There is a bit of background to this trip....when we first took delivery of the hairdryer on wheels that was the last rental car my husband (who'd obviously not been swatting up on his highway code) suggested a drive one rainy, cold, misty and thoroughly foul evening and off we set. Now when we came to a major junction, I demurred to his alleged superior knowledge of the local landscape and went straight on towards a mountain.....well the road started to go straight on and then very soon decided it would snake up the mountain in sharp hairpin bends....particularly unfortunate due to the hairdryer's size making the windscreen seem far too small in the inclement conditions. Eventually we reached a place to turn around and we began the descent again....at which point I asked why he'd chosen that route...? A confusion over the colours of motorway and main road signs it turned out and not one he has made since, thankfully.
Anyway this weekend in the sunshine we made the same trip up the mountain, the added power of this car and the fact that the visibilty was far far better making it slightly less of an exercise in controlled breathing and trying not to allow the height and the fact that I have an inexplicable fear of hill starts affect me. Eventually we reached the village at the top, where we stopped for a late lunch in a bistro type place, resplendent with cow bells. I opted for a fruits of the forest tagiatelle, which given the time of year I (stupidly) assumed might come with a nice selection of wild mushrooms, I mean you can buy in the supermarkets surely they'd use them in a restaurant....but no there was the very perceptible hint of vinegar to every mouthful that included one of the mushrooms....is this an altitudinal or attidudinal thing??
One thing that was proven to be universal..teenagers are annoying wherever in the world they are, particularly when they are hanging out, sharing one beer between four of them, all chatting on their mobiles as well as to each other at the table next to you when you are trying to enjoy a sedate and nearly grown-up lunch. Needless to say I was beginning to understand why everyone who went to the whingeing female teen's house went to sleep as soon as they arrived...her conversation was stultifyingly dull.
Anyway this wasn't supposed to be a long blog, just a way to avoid the dreaded ironing mountain that is fast competing with Mont Blanc for title of tallest mountain in Europe. On a related note it would appear that there is still better ski-ing at the milton keynes snow-dome than there is in Switzerland and there may by the weekend be better ski-ing in Milton Keynes town centre itself, nevermind the snow-dome. I am being cheated by the very thing that encouraged me to move out here rather than stay on in London....the snow!
Right, maybe if I get back to the ironing the shift in air pressure from all the steam might make a difference, or may be not, may be it'll just be like ironing always is......very very boring and so what a natural choice of past time in such a desperately bland cultural vacuum like this place.
Tuesday, November 22, 2005
Monday, November 14, 2005
Why so many opticians???
I've decided that I have to get a pair of glasses...the blindness thing is really not very useful and particularly not if I'm required to drive a husband who is "running-late" to work in the morning, as this requires me to prise open my eyes and force a pair of lenses into them or face not being able to see the colour of the lights as I approach traffic lights or to spot other vehicles on roundabouts...which is generally less than ideal - particularly given the way the bloody swiss drive over here.
Okay - so now you'd think this would be an easy thing to do...well it would be if i didn't have the choice of about 30,000 opticians in the area...now how on earth am I supposed to choose one? Well yes I exaggerate a little perhaps, but there are in this small town alone no less than 12 yes 12 opticians...all I can deduce is that in order to be able to support so many of them there must be some seriously bad eye-sight in Nyon. I think most likely brought on by staying up late in poor light (the lights are all out so early round here they must be using torches to do this) counting their big piles of money. Even Alain Affelou the famous French optician lives in Switzerland these days, for god's sake! This is God's Country for the optician!
As an aside - I have also noticed that the only other major company to site its HQ in Nyon is "Tupperware" how more Stepford can this town get???
