Embarrassing Photo, Soccer.

In Germany at Tuebingen University, there is a huge sculpture of a vagina. An exchange student from the US was dared to climb inside and subsequently got his feet caught and had to be rescued by firefighters. His picture has spread across the internet and the comments have been quite funny. But…. I am not sure I like the idea of a vagina statue. Do they also have penis statues? I guess I am a bit of a prude. The student himself is extremely embarrassed about the whole thing. I’m not surprised. I understand the firemen were not amused either. Somebody asked if that meant he had been born again.

On Facebook there are all kinds of cracks about the British soccer team and their loss of both games. Like, what’s the difference between a Tea Bag and England? The Tea Bag stays longer in the Cup. Team Coach/bus for sale, only been driven twice. Nothing like rubbing it in. Well, well, well, just tried to write the word bus in brackets – I got an icon of a school bus

Talking of soccer, I have never seen it before, but they marked out smaller soccer pitches in the park outside our windows and played several games there on Friday – school teams. Seemed like they had one pitch for girls and the other for boys but they were wearing the same shirts for each team, all blues, all reds, all yellows and all whites – at least that’s what I saw. Quite colourful, quite noisy too. Wondered what on earth was going on until I went out on the balcony to look.

By the way, I read other people's blogs on my Blogger Dashboard and it hasn't been working properly all day showing only one blog. So, obviously I haven't done much visiting today, I'm sorry.

This recipe which I found on Cooking.com sounds just up my street. I think Heirloom Tomatoes would be perfect for this recipe.

Spaghetti with Tomatoes, Basil, Olives and Fresh Mozzarella

Source: Quick From Scratch - Italian

Serves 4

Since the tomatoes here are not cooked, you'll really notice their flavor--or lack of it. Make this sauce in the summer when fresh tomatoes are at their peak. The garlic is heated briefly in the oil, and then the garlicky oil is tossed with the spaghetti so the flavour is dispersed throughout the dish. The pasta is equally good warm and at room temperature.

INGREDIENTS
2 pounds vine-ripened tomatoes (about 6), chopped
3/4 pound salted fresh mozzarella cheese, cut into 1/4-inch cubes, at room temperature
1 1/4 cups chopped fresh basil
1/2 cup halved and pitted black olives
4 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon fresh-ground black pepper
1 pound spaghetti
1/2 cup olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced

DIRECTIONS

In a large glass or stainless-steel bowl, combine the chopped tomatoes with the mozzarella, basil, olives, balsamic vinegar, salt, and pepper.
In a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook the spaghetti until just done, about 12 minutes. Drain, add to the tomato mixture, and toss.
Heat the oil in a small frying pan over moderately low heat. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Pour the oil over the pasta and toss again.
Variations
Add some drained capers, chopped red onion, or grated Parmesan to the pasta.

Have a great day

Soccer and Borstal. Greek Gold Mine.

Matt was watching soccer (football in the UK) on Saturday and I suddenly wondered who invented the game. Naturally, I Googled. It appears there is no definitive answer, but the nearest game to our modern soccer was played by the Chinese in 255-205 BC, the game was called Tsu-Chu which, translated, means kick ball. There seem to have been several other ball games involving hands or feet in those days which were all probably involved in the development of modern day soccer. I certainly had no idea it went back so far. I commented that the game Matt was watching was being played with heavy sleet falling, he replied that they weren’t a bunch of wussies. He used to play soccer you understand, in fact he nearly turned professional until he tore his cartilage during trials. Of course, in those days, the salaries were pretty meagre nothing like they get today. When I first knew him, he was playing for the Borstal where he worked and I used to go stand on the side lines. The Borstal was in Borstal village  which actually gave it’s name to the Borstal system in England. Borstal village was actually only a short walk from where I lived in Rochester, Kent and I understand it has now been absorbed by the City of Rochester.

Just read a report that some Greeks in Thessaloniki are protesting the opening of a goldmine in their area which is being operated by a Canadian company??? I hadn’t heard about this before. I wish I wasn’t too old to apply for a job there, I absolutely love Greece. The week before this protest there was a rally in support of the gold mine because it will produce something like 1,200 jobs

This made me think of a story; first of all you should know that in the UK we call Sunchokes by the name Jerusalem Artichokes. In appearance they look a bit like knobbly potatoes. As a young woman, I was staying with a family in France and got talking with Madame about food, something we did often. She knew what artichokes (artichauds) were but couldn’t understand me when I described Jerusalem Artichokes as Artichauds Juif, Jewish Artichokes!! After lots of discussion, explanation, attempted description, all in French you understand, she finally realised I was talking about Topinambours which is their name in French. That was like another time when I was trying to describe a lace dress and didn’t know the word for lace so described it as ‘string with holes’. I didn’t know the word for thread either at the time. Lace is dentelles if you wish to know.

Sunchoke-Kale Hash with Farro

Contributed by Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo

SERVINGS:10

Comfort food is rarely healthy, or vegetarian. This soul-satisfying winter hash is both. The recipe from F&W Best New Chefs 2009 Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo, of Animal and Son of a Gun in Los Angeles, combines crispy sunchokes, silky oyster mushrooms, tender kale and chewy farro. It’s wonderful served with grilled steak or on its own as a meatless main course.

