March 2024 Gazette

Welcome to the 6th edition of my monthly newsletter! Each month, I intend to share a personal round up of the past weeks to give you a glimpse into my French life. I also share links I love, seasonal recipe inspirations and try to answer some of the questions I’ve received through social media as well.

Feel free to let me know in the comments if you enjoy this monthly gazette, and perhaps what you would like to read about next month!

“Sand carrots” grown in the sandy soil of Brittany.

While February was a little longer than usual this year, there wasn’t too much more excitement than usual around here. Aside from the continued protests from Farmers that is. This week is “Le Salon de l’Agriculture” (the annual Paris Agricultural Fair) which is giving the farmers an immense platform for their concerns to be heard in the news, and to help continue the dialogue with French president Macron, who visited the fair this week.

Farm trucks arriving in the city center.

Blockades continue throughout the country, with farmers driving their tractors down main streets and highways – and while this may be viewed as an inconvenience for many, it’s vital for the farmers in their quest to rightfully and profitably continue their demanding work. We support our farmers!

The colder temperature also continued here in Brittany, and we even got a solid taste of the les giboulées, which is a phenomenon in which we receive 10-15min of intense rain and hail, seemingly every hour throughout a given day. Usually this occurs in March, but it seems to have settled on us a little earlier this year. It makes for planning daytrips and strolls along the water a little more difficult, but thankfully it doesn’t last long. Hopefully the rain helps the crops flourish! 

While it didn’t happen in our city of Lorient, the neighbouring city of Rennes (where I went to university) played host to a “historic” football match this month, against Italian giants AC Milan. AC Milan just so happens to be the favorite club of my husband, so he was beyond excited when he was able to secure great seats for the game – a match in which most fans were shut out of. He and my father took the day to visit Rennes, soak in the atmosphere, and most importantly (in my opinion) enjoyed a “Galette Saucisse” – the traditional buckwheat crêpe wrapped around a pork sausage. He said the galette and the match were great!

“Brittany hot-dogs”: Galettes-Saucisses and fries before the soccer game in Rennes.

If you’ve purchased (or read) my cookbook, “Rustic French Cooking Made Easy”, then you’ve already seen my recipe for the Galette Saucisse. It’s so simple, but it’s a core memory for all of us Bretons! Have you ever tried a Galette Saucisse? What’d you think?

Rennes locals celebrating after their win against Milan AC

One thing that did happen in February that was quite memorable, and was several years in the making… I became a Canadian citizen! After living more than a decade in Canada, and becoming a permanent resident, I decided before leaving to France to apply for my citizenship, since I met all the requirements for it. It is something I always wanted to do, but the process takes a lot of time and a lot of paperwork. But we knew it was for the best, and so we completed the application, uploaded all the documents, paid the required fee and waited…

A snippet of the online citizenship ceremony with judge Rochelle Ivri.

When my application was finally approved, after 2yrs of waiting, my final step was attending the (online) ceremony to acquire citizenship. I had to request special clearance to attend from outside Canada, because it is a legal requirement to be in the country, even though it’s online (odd, but the rules are the rules). After being granted permission, I attended the online ceremony with about 200 others. The ceremony was officiated by Citizenship judge Rochelle Ivri. I took my oath, sang “O Canada” in both French and English and became a citizen. So now, I am officially French-Canadian!

This does not mean I have any plans to move back to Canada, as I’m definitely back in France and happy to stay! But with having a Canadian husband and a job that requires some traveling in the US and Canada, having this dual citizenship comes in handy. I also see it as a nice gesture after building a life for more than 10 years in Canada. 

The local harbor of Lorient.

So, overall February was low-key and enjoyable. The low-key factor looks to change in March, as we have an out-of-country trip planned, a few site visits and family meals to attend. I look forward to sharing those memories with you all next month!

If you have any questions, concerns, or want to share any of your experiences this past month, feel free to leave a comment below.  À bientôt!

We tried a new “crêperie” in our town: delicious!