Talking of Stepford though I have succumbed slightly and found myself pickling pears and bottling them in spices for Christmas......hmmmm, I think I may need some fresh air and a stiff drink. I have also tried to break the news that as far as I'm concerned mis-matched wrapping paper is just thoroughly unacceptable to my aesthetic vision of Christmas in Stepford-ville and that I will be providing paper, ribbons, tape and a quiet space in which to wrap to all of those who are planning on giving this year...I'd quite like him to broach that with his Mother though, I'm not sure that she'd take me seriously. Swiss have already said "NO" to christmas crackers in their luggage...even if completely sealed on the basis that they are explosives....see kill-joys the lot of them, although now it does make sense why you can't fly with a gilette venus razor in your hand luggage - I mean if you can't carry crackers.....No I still don't understand actually - answers on a postcard? I now have to keep myself busy enough to prevent myself making my own. (Crackers that is - fear not Gilette!)
Anyway the Pickled Pear Recipe....(just in case)
Preparation time less than 30 mins
Cooking time 10 to 30 mins
Ingredients
1.5kg/3lb 5oz pears (they need to be firm and unbruised)
10 allspice berries
6 whole cloves
1 cinnamon stick snapped in half
1 unwaxed lemon, zest only, peeled into large strips
a small piece of fresh ginger, peeled and sliced
425ml/15fl oz white wine vinegar
225g/8oz granulated sugar
Method
1. Peel the pears, halve and remove the cores. Place in a saucepan with just enough water to cover them. Bring to boil and then let them simmer gently for 5-6 minutes.
2. Remove the pears with a slotted spoon and set aside on a plate.
3. Measure the remaining liquid in the pan and add enough water to make it up to a pint.
4. Bring the pan up to a boil again and add the allspice berries, cloves, cinnamon, lemon zest and ginger. Add the vinegar and sugar and then stir until the sugar has dissolved. Cook for a few minutes.
5. Add the pears back to the pan and poach in the liquid until they are soft but still hold their shape.
6. Take off the heat and transfer the pears to sterilised jars and pour over the liquid with the spices to submerge them. Seal and store in a dark cupboard or pantry for 3-4 weeks before using.
These pickled pears are excellent served with left-over turkey and cold meats.
Okay - so now you'd think this would be an easy thing to do...well it would be if i didn't have the choice of about 30,000 opticians in the area...now how on earth am I supposed to choose one? Well yes I exaggerate a little perhaps, but there are in this small town alone no less than 12 yes 12 opticians...all I can deduce is that in order to be able to support so many of them there must be some seriously bad eye-sight in Nyon. I think most likely brought on by staying up late in poor light (the lights are all out so early round here they must be using torches to do this) counting their big piles of money. Even Alain Affelou the famous French optician lives in Switzerland these days, for god's sake! This is God's Country for the optician!
As an aside - I have also noticed that the only other major company to site its HQ in Nyon is "Tupperware" how more Stepford can this town get???
Talking of Stepford though I have succumbed slightly and found myself pickling pears and bottling them in spices for Christmas......hmmmm, I think I may need some fresh air and a stiff drink. I have also tried to break the news that as far as I'm concerned mis-matched wrapping paper is just thoroughly unacceptable to my aesthetic vision of Christmas in Stepford-ville and that I will be providing paper, ribbons, tape and a quiet space in which to wrap to all of those who are planning on giving this year...I'd quite like him to broach that with his Mother though, I'm not sure that she'd take me seriously. Swiss have already said "NO" to christmas crackers in their luggage...even if completely sealed on the basis that they are explosives....see kill-joys the lot of them, although now it does make sense why you can't fly with a gilette venus razor in your hand luggage - I mean if you can't carry crackers.....No I still don't understand actually - answers on a postcard? I now have to keep myself busy enough to prevent myself making my own. (Crackers that is - fear not Gilette!)
Anyway the Pickled Pear Recipe....(just in case)
Preparation time less than 30 mins
Cooking time 10 to 30 mins
Ingredients
1.5kg/3lb 5oz pears (they need to be firm and unbruised)
10 allspice berries
6 whole cloves
1 cinnamon stick snapped in half
1 unwaxed lemon, zest only, peeled into large strips
a small piece of fresh ginger, peeled and sliced
425ml/15fl oz white wine vinegar
225g/8oz granulated sugar
Method
1. Peel the pears, halve and remove the cores. Place in a saucepan with just enough water to cover them. Bring to boil and then let them simmer gently for 5-6 minutes.
