Family Meal Plan: French Tomato Tarte aux Mustard + Grapefruit Basil Niçoise Salad + Grapefruit Basil Spritz

French Tomato Tarte aux Mustard

Happy & Healthy Cooking,

Fun-Da-Mentals Kitchen Skills

• bake :

  to cook food with dry heat, as in an oven.

• chop :

  to cut something into small, rough pieces using a blade.

• emulsify :

  to convert two or more liquids into an emulsion. What is an emulsion, you ask? It is a fine dispersion of teeny tiny droplets of one liquid into another. It’s what allows oil and vinegar to mix and not separate.

• juice :

  to extract or squeeze out the juice of a fruit or vegetable, like a lemon, orange, or carrot, often cutting open or peeling the fruit or veggie first to access its flesh.

• knife skills :

  Bear Claw (growl), Pinch, Plank, and Bridge (look out for trolls). 

• simmer :

  to cook a food gently, usually in a liquid, until softened.

• toss :

  to lightly lift and drop food items together or coat food items with flour, or a sauce or dressing, as in a salad.

• whisk :

  to beat or stir ingredients vigorously with a fork or whisk to mix, blend, or incorporate air.

• zest :

  to scrape off the outer colored part of a citrus fruit's rind (skin or peel) using a metal tool with small sharp blades, such as a zester, microplane, or the small holes of a grater (avoid the "pith," the white, spongy lining of the rind that can be bitter).

History of Tarte Tatin!

• French "tartes" have a nearly ancient history; early records show that they have been a staple of the Sologne region of France since the 18th century. However, two hotel-owning sisters in the 1880s popularized the dish when they accidentally made a pie upside down and served it anyway. Later that dish would be known as "tarte Tatin," which reflected the sisters' last name, Tatin. By the 1920s, everyone in France had heard of a tarte Tatin. The clumsy dessert had made its way into many prominent food critics' reviews and recommendations.
• Tarte Tatins can be made with fruit, like apples, bananas, pears, and pineapple. You can also make a tarte tatin with tomatoes or root vegetables, like carrots, parsnips, and shallots.

Let's Learn About France!

• Bonjour (hello)! Bienvenue en (welcome to) France and the spectacular Eiffel Tower in Paris, the Mona Lisa, painted by Leonardo da Vinci, and ancient Roman ruins in the Provence region.
• France is a European country, and its official name is the French Republic. The capital city is Paris, which also has the most people. 
• France's land area is 248,573 square miles. That is almost the size of the US state of Texas! The number of people in France is 67,874,000, about 43 percent more than in Texas.
• The official and national language is French, which is also the official language in 12 other countries, and a co-official language in 16 countries, including Canada. 
• France's government consists of a president, a prime minister, and a parliament and is divided into regions and departments rather than states and counties.
• The French have a well-known motto, "Liberty, Equality, Fraternity."
• In addition to the Eiffel Tower, France is known for the Louvre, the most visited art museum worldwide (the Mona Lisa resides there), the Notre-Dame Cathedral, and the French Riviera (Côte d'Azur) in southeastern France on the Mediterranean coast.
• France is famous for the "beaux-arts" (fine arts). Paris is still home to many artists and great painters, artisans, and sculptors. Great literature came from French authors, such as Victor Hugo's novels Les Misérables and The Hunchback of Notre Dame.
• Paris has two popular nicknames. The most common is "The City of Light" (La Ville Lumière), which came about because Paris was the first European city to implement street lighting in 1860, lighting up the city with 56,000 gas street lamps. The second is "The City of Love," (La Ville de L'amour). This name is probably due to Paris being considered one of the most romantic cities in the world and the high number of marriage proposals at the Eiffel Tower!
• French cuisine is known for its freshness and high quality. Many of the world's greatest pastries originated in France, such as the croissant, eclair, and macaron!
• Other French foods are escargot (snails!), baguette (bread), ratatouille (roasted tomato, zucchini, and eggplant—remember the movie?!), and crepes (very thin pancakes).

What's It Like to Be a Kid in France?

• Most kids start school (preschool) at around age three. Depending on the area and the school, students go to school 4 to 5 days a week. They often get a 1½-hour lunch break, and some kids go home for lunch. 
• Dinner is served at 7:30 pm or later, so afternoon snacks are essential. "Le goûter" (goo-tay), or afternoon tea, often includes a "tartine," a slice of bread topped with something sweet or savory (like cheese, butter and jam, or Nutella). Other popular snacks are yogurt, fromage blanc (white cheese), and fruit. 
• Popular sports for kids are soccer, bicycling, and tennis.
• There are several parks in France, in and around Paris. Napoleon III even designed one of them, the Bois de Boulogne, where you can find beautiful gardens, lakes, a zoo, an amusement park, and two horse racing tracks. In addition, kids can go on pony rides, play mini-golf, and race remote control boats at many public parks.  
• Of course, kids can also go to the most popular theme park in Europe, Disneyland Paris, which opened in 1992. While there, kids can go on a ride unique to Disneyland Paris: Ratatouille: The Adventure!