Paris, Papers & Pork Chops

I walked out this morning to look for almond flour (making macarons is on the “Lockdown: What To Bake” list.) Several stores later, I was in line to check out and did a half step to the right to pick up some lemons. An older lady brushed by me and plunked her bottles of wine on the checkout table. In Paris, if that happens, one is supposed to speak up at once. My French is barely adaquate but I put some volumen in my “What are you doing?!” Several snarky comments went back and forth, the lady snatched her wine bottles up AND I realized that she had only those two bottles of wine while I had a pretty full basket. Sigh. I did a quick about-face and insisted that she go before me since she had so few items. (Lest you imagine that this was a dignified exchange of differing opinions, I want to add that the three burly workmen in full construction worker harnesses and protective clothing had quickly backed up to give the lady and me a free space of about 15 feet!) Then she softened a bit and muttered that she was so worried about her elderly dog that she couldn’t sleep well – she lived alone and if she got sick, who would take care of him? He was an old dog and she cooked him poached chicken livers in wine each day and what if HE got sick….  By the end of checking out my cart of groceries, both the checkout clerk and I were assuring the old lady that we would look for her each day and everything was going to be fine, the virus scare would pass soon, etc. Even the burly worker guys joined in with the tidbit that no dogs had gotten sick from the virus…  Moral of the story: Cut each other and ourselves a little extra slack these days.

My next crisis came after lunch: I had walked over to Mark’s & Spencer’s (UK Grocery Store) to pick up some ice cream to go with the fabulous fresh berries that I bought yesterday. I had everything loaded in my shoulder bag, walked up to the check-out counter and… no wallet. And no attestation form! Eek! I had left both in my jacket that I had left back at the apartment! I put my grocery bag into the ice cream freezer and jogged home – every minute expecting some Gestapo-like “Where are your papers?!” traffic check. (Ok, clearly, I’ve watched way too many old WW2 and Cold War thriller movies.) I grabbed both wallet and attestation form (plus proof of residence) and jogged back to M&S where my bag of stuff was held very nicely by the M&S frozen goods person. Still, it was a surprisingly creepy feeling.  It’s a beautiful sunny, spring day here in Paris.. And you to need to carry a form that states your purpose in leaving your dwelling & proof of residence to be allowed out of your home to buy groceries. 

Other news: It’s pork chops for dinner tonight. I’ve never cooked pork chops so tonight will be an adventure. I started out with Mireille Guiliano’s recipe, Pork Chops with Apples, from her famous book, French Women Don’t Get Fat. Then I realized that in my “missing attestation” panic, I had forgotten about several key ingrediants when I had returned to the grocery store. Presto, Ina Garten of  Barefoot Contessa fame, to the rescue. She has a simple grilled pork chop recipe readily available on-line (with approving comments that stress how easy it is.) So, I will be grilling the pork chops a la Ina and fixing the celery and apple mixture like Mireille suggests.