Back to Basics

DISCLAIMER: THIS IS FILLED WITH FIRST WORLD PROBLEMS. We’ll get to the nitty gritty of French antisemitism, race wars, socioeconomic crises, and blatant misogyny later in the fall. What fun!

First and foremost, shanah tovah and happy 5772! 117 years after the Dreyfus Affair, France still has some major problems with the chosen people. Lucky for me, I have apples, honey, and a loud Jewish family a few floors down to make me feel right at home.

Rosh Hashanah, which opens a season that is all about holding grudges and getting smote repenting and being inscribed in the book of life, is as good a time as any to remember balance. Between having my first visitor last week (a charming and pleasantly sassy fellow Fulbrighter), starting to get organized for research at the Bibliothèque Nationale and La Sorbonne, getting lost MANY times, being told I wasn't Jewish by a stranger on the métro, and hearing French scholars’ takes on the intersection of feminism and art -- which is (quel suprise!) neither favorable nor very open to new interpretations -- I managed to get a little frazzled. But I was keeping it all together until my new this-will-make-you-walk normally (HA!) gizmo stopped working before an appointment across town. Madames et Messieurs, I give you the emotional Chernobyl!

For the first time since a slightly traumatic thesis experience, the flexibility and calm on which I had so prided myself disappeared instantly. So I went back to basics, cautiously expanded my comfort zone, and remembered a few easy things always seem to make life a little bit better.

The first is green food. Broccoli and lettuces, spinach, peppers, and other local produce.* Although Paris is morphing quickly into fall, the temperatures are still warm enough for a last crop of summer vegetables. To celebrate, I’ve gone back to simple salads, adding steamed veggies, crunchy apples, pan-roasted summer squash, assorted beans, and staples like carrots and tomatoes. Top it with an easy homemade vinaigrette** and a little good cheese, and nom nom nom, dinner is served in minutes. Don’t forget that heart-healthy glass of red wine!

The second was remembering that humans are very sexual social creatures. I started eating lunch with a group of graduate students at La Sorbonne, and went to the first party that I was invited to in the city. When it came to the latter, I was nervous about presenting myself -- in a different language -- to real people with real jobs. Art historians, by and large, are strange characters with rich inner lives and interesting social skills. Our version of game consists of the questions: what’s your favorite line of Prufrock? or If you were buried at Père-Lachaise, who would you want to be next to? or Do you want to explain Lacan to me...in the bedroom? BUT I’m so glad I went, and would encourage all fellow babes in the woods to do the same. Everyone wanted to know about Detroit, which is less post-industrial grit and more romantic European concept here. And the questions abounded. I looked sweet, was I hiding my gangster side? Did I like techno? How could it not be safe to walk home from downtown at 2am? Was I related to Eminem? Now that is something I can talk about.

Add a long walk, several cups of coffee, and a good feminist read, and I was back in business. Hoping all of you are too. Santé!

* For those interested in eating local in the US, there is a national network of Community Supported Agriculture and a surprising number of farmers’ markets popping up in unexpected cities.

** Simple Vinaigrette
Makes several servings; keeps refrigerated for 7-10 days.

1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
2 drops of red wine vinegar
1 heaping tbsp. dijon mustard
1 tbsp. honey (more if you want to cut the acid)
1/2 cup of fresh basil leaves

Place ingredients in a blender, or use a bowl large enough to accommodate an immersion wand. Blend until creamy. Instant yum.