300 words here! Do SOMETHING French! Interpret a song, watch a film with subtitles, make a French recipe, go to a French resto, read a French article etc…. Your activity is not limited to French from France but can be any kind of cultural activity from ANY French speaking country. Please post your response as a COMMENT to this post here (if you have not already posted!) BY SUNDAY ( I am extended this)
a lundi!
CL
My Latest French Meal
For my French cultural assignment, I went to my all time favorite French restaurants, Sophie’s Bistro in Summerset, NJ. This is a French restaurant that I have been going here for some time and I feel that it’s the best cheapish, French food in the area. I started my latest visit with a French red wine for which I cannot remember the name, only that it was a 2007. For my meal I ate a dish called boeuf bourguignon, which is an all time favorite of mine. This is to me a good cultural feel for France because the food is very similar to the food that has been prepared for me by my friends who are French as well as some of the dishes I had while in France. This restaurant has a very relaxed feel, they encourage you not to rush but rather to enjoy your wine, your food as well as your dessert. This to me is one of the most interesting facets of French culture, the people will take multiple hours at a meal because the try to enjoy the company and the meal at the same time. After leaving the restaurant I have looked up the history of the boeuf bourguignon. It is a very traditional dish that was created in the Burgundy region of France. It is a meal that involves cooking beef and vegetable in a blend of spices and French red wine, traditionally a Burgundy for a long period of time. I enjoy eating dishes like this one because it is not the food of the traditional upper class but a dish that is indicative of the people who have been forming the culture for generations. I have had this boeuf bourguignon in the south of France as well as in the streets of New Jersey and the dish as well as the atmosphere are some of the true reasons I decided to take French.
Edith Piaf – “Non, je ne regrette rien”
This is one of my favorite songs. The reason I’m actually writing about it is because it was in two of my favorite films “Saving Private Ryan” (1998) and “Inception” (2010). But I want to focus on the first film I mentioned “Saving Private Ryan” because it has a big meaning within the film. I’m an actor and I love talking about things like this. In the film the soldiers are listening to the song in a destroyed french town and a soldier translates the song which is essentially saying “I regret nothing at all”. In the film as the soldiers progress through France to get to their objective they recount small even childlike experiences they’ve had where they regret the actions they’ve done. This is emotional and impactful to them because of how close proximity they are to death at any given moment. I just felt like the song is a reminder of what life was before and after events and more specifically war in general and how unique every moment is because in the end death can always be that very next step.
The First Time I learned about Paris, France
Besides hearing about the Eiffel Tower, I pretty much knew nothing about France. I mostly got interested in France and Parisian culture in general after watching surprisingly, an Indian film called “Queen.” It’s a film about a girl in India whose never left India in her life travelling to Paris and Amsterdam on her honeymoon – without her husband. Her husband leaves her the day before their wedding and since her honeymoon was pre-booked she decides to go to Paris and Amsterdam by herself. The most interesting part of the film I believe was when she explores and discovers Paris. At first, since she’s heartbroken she barely goes out and stays at her hotel mostly until she meets the housekeeper of the hotel. The housekeeper was half indian but only spoke French and some English as she was raised in France. After she meets her they both go out and explore France. A lot of French is spoken in this portion of the film and this film was the mainly the reason I wanted to learn French. As I rewatched the movie there are a lot of words that I remember from class such as the simple informal greetings like Salut, Ca va, Au Revoir, Merci. It also shows you famous destinations located in France such as the small pink café La Maison Rose, the Sacre Couer Church, the Luxemborg Gardens, Place Vendom, the bastille, Place de la Concorde and of course the Eiffel Tower. You also learn about Parisian foods such as baguettes, and wines. You see musicians playing in the streets and many street performers The most interesting part was when she discovers Paris’s night life. They are both at a night club and all though they are playing French music, they also play music from many other countries including her own, India. This is the point in the film where she realizes that although Paris is based in France it is a clash of cultures and Paris is one of the many cities that represents cultures from all over the world.
