Produce.

Voilà: a hearty critic of America's produce. "These grapes are the size of my head." You should hear the commentary about strawberries in the middle of winter and their size. Cherries in April. Peaches in November. We do miss les marchés de Paris and our fruit/vegetable vendors, where fruit is generally quite small, seasonally appropriate and sometimes imperfect looking (but tastes like heaven).

Food is probably still the biggest source of tension in our house. A Frenchman's perspective on American food consumption is pretty scolding across the board. It just gets compounded by the presence of small beings, whose food intake is entirely our duty. I readily admit that peanut butter is not the healthiest choice for every snack, but it is not dog food either. And every evening when 7:00pm rolls around and I want to get dinner on the table so little lady isn't going to sleep at 10pm - Xavier feels a sense of impending distress. Dinner before 8:00pm is a frightful way to live.

I do love how he follows the "course" methodology even for an 18-month old. Each thing at a time - there is no large plate, where a main course, a vegetable and other dishes mingle. Colette starts with an avacado, tomatoes, or some other "starter," followed by the main course and then yogurt, cheese and fruit (distinctly and in succession) and then possibly a dessert. (She does say "chocolat" perfectly). Food and children: repositories of culture.