Priceless Paintings from W7

…meat. Here’s the Christmas week’s menu – none cooked by myself! All prepared by friends and family members:

Pfälzer Platte with Bratwurst, Saumagen, Leberknödel and Sauerkraut (Thanks to Alina, who successfully completed her Pfälzer cooking diploma that evening),

Rump steak with fried onions and potatoes (Thanks for Mother-in-law, who always cooks for at least two more people just-in-case),

Meat-free pacific salmon in a rich sauce from cream and herbs, served with saffron rice and salads (Thanks to my Dad, who is a great source for new meal ideas),

Stew of Venison, with Knödel, Spätzle, and lambs lettuce (Dad, again, who served a very fine venison indeed – but not the one shown here),

Dampfnudeln and Woisoss’, potato and vegetable soup, and custard (Thanks to my sister, who never shies away from any effort when it comes to hospitality), and finally

Rindfleisch with Meerettich (boiled beef with hot horseradish sauce) and fresh white bread (Thanks to R&S, who always offer friendship at least as big as the piece of meat that we ate on that night).

Food and Drink Christmas

We made some last minute shopping back home, just a quick trip into town and to the local farmers’ market on the Saturday morning to buy two large heads of curly Endive. Interesting to read-up on Endive in my new copy of the great Larousse Gastronomique (Thanks to Santa!), which explains the relation between Endive, Frisee and Chicorée, and explains that what is Endive to some (Britain, Italy, Germany) is Chicorée (or Chicory) to some others (France, USA). There’s also Radicchio from the same family, and Red Chicorée (whose strength is chiefly in being decorative rather than tasty).

No wonder there is confusion in all this. This is no excuse for not growing or for not selling curly Endive, as depicted here (whatever you might prefer to call it) on my local market in W7.  No excuse at all.

I saw seeds on sale in the local garden centre some while back. Once our building work is done and our garden has been restored to a new and better place, I’ll have to start another battle against the slugs when trying to grow my own.

Food and Drink Britain, France, Germany, Italy, United States

Welcome back everybody. I hope you all had a nice festive break, and not too much belly or head ache.

On my way back to W7, I can’t help thinking this:

Fascinating. Fascinating to see that man can build a ship so tall that it  swallows tens of busses and lorries whole, along with eight times as many private cars, and still has space to spare. Fascinating how this giant mount of steel, iron and glas actually floats, and carries us safely across the British Channel.

Comforting to feel how the swell out on the water, even on a fairly calm day, can rock this giant mount of steel considerably. I find it reassuring to know that we are not those who govern the elements, but we are in fact governed by them.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Somalian Pirates Get All Wet

Thoughts steel;

Just a quick note to let you know that we returned to the homeland of Christstollen, Rieslingschorle, Bratwurst and Quetschekuche over the festive season.

We’ll be back before the end of the year.

Take care of yourself, and enjoy a…

Merry Christmas!

Thoughts Christmas

I must tell you that I received the kindest of compliments. Ever. One of my “ghosts from the past” reported that it was thanks to me that she knew how to cook.

Isn’t that a very nice thing to say?

I admit, she hinted on not practicing her cooking much, but somehow, somewhere, many moons ago, I must have managed to enthuse and make a lasting -and positive!- impression on someone. That is nice.

Thoughts

Unless you are seriously visually impaired, you’ll have noticed that things changed around here. This is because this blog has moved home since you’ve last been here. It is no longer hosted by Typepad, but now resides on my own system (thanks to WordPress and Dreamhost) – saved one of two annual bills. Nothing else wrong with Typepad, it’s just an unnecessary expense. I wanted to switch for some while, but only now have I finally figured out how best to do this.

It’s nothing for the faint-hearted (let alone for the not technically aware), but once I understand the ramifications, it is actually fairly straight-forward.

So, errr…. during the transition period, you might get a few glitches if you access through http://www.gauweiler.net. The simple workaround is to go to http://blog.gauweiler.net instead, if you have difficulties.

