Tag: French

French actress and animal rights activist Brigitte Bardot has died : NPR

Legendary screen siren and animal rights activist Brigitte Bardot has died at age 91. The alluring former model starred in numerous movies, often playing the highly sexualized love interest.

By Elizabeth Blair

Brigitte Bardot, the international sex goddess of cinema in the 1950s and ’60s, has died aged 91. Bardot’s animal rights foundation announced her death in a statement to news agency Agence France-Presse on Sunday, without specifying the time or place of death.

Stylish and seductive, Bardot exuded a kind of free sexuality, rare in the buttoned-up 1950s. She modeled, made movies, influenced fashion around the world and recorded albums. She married four times. Her list of lovers famously included Warren Beatty, Nino Ferrer and singer-songwriter-producer Serge Gainsbourg, with whom she recorded the French hit Bonnie and Clyde.

As an actor, Bardot worked with some of France’s leading directors including Henri-Georges Clouzot in La Vérité (The Truth), Jean-Luc Godard in Le Mépris (Contempt) and Louis Malle in Viva Maria!

Born Catholic to an upper-middle-class couple in Paris in 1934, Bardot studied ballet and modeled before becoming an actor. As a teenager, she appeared several times on the cover of Elle magazine, attracting the attention of Roger Vadim who was six years her senior. The two married in 1952. Bardot’s parents made them wait until she turned 18.

Vadim, an aspiring director, has been credited with turning Bardot into the iconic sex symbol she became. In his 1957 film And God Created Woman, Bardot plays a provocative young woman on a quest for sexual liberation.

Vadim wanted Bardot’s appearances in his films to shake off sexual taboos. He once said that he wanted to “kill the myth, this odd rule in Christian morality, that sex must be coupled with guilt.”

Source: French actress and animal rights activist Brigitte Bardot has died : NPR

The Trader Joe’s Frozen Find That Delivers Flavor With A French Flair

Frozen food doesn’t have the best reputation, but one Trader Joe’s premade pizza flatbread is actually a super delicious, perfect Parisian fantasy.

Craving a taste of French cuisine but can’t afford an international flight? There’s no need to fret, no need to pull out a copy of “Bonjour Tristesse,” and no need to put on a Françoise Hardy record. All you need do is put on a beret, and drive to your closest Trader Joe’s (okay, the beret is optional). Yes, Trader Joe’s, the kitsch, tiki themed grocery chain beloved for its endless array of tasty snacks is the perfect place to find your next French dinner. And there is one frozen meal in particular that packs an unexpectedly Parisian punch: the Tarte aux Champignons flatbread. This flatbread has light, flaky crust topped with crème fraîche, Emmental cheese, and a combination of white and oyster mushrooms. It is a delicious, complex dish that is perfect for serving at a dinner party, or cooked up for a simple weeknight dinner.

The Tarte aux Champignons flatbread came in first in Chowhound’s ranking of Trader Joe’s frozen pizzas, no small feat considering the breadth of the category. Our taster noted that the flatbread is “creamy, tender, flaky, and delicate. … I honestly would have liked it if I got it at a French restaurant.” That praise isn’t just glowing, it’s glimmering like the Eiffel Tower on a winter evening. And for the low cost of $4.79, it’s well worth a slice.

A delicious, umami mushroom flatbread is a great start to a fantastically French meal. But it is just that, a start. To make the tasty Trader Joe’s Tarte aux Champignons into a full meal, you’ll want to make a few additions. To start, you’ll want to choose a wine. And Trader Joe’s is the perfect place to look. After all, the chain offers up implausibly cheap wines through its Charles Shaw line. We need not limit ourselves to Two Buck Chuck, however, as Trader Joe’s has an impeccable wine selection. A tart, crisp sauvignon blanc or buttery chardonnay would both make a beautiful accompaniment to this mushroom flatbread. If you’d prefer a red wine, pinot noir would complement this rich, savory pie.

If you’re not in the mood for an alcoholic beverage but still want to sip on something French, you can try a bottle of Trader Joe’s Sparkling Pink Lemonade. Pair with a fresh arugula, cranberry balsamic, prosciutto, and goat cheese salad for a refreshing but hearty meal. And for dessert? You can try Trader Joe’s Macarons or Chocolate Lava Cakes for a sweet end to a delicious meal. You can also choose one of Trader Joe’s new spring releases, such as the refreshing Passion Fruit Meringue Tartlettes, which can give you a bright end to this rich, buttery flatbread pizza.