For this post I decided to bake a Clafoutis which is a French dessert. Typically people use black cherries for the fruit portion in the cake. Since cherries aren’t in season, I decided to get something a little more accessible which are raspberries. The recipe looked simple enough but I don’t have the best experience with baking. So I hoped that this time was different. The recipe called for 1 1/4 cup milk
3 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon of salt
1 cup of raspberries
I preheated the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit so the oven would be warm when we put the Clafoutis in. In a bowl I combined the eggs, milk, sugar, vanilla and butter. Then I mixed until everything was smooth and added the flour. I got my baking pan out and poured the batter into it. My sister was helping out while I was baking. Which will later show to be a bad idea. I spread the raspberries evenly into the pan with the batter and placed it into the oven. A minute into the oven I heard sizzling and smelt something burning. It turns out my sister played with the bottom of the pan and didn’t tighten the bottom enough. The cake batter was leaking into the oven. I quickly removed the pan from the oven and had to pour the batter back into a bowl. It took me a few minutes trying to figure out how to set the bottom of the pan back correctly. After I did, the cake went back into the oven for 40 minutes. I waited and waited for it to be done cooking. After 35 minutes or so of waiting, I stuck a tooth pick in to see if it was done… it wasn’t. I waited another five minutes and then it was finally done! But then had to wait for it to cool. It smelled pretty good so I couldn’t wait to see how it tasted. It wasn’t bad but I wasn’t a big fan of it. Next time I need to add more sugar and vanilla into the cake batter. The whole baking process wasn’t a complete disaster like most of the times but still had problems. All in all it was a good experience.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FOvlQhPm23g
Madagascar
Researching the numerous French speaking countries, Madagascar caught my attention. Initially, all my perceptions about the country were painted through the movie DreamWorks movie Madagascar. A movie about the adventures of talking at the New York Central Park Zoo. However, after having done some research and watching the documentary, my perceptions have drastically changed. Now I know, Madagascar is an island with a rich cultural history that is located off the southeast coast of Africa. Although Madagascar is in Africa, in 1897 it was part of the French colonial empire. Furthermore, Madagascar is the 4th largest island in the world and home to a plethora of exotic animals. Due to the extensive array of indigenous plants and animals, some ecologists refer to Madagascar as the 8th continent. Madagascar is a nation that is seldom known to the masses, however, due to the profound culture and identity the nation possesses, Madagascar is enriching to learn about.
Madagascar was once an inhabited island off the southeast coast of Africa. Interestingly enough, the first settlers of Madagascar appear to have come from east Asia rather than Africa. Madagascar population of 70 million is predominantly of mixed Asian and African decent who inherited French as their secondary language. The Natives of Madagascar are intertwined with the culture of three different continents. The local culture of Madagascar is a mix of Malaysian, French, and African heritage. Furthermore, their culture is portrayed through their food, arts, recreation, customs, and traditions. For example, the valiha, is a bamboo tube zither carried to the island by early settlers from southern Borneo, and is very similar in form to those found in Indonesia and the Philippines today. In addition, the southeast Asian roots are portrayed in their cuisine as rice is consumed at every meal, typically accompanied by one of a variety of flavorful vegetable or meat dishes. As part of the colonial empire of France in 1958 Malagasy and French were the official languages of Madagascar. Overall, Madagascar enjoys an enriching cultural history that is representative of several great nations. The multitude of languages spoken, the rich customs and traditions are illuminations of its considerable backstory.
At home, I spend most of my time either watching YouTube, Netflix, movies or doing yoga. For this assignment, I figured that I should fuse some of these things with the French language to help me better understand it. I decided to fuse YouTube and Yoga. Since I am a self taught yogi, I have made trips to YouTube before to look at yoga videos so I am familiar with the kinds of words or terms that are mentioned when watching the videos as well as the poses. Therefore, I decided to watch some yoga videos in French. Once I found a video where it would let me put in subtitles, I noticed that they were somewhat off and the English subtitles weren’t making sense, but I could still understand the main idea of what the instructor was saying. Next, I watched the same video again, but with French subtitles and I had an easier time making sense of the words that she was saying when I was able to see the words in French (although I feel that those were kind of off too). After that, I decided to read some of the comments and was surprised that I could understand some of them! Finally, I was still kind of curious about yoga in French so I decided to translate some of the poses I like the most. Here are some of the poses I translated and terms I recognized in the video:
Inhale, Exhale, Relax, Slowly, Raise: Respire, Expire, Detendez, Lentement, Leve
Bow Pose: La posture de l’Arc
Crow Pose: Posture du corbeau
Bridge Pose: Posture du pont
Pigeon Pose: Posture du pigeon
Camel Pose: Posture du chameau
In the end, I am glad I did this assignment because now I can say some more things in French that I can apply in my everyday life other than “My name is Briana” or other simple conversation starters.
