We eventually got up on Saturday morning (or was it the afternoon?) and decided we’d take a day trip. We got out the map and looked at a few options.  I said: “What about Neuchatel?” I’d seen the signs on the highway. It seemed close enough to Lausanne for a day trip.

So away we went.

We had a sort of a wind-down day.  We just wanted to relax and enjoy ourselves.  We walked along the waterfront. We walked into the main town and window shopped. We walked up to the Chateau. We could have taken a tour of the Chateau, but, alas, the guided tours don’t start until April.

I took some pictures of the view instead.

We looked in the Guide de Routard for a place to get a drink and maybe something to eat. Ludo pointed out the  Café du Cerf.

“Ouvert de 9h à minuit, plus tard le week-end. Fermé le dimache. Décor retro rock’n'roll et sixties. Choix de 100 bières. Frequenté par les Canadiens du Junior College. Menu du jour à 20 Fs (13€). Spécialité de fondue cambodigienne. Café offert à nos lecteurs qui y prennent un repas.”

We looked on the map and determined the place is just up the street around a few corners. We found our way there. I was expecting: “Décor retro rock’n'roll et sixties.” However, it was a British pub. Brick walls. Wooden chairs and tables. Rugby and football on the TV screens. Flags (I’m sure if I knew about football and soccer, I’d recognize the flags of teams, but I didn’t). It was a standard British pub that you would find outside of Britain.

Regardless. It was full of people. Speaking English at every table. The only difference was–everybody had a different accent.  We ordered a Chimay Bleu each and sat at a table. (For the record, I didn’t notice any Canadians, specifically. But I’m not sure I was looking for them.)

I noticed the people next to us get up and go outside every once in awhile and I realized they were probably taking a smoke break. The non-smoking rule was just implemented in Switzerland last fall (I’m definitely glad of that!). I started chatting to them. They are watchmakers. I told them I’m investigating topics to write about and I think I should probably add Swiss watchmaking to the list.

I guess that’s the main topic of today’s post: things to write about. Here are a few ideas so far for the new category: Ma vie en Suisse.

• What I like about Switzerland.
• Fighting cows (les combats de reines).
• Music festivals (there seem to be quite a few. Lucky us.).
• I’ll write about food and wine (that I like of course). I’ll keep publishing the recipes. There is a friend who apparently makes amazing risotto. I’ll be looking forward to learning how to do that. And maybe, I’ll get an inside scoop on making viande seche. Nothing I can publish–I am told–as it is a secret, family recipe. There is also raclette. And fondue. I’m sure there is a chocolate factory or two to visit. This list is easily quite large. Hmmm…
• Not that I know much about fashion and style, but there is a style here that is unique. Maybe it’s uniquely European. I don’t know. I do know that I like the scarves. Anybody who knows me, knows I like scarves. I have a few. I should probably give away the ones I rarely wear and make room for something new.
• We have a few travel plans. Austria in April. Barcelona in May. Back to Canada this summer.  Maybe, if my friend from Smithers visits in the fall, we’ll plan a wine road trip (either in Burgundy or Valais)–that’s exciting.
• I’ll learn a bit about the history of Switzerland I am sure. But I think an interesting topic to investigate and discover would be the fact that it is a multicultural and multilingual country and people don’t seem to argue about what language their dog or parrot speaks (a heavy topic sometimes in Canada). They did, however, want to nominate lawyers for animals–another topic entirely. I’m probably new and optimistic, but Switzerland has existed in various forms since the 13th century.  I am sure I will discover some parallels between Switzerland and Canada.
• And now I’ve just added Swiss watchmaking to this list. How come Switzerland is the land of watches and watchmaking?

And now, I’ll just put the question out there: What would you like to me to write about? Is there anything in particular you want me to investigate and report back on?

Just let me know. Leave a comment. Or, if you’re shy, send an email.  I’m not much in Facebook or Twitter recently. But you can also find me there. I do pay attention.

Rollerblade from the apartment to the gym. (It was surprisingly nice out today.)
Clunk up one flight of stairs.
Coordinate limbs in a body pump (choreographed weights) class.
Continue with 45 minutes of cardio in the salle de musculation.
Stretch legs.
Crunch abs.
Rollerblade home.

Not bad. I’m glad the weather changed. It’s easier not to take the car.

When I looked at that meatballs in spicy peanut sauce recipe, it reminded me of a stir fry I used to make: Indonesian stir fry.  My original recipe for that particular dish included lots of garlic and two tablespoons of peanut butter. I searched the web for something to refresh my memory, but no luck. So my recipe on Tuesday went something like this.

