Coronavirus Update

Coronavirus Update

We're in our fifth wave of coronavirus here in France, and there's no flattening of cases in sight. Omicron is the dominant variant.

Some data:

- average daily new cases are well over 300k, far outstripping previous records

- average daily deaths are approaching 250

- our local hospital (serving a population of 90k) has 50 covid patients, including 6 in ICU (none in ICU was vaccinated). 5 have died in the past week. Visits are prohibited except in certain cases.

- for this fifth wave as a whole, our Sète hospital has admitted 194 patients, including 32 in ICU, and 18 deaths (9.3%)

What France has done...

1st wave: March 2020

You can barely see the case numbers from the first wave on the graph, as the scale has changed so much (we had almost no tests available; people were basically diagnosed after death). Fortunately, the death record is still held by the first wave. It was brought down by a very strict confinement, lifted in increments.

2nd wave: November 2020

Fall school holidays, immediately followed by a second confinement.

3rd wave: April 2021

Vaccines started to become available. France entered a third confinement, but mainly pushed for vaccinations. There were not many available, so these were phased in based on age and risk factors.

4th wave: August 2021

Brought to a peak by holidays, added to by returns to school. France introduced the Health Pass (Pass Sanitaire), where one needed either a vaccination or a recent negative covid test in order to go anywhere fun (restaurant, movies, concerts, etc).

5th wave: now

France recently passed the Vaccination Pass, meaning that you must prove fully vaccinated status to do anything fun (restaurant, movies, concerts, etc). You also need it for domestic flights and long-distance trains. This means that (1) a negative covid test will no longer count and (2) you have to have a booster shot within 7 months of your second vaccine. The focus has shifted from avoiding covid to not having to be hospitalized due to covid. To note: the vaccination pass was approved by parliament, but has been sent on to the constitutional court for review.

What we have done (recently):

- we got our booster in early December, near the beginning of the fifth wave

- I'd been having an English conversation workshop once a week; everyone vaccinated, everyone properly masked. But seeing the skyrocketing cases, we decided to cancel it until April, when we will reevaluate the situation.

- we haven't done anything social since the first part of December; we go out for groceries and health needs, always masked

- even with all these precautions, we came down with something contagious (mild), so went for our covid tests - negative, but really got us thinking

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Previous posts to see:

Fifth wave

https://slowtravelin.blogspot.com/2021/11/fifth-wave-of-coronavirus-in-france.html

https://slowtravelin.blogspot.com/2021/07/last-week.html

Fourth wave

https://slowtravelin.blogspot.com/2021/06/accelerated-deconfinement.html

https://slowtravelin.blogspot.com/2021/05/deconfinement-iii.html

https://slowtravelin.blogspot.com/2021/04/april-fool-no.html

Third wave

https://slowtravelin.blogspot.com/2020/12/coronavirus-year-end-update.html

https://slowtravelin.blogspot.com/2020/10/corona-normal.html

First wave

https://slowtravelin.blogspot.com/2020/05/the-end-of-confinement.html

https://slowtravelin.blogspot.com/2020/03/french-bandit.html

https://slowtravelin.blogspot.com/2020/03/one-week-in-corona-ville.html

Braised Pork Hearts

Braised Pork Hearts

The other day, I saw a package of pork hearts, and couldn't resist trying them - another "something new".

The package was 1.5 kg - This turned out to be 4 hearts! After trimming them, it came to about 3 lbs. It took me an HOUR and a QUARTER to do this! And I had a couple of finger-cuts by the end. I got the hang of it by heart #3 🙄. No Band-Aids were required.

I think I "saved" some meat that could/should have been tossed - we'll see, I guess. I saw - it was not a problem!

Of note: I got these 3 pounds for 1,75€, or $2, which comes to 67¢/lb, an unheard of deal in France!

Cubed meat, trimmed with my new French paring knife

For each pound* of trimmed and diced meat, add:

3 TBS oil

1 C red wine

Salt and pepper 

Marinade 24 hours in a large covered bowl in the fridge.

Freeze part for later.

For braising, use 1lb of meat

In a medium-hot pan, brown the meat, then deglaze with 1(+) cup of the marinade.

Reduce heat, add seasonings:

Thyme

Ginger

Cloves

Pepper

4 small chopped onions

1 chopped clove of garlic

Cover, and let simmer for 1/2 hour.

Add stew vegetables (carrots, celery), and cook another half hour.

Adjust salt as needed (none needed)

I added chopped green beans 10 minutes before the end.

It was interesting. The first bite tasted somewhat like liver, but without the grainy texture. That sensation faded. It definitely wasn't rubbery, but was firm. Overall, the dish had a little too much oil. We decided we could do this again (with the frozen meat) in a few months, but I'll try cooking it longer. I don't think it will break down much, but it will be worth trying. I *think* that I would buy this again, if I saw it, next year.

UPDATE: I pulled out some of the frozen stuff (meat plus marinade), and did a quick stovetop saute. It's a definite NO! Bitter...

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* So, for 3 lbs, marinate in:

1/2 C + 1 TBS oil

3 C red wine

1/2 tsp each salt and pepper

Inspired by:

https://www.livestrong.com/article/469345-how-to-cook-pig-heart/

Happy New Year 2022!

Happy New Year, Everyone!

We had a nice long dinner for two to see in the new year -

Appetizer: Fois gras on toast

Entrée : Mussels with Picpoul de Pinet (my favorite local white wine)

Main: Duck breast with ginger orange sauce, caramelized onion, potatoes, and green beans with Tartuguière (a grand vin de Bordeaux)

After: we watched a favorite movie, and decided we had no room for salad

Dessert: homemade apple crisp from the freezer

Stuffed! We're saving the champagne for another time...