Hike to the Fort St. Eynard-Oct. 26

For the first time this fall we did a hike that did not require a bus ride to the starting point. We walked out of our apartment at about 8am, still a bit dark and cool.

We were expecting foggy conditions for the morning and sure enough the first 4 hours of our hike looked like the above. Every time we looked down at the valley below it was just a big whitish-grey area of nothingness. By noon, when we had almost reached our destination, the St. Eynard Fort, the sun broke through the fog.

The Fort, built in the early 19th century to protect Grenoble from neighboring countries, was closed to visitors. We parked in front of the doors and had our lunch.

At this time of year, this is what the mountains look like: a combination of fall-colored trees with snow covered mountains further behind.

The Fort was at about 1300 meters; not as high as most of our other hikes. What was different though was that we started hiking from Grenoble, which is at about 200 meters. We still got our share of climbing, mostly switchbacks and not steep rock climbing.

Because of the fog we did not get this view of the Fort on our way up. So when coming down the mountain, we turned around and saw where we had just had lunch--at the top.

Are we tired? Yes! But it is a good feeling because we are not sore.

Behind the scenes of a bakery

This post is rather long because it follows the process of making the standard bread that is eaten at breakfast, lunch and dinner--the baguette.

I asked at the bakery we usually go to (la Talemelerie) if I could observe the baguette making process. No problem. I showed up at 8am yesterday and the baker was already busy removing bread from the oven. He had started at 4am and had just one more hour of work before being replaced by another baker.

Just a word about the baker. He did a 2 year professional degree and started working when he was just 15 years old! He is now 24 years old.

Back to bread. The whole process is about 1 1/2 hrs.

The baker has just enough space to work in, although it does appear small to me. When the second baker came to relieve the first, they worked in the same space for about 10 minutes and they do get in each others way a bit.



The following pictures give an idea of how this bakery turns out about 500 baguettes a day.

One bag of flour is poured into the mixer.

An enormous mixer! The scale to the right is used to weigh the salt, yeast and individual sections of dough.

Then a mix of flour, water and yeast is added. The baker mentioned that very little yeast is in this mix for the amount of flour used.

Some crumbled yeast is added. Salt is added towards the end.

After the machine kneads the dough for about 20 minutes, sections of the dough are weighed and put in the plastic tubs. Each tub is enough for about 20 baguettes.

The dough in the tub is then dumped into a machine that cuts it into 20 equal sections.

The lid is closed and a handle is depressed to cut through the dough.

The baker briefly rolls each section and places it on a cloth-covered tray. Once it is filled the tray is placed in a "cupboard".

The next step is the façonnage--forming the shape of the bread. He showed me how to do it--some rolls and then the baguette. The baker does it with amazing speed! But after 9 years, you would become very good! I asked why the ends of the baguette are pointed. He said this was to show that the baguette was made by hand. Machines cannot make the pointed ends and so it is their way of showing the customer that this is not industrialized-made bread.

The baguettes are put on trays and then left to rise in a temperature-controlled unit.

The baguette are ready to go in the oven. The cloth under the baguette is floured and helps keep the shape of the baguette as it rises.

When they are ready to go into the oven, the piece of board on these loaves is used to move the dough to the board that will slide the baguette into the oven.

Before the baguette goes in the oven, the baker uses a razor-like tool to make slits in the top of the baguette.

Many bakeries use gas to bake bread, this one used a wood-fired oven. The temperature of the oven goes down over time, so baguette are baked first for 17 minutes and then larger loaves are baked for a longer time when the oven is not as hot.

Beechwood is used, and delivered to the bakery from a producer 45 minutes from Grenoble.

Inside the oven. It is very deep and very long-handled paddle (see below) that allows the baker to reach the baguette at the very back of the oven. The paddle can hold 4 baguette so every time he puts in 4 new loaves to be baked, he takes 4 out, going from left to right. If the timing is messed up he'll get burnt loaves.

A full view of the area where the baker works.

I asked the baker what was hard about his job. I thought it might be the physical demands of always bending to put bread in and out of the oven or the constant lifting of heavy dough. I was wrong. He said the mental demands were harder. Everything is timed and when not putting bread in the oven or taking it out, he is preparing a new batch of dough. The rhythm of all the tasks has to be maintained for the work to get done.

I was glad that I didn't ask too many questions! Despite the mental strain, he loves his job and wouldn't want to do anything else. He added that you have to be passionate about this kind of work otherwise you would not be able to do it day after day.

Cooking class #5--Boeuf Bourguignon

I was quite happy to make a boeuf bourguignon (beef stew in red wine) because I had made it before, and now was looking for ways to improve it.

The ingredients are simple: beef, bacon, onions, carrots, celery, mushrooms, and red wine, along with some thyme, bay leaves and flour.


Emily is opening a bottle of red wine for the recipe. The cheaper the wine, the better, she says. I saw it in the grocery store this afternoon, and yes, the wine she used was 1,50 euros! A whole bottle gets put in the pot. This doesn't smell good initially, but as the wine cooks and thickens with the meat and vegetables, it is very aromatic 2 hours later.

