H R

I am very much looking forward to experiencing your world again after 30 years and meeting all the 'wild things'. But not the bats!
Clara

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No snow but much fun at Xmas in July

Hi R

Last night's dinner party was lovely - great to get together with good friends, share a meal, talk and laugh.  This time, there had been significant rites of passage  to discuss  - birth, death and recovery from serious illness.

Celebrating birthdays is the starting point so in a group of eight we get to have a significant number of get togethers.  We generally have a theme of some sorts; last night's was somewhat eclectic with the original idea being Xmas in July, at the last minute, morphing into 50's style because that was when Birthday Boy was born. So those that could donned bobby socks and pony tails and sat down at a table with a Xmas setting. 

The food, however, came together more harmoniously, (each couple brings a course)  beginning with  a very tasty Moroccan Sweet Potato soup, then succulent roast lamb with Moroccan Veges, and by special request from BB who loves his sweets, not one, but two desserts, Sticky Date and Pecan Pie.   Mary adores her oven and makes exquisite cakes  and desserts which look better than in the magazines and taste divine. 

Recipes to follow - wish you could have been there.
Clara




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But why read Fairy Tales to your children?

As a teacher, parent and now a grandparent I am aware of the fascination Fairy Tales hold for children.

I agree with the philosophy of this extract re 'The Importance of Fairy Tales in a Child's Life' summed up as "Reading fairy tales contributes toward healthy and confident attitudes about the challenges and terrors of this life."


Clara


Extract from 'Wisdom from Bruno Bettelheim's The Uses of Enchantment'


Bruno Bettelheim, child psychologist, wrote, "Wisdom does not burst forth fully developed like Athena out of Zeus's head; it is built up, small step by small step, from most irrational beginnings. Only in adulthood can an intelligent understanding of the meaning of one's existence in this world be gained from one's experiences in it. Unfortunately, too many parents want their children's minds to function as their own do-as if mature understanding of ourselves and the world, and our ideas about the meaning of life, did not have to develop as slowly as our bodies and minds. Today, as in times past, the most important and also the most difficult task in raising a child is helping him to find meaning in life."


The German poet Schiller wrote: "Deeper meaning resides in the fairy tales told to me in my childhood than in the truth that is taught by life." How can this be? Bettelheim says, "These tales start where the child really is in his psychological and emotional being. They speak about his severe inner pressures in a way that the child unconsciously understands and . . . offers examples of both temporary and permanent solutions to pressing difficulties."


The fairy tale, according to Bettelheim, confronts the child squarely with the most scary subjects in life: death, aging, loss of a parent, being trapped or lost, and other stresses. The fairy tale simplifies all situations, allowing the child to come to grips with the problem in its most essential form. The figures are clearly drawn and the details, unless very important, are eliminated. All characters are typical rather than unique. Evil is as common as any virtue and both are usually embodied in the form of a figure or their actions.


http://www.cslakin.com -


Susan Lakin writes, "I spent many delicious hours as a child reading fairy tales. Even today, many of the stories I devoured ring clear in my head, although I have not read them in perhaps forty years. Stories of dancing princesses escaping to an underground world of music and balls, the finding of a magic ring baked in a cake, the agony of a sister trying to free her brothers from a spell that has changed them into swans-these elements of fairy tales sank deep into my heart and imagination and continue with me today. Why is this?

As I pondered this question, I had a chance meeting with a woman who had run a Christian bookstore for years. She told me of the many parents who would come into the store looking for suitable reading material for their children. When offered fairy tales, they would shy away, fearing the dark and disturbing images that had the potential to frighten and traumatize their young ones. Their argument would go like this: "Fairy tales are scary and present the world dishonestly. They would make my child confused as to what is real and what is fabricated. They are full of ogres and witches and giants, so why should I allow my child to be terrified by things that aren't even real?".......




Parents longing to protect their children from evil, scary things in the world do well to remember that this is the world to which we are preparing them to face. By hiding that world from their awareness, by trying to postpone or color the harsh realities of life, we are doing them a great disservice. Parents may argue that a young child does not need to learn about these things, and it is true-there is a time and season for all things, and some are best to cover when a child may be more mature to understand and emotionally deal with some of these things.


