How'd They Move That Submarine?

I’d love to hear from one person who wasn’t unexpectedly caught in a rain shower in Paris this week. They were plentiful and dramatic and as I passed a couple looking forlornly at their phone insisting that there was no rain scheduled I had to bite my tongue not to repeat the French phrase “en avril ne te découvre pas d’un fil, en mai fais ce qu’il te plaît” which means “in April don’t remove a thread, in May do what you like”.

I ducked into the Musée Carnavalet (a wonderful and free museum) to wait out a rain shower, admiring the old street signs and heavenly decoration to the sounds of fat droplets falling on the ancient window panes. By the time I’d finished being scared by the extremely realistic but fake skeleton in the antiquities section downstairs the sun had reappeared and I continued on my day. In the heart of the Marais it’s recently been renovated and is so worth a visit to learn about the history of Paris.

We had workmen both inside our apartment fixing leaks from the upstairs neighbours (my husband politely remarked that perhaps having 10 paintings/photos featuring water in the living room was both potentially excessive and inviting leaks) and outside where they’re replacing the building’s electricity cables, which has delighted the children who love to run up the stairs and wave at us through the enormous holes in the flooring. As a result I was home as little as possible because if there’s one thing certain to make me unreasonably cranky it’s dust, and was so happy to get the vacuum and mop out when it was all done.

With the kitchen off limits for a few days I indulged in my favourite gluten free food, rotating through bedroom floor picnics from Kapunka to dinner at Lou Lou, where they barely raised an eyebrow as my son almost tipped over our table, slipping us new colouring pages and dessert menus as if nothing had happened. Speaking of gluten free (sorry to everyone who can still enjoy croissants but I have to share) Liz Prueitt from Tartine Bakery has been hitting it out of the park with her new Substack

Liz Prueitt | Have Your Cake

so if you’re looking for new recipes that work, check it out.

As a tardy 40th gift to myself I scheduled in for my first ever mammogram. Blanket testing on the public system begins at 50 in France but 40 in Australia so I figured best be on the safe side and as we have a useful system here called Doctolib to book almost any appointment online there’s really no excuse (I did have to pay upfront but the majority will be reimbursed). The whole thing was quick and painless, including an extended chat while topless about the best season to go swimming in Cairns (winter to avoid the Irukandji jellyfish) during my breast ultrasound. If it’s on your to-do list this is your sign to book it in, we women have to be the catalyst of our own preventative healthcare.

Saturday started with a visit to the market and lots of cooking (I recently finished reading Ultra-Processed People which strengthened my resolve to cook from scratch wherever possible) including ice-cream, caramel sauce (I ate almost the whole batch straight away) and apple compote for kids snacks. I then completely undermined myself by looking on serenely as the littles shovelled Haribo sweets and artificially coloured cake into their mouth at a birthday party, requiring a spin in the park to calm things down.

Sunday morning we jumped on the metro to the Cité des Science et de l’Industrie at the childrens’ request to play with the robots and see the Solar Impluse airplane. We waved at the sheep Nuage and Odyssée eating the grass outside and headed upstairs to explore, rounding out the visit with a wander through the Argonaute (if anyone knows how they relocated a 543 tonne submarine to central Paris I’d be very keen to hear.

Then it was time for something I’d been looking forward to for weeks - Puppy yoga. The concept is simple: a room filled with puppies, 30 minutes of performative yoga to give your attendance a purpose followed by 30 minutes playing. My teenager and I were in stitches from the moment we entered, labradors nipping our toes and huskies napping on our yoga mats like little clouds. (In case you’re worried the puppies are brought in from breeders who are present the whole time and the pups are absolutely not for sale. All shoes and items from outside are not allowed to touch the floor and you must let the puppies come to you, they roam free about the space and if they are asleep they can’t be disturbed.) If you go, take a spare pair of socks as there is a high chance you will step in puppy wee.

Have a great week,

- Emily

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Cheese we’re eating this week:

• Époisses - an extremely fragrant cheese from Burgundy, made with pasteurised cow’s milk, which becomes so soft it can be served with a spoon.

• Soumaintrain - a soft raw cow's milk cheese from Burgundy with a washed rind and a creamy texture.

• Chabichou du Poitou - a semi-soft, unpasteurized goat cheese formed in a cylindrical shape.

All three cheeses were bought at Fromagerie Saint Vrain at Marché Maubert.

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Meringues

Spare egg whites in the fridge gave me the perfect excuse to make mini pavlovas on Sunday. With the simple ratio of 50g of sugar per egg white it’s the simplest way to save waste and bring joy. The recipe below makes 8 lovely meringue nests.

• 5 egg whites

• 250 g sugar

• Squeeze of lemon juice or a teaspoon of vinegar (optional but good insurance)

• Heaped teaspoon of cornflour (optional but helps achieve a marshmallow interior consistency)

• Vanilla seeds (optional)

1. Turn the oven to 140°C and prepare a baking tray with silicon paper or a silpat.

2. Whip the egg whites until they form soft peaks.

3. Add the sugar a tablespoon at a time, adding the next portion once the mix goes glossy again.

4. Whip until you have very very stiff peaks (it takes longer than you’d think) and you can no longer feel any grains of sugar when you rub the mix between your fingers.

5. Add the cornflour, lemon juice and vanilla seeds if using and mix quickly, just long enough for them to disappear.

6. Bake for about an hour and be careful of the oven temperature. If they start to take on colour turn them down.

Bon appétit!

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Real Life Paris Photo

I thought this was an April Fool’s joke but no, you can now pay €60 to have your house smell like coffee 🤣

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Lucy in Australia