Reims, sometimes spelled Rheims, is the largest city in the Champagne-Ardenne region of France, and is pronounced similar to ranse (like dance). It was peopled with the Celtic tribes, called the Gauls, before the Roman conquest; and afterwards, the city name changed to the Durocortorum. But legend has it that the name Reims comes from Romulus’ brother Remus who founded ancient Rome. As… Read More
Archives for May 2015
Church At Its Best
On Friday night we drove to our friends’ house for a baptism, and half the church was there to celebrate it. Fredérique is a college chemistry teacher who studied the Bible for four years (only doing so because her husband is a member of our church). She is analytical, scientific, rational. She was a confirmed atheist. We arrived with our food contributions for… Read More
The Forest of Fairy Trees
In the Champagne region of France, you can stroll through a forest of fairy trees, called the Faux de Verzy (pronounced foe de vair-zee). A “fau” is an old gallic (French) word for the beech tree. It’s now called a hêtre in French, a word which originates from German. A fau (or plural – faux) describes the dwarf beech, oak, and chestnut trees that… Read More
Frozen Berry Meringue
This is an easy, gluten-free dessert! It contains only meringue, whipped cream, frozen red berries and a red berry sauce, called “coulis.” You can make it, or buy it on Amazon, and I suspect you can find it in your local supermarket too. I discovered the recipe from my mother-in-law, who got it from her sister-in-law in Grenoble. And who knows where… Read More