So, do not discount fairy tales as a bad influence on your children. Rather, be selective, and choose age-appropriate stories to give to them. But do not be afraid of unleashing their imagination and letting them confront their darkest fears. By giving them heroes to identify with, you are letting those fears surface in a subtle manner, and allowing your child to find his courage and make moral choices vicariously-choices that will build his character and have influence on the rest of his life.






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Mirror Mirror on the wall.....As for mirrors:-

R wrote "I've been meaning to do the apple a day for sometime now. Not sure in what way yet, perhaps Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Wasn't there a Prince Charming to the rescue in that story?"  

Clara - One of the rather 'grim' fairy tales by the Grimm Brothers; I have wondered at times at their violent nature,  when reading such stories to young children (but they  love them!)   I can't count the number of times I have been asked to repeatedly read Cinderella to one child (male). It was a long and rather tedious version and of course any verbal editing was instantly picked up.

"Snow White" was first collected by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, and was translated into English in the 1820s. Its present status as one of the best loved of the stories collected by the Grimm brothers seems to derive from the fact that in 1937, Walt Disney turned it into an animated film. In the film the seven dwarfs have been given names, and personalities to match those names: Happy, Sleepy, Doc, Bashful  

Yes, there was a Prince Charming, but he was relatively unimportant since all he did was look at Snow White as she lay under glass, thought she was beautiful and kissed her - which brought her out of her coma.  (A  little like Robin Hood did with Maid Marion). And as far as the apple was concerned, it is not a good association since it was poisoned. 

No, what this story is about is far more sinister........  'Wicked Stepmothers and MIRRORS!!  And much much more - perhaps the forerunner to Anorexia, Narcissism, Obsession with Appearance, Shallow Hal etc 

 "Mirror, mirror on the wall, who's the fairest of them all? " is not a good question to ask in the first place.  Fraught with difficulty, before you even get an answer. 

As far as stepmothers are concerned, one theory is that folktales use the figure of the stepmother in order to say things about rivalries and mother/daughter relationships and relationships between older and younger women which are unacceptable when said about actual mothers, (who are often killed off early in the story so they can be left on a pedestal.) 

The simple social reality of the time, however could be that so many women died in childbirth that stepmothers were a common fact of life, who might also be keen to safeguard their birthchildren's access to limited resources, such as available Princes, as in Cinderella.

As for mirrors, I learnt in my photography course, that they turn you back the front so obviously they can't be trusted. 









Footnote- Bruno Bettelheim, a child psychologist, famous for his research on autism, recommends in his book, 'The Uses of Enchantment', that "children be immersed in the world of fantasy and fairy tales throughout their childhood since reading fairy tales contributes toward their healthy and confident attitudes about the challenges and terrors of this life."



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An apple a day keeps the doctor away

Pomologist - someone versed in pomology or someone who cultivates fruit treesbotanist, phytologist, plant scientist - a biologist specializing in the study of plants

 
Having given brown pear such coverage yesterday, I feel disloyal to my lifelong mainstay, the apple (French -  Pom).

'An apple a day keeps the doctor away', has been a philosophy my family has lived by.  Apples have a good claim to promote health. They contain Vitamin C, which aid the immune system and phenols, which reduce cholesterol. They also reduce tooth decay by cleaning one's teeth and killing off bacteria. It has also been suggested by Cornell University researchers that the quercetin found in apples protects brain cells against neuro-degenerative disorders like Alzheimer's Disease.

Comfort food, when you need something sweet yet healthy.
Baked Stuffed Apples
1 tbsp butter
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
1/4 cup golden raisins (sultanas)
1/4 cup soft brown sugar (or less)
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
4 Granny Smith* apples


Preheat the oven to 190 C / 375 F.
Cut each apple in half. Remove the core with a melon baller or carefully with a small sharp knife. Remove the stem and base.


In a small bowl, mix together the walnuts, raisins, cinnamon and nutmeg. Divide the mixture between the four apples and spoon the mixture into the core hole. Divide the butter into four pieces and place a piece of butter on each apple on the mixture.


Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, until tender, not mushy. Remove from the oven and allow to cook for 5 minutes before serving.


