It’s been a while – I know.

But I am still here.

Still eating.  Still cooking.  Still wanting more.

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I could tell you that a lot has been happening:

An exciting new job for yours truly

Some fun and food filled travel

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But none of that is really any excuse for letting you and my little blog languish.

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I hope you stay with me.

A feast of blog updates is in the making.

Whet your appetites.  They are not far away.
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I hope you still want a little bit more.

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Bastille Day is a national holiday in France and celebrates the storming of the Paris bastille in 1789 an event that changed France forever.  Although it had little practical use, it represented a popular uprising against what was viewed as an oppressive institution. A major catalyst in the French Revolution it saw the birth of the republic and the end of the monarchy.  In France no-one works, elsewhere Francophiles around the world have celebrations of their own in homage to french history and culture.

This Francophile thought it would be nice to share with you my top ten favourite French epicurean delights, in no particular order:

The Billecart Salmon Rosé Champagne

There are few pleasures in life better than rosé champagne, and this is my unequivocal favourite.  A delicate salmon-pink in colour it has an intense flowery bouquet and vibrant fruit flavours from strawberry through to citrus.  It has a wonderful palate from a lush creamy start through the fine bubbles to a lingering finish that has slight minerality and is dry but not overly.  If you want to make me happy, give me a bottle of this.  Or maybe two.

The Soufflé

A dish that scares even the best of cooks, the perfect soufflé is something to get excited about.  I like both the savoury and sweet versions, but don’t bother giving me a twice cooked one.  To me, it’s not the real deal.  The best sweet soufflé I have had the pleasure of eating was a raspberry one at Vue de Monde.  The best savoury version, I am pleased to say is one I made myself:  a gruyere soufflé with a Riesling sauce.

The Cheese

It would have been ridiculously easy for me to make this top ten list ALL cheese, so long is the list of ones that I can’t help but want more of:  Roquefort, Munster, Raclette, Neufchatel….  I’m the kind of girl who instead of checking the dessert menu before she orders dinner, finds out what’s on the cheese plate.

The Baguettes

The crust should be golden, even and crunchy. The interior or mie as the French call it, should be airy, even holey. The mie should not stick to your fingers or to your mouth. The good (or bad, depending on how you look at it) thing is baguettes do not store, they are made to be bought and eaten that day.

The amuse bouche

An amuse-bouche is a single, bite-sized hors d’œuvre.   It means to “amuse the mouth”. Regular readers may be aware that I am more than a little partial to bite size morsels of nom that amuse my mouth.  Amuse-bouche are different from appetisers in that they are not ordered from a menu by patrons, but, when served, are done so according to the chef’s selection alone.

The Boeuf bourguignon

One of the first French dishes I mastered and didn’t I feel clever when I did! The version I first cooked was out of the Women’s Weekly Basic Cookbook which my Mum bought for me when I first moved out of home.  These days when I make “beef burgundy” it is from my head which is no doubt an amalgam of the many recipes I have read since, with my own touches added in for good measure.

The Aperitif

The Aperitif is a before-dinner drink to stimulate the appetite.  I cannot claim that my appetite has truly ever needed stimulating, but since most aperitifs were originally produced for medicinal purposes surely this is justification enough?  Pastis is an anise flavoured aperitif.  It gained popularity after the whole absinthe wormwood debacle and ban.  Serve it to me in summer, over ice and diluted with water and I will play pétanque and say Santé!

The Duck confit

To make confit de canard the duck is cured for 24 hours with salt and seasonings such as garlic, thyme, and nutmeg before having the salt washed off and being cooked very slowly covered in a lot, I mean a LOT of duck fat.  When it comes out of the fat it may not look too appetising but you are but minutes away from something truly delicious.  All you need do is  crisp the skin under a hot grill.  Or you could add it to the next on my list

The Cassoulet

From the Languedoc region of France, this is a traditional slow cooked stew of haricot beans, and a variety of meats including Toulouse sausages, confit duck legs and pork with a gratin topping.  It is a winter must.  If you cannot find the time or energy to make it, go somewhere that does.