I also went through great lengths to preserve comments and links to images or other, previously posted, articles. Some are broken (ignore or report, as you wish), but most should actually work.

People who have commented before may have to go through a one-off approval step (I think). Let me know if anything doesn’t work.

There’s a bit of work left to do, and I beg your patience. For example, the arts gallery isn’t here yet, but you You can always view my paintings at http://fotos.gauweiler.net/gallery/main.php?g2_itemId=280, so that’s a start http://gallery.gauweiler.net/index.php?album=paintings.

Enjoy, and continue coming back!

Thoughts, Web/Tech

Did you know that the Episcopal diocese of Massachusetts observes the feast of the biblical Saints Andronicus and Junia, Apostles, on a trial basis on May 17 each year?

I received word of this from the initiator, a self-declared enthusiast about Saints Junia and Andronicus.

What can I say?

The world is a mighty big place, and has room for all kinds. I think this is a good thing, but surely there’s space for logic, too? How can anyone worship a saint on a trial basis? If he or she fails to do even the smallest little miracle, then we’ll show ‘em and look out for a better saint? Is that it?

Actually, not a bad idea at all. Do they also believe in God on a trial basis?

Ha! Religion. Always a wonderful blogging subject

 Related articles by Zemanta

• The Crowds, Disciples and Apostles
• The History Behind The 12 Days Of Christmas

Thoughts Episcopal Church USA, Massachusetts, Protestant Episcopal Church;, Religion and Spirituality

…quite well, I should think. A favourite meal almost every day:

Paella and pudim Flan. Lots of both. Yeah! A nice bottle of Red to wash it down, and I could hardly be happier.

Mexican-esque spicy meatballs in a light tomato sauce, with Wild and Carmarque Rice. One of my favourites for several decades now, but in an upmarket version this week, on account of the nice rice. Nice for a change, and the grassy smell of Carmarque rice alone is worth the effort.

Egg Tagliatelle with Churizo Picante, Nutmeg, Cavolo Nero, cream and egg yolks. Trust me, this is so good, you would give an arm and a leg away for it. Or maybe not quite, but it’s a nice meal nevertheless.

Good old juicy roast beef with roast potatoes and gravy. Plain and simple and yet so rewarding.

Food and Drink

Two ladies shared the pool in the gym with me yesterday, slowly making their lanes up and down while busy chatting. I wouldn’t have paid much attention, had it not been very obvious (even without paying much attention) that one of them could swim in a nice and steady breaststroke, while her friend could not.

She didn’t even manage a dog’s paddle very well. That’s how I noticed her, splashing about and always in danger of drowning. What I also noticed was how self-conscious she seemed, desperately trying not to be seen as one who cannot swim. The whole thing might have started with her swimming friend suggesting that they should meet for a a couple of lanes once a week, and the non-swimmer being too shy and embarrassed to admin that she never learnt to swim in the first place.

I felt sorry for her. I wanted to stop her in her tracks and offer impromptu tuition. If my observations and conclusions were right, then this would have been even more embarrassing for her, so I didn’t. Instead, I tried not to look, and continued with my lanes instead.

Her friend must have noticed, too, and must have also opted for the embarrassment-free ‘ignore’ option. That I found even sadder. What else does one have friends for, I ask?

Maybe my master plan should be to befriend the non-swimming lady, then turn her into a self-confident swimmer and a happier person. Tricky.

Thoughts swimming;

Ghosts from the past not only appear in Dickens‘ Christmas Carol. Sometimes, they even appear in real life. In this particular case, we’re talking about a crowd of friends from the Scouts.

Given that we spent most of our spare time over ten years together, it’s quite sad that we lost touch so thoroughly (at least, I did), and it is extra nice to get in touch again. Some are now trying to bring a crowd together for a weekend’s walk down memory lane, possibly in May 2009.

That should be a lot of fun; I am already looking forward.