• 4 Scallions (large green onions)
• 1 Red pepper
• 1 Yellow pepper
• 1 Orange pepper
• Handful of green beans. If you cup your hands together to make an “O”–about that many.
• About an egg-size piece of ginger (peeled)
• 2 or 3 cloves of garlic
• Sesame oil
• Soya sauce
• Turkey breast
• Peanut butter
• Chili pepper (I bought a small bottle of chili pepper sauce because I couldn’t find the chili peppers.)
• 250 ml of warm chicken broth. I use Knorr cubes. (I have a story about Knorr I’ll have to write.) Add a teaspoon of soya sauce, a teaspoon of chili pepper sauce, and about two  tbsps of peanut butter. Mix it all up.

Slice the turkey breast into stir-fry strips.  Put in a bowl and season with a round or two of sesame oil and soya sauce. When I say a round or two, I mean once around the bowl. Or twice. However much you think you need.

Add a spoonful or so of chili pepper sauce. To taste. Not too much, but enough so the turkey breast is marinating in something palatably spicy.

Set the marinating turkey strips aside.

Slice the scallions into about 3 cm lengths. Then quarter the lengths.

Slice the peppers in the same fashion-about 3 cm lengths by 1 cm or less.

Same with the green beans.

I chopped up the ginger and the garlic with my chopper. Like the slap chop. Except it’s not a slap chop. It’s just a regular chopper. It might have a Swiss accent, but it essentially works the same.

Heat up a wok and go once around with some oil–just enough to coat the bottom. Toss in the turkey strips.  Stir-fry until the strips are lightly browned. Remove from the pan. If you have help in the kitchen, make sure they have a glass of wine in one hand and discuss, in general, what you think the desired outcome should be. Just so everybody is on the same page. Discuss the general order of cooking. And listen to the person who suggests a figure-eight stirring motion — I think it was the key to our success.

Add another round of oil. Add the veges including the garlic and ginger. Stir for a minute or two to cook. Add the 250 ml of the chicken broth mixture.

Stir. Cook. Stir. Cook.

Add the turkey back into the wok.

Stir. Cook. Stir. Cook.

Pay attention and don’t over cook the veges. It’s nice when they are just the right amount of crunchy.

We opened a bottle of Ludo’s Chateau Neuf de Papes and sat down to eat this concoction over a wild rice mixture. I think it turned out really good. So good, that I didn’t even get a picture–and I should have. I would won a lot of points for colour.

Last night, a friend came to dinner. I thought I’d try to make something simple. I’d seen a recipe in the Fine Cooking magazine last week that I wanted to try out: Meatballs in spicy curry peanut sauce.

This spicy meatball recipe called for ground beef. I couldn’t find ground beef in my grocery store. I usually shop at the small(ish) MIGROS in the bottom of the building. The meat department  full of individually-packaged cuts of meat–so I bought some turkey breasts instead. I cut them into one-inch cubes. I think they worked fine.  Here is the recipe (modified by me).

• kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• two or three deboned turkey breasts cut into one-inch cubes
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 tbsp of oil, more if needed. The original recipe called for vegetable oil. I used olive oil. I don’t know the difference. Olive oil worked for me.
• 4 cloves of garlic, coarsely chopped (Redd, I used my chopper ).
• 1 tbsp red curry paste, more to taste. (I used more).
• 1 cup canned coconut milk (refridgerate the can, don’t shake it. Use the cream from the top). I just used the whole thing.
• 2 tbsp chunky peanut butter. I used some peanut butter that I found at the MIGROS. However, I am now on a mission to find a brand of peanut butter here in Switzerland with just peanuts. Just peanuts in my peanut butter please. And maybe some salt. But that’s all. When it comes to peanut butter, less is definitely more.
• Some freshly-chopped basil for garnish.

Salt and pepper the cubed turkey breast.

Toss lightly in flour. Enough to lightly coat the cubes.

Heat some oil in a wok or fry pan. Just coat the bottom of the pan.

Fry the garlic for about one minute–until it is lightly brown. I used the stopwatch on my iPhone. I seem to use my iPhone for everything. It worked just fine. It got a bit gucky from the kitchen, but I just cleaned it later.  Remove the browned garlic from the pan and set aside.

Fry the coated, cubed turkey breast for about 5 minutes until they are lightly browned and just nicely done- that is, the meat isn’t dry.  I fried my cubes in two batches. When the first batch was done, I removed them to drain on a paper towel. Then repeated everything with the second batch.

