Noud, 3 maanden

Spinach-cheese Bisquits

Grandson O. is not a favourite of vegetables. So we have to construct ruses to sneak them in.

200 gr. flour: half white, half whole meal;

100 gr. Butter;

A handful of grated cheese.

About a cup of cooked, chopped, drained spinach.

Mix ingredients as for making shortbread. So cutting in the chilled butter, then working it with your fingers, then adding the cheese and the spinach.

Chill the dough for at least half an hour.

Roll out on a floured table or board to 1 cm thickness, and cut tractors and butterflies and other shapes with your (grand)child.

Transfer to a baking sheet and bake for 12-15 minutes in a preheated 180 degrees oven.

These were a success!

Camelia

Les Enfants du Paradis

My mother often talked of the magic of Les Enfants du Paradis when I was a child. And no wonder. With thousands of others she saw it shortly after the end of the second World War, and obviously, its magic was so far from the hardships that they had just endured, that it must have made a huge impression.

The story is one of impossible love; a story that has been told many times. So it is not the tale itself, but the way in which it is told that makes it stand out.

What I liked best was not the plot, but the magic that was woven by the theatrical world. This is not a romance of reality, this is a magical world, both within the theatre and on the streets. Never was I lured into thinking that this was real.

The characters are pastiches of themselves: the crook, the actor, the high and mighty, the romantic lover. Hence the story is an allegory. Its allure is in the very theatrical sphere it depicts.

Everything is made big, enormous: all emotions, all action; thus commenting on the actual world outside. It was funny, moving.

However, most captivating of all were the mimed episodes by the main character Baptiste. How expressive he was, how utterly poignant and mesmerising!

In spite of the lack of clarity of an old black-and-white movie, this was 3 hours of enchantment. Its power came across so strongly, that the medium became irrelevant. Or possibly the medium was part of its attraction.

O, in October 2012

Een eerste poging!

Ministrone-style Cabbage Soup

I had a very old carton of passata (thickened tomato sauce), well past its date. But smelling and tasting it, I decided it was fine. So I used it for a soup:

I sauteed chopped onion in olive oil, added a big chopped clove of garlic.
Then I added half a thinly sliced leafy cabbage, and sauteed a little longer.
In with the passata and enough water to give it a soup consistency.
Sprinkled in a pinch of red pepper for the kick. 
I also added a bay leaf and some sage leaves, just because I have them in the garden.
Allowed to simmer until done, but the cabbage still had a bite.
Added chopped black olives and a can of rinsed white beans.
Heated everything through and checked the seasoning.
Added black pepper and salt as needed.
Served the soup with chopped parsley and grated cheese.

Who would have thought that a boring cabbage could create such a feast!

Volpajola

De Brander als e-book!

                     De Brander is nu te downloaden als e-book! 

Glastonbury Arches

Glastonbury Kerkportaal