For this assignment, I decided to go to one of my favorite French restaurants in New York, Parigot. The word “parigot” is a colloquial term for Parisian. The restaurant is a small French bistro on the corner of Grand and Lafayette in Soho. Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to go to Paris yet so I look for the most authentic experience I can get when I go out for French food. Parigot, along with Balthazar on Spring Street, are my two favorite French restaurants. They are both really casual and the focus is on the simplicity of the food and the delicious flavors and fresh ingredients. This is my favorite thing about French food, not that its super complex and elaborate, but that it is simple and delicious. The owner of Parigot is French and most of the staff is, as well. Whenever I go there I really feel like I’m at a corner bistro in Paris. My favorite dishes are the salad Nicoise, the steak tartare, or the moules frites. This time around, I had the salad Nicoise, which is a salad topped with fresh grilled tuna, egg, potatoes, and string beans. It is a French restaurant staple. I had it with a side of pommes frites, of course. My friend and I shared a tart tatin for dessert, which is one the best French desserts. It is basically sliced caramel apples with a thin layer of pastry at the bottom. I really enjoyed my time at Parigot, it was very relaxing and the food was delicious. I will definitely continue going there,
Caribbean island, Haiti, is one of the many countries that speak the French language. They speak Haitian Creole, a French-based creole language. However, the Haitian Creole was influenced by many other languages such as, Portuguese, Spanish, Taino, and West African languages. The language emerged in the late 17th and early 18th centuries. It was developed by the contact between the French colonists and African slaves.
Since 1987, it has been one of the official languages spoken in Haiti. Over 95% of people, especially those who live in rural areas, consider it as the first language. Similar to other French Creoles, it has features related to the ones early colonists spoke. It is considered that from all the Creoles, the Haitian is the one that has the most influence from the African languages. Nowadays, Haitian Creole is used for formal and public functions, such as, everyday life, school, church, and political meetings. However, a small 10% of people in Haiti speak French, but the Creole is more common for Haitians.
Yanqi.Wu
Professor Largent
FRE1001
Quiz # 1
One of my favorite desserts was French Crème Brûlée. My cousin bought a box of Marie Morin Crème Brûlée to me and it tasted really good. So I began to search some recipes online and tried to make the Crème Brûlée by myself. It may be take three hours to finish it but the method was very simple and straightforward. I would like to share and introduce the recipes here. First, you need to prepare below ingredients:
1 cup sugar,
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 cups heavy cream
6 egg yolks
After that, you heat up a sauce pot for a few minutes then place those four cups of heavy cream into it. At the same time you add two teaspoon of vanilla extract and mixed them up until the sauce pot was hot, but not boiling. Next, add six egg yolks and 1/2 cup of sugar into a bowl then whisk them until they all mixed enough. Pour the hot cream into the bowl gradually and mixed them at the same time. You will see the faint yellow liquid. Now, you ready to bake it. Pour hot water into the roasting pan first then place about six ramekins into it. Pour the egg and cream mixture into each ramekin and bake them at 325oF for 45 minutes. After baking, remove the ramekins and leave them cool down to room temperature. Then you use the plastic wrap to cover them and refrigerate about two hours. Remove the ramekins from the refrigerate and waited for 30 minutes then you can place a teaspoon of sugar on top and spread it, so it can cover all the top of Crème Brûlée. Now, you can use a torch to melt the sugar until it was crispy. Leave the Crème Brûlée to cool down at least 5 minutes. Finally, you can enjoy this creamy French dessert!
