Misadventures in the French Language - Recipe: Le Tian de legumes a la Provencale

In preparation for the upcoming move to Paris, I've just signed up for French language classes at Alliance de Franchaise de Singapour, together with my girlfriend, S. It's been quite a ride, as my poor instructor, Pierre can attest. Languages are one of those things that are so much harder to do when you're an adult! The French language is complicated, what with its insistence on gendering everything, its funny characters and lack of an ordered, systematic set of rules (though on the last point, Pierre said, "Ah, but the Eengglish languahge eez de sayme, no?) He was not moved by my appeal: "Yes, but at least I understand it!" And of course, my mind, wants to remember only what it wants to memorise. So aside from names of food, as well as a long list of ballet terms that I learned from the many years I danced (not that that's going to help me much, sadly), I can now say a range of sentences that revolve around my dog, of all things. But I've made progress, I think, as the following illustration will show:

This was me during my first lesson:
Pierre: Ow doo yooou zay, I avve a male dogg?
Me: I know! Je ..erm...suis ...un chien! 
Pierre: Non. Dat eez, I am a dogg.
Me: Oh, crap.

End of first week:

Pierre: Alorr, Ow doo yooou zay, I avve a male dogg?

Me: Je suis...oh s*it, I mean...J'ai...erm, unne chien.

Pierre:  Your dogg is feemail?

Me: Oh, sorry, J'ai un chien. Je m'appelle Cooper.

Pierre: You are called de Cooper?

Me: Oh, crap. Sorry....erm.... Il s'appelle Cooper.

And today:

Pierre: Alorr, waatt doo yooou zay to your landlord?

Me: J'ai un petit chien ...errm, tres propre (or in plain English, I have a very small and clean dog).

Pierre: Oui! Non probleme.

Mon toutou

In my calculation, I now have the vocabulary to last me all of...well, five minutes, in French. In light of my misadventures in the French language, my mother sent me the link to a hilarious video of an old episode of Medicorp's The Noose, which I've been dying to post. I have to say I can relate to Alvin Ong's "Why must "chut" so many patterns?" It must be frustrating for taxi drivers to remember the names of all the condominiums in Singapore, and there are so many, let's face it. Neither does there seem to be a theme to the naming of these developments. For example, within my immediate vicinity the condos include Hillside, Hillview Heights, Summerhill, Symphony Heights, The Petals, Chantilly Rise...oh, and my favourite, Parq Palais. A real conversation with a taxi driver "uncle" recently: "Hillview got Heights, meh?" One could perhaps be forgiven for forgetting, sometimes, that you were in Singapore.

Here is a recipe for the classic French vegetable tian that I made for the dinner party, which features layers of tender vegetables baked in the oven until just done. Viva le' Chai Tow Kway!

Wash the leek in several changes of water to remove all the grit

Serves 4-6 as a side dish

Ingredients:
2 medium red capsicums
1 large Australian leek
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 smallish long eggplants or 1 larger one
2 small zucchini or 1 larger one
3 plum tomatoes (don't substitute with regular tomatoes)
1/4 dry white wine (such as Sauvignon blanc)
1 handful of fresh thyme
Extra virgin olive oil
Sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper
Butter for the casserole

Preheat your oven to 240 degrees Celsius and set on the grill function. Butter a medium rectangular or square baking dish or casserole. Quarter the capsicums, removing the seeds and membranes. Drizzle some olive oil over, lightly season with sea salt and black pepper and pop them into the oven. Grill until skins are blackened. Take them out and place them in a covered dish to steam. When cool enough to handle, remove skin and slice into thick strips.

Halve the leek and slice into thin strips, using only the white portion. Place them in a large pot of water until they separate. Drain and repeat twice more. Slice eggplant, zucchini and tomatoes into thin discs, about 1/8 inch thick.

Preheat oven on bake setting to 190 degrees Celsius. Heat a large non-stick skillet over medium heat, add two tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil and saute' garlic until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add leeks and saute' gently until for about 3-4 minutes or until they are fragrant and slightly wilted. Spread the mixture over the bottom of your baking dish. Season lightly and scatter thyme over the mixture. Now, layer eggplant, zucchini, tomatoes and peppers in turn, slightly overlapping. Press the vegetables gently to make sure they are tightly padded. Season lightly and spread the rest of the thyme over the vegetables. Drizzle olive oil over and sprinkle wine over the dish. Cover with a piece of buttered parchment paper.

Bake in the oven for about 35 minutes or so until vegetables are done and they have shrunk away from the edges of the baking dish a little. (You want the vegetables tender but not shriveled) Serve warm.