EXCERPT FROM SARA’S JOURNALDecember 21, 1998
Arbonne
Cote Basque
Yesterday’s storm subsides. Now, a clear blue canopy marbled with
translucent cloud ribbons. My pupils flex with the shouting sun. There’s a small
basket of vegetables called Pot Au Fau available at the produce market. Pot Au
Fau is a stockpot of beef, potatoes and vegetables. I buy the basket and later inspect
its contents at the kitchen counter. I’m going to make Vegetarian Pot Au Fau.
The basket contains:
1 small onion
1 leek
1 turnip
5 carrots
1 celery top
2 sprigs of watercress
I add to it a clove of garlic and three potatoes, some very skinny
green beans and a cup of white beans…the kind I see in the Cassoulet. I also
throw in a handful of pasta. Voila. Vegetarian Pot Au Fau and it is truly
delicious.
We buy a small, full pine and Rich saws the bottom with his Leatherman.
Our tree spreads its branches as it sits in a bucket before the fireplace. We’ve
decorated with paper snowflakes and ribbons. I hang my red socks on the chimney.
Rich says afterall, it’s Christmas and we should have some
cookies. We fire up a batch of shortbread made with French Gastronomic Butter. French
Butter is very buttery. French butter makes the cookies very buttery. They ooze butter
onto the cookie sheet. The cookies come out of the oven soft and crumbly. They ooze butter
onto the blotting paper. They cool into crisp petites buerres. Rich gobbles them up
and suffers a minor tummyache.