Thoughts

With a horrific squeaking noise, but without any advance notice, my Epson Stylus Photo R220 printer died only a few days ago. The sound was pretty unambiguous. Something had gone seriously wrong, mechanically. I am sure it will still print just fine, if it could only move the paper…

How come these devices only ever make it to their third anniversary, if that?

Some of the low-cost inkjet printers sell for roughly the price of a set of ink cartridges, so maybe it is true that the printer manufacturers are actually ink makers, who throw in free printers. So anyway, I had to call it a day – and had to spend a good number of hours choosing the new printer.

Device cost. Cartridge cost. Reviews. Expected lifetime. Ability to refill individual colours versus a single multi-colour cartridge. Cost per page in black and white. Cost per page in color. The desire to have a really nice printer. The desire to make a sensible purchase.

Honestly, I am overwhelmed by the task to balance all those factors. There might be more difficult decisions in life, but choosing a replacement printer must rank pretty high on that list.

In the end, I chose a Samsung CLP-315 Colour Laser Printer. The cost comparison might just work out if the device makes it through three years. I am certainly happy to confirm that the print quality is superb.

I am curious regarding the lightfastness of the prints. This was poor with ink; the ink prints change colour pretty quickly when exposed to light. We’ll find out; I have a number of reference prints for comparison.

Thoughts, Web/Tech Laser, Laser Printer, Samsung;

Assume, for argument’s sake, that I own 100g of the finest Beluga Caviar. I never had -neither 100g, nor the real thing, but I wonder:

What would I do with it?

Would I sell it on eBay? Never!

Invite 30 friends, share, and enjoy 3.3g each? Unlikely.

Make cheese crackers or devilled eggs with 0.25g on top? Less likely.

Spoon it down with a fresh slice of rye bread and sweet butter? Maybe. That’s more like it, but if anyone out there knows what to do with 100g of the finest Beluga, please let me know. I am genuinely curious.

Food and Drink, Thoughts eBay

…more hot food for cold days:

Red Spaghetti Alio Olio with fresh tomatoes, nutmeg, and hot churizo. Always a favourite here.

Vegetable hotpot with pulses and root vegetables

Quiche Lorraine, roast chicken with butter beans, churizo and salads (at M&L’s house)

Fresh nutty whole wheat bread with stinking cheeses

Lazy Chicken with sage and butter egg tagliatelle,  and cucumber salad (recently re-discovered cucumber salad, so nice so fresh and crisp, hmmmm)

Food and Drink

Yeah! 2009 is Darwin Year! Slightly ahead of my time, I decided to celebrate this landmark event in my own way. I give you this little painting. I call it

Survival of the Fittest

Oil on canvas, 12×16″, December 2008

I hope you like it. Click here, or the thumbnail, to see the whole thing. Stop by for a cup of tea for the real thing.

Painting

Oh, stop it. Now! The U.K. government has lowered value-added tax (VAT) by 2.5% recently, effective from 1-December-2008. Ever since the announcement, and still one week into December, I keep getting emails from various companies.

Even though the senders tend to be companies I bought from before (others go straight to my junk mail bin in the first place), they keep telling me how pleased they are to tell me that they pass on the 2.5% VAT reductions to their customers, and how I don’t need to do anything, and how it automatically works, effective 1-December-2008.

STOP IT! It’s the f*ing law, for crying out loud, not your gracious generosity.

The only email I’d expect to see in that context would be one that says “Sorry. Our chief IT guy is on skiing holidays and his underlings haven’t yet been able to figure out how to apply this change. We are now bringing in a consultant, and expect to refund any overcharged VAT in January.”

I have not received any of those of course.

There should be a law that prevents the government from making these changes without at least four full weeks notice, however. I understand there were quite a few issues related to orders made and accepted prior to the magical date, but effectively charged after December 1st. Not sure how the cost of effecting that change compares to the boost the economy is said to receive from it.

Thoughts Spam;, U.K. government;, United Kingdom