Touch, TV, Matt,

I had recently been thinking what an incredible thing the hand is. I sit in my shower and I have a dish with soap and a face cloth sitting on the edge of the bath, behind the curtain. I then feel with my hand for the item I want and it can tell me whether I am touching the soap, the dish, the face cloth or even the shampoo and conditioner which are in the same place. It really is quite incredible. So then, Sunday night, there was a very interesting programme about the sense of touch and all the work being done with prosthetics to try and emulate the original thing as close as possible. They have made some incredible strides with computerised prosthetics. It is a programme I would recommend if you happen to come across it. Human + was the name of the programme and I think the sense of touch was one segment of a series. I had never thought of the whole of one's skin as being sensitive to touch, one is so busy accepting what it does that you never think about it. They interviewed a woman, one of two in the world, who has no sense of touch whatsoever. To her, that is normal, but to scientists, doctors and me, it is an incredible way to live.

I then watched the first episode of Sanditon which is based on an unfinished Jane Austen story. Didn't know there was such a thing. Presumably someone has decided how it should end. I have already decided who is going to marry the protagonist.

Tomorrow G.O.A.T. is on again. Interesting that they have split it up this way. Prolonging the agony no doubt.

Poor Matt has been suffering badly with his legs. One of the Paramedics suggested a reason for the pain, I didn't understand it properly, but he suggested an ultrasound or MRI. Wonder how Matt would take an MRI these days. Anyway, doc is going to book him an ultrasound and we will hopefully see something useful. We didn't go to bowling today (Monday) but he insists I go to Mandarin with friends tomorrow. Then someone from LHIN is coming to chat and ladydog is coming to help remember and ask some questions no doubt.

I just came across a recipe for Vitello Tonnato. Think I posted a recipe for this some time ago. It takes me back to when we lived in England and an Italian friend who owned a great restaurant locally. He was married to an Englishwoman and they had several kids. The last one, Adriana, is my godchild. Gino held a great Christening party and one thing he served was Vitello Tonnato which I loved. I have made it myself, once, but not for a long time. It is unusual but absolutely delicious.

Vitello Tonnato

Classic Italian

2 1/4 pounds(1 k) boned veal, cut from the rump.
3/4 lb (320 g) tuna packed in oil
3 eggs
6 salted anchovies (the canned variety, sold by delicatessens)
A handful of pickled capers
1/2 cup (approx.) olive oil
1 Tbs white wine vinegar
A bottle of dry white wine
The juice of a lemon
A rib of celery, thinly sliced crosswise
A few leaves of sage
2 bay leaves
3 cloves (some people omit these)
Salt
A few more perfect capers, some lemon slices, and sprigs of parsley for garnishing

1. Put the meat in a bowl with the bay leaves, cloves, sage and celery, and pour the wine over it. Cover and marinate in the refrigerator for 24 hours, turning the meat occasionally. The next day place the meat in a Dutch oven. Strain the wine and add it to the meat, then add enough water to cover. Lightly salt the pot and simmer the meat for an hour. In the meantime, wash, scale and bone the anchovies. When the hour is up add them to the pot and continue boiling for another half hour; the liquid should be reduced by half.

2. Hard boil the eggs, run them under cold water, peel them, and extract the yolks (you can discard or fill the whites as you prefer). Rinse, squeeze dry, and mince the capers.

3. When the meat is fork-tender remove it from the pot and strain the broth into a bowl. Transfer the fish filets to a clean strainer and press them through it, together with the tuna and the yolks, into another bowl. Stir in the minced capers, the vinegar, the lemon juice and the olive oil, and then dilute the sauce to your taste with some of the reserved broth.

4. When the veal has cooled slice it finely and lay the slices out on one or more platters (you want just one layer). Spread the sauce over the meat, garnish the platters with the lemon slices, capers and parsley. Cover them with plastic wrap and chill them in the refrigerator before serving.

Servings: 8

Author: Kyle Phillips
Source: About.com



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