Flatbread with rosemary, tomato and onion and guacamole

Many recipes for flatbread seem very complicated to me.

I add salt to flour and then add enough warm water to form a dough of the right consistency. Just start small and keep adding till its enough.

Then I add some olive oil so that the dough doesn’t stick to my hands and work it a little.

Let the dough rest at least 20 minutes. The flour needs time to absorb the water.

In the mean time chop the rosemary.

I wasn’t sure about the effect so I only put rosemary in a part of the dough.

Now, having eaten the result, I can guarantee you you won’t make a mistake flavouring all your dough with rosemary. It tasted great with the tomato etc, but was also delicious later with butter and jam.

I only baked for one, you may want to make more dough 🙂

Cut the dough in parts and stretch out with your hands to form the flatbreads.

You can make any form you like, just flat, otherwise they won’t bake well in a pan.

Fry the breads one by one in a warm pan with a little oil.

Turn over and fry the other side. They don’t take long.

One of the rosemary ones.

Chop some tomato and onion and pour olive  oil over. Salt and pepper them.

I just used a shop bought guacamole, but you can make your own if you have avo.

Scoop some avo and tomato mix on the bread and roll up.

Don’t be shy

Chai

So much confusion about the words, but today chai, in the west, is spiced milk.

Who knows if the story that Mr Tea promoted Tea to the western buyers and Mr Chai sold to Asia is true? Sounds highly suspect, but you never know.

I enjoy infusing milk with cinnamon sticks, a few cloves, one all spice berry, and a few bruised green cardamom seeds.

While you are infusing the milk over soft heat, soak a few strings of saffron in hot water and add to the spiced milk.

Don’t take the picture too literally, it was just a pretty picture left over after I poured the saffron infused water off.

For perfection, stir a teaspoon of maple syrup into the chai before you drink it.

Betty’s Bay

We are visiting the penguins at Betty’s Bay this morning.

Walking among the sea bamboo,

swimming in the waves,

looking out at the point,

When you are done enjoying them, stop on the Rooiels Road at the local cafe for something to drink and look through their books.

Don’t be mistaken, the Rooiels Road may the the most beautiful drive in the world.

Fukuoka

Fukuoka. a port city on the west coast of the south island, Kuyshu recently suffered quite severe flood damage. These photo’s are in memory of better times

This is their story if you are interested.

Take it this is their founder

The cat

The garden

and the gate

 

Humble bread and cheese

Plain bread and cheese with chives, as befits Monday the thirteenth.

Clisson

Mis en scène – the ruin of Clisson castle, 30km south east of Nantes, in Brittany – west France.

View from the bridge

The famous lioness of Brittany, Jean de Clisson lived there.

Her husband was accused of high treason by the king of France. He was decapitated, his body dragged through the streets and his head displayed in Nantes on a pike.

The nobility was agast, since there was no public proof of his treason and it was not at all done to treat the body of a nobleman like that.

His wife also took umbrage and swore to revenge his death, which she saw as a cowardly murder.

She sold her estates and raised an army of soldiers who where loyal to her husband and Breton sympathisers.

They attacked two castles and a garrison where her husband used to be stationed. Everyone was killed save for a man or two to carry the message to the king of France.

Then she had three war ships built, painted black and fitted with red sails. The flagship she called ‘My Revenge’.

For thirteen years she plies the English channel and wreaks havoc on French ships. Once again all the men are killed save a few to take the message back to the king of France.

Eventually her luck runs out and her flagships is sunk. She drifts on the see with her two sons for five days before they are rescued by de Montfort sympathisers. But her one son had already died of exposure.

She marries for a fourth time and lives in castle Hennebont on the Breton coast until her death in 1359.

Back to the town.

They have a beautiful Roman style church

With priceless contemporary murals.

and an old wooden roof

Clisson is at the confluence of the Sèvre de Nantes and the Moines.

Tamed rivers

They have beautiful park land beside the river.

It being a beautiful summer day I picknicked by the river with the other French.

Circumstances

‘..adversity presents itself in many forms, and if a man does not master his circumstances, then he is bound to be mastered by them.’

– Grand Duke Demidov in A Gentleman in Moscov by Amor Towles

June flower

By the river

Black Swans in Western Australia