Serve with indulgent yoghurt or ......... but take care!

*Granny Smith apples have a tartness which stands up to the sweetness of the walnut and raisin stuffing. Granny Smith apples are readily available in most areas throughout the year but if you do have difficulty finding them, try Braeburns, Gala, Cortland or Pippins.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Wild Things, I Think I Love You

I met up with a few friends on my way to photograph today's blog.

R

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Hi there 
I hope you have been able to get rid of those batcritters.  Don't worry if they are still there as Clara will simply join them.

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A date with a healthy dish

'Oranges and Lemons say the bells of Morocco'

I'm back on track!!  Shoulders back, tummy in, walk tall like a dancer - ready for some taste-great yet healthy foods to make you feel good in your jeans.

Dates are a rich source of potassium making it a valuable heart food. They contain a variety of B vitamins which are great for stress and also to maintain a healthy body – to metabolize carbohydrates and maintain blood glucose levels, provide fatty acids for energy, and they help make hemoglobin. They are also an excellent source of iron.
Add the brain boost of almonds with the oranges and this fruit salad has to be a super food.
Being essentially Moroccan, it can be served at the end of a meal as a dessert or as a side dish to a rich tagine or coucous.

Orange and Date Salad
Serves 4 to 6
6 oranges
1 to 2 tsp orange flower water (optional)
lemon juice to sharpen  (optional)
2/3 cup stoned dates (fresh or dried)
1/2 cup toasted almonds
Icing sugar to sprinkle on top

Using a sharp knife peel the oranges removing all the pith and cut into segments, preserving  the juice.  (Optional step - Add orange flower water if using and/or lemon juice to sharpen).  Chop the dates and half the almonds.  Sprinkle over the salad with a little icing sugar.  Chill for half an hour.  To serve, sprinkle over rest of almonds  and a little extra icing sugar.

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Enough to drive you batty!

R - we have "bats in the belfry". Oh well, Tom the Batman is coming this am to rid me of the pesky creatures that sneak into my house in the middle of the night. I've taken to sleeping with a baseball cap on and all the lights on, not good for your beauty sleep.

Clara - That must be horrible - what a nightmare - enough to drive anyone batty!  We have bats here but they don't tend to invade the house.  At the same time each year a bunch of bats, change their flight plan for some reason and feast from the nearby berry tree, then continue their journey by flying over our property, leaving the results of too many undigested berries on unfortunate parked cars.   
Mr Google's answer sounds good to me.
"Attack Wave ultrasonic bat repelling devices have advanced ultrasonic broadcast management feature and Electromagnetic pulse generator which causes the devices to play a random set of frequencies, pitches and volume intensities. all done automatically.  These devices will get rid of your bats by driving them "batty". http://pestcontrol.netfirms.com/. 

Great bat song - Confucius say " If you can't beat them, sing to them."  What about "Still Crazy" as well. 
ps  - mammals shouldn't be allowed to fly.


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Sticky Date Pudding - Queen of Indulgent puddings

I can't leave the forbidden fruit desserts without including the Queen of indulgent puddings - Sticky Date Pudding. I love the word, 'Pudding'.  It is so English with a posh, nanny  accent. Here we tend to call such a dish, Dessert

This recipe is super easy and is generally loved by all members of the family. 

Then of course, this takes me full circle to a more healthy Moroccan Orange and Date Salad which is served as a dessert. When it is included in a future blog, will be the time to tell how healthy dates are.   Once you start this process you can never end.


 Sticky Date Pudding

Preheat oven to 180°C - 355F.  Grease and line the base of a 7cm deep, 22cm (base) cake pan, (or separate dishes if preferred


250 g chopped pitted dates
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 1/2 cups boiling water
125g/ 4oz / butter at room temperature
1 cup brown sugar (or less as Clara would do)
2 eggs
1 3/4 cups self raising flour
1 tsp vanilla essence

Caramel sauce

1 cup brown sugar
1 1/4 cups  thickened cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Stir sauce ingredients in a pan on medium heat for 5 mins, until sugar dissolves and sauce is smooth and heated through.

Method to make pudding
Place dates and bicarbonate of soda into a bowl. Pour over boiling water. Allow to stand for 20 minutes. 