1. 3/4 cup farro
2. 2 1/2 pounds large sunchokes, peeled and cut into 2-inch pieces
3. Salt
4. 1 pound Tuscan kale, tough stems discarded
5. 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil blended with 3 tablespoons of vegetable oil
6. 1 small red onion, sliced 1/4 inch thick
7. 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
8. 1/2 pound oyster mushrooms, halved if large
9. Freshly ground pepper

1. In a medium saucepan, cover the farro with 2 inches of water. Bring to a boil, cover and cook over low heat until the farro is tender, about 25 minutes. Drain the farro.
2. Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, cover the sunchokes with water and add a pinch of salt. Boil until the sunchokes are tender, 10 minutes; drain. Slice the sunchokes 1/4 inch thick.
3. Fill the large saucepan with water and bring to a boil. Add the Tuscan kale and cook until just tender, about 3 minutes. Drain the kale and let cool slightly. Squeeze out any excess liquid from the kale leaves and then coarsely chop them.
4. In a small skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of the blended oil. Add the red onion and a pinch of salt and cook over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally, until browned, about 12 minutes.
5. In a nonstick skillet, melt the butter in 2 tablespoons of the blended oil. Add the sunchokes in an even layer and cook over high heat until browned on the bottom, about 3 minutes. Turn the sunchokes, reduce the heat to moderately high and continue cooking until starting to brown, about 2 minutes. Push the sunchokes to the side of the skillet.
6. Add 1 more tablespoon of the oil and the oyster mushrooms. Season with salt and pepper and cook over moderately high heat until browned, 3 minutes. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil along with the farro, kale and onion and cook, stirring, until hot. Season with salt and pepper and serve.

Make Ahead The recipe can be prepared through Step 4 one day ahead; refrigerate the components separately.

Have a great day

World Cup, Oil, Wild Eyes.

My sympathies go out to the Mandela family who just lost their 13 yr. old great grandchild in a car accident yesterday which means Nelson Mandela will not attend the opening of the World Cup today. Making it a double tragedy as he was instrumental in bringing the Cup to South Africa.

Robin Roberts from Good Morning America is in South Africa for the World Cup and this morning she was broadcasting from Soccer City! My South African friend has been telling us all about the noise of vuvuzelas and this morning I finally saw, and heard, them so I really understand what she is on about. Robin is bringing some back as souvenirs she says. The reports she was making were certainly noisy enough and trying to hear what she said was not easy. There are opening ceremonies taking place quite soon and then the first match will take place later today. Apparently the first match for the US is against England. If you follow soccer I have no doubt this will be an exciting game. The photo came from wordpress.com.

According to reports, 16 yr old sailor, Abby Sutherland, (her boat is Wild Eyes), was out of touch for a while, much to her family's distress. However, she has now been spotted alive and well in the Indian Ocean - her mast is down and she has lost radio contact. That poor girl. Everything has gone wrong for her on her bid to sail round the world. Jessica, from Australia, seemed to have fair sailing the whole way except for in the waters at the bottom of South America, Cape Horn gave her a pretty rough time, but other than that, she did pretty well without too many hitches, Abby has had nothing but. She had to pull into Cape Town for technical repairs and then her boat has now been damaged in a bad storm in the Indian Ocean. There is a fishing vessel on its way to help her.

One of the main reports this morning was the astounding figures of the oil actually gushing into the waters of the Gulf. 87 million gallons of oil so far and it is still gushing despite all efforts to stop it. Some people are blaming Obama. What the hell it has to do with him I am not sure. Just because it happened "on his watch". I wonder just how big this oil field is, it seems there is no way to stop it emptying its contents into the sea which will eventually spread to the oceans of the world. Don't think that because you don't live there, you won't be affected, because at this rate, I don't think there is anywhere that won't be damaged by all this oil. They showed one company shucking oysters, today was their last day after over 130 years of business. I don't know if oysters will ever recover.

Amongst the many foodie emails I get is one from Eagle Brand. They have several strawberry recipes and this one particularly appealed to me. Strawberries are now out locally and Barrie's has them in their store along with their asparagus.

Strawberry Panna Cotta Eagle Brand One bite of this beautiful dessert will bring you right into strawberry heaven! Each serving has a whopping two thirds of a cup of sweet juicy ripe strawberries. Prep Time: 15 minutes Cook Time: 13 minutes Serving: 6 servings (1/2 cup/125mL each) Freezing: not recommended Ingredients: Panna Cotta 2 cups (500mL) strawberries 1 can (300mL) Eagle Brand® Regular or Low Fat Sweetened Condensed Milk ½ cup (125mL) Carnation® Regular, 2% or Fat-Free Evaporated Milk 1 pkg (1tbsp/15mL) powdered unflavoured gelatin 1 tsp (5mL) vanilla Topping 2 cups (500mL) strawberries, quartered ¼ cup (50mL) sugar 1 tbsp (15mL) lemon juice

Preparation: 1. Purée strawberries in food processor or blender. Strain mixture to remove seeds. Reserve. 2. Combine sweetened condensed milk and evaporated milk in a medium saucepan. Sprinkle gelatin over and let it sit until gelatin softens, about 10 minutes. Whisk mixture constantly over very low heat just until gelatin dissolves and mixture is lukewarm, about 3 minutes (do not boil). Remove from heat. 3. Whisk in strawberries and vanilla. 4. Divide mixture among 6 ramekins or custard cups. Refrigerate until set, at least 3 hours or overnight. 5. Topping; Combine ingredients for topping. Let stand at room temperature 30 minutes. Run small sharp knife between panna cotta and ramekins to loosen. Dip bottom of ramekins into bowl of hot water to loosen. Invert onto plate. Spoon topping over and serve.

Have a great day