Carrot Salad, more French encounters

Carrots have been breeding in my fridge.

Mon mari has been snacking on carrot sticks for months.

Ha stopped for a few weeks and the carrots multiplied.

I made a Carrot Cake.

He started snacking on carrot sticks again.

He stopped again.

They multiplied again.

Yes, yes, one could say it’s my fault for not taking proper inventory before doing the shopping…. But it’s been like buying milk – the same every week.

Regardless of how or why it happened, the excess carrots exist.

Or existed.

The French love carrot salad (and fennel salad). I’ve never seen cabbage salad here but carrot salad is everywhere.

I think it’s just the tiniest bit bland.

So I tarted it up a bit.

The recipe, Carrot Salad, has been updated, nutrition information added, and re-posted here: Carrot Salad.

This keeps well for several days – if it lasts that long.

I have to say…. This could be me new cabbage salad…. It’s certainly easier to make in small quantities (no head of cabbage) and it stays really crunchy.

I’m submitting this post to the Four Seasons Food Challenge, jointly hosted by Delicieux and Chezfoti.

Check out all the great summer foods!

Since I spend most of my days on my computer and mon mari spends most of his days doing various things that occasionally involve messing around with the electricity, I have a UPS (Uninterruptable Power Supply). It’s not very big or very powerful, but it does shut down my computer properly rather than allowing it to crash.

It’s also very handy during power outages which happen occasionally, as well.

All that info is to get to my latest ‘French encounter’.

I needed a new battery for the UPS.

Simple enough. I went online and ordered one.

They sent it…. But they didn’t tell me how.

Since batteries, even relatively small ones, are heavy I assumed it would come via a delivery service of some sort.

Not a problem.

I’ve been rather amazed actually that all of the delivery drivers have always been able to find our house with no instructions at all.

Always.

Until Monday.

I got a call from the delivery driver.

He wanted to know how to get to our house.

I gave him directions – in French, of course.

Directions to our house are really easy – we are just off the only main road between two villages.

He said the directions weren’t good.

He was talking very, very fast and wouldn’t let me get a word in.

I interrupted and gave him markers to look for – a sign post for a village,

He told me I was wrong, he’d been to that village and it was wrong.

I tried to explain.

He talked faster and louder.

He asked if I had a car.

Thinking he was looking for something to identify our house I said yes and told him what type.

He yelled at me.

I apologized for my poor French and told him that I was American.

He said he didn’t understand me.

I said I didn’t understand him.

We started the whole conversation over, with him getting angrier and louder and talking even faster.

I tried giving him the directions again.

He yelled at me again.

He said something about ‘If I wanted the package I had to ….’. not sure what.

Then he hung up.

The actual discussion went on a lot longer but you get the idea.

I told mon mari that I wouldn’t be getting my new battery.

Then, of course, I went on a bit about the guy not having GPS or a map or being able to read….

And why couldn’t he just slow down when I asked him to instead of talking faster….

About 15 minutes later a full-size truck comes backing down the hill to our house.

With my battery.

One could have fit 10,000 batteries in that truck.

He had to back down because there’s no place to turn anything that size around.

I think I finally understood what he was trying to tell me.

Sorry Delivery Truck Driver….. Yes, I could have driven up the lane to meet you.

But you didn’t have to yell at me.

You could have asked nicely (and slowly)

Want to know the kicker?

When he handed me the package he spoke English.

If you want nutrition information, try this site: Calorie Count