This week’s French Fridays recipe choice is Hélène’s All-White Salad, a bunch of crunch created by Dorie’s friend, Hélène Samuel. She has loved this salad since first eating it at Samuel’s cafe, Délicabar Snack Chic, located in Paris’s renown Le Bon Marché department store. Built by Gustave Eiffel in 1852 and now owned by the luxury group LVMH, the store still exists.The cafe does not. Luckily, Dorie asked, Helene shared, and the all-white salad still survives in Around my French Table.
This salad seemed comfy, a thumbs up. I located every ingredient at the tiny Cookie Crockery market in Cambria. The priciest item was organic mushrooms but the rest, celery, Granny Smith apples, Napa cabbage and Greek yogurt, cost less than the gas to drive there.The preparation was simple.The dressing, Yogurt Vinaigrette, parading as a light, low-calorie mayonnaise, went together easily.
Earlier in the day I baked Irish Soda Bread, using a recipe from Dorie’s Baking: From my House to Yours cookbook. My wine was Patelin de Tablas Blanc from Tablas Creek, one of many local vineyards focusing on grapes and blends traditional to France’s Rhone Valley.
Readers, sometimes hits turn into misses. The Vinaigrette was bland. After one glass of vino and half-way through another, still tasteless. I liked the salad ingredients, however, especially the apple/Napa cabbage/celery combo. For lunch the next day, I used the leftover “whites” and made chunky blue cheese dressing for the pour-over. Bingo. Blue is the new White.
FIGURE IT OUT, MARY
Today’s Post marks three years of turning my lights on bright. Disappointed the salad was not the celebratory recipe I envisioned, the birthday candles went back in the box. Then, an Aha moment. The past three years have been all about hits, misses, thumbs up and never agains. Let me explain.
Irish Soda Bread – It’s Almost St. Paddy’s
This blogging adventure began shortly after my husband, Michael, was moved to the Memory Care Unit with Hospice joining the private facility to assist with his care. The good news was my day-to-day caregiving responsibility was no longer needed. The Pros wanted and insisted upon taking over. The bad news was my day-to-day caregiving responsibility was no longer needed. I was undone. “Go out and make a life, Mary,” a nurse insisted.
This was not new advice. I had tried and been spectacularly unsuccessful at the new life-thing. As usual, with each crisis, I ran wailing to my professional counselor, Paige. This woman does not suffer histrionics. She is also maddeningly unemotional. After calming my waters, she asked, “Mary, what are the two things you do best?”
After some thought, I responded, “Writing and being a good grandmother.”
Well,” she answered, “your granddaughters are nearby and you see them often. Check. That leaves Writing. Go figure it out.”
Visit over. I didn’t even get my hour.
2012 Patelin de Tablas Blanc
THE BIRTH OF A BLOGGER
After some months of thought, I decided to blog. WordPress was beyond me so I found a web designer on Craig’s List. He put together the site you are now reading, albeit not without disaster. Within five minutes of my site going up, I totally obliterated it. I blogged about politics and hobbies and caregiving. Nothing worked. An article in Oprah’s magazine introduced me to French Fridays with Dorie. The dye was cast. FFWD created the structure I needed in my life.
Yes, Michael-visits were still unbearable but cooking the book with my fellow Doristas was salvation. Better yet, it framed my week. Here’s how it goes: 1) Read the assigned FFWD recipe; 2) Shop for ingredients; 3) Make the recipe; 4) Photograph, eat and share the food; 5) Write my piece; 6) Post on blog each Friday; 7) Link on thirty or forty of my colleagues‘ blogs to read/ comment on their sites.
You thought the life of a food blogger was easy?
My FFWD virtual friends became reality at the International Food Boggers Conference in Seattle. Our Dorie was the keynote speaker. Fall, 2013.
Michael spent two years with round-the-clock care and I launched a new life. When he died, I had a framework in place as I began to build a lifestyle alone. In addition, I had met an entire family of virtual companions who joined with my family and friends to assist me. Now, with 228 Posts under my toque, I think I’ve been spectacularly successful in doing just that.
CAN “LIGHTS” GET BRIGHTER?
