Condimento

Good Day all. 

Welcome back

& 

nice to see you again. 

If you are like me,

you probably like things that make 

your life easier. 

Things that make your life

more colorful

& tasty. 

Something like this

Condimento - 


a substance or mixture prepared food, often preserved or fermented (usually a liquid) that is added in relatively small amounts to foods...
(Wiki)


I like to pick up cilantro

and process it with onion, garlic, jalapeno,

lime juice, olive oil,

salt & pepper.


I place this in a jar

and when the time comes,

allow it to enhance many foods.


Add some to mashed avocado for guacamole.

Slather some on chicken breasts  or a tuna steak and simply grill.

Whip together a traditional or mango salsa with this and swoon.

Use this like a pesto,

folding it into some pasta with grilled summer vegetables,

 and voila!


A more colorful & tasty world?!


You betcha!


Pretty easy.

A Menu of Literary Delight

I just finished reading Rose Tremain's

award-winning 

The Road Home 

and enjoyed it very much. 

It tells the story 

of a middle aged 

Ukrainian widower named Lev 

who leaves his homeland 

seeking a new life in the UK. 

Lev lands in London

where he works his way up 

from dishwasher

to chef. 

The whole book was wonderful.

At one point, Lev is working

with the aid of a young assistant, 

cooking for a group 

in an old folks home. 

He's using great ingredients

and recipes he's come across

while working in other restaurants. 

Having created the new menu,

Lev hands it over to Simone,

 his young "native speaking" assistant 

so she can write it out and have it printed up for the residents. 

Here's what they came up with:

YOUR MENU FOR WEDNESDAY

Wickedly lovely free-range chicken breasts

stuffed with mushrooms, shallots, and herbs,

served with a totally brilliant jus

or

Chef's fantastic fish gratin with

zero bones and non-crap crumb

and

Choice of non-frozen broccoli or beans,

or both if you want

Creme brulee jacked by Chef from a 

recipe at GK Ashe

or 

Watermelon sorbet with no black

seeds or rubbish in it

The "extreme language" of the menu 

was a smash hit with the residents. 

In the weeks that followed they enjoyed 

"the bloody delicious vegetarian sausages with the non-packet-shit mash"

and 

"the totally non-bull-shitting Guiness-marinated Irish stew".

In 

The Road Home,

Rose Tremain

clearly serves up 

a tender and savory

feast of delights

(and non-crap).

Pastoral - Pleasingly Peaceful and Innocent

Dear Readers, 

Dear Friends,

I sometimes 

wonder what you do.

Do you commute to work every day?

Do you run around in the 

maze and madness of modern day traffic?

Have you ever got caught up in it inadvertently?

If in fact you do have to deal with this malady,

and even if you don't, 

I may have just the thing for you. 

Music to calm and relax you

when all around you there's chaos.

(Sir Edward Elgar & bike)

A Tunnel Of Time - Selected British Piano Music of the Twentieth Century

is a stunning collection

of beautiful,

and mostly calming,

pastoral pieces

by

Sir Edward Elgar,

1. In Smyrna

2. Serenade

3. Adieu

Frederick Delius,

Three Preludes

4. Scherzando

5. Quick

6. Con moto

Ernest John Moeran,

7. Summer Valley

John Ireland,

8. The Island Spell

Benjamin Britten, 

Holiday Diary

9. Early Morning Bathe

10. Sailing

11. Fun-Fair

12. Night

Christopher Headington,

13. Ballade-Image

14. Cinquanta

and

 Paul Patterson,

15. A Tunnel of Time Op 66

If, 

in fact we do drive to the music,

it is music like this

that will deliver us to our destination intact, relaxed,

and with wistful and knowing smiles on our faces.

This recording could be hard to find. 

A friend of mine brought me a copy from the UK. 

A Tunnel Of Time

Selected British Piano Music of the Twentieth Century 

was manufactured & marketed by

Kingdom Records Ltd.

Crown House, 119 The Broadway, London N.W.2 3JG

Tel: 081-208 4448  Fax: 081-208 4343