Sharing is caring :-)

Ok, I know that's a cheesy title, but I'm ok with that...

So, on Thursdays I don't have any classes, so I try to make it a productive day. Also, since I am free in the evening, I've decided to make it a cooking day and to make something yummy, and maybe more time consuming than I would normally make. Since I've been craving things that remind me of home lately, I decided to tackle tortillas. I've never actually made them, what with having access to Frontier and all, but I figured it couldn't be THAT hard. And it really wasn't. Turns out I'm pretty good at making them, too. When I was done, I shared them with the family and they were all really impressed (even though Paul kept referring to them as kebab, because they are similar to the pita bread that they use at the kebab shops that are ALL OVER Lyon, and Europe in general, I hear). Wei thinks it's really cool that I cook kind of a lot and that I know how to make a lot of different things, and she likes to hang out in the kitchen and observe. And I like the company, so it works out.

Then, on Saturday morning, I made banana pancakes for everyone, and Wei helped. Before making them, I went to the market and bought fresh bananas, strawberries, and raspberries. Basically, they were amazing. It also gave the family an excuse to use the maply syrup they bought and never know what to do with. Which I am totally cool with cuz I LOVE maple syrup. Next time, whenever that is, Paul and Claudia are going to help so that they can learn how to make them, too. Yay for sharing recipes! And yay for pancakes. I hardly ever make them because you kind of have to make a lot of them, and I am often cooking for myself, so it's never worth it. But here I have six people who are more than happy to try new things.

After breakfast, Wei did her shopping for the week. She tends to go shopping and prepare a bunch of stuff for the coming week so that during the week she doesn't have to do a bunch of stuff. So I hung out with her while she chopped and steamed veggies and whatnot. She made these things that apparantly are really common in Taiwan. Basically, you take small tomatos, partially slice them, and stick a prune inside. She said that they make them a lot for kids in Taiwan to get them to eat tomatos (ha! I'm NOT the only wierdo who doesn't like tomatos). Anyway, in the name of trying new things, and because I didn't want to be rude when she offered them to me, I tried one, even though neither tomatos or prunes are very high on my list of favorite foods. Turns out they are kind of tasty. I think part of it is that my taste is changing, and I don't hate tomatos as much as I used to, but also the sweetness of the prunes kind of minimized the flavor of the tomato juice, which is what really bothers me.

Anyway, we all got to try new foods this weekend, and it was quite successful. And now that I know I can make tortillas, bring on the burritos!! And quesadillas, which I had last night. Not quite the same taste using emmenthal cheese instead of cheddar, but I have a little bit of green chile, and that was what was really important. I can get used to different kinds of cheese if I have to.

Next, I want to learn how to make quenelles, which are a very lyonnais sort of thing (Florence made them for me and Sarah). They are kind of like big hunks of pasta (no wonder I like them). Actually, no one really makes them, even though they can't be that hard, because I think they are mostly flour and water, but I guess it's a lot easier to buy them, and you can either buy them frozen or in jars at the grocery store, at the butcher shop (random...), or at the open air markets. Basically, they are everywhere. What I really want to learn how to make is the sauce, which Florence does make. It's kind of like a creamy tomato sauce. Basically, it's yummy and I think it would be cool to know how to make it, and it might be good with other things than just quenelles...

And that't my story about sharing...

Other random things:

(1) France lost the rugby game against England last night, which sucks because it was the semi-final and decided who would go to the championship game. They set up a giant screen at Place Bellecour (which is basically the heart of Lyon) this time, and there were tons of people there to watch the game and we stood there for 2 hours to watch a not terribly exciting game and then loose in the end. After the game, a lot of unhappy french people were breaking bottles all over the place. It was a little bit intimidating, I have to say.

(2) It's starting to get cold. And my room is especially cold because I never get any direct sunlight. Boo.

(3) Today I was supposed to go on a Beaujolais trip and wander around the countryside and taste wine from a local vineyard, but there ended up being a problem with our reservation, so we didn't get to go. Boo again.

(4) I watched the Disney version of Robin Hood this morning. I forgot how amazing that movie is.

(5) I finally signed up for Velo'v yesterday, which is the bike "rental" program in Lyon. You can get a bike pretty much anywhere and then drop it off wherever. They have pick up/drop off areas over town. I haven't really needed it lately because I live in such a central location, so I've been procrastinating it, but yesterday they did a thing where we could go sign up rather than sending in an application, which takes a while. So I went for it. I'm thinking about doing a little bike tour this afternoon, but I kind of like the idea of a lazy Sunday in my PJs...I guess we'll see.