As most of my friends know, in general I rarely watch sports on TV. I enjoy watching the occasional baseball game or series, college basketball when it gets exciting, and I love but rarely watch F1 racing. Lately I’ve been drawn to watching soccer, but my peak in interest is in large part due to wanting to enroll my son in soccer this fall. When I go to a restaurant or bar that features a television, I typically try to face away from the TV only because it’s such a huge distraction for me to paying attention to those I’m with.
With that said, there is one exception: The Tour de France. For some reason I am completely addicted, and have been for a while now. I don’t know if it is the history of the sport, the speed, or the location, but certainly all of these factors play a role. I enjoy events like the Olympics, but where I’ll casually watch the Olympics for a few nights, I am recording each stage of the Tour, watching it live online in the early morning hours, and rewatching it with my wife in the evening.
(I suppose the only other sport I really watch is Curling, but that is for completely different reasons. How can you ignore a group of people in regular shoes, scooching around on ice, sweeping madly with tiny brooms in front of a big moving rock with a handle? But I digress.)
The Tour is a little confusing at first, with the points system, cut-off times, different colored jerseys, and so forth, but in the end the critical stats are pretty easy to digest. The rider with the overall best time from start to finish is the winner. For a simple primer on the points system, how the colors of the jerseys work, and so forth, here’s a quick quide: A primer on the Tour de France.
A French meal that anyone can prepare
In terms of food, what do you eat when you watch the Tour? After all, French cuisine can be exceptionally technical cooking, and a little intimidating at times. However, the French tradition does not require an elaborate preparation. In fact, keeping it simple is also a hallmark of French dietary practice. Buying the best ingredients you can afford and enjoying them in moderation sums up a simple approach to an afternoon of relaxation - with the Tour de France or otherwise.
I imagine that for most folks, the Tour the same as any other sporting event that you watch from the couch - eating salty snack foods, sodas, beer - you name it while your eyes are glued to the TV. For me, these days I try to avoid most of those things at home - although beer does have a way of sneaking itself into our house a little too regularly. But if you spend all three weeks of the Tour sitting in front of the TV each night eating a bag chips, you are destined for an unpleasant result on the scale.
Instead, I’m using it to emphasize a moderate approach this year, and practice some simple French dietary ideas in the process. The cornerstone of the meal is the baguette, which I’ll bake fresh this morning. I’d love to be able to walk to the market and buy one fresh from a baker’s oven, but living where I do, baking my own is the best (and most affordable) bet. Second, some fresh sliced ham - for me, I like a slight Italian variation adding Prosciutto. Prosciutto is sliced paper thin, but packs a concentrated flavor that allows you to eat less of it while getting the full experience. A small side of Dijon mustard is a great accompaniment as well, as well as a selection of olives and capers.
No simple French meal would be complete without cheese, so for us today it will be a small wedge of high quality triple cream Brie (Saint Andre), one of our favorite Northwest cheeses - Beecher’s Flagship cow’s milk cheese, and a basic goat cheese (chevre). To round it out, we’ll have a variety of crudités primarily from our garden, including cherry tomatoes, radishes, kohlrabi (German turnips), and cucumbers. We will also add a small selection of seasonal fruit, including peaches, blueberries, raspberries, and marionberries.
Finally, we’ll likely drink cold Pellegrino, which our kids love (they call it “spicy water”). We don’t generally drink soda at home, so our kids have grown accustomed to drinking sparkling water at dinner either straight or with some fresh squeezed juice as a sweeter treat. Water with sliced lemons is a pretty common drink, and tastes great, but a lesser known summer drink is water with cucumber slices which is a great refreshing alternative. For the adults in our group, there will certainly be a shared bottle of cooled red wine.
One of the best things about eating a meal this way is the preparation is simple - no cooking required. It makes a great picnic, and is a far cry from the heavy foods that are often associated with watching sports on TV. Preparing these simple ingredients together will also mean there is no great burden placed on anyone to prepare an elaborate feast, and contributes to relaxing all around.
