The Suburban Challenge's Journey Through France -

 - or at least through all of my French cookbooks.

Thus far, The Suburban Challenge has mastered some great comfort foods - meatloaf, chicken pot pie, sloppy joes. However, there are not a lot of recipes out there that lend themselves well to freezing, precooking, or slow cookers. Therefore, I am taking my AllClad, 7 qt. slow cooker to France, figuratively of course. I am going to sort through my collection of French cookbooks (eight in all) and alter/vary/manipulate recipes to not only meet the needs of The Suburban Challenge (make ahead and healthy), but also to meet the needs of my most cherished kitchen appliance - My Crock Pot.  No passport required to follow me on this journey.

I took this picture in Besancon, France while studying abroad in 2009. I politely asked the farmer if it was OK to take pictures of his produce for my classroom in the US.  He happily gave me permission and then tried to get me to also take a picture of his mother.

A key characteristic of French cooking is fresh produce. The French love fresh fruits and vegetables and will make one ingredient the "star" of a recipe. They also get very excited about Market Day. Every city has one or two days a week for their Farmer's Markets. In Besancon, it was every Tuesday morning 8-12.  I could always tell which day was Market Day because the bus to school was filled with little old ladies accompanied by their 'rolling' shopping bags.

Although monster sized grocery stores have emerged in France, there are still a handful of traditionalist who will only buy their produce on Market Day.

This is a self-portrait of me eating a Nutella filled beignet (donut).  It has nothing to do with The Suburban Challenge, but it reminds me of heaven and I like to drool from time to time. This recipe will not be attempted, but dang......