We May Be Rushing Things...Parsnips and Other Fun

There are certain things that make a man happy.  Beer.  Hunting.  Football.  Ladies that dance provocatively and make a kick-ass risotto.  Right?

This week, I discovered three more things that have made me giddy with glee.  Out of context, like, they are not funny.  Situated in front of an expat in Paris, they are things that exude excitement, moving a certain little American boy to near tears of joy.  Or maybe it’s just me…

Root veggies galore...

1. American Christmas radio: I know, “It’s too early.”  You can all say that.  You are all wrong.  When I discovered that my childhood radio station out of Philadelphia, B101.1, was already playing nonstop Christmas tunes and that I could listen to it online, I lost it.  The final straw was when the station played the Muppet’s rendition of the “12 Days of Christmas.” 

All of the excitement of a younger me waking up Christmas morning with my footie pajamas, racing to the tree to tear open presents as I shrieked with excitement – well, it was just good to feel 19 again.

2. Root vegetables: So often do root vegetables go unnoticed.  We buy them.  We eat them.  But how often do we celebrate them?  After a Skype date with a good friend from home, we both rejoiced over Thanksgiving and the proliferation of roasted root vegetables.  I looked in my refrigerator and found none.  Riding off the high of thinking of Thanksgiving, a holiday devoted to an orgy of food and pie, I spent Sunday morning at the Aligre market, my favorite, to stock up on some holiday-inspired veggies. 

I bought some carrots, I kept some beets, I groped the gourds, and then I saw them – the root vegetable that I have been craving.  Parsnips.  One kilo of beautiful tubers went in my bag and my smile lit up the entire market. 

3.  Vanilla-scented candles and other assorted Christmas decorations: Did you say, “It’s too early?”  And didn’t I tell you, “Shut up?”  This weekend brought sheer holiday bliss even if the temperatures aren’t even worthy of a scarf.  I headed to Belleville with a friend to explore the most time-honored Parisian Christmas tradition – purchasing decorations in Paris’ Chinese bazaar markets. 

Too early?  Duh, no...

Nothing screams Christmas more than a feathered boa or a silver-painted masquerade mask.  Mixed among the glass balls, snow globes, garlands and Santas were charming scented candles.  Vanilla, cinnamon, and of course the most holiday-of-holiday scents, cherry.  Feeling that cherry would inspire too much cheer, I opted for vanilla and cinnamon and lit one while at home, hanging my lights – just for practice, you know, to see how they’ll look later…