Bonne année tout le monde! Happy 2011! I can say that still, because here en Suisse for the entire week it is not uncommon to hear people wishing each other (even strangers on the street) une bonne année. It seems out of the depths of November and December’s endless gray, rain, and snow, January is welcoming us with *mostly* clear blue Winter skies and sunshine that gives everyone just a little spring in their step.
As we enthusiastically open all the blinds to welcome the warm sunny glow into our home, I take another clementine from the worn wooden fruit bowl on the counter. I love clementines – the bowl is almost empty as I realize my husband and I have consumed over a kilo of the little bright fruit in just a weekend. I like that they peel easier than oranges in that I don’t end up with a splattered sticky mess all over the table by the time I’m ready to take my first bite, and I like that they have a little more punch than an orange does. Each bite of a clementine is like taking in a little piece of bright optimism that gives me a feeling 2011 will be quite the eventful year.
But that same morning, while the snow laid unmelted on the streets and the Alps were capped in their familiar white vestiges, I cooked for myself a different sort of breakfast. A savory one, with spinach, celeriac, sausage and eggs.
