tortilla española
A blogger I follow likes to go through her extensive collection of recipe books every month. She selects one book. Then she makes one or two things from the chosen book. I decided to do the same. I’ve been reading Belinda Jeffery’s new book A Year Of Sundays. She describes this book as a “cookbook, a conversation and reflections on the world around me.” She writes about her cooking school, growing fruit and vegetables, trialing recipes and sharing food.
I chose to make Tortilla Española (p195). I remember we enjoyed this in Barcelona and I had all the ingredients in the fridge or cupboard. You need eggs, onions, potatoes and some oil. It’s a tasty alternative if you’ve given up meat for Lent. I used to make tortillas for picnics as they travel well and taste even better when they’re cold. I thought we’d enjoy this for lunch with a small salad. I was right!
Making the tortilla took quite a while as the potatoes need to cook for about 20 minutes with the onions, in hot oil. Then the potatoes and onions sit in the lightly beaten egg for about half an hour to absorb the egg flavour. I used this time to make the Homemade Mayonnaise (p175). I’d already separated the eggs, keeping the yolks for the mayonnaise and adding the whites to the tortilla mix. You know I hate to waste food!
My version and Jeffery’s version in the book.
While the potato and onion mix was absorbing the lightly beaten egg flavour, I started on the mayonnaise. None of Jeffery’s romantic balloon whisking for me! No lovely French ceramic bowl for mixing in, either. For years I have made mayonnaise in the food processor but today I made it using a Barmix and a jug. I used a blend of extra virgin olive oil and olive oil, as Jeffery suggested and I like the flavour. Dripping the oil slowly into the mix meant the whole process took about 25 minutes. The resulting mayonnaise is thick and creamy. This recipe makes a lot of mayonnaise!
Belinda Jeffery’s A Year of Sundays has recipes arranged to reflect the seasonal fruit and vegetables available. The recipes are accompanied by beautiful, inspiring photographs and generally rely on ingredients which are commonplace. I found lots of recipes I’d like to make, including her version of Tomato Tarte Tatin, a new favourite.
reading
I’ve really enjoyed reading Daniel Klein Travels with Epicurus. After the author is advised to have the teeth on his lower jaw removed and replaced with implants he begins contemplating the battle to fight off signs of ageing. Is it better to be forever young? Looking for answers, the author travels to the Greek Island of Hydra where he spent a gap year as a teenager. Here he observes and talks to the old men who gather daily to reminiscence about lives well lived.
It is not the young man who should be considered fortunate but the old man who has lived well, because the young man in his prime wanders much by chance, vacillating in his beliefs, while the old man has docked in the harbour, having safeguarded his true happiness.
EPICURUS
Klein intersperses his observations with Epicurus’s quotes about the way to live a good life. We often relate Epicurus to epicurean style dining, which the great man himself eschewed for a bowl of lentils, eaten in the company of friends. He did not promote excesses in any area of life. Friendship was important and discussing the meaning of life was more important. Klein compares this relaxed way of living to his retiring American friends who have bucket lists, lengthy lists of goals and are driven to be frantically busy, but most of all, to look young. I think these are common goals in many societies.
Not what we have, but what we enjoy, constitutes our happiness.
EPICURUS
His insights are based on the beliefs of Epicurus and other philosophers. This is philosophy ‘lite’ but thought provoking and interesting. An easy, good read.
lucky bamboo and rosemary
A few weeks ago I wrote about propagating new lucky bamboo stems, pruned from an old, dying (over fertilised) very large parent plant. They have done very well. Only one stem didn’t ‘take’ but the rest have healthy roots and are growing new leaves. I have planted them all in a pot in soil as they last longer than those growing in water. In a few weeks I will divide them into two pots.
Last Anzac Day, the 25th of April, I made Anzac Biscuits for the neighbours and added a piece of rosemary ( for remembrance) under the ribbon tied to each box. I also put a leftover piece in water. When it had good strong roots I planted it out in a pot. As it grew I began removing the growth on the lower part of the stem to create a topiary rosemary tree. It is going very well!
Have you begun Easter preparations? No controlled borders for us this year so we are really looking forward to our son coming to spend the Easter break with us!
