Running Away from Home, to a Boat in France

My new friend Lin in Valbonne did a guest blog for me last month, and after all the nice comments she got, she said enthusiastically, “I feel so…connected!”  Which sums it up pretty well for me too.  Being a blogger or a blog reader means opening up a world of new friends you would never have met, outside of the virtual world.

 And so it was that out of the blue I got an email from fellow bloggers and loyal Southern Fried French readers Heather and Kent, of the Unexcused Absenses blog.  “We’ll be in Dijon next week, can you come for a cruise on our canal boat and une pique nique?”  

Bien sur!  So off we went to spend the day with a couple we’d never met but whose adventures we knew well.  Their story, which we’ve now heard first hand, is pretty inspirational (photo: passing a cruise boat on the canal. See more photos of our trip at their blog).

Heather and Kent  were Washington D.C. professionals at the height of their careers when they became aware of something disturbing about their lives:  their vacations were not NEARLY long enough.  Instead of dreaming or complaining, they made a plan.  They rented out their house, bought a boat, and began cruising the canals and rivers of France.  They are both excellent skiers, so they found work in the winter as ski instructors at Beaver Creek, and they spend the summers on the boat.  Their lifestyle is not as lavish as before, but their new life, full of the pleasures of travel and sport, suits them just fine.

We located their boat, Apés-Ski, in the harbor at Dijon with no trouble–it had an American flag flying off the stern.  The boat is just right: a two-cabin affair with a sunny galley lined with cheerful curtains and pots of fresh herbs on a perch just outside the window.  Installed on their upper deck, we cruised at a leisurely eight knots down the shady tree-lined waterway.  At each lock, Monsieur l’éclusier (the keeper of the locks) would arrive on his moto or vélo and help manually open the  gates to flood the lock (Kent and Heather will pass through quite a number of the 189 locks on the Canal de Bourgogne this  summer).  At some of the locks there were charming maisons d’écluses, the lock keeper's cottages.   We saw ducks and swans, came close enough to passing canal boats to chat with fellow boaters, and in general had a fine time. 

After a bit we tied up on the edge of the canal and had our pique nique in a park by a lake.  The day was cool-ish, so Heather made a delicious warm pasta with smoked salmon, goat cheese, and caramelized red onions. We were so close to the lake she just grabbed the hot frying pan and brought the cooked dish along with us.

The particular path they chose may not be for everyone, but Heather and Kent's story is all about thinking very clearly about priorities, chasing and catching dreams, and making pro-active decisions about lifestyle, even when it involves a leap of faith.  Take a look at their blog to share their dream.  It may even inspire you to think about your own! (and hopefully to share them with us, in the Comments section).

A huge merci and gros bisous (that's a French smooch on the cheek) to the darling Heather and Kent, and Heather thank you for sharing your pasta recipe with us!  The pasta was really good and I learned from Heather that you can cook it ahead and sauté it, so it makes a good company dish.

RECIPE:  Heather’s Aprés-Ski Pasta

• 250 g of Farfalle (bow tie) pasta (half a box).  I'm a total pasta snob (I lived in Italy) and eat Barilla pasta    almost exclusively.
• 3 small red onions
• 25g of buttter
• 2 T of balsamic vinegar
• 2 T of raw sugar
• 150g of smoked salmon, cut into bite-sized chunks
• 1 small wheel of chevre cheese (not the super fresh stuff but the one that looks like a Brie when   unwrapped — a basic supermarket cheese), cut into small chunks.
• 50 g of frozen peas, more if you like

Thinly slice the onions.  Melt the butter in a sauté pan and add the onions.  Once the onions start to soften (about 5 minutes), add the balsamic vinegar and the sugar.  Yes, I totally cheat when I caramelize onions.  Gently saute the onions with the lid on the pan for about 30 – 45 minutes, until the onions are quite dark.

Cook the pasta until it is al dente.  Drain.  

Add the salmon and cheese to the onion mixture.  Once the cheese starts to melt, add the peas.  When it is fully melted, toss it with the pasta.

This works really well when reheated in the frying pan because the cheese gets all brown and yummy.  We don't have a microwave on the boat, so we always have "planned overs" with this meal.

In the COMMENTS:  Suzanne, I've never heard of the French 'Suze', which seems to be an apperatif–anyone tried it?  Linda, merci and bon courage! Beth says British lemonade is different from American, so use 7-up in your Pimm's Cup to get the right taste.  Thanks for the tip. Those Brits do everything a little different.  Cateriana, you are a true country girl, it sounds fantastic.  Now Hampton–Lordy me, white gravy on biscuits with chicken fried steak, for breakfast—where you from, Boy?!