The Gougère

Heavenly little cheese puffs of pâté a choux.  It’s my cheese fetish rearing it’s head again!  Choux pastry is perhaps more commonly associated with éclairs:  stuffed with cream and drizzled with chocolate but I prefer it this way with loads of gruyere folded in.

Apologies to Bouillabaise, French Onion Soup, Perigord truffles, Croissants and Steak et frites – you all deserved to be on the list too!  I have enjoyed you all many a time.

A question for you to ponder that my dear friend L brought up whilst we were shopping today.  If we can no longer call Australian bubbly “Champagne”  why is it we can still buy “Champagne Ham” from almost every supermarket and deli in town?

The results are in from my spontaneous little survey about the use of the term foodie and how people feel about it.   It all started from a conversation on Twitter that quickly started a hot little debate.   Aren’t we all very opinionated?!  From the little research I did (which can in no way be considered at all scientific) it seems to be a very polarising term and a subject of some academic interest.  Whilst reading “Espresso” in The Age in December 2006 I came across the following:

Eating well, in theory
Feel like subjecting yourself to the rigours of academic research?   Epicure reader Isabelle de Solier is a PhD candidate in cultural studies at the University of Melbourne. “My doctoral thesis is on ‘foodies’ in contemporary Australia, and particularly Melbourne,” she writes. “As part of this research project, I plan to conduct interviews with people who identify as foodies, and I’m particularly interested in speaking to foodies who do not work in food-related industries, but who pursue their interest in food during their leisure time.”

Like any other self respecting IT&T worker who wrote a “cookbook” for fellow workers, was the go-to person for restaurant suggestions and guaranteed to know where to get that tricky recipe ingredient, I got in touch with Isabelle and shared with her my thoughts on being a foodie, my definition of the term and how I feel about it.  No   I am not going to share that now, you will have to wait a bit longer!

Isabelle is not alone is pursuing this topic.  Tammi Jonas (whom I met earlier this year at Eat.Drink.Blog) is also undertaking a PhD in Cultural Studies at the University of Melbourne. Her thesis is provisionally entitled “Tasting Terroir: Food and national identity in multicultural Melbourne”.   Focusing primarily on Italian and Vietnamese food cultures in inner urban Melbourne, she is researching the ways and extent to which both migrant and non-migrant Australians construct their national identities around food.  She too has pondered the moniker.

In case you thought this obsession was restricted to Australia, The Globe and Mail ran an article in April of this year under the headline “Foodies:  Culinary democrats or cultural snobs”.  It is a brief Q&A with two Toronto sociologists who have published the book,  Foodies:  Democracy and Distinction in the Gourmet Foodscape.   

NB:  Before sharing my thoughts on some of the points the authors made, I need to have a quick whinge about a different word – Gourmet.   Is it not the most abused and misused adjective in the food world?  I think if I see another “gourmet” pizza or “gourmet” sandwich I won’t be able to be held responsible for my actions.  I live in hope that the offenders will one day realise that high quality ingredients and skilled preparation aren’t optional – they are the essential characteristics of something purporting to be “gourmet”.  But I digress…

The authors, Josée Johnston and Shyon Baumann, who “interviewed 30 people and analysed hundreds of articles” assert (among other things) that foodies “romanticise poverty” and are generally “white and affluent”.  I haven’t found this to be true, but Toronto isn’t Melbourne, and I haven’t done any formal research.  Just my quirky little survey, which I am sure you are all dying to hear about.  So on to the results!  Here are the questions and a selection of responses

What does the term foodie mean to you?

This elicited some audacious answers.  Here are a few:

Someone who grabs the Gorgonzola instead of the coon, the Jamon instead of the chicken loaf and the sourdough instead of the tip top.

I think of it as a thin descriptor of a rather superficial appreciate for food, often related to improving one’s status rather than true gustatory enjoyment.

