I Should Have Seen This Coming

I've made a big decision: I'm leaving France!

BUT. Of course, France is really doing her best, now that my mind is made up, to woo me back. She's rolling out the right weather (my ideal, in fact: Hot, humid, and sunny), for starters, which encourages everyone to put on their fun hats again and start making merry. 'Tis, at long, long last, the season of open-window dinner parties, cool drinks at terrace cafes, and festive picnics with food, drink, and good company aplenty.

A lotus-and-guppy garden.

Today, the gorgeous Emily of Paris Paysanne hosted an afternoon picnic at her community garden, which happens to be the coolest thing going in all of northwest Paris. The jardin started more than a decade ago with one "squatter"--a renegade green thumb who saw a fine patch of unused city property beside some abandoned railway tracks and decided to grow stuff on it. Today, it's a legit operation funded by the City of Paris and run by an association called Les Amis des Jardins du Ruisseau.

Ten points if you can spot the kale in this photo.

For the price of a decent bottle of wine, you can become a member of the garden community and make use of this pleasant urban green space. Tables, chairs, chickens, and bees are among the many things you'll find here. You'll also see some colorful shared-garden plots (each is the "property" of six gardeners) brimming with edible and ornamental goodies. I'm going to join, even if I won't be here long enough to enjoy it year-round.

Today's gathering included a few bloggers like Emma from Burnt Cream, Kristen from The Kale Project, and my wonderful friend Terresa from La Cucina di Terresa. I'm going to miss these gatherings of smart, interesting, accomplished women (and men) when I'm gone. I think today's lesson, if there was one, is not to pine for losses yet to come, but to really make the most of all this city has to offer while I'm still here. I'm doing that, beginning today!

Emily''s an up-and-coming author who's specialty is Paris markets and organic cooking. I can't wait for her first book!

No one fully understood what the chicken story was, but I can tell you they are extremely cute and woolly, and really into personal hygiene.

One of my favorite Parisians, the lovely and talented Terresa of La Cucina di Terresa.

Shady tables, murals, greenery, and nice people=best community garden EVER.

Gray Day Greens Fix

The cafe's owner said he's trying to stay under the radar (and out of the blogshophere) so his cafe won't be overrun with backpackers!

Ever since I discovered that Kristen's Kale Salad was available at this newly opened cafe in the Marais, I've been wanting to go and get my greens on. I finally made it down yesterday and was so excited to see the gorgeous Emily from Paris Paysanne and Kristen herself sitting front and center right when I walked in.

"Quelle Surprise!"

After exchanging bisous, Kristen rustled up some salad, made specially vegan for me, and I sat down to join them for some conversation and healthy dose of laughter.

Kristen: pretty (and) smart!

Kristen has become a celebrity in the cutting-edge culinary scene here in Paris; besides making the pages if Elle and Glamour, and putting in an appearance on the Huffington Post, just yesterday she appeared in 20 Minutes, a French newspaper targeting the Metro-commuter set.  So exciting!

Emily's star is ascending, too. She's shopping around a book which will focus on her passions: Parisian markets and fresh, organic food. She's the Parisian authority on where to eat and drink locally-produced food and wine, and I always learn something new whenever I visit her smart, informative blog.

Dressed simply with olive oil and lemon juice, the salad was a delicious, pared-down melange of carrot, kale, and super-fresh raw almonds.

The kale salad was divine. Simple but flavorful and satisfying. This particular kale came from a small farm in Normandie. Kristen picked the stuff herself on a recent visit out west. Lucky girl!

A photo of one of Kristen's many success stories--a kale farm in Normandie that supplies the goods for the salads--sits on the counter at the cafe.

Before I left, I spoke with the cafe's owner, who, without knowing I might be a blogger, lamented the unwanted attention erupting out of the blogosphere. "I'm not like the other cafe owners who want to attract the masses," he said. "I want to keep the clientele local. I don't want it to be come overrun with backpackers."

Eeks!

Well, then. I won't say the name of this cafe, but if you really want some of Kristen's killer kale salad, you can message me privately and I'll give you the scoop. Or we can all wait for Kristen to expand her salad-and-chips enterprise to more cafes and stores across Paris. One can hope!

Blurry kale chips, anyone?