Feast with family in the French tradition

Are you juggling 1000 things during the day and sacrifice a healthy diet? Do your children refuse fruit and vegetables and eat only "beige food"? Are you looking for tips about shopping, planning daily menus, kitchen organization? Would you like to be inspired to cook and transform you meals into a "family affair"?

Taking our time and savoring life is the spirit of "l'art de vivre" the art of living.

This book is not just about French cooking, but about the French approach to living and eating, with healthy recipes for tasty French food

What is the pace of Provence?

I grew up in Provence, a region in France that is famous for its food and cooking. I use the word pace to describe a speed of everyday life: the importance for our health of slowing down, relaxing, and taking the time to eat and live well. So, this book is about lifestyle and cooking. When I came to America 23 years ago, I realized that the American lifestyle was very different from the French one. People began asking me how I stayed thin, ate well, and still found the time to work and raise a child. What was my secret? This is the aim of my book, to show how it is possible to maintain French values - living well and eating well - within the frenzied pace of American life.

"Pace of Provence is an exquisite guide toward healthy eating, very fine food and a rich community experience. We all need this book”.

- Marwin Thomas,  Author of Personal Village

What will I find in Pace of Provence?

The first 60 pages are the story of how I overcame the day to day obstacles of the American lifestyle, which often rob us of the time it takes to enjoy good eating. In the second part of Pace of Provence I include a collection of recipes that are quick and light, yet delicious and intended for day-to-day family meals.

Pace of Provence is as much as an approach to living well as it is a guide for eating well. Pace of Provence transforms mealtime into a whole experience that starts well before the first French dish arrives on the table. Each family member participates in the creation of the meal. The atmosphere is candle lit and includes music. Flowers and wine may be added. What's important is to eat slowly, sensually, and rediscover savoring. Pace of Provence shows you how to slow down and enjoy that part of the day that belongs to your family. In doing so, you can create the conversation and laughter which is so important to your health and well-being.

Planning ahead is the key to a healthy relationship with food. In France, grocery shopping is considered as important as cooking. In Pace of Provence, I explain how to combine foods and build menus, how to balance the nutrients within each meal and create a harmonious pattern of menus during the week.

Cooking French like the chefs can be extremely complicated and time consuming. But these recipes are the family French cuisine that everyone finds surprisingly simple and easy to do, even for people who don't have much experience.

These recipes create a balance between the kind of Grande cuisine that Julia Child promotes, and the boring "lite" recipes for dieters. Some are classic, some new, all were modified to make meals simpler and healthier with the goal to get the most taste. No recipe takes longer than 20 minutes to prepare.

“For Hoisington, life is to be savored, cherished and slowly absorbed. And it all starts with enjoying meals with the family. It’s a philosophy the Kirkland resident shares with the readers in her new book Pace of Provence. Part cookbook, part philosophy of life, her book shares the thing she learned in France. things like sitting down to dinner every night with the entire family -usually later in the evening when everyone is available and the stresses from the day have subsided. She shares her thoughts on the mood setting for meals: dimming the lights, playing a little music and setting out candles. Hoisington’s point is that life need not to be complicated, but life and food should be savored” - Sue Kidd - Eastside Journal “Pace of Provence is more than just a cookbook, it’s an instructional manual for living a good life, and Hoisington covers everything from shopping for ingredients to taking time to truly enjoy the meal.” - Russ Zabel - Kirkland Courier