Right now, with our own artichokes blooming in our yard, seems like the perfect time to get outside and grill artichokes! I think it will become one of my favorite preparations.
We only had a few home-grown specimens, so I opted for the baby variety at Trader Joe’s (they often carry packs of four around this time of year). The smaller variety are nice, because they cook so quickly, but any size would work.
To prepare, you could steam first, then cut or vice versa. We cut ours in half first so we wouldn’t have to deal with piping-hot artichokes. Once they’re sliced in half, carve out and discard the hairy choke and the prickly purple leaves. If I’m making these for sharing, I might also take the time to cut the points of the leaves’ tips, but that’s not essential.
You want to steam them for as long as it takes for the stem to be pierce-able. For these baby artichokes, that was roughly six minutes. Around ten to fifteen should be good for large ones.
In a bowl, combine just enough olive oil to toss each artichoke with some crushed fresh garlic, salt, pepper, and whatever herbs you like. Let them sit and marinate while you heat the grill (or longer).
Grill over medium heat, turning once. And then add butter or mayonnaise (maybe a squeeze of lemon) and some more freshly ground pepper and some salt to finish!
On our fourth night in Paris, we met the babysitter we had arranged months earlier. Ana came over around 6:45 in the evening—we met her outside the apartment as we were coming home from the park, in fact—and I could tell it was going to go well immediately. I think Hudson thought she was our friend, Rhiannon (“Ana” sounding a bit similar and there being a resemblance), because he immediately reached up for a hug and asked after Rhiannon’s son. So they were off to a good start, with him eager to show her his toys.
I had actually written Jordan (who I’ve been lucky to get to chat with on a few occasions at blog events), about her experience with babysitters in Paris and she sent me a suggestion. In the end, that woman wasn’t available, but she passed along Ana’s contact. Ana only had experience with small children in her own family, but she struck me as intelligent and warm and I got a good feeling about her. In the end, she came three nights (Wednesday Thursday, and Saturday) and her friend came one night (Friday). I communicated with both over email before our trip, did a little web-stalking, and sent documents with all of our rules and routines ahead of time so that we could address specifics and be more brief about such things in person.
By the time the evening came, we knew that Hudson was waking in the middle of the night but that he was falling asleep and staying asleep during the babysitter’s hours easily—a big relief—and that he felt comfortable in our new home. We also purchased a cheap mobile phone for use in France, so that the babysitters could reach us in case of emergency and asked that they text us an update at least once while we were out.
guidebook had additional babysitting resources they recommended. I would also suggest asking your hotel concierge for help, if you have one.
As much fun as we were having as a family of three, it was such a relief to leave that evening and step out into the glowing light as a couple, to know that we would have the chance to experience the romantic side of Paris (that we had once so loved) again and linger over wine and flickering candles.
As I alluded to in Part One, I never saw children out in restaurants at dinner (save for the occasional tourist), and it really seemed a challenge to bring ones as young as Hudson. We mentioned this to our babysitter, and she—without missing a beat—agreed and said “yes, you can bring the dog but not the child.” Ha! If you’re living in France, I’d love to hear if you think this is accurate.
In any case, though it adds a significant expense to pay for babysitting (around 10euro/hour seems normal), for us it was worth it.
That first evening out, we headed for Restaurant Le Gaigne, just around the corner from these stunning vertical gardens on rue Pecquay. The restaurant was booked (and now appears to be closed until a new location opens), and their chic wine bar across the way had a wait for tables, so we headed back up rue des Petits-Carreaux a bit and popped into L’Assiette à Carreaux just as the rain started falling; it was buzzing with people smoking cigarettes outside and drinking champagne inside. It looked promising, and we were happy we stayed.
Hudson and I had the pleasure of testing out some new products (some of which haven’t even hit the shelves yet), from OxoTot. Oxo is one of those great brands we all know because they finally figured out how to engineer the best, easiest-to-clean can opener (or whisk or grater or whatever it is that I’m sure you have in your kitchen drawer, too). They have a great kids’ line, as well—we used their starter Oxo Tot plate when Hudson was first learning to feed himself, and appreciated that it was both well designed for function but also for appearance (simple white, so that his plate would look like ours).
Their newest products are designed with travel in mind (both far flung and close to home). I immediately reached for the Roll Up Bib and the Flippy Snack Cup, as both solved design-problems I’d identified myself. When Hudson was using a bib routinely (we now only pull them out in particularly messy situations), we loved this drawer-style, which we nicknamed the “baby catch-all.” Hudson would even put food in his, just for the pleasure of fishing it out. But when we traveled, I’d opt for something fabric or rollable instead—something that easily fit in my purse. This would have been perfect! Bonus: its velcro even resisted his tugging when he inevitably went for the straps.
The Flippy Snack Cup is another forehead-smacking “finally!” First of all, I snuck our first snack cup into a shopping cart one day when Aron wasn’t looking. We weren’t totally in agreement about the need for a snack cup. I see his position: he feared the image of Hudson being rolled around in a stroller, mindlessly gobbling a giant pile of appetite-busting Cheerios, or cheddar bunnies, or raisins in a bottomless cup. It’s a valid concern, especially when the result can be so pleasant for the one behind those stroller handles. But every time I’d find myself reaching behind my seat while driving on a freeway, trying to pass Hudson something at 10:30am, I’d curse his reasonability and mumble to myself “I’m buying a snack cup!” (Aron has since come around, even if he still leans anti-snacking.)
So if you’re in my boat, here’s why this one made me say “finally!” It’s not huge. It holds a very reasonable, civilized 8 ounces, in a clear, attractive (gender-neutral) cup. The lid twists on and doesn’t come off easily, so that all the toddler will be wise to are the soft flaps on top. The handle is open ended, so you can link it onto your stroller hook when you need to set it aside. And, there is a snap-on plastic cover so that you can leave things in the cup and they don’t go stale. Why hasn’t anyone else come up with that? So, no more disposable plastic baggies!
These and their new Stroller Hook were my favorite for this stage in Hudson’s life, but they have a ton of great new stuff for the younger set. (That travel-sized dish rack with the the bottle brush and nipple cleaner, for example, would have come in handy when we were in St. Lucia—trying to wash and dry a million different little bottle and pump parts.)
