Lessons From a Pause:

Giving your inner artist grace and the benefits of French bread

Mar 24, 2024

Unknown neighbor in Saint-Germain-des-Prés

Greetings!

Spring is finally here, and I hope you have stayed healthy throughout the breezy month of March! I am very eager for a time of renewal, healing and strengthening.

This month has given me an opportunity to really practice what I preach and put self-care into action. No matter how we protect ourselves, sometimes we are susceptible. I caught a chest cold and was surprised that it hit like a ton of bricks.

Lessons from a pause

I am generally blessed with good health and had trouble at first winding down…and yet, I have been given time to reflect.

time for recuperation

time to give into and allow rest

I am learning so much! I have been buoyed by offers from family and friends to help and to pray for me. And, thinking about so many suffering worldwide, I am grateful for my abundant resources.

Simple things…quiet, classical music, Adriene‘s Yoga for Sickness Recovery, hydration, Vicks’ with lavender (did you know it exists?), honey and lemon, moisturizing soaps and the classics. I am re-reading A Tale of Two Cities. Many around the world do not have clean water, let alone the luxuries we take for granted.

Rest, read, study, BE and if your life is hurried, carve out some recovery or rest time. A little goes a long way.

When one has less energy, one must prioritize. I appreciate time to strengthen friendships.

And, of course, I gain gratitude for my general good health and the natural beauty around me. The clouds have been spectacular!

Last week I watched the documentary, American Symphony, which I highly recommend. I had heard musician Jon Batiste interviewed and was prepared to watch the documentary which follows both Jon’s writing of a symphony and the battle with his partner Suleika Jaouad’s cancer. What a strong woman, and in a quest for creativity, she found satisfaction in painting, an art medium new to her. Netflix said it well: “This documentary is a portrait of two artists at a crossroads and a meditation on art, love and the creative process.”

We often talk about the healing power of painting (and all arts). A close friend, trained as a classical ballet dancer, has encountered numerous health issues and now is finding solace in painting, completely new to her. She is grateful that she has found an expressive outlet that her body allows her to do and feels it is a gift from God. This has also added another dimension to our friendship. We discuss her work, materials and even painted together recently!

As I watched American Symphony, I thought of

Reliability

Consistency

Integrity

These are qualities that rise to the top in times of trial. I encourage you to hold them as standards as you look out onto the sea of confusion in our world. I am reminded to:

Be ready to help others.
Have faith and stay resolved.
Clear out unnecessary practices.
Comfort the next generation
Know that everything in my life has meaning.

All parts connect~

MIND Release, read for comfort and truth, curate your news intake

BODY Heal, recover, practice small activities such as restorative yoga and alternate nostril breathing to bring down blood pressure

SOUL Focus on the uplifting

SPRIT Strive to soar

I am not sure what my next painting projects will be, but soft ethereal images are calling to me.

The Joshua Tree - Shadows 40 x 30 - Janis Commentz

Move slowly, enjoy pauses, disentangle, de-stress, appreciate tranquility

Accept the paradox: Subtracting adds.

Our world brings waves of activities; we get washed along with the flotsam and jetsam.

As beautiful as sea glass can be as it is churned by the waves, I do not wish to be worn to a frosty finish. I crave being nurtured like a garden flower, eventually strengthening my limbs toward the sky, well-hydrated, and reaching toward the sunlight.

“If thou tastest a crust of bread, thou tastest all the stars and all the heavens.” - Robert Browning

The benefits of French bread

To your good health!

I am not a baker, but I was determined to track down qualities of French bread, flour and pasta that make it so deliciously edible in France! Bread is romanticized and honored. However, for many, eating bread has been deleted. For those with gluten issues – it is crossed off the list. Yet, in Europe and especially France, eating bread can be a pleasure with no repercussions. Many find, even if they have gluten issues in the US, they are able to eat French bread and pasta, almost on a daily basis without issue. Such is my own case. When I discovered the iconic Aux Vieux restaurant entirely by chance (more in the future about that day!), I decided to give a plate of pasta a try!

For the most part, the reason that French bread has less gluten and is healthier is a fine dance between flour types and ash content. Regulations in Europe are stringent.

Several mornings in Paris, I really did run into my host on her way back from the market riding her bicycle with her fresh baguette in her cloth grocery bag.

Bread plays an important part of life. We need our daily bread, we talk of the slice of life….

References to bread come from a variety of sources.