One who follows the science of Foodieology.  Foodie-ology: The study of eating food good or bad, the smells, the tastes, the surroundings and the ritual of talking about what one is eating[en].

Knowing, enjoying, sharing and making food! Just like music, food is widely discussed and loved by everyone. Muso – Foodie

Someone who, like me, thinks about food more often than a teenage boy thinks about sex.

Would you call yourself a “foodie”?

Yes, I eat therefore I am    53.8%
No, not in a hailstorm of truffles   46.2%

Has someone else called you a “foodie”?

Yes, doctors say they may walk again     14.4%
Yes, I think they want an invite to dinner    57.5%
No, my friends wouldn’t dare    21.1%
No the philistines don’t even know the meaning   7%

If not “foodie”, then what?

Gourmet      15.4%
Gourmand     0%
cook     46.2%
Eater     30.8%
Other    7.6%   Nomnivore (there were others, but this suggestion tickled my tastebuds)

The final question asked people to share their thoughts.  Here are some of them:

The foodies out there allow us of more humble palates to develop and understand what is good food and what is just crap on a plate.

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I think “foodie” is a very broad term and can be used in a variety of contexts. I personally apply the term “foodie” to friends of mine who place a high priority on enjoying food either by cooking or eating or both, enjoy talking about food, like discovering new foods and have passion for food in some way.

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Foodies make life far more interesting… passion is a wonderful thing

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It just shows that cooking, eating and ingredients are the ‘in thing’ at the moment – and just like yuppies, preppies and yummy mummies, people who indulge in all things food need a label – and this is it! If I use ‘foodie’ to describe you, it’s a compliment

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I know my friend Jo is a foodie and I wouldn’t dare call myself that.   I like the term Eater!

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A rose by any other name…. etc. etc.

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Ohh everyone has an opinion, blah blah..I say boo to labels and yay to doing (or eating) the things you love (regardless of what everyone else may think)

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I am a foodie mostly because I live with one. If I didn’t… KFC, Macca’s, Red Rooter… No. Don’t go there!

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So there you have it.  What do you think?

I don’t mind the term “foodie”.  I use it, will continue to do so and will reject and shun claims that it is elitist and do all that I can to ensure that I don’t contribute to that perception.  For me it is an all embracing word – covers the cooking, the eating, the dining, the writing, the sharing, the sourcing…

Food brings people together, nourishes more than the body, can help us learn about our environment, connect with our history and shapes many of the richest cultures in our world.  I think enjoying and sharing food makes it a better place.

A recent conversation on Twitter got me thinking about this question again.  Then it started popping up in other blogs and articles.  A book has even been published that tackles the topic.

The term foodie is used widely in all forms of media and publishing and it seems to elicit some rather passionate responses from people, both for and against.

I want to know what you think of the moniker and whether you identify with it, and how you react if it is used when referring to you.

I have created a very (truly) short survey, which I would love you to take.  I will then make a bit of an attempt to collate and analyse the responses and post the results and some quotable quotes in a later post.

Click here to take survey

What do you think of the new look for my blog?

I was never truly happy with the old theme and style and found making any changes next to impossible.

So, whilst I was making the site easier for me to play with technically, I thought I would make it new aesthetically.

Some final touches are still to be made, but generally I am rather pleased with the outcome.

Now I can get back to actually blogging!

If you follow me on Twitter, then you may be aware that I have been challenged by technology on more than one occasion over the past week.  It foiled all my futile forays into just about everything:

I’ve had flaky internet

My website disappeared for a while

I couldn’t upgrade any files

I couldn’t add or change any code

Documents I saved disappeared into the ether

At one point I couldn’t even get my camera to focus

As I moved from one failed task to the next I was becoming a rather grumpy, and some language best not repeated was directed at anything in my way – inanimate or otherwise.

In a last ditch attempt to turn the technology terror tide I started playing around with some images in Photoshop.   Lo and behold I produced something that caught my fancy and that managed to put a smile back on my face.