Using an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Add eggs, one at a time, beating well  after each addition.  Fold in flour and date puree until just combined.  Pour into prepared pan and bake for 40-50 mins until a skewer inserted comes out clean.  Stand for 5 mins, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool slightly. Pierce pudding all over with a skewer. Pour 1/2 cup of warm sauce over warm pudding. Stand for 10 minutes. Cut into wedges. Serve with remaining sauce on the side and vanilla icecream.

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Going Green with natural brown dye from black walnuts.

R from shop at nextdoor said...

I was just thinking about walnuts yesterday when I dyed an organic tee shirt a warm shade of brown, alas with a chemical dye. I thought how nice it would be to have a bucket of green walnut hulls to mix up a batch of nature's dye and have a truly organic tee shirt. Perhaps this fall when you visit we can do that. I have a great source for walnuts, well at least for the hulls.


Clara - So I looked it up on a great website http://www.ehow.com/ from which I  edited this version.

"Go green by making homemade dyes for your crafts like tie-dyed t-shirts, jewelry, and purses? With everyone going green and being earth friendly, wouldn't it be neat to make homemade dyes from the plants around you?






How to make natural brown dye from black walnuts 


Things You'll Need:
•Black walnuts in husks
•Large kettle or pot
•Boiling water
•Rubber gloves


Fill a large pot with two gallons of water and heat it.  Add twenty or more of the black walnuts still in husk to the boiling water and remove from the heat.


Allow the nuts to steep in the water overnight. Put rubber gloves on to remove the nuts from the cool water or your hands might be stained brown.


Save your dye in canning jars for future projects eg a tie-died shirt and save the extra in canning jars for future projects. ps Jars do not need to be sealed."

ps approx - how many cups to a gallon?

Meanwhile whilst we are waiting to see the result of the organic, warm brown T shirt, from http://www.shopatnextdoor.com/ with R's everyday challenge.....

White shirts are incredibly versatile, fresh, and timeless.  Adore the Inuit influence re design of 'What's Good for the goose', and Graphic printed T, but Prince Charming Shirt takes the cake, along with Chippy.  We don't get chipmonks here so this little fellow is special - he is very stylish!









What's Good for the Goose...July 18th

is good for the gander. Women everywear are flocking to printed men's shirting!













Animal Kingdom...July 17th

Graphic printed tee with necklace.














Alvin the Chipmunk...July 16th

I caught this chippy admiring my necklace. He thought it went well with his outfit.









Long Time Passing...July 15th

Long Time Passing... So,ok I'm under a little bit of pressure here. I started this piece a long time ago and finally got around to it. That's the great thing about this project!











Shirt Tales...July 14th

Prince Charming scene high taleing it about Brookfield.













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Picking up Walnuts in Tuscany

They say 'A Walnut looks like a little brain, a left and right hemisphere, upper cerebrums and lower cerebellums. Even the wrinkles or folds on the nut are just like the neo-cortex. We now know walnuts help develop more than three dozen neuron-transmitters for brain function.' 

In the British Journal of Nutrition, a rodent study found a walnut rich diet reverses the effects of brain ageing.

But Clara's question is 'How do you pick up as many walnuts as G did?'  What are the secrets of filling up the bucket?......   Yes,  I know the basic stuff - like the walnuts fall off the tree - (helped sometimes by extension and shaking  of the human hand etc)  but next time I go to Tuscany, I want to win!! 

I also am aware of natural physics, such as that walnuts will roll down hill -  so look there first.  (I have a theory that G was told this and gathered all the good ones before I joined him in the exercise.)
Then you had to think laterally - like if they didn't roll downhill, perhaps they went sideways and settled in any depression or were caught by other foliage etc.

I spent happy times on my own picking up walnuts, enjoying just being there, then of course to enjoy 'Pasta with Walnut Pesto. Clara  
http://www.timeintuscany.com/

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Bell at Podernuovo calling to lunch

Alvina's bell at Podernuovo is calling me to lunch.
We worked in the fields with Umberto, doing what needed to be done  - digging out stones, picking grapes, making wine  etc.  I cut the lavendar and rosemary back before winter - I had helped to plant it a few years ago but since everything grows so quickly it needed cutting back.  

