February Dragon and Rainman

My heart goes out to Victoria and South Eastern Australia and its terrible fires, I wish the people there all the very best. So many have already died, others have lost everything, whole communities have been wiped out. It is the worst fire they have ever had. Karen Miller put it very well when she said the people would survive, that's what Australians do. (Karen's Musings - link this page), it was from her blog I got the name February Dragon. One close friend in Oz assures me at present it is OK in her neck of the woods, but everywhere is very dry and they are not out of the brush fire season yet. So, please keep the Australians in mind and send them your best wishes, hopes and prayers. Also to the people of Queensland who are suffering from devastating floods - if only they could send all that water to SE Australia. Last night I watched Rainman which was a bit of a coincidence since I had mentioned it a week or two back in conjunction with an article on Brain Man read here. In that programme we were introduced to the savant, Kim Peek, who was Dustin Hoffman's main inspiration for Rainman. I hadn't seen the film in years and thoroughly enjoyed it again. It is incredible what a savant can do. In this case, it was numbers, in the movie someone drops a load of toothpicks on the floor and he knows instantly how many there are. I have always believed it should be possible to tap into the dormant parts of our mind and open up new vistas, it seems to me this is what savants are doing. The other main character in the movie is Tom Cruise who starts off as a most unpleasant person but does improve towards the end. I think a breakfast dish is called for again. This is, once again, from my Best Ever Three and Four Ingredient Cookbook. It talks about buying Hollandaise, you can, of course, always make your own. Although the recipe doesn't call for much sauce, you can freeze it in small batches if you like. I don't know about you, but I am not sure if I can buy organic eggs, however, if their flavour is better, I should check into it. Eggs Benedict Use a good quality bought hollandaise sauce for this recipe because it will make all the difference to the end result. Eggs Benedict are delicious served on half a toasted English muffin. Always use organic eggs - they have a superior flavour to eggs from battery hens. 4 large (US extra large) eggs 4 lean ham slices 4 Tbs hollandaise sauce (heated) From the store cupboard Salt and ground black pepper Pour cold water into a medium pan to a depth of about 2 inches and bring to a gentle simmer. Crack two eggs into the pan and bring back to the simmer. Simmer for 2-3 minute, until the white is set but the yolk is still soft. Meanwhile, arrange the ham slices on four serving plates (or on top of four toasted, buttered muffin halves if using) Remove the eggs from the pan using a slotted spoon and place on top of the ham on two of the plates. Cook the remaining eggs in the same way. Spoon the hollandaise sauce over the eggs, sprinkle with salt and pepper and serve immediately. Variation: If you prefer eggs cooked all the way through, scramble them instead of poaching. Then spoon over the ham and top with sauce as before. Have a great day.

Savants and Heroes

Last night's programme Mysteries of the Mind, was all about savants. It was called Brain Man. There is a young man from England, Daniel Tammet, who is able to do incredible math in his head. They showed him reciting the numbers of Pi or π for 5 hours, most mathematicians stop at about 10 places, you can see this incredible young man at TVO.org where there is a video about him. He learned Icelandic in a week at the end of which time he was interviewed on Icelandic TV and was able to converse easily with the interviewers. He reckons he doesn't actually do calculations, he just sees pictures and gets the answers. Scientists are really delighted with him as he is totally coherent unlike so many savants who's social skills are not good. They also showed him meeting the savant, Kim Peek, in California who was the model for Dustin Hoffman's Rainman. Kim Peek, who has another incredible brain, is able to absorb 2 pages of a book in 10 seconds and then to retain whatever he reads. Do watch the video, it is absolutely fascinating. There is a lot of news coverage at the moment about the plane which went down in the Hudson river. The pilot, Chesley Sullenberger, is being praised as a hero because of his excellent handling of the ditching. They interviewed one woman this morning who texted her husband with the message "my plane is crashing", she said she didn't have time to write "I love you" or anything else but she just wanted her husband to know she was definitely on that plane. Yesterday I made my Melk Tert for tonight. It seems to have worked very well although obviously I won't know until we eat it this evening. Later on I will be making the Bobotie with Yellow Rice and the Avocado Ritz. This picture shows it just out of the oven. The recipe I used for the Melk Tert was as follows: South African Melktert (Milk Tart) Author: TWAKMUIS "My 'ouma' South African grandmother's legendary milk tart. It is lipsmacking. The recipe is a real winner. It is a traditional South African tart that is very easy to prepare." 3 Tbs butter, melted 1 cup white sugar 3 egg yolks 1 cup cake flour 1 tsp baking powder 1/4 tsp salt 1 tsp vanilla extract 4 cups milk 3 egg white 1 Tbs cinnamon sugar 1 Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Coat a 9 inch deep dish pie plate with vegetable oil cooking spray. 2 In a large bowl, mix together the butter and sugar until smooth. Add the egg yolks and beat until light and fluffy. Sift in the cake flour, baking powder and salt, and stir until well blended. Mix in the vanilla and milk. In a separate bowl, whip the egg whites to stiff peaks using an electric mixer. Fold into the batter. Pour into the prepared pie plate, and sprinkle cinnamon sugar over the top. 3 Bake for 25 minutes in the preheated oven, then reduce the temperature to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Continue to bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the center is set when you gently jiggle the pie. Serve hot or cold. Servings: 8 Have a great day.