So here is the before

And the after

I’m not entirely sure why I like it. I just do. Which is a bit odd, because I don’t like tomatoes.

I’m a light sleeper.  It is not at all unusual for me to wake up 3 or 4 times in the night.  I normally just go back to sleep.  Not always though.

On Saturday night, or more correctly put, the wee hours of Sunday morning.  I woke up.  This time my beloved coincidentally stirred at the same time.  Neither of us could get back to sleep.  So we decided to get up, get dressed and go to 24 hour Dali.

“The first comprehensive retrospective of the work of Salvador Dalí ever to be staged in Australia exclusive to the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV) as the sixth exhibition in the Melbourne Winter Masterpieces series.

Salvador Dalí: Liquid Desire brings together more than 200 stunning works by Salvador Dalí in all media including painting, drawing, watercolour, etchings, sculpture, fashion, jewellery, cinema and photography.”

To celebrate the last weekend of the exhibition, the NGV was staying open all night – 24 hour Dali.   One of the stated aims was to make it more accessible to a younger crowd.  And what a crowd there was.  It stretched from the water wall at the front entrance, down the city side of the building, up to the spire, past Hamer Hall and was getting terribly close to Flinders St.

I took our place in the queue whilst the beloved went off to get caffeine for sustenance.  Surrounding me in the queue was one of the most colorful cross sections of Melbourne I have seen for some time.  There were those who looked like they had been at Parklife and had wandered over when it finished, and there were some who had clearly planned it and had been out for drinks and dinner earlier. 

In front of me was a group who had a walkie talkie which they used to summon supplies from friends who were resting their feet by staying in their nearby car.  One tall gent had top hat and tails on – with a bed sheet shaped to be a ball gown underneath.  I saw punk chicks and emo boys and arty couples and hippie looking groups.  In short, lots and lots of random and different people.  There was entertainment to keep all these minds off the chilly night air: elephants on stilts, a punk blues band and a DJ.

According to The Australian in the 24 hours leading up to the close at 7pm, 15,000 people had been through.

The exhibition itself was amazing and huge.  It included paintings from Dali’s early teens before he had any formal training, right up the masterpieces he created in his seventies.  In my very novice opinion the work was well curated and excellently hung.  The gallery changed with the work you were viewing, some rooms large and white, others completely black, one lined with red velour.  All were bustling with people who were agog as they moved from one work to the next.  I had brought my i-Pod and used it to block out some of the raucous noise.

We were exhausted by the time we finished.  But it was well worth it.  It’s too late to tell you to go and see the exhbit, but if you ever get the chance to check out Dali elsewhere in the world, make sure you do.  Or maybe get the catalogue from the NGV shop.

Here’s our timeline:

Got out of bed:  01:57

Got to NGV:      02:10

Changed for Daylight Savings Time:        03:10

Got into the NGV:          04:02

Got tix: 04:06 (luckily I am a member and there was no internal ticket queue for us to tackle)

Exited exhibition: 05:40

Home and back to bed: 05:57

And, to go with the randomness of the outing, some quotes from Dali that I like

“Each morning when I awake, I experience again a supreme pleasure – that of being Salvador Dali”

“At the age of six I wanted to be a cook. At seven I wanted to be Napoleon. And my ambition has been growing steadily ever since.”

“I don’t do drugs. I am drugs.”

So here it is. My first blog on secondhelping – the website that I talked about so much for so long!

The theory in the end was simple, if I told enough people about it then I would shame myself into finishing it and getting it out there. Amazing, how the mind can wander, and procrastinate and divert attention to anything other than the task at hand. Makes for more content in this case, but worth the wait I hope.

I have so many ideas and thoughts and stories to tell about food and related facts, fiction and fables that it is hard to know where to begin. I am sure that secondhelping will slowly develop and take on its identity as it progresses.

So for now, that’s all.

You will have to come back if you want a little bit more.

Jo x