Today is Fête des Voisins —just think block party! It's an official date of celebrating and having a convivial moment with your neighbors. It's B.Y.O.B. and potluck. It was started up by a Parisian group of friends to strengthen neighborly relationships, to reinforce proximity, create solidarity amongst neighbors, and to mobilize them against loneliness and exclusion.

These people are still partying nineteen years later as an official association. With funding and sponsorship they have been able to help neighbors in difficulty; festive Christmas parties are held for those who don't have family near them, assistance is offered to disabled or elderly people, day care may be available to parents in need.

It's quite an organized event and it's a nice reminder to us city folks that we do live in a community... and that it is actually nice to have a chat with your neighbors. If no one is taking the initiative to throw a Fête des Voisins in your buidling just go to your local town hall and inquire about it. The town hall in each arrondissement offers Fête des Voisins posters to display in your residence so that your neighbors can't say they forgot about it. T-shirts are also given out to the organizers of the event.

We just have to keep our fingers crossed and hope that the rain stays out of the way. Our building loves a party and we usually spill out onto the pathway way past our bedtime.

Come on out now and show some neighborly love!

Tricolored Tian With Provençal Vegetables

INGREDIENTS//Serves 2-4

• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 small onion, diced
• 1 eggplant, sliced into 1/4 inch rounds
• 1 zucchini, sliced into 1/4 inch rounds
• 2 tomatoes, sliced into 1/4 inch rounds
• 2 sprigs thyme
• black pepper and sea salt, adjust accordingly
• 3 tablespoons olive oil

PREPARATION

Choose the vegetables with approximately the same diameter in size. Then wash and slice them into rounds.

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat your oven to 220° Celsius (approx. 425°F).

In an earthenware dish or baking dish add your minced garlic and diced onion. Mix it up with a splash of olive oil and place it in the oven for 8-10 minutes. You'll see the garlic sizzling and the onion sweating.

Take it out of the oven and let it cool slightly, then alternately lay your vegetables following a pattern of an escargot shell. Start from the edge of the baking dish and continue the pattern until you reach the center. If you have a rectangular dish just line them up in rows.

Generously sprinkle your choice of herbs (I used thyme this time), some sea salt, and black pepper.

Drizzle olive oil all over the vegetables.

Place it in the oven to bake at 220° C for 30 minutes and then cover the vegetables with a sheet of aluminum and place it back in the oven to back for another 15 minutes at 175° C (350° F). The vegetables should be slightly roasted on the outside and tender on the inside.

Let it cool and serve at room temperature.

NOTE

The amount of vegetables I used above fit a 7 inch round (17.5 cm) earthenware dish.

Green tea soba with seasonal vegetables and shredded nori.

Alas, summer is here. I wouldn't have guessed it, and neither would you if you had seen me recently walking around town with a light sweater, sleeveless-down vest and a scarf on—oh, and an umbrella to boot. It wasn't until I got into the elevator when my neighbor greeted me and reminded me that summer has arrived, and then it began to dawn on me.

Peppy and eager, even through the thick of rain and gray clouds—ahh, but summer is here—to share my summer lovin' soba noodle dish with my family and friends, I bought some green tea soba noodles (photos above) and the typical buckwheat noodles (photos below) to add some fun for the kids.

You can add your choice of vegetables and protein to make it your own perfect summer dish. Alas, the sun is shining—for summer is here.

いただきます!

Itadakimasu!

Summer Soba Noodles

INGREDIENTS//Serves 4

• 400 grams soba noodles
• 1/2 red pepper, raw and sliced finely
• 1/2 orange pepper, raw and julienned
• 2 zucchini, raw and julienned entire length (think zoodles!)
• 200 grams tofu strips
• 2 scallions, finely sliced

Homemade tsuyu sauce

• 1/2 cup kaeshi
• 3/4 cup dashi

PREPARATION

Rinse and wash well your pepper, zucchini, and scallions.

Cut your pepper in half and rinse out the seeds. Use a mandoline with just the blade (no teeth), slice finely your pepper. Place it in a bowl and set it aside.

Peel alternating slices of the zucchini skin off to give it some texture and color. Run it along a mandoline using the blade with the fine teeth blade lengthwise until you reach the seeds, then turn it and repeat. Discard the seeds. Place it in a bowl and set it aside.

Slice your scallion. Place it in a bowl and set it aside.

Sauce: Mix the two parts together and set it aside.

INSTRUCTIONS

Fill a large pot of water and bring it to boil.

Add the soba noodles following the instructions on the back of the package for cooking time.

Drain your noodles in a colander. Transfer it back into the pot with running cold water. Press the noodles down with your hand if they start coming up over the pot. Use your hands to separate the noodles and aid the rinsing process to wash away the starch. Drain the noodles again. Begin to separate and place them in the four serving bowls.

Add a handful of zoodles, peppers, and tofu strips.

Mix in your sauce and top it off with some scallion and sesame seeds.

NOTE

Tsuyu sauce can be found in most Asian stores. It is usually sold concentrated. Dilute it with water, just enough to keep its flavor but not so much that it tastes watered down.