French Pop Song: S.O.S. by Indila
I’ve always thought French was such a beautiful language and hearing the language sung makes it even more beautiful. I’ve been studying music since I was 8 and hearing songs from other cultures and languages and comparing them to US English pop songs is always such a great learning experience. Adding music into the mix adds another layer of depth to the language. Although I love the French language I’m not too familiar with French artists. The few I know include Mika and Indila. The artist I chose to look more closely at was Indila. Indila is the stage name for French pop artist Adila Sedraia. Indila’s debut album went diamond and platinum in France and Belgium within the time span of a year. The song I chose to look at was S.O.S. by Indila. The song is absolutely amazing. The lyrics are very touching and quite sad. The rhythm is very smooth and catchy. When analyzing the lyrics in french and then looking for the translation the words that stood out to me the most were, “Le silence tue la souffrance est loi. L’entends-tu? Est-ce que tu le vois?”. “The silence kills the suffering in me”, such powerful words that many can relate to. When listening to this song, I took them to mean searching for an identity when you’re lost and in pain. There are not huge differences that I’ve noticed between English pop songs and French pop songs except for of course the language that each are in, but to me there is something about the song being in French that just gives the whole song another layer of emotions. It might just be my perspective because of the romanticism of the French language, but I felt very strong emotions all throughout the song. Overall I really enjoyed the song and I might just be adding some French songs to my playlist.
Lisa Tandler
Professor Largent
FRE1001
February 20, 2016
Recently, I read a novel by the infamous and inflammatory French author Michel Houellebecq. The Elementary Particles, published in 1996, is as tragic as it is comic, as vulgar and lewd as it is scientific and cold. It’s a tale of two half-brothers, Bruno the sex addict and Michel the asexual scientist, and the novel above all else concerns how both struggle and ultimately fail to survive and thrive in a society teeming with post-1960s values.
Houellebecq presents the other side of the libertarian coin; a cynical critique of Western society as it is in modern times, and what it has the potential to become. His France is rather reminiscent of the Roman Empire prior to its fall: orgies, overeating, excess and gluttony in any and all forms. And this is all under the guise of personal liberation; the freedom to express oneself without any reservations, to explore all sexual perversions and normalize them within the society. It’s totally natural for people to go away on hippie sex retreats where they discover inner peace through meaningless, no-strings-attached sex.
Essentially what Houellebecq is describing is a society of over-consumers. France has long been considered “the country of romance, wine, and history”, where people socialize and enjoy their lives. There is no happiness in The Elementary Particles. There is no passion. We see so many people having sex, but none with any true intimacy. Because of this, men are unhappy. Women are unhappy. But Houellebecq also shows us that men and women have the capability of making each other happy. It’s the society that fails the people. Sexual liberties and excesses become shackles when the body’s urges are followed without any concern for self-control. The brain submits to the body. This, I think, is indicative of the devolution of the individual. Ultimately, Michel discovers a way to procreate asexually, thus eliminating the need for sex altogether. What results is a loveless world.
I found a popular French song called, “Dernière Danse” by Indila on YouTube online. The title of the song means “Last Dance” in English. It was a whole new experience for me because it was my first time listening to a French song. I usually listen to English, Chinese, and Korean songs. This was a totally different style than the songs that I usually listen to. By listening to the song alone without any prior knowledge to French, nor translating the language into English, I found the song pathetic, and a little bit miserable. The melody and rhythm sounded blue. I felt gloomy after listening to it.
Then, I looked up the meaning of this song. It meant that there was a girl, who wanted to get away and forget all the pain. She sang, “Vient la douleur…Dans tout Paris, je m’abandonne Et je m’envole, vole, vole, vole, vole Que d’espérance…Sur ce chemin en ton absence” In English, it means “here comes my pain in all Paris, I abandoned myself, and away I fly, fly, fly, nothing but hope on this road in your absence.” After understanding the lyrics, I believed my instance was right. It was totally a sad broke up song that the girl was hurt in love and she felt so much pain living without her boyfriend. Therefore, she was giving her heart a break that she wanted to live without her boyfriend. She was in Paris where she hoped that she will not see her boyfriend again. She even mentioned to dance and fly away, in order to forget the pain from the broken relationship with her boyfriend. She also wanted to start a new life and be all happy again.
