Favorite Things # 2 & # 3

Here are numbers 2 & 3 of my favorite things about Paris and Provence. Coming in at #2 is goat cheese. I adore goat cheese! and absolutely never ate it until my first trip to Provence. It has become an obsession. Alas, it's hard to find great goat cheese in Iowa. Are you surprised? What I can find is pretty bland. My favorite way to eat it in Provence is warm and runny over a great salad of mixed greens...yum! I have a Rick Steve's travel video about France. In one of the segments, a friend is showing him a fromagerie in Paris. "Goat cheese, goat cheese, goat cheese, everywhere goat cheese," she sings. "A Parisienne cannot live without goat cheese." She picks up a chunk, holds it to her nose and inhales deeply. "Ah," she sighs, "it smells like the feet of an angel." Hm-m-m!

This little watercolor by Paris Breakfasts illustrates #3 on my list...croissants. You haven't eaten a croissant until you've eaten one in France. They are fabulous! Try as I might, I cannot find anything anywhere close here in the States. After reading a recipe on how you make them, I'm not going to make my own either. Definitely a reason to return to France to eat one. I had croissants every day at my bed and breakfast in Goult. Michel ran across the street to the boulangerie every morning to bring me a fresh one. I'll never forget the very first morning I was there. As he stood watching, I took one from the serving plate and proceeded to butter it. Zut alor! you should have seen the look of horror on his face! "Non, non, Madame!" he implored. I immediately realized I'd committed some sort of American faux pax. One taste of that delicious, flaky roll provided me with the answer...they are plenty buttery enough! A bite of croissant, a sip of coffee...instant melting buttery flavor in my mouth. Ah!