A Cement Front Yard.

November 19, 2014November 19, 2014 | Jennifer Marcuson

I am just slightly behind posting schedule(about a month…), if you can’t tell! This was in early October, hence the pumpkin carving and sidewalk stooping. I’m missing being able to leave our front door wide open like this and just be outside. It’s cold and windy here already, and it seems the neighbors have all disappeared(to their warm homes). We live in Old Quebec City, and as you can see, we don’t have a yard. Our sidewalk serves as our yard, as does the large parking area on the other side of the road. That’s where the girls ride their bikes, color with chalk, collect leaves, and throw snowballs. We do have an amazing park across the boulevard that runs along the Saint Lawrence, but when I’m in the middle of dinner.. that doesn’t work so much. Often I do wish we had a yard, with grass, and trees. But we live in a city. We have cement. And you know what, it ain’t half bad. We have learned to love our cement yard, and frankly we’re missing it now as the ground is covered in snow. We miss seeing the neighbors sitting outside of their doors with a glass of wine before dinner, the girls being able to run down to Claude and Maryse’s place and hang out with them while they cook. We may not have a yard, but we have a beautiful little community that we are a part of. We share our stoops with each other, and invite each other in for visits. Winter can be long without that.

So I invite you to be a part of my virtual community, right here at La Bonne Maman. Come share your favorite recipe, wine, a silly story, or some good maman advice to help get us through this long winter ahead. I know I am going to need it….

If you or anyone you know are interested in contributing to the blog, please email me at hello.labonnemaman@gmail.com with your name and a little background about you, where you’re from, and what you might like to share with us, and we will make it happen!

I will be sharing our very first guest Maman tomorrow.. can’t wait!!!

summer days.. drifting away.

September 18, 2014 | Jennifer Marcuson

I am attempting to catch up on a whole lot of editing from the last two months.. I know. I know. Don’t ask me where the time has gone, I have no idea. I came across this set just now, and my heart sort of melted just a little bit. I miss these mornings of crêpes and blueberries, sidewalk chalk and watercolor painting, doors wide open and sunshine pouring in.. and Jospehine in my shoes. Although that really hasn’t changed much, it’s just boots now.

Anyway, I love these images. This is why I take pictures. For these kinds of memories. Nothing staged. Nothing planned. No stress. Totally relaxed. Totally loving life.

The last few images of me and Joey are taken by Maxime. She had been asking me that week if I would teach her how to use my camera, and this was our first lesson.

la bonne(nostalgic) maman

Cinq à Sept

September 10, 2014September 10, 2014 | Jennifer Marcuson

These days, I often feel very very scattered. I have thoughts and ideas and dreams and goals spewing from my ears (I mean like smoke shooting out both sides sort of shit). I have laundry piles that never seem to get folded, even though it feels like all I am ever doing is folding laundry. I have three businesses that I am attempting to build, two children that I am attempting to raise, and then there’s that marriage thing too.. I have friendships I adore and cherish and am always trying to find time for. I have my body, heart, and mind that I want to take care of.. (my mere 5k a week is all I’ve been finding time to fit in lately.) I haven’t been out for a ‘cinq à sept‘ (happy hour in french) in, well, I actually have no idea how long. Our happy hours currently consist of dinner and bath time.

These days, it seems, I spend most of my time in the kitchen. And ironically, this is by choice.. I mean, if you had asked me 6 years ago if I liked cooking, (let alone did it), I would have probably responded with something like, wait, what’s that??. The kitchen has become, for me, a place where I can focus. Where I can get creative. Where I can try new things. Where I can put on music and get messy and make mistakes and sip on some delicious red wine while doing it, of course.

And then, the best part at the end of all of this, is that I get to feed my people. And that grounds me and brings focus and calm and peace into my crazy, short, often stressful days. This is my new cinq à sept, and I must say, as surprised as my 27 year-old self is about it, I am totally ok with it.

It’s been chilling down at night here in Québec City, and I’m finding myself starting to crave some of my staple fall foods and spices. I threw this sort of play-by-play version of a sort of autumn swedish meatballs dish together with some frozen meat we had in the freezer and some fresh veggies the girls and I had picked up at Marché du Vieux Port on Sunday. My favorite part about living in a big farming community, is that you always have fresh, local stuff at your fingertips. The rosemary and thyme on the potatoes, and the little bit of allspice I threw in last minute into the meatball sauce(which I made with coffee creamer btw… ha!), added just the perfect touch of cool weather comfort, while the buttery corn still had us holding onto the tail end of this summer season.

I devoured my plate, and the girls ate about 2/3 of theirs, which is impressive for them. All in all, I think I can say that it was a pretty successful dish!