Alvina's bell is a suspended bronze bell which she rings when lunch is ready. She has tended the vegetable garden, harvested its bounty, applied her endless creativity, and the call of the bell means that a delightful lunch awaits.  We eat, exchange experiences of the morning, make plans for the evening meal (everything revolves around food of course) then retire to our villa for siesta - maybe to doze or perhaps to read the current novel which was being circulated. 

Walnut Pesto evolved from the need to find ways to use the walnuts which drop from the old walnut trees on the property.  You have to learn the best way to pick up these walnuts.  G thought he was the best since his bucket seemed to be fuller than mine, but this was because he had failed to pass on the special local hints.
Clara

Alvina's Walnut Pesto Pasta (to be served with yesterday's Fennel and Orange Salad) 
Serves 4
400g (13oz) cappellini or angel hair pasta  - sea salt and black pepper to taste
 Pasta comes in different shapes and sizes like angel hair or capellini, fettuccini, fusilli, linguini, macaroni, spaghetti, etc. Capellini or angel hair pasta are long strands of pasta that are commonly used with light sauces.


Large bunch fresh basil leaves
2 cloves garlic
1 large handful chopped walnuts
extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
Place pasta into boiling water with salt and cook for around 15 mins or until el dente which means firm to bite.
Shred basil leaves and place in a blender with crushed garlic, walnuts and about 2 tblsp olive oil.  Puree until smooth  and then add the parmesan cheese and a little more oil. 

Pour over the drained pasta and garnish with fresh basil.  Add a few more  chopped walnuts and parmesan to taste.

http://www.timeintuscany.com/

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Citrus Salad from Tuscany

"Oranges and lemons" say the Bells of Podernuovo

Did you know that Oranges, Grapefruits, and other Citrus fruits look just like the mammary glands of the female and actually assist the health of the breasts and the movement of lymph in and out of the breasts?
Citrus fruits are Vitamin C rich, containing flavons, compounds which increase metabolism,  control cholesterol levels and help dilute fats. A US 14 year study found women with a high-flavons diet gained less body fat.

The following recipe has a special significance to me since I was served this refreshing dish in Tuscany, and it has since been published in the delightful book, 'Irresistible Italy' by Bill and Patsy Rowe,  who just happened to be at Podere Podernuovo at the same time. (http://www.timeintuscany.com/)  Our hosts were Alvina and Umberto who grow most of their own produce with which they lovingly create exquisite dishes.
Italy loves citrus and this dish is by Alvina who served it with Walnut Pesto Pasta, followed by Poached Figs and homemade icecream.  R tell Roberto I will bring  'Irrisistible Italy' with me when I visit you in October. Clara

  

Fennel and Orange Salad

Serves 6
1 bunch rocket or curly endive leaves
1 small fennel bulb
3 oranges, peeled and segmented
1 red onion, sliced
20 black olives
Orange Dressing
3 1/2 tbsp olive oil
3  tbsp white wine vinegar
1 tbsp fresh fennel leaves, chopped
1/2 tsp orange rind, grated
1/2 tsp sugar
freshly ground black pepper to taste

Place rocket or endive on a large platter.  Arrange fennel, oranges, onion and olives attractively.  To make the orange dressing, place ingredients in a screw top bottle and shake to combine. Pour over salad and serve immediately. 

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Oranges and Lemons say the Bells of Amalfi

I'm still in citrus mode  perhaps because it's Winter here and we need more Vitamin C to stave off colds and flu. Mandarins are so convenient and easy to eat apart from the health benefits which I will leave more appropriately to the next blog (Citrus Salads).

Following last week's post, 10 July 'A Piece of Cake', a friend sent me a really simple recipe for Mandarin Syrup Cakes so here it is along with the lemon variation which I experienced in Italy where the orange component is replaced by lemon and instead of the syrup, pour 1/2 cup of limoncello onto the cake when it is still hot.  The cake was then iced with Mascapone. 

