I woke-up on the morning of Thursday, July 14th ready to take on the day. It was Bastille Day; the day the French won their independence after the storming of the Bastille Prison. To honor this day I wanted to make myself a delicious and healthy French lunch. What happened however was a disaster!
The perfect, healthy, french lunch is of course mussels and frites.
Photo by Dick Spahr @ http://deltaskymag.delta.com/Destinations/Indianapolis/Restaurants/Brugge-Brasserie.aspx
However with working during the evening hours I did not have the time to go to Central Market to purchase mussels. So after a search through The French Laundry, on-line research, and a talk with my husband; I decided on Tuna Nicoise Salad. I could use canned tuna to make a hearty and healthy french salad. Of course it could never be as good as Mussels and Frites, but it would suffice.
Everything started out great! I boiled my components in batches: red potatoes, green beans, and eggs. They were all cooked perfectly. I also made the oregano-lemon vinaigrette, which was delicious.
What went wrong was the tuna! I typically do not mind canned tuna but once mixed with the tomatoes it became quite mushy and watery. NOT DELICIOUS! I continued to plate my salad anyway because I was hungry and I needed to eat. The wonderfully tart addition of nicoise olives and capers did not even save the tuna from a bland meal.
What a disappointment! Where are mussels when you need them?
Even with a bland Tuna Nicoise salad, I had not given up on Bastille Day yet! A glass of French wine after work would redeem the salad! Or at least that is what I though…
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It was after 11pm and I was hungry and craving a glass of French wine! When I got home I raided my wine fridge. I was in luck! I had a bottle of french red and a bottle of french white. They both sounded great but I decided to open the white bottle, a 2003 L’Hortus de Bergerie Classique. I had been collecting wine since my husband and I married four years ago, and I have been attempting to drink it lately. Sadly all the wine has gone bad! There was a series of weeks during our move two years ago, where dozens of bottles of wine sat in a warm living room near windows. It was during this time I believe that hundreds of dollars worth of wine were destroyed. I can not even tell you how upset this has made me! With high hopes I have been expecting a few of the bottles to not be ruined…I was wrong once again! As I popped the cork and poured myself a glass, this is what I got…
In case you did not know, this is NOT what wine is supposed to look like!!! Because I am not so bright sometimes I tasted it, UGH! Needless to say that was not a good idea 
I still had not had my french wine so I went for the bottle of red after dumping the white, or peach, down the drain. I was leary to open the red because it is the oldest wine I have in my fridge, a 1999 Chateau Sainte-Colombe Cotes de Castillon. If I opened my bottle of 1999 french bordeaux to find vinegar, I was going to be livid! As with my luck for the day, down the drain it went!
What a terrible Bastille Day in my home! No lives were lost in my kitchen wars, but many bottles of wine now rest in peace…