2. Remove the pears with a slotted spoon and set aside on a plate.
3. Measure the remaining liquid in the pan and add enough water to make it up to a pint.
4. Bring the pan up to a boil again and add the allspice berries, cloves, cinnamon, lemon zest and ginger. Add the vinegar and sugar and then stir until the sugar has dissolved. Cook for a few minutes.
5. Add the pears back to the pan and poach in the liquid until they are soft but still hold their shape.
6. Take off the heat and transfer the pears to sterilised jars and pour over the liquid with the spices to submerge them. Seal and store in a dark cupboard or pantry for 3-4 weeks before using.
These pickled pears are excellent served with left-over turkey and cold meats.
Friday, November 04, 2005
Christmas in Switzerland
Do they all go away for Christmas? Let's hope so! But seriously...is there an official time that we have to eat dinner? Can I get some Christmas crackers brought over? Am I allowed to run the dishwasher on the day? Will I manage to smuggle the goose over the border?
Now that question is really keeping me up at nights...am I better buying it all in France in one go and hoping I don't get stopped on the way over the border on the basis that I run the risk of losing the whole dinner?....or do I make several trips over a few days and possibly draw attention to my forays to Carrefour? I mean I really don't want a criminal record for Christmas!
Add to this the stress of cooking dinner for my in-laws....I mean my mother-in-law has 36 years of experience in cooking xmas dinners.... I have....oh let's see.....ummmm...one or two?( and they were with lots of help!) I mean it's not the same as the year I cooked dinner for 50 people, but then I was part of a 6 man team....and hell I didn't know the people I was cooking for, I never even had to meet them.....this is something wholly different! And I haven't the benefit of M&S nearly foolproof and failsafe ready to go meals…..my nearest M&S is I think perhaps Folkstone (?) and there is no way I can get that all back under the radar of the Swiss! And neither do I have time between now and xmas to set-up an M&S Franchise in Nyon.
Anyway all that aside given the weather this year so far not even we are guaranteed a white xmas here in Switzerland, its just too mild for words....and more importantly for snow and ski-ing!
Now that question is really keeping me up at nights...am I better buying it all in France in one go and hoping I don't get stopped on the way over the border on the basis that I run the risk of losing the whole dinner?....or do I make several trips over a few days and possibly draw attention to my forays to Carrefour? I mean I really don't want a criminal record for Christmas!
Add to this the stress of cooking dinner for my in-laws....I mean my mother-in-law has 36 years of experience in cooking xmas dinners.... I have....oh let's see.....ummmm...one or two?( and they were with lots of help!) I mean it's not the same as the year I cooked dinner for 50 people, but then I was part of a 6 man team....and hell I didn't know the people I was cooking for, I never even had to meet them.....this is something wholly different! And I haven't the benefit of M&S nearly foolproof and failsafe ready to go meals…..my nearest M&S is I think perhaps Folkstone (?) and there is no way I can get that all back under the radar of the Swiss! And neither do I have time between now and xmas to set-up an M&S Franchise in Nyon.
Anyway all that aside given the weather this year so far not even we are guaranteed a white xmas here in Switzerland, its just too mild for words....and more importantly for snow and ski-ing!
Tuesday, November 01, 2005
Children of the corn
This is the "lovely" objet outside the front door, which is best approached with your eyes downcast if not closed, a shame the ikea delivery guys didn't damage it when they delivered the sofa the other day! It is also set-off so well by the current display outside the block which is a mind blowing collection of pumpkins, corn and dried things....
I know that it has been Halloween (small children did knock on the door but looked like something out of ET so we didn't answer.I also am not too keen on sharing my sweets at the best of times, and you have to think of their teeth too don't you!)
But this collection has been up for weeks, and looks set to stay, added to the collection of sub-tropical looking palms that have recently appeared behind the postboxes....I'm not really sure what to make of it - except that I can only blame the neighbour opposite as none of the other blocks here seem to be dogged by this demostration of appaling taste!
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