New articles added to the blog in February:

• Basque-style Risotto (Riz Gaxuxa) (updated recipe)
• French-style Deviled Eggs (Oeufs Mimosa)

10 seasonal recipes for March:

• White Asparagus à la Grenobloise
• Radish Leaf Soup 
• Leek and Potato Soup (Soupe Vichyssoise)
• French-style Macaroni Gratin 
• French-style Glazed Carrots (Vichy Carrots)
• Classic French Celeri Root Remoulade 
• Braised Rabbit with Prunes
• Dark Chocolate Olive Oil Cake 
• French Almond Croissants (Bakery Style)
• Classic French Pear Cake 

Links I am liking: 

• Here is a recount of French president Macron’s visit to the agricultural fair for 13 hours, with whistles from hundreds of angry farmers. It was quite the show to witness on TV!
• Here’s a fun French leap day tradition! On February 29^th, the French love to go to the newsstands to buy “La Bougie du Sapeur” newspaper. This French satire is published only on leap day, that is every four years, making it the world’s least frequently published newspaper! Translating to “The Sapper’s Candle”, the paper is a satirical piece full of puns, interviews and fun outlooks on the past four years (and what a wild four years it has been!). I think this is a fun traditional to embrace, and we got our copy of this year’s edition: see the photo below. 
• François-Régis Gaudry is a celebrated French food critic who was brought to international fame in 2018 with the release of “Let’s Eat France”, a massive illustrated book gathering recipes, interviews, articles and virtually everything there is to know about French food. This book became a food bible in France and was named a Book of The Year by The New York Times. Gaudry then published “Let’s Eat Italy” in 2021, and more recently “Let’s Eat Paris” at the end of last year. While I don’t own the book (yet!), I glanced through the pages at my local library and I can say this is another exciting and very impressive piece. The book is huge – by what it contains, but also literally! It has everything you need to know about Paris culinary scene, with maps, countless restaurant recommendations, recipes, insights, etc. If you’re a Paris lover, this is a great gift to offer yourself!
• Who can resist a good French Onion Soup? Here is a fun article about the history of this iconic French soup, and some recommendations on where to enjoy a non-tourist-trap onion soup in Paris.

2024’s front page of Le Bougie du Sapeur

Favorite questions of the month: 

What is your favourite spring dish?

Believe it or not, my absolute favorite spring dish is White Asparagus à la Grenobloise. I absolutely adore seasonal vegetables and I adore butter and I adore capers… So, when you put them all together, it’s no wonder this dish sits atop my list for spring. It helps even more with how quickly it comes together.

If you’ve never tried white asparagus, I highly recommend it! They do typically cost a bit more than green asparagus, but I assure you it’s well worth it! Just a few more short weeks, and I’ll be enjoying plenty of this dish.

What’s the next destination on your travel bucket list?

Wow… My husband and I are lucky enough to be travelling to Italy (again) in March, to visit Venice. Marc and I have often discussed a few “true” bucket list spots, as they would involve a lot more time, planning and savings – namely Vietnam and Ethiopia. We are both in awe of the history, culture and cuisines of both countries, and so that would be my answer for bucket list destinations. We’ve been saving and continue to save as much as we can to hopefully make these trips happen in the future.

As for more realistic, short-term options, Scotland is a spot we’re hoping to see together soon!

The local cemetary has a space for fallen WWII soldiers, including US and Canadians.

How is inflation in France? It’s getting crazy over here!

Marc often speaks to his family and friends back in Canada, and he tells me that the inflation over there seems to be completely out of control. While we were living there, the housing market was sky high, but food/leisure prices were still mostly affordable. That seems to have really changed, unfortunately.

I can say that inflation has hit here too (as it seems to have hit everywhere), but to a much, much lesser degree. Interest rates for housing has risen the most, while food/leisure prices have seen a smaller, but still noticeable increase. I’m thankful that we’re in a position to still be able to afford everything we need, but food and shelter, to me, should be accessible and affordable to absolutely everyone.

What’s your favorite restaurant in your city and why?

This is a great question, and I want to start by saying that we still have a lot of places to visit in Lorient, which hosts a very nice array of restaurants.

One place I would definitely recommend is Karantez, a small restaurant near our home that offers Michelin star worthy meals at pretty affordable prices. Their menu changes with the seasons, and every time we’ve had fish there, it has been so perfectly cooked, that it’s hard to explain. My husband goes crazy for the bread basket they bring out, which contains 3 or 4 different breads, made in house, with two different types of butter for spreading.

For lunch on a weekend, an appetizer, main and dessert costs around 30€, which in France, includes tax and gratuity. They also offer more lavish menus, which increase in price depending on the dishes included.