Today I completed Melanie Faith’s five-week online food writing class. Her nuts and bolts course was immersion at its finest. Our class waded through a 300-page text, Will Write for Food by Diane Jacob and submitted five in-depth writing assignments. Every morning, w-i-t-h-o-u-t fail, I woke up to an e-mail prompt, our exercise-of-the-day. Writers need editors. I am pleased to have Melanie in my back pocket.
After months of deliberation I just hired a young Denver firm, Peak Solutions Marketing, to completely redesign my site. Sorta excited. Kinda nervous. (No pressure, Zoe & Kenneth) It appears I’m committed to keeping my lights on. The brighter, the better.
The High Priestess of French Fridays, Dorie Greenspan
French Fridays with Dorie is an international cooking group working its way through Dorie Greenspan’s “Around my French Table, more than 300 recipes from my home to yours.” If you would like to look at our group link, go here.
Blue cheese? That’s what this salad needed! I am so glad Paige got the ball rolling, that you started your terrific blog, that we finally got to meet in person! Happy Anniversary, my dear friend.
PS I hope you know how thrilled I was to receive the White River National Forest sticker!!! Waves of memories came rushing back seeing that familiar logo. xoxo
Looking forward to you and Bill et al. re-visting the Rockies. Or, when you are visitng Ms. Maddy, Liz, I’d pick you up and bring you back up to Paradise for a day or two. I always have business and errands in Denver, so I just need an excuse…….
This was a lovely recap of your journey Mary. I had never heard that we were mentioned in Oprah Magazine before! News to me and I was there Day One. Day One was gourgeres and on the next day I was so excited I actually made this White Salad and hated it for the reasons you came to lose enthusiasm with each new bite. I”m taking a pass this week as I can’t really find the will to even try to do it again now that it is up in the rotation.
With that said let me tell you how delightful I find you. A lot. 🙂 You not only joined this group of ours but in many ways you have become just as much of its soul as Dorie herself is. By the way, this year you are my only Valentine. Finally a joyful one! XO, T.
Trevor, I am glad you have seen the light and are finally going to BE MINE. It really is humiliating for an older woman to have to beg. (I’m not above that, however.) I think it’s wise that we keep our relationship from the other Doristas, don’t you? Under the radar, for sure. Happy Heart Day, dear man.
My hubby usually ignores when I do the “commenting” part of the week but this time he had to ask why I was just laughing so loud. You are both fabulous.
Wow, Mary you’ve had a very full three years and have come so far. It’s so wonderful that the internet, that can be so negative, has so much that’s positive like being able to develop relationships all over the world. Can’t wait to see your new site! We’re actually in the process of getting a re-design too!
I’ve learned so much from reading your blog, Ms. Chris. Susan Lester led me to you. Everyone in Aspen has eaten and is nuts about your Pork Tenderloin and French Lentils. For my sake, keep up the good work.
Beautiful post Mary! I am crying as I read, which means your story and your writing have come together perfectly! Glad the salad was good and that you fixed the dressing. Thank you for sharing this week!
I was very happy to meet you in Seattle. I know it was a real commitment for you to leave your family and make the trip across the country. It was quite an experience, Karen, and I am pleased you were there with all of we lucky Doristas.
So I had to look up toque. I though it had something to do with legal drugs people smoke/eat in Colorado. But alas…It is your plumed velvet hat from 16th century France. Who KNEW??
Great Blog…great journey…great buddy.
Happy 3rd Anniversary! Loved your post and am happy to have found FFwD and the wonderful company of you and the Doristas!! Happy Valentine!
Mary what a wonderful post. I am so glad to have had the chance to get to know you through FFWD. You are totally figuring it out XO
What an amazing journey you have been on, thank you for sharing it with us. Your blog is always a joy to read and I think that it’s your openess and honesty about the life going on around the cooking which are the primary contributors. Happy blogging anniversary and I wish you much happiness, love, and joy in your next year.
Oh, Miss Mary. I am so glad you were given the obligatory kick in the backside to figure it out. I am sad for the circumstances that brought you to it – but watching you reinvent yourself over the past few years has been a source of inspiration to me while I have been figuring out life.
I am very glad we were able to meet last fall and remember – there is a presidential library only a couple of hours away from me. Hyde Park is a lovely place – just don’t come in February. This neck of the woods does not show itself off very well this time of year. May is lovely. Or June. Or September. October is gorgeous. But stay away from February.
