Peggy Chirico ~ Hartford & Tolland County Real Estate Blog

When I came home from my last trip to France, the thing I missed most (besides my daughter who is living there) was the BREAD!!!!

What is it about the bread?  It's available on almost every street corner in France, always crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. 

We ate it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.  Like pizza in Italy, I just could not get enough bread while I was in France.  We had it with butter for breakfast, with ham and cheese for lunch, and of course in a basket of small rolls with dinner.

In France, bread is not just a product; it is part of everyday life.  Bakeries open very early and people will run in for their daily croissant or long baguette.

One of my most memorable images is of well-dressed French men walking on a Sunday morning with a bouquet of flowers in one hand and two long baguettes in the other.  

For us in the United States, bread has become anathema, stigmatized as the cause of all our obesity, but in France it is a reason for living.  They have an expression to describe any arduous ordeal:

Translation:  Long like a day without bread.  Amen.  Bread should be celebrated not denigrated.  

When I came home, I tried to find bread like I had in France, but our "French" bread was an imposter.  It looked like French bread on the outside, but inside it was Wonder Bread--no texture, no taste, no substance.

I even tried baking bread, but I just couldn't get the crunchy crust.  It helps to have a bread-baking oven, but I don't have one.  I even tried to put a pot of water in the oven to create steam, but it didn't work for me.

So imagine my surprise when a saw a sign for La Brioche, a French bakery located at 36 Ward Street in Vernon, CT.  Of course, I stopped in right away.  I found out that the owner had previously run a local favorite bakery in Stafford, CT and sold it and moved to Vernon.  When I mentioned my discovery, everyone seemed to know of the Stafford bakery, and all had rave reviews.

As I stepped into the small bakery and cafe on Ward Street, there were croissants, small tarts, and other desserts behind the glass, but I was only interested in the bread.  In the baker's rack were the breads that I had been searching for since my return from France.  I had a friendly conversation with the man behind the counter where I learned about the Stafford bakery and their move to Vernon.  I even got to practice my French (which needs a lot of practicing).  I bought two baguettes and promised to return.

I had no sooner gotten into my car when I tore off a piece of the baguette!  Tres delicieux!  It was everything I remembered!  By the time I was home, I had eaten half the loaf of bread.

If  you are craving great bread, visit La Brioche at 36 Ward Street, Vernon, CT just down from the hospital (almost on the corner of Ward and Union Street).  The bread is authentic, the people are friendly, and Vernon is lucky to have them!

For other rave reviews, visit Yelp.  Or better yet, stop in, try the bread, and write your own review.

Next, I'll try the croissants!


            

If you are like so many of us who promised ourselves that we would eat better, maybe even getting those five servings of fruits and vegetables a day into our diet, you probably know that half the battle is having the food on hand.  If it were, maybe we wouldn't succumb to that "bad snacking" that is so easy to do.

Well, I found a FABULOUS resource to help me keep the promises I made for healthier new me:  ALDI!

ALDI believes that people should have the opportunity to buy the highest quality groceries at the lowest possible prices.  I was lured by their flyer in my Sunday paper advertising fruit prices.  Our store is located on Route 83 in Vernon, CT next to Spare Time Bowling.

Here's what I bought:

• Package of three Romaine hearts
• Bag of flat leaf baby spinach
• Package of four Anjou pears
• Two four pound bags of navel oranges
• A three-pound bag of Granny Smith apples
• A bunch of six bananas
• A whole pineapple

Total cost?  $11.76!!!!!

If you are fortunate enough to have an ALDI near you, check it out.  The fruit and produce was fresh and tasty.  It's definitely making eating healthier much easier.