Les Recettes de Louis la Vache

: Nom : Louis la Vache; Lieu : Paris, France

Views of an American with French ancestry about France - and the San Francisco Bay Area.

Normandie is famous in France for its dairy products (and also for its apples) - something of a combination of Wisconsin and Washington. My mother's family originated in Normandie. When I first began visiting France, I found the yogurt and cheese to be excellent - and I was astounded by all the varieties available there. My friends in France, knowing my mother's family had originated in Normandie, began to tease me about trying singlehandedly to support all the Norman dairy farms.

So that's part of the story...

Then there's the part about how the French don't say that they "pig out" when they eat a lot, they say j'ai mangé comme une vache - "I ate like a cow." Well, that's appropriate because for some of those French feasts, you NEED, like a cow, to have multiple stomachs. And, I've always done my best to "mange comme une vache."

So that's another part of the story...

Also, to call someone une vache is really to insult them. Applied to a man, it implies that, at best, he is a dimwit. Applied to a woman, well, it's like calling her a word that rhymes with witch, and no, I'm not speaking of Hillary - this time... Well, I can be a little slow sometimes, so peut être je suis une vache.....
Suddenly!
My alter-ego appeared!
Voila! - Une vache normande!
Louis la Vache!
And en la Californie, my car has the license plate Vache with a license plate frame reading "Louis la Vache - I'd rather be in Normandie."