling on my patio. The sun is shining and although it’s October, I am contemplating eating outside. The next…
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cheffie's kitchen 