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Bonsoir, Madame la Lune
(French/francais)
(English/anglais) |
Sadly, I was unfamiliar with this children's song in my youth. The French songs I learned as a child were Frere Jacques and Avignon. Nevertheless, I think Bonsoir Madame la Lune would be an excellent song for parents to sing with their children.
Consider buying plums for your family to enjoy. Indeed, consider buying some golden-yellow mirabelle plums (Prunus domestica, subspecies syriaca), for you and your children to enjoy. The mirabelle plums are a specialty in the French region of Lorraine. (Alas, I cannot say for certain that mirabelles are supposed to be the plums that Madame La Lune ripens up for children.)
Be certain to share that "Madame" is how someone respectfully addresses an adult woman in French, and so means "Mrs./Ms." Likewise explain that "Monsieur" is how someone respectfully addresses an adult man in French.
When I was looking around for more information about the old rhyme above, I came across a blog entry about "Madame La Lune," mentioning her in the context of Wicca. Below is a Google translation of part of the blog. The words in brackets are the original French, which I felt would be illuminating in reading the translation.
Madame La LuneMadame la Lune is the French name of the spirit of the moon. In English, her name would be Madam Moon. She may be to most francophone (French speaking) people simply a personification of the Moon.Full Moon
I have already spoken of dancing hares on the moon, but I must now speak of the great lunar goddess and exciting secrets of Wicca ...
Small revision: the 3 phases of the moon (increasing [ascendante], full [plein], and decreasing [decendante]) are associated with the three stages of life: youth, maturity, old age. We know that the moon influences the tides, but also the female menstrual cycle. Fascinating mystery of life that made Madam Moon's first major deity (female and bearer of life). The wife has the power to create life in her belly that must remain sacred and honored. This is unfortunately not always the case in our electric and barbaric time, guided by the male gods holders of death and destruction.
This is why the Wicca movement [Mouvement Wicca] appeared as an extension of feminist 1970s rehabilitating ancient shamanic cults and honoring the unjustly persecuted witches [sorcires], this pacifist and environmentalist philosophy wants to make its true place in Nature and put women at foreground.
Posted in A strand of Culture Tagged moon , wicca
--Madame la Lune Publie dans Un brin de Culture Tague lune, wicca
(Please understand I am including this quote for Wiccan parents to know that someone made this connection between Madame la Lune and the Goddess of the Moon in Wicca.)
My websearch also revealed that an image of “Madame La Lune” appears on the Nine of Cups, in The Voodoo Tarot of New Orleans. Madame La Lune sits by the swamp at night. She draws the moon on the surface of the waters.
Why not catch her image in a bowl of spring water? Perhaps she would also draw sweet dreams for children.
Reportedly, among the francophone culture in New Orleans, Louisianna, USA, it is said Madame la Lune likes croissants (crescent rolls), half-moon cookies (biscuits de demi-lune), and rice cakes (calas or gateaux de riz).
I did not locate much else information on either the song or Madame la Lune, so I looked up some recipies for any baked goods allegedly associated with her.
Having already taught the Bonsoir, Madame la Lune song, parents might also create a family fun cultural activity by cooking one or two of these food items with their children.
Biscuits de demi-luneI picked this recipe because it was in English and the measurements were American standard. However, another good feature of the recipe is this cookie batter contains no raw eggs, thus any children assisting in the baking process can safely sample the uncooked dough without fear of salmonella.
(French cookies with almonds)Adapted from a recipe, Almond Crescents , by Richard Flaste, printed in the New York Times. accessed April 10, 2016.
About 5 dozen cookies
Prep time: 40 minIngredients:
2/3 cup blanched, sliced almonds
1/3 cup sugar
1 cup unsalted butter
1 2/3 cups bleached all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup superfine sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamonPreparation:
In a food processor, process the almonds and sugar until the almonds are ground very finely. Cut the butter into a few pieces and add it with the motor running. Process until smooth and creamy.Scrape the sides of the bowl. Add the flour and sprinkle the salt on top. Pulse it just until the flour is incorporated.
Scrape the dough onto a piece of plastic wrap, press it into a thick disk and wrap it tightly. Refrigerate until the dough is firm, about 2 hours.
For the topping, stir together the sugar and cinnamon until uniform in color.
When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
Divide the dough into 8 portions. Work with 1 section at a time, keeping the remainder of the dough refrigerated. Knead the dough between floured hands until malleable. Pinch off a portion of the dough and roll it into a 1-inch-round ball.
Form each ball into a cylinder with tapered ends, about 3 inches long by 1/2 inch thick. Bend them into a crescent shape, aka “demi-lune “ and place on an ungreased cookie sheet 1 inch apart. The cookies will require two cookie sheets, one for the middle rack in the oven and one for the lower one.
Bake for 14 to 16 minutes or until set, but not brown. For even baking, rotate the cookie sheets from top to bottom and front to back halfway through the baking period.
Cool the cookies on the sheets for 10 minutes. While they are still warm, use a small angled metal spatula or pancake turner to lift them from the sheets and dip them, one at a time, in the cinnamon sugar, turning gently to coat all over. Finish cooling the cookies on wire racks.
To store, place the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 month, or store frozen for as many as several months.
In order to properly measure flour with measuring cups,“aerate” it first. The flour is aerated either by sifting or fluffing it up and whisking it well, then spooning it into the measuring cup. Carefully remove any excess flour with a knife. If you just stick the measuring cup in the bag of flour and scoop some out, you will get a lot more flour than what the recipe calls for. Aerate the flour, or end up with a dry dough.
