I learned an interesting lesson this week: cooking with wine doesn't always mean the wine is cooked!

I can't drink red wine, because it gives me major migraines. However, I've always used it in cooking with no problem. Usually, that means pot roasts and stews that cook for long, long times on the stove or in the oven.

Some of you may remember that I wanted to buy a pressure cooker. Well, Santa arrived with one early this year and I decided to test it out on a pot roast; perfect fare for the cold weather we've been having.

I have to say that I was more than pleased with its performance. The new pressure cookers by SEB are just plain awesome! Simple to open and close, no scary bits that make you think they're going to explode and fly off and hit you in the face, etc. I made my pot roast in an hour-and-twenty minutes, rather than the five hours that I normally have to cook them for the meat to get truly tenderized. When you're using bottled gas, believe me that's a major benefit. Your bottle of gas ALWAYS runs out in the middle of cooking something where constant temperature matters. It's one of the unwritten laws of nature.

What I didn't realize, is that when you cook with wine for four or five hours, it seems to get rid of all the headache-causing effects, while an hour-and-twenty minutes does NOT seem to have the same result.

Only, I didn't realize what the problem was right away. I was horribly sick yesterday, and blamed it on a reaction to a new medication I had been prescribed. It wasn't until I kept feeling worse and worse as the day wore on and the medication wore OFF that I started to realize that my problem was a migraine! You'd think after having them for over 20 years I would recognize them, wouldn't you?

At any rate, after figuring it out and treating it appropriately, my brain function kicked in again. I was STILL blaming the headache on the new medication, until I started thinking about that post roast. I had only gotten really sick after eating that, and it's the kind of sick I become only from drinking red wine. So, I guess JM is going to have a lot of pot roast in his future until it's gone.

I mentioned it to my friend Mireille, the butcher's wife. She told me a little trick that she uses, because she has the same problem with white wine. You heat the wine in a pot, then flambeé it until the alcohol cooks off. Apparently, this not only keeps it from causing headaches, but also makes it taste better in your cooking. I'm definitely going to try it next time.

Let me takes this opportunity to thank all of you for reading my ramblings, and to wish each and every one of you a very Merry Christmas, Happy Hannukah, Joyful Kwanzaa, Good Ramadan, and best wishes for whichever other holiday you might be celebrating at this festive time of year.

Ciao for now!

R
(see pictures on my personal site.)

We had a huge and wonderful surprise today! Neighbors and good friends, David and Jane have returned for the holidays!

There was a knock on the door right after lunch. I was up in my office and looked out the window, not knowing whom to expect. There they were! What a treat. Tonight we're all going to dinner at the Commerce to celebrate their return.

It was so beautiful today --cold but beautiful-- that JM and I decided we needed to run an errand or two, just to be out in the glorious sunshine. We went to Limoux to pick up a few things at the Leclerc. It's bustling there! You can see that everyone is getting in their final Christmas shopping. I think it will be one of those places for us to avoid for the next few days though. It's getting a bit too crowded for my taste.

One of the nice things about driving over there, though, was the way Beanie feels all fitted out with her new snow treads. I guess I hadn't realized how bad the other tires had gotten until I got to feel the road with these. I can really tell that she hugs the road in the curves, and on the couple of icy patches that we hit; I didn't feel as if I was going to lose control.

I was reminded, however, of how bad the road to Limoux can be in winter weather. I'm training myself to downshift to slow down instead of breaking. Hard to remember with an automatic, but I think it will be a bit safer in the months ahead. There are too many places between Chalabre and Limoux that don't get enough sun during the day for the black ice to totally melt. It's not enough to require chains, but definitely calls for caution. Sometimes, when I see people speeding to pass me on dangerous curves, my blood runs cold. I really don't want to see someone falling down the side of a hill...

Ciao for now!

R
(see pictures on my personal site.)

We're getting closer to Christmas and for the first time in years I really feel "in the mood." It's not that we'll be doing much, certainly no presents for the two-legged members of the family, but with the cold weather, the decorations, the special menu I've planned, etc., it all feels right.

It doesn't hurt that our dear friends from L.A., Diane and Evan, will be arriving for New Year's Day. It gives us something really fun to look forward to as well.

Now that the work in the house is done and my hideous test on the Code de la Route is behind me, I also feel that we're living life and moving on. I'm enjoying getting back to work on various writing projects, including finishing the manuscript for the book we're going to publish of this very blog!

As I look forward to 2006, I wonder what other surprises (hopefully mostly good ones!) are in store for us. 2005 has certainly been a year of eventful occurrences, may the good ones continue and the bad ones stay away!

On a practical note, I would really like to remind any of my American readers who are seriously considering the move to France, that the driver's license issue is not something to take lightly. I am not unhappy to have learned the Code, because I do think it will stand me in good stead. There are a few important differences with California law that are good to know. For example, giving priority to vehicles coming from the right unless you know for a fact that YOU have the priority, is a major issue.

Also, crossing a solid white line in the middle of the road is not just a ticket; your license can be suspended! And, if someone borrows your car and gets a ticket for speeding or following too closely, the registered owner of the car could find themselves being fined!

I didn't know any of these things before and feel safer now that I do. However, that aside, the process of getting a license has been more painful than I imagined. I was warned, but you just don't really "get" it when you come from the States, where in most cases it's not all that complicated. And, I still haven't completed the process! I will have to take a couple of lessons at the local driving school and take the practical driving test next month.

All of this to suggest to potential new French residents that it will be much simpler, and possibly even less expensive, to try to get a license from a state that does have an agreement to exchange licenses with France. It is the only thing I regret not having had the time to do before we moved.

Ciao for now!

R
(see pictures on my personal site.)