Therefore, this song shocked me in the beginning because the voice of the singer and the animation of the music video created a mystery tone. It was also my first time listening to French in my lifetime so far. At first, I could not understand a word. However, after attending a few lectures in class, I felt more familiar with the some words in the song. The more I hear this song now, the more I appreciate French language.
La République Maurice: Small Island, Big Culture
The Republic of Mauritius, or “La République Maurice” in French, is a country off the southeastern coast of Africa, approximately 500 miles east off of Madagascar. Along with the island of Mauritius, the Republic of Mauritius also includes the nearby Agalega Islands, Saint Brandon Archipelago, and Rodrigues Island. During the 18th Century, the French had taken control over Mauritius Island, establishing the country as an important naval base that would oversee trade in the Indian Ocean. During this time period, the island’s economy relied mainly on the production of sugar cane from plantations. In the 19th century, after the Napoleonic Wars, Mauritius was captured by Great Britain and used as a naval base during World War II. Mauritius declared independence from Britain in 1968.
With influence from both France and Great Britain, Mauritius is a mix of cultures evident in the bilingualism of the country. While French or English are spoken by the majority of the population of 1.3 million, the official language of the government is English. However, the vast majority of the population, approximately 86.5%, speaks Mauritian Creole. Mauritian Creole is a language that derives from the French that was introduced to the island with its capture by the French.
Today, Mauritius is largely dependent on tourism, as it is known for its pristine beaches and unique ecosystem with various species of plants and animals that cannot be found anywhere else in the world. The island is also receiving greater recognition for its world-renowned cuisine, which is a blend of flavors from the Creole people, the French, the Indians, and the Chinese. While Indian cuisine has had a major influence on Mauritian cuisine, typical curries are elevated with the addition of herbs that are predominantly used in European cuisines, such as thyme. Mauritius’ unique landscape and blend of cultures are reason for the large attraction of the island for tourists around the world.
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/mp.html
http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20130329-blending-of-cultures-in-mauritius
http://www.sbs.com.au/food/article/2008/07/01/about-mauritian-food
Wen Shan Xue
I recently came across a French song, the first French song I’ve heard, while listening to Chinese songs on Pandora. The song is called “Christine” by Christine and the Queens. At the beginning, I hadn’t even noticed that the song was in French. I was enjoying the music, the beat, and the flow of the lyrics too much to pay attention to what language it was being sung in. It was only towards the end of the song did I realize that it was French and that it sounded incredibly good.
This lead me to search up the artist who’s real name is Héloïse Letissier and comes from Nantes, France. I do not know much about music and am not good at telling one genre apart from another, but I did feel that her style of music was different from the ones I usually listen to. As usual, I went to Youtube to see if there was a music video for the song and not only did I find one for this song but many more for her other songs. The music style was also very different from the ones I have seen before. It was very simple, just the artist and three dancers in the same blue room. The dance was unique, I had never seen that type of dance anywhere before.
My next step was to try and understand the lyrics by looking up the translation of it. The first verse goes as follows:
Je commence les livres par la fin
Et j’ai le menton haut pour un rien
Mon oeil qui pleure c’est a cause du vent
Mes absences c’est du sentiment
I start the books by the end
and i have the chin high for nothing
my eye which cries its because of the wind
my absences is a feeling
When listening to the song, it did feel a little down to me but I still thought it was a nice song. But after seeing the translations, I understood that the artist is singing about not being able to be herself, if my understanding of the lyrics is correct. She has to start from the end result, which is like having to do things a certain way to make sure she gets that result. Holding her chin up high, she has to put on a poker face for other people and when she cries, her excuse is that it’b because of the wind. These may not be the correct translation but it allowed me to get a sense of feeling of what the artist is trying to convey through her song.
I am glad this song came up while listening to songs of a different language and genre online. I will certainly look for more French songs and try to understand the lyrics based on what we will be learning in class.