“All sorrows are less with bread.” - Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra

“Here with a Loaf of Bread beneath the Bough,
A Flask of Wine, a Book of Verse - and Thou
Beside me singing in the Wilderness -
And Wilderness is Paradise enow.”
- Omar Khayyám, Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam

“How can a nation be great if its bread tastes like Kleenex?" - Julia Child

Even Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.” John 6:35

“Poetry is what we do to break bread with the dead.” - Seamus Heaney

First of all, in France, it’s the law.

Boulangerie

A boulangerie is a French bakery, as opposed to a pastry shop. To be called a boulangerie, a French bakery has to make its bread on the premises.

While a boulangerie may also sell pâtisseries and viennoiseries (breakfast pastries made in the style of Vienna, Austria), their main trade will be in traditional French breads, such as:

· Baguettes: The traditional French baguette is known as a Baguette de Tradition Française. Something that tempts all five senses needs protecting, and in 1993, the French government declared the Décret Pain: traditional baguettes have to be made on the premises where they are sold and can only be made with four ingredients: wheat flour, water, salt and yeast. They can't be frozen at any stage or contain additives or preservatives, which also means they go stale within 24 hours.

· Pain de campagne: A thick-crusted loaf baked with a combination of flours - perfect for eating with soups and stews.

If this word boulangerie doesn't feature in the name of the bakery or isn't in the window, it could be a dépôt de pain selling industrially-made bread.

Patisserie

Pâtisserie is used to describe French pastries and the pastry shop they are sold in. In France and Belgium, the law restricts its use to bakeries who employ licensed maître pâtissier (master pastry chefs). A key difference between a French baker and a pastry chef is that while pâtissiers work with mostly cold ingredients, a boulanger (or baker) will master the techniques and processes of warm rising dough.

Viennoiserie

Viennoserie refers to breakfast pastries made in the style of Vienna, Austria. In 1839, an Austrian military official, August Zang, opened a bakery Boulangerie Viennoise in Paris and created a new taste in bread. Viennoiserie is the 'bridge' between pâtisserie and French bread. These pastries are typically made with white flour and active yeast cultures, which cause the dough to rise quickly and achieve the perfect flakiness. Most re recognizable include:

Brioche: Due to its high egg and butter content, brioche is a soft, lightly sweet, rich bread, that works in both sweet recipes and savory dishes.
Croissants: This famous French treat is made using a laminated pastry dough enriched with yeast and milk. According to Food & Wine, Lamination is the process of folding and rolling butter into dough over and over again to create super-thin layers.

Flour Types in France

French flour makes all the difference. The wheat is different and needs handling differently, too.

The type number refers to the amount mineral content. When the flour is tested, a precise amount of flour is baked at a very high temperature and the resulting “ash” or mineral content is measured. For example a Type 55 flour will have between 0.5 and 0.6% of minerals for each 100 gr of flour. The lower the number, the whiter the flour. The higher the number the more complete or ‘wholemeal’ the flour.

French flour is ‘softer’ and contains less gluten. It will contain grains only grown in France. A higher ash content will generally mean flour that has a higher extraction rate (more whole grain particles left in the flour). Higher ash will contribute to the flavor of the bread and the nutrient quality but will also compromise the gluten strength.

· Type 45 – The whitest of flours. There are two types. One is created specifically for croissants and brioches (sometimes called Gruau). The second is similar to sponge flour excellent for making scones and cakes.

· Type 55 and Type 65 – Typically used for bread making.

· Type 80 – Described as a lovely flour, not white, not wholemeal but in between the two.

· Type 110 This is the designation for spelt flour (See note)

· Type 150 – This is the wholemeal flour and ideal for rustic breads.

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From The Spruce Eats:  Spelt flour is a flour made from a species of wheat with a nutty, slightly tangy flavor. Since it's a form of wheat, it does contain gluten. It can be used for making cookies, breads, muffins and other applications where you'd use wheat flour.  Spelt is a species of wheat, Triticum spelta, that is believed to have been cultivated for thousands of years, and is sometimes considered a subspecies of ordinary wheat rather than a separate species. There are two types of spelt flour, white and whole grain.

Secco - Combination Boulangerie~Patisserie, enjoying a pasta lunch at Aux Vieux and the character of a waiter serving!

Give your inner artist grace

When your energy is a bit low, give yourself some grace. Take advantage of opportunities that may be a gift and healing therapy! We often dog sit a sweet golden retriever. She seems to realize she is not a paid model, but I am taking advantage of her lounging poses, even when she moves when I begin! If you feel up to it, doodle, sketch, collage, apply paint to paper. A little art play goes far.