Dr. Filomena

A detail of an immense canvas of Water Lilies by Claude Monet in the Musée de l’Orangerie (photo by dr. fil)

Time flies and it is the fourth time in a row that this blog is part of the annual Blog Action Day event. Other entries:  2007, 2008, 2009.

This year, the topic is Water. The precious liquid that rendered life possible and still does. I’m sure fellow bloggers will cover it thoroughly, discuss the importance of the issue for world peace and repeat the mantra of turn off the tap while brushing your teeth, take a shower rather than a bath, use efficient washing machines etc.

What really gets to me personally is the cult of bottled water. Yes, there are places around the world where tap water is not safe to drink and people must resort to using bottled water, but in most European cities where waiters will try to push a plastic bottle, the tap water is just fine. For years now I’ve been refusing to drink bottled water whenever I could (and it was safe to do so).  I have actually walked out of restaurants because the waiter would refuse to serve (expensive) food with tap water after I explained that the reason for my choice were environmental concerns and not its price.  I must add that lately, during the last six months or so, I have been having much less of a problem in this respect than before.

So much energy is used to bottle the water, produce the bottles themselves and then transport them half way across the world or at least continent to be consumed in place of perfectly good water flowing from a safe, controlled water supply system. What a waste! Ah, and water in glass bottles is only better with regard to its packaging, but no different when it comes to the energy used in its ‘production’ and transportation.

So my contribution to today’s topic is a call to shun bottled water whenever safe tap water is available. Since I’ve just spent a month in Paris, here’s my tip when in France. With your meal, ask for tap water by saying “une carafe d’eau, s’il vous plait”.

Cheers!
(and don’t forget to tip)

A vision of two horsepowers at the Paris Motor Show 2010 (photo: dr. fil)

Just another day in Paris. One of a precious few I have left in this magnificent city that I’m falling for head over heels.

First thing in the morning, I gave a nice tip to a gypsy singer on the metro. Partly for her singing effort, which was not too bad, and admittedly partly to say thanks for not begging, stealing or trying the “have you just dropped this ring” con line on me.

After school, I went for a long walk and tested HTC Desire and Samsung Galaxy S to compare with the iPhone4 I handled last week. Both were rather impressive and I actually found both easier to type on than the iPhone, which is quite a consideration. But must go back and try the Apple toy again.

On my way to the concert, I stopped at a nice grocery store to get some fruits and was just slightly surprised to notice a nicely clad (white) lady of some 50 years stealing a stick of butter. At least it was organic. Off to the metro where a group of little old Italian ladies with a little help from the local men managed to hold on to two young (12 y/o?) gypsy girls who’d stolen cash from a wallet in one of the group member’s purses.

Santana

The concert was just fantastic. So much good music played by true artists. Nearly 17,000 people in there and maybe 30 of them up and dancing unless specifically asked to stand up. Guess what I was doing for the better part of the event. To round up today’s leitmotif, Gypsy Kings came on stage to do the Bamboleo. We did also get to see and hear the future Mrs Santana on the drums, but it was the other musicians who made our night. The solos, the jam sessions, the ‘best of’ items, they were all pure joy to soak up. I’ll forgive the preaching bit at the end since his spirituality undoubtedly contributes to the man’s music.  Besides, he said it was important to forgive. Oh, one of Santana’s thoughts of the night… It’s important to make the ladies feel good. Because when they feel good, the economy… rises. So there you are.

Jam!

Oboje hkrati pa ne gre, pravijo. Kdor ne odda svojega glasu na volitvah, nima pravice do jamra. Zato v nedeljo pogumno pot pod noge in pisalo v roke. Par krogcev, pa se lahko pritozujete naslednja stiri leta. Jupi!

The future as seen at the Paris Motor Show (photo by dr. fil)

Lamborghini at the Paris Motor Show (photo: dr. fil)

Pavillion 2/2 at the Paris motor show (photo by dr. fil)

Moja pariška stanodajalka je ena tistih neverjetnih babic, ki jih na pogled kažejo vsaj dvajset let manj, so ves čas v pogonu in zmorejo poskrbeti ne le zase, ampak še za koga drugega. Gospa redno hodi v gledališče, igra bridge, se udeležuje bralnega krožka, je članica debatnega kluba. Svoj računalnik vešče uporablja za urejanje svojega družabnega življenja in stike s petimi otroki in dvajsetimi vnuki. Danes zvečer se je odločila, da me nauči pripraviti pravi soufflé. Pravi, da je zadeva hitra in preprosta, za končni izdelek pa sem iz pretekle izkušnje vedela, da je užitkarska rahlost, ki se topi v ustih. Tako kot jaz, dela po občutku, zato me prosim ne sprašujte po gramih posamezne sestavine. Odgovor je: ravno prav. Za zraven sva si pripravili solato. (Gospa babi so seveda poudarili, da je vsak dan treba jesti zelenjavo.)

Sestavine:

• moka
• maslo
• 3 jajca
• mleko
• nariban sir (gruyere, emmental)
• sol
• poper
• muškatni orešček

Postopek:

Najprej pošteno namastite posodo.

Zelo konkretno veliko žlico (za ca 3 velike žlice) masla začnite topiti na rahlem ognju.

Ko se maslo še topi, dodajte tri velike žlice moke.

Vlijte malo manj kot dva decilitra mleka.

Zadeva je gručasta, ampak naj vas ne skrbi – vztrajno mešajte (midve sva skoraj deset minut), dokler ne nastane gosta krema.

Odstavite z ognja.

Ubijte tri jajca in rumenjake dobro vmešajte v maso, da se ne skuhajo. Dodajte ščepec soli (ne preveč, ker je slan že sir, ki ga boste dodali pozneje), poper in malo žličko muškatnega oreščka.

Segrejte pečico na 220°C.

Poskusite maso in po potrebi dodajte malo soli. Vmešatje dve pesti naribanega sira.

Iz beljakov stepite sneg. Zelo nežno vmešajte v maso in vse skupaj vlijte v namaščeno posodo.

Potresite s še malo naribanega sira in pecite približno 20 minut pri 220°C.

Bon appétit!

Breaking news: Eiffel Tower is still in one piece.

Photos by dr. fil’s Blackberry. Too bad I can’t run with my ‘real’ camera.

photo by dr. fil. – click to enlarge)

“Concentrate all your thoughts upon the work at hand. The sun’s rays do not burn until brought to a focus.”
Alexander Graham Bell