Headed back to France!

Ok ok, yes I am well aware of the fact that I have been on hiatus for quite some time. But things are soon to change. We are headed back to France in just 3 weeks, have an apartment to ourselves, and I will have ample and even more ample time for cooking (I am not even sure if you can say that!). I needless to say I am beyond thrilled. And there will be gluten free dishes being whipped up left and right seeing that there are a couple French dishes I did not get the opportunity to master, among those is the infamous chocolate mousse.

Now I know I could go on all day about the excuses of why have not written lately and bore you with the details, but I won't. I will just make it short and sweet. I was applying to a graduate program last spring, applying for jobs in France for this following year, skiing as much as possible, assisting in the local school, giving private english lesson, attending play offs, and squeezing in running and hiking with the dog. Unfortunately blogging ended up last on my list. With that being said, I got into the graduate program at Mcgill, did not get a job in France because French people are the most disorganized people in the world, enjoyed all the other stuff, and the boys did not make it to the finals, but lost in the semi finals. But not to worry this year is looking bright and I am sure I will need the occasional or not so occasional break from my online course to whip up a blog post.

On another note FP and I decided to get married this year! It was a wonderfully small wedding in Alaska with close family and friends. We also made all of our own wedding food! We had mac nut crusted halibut with a tropical salsa, grilled brown sugar salmon, many different kinds of salads, and a cake to die for that my friend made. I will post some recipes for the salmon soon. It was an amazing night and I will never forget it!

As of now I am in Montreal, well laval to be exact, staying with FP's parents until we go to France. And each time I visit this wonderful place known as quebec I learn something new. For instance, French Canadians love hot dogs and maple syrup more than I ever thought was possible. I am pretty sure it crosses FP's mind about twice a day or more as to whether or not he should indulge in a hot dog. Just last weekend we were invited to his uncles chalet for a weekend in the lake. I gladly accepted as it has been a massive heat wave here! And I bet you can guess what we had for lunch each day, yup you got it, hot dogs. Although they were not your run of the mill hot dogs, but some designer sausages, which actually was absolutely delicious! With that being said I would like to move on to talking about the types of hot dog buns you can find in quebec. You can find your designer bun, poofy and large (think one of those sub sandwich bun thingys) and you can find bread that is somehow made into a hot dog bun, which apparently made for grilling purposes. Seriously it is the weirdest hot dug bun I have ever seen and I hope that some of you have had the wonderful opportunity to see it too! AND I would also like to add that, drum roll please, they make gluten free hot dog buns! That is just how much they love hot dogs here! Moving on to maple syrup....Well there isn't much to say. French Canadians put it on everything, their beans, their toast, their eggs, their crepes. Really they probably just eat it plan! Just the other day I was eating some beans for breakfast, and FP's mom tells me there is some maple syrup on the counter and I am like "ok, oui", but really in my head I am like uhh yes ok why is she telling me this. Well turns out it was because she though I might like some on my beans!!! But who am I kidding I love maple syrup and it is a great excuse to use some. They even have a concentrated maple syrup spread for toast. I think my dad would be in heaven and probably never leave this country!

To wrap that all up...I apologize for being MIA, don't forget to go to Quebec if you want a good hot dog, and don't feel guilty about dribbling maple syrup over everything on your plate! And while you are at it maybe just eat a basket of poutine as well!!!! à bientôt!