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French word

French Word A Week – Pamplemousse & A Giveaway

Grapefruit


Planning this edition of French Word a Week was a complete "house" collaboration this time around. My dad picked the word, my mom got tickled pink when I got her involved into styling the picture. What did B. do? What he does best: ate the props! A little family project is always a fun when there is French and English simultaneously flying around. I just watch and take it all in.

I admit I drew a blank when picking this week’s word (too many options I guess) until I stripped it down to the bare essential of something we see or eat daily. It has to be grapefruit for us. My dad eats half a grapefruit daily, B. drinks a glass every morning and I nosh on grapefruit sections in the afternoon for a little vitamin pick-me-up. Mom? She buys them. By the crate. Especially when we are all together!

Grapefruit


Today’s word, pamplemousse, makes me think of plump, ample, soft, sunshine. It’s one of those words I love to hear B. say outloud. It makes me giggle. You can listen to the pronunciation here.

Thanks to my mom I recently discovered the artist Catherine Martini who dedicates her work to painting all sorts of sweet things. I love the burst of colors, the shapes and subjects she choses to illustrate. Visiting her site always brings in some sunshine in the house. I wanted to share her work with you and thought a giveaway would be fun.

Catherine Martini's Card Set


But…it’s not all. I am throwing in a copy of "Unforgettable Desserts" by Dede Wilson which contains 140 thorough recipes for desserts you can make all year round. The handful of recipes I made from it were a hit with everyone so I am confident you will find something tasty in it also.

To enter to receive a set of 3 cards from Catherine Martini and "Unforgettable Desserts": leave a comment on this post (one entry per person) between Friday March 26th 2010 and Monday March 29th, 11pm (US Eastern time). Anyone can enter, I’ll ship worldwide.

We will be out of town this weekend and since I moderate the comments manually, bear with me if you don’t see yours appear right away.

Have a great weekend!

French Word A Week – Topinambour

Sunchokes


It hit me the other day at the store that it was taking me longer and longer each year to remember a few French words. Primarily because they were already rarely part of my vocabulary but I realize that they are as much fun to remember as they are for Bill to pronounce and learn.

In the spirit of sharing and remembering, practicing and growing I have decided to start a new category to this blog, related to food of course, a "French Word A Week" type thing.

Today’s word is "topinambour" a.k.a sunchoke or Jerusalem artichoke. (listen to the pronunciation here)

That word in French always make me smile and hearing Bill say it is even cuter. And you know what…they are delicious! I wish my mom had cooked more with them when we were kids, but now I do everytime they appear at the market. Stay tuned for an upcoming recipe with sunchokes. Won’t be dessert though!

P.S: I realize I forgot to add the recipe instructions in French for the Chocolate Whiskey Pots de Creme the other day and will remedy that tonight.