The finished recipe doesn't look like much in the pot, but the flavor is all there!

Since Emily is of Italian background, we made polenta to accompany the beef stew. It can also be served with pasta, rice or boiled potatoes.

Caramelized turnips are not typically served with this dish, but since we had the time, she wanted to have me prepare them and serve them as decoration on top of the polenta and burgundy beef.

The turnips are boiled in water, sugar and butter. The water boils off, leaving caramelized turnips. The slightly bitter turnip with the caramelization is very good, although probably not according to everyone's taste buds.







We finished off the morning by making a compote de pommes (apple sauce) with apples her grandfather had picked. We cooked them with cinnamon, a bit of sugar and a vanilla bean.



Sunday lunch was all set for us. I liked the flavors of everything we made, although I do wonder how to make the beef stew look a bit brighter on the plate. I will have to ask about that.

Fall school vacation-time at home

Our kids are enjoying 1 1/2 weeks of fall vacation. This week they are at home, doing different things. Next week we will take a trip to Tunisia. We are looking forward to experiencing a different culture.

Isabelle working on a project (religious conflicts in Ireland). She has the most homework to do over the break.

Anna baking chocolate chip cookies.

Luc reading.

Luc and Anna (Isabelle not pictured) watching their daily dose of The Simpsons in French.

Luc skateboarding.

Last night we all went out to see the new Tintin movie by Stephen Spielberg. It will be coming out in the North America by Christmas. Otto grew up reading the Tintin comic books so this was really fun for him to see. In fact we all really liked the movie.

Visit from the Quists-October 20-21

After a couple of weeks of travel in Europe, Kristy and Brian Quist, friends from Grand Rapids, made a stop in Grenoble to visit us.

We moved the kitchen table into the living room so that we could all have dinner in the same room. Andrew, Natalie, and Allison are having a good time with Luc.

Between the 10 of us, we plowed through all 40 crêpes.

The pan in the back left corner is the only "real" crêpe pan-a heavy steel pan. All the crêpes were made in this pan. Once the crêpes were assembled (emmental cheese, ham, goat cheese), then the other pans were good for re-heating, sort of assembly-line fashion. For those who like shallots, a shallot sauce was served with the crêpes.



Friday morning, after breakfast at our apartment (chocolate meusli and croissants), we went up the Bastille--a fort situated 400 meters above the city--via a cable car, locally referred to as "the eggs".


At the top, the higher mountains were still covered in clouds, but the view of Grenoble was clear.

We stopped at a café when we were back at the bottom. Here Allison is posing with her hot chocolate. With the promise of clear sunny weather for the afternoon, the Quists drove up to the Chartreuse mountains to do a short hike/picnic to Charmant Som, the same hike we did with the Calvin students in September.

Kristy and Brian took us out for dinner in the evening while the kids stayed home to have pizza while watching Kung Fu Panda II.

We went to La ferme de Dédé (Dédé's farm). The cuisine was traditional mountain cuisine--imagine working in the fields all day or skiing all day and then coming back very hungry.

Cold cuts (ham, cured ham, salami and cured beef) are served with a salad with walnuts.

Along with this, Kristy and I ordered ravioles--postage-size pasta filled with a herbed cheese and then baked in cream (good thing we worked in the fields today!), whereas Otto ordered a potato-based dish (tartiflette) and Brian chicken in a mushroom cream sauce along with a potato gratin (gratin dauphinois). The food was good and hearty, as promised.

We shared dessert. Otto and I had a chocolate mousse--served in a jar. This is just the restaurant's way of presenting the dessert and not how all restaurants in France do this!

Kristy and Brian shared a chocolate cake (chocolat fondant). The pickles in the background were not an accompaniment to the cake, but to eat with the cold cuts during the main course.

We walked back to our apartment and there Brian and Kristy settled some last details for the trip to Paris tomorrow before going back to their hotel with the kids.

It was very enjoyable sharing our bit of life here with friends from home.

Hiking essentials

So you want to do a hike in the mountains. Here is an inventory of what we bring:

A good map of the hiking trail (or GPS),

so that you can follow the blazes (marked according to the type of trail). Here we are following all yellow blazes.

When you get to a sign post you can find where you are on the map and know how much further you have to go.

A good daypack, hiking boots and socks make all the difference on a hike.

The sun is very sharp in the mountains and so a hat with a wide brim is good to have (not pictured--sunscreen).

We once did a hike with the kids and didn't bring enough water. Since you can't always depend on a water source while hiking, you have to make sure you have enough.

Not pictured are snacks, lunch, first aid kit, cell phone, Kleenexes (no restrooms on the trail), a utility knife, sunglasses and a jacket.

We used to hike without poles, but now we each use one and it does make a difference. The 3rd leg helps take weight off the knees and also helps your balance in tricky places.

Okay, okay, this is not essential. But if there is time at the end of a hike and a café is nearby, this is a very nice way to relax the leg muscles!