Happy Valentine’s Day. XOXOXO
You know, Cher, FDR is on my List.
It’s hard to write when I’m teary. Others have said it and I join them happily in saying that you are truly an inspiration. I’d say “keep those light burning” but I know you will. You are a remarkable, generous, talented woman and I’m so glad that we’ve finally met – xoDorie
Merci mille fois, Ms. Greenspan,
This is a very special group. Led by a very special woman.
Mary, you are the best. I have come late to the party, but I love reading your posts. I am so proud of you! BTW, a white salad sounds awful…but, I applaud you for adding blue cheese dressing (and I hope it was a chunky one) …that makes it sound perfect. How about some hearts of palm and some shallots for a little zing? Are they white enough? Anyway, miss you. Looking forward to some summer cooking with you!
We’re the better for your discovery of the group, Mary. (I didn’t know it made Oprah, either!) I’m looking forward to seeing your site redesign and hearing more stories from the life you’ve led and the one you’ve now built.
Dear Mary, as I am writing this comment, Freya is looking over my shoulder, giggling and telling me that she really likes the picture of yourself and Dorie, she thinks that the smiles on your faces and the purple scarfs are “very pretty”. I so enjoyed reading your wonderful post today and I am so glad and proud to have “met” you through the FFwD – looking forward to many more posts and comments – we received your lovely Christmas/Valentine´s Day card today and loved it! Thank you so much! By the way, your white winter salad looks fabulous – so nice that you enjoyed it so much, it got a bit of mixed reviews at our house, primarely because of the Napa cabbage which I usually add to our stir fries – next time I will sub endives for the cabbage.
Have a wonderful weekend!
Mary you are amazing and your lights are on bright! Can’t wait to see your new site.
I’m so glad you enjoyed Melanie’s course – I just wish I could afford to have her sent prompts everyday.
FFWD and blogging is the same thing for me – it is my virtual family and friends I hope to meet someday, and provides my inspiration and hope when times are difficult.
Keep shining bright Mary and come see me in Palm Springs!
Mary, I enjoyed your post very much and give you a lot of credit for all that you have done
in these three years. When Tricia signed us up for this blog I thought I could never do
anything like that. However, it has been such a fun experience, not only the cooking and
writing , but as a retiree who can’t travel as much as I would like to anymore, it gives me something to think about.
Thank you for your card, first valentine card I have had in years. Ha! Ha!
Enjoy your weekend.
It’s wonderful how this group got to be part of your healing and life direction. I am dumbfounded all the time how this nonphysical thing, “the Internet” can bring people magically together. What a time we live in… I think Trevor said it best, you are so much the soul of this group. Keeping us enthused and keeping, with Betsy, the posts up and the comments circulating. I appreciate what you do, and how much you put into your relationships with all of us. Happy Anniversary Mary.
Happy Anniversary dear Mary! Even thought I don’t know you in person I am always looking forward to reading your posts! I am inspired by your strength and determination to start again. It is not easy and I admire that! I cannot wait to see your new “virtual home” and come to visit you every week, reading about your cooking, and not only, experiences. I wish that someday I will get to meet you and the rest of our group in person!
What a post. What a woman. What a story. Please know how utterly adored you are by our group, and how truly blessed that we were lucky to have you direct your light toward us. I knew much of this story but not all, and am touched again to have the details filled in. Again, I feel compassion for what you have gone through but as usual I am mostly focused on your continued strength, leadership, curiosity and ENERGY. You motivate me and encourage me each week. And usually make me laugh like heck too 🙂 Just sorry we ended up with this particular salad to celebrate it with. Blue is the new white indeed. Love it. Here’s to the next 3 years of adventure. And thanks for that spectacular card. LOVED it.
Happy Anniversary, Mary! I have so much I want to say in response to your beautiful post, but suffice it to say, that I am so happy our paths have crossed in this little group of ours. I so enjoyed meeting you and spending time with you in Seattle. I look forward to our next visit together. My guest room is ready for you. I am proud of you and your fortitude on the road to where you are today. You are a role model to me. I hope you had a great Valentine’s Day. Thanks for your card and sticker! xoxox
Mary, Mary….. All I can say is I can’t wait to see your brighter lights and thank you for the lovely card! So happy to know you.