My Life in France- Julia Child

Une maison sans chat, c’est la vie sans soleil
That’s the line that stuck, after reading Julia Child’s My Life in France (it means a house without a cat, is a life without the sun! how true for cat lovers :) ).I am so tempted to get Mastering the Art of French Cooking, 1st edition, which was published in 1961! but it cost somewhere in the region of USD500! my god…. I think I would have to suffice with the 49th edition…-_- which prob cost around USD30-40. But quite a worthy price since it contained 524 recipes!haha.


My Life in France is quite an inspiring book. Child married late in life when she was in her 30s and moved to Paris, when her husband, Paul Child, was posted there. The 1st meal she had in Paris, had her hooked on French culinary for the rest of her life.


Julia Child, being a housewife in a foreign country, and having nothing much to do, took up cooking lessons at Le Cordon Bleu, which in the 1940s, probably wasn’t the Le Cordon Bleu as we know now. Child started with the 6 week course meant for erm, bored housewives who didnt know to cook. But she later, ended up taking a one year course for professionals. She shone in a class of all male ex GIs.


I guess we can say she found her true calling at the ripe old age of 36. Prior to that, she was just dredging along the road of life, with no real passion for anything. People often expect you to know what you want in life when you are say, 30 or maybe even younger. But honestly, the epiphany of what you are supposed to do in life, can come at anytime. It could come when you are just a 10-year old child, pretending to be a doctor, or when you are a 40- year old, who just got retrenched and are acquiring a new skill, which later could jolly well turn out to be your new found love.


But will God be cruel enough to deny you that epiphany? Will He keep that secret from you? Or perhaps, He did tell you, but you never did listen hard enough? I believe there are people in life who never found what they truly love or are passionate about. Sometimes they could end up feeling bitter, which explains why we come across people who seem to be eternally miserable! But some lucky ones could just be contented with what they have, whether or not they do carve out something for themselves. I guess they are the ones who can find joy in everything, joy in just being.