When we lived in St. Raphael, one of our favorite meals was a pan bagnat bought at the beach. Now that we’re back Stateside, this perfect summer salad always reminds us of being very tan and able to swim in the Med all the way up until November, at least!

Essentially a Salade Niçoise on a round loaf of bread, it makes good use out of the leftover salad and bread from the night before. Pair both with the quintessential bottle (or carafe) of Rosé (Tavel, if you can find it or any one of a number of inexpensive and delicious Spanish rosés like the one from Tres Ojos.)

The Easy and Elegant Salade Niçoise
For the Dressing:
Olive Oil
Red Wine Vinegar
1 teaspoon Dijon Mustard
dash of Herbes de Provence
Salt and pepper
1 clove of garlic, pressed or crushed and chopped

For the Salad:
2 hard boiled eggs
handful of green beans or a can of white (Cannellini) beans
4 fillets of anchovies
handful of black olives, pitted
4 boiled new potatoes, quartered with skins on
1 can of albacore tuna in olive oil or 1 tuna steak
2 roma tomatoes, seeds removed if you want, and chopped.
1/2 a red or Vidaylia onion, chopped.
1 small jar of marinated artichoke hearts
Dash of fresh lemon juice
1 cucumber, chopped or cut in thin rounds.
Lettuce of your choice. I like Green Leaf or Romaine.

1. Prepare the dressing by whisking together in a large bowl the oil, vinegar, mustard, salt, pepper, herbes de provence and pressed garlic.

2. Boil the eggs. To get a good hardboiled egg, bring the cold water to a boil with the eggs already in the pot. Turn off the heat and let it sit, covered for 9 minutes or so. The aim is to have yolks that have just set and avoid the greenish cast that signals overcooked and not as tasty…. When they cool, quarter and salt them.

3. Boil the potatoes, drain, quarter and salt them with the skin on.

4. Chop the remaining vegetables and combine with the marinated artichoke hearts (oil and all.)

5. Flake the tuna from the can and add to the bowl with the oil. Toss in a dash of lemon juice to offset the extra oil. If using fresh tuna, grill with a basting of olive oil and dash of lemon juice. Cool and cut into strips.

Present the salad one of two ways, like the one in the image above, you may group all the elements together on a cool plate for a deconstructed look or you may mix everything together and serve in a bowl. Just make sure that everyone gets a bit of each of the goodies.

For Pan Bagnat:

Take any leftover salad (or make new!) heap in the middle of a round loaf of peasant’s bread that has been rubbed with a cut clove of garlic. Drizzle with more olive oil. Cut into quarters and serve!

Bon Appétit!

Describing an exercise routine as “elegant” may be a bit of a stretch. I’m a proud graduate of the SEAL Team PT program in Richmond, VA. However, since my two children arrived on the scene, things have slacked off… let’s be honest, I’ve slacked off. Once I decided to start up a routine again, I found that I had no desire to go to a gym. I like to exercise out of doors. And I don’t like to have to invest in monthly fees or lots of equipment. So I took to running short distances, and doing lots of push-ups, situps, dips and squats.

Then my brother-in-law, Fred, pointed me towards Crossfit. Using their philosophy and videos as a tutorial, I managed to get through a half hour work out devised by Fred. I should probably mention that he’s a former Marine. At one point I was doing squats with a 30 pound Pac ‘n Play… . Quick, yes. Easy? The only easy day was yesterday. Elegant? Perhaps in its simplicity. But that’s a stretch….

Which brings me to my latest scheme to stay fit. Yoga. I signed up with Yoga Source in Carytowne and now count Tuesdays as one of the best days of the week. Once a week, I walk the half hour to my morning class and spend an hour and fifteen minutes working out.

Working out??? Yes!

There is a lot more going on in a yoga session than meets the eye. Even at the beginner hatha level. Take a look at that photo again. Holding the Warrior 1 pose for three full breaths takes some doing. Yet somehow I come out of the practice feeling like I’ve worked out, stretched out, and completely relaxed. (Full disclosure, that’s not me in the photo above.)

Elegant, Yes! After yoga, my posture is better, my outlook is sunny and I’ve stretched out the soreness from my Crossfit/Fred days.

I’ve got a long way to go, but the sessions are relatively inexpensive, I think a single class is $10 and signing up for packages gives you a couple of dollars as a break. I even borrowed a mat for the first six weeks before finally buying one for less than $10 from a local Marshall’s Discount Store. Little monetary investment, great health benefits. Few requirements for special equipment. And completely portable. Yoga can be practiced virtually anywhere. Or maybe anywhere at all.

Sounds like a very easy and elegant solution to the fitness blues.

When choosing a role model with charm and wit to emulate, you could do worse than William Powell and Myna Loy as Nick and Nora Charles. In fact, I highly recommend studying the complete “The Thin Man” collection as a great primer on the right way to banter.

Sure, we don’t really get the wonderful set-ups that the writers prepare for their characters, and the plots and devices are a bit dated today, but that’s their unique charm. And with a bit of practice, you may be more alert to the opportunities in everyday life to respond with a good bit of wit and humor when the situation presents.

?Dropping a “bon mot” will almost always guarantee you a place in someone’s repetoire and will probably get you invited to the party. Better yet, watch the films and wish that there were still parties like that… it’s our duty to see that there are.