 If you have ever been to Italy, you'll instantly know about Limoncello. Lemons seem to be one of the important staples in the food of Sorrento where the most famous product is Limoncello. Every store or restaurant has it’s unique or favorite brand of Limoncello for sale or to taste.  The photo on the left shows how they generously served limoncello to us in a restaurant in Amalfi and the photo below is us before we drank it.

Have to get these cakes out of the way before the blog name changes.

Clara

Mandarin Syrup Cakes with Greek Yoghurt

125 g / 4 oz soft butter

1 cup sugar

2 tsp grated mandarin zest, plus extra rind removed with a potato peeler

2 eggs

1 cup self-raising flour

1/2 cup buttermilk or yoghurt

1/2 cup mandarin juice

Greek yoghurt or thick cream to serve

Preheat oven to 180 C /355 F. In a small bowl, beat butter, half the sugar, and 2 tsp zest, with an electric mixer until pale and fluffy. Add eggs on at a time and beat well.

Stir in flour and buttermilk or yoghurt and spoon into large greased muffin holes. Bake for 25-30 mins.

In a small saucepan combine mandarin juice and remaining sugar and stir over low heat until sugar is dissolved. Simmer for 2 to 3 mins until slightly thickened. Remove from heat and stir in remaining rind.

Pour warm mandarin syrup over cakes and accompany with a dollop of Greek yoghurt or thick cream.

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Thymes they are achainging

Clara - Adore this song and concept - chains are the ultimate connector.

And yes times are a-changing, usually /perhaps for the better?? That's where the matriarchs come in - we need wise women to pass on the wisdom of the past since we are the connection from the past to the future. A very important role.

Cheers Clara
Enjoy the video - Times they are achanging.

Items available at http://www.shopatnextdoor.com/

Thyme for a Chaing

Thyme for a Chaing...July 12th


Today was thyme for a chaing. I added a collection of chains to my grandfather's watch. The thymes they are a chainging.
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Clara - How long have chaings been around? Forever - and still going strong.



Love the way we can add, as you have shown - and can build up our own collection.



Today says that we can combine old with new and wear them all together.





Cheers Clara





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A Room of One's Own - Virginia Woolf

It's fascinating to 'join the dots'. Virginia lived from 1882 - 1941 - her death during the 2nd World War, during which I was born. So it really isn't all that long ago and yet how different it is for women today.

Clara

R wrote
You asked me if I enjoy reading A Room of One's Own. Well, I've been reading and rereading it for years now. It was written in a very different time by a brilliant author who 11 years later took her own life by drowning. The book is actually a series of lectures on Women and Fiction. Her basic conclusion is that before Jane Austen and Emily Bronte, there were no women writers because women were kept in servitude and poverty. All that we know about women was written by men; and what they wrote about them was completely different than how they treated them. She opens with the premise that in order to write, a woman needs a room of her own and money that she does not have to work for. She is not really championing the common woman, but rather women of genius. She gives us a fictional account of Shakesphere's sister who was equally as brilliant but not allowed to write because she was a woman. Ironically she takes her own life because she cannot write. A Room of One's Own has become a favorite of feminists, though I doubt that is what Virgina Woolf had in mind when she wrote it. For me, I find her discussions of women in history interesting.

Perhaps the title is the most important. I think women should all have a room of their own, a space they create in which they can be creative and independent.


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A Room of One's Own - Virginia Woolf

A Room of One's Own...July 10th


A left over t top was screen printed and stuffed into my reading pillow. I used the sleeves as pockets for my readers (which I am always looking for) and the book I am reading.

R
A room of one's own - an absolute essential - your studio where you create your wonderful pieces must give you much pleasure. My special room is small and multi-functional - tends to cope better with compartmentalising than me, but I love it. I can close the door and immerse myself, usually in writing or reading.

I was wondering how you were enjoying 'A Room of one's own' and came across Chapter 1 on the net, which I enjoyed reading from an historical perspective. A woman's position was very different then, with the title apparently coming from Woolf's conception that, 'a woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction' and notes that women have been kept from writing because of their relative poverty - "In the first place, to have a room of her own..was out of the question, unless her parents were exceptionally rich or very noble."

The title also, apparently, was referring to any author's need for poetic license and the personal liberty to create, addressing the limitations that past and present women writers face.

A different world - how fortunate we are to have the freedom to be creative.

