Flirting with French--An early review

Early review copy --
I found this book to be delightful and fun to read. The narrator was a simple man in his 50's trying his best to learn French. He not only wants to learn the language; he wants to be French. Throughout the book I learned more than just French words I learned about the origins of language itself. I found the history to be very informative and at the same time humorous. Mr. Alexander lets us peek into his bumbling adventures and to forgive his errors. Throughout these adventures in learning a new language there is also some health problems Mr. Alexander has to deal with at the same time. You can't help but to fall in love and root for the underdog in this story. It is an inspiration to adults who are trying to learn something new, the feelings of inadequacy, and the powers of the human mind. As a creative non-fiction this story can deliver an enduring touch to passions we hold dear and to go ahead and try new things, despite our age or abilities.

No officer, I SWEAR it's oregano!!

The north winds are blowing and the trees are turning beautiful shades of yellow, gold, and red. It is a beautiful time of year here in the Midwest. Yet we all know what's right around the corner. It's that wonderful 4 letter S word that makes you cover your ears and deny you ever heard it- SNOW!

Last year was a killer. Not only was it one of the coldest winters ever we made new vocabulary words to describe our frozen tundra. Words such as, Blizznado, Snowpocolypse, and Polar Vortex. While these sound like awesome names for metal bands they are forces of nature that makes us re-evaluate the adaptability of humans in adverse conditions. 

While this season is still a few weeks off it is time to hunker down and prepare. Since the garden here is mostly torn down I have a small project left, the herbs. I planted the obligatory basil and oregano. These are hearty and resiliant herbs that can be added to any Italian dish and work with many other soups and stews. 

During a late morning after the dew has risen off of the plants I harvested my herbs. Now both of these wonderful aromatics need to be treated differently. Basil is a broad leaf moisture rich herb. It can be tricky with this one. You could hang it but you would need to keep the bunches small and well ventilated to prevent any moisture from accumulating. This would cause molding and then you may as well have just bought a store brand.

On the other hand, oregano is a small leaf hearty herb that can taste better dried than fresh. It doesn't hold as much moisture and can be easily dried. Most sources say you can hang dry or lay flat wait and let it be. I am slightly impatient and decided to look for other ways to dry the oregano and came across a comment that mentioned drying it in your car. I thought, what the heck I've always wondered what a pizza delivery driver's car might be like. I set the sprigs out on a paper bag and placed them in the back window of the car to dry. 

 It was almost perfect except you probably didn't want to drive around town. I realized they were in my back window before I left for the library so I transfered them over to my husband's car for the time being. When I came home I saw his car was missing, oh crap! I called him and found out he went to visit his friends at the lake and would be home soon. I reminded him of the new passenger he was now chauferring and he told me not to worry--so I didn't. 

When he arrived home later he was complaing about getting cut off by another driver and that he had to slam on the breaks to prevent an accident. When he slammed on the brakes the oregano flew to the front of the car and shot wildly around like confetti on New Year's. I giggled thinking of the old saying, "But officer--It really is oregano!"

Being the great guy he is, he picked up as many sprigs as he could and placed them nicely back on the paper bag. I admit there are considerably less leaves than I originally put on there, but oh well. I still made out well and have enough to last for at least a few meals.

Ball jars now sells these nifty little herb jars and they have built-in shakers. I bought some to hold the dried herbs in and they look great! At least this year they look like real spices, not dried leaves in baggies like last year. Imagine the excuses that go along with transporting those little buggers.