When you’ve finished with the turkey cubes, if there is no oil left in the pan, add a wee bit more. Add the curry paste and cook that for a bit in the pan. Stir it to prevent sticking.

Add the garlic that you’d set aside earlier. Keep stirring.

Add the coconut milk. Stir.

Add the peanut butter. Stir some more.

Keep stirring and cooking until you the sauce is uniformly consistent.

Add more curry paste to taste. Stir it in.

Return the cooked, cubed turkey breast to the pan and simmer over low heat until everything is warmed up.

Transfer everything to a serving dish and garnish with the chopped, fresh basil.

WARNING: Don’t let things simmer too long. The sauce will curdle. SO PAY ATTENTION. When the sauce is smooth and consistent and uniform, TAKE IT OFF the burner and put it in a serving dish.

We opened a bottle of Ermitage from Caprice du Temps (shameless plug) and ate this dish as an appetizer.

An improvement today. I dug out my rollerblades and cruised over to the gym. Total commute time: ten minutes.

Still took the elevator down six flights of stairs. When I got to the building with the gym, I clunked up one flight of stairs.

In the reception of the gym, I changed my rollerblades for my gym shoes and proceeded to jump around in a cardio course: Body Attack.

It was my first such course. I think I resembled a frog in a blender.

Arms up. Knees up. Heels up. Kick. Kick. Squat.

Repeat.

C’est fois, plus d’energie!

And encore une fois!

Take the elevator down seven flights of stairs to the parking garage.

Get in the car and drive 5 minutes to the parking garage at the gym.

Take the elevator from the parking garage up four flights of stairs to the gym.

Do a cardio workout on the reclined bike.

Is that Californian or what?

Granted, we did use the swimming pool after.  The reason we took the car is because we didn’t want to be wet and walking home in the cold wind.

So there.

I arrived in Lausanne last week. It was also my birthday. Bear’s mother made sure that I was well-equipped to live in Switzerland.

We also have a brand-spanking-new meat slicer. An industrial-grade meat slicer in fact. An important amenity here in Switzerland, with all that raclette and viande seche.

She threw in some fromage d’alpage (cheese from the mountains) and some homemade viande seche (dried meat). What more could we need?

En fin. I have arrived in Switzerland. It took awhile. About a year in fact. And it’s been a helluva journey. At the beginning of last year, I didn’t know Switzerland was my destination. I just knew that my life wasn’t what I wanted it to be.

In California, I felt like I was on the Titanic. I had almost a decade of decisions and momentum behind me and I could see the iceberg, I just couldn’t turn fast enough to avoid a disaster. (How’s that for a life metaphor?)

Regardless, in February 2009, I made the decision to leave California. That decision was tough for many reasons–most of them pretty personal–too personal for my blog (if you can believe that!). It was a tough decision none-the-less. Last May, my good friend from Yellowknife came down and helped me pack up my studio and kick my butt back to Canada.  (If that isn’t a good friend, I don’t know who is). We headed up to Alberta for my nephew’s graduation and my cousin’s wedding at the end of May.

I remember sitting at my Aunt’s kitchen table in Red Deer one weekend. When she asked how I was doing, I said: “I’m just surviving Auntie Ann. I am just surviving.”

And she just looked directly at me and said, rather pointedly: “It’s all a decision Jennifer. It’s all just a decision.”

And I realized it was exactly that. I wasn’t making many decisions. I had made some decisions. I even knew why I was making them. But, right then, right there in her kitchen, I realized I didn’t seem to be making the right decisions. To top it off, I was making decisions that seemed to benefit everybody around me, and none that benefited me.

I’d planned a trip to France for the month of June. I wanted some time off. Some perspective. (THAT was a decision to benefit me )

I was expecting to visit a few friends. I was expecting to have a holiday. I was expecting to get some perspective. I was expecting to return to Canada and Alberta and maybe even the Yukon to start a new life.

I visited Normandy and the D-Day beaches with my parents. I visited a friend from when I went to University in France. And, I visited a friend and former colleague from Turin Networks. We had a lovely time that week. We visited. We connected. Day-after-day, my friend seemed to challenge me to make some real decisions. To make a plan. And execute it.

So I did.

I made a six-month plan. It took me seven months to execute.  Granted, even though my goals were pretty clear,  I was pretty fuzzy on the how.  I had a lot of loose ends to finish (that’s a quilting reference for my mum).  And I needed to finish them by myself. I still have a few things to do.

But mainly, I am here. I am back in Switzerland. My friend (now fiance) and I decided we wanted to be in each other’s lives and I needed to be here so we could start.

