June 21, 2013
A thought for today
"The desire of taking medication is, perhaps, the great feature that distinguishes man from other animals"
Sir William Osler (1849 - 1919)
(Canadian physician and medical thinker, considered by many as the father of American Medicine)
A Piece of My Work
I have been impressed by the sculptures of Constantin Brancusi, renown French sculptor of Romanian origin. His 'atelier' (workshop) in Paris is located across the Museum of Modern Art Georges Pompidou, which he left to the French Government. His symbolic pieces can be seen in many of the leading museums, including LACMA and Norton Simon in Pasadena.
This was my first trial to make a head of a man, which I titled "Happy Dreamer" because I gave a happier allure to his face.
A Recipe for Today
From Yoram Ottolenghi & Sami Tamimi “Jerusalem. A cookbook”
Tomato and
Sourdough Soup
Ingredients:
2 Tbsp. olive oil plus
extra to finish
1 large onion, chopped
(12/3 cups/250 g. total)
1 tsp. cumin seeds
2 cloves garlic, crushed
3 cups/ 750 ml. vegetable
stock
4 large tomatoes, chopped
(4 cups/650 g. in total)
One 14 oz. /400 g. can
Italian tomatoes, chopped
1 Tbsp. superfine sugar
1 slice sourdough bread
(1½ oz. /40 g. in total)
2 Tbsp. chopped cilantro,
plus extra to finish
Salt and freshly ground
black pepper
Procedure:
Heat the oil in a medium
saucepan and add the onion. Sauté for about 3 min., stirring often, until the onion
is translucent. Add the cumin and garlic and fry for 2 min. Pour the stock,
both types of tomato, sugar, 1 tsp. salt, and a good grind of black pepper.
Bring the soup to a gentle
simmer and cook for 20 min., adding the bread torn into chunks, halfway through
the cooking. Finally, add the cilantro and then blitz, using a blender, in a
few pulses so that the tomatoes break down but are still a little coarse and
chunky. The soup should be quite thick; add a little water if it is too thick,
at this point.
Serve drizzled with oil,
and scattered fresh cilantro.