The icing on the cake for all of this? After you watch the Tour, you may just be inspired (as I have been) to get on your bike and go for a ride. Yesterday I went for a short 6 mile ride on my newly refurbished bike, and enjoyed it thoroughly. I don’t know if the calories expended on a bike ride will equal the calories of the cheese, but that’s not really the point. It is about enjoying simple things like a warm baguette, a bike race, and fresh air.
With that said, there is one exception: The Tour de France. For some reason I am completely addicted, and have been for a while now. I don’t know if it is the history of the sport, the speed, or the location, but certainly all of these factors play a role. I enjoy events like the Olympics, but where I’ll casually watch the Olympics for a few nights, I am recording each stage of the Tour, watching it live online in the early morning hours, and rewatching it with my wife in the evening.
(I suppose the only other sport I really watch is Curling, but that is for completely different reasons. How can you ignore a group of people in regular shoes, scooching around on ice, sweeping madly with tiny brooms in front of a big moving rock with a handle? But I digress.)
The Tour is a little confusing at first, with the points system, cut-off times, different colored jerseys, and so forth, but in the end the critical stats are pretty easy to digest. The rider with the overall best time from start to finish is the winner. For a simple primer on the points system, how the colors of the jerseys work, and so forth, here’s a quick quide: A primer on the Tour de France.
A French meal that anyone can prepare
In terms of food, what do you eat when you watch the Tour? After all, French cuisine can be exceptionally technical cooking, and a little intimidating at times. However, the French tradition does not require an elaborate preparation. In fact, keeping it simple is also a hallmark of French dietary practice. Buying the best ingredients you can afford and enjoying them in moderation sums up a simple approach to an afternoon of relaxation - with the Tour de France or otherwise.
I imagine that for most folks, the Tour the same as any other sporting event that you watch from the couch - eating salty snack foods, sodas, beer - you name it while your eyes are glued to the TV. For me, these days I try to avoid most of those things at home - although beer does have a way of sneaking itself into our house a little too regularly. But if you spend all three weeks of the Tour sitting in front of the TV each night eating a bag chips, you are destined for an unpleasant result on the scale.
Instead, I’m using it to emphasize a moderate approach this year, and practice some simple French dietary ideas in the process. The cornerstone of the meal is the baguette, which I’ll bake fresh this morning. I’d love to be able to walk to the market and buy one fresh from a baker’s oven, but living where I do, baking my own is the best (and most affordable) bet. Second, some fresh sliced ham - for me, I like a slight Italian variation adding Prosciutto. Prosciutto is sliced paper thin, but packs a concentrated flavor that allows you to eat less of it while getting the full experience. A small side of Dijon mustard is a great accompaniment as well, as well as a selection of olives and capers.
No simple French meal would be complete without cheese, so for us today it will be a small wedge of high quality triple cream Brie (Saint Andre), one of our favorite Northwest cheeses - Beecher’s Flagship cow’s milk cheese, and a basic goat cheese (chevre). To round it out, we’ll have a variety of crudités primarily from our garden, including cherry tomatoes, radishes, kohlrabi (German turnips), and cucumbers. We will also add a small selection of seasonal fruit, including peaches, blueberries, raspberries, and marionberries.
Finally, we’ll likely drink cold Pellegrino, which our kids love (they call it “spicy water”). We don’t generally drink soda at home, so our kids have grown accustomed to drinking sparkling water at dinner either straight or with some fresh squeezed juice as a sweeter treat. Water with sliced lemons is a pretty common drink, and tastes great, but a lesser known summer drink is water with cucumber slices which is a great refreshing alternative. For the adults in our group, there will certainly be a shared bottle of cooled red wine.
One of the best things about eating a meal this way is the preparation is simple - no cooking required. It makes a great picnic, and is a far cry from the heavy foods that are often associated with watching sports on TV. Preparing these simple ingredients together will also mean there is no great burden placed on anyone to prepare an elaborate feast, and contributes to relaxing all around.
The icing on the cake for all of this? After you watch the Tour, you may just be inspired (as I have been) to get on your bike and go for a ride. Yesterday I went for a short 6 mile ride on my newly refurbished bike, and enjoyed it thoroughly. I don’t know if the calories expended on a bike ride will equal the calories of the cheese, but that’s not really the point. It is about enjoying simple things like a warm baguette, a bike race, and fresh air.