Mireille Giuliano, author of the controversial and interesting French Women Don't Get Fat has a new book out-- French Women For All Seasons-- which I blew through this weekend. It is full of insights, but in a basically infuriating way.

The basic thesis-- that Americans eat too much, work too hard, and fail to take pleasure in the simple things in life-- of course has some truth to it. And many of her little suggestions (leaving aside the much-mocked leek soup) make a lot of sense. But what drove me truly crazy was the sort of abstemious-Zen philosophy that Giuliano uses to tie all of this together. The deification of moderation is just silly-- extremism in pursuit of liberty, love, joy seem entirely absent from her philosophy of life. She is against sugar in one's coffee (me, too, but not out of her general antipathy toward sugar), against blackened bits on grilled meats, against grueling exercise, against drunkenness, etc. Where's the fun in all of that?

Speaking as somebody neither French, nor a woman, I don't mean to make fun of people if they find a lifestyle like this enjoyable. But in my own view, never has somebody made so many good ideas seem like such an unappealing way of life.

Over the weekend, I tried out Mark Bittman and Jim Lahey's no-knead bread (previously discucssed here). The dough looked perfect-- it was sourer and spongier than I had expected it to be, but produced a yummy, chewy, interior with big holes. The crust, on the other hand, was a disaster-- my fault, not the recipe's. Lacking a ceramic or cast-iron pot I decided that a well-oiled IKEA pasta pot ought to do the same thing (I also, impatiently, failed to pre-heat the pot as much as I should have). The result-- the bread stuck vehemently to the pot, and could be removed only by pulling it into rough pieces with a knife. It was still very good, but we were probably able to eat less than two-thirds of the loaf. I will buy a proper pot and try again soon (the next round of dough is already bubbling menacingly on the side table of my kitchen).

Stuart Buck, on the other hand, tried the recipe to phenomenal success. His lovely loaves can be seen here.