U Boat, O’Toole Biography, Papaya

Interesting item, a German U boat has probably been found in the Churchill River in Labrador. Apparently a search team were looking for some missing men who had gone over the Muskrat Falls and they were scanning the bottom of the river when the found what looked like a U boat. This was 2 years ago. If it is decided that the wreck is a U boat, it will be left in situ and declared a war grave. The German embassy say there are still several missing U boats and that there were U boats operating in the Newfoundland/Labrador area. The embassy was surprised that a boat might be that far inland.

By the way, I forgot to mention that I had obtained the book Loitering with Intent: The Child which is Peter O’Toole’s autobiography. I have quit reading it. In the first place the book is a series of anecdotes rather than a continuous story, and there are a lot of lists of words in many of the anecdotes, descriptive words, but I don’t find them very enjoyable reading. I was somewhat disappointed particularly as, to me, he is such a wonderful actor even though he has now given up on the profession. Its not often I give up on a book but found I just was not enjoying this one. I discovered he is 6 years older than I am and his memories of the war years are much more vivid than mine. He conceived quite a hatred to Hitler who had quite an effect on his early years. I guess he did on all of us youngsters of that time.

Yesterday, when shopping, Matt bought Papayas. I have never eaten them, nor had I a clue how to do so, Google to the rescue. I cut one and just spooned out the flesh, it was good. I also discovered what looks like a delicious salad so thought I would share it with you. I don’t know why I have never tried them before, guess I didn’t really know what to do with them. Maybe tomorrow I will try this recipe.

Fresh Papaya Salad with Prawns and Garden Greens

By Darlene Schmidt, About.com Guide

If you're tired of the same boring salads, try my Fresh Papaya Salad with Prawns and Garden Greens. A complete meal in itself, this salad also works as an appetizer or side dish. Accompanying the salad is a unique Thai dressing that is so good, you won't even notice it's low-fat. You'll definitely want to make extra to keep in the refrigerator for your regular tossed salads!

Ingredients:

• 1 large bowl or serving plate of salad greens
• 1 tomato, sliced
• 1 ripe papaya, peeled and sliced (with seeds removed) - see recipe below for further instructions
• 1/2 to 1 cucumber, sliced
• approx. 1 cup cooked shrimp, OR substitute deep-fried tofu if vegetarian
• 1 cup fresh basil, roughly chopped if the leaves are large
• Optional garnish: a few edible flowers, such as nasturtiums or pansies
• SALAD DRESSING: (this recipe can be doubled or tripled if making a very large salad)
• 2 heaping Tbsp. thick coconut milk (buy good-quality coconut milk and take from the top of the can)
• 2 Tbsp. oil (a light vegetable oil like canola works well)
• 2 Tbsp. fish sauce (OR 3 Tbsp. soy sauce if vegetarian/vegan)
• 1 Tbsp. freshly squeezed lime juice
• 2 heaping tsp. brown sugar
• 1/2 to 1 tsp. chili sauce (or more if you prefer a spicier dressing)

Preparation:

For complete instructions on how to buy and prepare fresh papaya, see: How to Prepare a Papaya.

1. If using fresh shrimp, peel and then boil them in a pot of boiling water for 2-3 minutes, or until pink and firm (well done). Drain and set aside.
2. To make the dressing, combine all salad dressing ingredients and stir well until coconut cream/milk is fully dissolved. If the dressing is too thick, add a teaspoon or two of water.
3. Taste test the dressing. It should be tangy and a little spicy. If you find it too sour, add a little more sugar according to your taste. If too sweet, add more lime juice.
4. Sprinkle the fresh basil over your bowl or serving platter of green.
5. Arrange the papaya, tomatoes, cucumber, prawns, and edible flowers over the greens.
6. When ready to eat, either toss the salad with the dressing, or serve the dressing on the side, allowing guests to add their own portions. Enjoy!

Have a great day

The Theatre, RIP Celeste Holm, Spicy or Bland.