Eui Cho (David)
FRE 1001
Professor Largent
Before taking this class at Baruch, I had no actual knowledge of France of French culture. Only times that I have really seen French culture is when watching the Disney movie, Ratatouille. This movie is set in Paris is about a rat, Remy, who aspires to be a chef, through using a human, Alfredo Linguini, who is a pretty bad chef. Throughout the movie Remy and Alfredo’s bond grows more and more between rat and human as they continue to create more dishes to let the restaurant be a success.
After watching this movie this reminds me of my aspiration to be a chef. Before entering Baruch College my original plan was to attend the International Culinary Center in downtown Manhattan. At ICC it is a French Culinary Institute and this reminded me of my experience when I went to a French restaurant in Quebec. I was served duck confit and it was really delicious. I would try to recreate this dish however, duck is really expensive and on a college student’s budget that is not affordable. However my plans after graduating college is to attend culinary school and learn French cuisine and possible combine it with an Asian style as well. From watching a lot of TV shows and movies, mainly Disney, that show the style of French cuisine it always inspires me to continue to cook. In my opinion, I feel that French cuisine is a very elegant cuisine that is mainly served to the more of the upper class than the middle and lower class members of society, due to the amount of elegance as well as just how French society was placed and treated throughout history. Even from all of these shows on television as well as movies, French culture and cuisine will always keep me interested in cooking.
I recently re watched the french language file “Amelie” the film is super French and quirky. I guess you could describe it as a romantic comedy. The main character is a Parisian girl named “Amelie” who is a bit weird but loves to help those around her (who are all also very weird…i.e. French) The whole movie is a whimsical look into contemporary Parisian life. I thought the acting, music, and setting were amazing. Its a great film and I would recommend anyone to watch.
Besides that French movie I have been listening to a lot of music by the Belgian singer/rapper, Stromae. He sings in French and Im slowly starting to piece together bits of what he is saying here and there. I think as the semester goes by Ill be able to fully grasp it all. I really like his songs “Alors on danse” (So we dance) “Papaoutai” (Slang for “Dad where are you”) Formidable (“Wonderful”) “Ta Fete” (“Your Party”) and “Tous Les Memes (“They are all the same”) Look at all the French I learned just from the titles! C’est supercool. Stromae is not French but Belgian, which is a country bordering France and speaks both French and Dutch. He is probably the most well known French language singer/artist nowadays and he isnt French. Goes to show the inter-nationality of the language.
One day I head to school early for a meeting and in the process of trying to get there in time I had left my folder with important information for the meeting at home and my metro card. I had finally gotten to school it was raining really hard which I was neither prepared for in tights, a skirt, and moccasins. I ran up to the gate of my school to find out I was too early. Now I was wet standing in front of my school’s chained locked gate at 6:30 in the morning. I decided to sulk in Starbucks and grab a scone and green hot tea. As I sat in the deserted coffee shop this music played through the speakers and somehow melted my wet cold heart into butterflies. At first, I didn’t realize I didn’t understand the language it wasn’t until I shazzamed it on my phone that I had found the artist Stormae.
The song that had played was Tous Les Memes. I left Starbucks and my day literally became brighter after listening to this song. As if the rain clouds were controlled by my mood the rain stopped and the sun came out. I walked back towards my school with Stormae speaking to me through my headphones.
While he lightened my mood, I later looked up the lyrics and watched the video to learn what it was all about. first I realized that he was singing in French and the video showed him dressed as half a men and the other half a woman. the song Tous Les Memes emphasize the problems in everyday relationships between couples, especially men and women. He brought up issues that seem to greatly influence the downfall of a relationship such as not trusting each other, manipulating each other, and not appreciating each other. Also, the Belgium artist discussed stereotypes that we relate with both genders. The women would suspect the man of cheating while the man suspected the women to be on her time of the month every time they had an argument. at the end, we realize that both parties are to blame and that they have an equal fault. The couple concludes to end their relationship even though it’s not what either one really wants. In the video, Stormae plays both the female and women’s point of view and in the end, both men and women join him a parallel uniform as they dance representing the push and pull of a relationship between the participants as salsa on the dance floor.
