(gf) vol 2

Ah, success! Second recipe of the day.

Pomegranate Ice Cream

2 dl pomegranate juice
150 g powdered sugar
1 lime
4 dl double cream (35%)

Add pomegranate juice and juice from the lime to powdered sugar. Mix. Add double cream. Whip until soft peaks appear. Put to the freezer for 4 hours or overnight.

This is nice. I've always wanted to make ice cream, but thought not having the ice cream machine would prove essential.. Well, as it turns out, a regular freezer will do! And you don't have to touch the ice cream while it's in the freezer, it needs no stirring afterwards.

A cool desert. Literally. Pun duly intended!

(I changed the bowl because you couldn't see the colour in a glass one, hence the bit battered looks)

(Recipe taken from Nigella Express with slight changes)

(gf) vol 1

The first recipe of today, another one should be on the way, if it turns out alright.

Mozzarella and [fill in the blank] Pizza

pizza powder 1 bg
mozzarella
basil
pineapple chunks
chopped ham (or minced meat, chicken, etc)
cheese (grated)
1 tomato
tomato sauce (crushed tomatoes, not ketchup)

I have purposely omitted the exact numbers since well it pretty much depends on what you want on your pizza. This isn't a place where I give you directions as to what colour and size your peppers need be. This is just.. a creative outlet. Not even that creative considering the fact I use a fair bit of pre-packaged foods.

Anyways, I made two varities. And I used a simple pizza powder which only needs to be mixed in a bowl with water and a bit of oil. So one bag of that powder. Then I spread the dough on the baking pan (the label claimed it's rollable, but I doubt that!) using my fingers. They didn't have rolling pins in the Stone Age, you know... Or pizza dough, for that matter.. Where was I?

Then I covered the dough with tomato sauce, and added the necessary toppings. For one half I used mozzarella, for the other ham for my parents. I prefer my pizzas with only tomato sauce and cheese, you see. Then I put the whole thing in the oven for about 15 minutes (see label of package). After that time, cheking that it's pretty much done, I added the cheese on the ham-covered part and tomatoes and pineapple chunks for those who wanted them. A nice touch: season the tomatoes with pepper, and add a bit of pizza-seasoning (chopped dried basil, I would imagine). And then 2 more minutes in the oven (225 degrees C), until the cheese melts, and it's ready! I put some basil leaves onto mozzarella-covered side. It tasted excellent!

And well.. with the pizza flour (or powder or whatever it's called) available, making your own pizza is really a matter of minutes, AND you can use whichever toppings you like! It won't affect the preparing time, unless the toppings are covering every visible inch of the pizza, then you can use the old knife-and-fork test.

And then, cut into however many pieces you wish, and enjoy!

I do excuse the pictures on this blog.. I assure you, the dishes are all delicious apart for my incapability of photographing, and my natural lack of talent for lighting.

(b)

Irish Proverbs: Traditional Wit & Wisdom
by Fionnuala Carson Williams

OK book, some nice proverbs. Overall quite old-fashioned, not very modern. It did give the English versions complete with Irish equivalents, which is unusual and quite welcomed. No explanations, though.

Nothing special. A quick read. Took no more than 30 minutes to skim through.

(b) book about good food

Julie & Julia
by Julie Powell

I'm all for projects and challenges like every other person. Whether you go through with them or not. Beginnings are always such a thrill, even more so if you actually finish them, I would imagine.

So, this book. It's about Julie Powell, a secretary in New York, quite dissatisfied with her job, who one September day decides she will cook her way through a whole cook-book within a year. Which may not seem such a big deal, but do keep in mind there are 365 days to a year, and there are 524 recipes in the book. Including preparing kidneys, brains and bone marrow sauces, and boning ducks. Not your average "mix flour and water in a bowl" type of recipes, but the old-fashioned ones where cooking took several hours. Nice.

I liked this book. It read quite fast, and I enjoyed Ms Powell's language, she has great style, and a natural knack for writing I might add. She finished her challenge, which is always great. Now I must find a way to see the film, as well.

It's not just a book about a cooking challenge. It's also the path to the proverbial self-discovery, and I would like to quote these words, I hope I'm allowed:

Sometimes, if you want to be happy, you've got to run away to Bath and marry a punk rocker. Sometimes you've got to dye your hair cobalt blue, or wander remote islands in Sicily, or cook your way through Mastering the Art of French Cooking in a year, for no very good reason. (306)

So, yes, a good book. I'd recommend it. I have it, you're welcome to borrow it.

(b) in Estonian/eesti keeles

Elu sumedusest
Kalev Keskküla

Lühijuttude kogumik. Koosneb viiest peatükist: Tango viiekümnesele mehele, Meie aja kangelane, Armastuse formaat, Lihtne eestlane, Elu sumedusest.
Kaks esimest osa meeldisid väga, ülejäänud sellist vaimustust ei tekitanud... Või lihtsalt ei toiminud minu jaoks.

Sobib lugemiseks paari jutu kaupa üle pikema aja. Omamoodi stiil. Pole paha. Soovitada ei oskaks.

Booking Through Thursday

This is fun, a challenge taken on by bloggers every thursday.. I decided to participate, now.

Question: Who’s your favorite author that other people are NOT reading? The one you want to evangelize for, the one you would run popularity campaigns for? The author that, so far as you’re concerned, everyone should be reading–but that nobody seems to have heard of. You know, not JK Rowling, not Jane Austen, not Hemingway–everybody’s heard of them. The author that you think should be that famous and can’t understand why they’re not…

Answer: JENNIFER JOHNSTON! Of course. I mean, some people know about her.. some here, some in Ireland, and some in the UK. But elsewhere, not so much. Especially in America. She's not even published there! I can't understand why.. She's brilliant, really. And, if someone will start a popularity campaign or what-not, I'd be on board! I might consider starting one myself... by widely publicising my thesis, for instance.. My thesis on HER. Right, then... In the humour section somewhere, perhaps? But yeah, read her, she's amazing. Her prose is.. beautiful to say the least, really.

Anyways yes, fun challenge.

(b) spicy

After handing in my thesis a few weeks ago, I embarked on a journey of reading as much as I can, it is the Year of Reading, after all.
Do excuse my ... eclectic taste in books (for lack of a better word), I go by recommendations, and this received many.

The Intimate Adventures of a London Call Girl
by Belle de Jour

I don't have much to say about this book. It's non-fiction, a memoir of sorts, actually compiled of almost a year's worth of blog posts by a London call girl. A high class call girl. She's highly educated, I did some Googling and found out she actually received a PhD whilst this book takes place, so indeed.. not your usual stereotype of a prostitute.

She is very outspoken, with wonderful insights into the world of men. Her vocabulary is impressive, and rather academic at times. However, the book was a bit raunchy, to be honest, but this was not unexpected (see title of book).

I did manage to scribble down quite a few quotes, so for me it was worth the read. It's a difficult book to recommend, though. Perhaps for a bit of light reading, if none of your own favourites are at hand? Suit yourselves. I consider this blog more my own reading diary than anything else, anyway.

But yes, a word of warning: rather explicit contents.