I love your pillow - did you design the print and colour scheme from the cover of the book?
Clara
Excerpts from Chapter 1

"........Still an hour remained before luncheon, and what was one to do? Stroll on the meadows? sit by the river? Certainly it was a lovely autumn morning; the leaves were fluttering red to the ground; there was no great hardship in doing either. But the sound of music reached my ear. Some service or celebration was going forward. The organ complained magnificently as I passed the chapel door.......even the groanings of the ancient organ seemed lapped in peace............

The clock struck. it was time to find one’s way to luncheon.......It is part of the novelist’s convention not to mention soup and salmon and ducklings, as if soup and salmon and ducklings were of no importance whatsoever, as if nobody ever smoked a cigar or drank a glass of wine. Here, however, I shall take the liberty to defy that convention and to tell you that the lunch on this occasion began with soles, sunk in a deep dish, over which the college cook had spread a counterpane of the whitest cream, save that it was branded here and there with brown spots like the spots on the flanks of a doe. After that came the partridges, but if this suggests a couple of bald, brown birds on a plate you are mistaken. The partridges, many and various, came with all their retinue of sauces and salads, the sharp and the sweet, each in its order; their potatoes, thin as coins but not so hard; their sprouts, foliated as rosebuds but more succulent. And no sooner had the roast and its retinue been done with than the silent servingman, the Beadle himself perhaps in a milder manifestation, set before us, wreathed in napkins, a confection which rose all sugar from the waves. To call it pudding and so relate it to rice and tapioca would be an insult.

Meanwhile the wineglasses had flushed yellow and flushed crimson; had been emptied; had been filled. And thus by degrees was lit, half-way down the spine, which is the seat of the soul, not that hard little electric light which we call brilliance, as it pops in and out upon our lips, but the more profound, subtle and subterranean glow which is the rich yellow flame of rational intercourse. No need to hurry. No need to sparkle. No need to be anybody but oneself. We are all going to heaven and Vandyck is of the company — in other words, how good life seemed, how sweet its rewards, how trivial this grudge or that grievance, how admirable friendship and the society of one’s kind, as, lighting a good cigarette, one sunk among the cushions in the window-seat."
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A Piece of Cake

Yes Grannycircle is changing its name but not its spots. Just more focus on How to Fit with Your Jeans.
We are the Denim Divas. Could we ever imagine a world without our favourite jeans? To me, they epitomise our generation, and I will do what it takes mentally and physically to continue to be able to 'Fit with my Jeans" involving Food / fun / fashion / fitness.

But before the name changes, I need to share, this deliciously decadent cake with you.
Clara


Oranges and Lemons,
Say the bells of St Clement's

Moroccan Orange and Almond Cake with Spiced Syrup

180g / 6oz butter
180g / 6oz sugar
2 oranges , finely grated zest and juice
4 eggs
50g /2oz plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
250g / 8oz semolina
200g / 6oz ground almonds
2/3 cup Greek yoghurt
To serve - dollop of Greek yoghurt and/or top with roasted flaked almonds

ORANGE SYRUP

2 oranges , zested and juiced
2 cinnamon sticks (or for a more spicy syrup - 4 cardamom pods and 1/2 tsp grated ginger)
2/3 cup sugar. To make the syrup put all the syrup ingredients in a pan with 500ml water and bring slowly to a simmer, stirring until all the sugar has dissolved. Reduce the heat and simmer until syrupy, about 20 minutes.

FOR THE CAKE
Heat the oven to 160C/320 F Grease and base line a 20cm springform cake tin. Cream the butter, sugar and orange zest until pale and fluffy, add eggs one at a time.

Sift in the flour and baking powder and fold through semolina and almonds. Add the orange juice and yogurt and stir gently. Pour into the prepared tin and cook for about 1 hour or until firm to the touch and a skewer comes out clean when inserted into the centre.

Remove the cake from the oven and pierce all over with a skewer. Pour half the hot syrup over the warm cake. Leave to cool. Drizzle the cake with the remaining syrup.


Click on 'comment' at bottom of page to have your say or email clara@babyboomerconnections.com.au
or visit my website at http://www.babyboomerconnections.com.au/