tehomet

One fine day in 1974, when I was three or four, my mom and grandmother went into Dublin to do a couple of errands. My brother and sister and I were in the car's backseat, along for the spin. My mother did the first errand, going to the solicitor's office, and then couldn't remember what the second errand was. So she didn't go to Talbot Street to see the tailor like she was supposed to. Instead, she turned the car for home, and by chance and by seconds saved us all from dying or being seriously injured in the bombings like three hundred other people that day.

We drove down the street parallel to Talbot Street, and a sobbing woman ran out in front of our car. My mother missed hitting her by inches. But only when we got home to find my dad pacing the driveway did we find out what had happened.

It's the anniversary of the Dublin and Monaghan bombings today. So I'm remembering all the people affected by the bombings and the whole sad history of the Troubles, including my relatives who weren't so lucky on other days. Mostly I'm feeling gratitude for the peace process and, not least, my mom's imperfect memory.

(This entry was originally posted at http://tehomet.dreamwidth.org/23833.html)

Just a quick line to wish you all a happy Hanukkah, a happy Yule, a merry Christmas, happy holidays, and a serene end to the year. And the people going through rough times right now, I'm keeping you in my thoughts and prayers.

♥

(This entry was originally posted at http://tehomet.dreamwidth.org/22284.html)

My family and I held a coffee morning to raise funds for the hospice that provided nurses to look after my dad while he was dying. Thanks to the generosity of the people who showed up, we raised well over a thousand euro. :)

(This entry was originally posted at http://tehomet.dreamwidth.org/20290.html)

half cup almonds
quarter cup sunflower oil
quarter cup tamari or soy sauce
quarter cup water
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
3 cloves garlic, peeled
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried thyme
250g mushrooms
1 onion, peeled

Preheat the oven to 350F (175C).

Lightly oil a baking dish.

Slice the onions and mushrooms. It's easiest to do this in a food processor with a slicing blade. Tip them into the baking dish.

Change the slicing blade for a chopping blade. Process the almonds until finely chopped.

Add the oil, tamari, water, vinegar, garlic, and herbs to the almonds and process again.

Pour the sauce over the vegetables and bake the dish for thirty minutes.

Serves four as a side dish.

(This entry was originally posted at http://tehomet.dreamwidth.org/17128.html)

1 cup flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 banana, peeled
quarter cup soy milk
1 tbsp sugar, optional
handful of strawberries or other fruit to serve
maple, agave, or golden syrup to serve
oil for frying

Put the flour, baking powder, banana, soy milk, and sugar in a blender and mix until smooth.

Heat a frying pan and drizzle it with sunflower oil.

When the oil is hot, pour half a cup of batter onto the pan for each pancake. It's quite a thick batter so it's possible to cook two or three pancakes at a time.

When the pancakes are bubbly and glossy on top, flip them over and brown them on the other side.

Serve with syrup and fruit.

Makes four to six pancakes.

(This entry was originally posted at http://tehomet.dreamwidth.org/16761.html)

1 tablespoon sunflower oil
4 large leeks
4 large potatoes
4 stalks asparagus
2 litres (8 cups) vegetable stock
a good grinding of black pepper and a pinch of salt
1 carton plain soy yoghurt or a cup of soymilk (optional)

Trim the root ends and any dead leaves from the leeks, and cut the woody ends off the asparagus. Peel the potatoes.

Rinse all the vegetables, and then either slice them thickly or run them through the large grating plate of the food processor.

Warm the oil in a soup pot and add the vegetables, sauteeing them over a medium heat for a few minutes, stirring often, until the leeks soften.

Pour in the stock and turn up the heat.

As soon as the soup boils, turn down the heat and leave it to simmer for ten or fifteen minutes until the potatoes are tender.

Ladle the soup into a blender and puree the soup until very smooth, being very careful with the steam, and then pour the soup back into the pot. Or puree the soup with an immersion blender, but I think a regular blender works better.

Add the pepper, salt, and yoghurt or milk, if using. Add extra water if the soup's too thick. Simmer a minute or two more, and serve.

Notes:
- Slicing or grating the potatoes too finely will make them stick to the pot.
- Don't use white asparagus. White asparagus needs peeling which is a drag and it doesn't taste quite as good.
- It is possible to make this soup without oil; simply put the prepared vegetables in a pot with the water and proceed as per recipe. The finished soup isn't quite as richly flavoured but it is still terrific.

This soup makes six to eight bowls and came out so well that everyone, even the people who dislike vegetables, had second helpings. I named it in honour of the enormous bucket of frogspawn that Liam and I rehomed from the garden pond to the forest pool today.

(This entry was originally posted at http://tehomet.dreamwidth.org/16035.html)