To my friends and family who haven’t met him yet–please meet my fiance. His name is Ludovic. He is my bear.

On the way from Whitehorse to Healdsburg, I stopped to visit my friend in Smithers, BC. She has just bought a house there and is starting to become part of the community. It’s a time for change for everybody I know–or that’s what it seems like anyway. Regardless, I had left Whitehorse at 6h30 am that Thursday morning. I arrived in Smithers at her house at 12h15 am that night (technically, I guess it would be Friday morning).

She is a good friend and she waited up for me. I should have called my father as he was waiting up for me back in Whitehorse too. But, I think I was just so glad to have arrived, my friend gave me a glass of wine and we just started visiting.

We visited until 2h00 am and went to bed. We woke up and started visiting again. We planned a bit of an excursion to town. We went to a furniture shop where she showed me a few things she was thinking of buying. We window shopped along main street. At one point, we stopped to look at an outdoors gear place. I was looking at the gear in the window. She was looking at the guys in the store. I guess our version of window shopping was a bit different.

We stopped at a pottery place and she showed me the type of pottery she likes. We drooled over bowls and crockery. I wanted to buy her a house warming gift, but that was our first store. I thought we might find something more in another store. As always, in retrospect, I should have just got it then and there. Maybe I can order it online? I’ll have to investigate.

We were walking and shopping and talking. And talking and shopping and walking and across the way, we saw a makeshift structure on the opposite corner: The Moose Hut. And we could discern a lone figure sitting behind the counter. I thought we needed to investigate.

It turned out to be a German guy selling sausages: elk, bison, and pork sausages. What? No moose? How funny is that? It seems like a trick question: What do you sell at The Moose Hut? Elk, bison, and pork sausages. We just laughed. He offered us a taste. He cut up some pieces and put them on toothpicks and handed them over the counter. And we tasted. And honestly, they were quite good. My friend decided to buy one. I think she bought a bison sausage for her housewarming party.

He asked her if she wanted a bag. She just said, “No. I’ll put it in my purse.” And I snorted with laughter.

“Just what every good woman needs. A sausage in her purse!” When we got home, I took a picture to prove it.

And yes, we drank those two bottles of wine that night.

What do you need to know about my car? That’s it’s for sale.? That it’s a 2005 Honda Civic Si Hatchback?  That it has just over 82,000 miles? Oh…it’s also a 5-speed manual transmission.

I just had a minor service, they guys at Automotive Excellence in Cotati said it was in good condition.

I have all of the service records, including two services I had in Calgary, Alberta and Whitehorse, Yukon.

The blue book value is $8,445.

Here is the CARFAX Vehicle History Report.

For such a small car, it is very roomy. Surprisingly roomy. In fact, when I was remodeling the bungalow and I had to transport a fireplace, the guys where I picked up the fireplace stood around and looked at me and looked at my car and shook their heads and said: “No way. No way will you fit the fireplace in that little car.You need a truck. You definitely need a truck.”

I said: “Pshaw. P-S-H-A-W! I once fit three 17-foot sea kayaks on top, three people, and enough gear for a three-day camping weekend in a Honda Civic hatch. I bet I can fit in that fireplace. Besides, if it doesn’t fit in, it will fit on top.” (Did I mention it has roof racks?)

So these big burly guys stood around harrumphing and betting that I couldn’t fit the fireplace in the hatch, but once they saw that it would fit, they all crowded around to help. “Well I’ll be…” I  heard somebody exclaim. “I’ll be..”.

Regardless. Most of those 82000 miles are highway miles. I bought this car in March of 2005 when I lived in Healdsburg and worked in Petaluma, California (70 miles round trip, daily).  Then, I lived and worked in Healdsburg for two years with little or no driving.

In 2009, I took it on a road trip to Canada. I drove it to Calgary, Alberta, then to Whitehorse, Yukon, then back again.

It’s a good little car. I love my little car. If I weren’t leaving the country, there would be no way in hell I’d sell it.

Here are the specs:

• $8445 (KBB value)
• Complete and verifiable service records.
• Free of any major defects.
• Clean title history
• The paints, body, and interior have only minor (if any) blemishes, and there are no major mechanical problems.
• No rust on this vehicle.
• Tires match and have substantial tread wear left.
• Air conditioning
• Power steering
• Power windows
• Power door locks
• Tilt wheel
• Cruise control
• Dual front air bags
• ABS (4-wheel)
• AM/FM radio
• Single compact disk
• Moon roof
• Alloy wheels
• VIN available upon request.