Gelée

n. - jelly
Surgelés
n. – frozen food
Congeler
v. – to freeze
Dégrivrant
adj. – frost free
The first word in this list really has nothing to do with the rest other than it sounds similar.

Since we needed to buy a refrigerator for our new apartment, a critical component for me was one that was frost-free. This is not always a given especially when dealing with a small space because the smaller units are more often the kind you need to defrost. Luckily, we had enough space – just – to fit a frost-free variety.

The freezer is on the bottom, something that was very important to my husband since he felt that you don’t go into the freezer as often as the other part so this way you bend down less. Of course, he’s French so things like ice aren’t a priority to him. However, we did just discover the most wonderful store that sells only frozen foods.

I’m not talking about some horrible frozen food TV dinner as you might imagine, but rather every single type of entrée, vegetable, dessert imaginable. We bought lovely little canapés of savory pastries, blanquet de veau (veal stew with mushrooms), tomates farci (tomatoes stuffed with meat), haricots beurre (yellow string beans) and more!

Since the apartment doesn’t have room for a proper oven, we bought a portable one that sits on top of the refrigerator. So we’ll be doing a fair amount of stretching between procuring our frozen goods out of the bottom of the fridge and popping them into the oven above. Between that and walking up our stairs this summer during the elevator repair, we should stay in good enough shape to enjoy our surgelés without guilt. Bon appétit!