Read More: https://www.chowhound.com/1862597/trader-joes-french-frozen-find/

Source: 6 frozen Costco foods to buy and 7 to skip

10 romantic French phrases to charm your crush

If you really want to up the ante this Valentine’s Day, learn to charm your crush in French. Here’s a list of romantic French phrases to try on for size.

By Emily

Some say it with flowers, some say it with chocolates. But, if you really want to up the ante this Valentine’s Day, learn to charm your romantic interests in French. With French ranking among the world’s most romantic languages, impressing your crush ‘en français’ can help you show the true depths of your affections.

While most everyone knows the phrase, “je t’aime”, you’re going to have to work a lot harder for your French to stand out. With that in mind, we’ve put together a list of alternative ways to express your love in French to get you started. Read on for some of our favorite French phrases, brought to you in honor of Valentine’s Day (and ranked in order of amorous connection).

1. Tu as de beaux yeux

Translation: You have beautiful eyes

Starting off with a classic — who doesn’t love a compliment about their eyes?

2. J’adore ton sourire

Translation: I love your smile

Similarly, appreciating something simple like someone’s smile can go a long way.

3. Tu es charmante

Translation: You are charming

We’re getting straight to the point here. What better way to charm, than to appreciate the charm of someone else?

4. Tu me manques

Translation: I miss you.

There’s something about saying this in French that just makes it that bit more romantic. Wish your crush was there with you? Give this phrase a try.

5. Je veux être avec toi

Translation: I want to be with you

If you haven’t quite made your feelings clear yet, or you find yourself in a bit of a situationship, this one will help you lay your cards on the table.

6. Tu es ma joie de vivre

Translation: You’re the joy of my life

Getting into very romantic territory here with a French phrase that many people already know. A very sweet one that has the potential to melt even a cynical heart.

7. Tu es l’amour de ma vie

Translation: You’re the love of my life

Following on from the last one, this takes things up another notch, with a true profession of love.

8. Je t’adore

Translation: I adore you

A great way to level up your “I love you”.

9. Je t’aimerai jusqu’à mon dernier souffle

Translation: I will love you till my last breath

We’re getting a little Shakespearean here, but if you really want to make the depths of your love known, this one’s for you. Plus it’s always fun to say the word “souffle”.

10. Je t’aime de tout mon cœur

Translation: I love you with all my heart

Ending on another lovely classic here — whether you’re saying this to your crush or simply to a loved one, you’re sure to make their day.

Source: 10 romantic French phrases to charm your crush ‹ EF GO Blog | EF Global Site (English)

Zoé Basha : A confident debut of a deft new voice in folk

Bookended with canonical traditional songs and sung in eerily bright a cappellas, Gamble is a confident, self-produced debut by an exciting new voice. This is Zoé Basha, a Dublin-based French-American singer and guitarist whose folk music swims deftly around country, jazz, French chanson and the blues.

Zoé Basha: Gamble

This is a nourishing, impressive 11-song set, with Basha’s voice swooping high and low like the Appalachian mountain music she loves. It begins boldly with Love Is Teasin’, first recorded by Appalachian singer Jean Ritchie and covered by Shirley Collins on her 1954 debut. Basha’s precise enunciation nails her protagonist’s wearisome experience of love, but a friskiness also lurks at the ends of her phrases, her highest notes tremulous with heat. She also masters playfulness on Sweet Papa Hurry Home (a cover of Jack Neville and Jimmie Rodgers’s 1932 country song, Sweet Mama Hurry Home, which shows how naturally the genre’s roots mixed with jazz), sweet suggestiveness on Come Find Me Lonesome, an original tailor-made for a blues club: “Cold is creeping up my spine in the night-time.”

 

She’s also a nifty collaborator. In her version of the ballad Three Little Babes (with nyckelharpa player Aina Tulier and singer Anna Mieke, with whom she sings in three-part-harmony group Rufous Nightjar), the tale of death and dreams bristles with hunger of horror. But she also writes great originals full of texture and feeling. The best are Dublin Street Corners, a great patchwork of failed dreams in a booze-soaked city (“I’m the one you lie next to in bed / When you’re too tired to try, or so’s you said”) and the chanson-flavoured Traveling Shoes, full of the nonchalant ruminating of a fly-by-night lover. “I can’t leave my heart trailing behind just to greet you in the morning,” Basha sings, as you try to hold tight to these fabulous songs

Source: Zoé Basha: Gamble review – confident debut of a deft new voice in folk | Folk music | The Guardian