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Taking today off work was a very good idea. I slept till 7.45, which for me is Very Late Indeed, with only one interruption, and since I didn't drink overly much yesterday, I'm feeling quite rested. Sipping the second mug of tea, listening to Austrian radio, looking out into the rain. Life is good.
Everything went as planned yesterday -- I got home shortly after 4 and prepared the soup in a very leisurely way. It was really good, BTW. And I've decided to call it IKEA soup, in the sense that you pretty much build your own. To make the basic soup I cut a large onion into not-too-small cubes, which I roasted at a very low temperature (mustn't get brown), then added roughly diced courgettes, added broth after about 10 minutes, let simmer, 10 minutes later added peas and garlic (I almost never roast the garlic, because it burns too easily, and the aroma is better when it's added later, IMO). Let simmer for another 10 minutes, pureed the whole lot -- perfect consistency, lovely green colour. Added a bit of cream, pepper and salt, et voilà, that's the basic soup. To which guests then could add at will: sour cream with garlic, basil, dill and parsley, or mashed avocado with sweet corn and cayenne pepper, or roasted bread cubes with pumpkin seeds, or thin stripes of smoked ham. They liked it.
Then we had Slavica's Turlitava, which was beyond words. It contains ocra, which not everybody likes, but fortunately all the girls did. It's eaten with Pindjur (basically an aubergine-and-green-pepper puree with lots of garlic) and cold, fried hot green peppers with olive oil, parsley and garlic. An orgy of aromas and textures.
And as dessert we had the super-yummy petits fours.
Not exactly a light dinner, but certainly a very tasty one. And the company was great, the conversation as well... Ah, lovely, lovely birthday.
Re. Mr H, I had to alter my plans a bit, but certainly not for the worse. Because, you see, I had this brilliant idea, which I told boss about, and he thought it was great, too. It's not an overly original idea, but evidently nobody had had it yet: whenever there is a bilateral visit (ministers, secretaries of state etc.) we have to contribute to the information folder for the Austrian visitor or visitee and we usually do that by making a compilation of all our reports etc. and, if necessary, calling lots of people for updates on certain matters. So I thought, why not involve entities like Mr H's, who might want the Austrian side to actvely mention certain issues like e.g. the Roma question, situation of the judiciary etc.? Boss thought it was an excellent idea, and so I took Mr H's 4th call and asked him whether there was anything he'd like our Secretary General to discuss with the Secretary of State who's going to visit him on Friday. He said he'd have to think about it andwould get back to me.
But he didn't, you see. And unless he does so very soon, it's going to be too late, and that's something that practically begs to be told in polite but unmistakeably critical words.
Isn't it nice when people hand you the dagger so you just have to stab them and twist the blade a bit, while staying 100% professional? *grins evilly*
Daniel the lovely nephew called me this morning from New Zealand :-) He and his friend have been roaming the two islands for 5 weeks -- fotos are fantastic! -- and will fly to Sidney in 3 days' time, to look for work. They've been having a great time, but now it's time to earn some money. So I'm keeping my fingers crossed for them.
Since there is a vague possibility that the rain might actually stop and the court actually be dry enough to play from 2 to 3.30 -- although I have my doubts -- I'll go to the gym at noon. Either there'll be tennis afterwards, or there'll be shopping. Both alternatives are equally pleasant.
Have a good day, all of you!
Everything went as planned yesterday -- I got home shortly after 4 and prepared the soup in a very leisurely way. It was really good, BTW. And I've decided to call it IKEA soup, in the sense that you pretty much build your own. To make the basic soup I cut a large onion into not-too-small cubes, which I roasted at a very low temperature (mustn't get brown), then added roughly diced courgettes, added broth after about 10 minutes, let simmer, 10 minutes later added peas and garlic (I almost never roast the garlic, because it burns too easily, and the aroma is better when it's added later, IMO). Let simmer for another 10 minutes, pureed the whole lot -- perfect consistency, lovely green colour. Added a bit of cream, pepper and salt, et voilà, that's the basic soup. To which guests then could add at will: sour cream with garlic, basil, dill and parsley, or mashed avocado with sweet corn and cayenne pepper, or roasted bread cubes with pumpkin seeds, or thin stripes of smoked ham. They liked it.
Then we had Slavica's Turlitava, which was beyond words. It contains ocra, which not everybody likes, but fortunately all the girls did. It's eaten with Pindjur (basically an aubergine-and-green-pepper puree with lots of garlic) and cold, fried hot green peppers with olive oil, parsley and garlic. An orgy of aromas and textures.
And as dessert we had the super-yummy petits fours.
Not exactly a light dinner, but certainly a very tasty one. And the company was great, the conversation as well... Ah, lovely, lovely birthday.
Re. Mr H, I had to alter my plans a bit, but certainly not for the worse. Because, you see, I had this brilliant idea, which I told boss about, and he thought it was great, too. It's not an overly original idea, but evidently nobody had had it yet: whenever there is a bilateral visit (ministers, secretaries of state etc.) we have to contribute to the information folder for the Austrian visitor or visitee and we usually do that by making a compilation of all our reports etc. and, if necessary, calling lots of people for updates on certain matters. So I thought, why not involve entities like Mr H's, who might want the Austrian side to actvely mention certain issues like e.g. the Roma question, situation of the judiciary etc.? Boss thought it was an excellent idea, and so I took Mr H's 4th call and asked him whether there was anything he'd like our Secretary General to discuss with the Secretary of State who's going to visit him on Friday. He said he'd have to think about it andwould get back to me.
But he didn't, you see. And unless he does so very soon, it's going to be too late, and that's something that practically begs to be told in polite but unmistakeably critical words.
Isn't it nice when people hand you the dagger so you just have to stab them and twist the blade a bit, while staying 100% professional? *grins evilly*
Daniel the lovely nephew called me this morning from New Zealand :-) He and his friend have been roaming the two islands for 5 weeks -- fotos are fantastic! -- and will fly to Sidney in 3 days' time, to look for work. They've been having a great time, but now it's time to earn some money. So I'm keeping my fingers crossed for them.
Since there is a vague possibility that the rain might actually stop and the court actually be dry enough to play from 2 to 3.30 -- although I have my doubts -- I'll go to the gym at noon. Either there'll be tennis afterwards, or there'll be shopping. Both alternatives are equally pleasant.
Have a good day, all of you!