For some reason on Saturday I started thinking about the theatre. What I was mainly thinking about was the time when I went to see the production of Turandot by Puccini on film presented by Live at the Met. During the intervals, we were taken back stage and watched interviews with the various opera stars who were in the show. I enjoyed the production very much, but…. when I was involved with theatre, many years ago, part of our job as actors was to maintain the mystery and magic of the theatre. This is destroyed by going back stage during a performance or by talking to the performers who revert from fabulous characters,  be it heroes or villains, to ordinary people. Nor, when I see some of these performances, do I want to see close ups of the singer’s mouth, or the actor’s sweat, or even in less expensive performances, the odd problems with the props or wardrobe. All of that should stay their side of the footlights and should never intrude on the audience. In my opinion, the way many shows are staged on TV and film, destroys the magic and mystery which we used to be at such pains to create. When I see a show of any kind, I want to suspend disbelief and to see the characters being portrayed as those characters only. I used to enjoy leaving a performance in which I had completely forgotten the actor and just remembered the character. Sadly, it doesn’t happen much any more. As an illustration, I hold up the example of Peter O’Toole who was Lawrence of Arabia, or was definitely Henry II in Beckett. The same can be said of any part he has played. Many times I haven’t even realised it was him, he is so good; a brilliant actor. It is NOT the job of an actor to portray him/herself but to make you believe wholeheartedly in the character, and only the character. He has now retired as he has lost the heart for acting, but I understand he has  written two volumes of an autobiography Loitering with Intent: The Child and Loitering with Intent: The Apprentice which I hear are great reads. I have requested the first one from the library.

Talking of the stage and actors, RIP Celeste Holm, she left us on Sunday after having a great career. I especially remember her singing Who Wants to be a Millionaire with Sinatra in High Society. She was a very successful actress and had a long run although apparently the last year or two of her life were not so happy, she had fallen out with her children. So sad. Last night I happened to see a movie with Jessica Tandy called Camilla. Marvellous actress, so sorry she left us some time ago now.

OK, I admit it, I am a bit slow. I was talking to another English woman about the accusation that English food is bland, then I saw a recipe for gazpacho which added a jalapeño pepper – gazpacho does NOT need jalapeño. Then it suddenly hit me, no wonder Brits are accused of bland food, we don’t add chilies, jalapeños, etc. etc. to practically everything we eat which is beginning to be what happens on this side of the pond. Personally I get sick of all the spiced up recipes I see. If you want to eat Thai or Mexican, do so, but don’t just spice up things for the sake of it. These days, if it doesn’t burn your mouth off, food is considered bland. Never thought of it before, sorry for my dinner guests, they must find my food boring!!! Gazpacho is a delicious soup of blended summer vegetables the subtle tastes of which would be totally lost once you started adding hot and fiery peppers to it. If English food is bland, North American food is becoming over spiced. A language difference here, in England food with lots of chilies is/was called ‘hot’, over here its called ‘spicy’. The Brits do eat spicy things, witness the amount of Indian takeaways that have sprung up all over the country. Curry is almost a national dish and a good Vindaloo can knock your socks off. Not sure why, Indian food hasn’t caught on round here for some reason. There is one Indian restaurant I know of which my doctor, who’s background is Indian, says is not much good, other than their breads. Having written all this, we decided to have Devilled Kidneys for supper last night, they are hot or spicy enough. When I think about it, Devilling is a very old English method of preparing foods and usually involves hot mustards. We always have our Devilled Kidneys over rice although as you can see it is shown over toast here. It is made with lamb’s kidneys.

Saturday night I decided to try out a new recipe for Brussels Sprouts. I have mentioned before that I get tired of plain ol’ veg so am always on the lookout for something different. This is a recipe from Kraft and I have altered it a bit as the original had healthy options such as low fat or low salt. I thought it was delicious but a little too crunchy, needed either a bit more cooking or a bit more root cut off the sprout, not sure which. I also added just a sprinkle of salt. You can see in the picture that some of it hasn’t been cooked at all but it still comes out attractively. The serving size is for 6 half cups, not nearly enough. Matt and I split it between us.

Pan-Fried Brussels Sprouts with Bacon

2 slices bacon
1 small onion, chopped
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup Kraft Zesty Italian Dressing
2 tsp. Dijon mustard
20 Brussels sprouts (1 lb./450 g), trimmed, halved and thinly sliced

1. COOK bacon in large skillet until crisp. Remove bacon from skillet; drain on paper towels. Discard drippings from skillet.

2. ADD onions to skillet; cook on medium-high heat 3 min. or until crisp-tender, stirring occasionally. Add next 3 ingredients; stir.

3. STIR in Brussels sprouts; cook 6 min. or until crisp-tender, stirring frequently. Crumble bacon; sprinkle over Brussels sprouts.

Kraft kitchens tips

For added flavour, stir in 1 Tbsp. cider vinegar before topping with the crumbled bacon

Servings: 6 (1/2 cup each)

Have a great day