44 Nights in Paris: Lydie

My introduction to Lydie, who is now my dearest Parisian angel, was through our mutual friend and Holistic Life Coaching instructor, Alan Cohen. I contacted Lydie through her fabulous website A Good Life in Paris, weeks before I traveled to France.

Before we ever met on Zoom, Lydie asked me where my apartment in Paris was located. When I gave her the address, she said it was down the street from her. This is the way my life works! The one person I will know in Paris will also be my neighbor!

And an amazing neighbor she was! She was kind enough to meet me at the train to help me on the bus, and with getting my cumbersome luggage to my apartment.

Within the week she had showed me around my new neighborhood and soon she became my frequent dinner guest. This was something we had talked about and I had dreamed of - being a local in Paris. My dream of shopping for extraordinary local ingredients and turning them into meals for dinner parties came to life in the best of ways, thanks to my new angel named Lydie.

The first time she arrived for dinner, I served the fresh fish I’d bought from Steve at Le Marche’ Bastille on a Thursday. She brought me a fresh, beautiful bouquet of pink and magenta flowers. We talked for hours over the fish in lemon-butter sauce, and we had cookies fresh from the oven for dessert.

In the weeks to come, I insisted that she be at my table as often as possible. Since I loved sharing each week’s selections of cheese, and we both have a sweet tooth, each meal usually started with a cheese plate and ended with a fresh baked dessert. My Apple Crumble with Crème Fraiche was particularly yummy, so I am sharing the recipe at the end of this story!

One day I invited her to join me for a relatively long walk, to explore a store that sold herbs. I wanted to make some special tea infusions and plant medicine if I could. Lydie patiently translated the names of herbs to our new friend Kiana at the shop, who also spoke good English. Kiana thought I was from Spain, I loved her. Lydie was excited to learn about this shop!

The conversations we shared at the table, and on walks through our neighborhood, were usually deep and meaningful. We compared spiritual notes and practices, and mutually felt our lives were so deeply blessed for our having become friends.

One night she told me it’s so nice to have family close by. I told her I felt the same way.

I have more to tell you about my angel Lydie, please stand by for more stories about us. I hope you’ll try our dessert recipe!

French Apple Crumble with Crème Fraiche, for Lydie

Prepare fruit:

2 medium apples, peeled, cored, cut in small cubes

Zest and juice of one small tangerine

½ tsp sugar

½ tsp ground cinnamon

In large bowl, gently toss apple cubes with juice, zest, sugar, and cinnamon, coating fruit well. Transfer mixture to small baking dish.

Prepare topping:

1/2 cup flour

¼ cup whole oats

1/3 cup dark brown sugar, firmly packed

½ tsp ground cinnamon

¼ tsp salt

4 Tbs unsalted butter, melted and cooled

Crème fraiche, for serving

Preheat oven to 350F.

In medium bowl, combine first 5 ingredients well. Add melted butter, mixing to make sure every crumb is blended in. With clean hands or spoon, top fruit evenly with topping. Bake for about 22 minutes until top is lightly browned; juice from the fruit may be bubbling around the edges. Let cool slightly before serving. Top with crème fraiche. Yields 2 servings; recipe may be easily multiplied with excellent results!