YouTube: Alex French Guy Cooking

Alexis-Gabriel Ainouz, known by his YouTube viewers as Alex French Guy Cooking, is a self-taught cook who gets seriously geeky about his food experiments.  What I love most about his channel is that it is easy to follow, with recipes that are a breeze to execute, no matter what your level of expertise is. Some of my favorite episodes include the “How to Make Bread” … Continue reading YouTube: Alex French Guy Cooking

Word Wednesday: la bouffe

The literal translation of bouffer is to “puff up” (it’s almost onomatopoeic, really).  But nowadays, people sometimes use it in place of manger (to eat), making la bouffe another word for food. I used to have a group of friends who set aside money each month in a bank account so we could go out and have an extravagant meal every so often.  The name of our club? La … Continue reading Word Wednesday: la bouffe

Leave me in Arcachon

My husband Fabien spent a great deal of his childhood summers in Arcachon, like many people from Southwest France. This beachside town reminds me vaguely of Carmel, with gorgeous buildings, manicured streets, and retirees enjoying the calm and leisurely pace year-round. I’d only stopped in Arcachon once before, on our way back from a road trip to San Sebastian; this time, Fabien wanted me to … Continue reading Leave me in Arcachon

Music Monday: Fréro Delavega

Jérémy Frérot and Florian Delavega are best known as the French duo Fréro Delavega, a pop-folk group that participated on France’s version of The Voice in 2014. After being eliminated in the quarterfinals, they released their self-titled album (which went triple platinum), and in 2015 released Des ombres et des lumières. I don’t remember how I heard about them but I really fell in love with … Continue reading Music Monday: Fréro Delavega