Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Coincidence, Current Reading,

Yesterday morning I wrote about Robert Scott, the explorer, last night I watched a documentary about Amundsen and his discovery of the North West Passage which also mentioned his reaching the South Pole before Scott managed it together with a bit of detail about both explorations. I thought that was quite an incredible coincidence. Yesterday I finished reading the latest in the books about the dragon Temeraire by Naomi Novik. This one was called Victory of Eagles. As usual I enjoyed it. However it now appears that Temeraire and his captain, Laurence, have been transported to Australia. I am assuming there will be more stories about the pair taking place in Oz. They are bringing three dragon eggs with them as apparently there are no dragons there. (Early 1800s). I started reading the last book in the series The Saga of the Seven Suns. It is called The Ashes of Worlds. At the moment everything is disaster and mayhem. This is a series I have thoroughly enjoyed and Ashes is the seventh book. For once an author who says he is going to write seven books has stuck to the number without spinning the story on and on forever. With his imagination he should be able to produce some more great novels. These are well worth reading if you haven't already done so. We didn't get all the snow which was forecast last night, but we do have very low temps today. My computer reads -21°C and with the wind chill that drops it down even lower. A good time to stay warm and cosy indoors - if you can. Now is the time for a pot of hot soup - from my Three and Four Ingredient cookbook here is a good one. Potato and Roasted Garlic Broth Roasted garlic takes on a mellow, sweet flavour that is subtle, not overpowering, in this delicious vegetarian soup. Choose floury potatoes - they will give the soup a delicious velvety texture. Serve piping hot with melted cheddar or Gruyère cheese on French bread, as the perfect winter warmer. 2 small or 1 large whole head of garlic, about 20 cloves 4 medium potatoes (about 1 1/4 lb. in total) 7 1/2 cups good hot vegetable stock (you can make it beef if you are not vegetarian) chopped parsley to garnish Preheat the oven to 190°C. Place the unpeeled garlic bulb (s) in a small roasting pan and bake for 30 mins until soft in the centre. Meanwhile, par-boil the potatoes in a large pan of boiling water for 10 minutes. Simmer the stock in another pan for 5 minutes. Drain the potatoes and add them to the stock. Squeeze the garlic pulp into the soup, reserving a few whole cloves and stir. Simmer for 15 minutes and serve topped with whole garlic cloves and parsley. Have a great day.

2 comments:

  1. Kevin J Anderson is very highly thought of in the SF community and I'm ashamed that I haven't yet read anything of his. I'll look out for the Seven Suns books.

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  2. Hope you find them and enjoy them, I love them. I am almost sorry I am reading the last book.

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