Le Puy Freezes Over

Although the city is free of snow and ice, temperatures took a dive on Monday thanks to a cold front moving from the Moscow area. It spread all over Europe this week. Many areas of France experienced crippling snow and ice. In Le Puy it was -14C (6F). We are expecting a break from the cold on Thursday and it can't happen soon enough. 




The 14th century Twisted Bridge and the Borne River below make some silent but dramatic statements about the frigid weather. 


































A nearby rivulet dead-ends in ice.





















Downstream on the Borne River along the hiking/biking trail. The photos present different angles of the modern-day bridge that stands just outside of Le Puy. The ice has started to accumulate on the surface, but the water stubbornly flows onward toward to Loire River, which will move northwest across France and empty into the Atlantic Ocean.

Here's the same bridge looking upstream as ducks nearby make due on the ice that's formed near the river's shore.

As the river ices over, it forms some interesting colors and frozen ripples.

The river drops about 3-4 feet forming an icy waterfall.

Feijoada at the Centre International

As a gift from our winter vacation from the International Centre, I brought Eluiza some black beans from Lyon in the belief that she would miss them in Le Puy since stores do not sell them here. After all, I assumed that Brazilians ate black beans. Wrong! Eluiza is from the São Paulo region while the black bean eaters are generally from Rio de Janeiro. No matter, she used the beans anyway and made feijoada, which is Brazil's national dish. What a treat!

Although she did not have traditional ingredients or a thick clay pot, she improvised by using three different types of pork. There are generally no spices in the dish because the slow-cooked meat provides all the salt and flavoring needed for a tasty meal. However, feijoada is a heavy dish, so to aid in its digestion, she added a touch of ground farina on top of the beans, rockette salad with tomatoes and vinaigrette, and orange slices. We also had a little fizzy Coca-Cola.

Typically feijoada is served with rice and sausage such as chouriço, morcela (blood sausage), farinheira. It sometimes contains vegetables and/or beef. Different regions of Brazil use either black, red, or brown beans. Feijoada is typically eaten for lunch on the weekends with friends or co-workers and it is intended to be a leisurely dish to eat while watching sports. 

Stories about its origins differ. For example, one claims that it came from among the 4 million slaves who were brought to Brazil from the Sudan (present Liberia, Nigeria, Dahomey, and the Gold Coast); the Bantu (present Angola, Mozambique and Zaire); and the Islamic African countries. They stewed the black beans they were given for food and then added the pork leftovers from their masters' kitchens. The slaves also ate manioc and fruit. 

Feijoada at one time was a political issue because it was considered a dish of the slaves. Some time after the abolition of slavery in 1888, the dish was banned. Then, of course, people began eating it in secret. After the ban was lifted (I can't find references as to when), the stew is now enjoyed by both the upper and lower classes only the upper classes eat it with meat and vegetables while the poor mix their beans with manioc flour.

Another story about the the dish, according to Rodrigo Elias, is that feijoada was served to the "urban slavocratic elite" in restaurants in Brazil. References from the Diário de Pernambuco of August 7, 1833, indicate that the menu at the Théâtre Hotel in Recife, was “Fe oada à la Brazilian.” In Rio de Janeiro, an advertisement in the Jornal do Commercio dated January 5, 1849, references Fe oada served in restaurants patronized by the “good society”.

Other Internet authors (Sarah Brown, Sarah Rallus et al, Wiki) claim that feijoada had its origins in Portugal, which was colonized by the ancient Romans. Soldiers then introduced the stew all over the empire where it remains a common dish even today. For example, the French have a version of feijoada served with white beans that they call "cassoulet." Northern Italians call it "cassoeula." Romanians cook "facile cu cornet"  while those in northwestern Spain make "fabada asturias." The stew also spread beyond the Roman Empire to Poland where they call it "tsholem" and "golonka."  

The Portuguese also introduced feijoada throughout their empire. Today, the dish is also served in Macau, Angola, Cape Verde, Mozambique, and Goa, India.