Since listening to Stormae’s song a year ago, he has not only open me up to his music but also to other French artists such as Indila, Coeur de Pirates, and Zaz. Paul Van Haver best known to his fans as Stormae is a Belgium singer and songwriter. One of his first biggest hits was Alors on Danse in 2009 and then his 2nd album Racine Carree became big in France and other parts of the world. Stormae usually writes about problems he sees in his life and that he can relate to.
Alektra Mondelli
Professor Largent
FRE 1001
For this assignment, I made Consommé Célestine soup for my family and I. First, I made the broth. I just used simple chicken stock because I’m not a great cook. Next, I made the crêpe part of the soup. I used to have a recipe I’d use but I couldn’t find it so I found another online. First I combined flour, sugar, salt, milk, eggs, and butter in a blender. For the soup crêpes, I added chives, but I left some plain for dessert. I then let the batter sit to get it to room temperature. The next part is similar to cooking pancakes, I heated up the skillet with butter and poured the batter in. When the bottom turned golden brown, I did the same to the other side. I did this until all of the batter was gone and I had a few crêpes finished.
I also had to make the consommé:
1 pound cold ground chicken
6 large egg whites, chilled
1 medium yellow onion, small dice (about 2 cups)
1 medium carrot, peeled and small dice (about 3/4 cup)
1 medium celery stalk, small dice (about 1/3 cup)
4 fresh Italian parsley sprigs
4 fresh thyme sprigs
1 bay leaf
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus more as needed
This part was the most difficult but it wasn’t a complete disaster. I mixed the chicken, egg whites, onion, carrot, and celery in a large bowl until combined. Then, refrigerated it. Then, I tied the parsley, thyme, and bay leaf together. Then i stirred the lemon juice and measured salt into the egg white–chicken mixture and transferred it to a large saucepan. I poured in the 6 cups of chilled stock and stirred to combine. Then, I stirred it in the pan for about 20 minutes. I lined a fine-mesh strainer with a standard paper coffee filter and set it over a large heatproof bowl. The key was making sure that the bottom of the strainer did not come in contact with the consommé in the bowl, or the solids and grease trapped in the filter will cloud the consommé. Just before serving, I cut 2 of the crêpes into 1/8-inch-wide strips. I topped with the consommé and served. Overall, this recipe was difficult for a beginner like me, but I managed, and it was worth it because it was really great.
Natalie Cepeda
Quiz/French culture HW
French 101
2/22/16
For this assignment, I watch a French movie called Clara et Moi (directed by Arnaud Viard, 2004), with English subtitles. I decided to break down the new phrases and words that I learned by each new interaction/setting presented throughout the course of the film. Note: l learned a lot more that what is seen here!
The movie begins with the main character, Antoine, speaking with his therapist about his desire to get married and start a family. I learned The English word, ‘Married’, is ‘marié’ in French (pronounced like the name ‘Marie’ with a really cool accent), and Pourquoi quoi (English translation, “why what?”) which is very similar to the Spanish spelling and pronunciation, “Por qué Qué”).
Later on, Antoine’s friend’s throw him a surprise party for his 33rd birthday. Here are a list of word/phrases I learned from their interactions:
* Happy birthday = Bon anniversaire.
* Can I Help you = Puis-je vous aider
* ‘Your Fifth…’ (as in your fifth drink, or fifth child) = votre cinquième
* I Remember = souviens
* The French word ‘Formidable’ could mean either wonderful, or brilliant in English.
* Complicate = compliquer (the ‘r’ is silent)
* The word ‘aggressive’ in French (agressif) is pronounced similar to the English pronunciation of the word.
The next day, Antoine is determined to set a date with Clara, whom he met on the subway the day before. He rehearses what to say, then calls her. I learned The French often use the word ‘Metro’, for subway (short for metro station).
* The French word for “where” is simply, “où”.
* Quelle heure = what time?
* ‘That’s fine’ = très bien
Clara and Antoine finally meet and have a romantic dinner. From their date, I learned:
* Im thirsty = j’ai soif
* The French word for ‘Screenplay’ is ‘scenario’, which by definition has the same meaning as the word ‘scenario’ in English.
* The street = La rue
* Charming = charmant (‘t’ is silent)
* I want to dance = Je veux danser
* I feel lucky = Je me sens chanceux
* Thank you for everything = Merci pour tout