Apparently these cookies are now commonly made and given away during the winter holiday, Fete de Noel. It seems to be that 21st century Americans in the USA only want to bake homemade cookies in December.
Doubtless, the American recipe makes five dozen so there are plenty of cookies to give away for the holiday.
I suggest the Adult-in-charge experiment reducing the amount of this recipe in half, which should reduce the approximate number of baked treats to 30 cookies. Plenty of dough to sample. Eat some fresh baked cookies as soon as they are cooled. Plenty of baked cookies to save the rest for later.
Still too many? Experiement reducing it by half again. That means about 15 baked cookies--depending on how much dough you sample.
I get the impression that in France these cookies are also baked and enjoyed during the rest of the year. Their attachment to a specific holiday may be recent. There's a version of a similar recipe entirely in French, Demi-lunes à la vanilla.
Calas: New Orleans Rice CakesThe dish below, Gateau de Riz, seems to be a common enough French recipe. In theory, "rice cakes" could mean gateau de riz. However, I really suspect the reference of "rice cakes" meant calas. In any case, I have included recipies for both of them.The preparations for calas must begin the night before this New Orleans treat is to be served. Originally, calas were made of leftover rice mixed into a sugary egg batter, then deep fried and served dusted with confectioner's sugar. They have an interesting history in New Orleans. They were often sold on Sundays in the French Quarter after church, with the chant "Belle Calas! Tout chauds!" (Beautiful calas! Very hot!) It seems making and selling calas were one way for African women to earn money to buy freedom for their families and for themselves.
Makes about 24 cakes, or 4 to 6 servings
Total Time: 11 hours, 10 minutes
Preparation time: 10 hours, 30 minutes
Cook: 40 minutesIngredients:
3 cups water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup long-grain rice
1 package dry yeast
1/2 cup warm water
3 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
6 cups vegetable oil, for frying
Powdered sugar
Steen's Pure Cane Syrup, optionalPreparations:
Bring 3 cups of water to a boil with the salt. Add the rice and cook until it is soft and slightly mushy, about 30 minutes.
In a bowl dissolve the yeast in the 1/2 cup warm water. Add the rice and stir well to mix. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit in a warm, draft-free place for at least 4 hours or overnight.
Beat the eggs with the sugar, flour and cinnamon, and fold into the rice mixture to make a thick batter. Let rise, covered, in a warm place for 30 minutes.
In a large saucepan, heat the oil to 360 degrees F. Drop the batter by tablespoonfuls into the hot oil and cook, turning, until golden brown on both sides, about 3 minutes. Sprinkle with powdered sugar before serving, and drizzle with Steen's syrup, if desired.
Recipe courtesy of Emeril Lagasse, 2001.
-- Calas: New Orleans Rice Cakes, 2001, accessed April 10, 2016
Gateau de RizFinal note:Gateau de Riz is a French style of rice pudding that is poured into a caramel lined dish or pan and baked. This recipe was taken directly from the Pastry Studio blog.
serves 10 to 12
Ingredients:
2/3 Cup rice
1/2 Cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 1/2 Cup milk
1 Cup heavy cream
zest of 1/2 orange
zest of 1/2 lemon
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla3/4 Cup sugar
3 Tablespoon water
Preparation:
Caramelize 3/4 C of sugar with the 3 T of water until deep caramel in color. Remove from the heat and pour into the bottom of a 9” cake pan, 1 1/2-quart terrine, casserole, or Pyrex baking dish. Swirl very carefully and gently to coat half-way up the sides.Bring the milk, cream, sugar and salt to a slight boil. Add the rice and citrus zest. Lower the heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 40 to 45 minutes.
Preheat oven at 425 degrees.
Whisk the eggs together. After rice has simmered, take off the heat and whisk eggs into the rice. Add vanilla extract.
Pour the rice pudding into the caramel dish, place it in the center of the oven and bake until the caramel begins to bubble up the sides, about 10 to 15 minutes.
Cool and serve.
--Pastry Studio, Gateau de Riz, March 28, 2008, accessed April 10, 2016.
I also did not provide any recipes for “croissants,” because croissants are the well-known French leavened flaky pastry bread rolls, which are crescent-shaped like the moon.
Busy lives can call for quick recipes. Parents in a time-pinch should never be too proud to buy something like Pillsbury Original Crescents—or the crescent rolls from Pillsbury’s competitors—and, thus, be able to quickly cook something fresh and hot from the oven with your children. Activities do not have to be difficult to be meaningful and fun.
Sources
Bonsoir, Madame la Lune sheet music.
Richard Flaste, Almond Crescents, printed in the New York Times, accessed April 10, 2016.
Maria Godoy, Meet The Calas, A New Orleans Tradition That Helped Free Slaves, February 12, 2013, accessed April 11, 2016
Emeril Lagasse, Calas: New Orleans Rice Cakes, 2001, accessed April 11, 2016
Madame la Lune, Crazy Cat Factory blog.
Louis Martinie and Sallie Ann Glassman, The New Orleans Voodoo Tarot, deck and book set, 1992. (This modern tarot is reported to celebrate the rich African-American culture found around New Orleans. I am not personally familiar with the deck; I only know my websearch caused an image of a card with Madame La Lune on it to pop up.)
Pastry Studio, Gateau de Riz, March 28, 2008, accessed April 10, 2016.
You tube: "Bonsoir madame la lune" - Comptines et chansons animees .
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