“You can do almost anything you want to in life as long as you don’t care who gets the credit for it.”

I love this saying of my father’s. He died too young but if I could see him again, I would thank him for gifting me with this nugget of wisdom. From my father I’ve learned that if I look to others to tell me when I’ve been successful at something, or if I’m reluctant to take on a project because I won’t get enough applause for it, I believe that I construct a kind of prison around myself which not only limits my happiness but also who I might become and what I might do with my life. Since my illness I now believe that the greatest reward for climbing is not the applause but the journey and its views along the way, and the peace that comes from listening to my inner voice even when no one is watching. In the end I’m grateful for the freedom that my father’s saying, and the way he lived by it, has had on my life.

 

  • My book, Poisoned by Pollution:  An Unexpected Spiritual Journey, is the story about how I turned the wisdom I gained from 14 years living as a shut-in due to illness to create an astonishingly adventurous, happy life.  Learn more:  http://www.amazon.com/s/ref...

Oooh-la-la Jean-Marie’s Rabbit Dish: The Best of French Cooking

I’ll take you along to the French Alps where my French friend’s father will show me how to make his signature rabbit dish.

  • My book, Poisoned by Pollution:  An Unexpected Spiritual Journey, is the story about how I turned the wisdom I gained from 14 years living as a shut-in due to illness to create an astonishingly adventurous, happy life.  Learn more:  http://www.amazon.com/s/ref...

 

THE RECIPE    [Serves up to 6 people]

  • 1  rabbit, nearly 4 lb., or 1 kilo 800 grams [Have the butcher cut it open and clean it, but leave the heart, liver, and kidney still intact.]
  • 14 cloves of garlic [2 for herb paste, 6 for stuffing, 6 for roasting pan]
  • 2 ounce slice from the ribs of a pig, diced, or 50 grams [or substitute bacon]
  • 1 small bunch of fresh or dried wild fennel
  • olive oil
  • peanut or sunflower oil
  • salt and pepper
  • about 3 Tablespoons cream, or 10 grams

Begin preparing the rabbit 8-24 hours in advance. Make an herb paste. Mince 2 garlic cloves Add fresh or dried fennel and diced pork. Process until it’s a fairly smooth paste. Set aside. Cut visible fat off the rabbit. Make 4-5 slits in each part of the rabbit and press herb paste into the slits. Next, make the stuffing:  sauté the heart, liver, and kidney in 1 tablespoon olive oil and 1 tablespoon either peanut or sunflower oil, over medium-high heat, until the organs start to brown. Put the organs inside the rabbit with 6 crushed, un-peeled garlic cloves and several branches of dried fennel. Sprinkle the stuffing with salt and pepper and drizzle it with olive oil. Pour a little oil in a roasting pan, add the rabbit and turn it several times until the entire roast is coated with oil. Salt and pepper the meat. Add to the roasting pan 6 crushed, un-peeled garlic cloves and more branches of wild fennel. Place the roasting pan in the refrigerator. To bake, place the roasting pan in a preheated 392° oven  [200° Celsius] for about one hour. Every 5-10 minutes prick the meat all over with a fork, and spoon the pan juices over the meat. To serve:  remove the rabbit and branches of fennel from the pan while you make a quick sauce. Put the roasting pan on the stovetop over medium-low heat, add cream, and simmer gently for about 20 seconds until the cream and rabbit cooking juices blend together. Cut the rabbit in to pieces and pour the sauce over it. 

Hidden in Paris...Pastries You’ll Never Find Without Me!

My friend, who leads tours of of Paris’ hidden side, takes me to meet one of her favorite pastry chefs.   

  • Jacque Genin's boutique and tea salon:  133 rue de Turenne  [Métro:  République, Filles du Calvaire]
  • Ute’s Paris tours:  www.uteinparis.com
  • Jacque Genin's boutique only:  27 rue de Varenne  [Métro:  rue du Bac, Varenne]
  • My book, Poisoned by Pollution:  An Unexpected Spiritual Journey, is the story about how I turned the wisdom I gained from 14 years living as a shut-in due to illness to create an astonishingly adventurous, happy life.  Learn more:  http://www.amazon.com/s/ref...

Bussing to Bliss in Paris: My $5 Do-It-Yourself Tour That Ends With Award-Winning Brioche

My do-it-yourself bus tour passes by major tourist sites and ends at a pâtisserie voted for making the best brioche in Paris. 

  • Le Nôtre Pâtisserie, 10, rue Saint Antoine, 4th Paris
  • Bus 69:  get off at Bastille-St. Antoine stop
  • Anne's favorite bus map:  Le Petit Parisien, 3 Plans Par Arrondissement
  • My book, Poisoned by Pollution:  An Unexpected Spiritual Journey, is the story about how I turned the wisdom I gained from 14 years living as a shut-in due to illness to create an astonishingly adventurous, happy life.  Learn more:  http://www.amazon.com/s/ref...       

 

My Favorite Hidden Paris Cafés

Now that Paris feels like home, I share some of my favorite cafés near major tourist sites.

  • Café Marly:  courtyard of Louvre  [Métro:  Palais Royal-Musée du Louvre, Louvre-Rivoli]
  • Petit Palais café:  Avenue Winston Churchill [Métro:  Champs-Elysées-Clemenceau]
  • A Priori Thè:  35-37 Galerie Vivienne  [Métro:  Bourse]
  • My book, Poisoned by Pollution:  An Unexpected Spiritual Journey, is the story about how I turned the wisdom I gained from 14 years living as a shut-in due to illness to create an astonishingly adventurous, happy life.  Learn more:  http://www.amazon.com/s/ref...