Marinated steak and its Polish beet accompaniment:

I share with you a long slice of life but if you are only interested in the recipe, you will easily find it in the middle of the text.

Théo and I were doing our shopping, bickering about a story of cereals… in short, he grabbed me in his arms and kissed me to retrieve his precious box when a lady appeared at the other end of the ray, her eyes were round like saucers. A little embarrassed, I moved away, pointing out to Theo that we were being watched.

Theo looked surprised as he turned around. I was surprised when the lady approached and took Theo in her arms.

It was Jenna, his mom. Normally she lives on the other side of town. She wanted to surprise him but seeing his apartment empty, she assumed he was at work. She had therefore wanted to do some shopping to make him eat for his return when she surprised us.

I offered to step aside so they could spend some time together but Jenna said “out of the question!”. That now that she had the reason why her son had been smiling stupidly for weeks, I wasn’t going to get away with it and then that it was time for me to taste Georgian hospitality by showing me her shopping, there had enough for a regiment. (Theo and Jenna are Georgian. They arrived in Denmark when Theo was 13).
Theo was embarrassed in turn, he, who always looks confident, I admit that it made me laugh to see him in this uncomfortable position.

In sign language he told me behind his mom’s back that he was sorry for what I was going to suffer… When Jenna surprised him gesticulating.

She asked me to tell her what he said behind her back. I could have lied and told her that he had just translated her speech for me, but I found it funnier to tell the truth. And then it’s not nice to lie!

Theo was horrified to see my little betrayal.

Jenna burst out laughing, saying:

“I really like her!”

I finally suggested that we go to my house, my kitchen being much better equipped than Theo’s, which was only composed of a microwave and a rusty gas stove.

Arrived at home Theo rushed to close the door of my room to hide the particularly unmade bed following our night… (this is another story that we will keep private!)

For the rest Jenna was obsessed with my kitchen. At first glance, she understood that I was a big fan of cooking a point that, I would quickly understand, we had in common.

We prepared prime ribs. I took care of marinating it and Jenna made us a side dish with beets.


Steak marinade:

Ingredients:

  • 125ml balsamic vinegar
  • 60ml soy sauce
  • 2 cloves of garlic, pressed
  • 2 tablespoons of honey
  • 2 tbs olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 ts. onion powder
  • 1 ts Worcestershire sauce

Preparation:

Let them marinate for at least 2 hours (ideally they should be marinated for 24 hours.)

Buraczki zasmażane (I have no idea how it’s said, it’s Polish):

Ingredients:

  • 500g cooked beets
  • 2 tbs of butter
  • 2 tbs of flour
  • 1 tbs lemon juice or vinegar
  • 1 tbs of sugar
  • 125ml single cream (Jenna used heavy cream)
  • some dill

Preparation:

  1. Peel the beets and grate them with a small-hole grater.
  2. In a skillet, prepare the roux by melting the butter and sprinkling it with flour. Stir. Lightly brown. Add a glass of water and cook over low heat, stirring, until the preparation becomes thick and smooth.
  3. Then add the beets, lemon juice and sugar. Mix well and simmer for ten minutes.
  4. Just before serving, add the cream and mix well.
  5. a bit of dill to finish

According to Jenna, this Polish recipe is perfect with beef, lamb and game. Personally, I think I will serve it cold with summer barbecues.


We talked a lot, I had the right to lots of crisp anecdotes about Theo’s childhood and their life in Georgia.

She made us donuts at tea time and we drank jasmine tea all afternoon, it was so good! (I’ve never been to the toilet as much as that night >.<).

I think I clearly fell in love with Theo’s mother. I felt like she was reading me like an open book. She understood I’ve lost a parent just seeing me touching my neckless when she talk about Theo’s dad (it is a gift of my mom), she must be a wizard. I now know where her son’s generosity and kindness comes from.

The day was wonderful with Jenna but now I have a little pressure, I will now have to introduce Theo to dad so that we are even. Hope it goes well!

Daddy drop your shotgun!

Take care of yourself and your loved ones! see you soon!

A little brother, a boyfriend, firefighters and a gumbo recipe

(no it’s not the start of a bad joke)

Today I have several things to share with you!

I’ve been dating someone for a few weeks. His name is Theoden, he’s a firefighter, a rock enthusiast (yes, I’m crazy about a drummer, what a cliche!) and draws really well (he made me want to get back into it, maybe I’ll post something on which I am working on at the moment but it takes time).
We met when they needed an interpreter after finding a lost child who happened to be deaf. He was the only one in the barracks who didn’t try to flirt with me by flexing his muscles. ^^’
It was his humor that made me crack at first, but what made me want to go further is that he is deeply kind and very cultured.

His friends at the brigade learned that I love to cook and in a joking tone they challenged me to cook for them, challenge accepted!

To help me in my task I have my little brother Søren come for the weekend. I invited him for this “event” because I know that fire trucks fascinate all boys.

  • The first part of the challenge already comes from the choice of the recipe. Several times when I went to see Theo there (yes, I play taxi drivers, he doesn’t have his car license. He drives a motorcycle but this one is in the garage), I understood that in his team, the sun is starting to fail for some.
  • They are big guys who eat well, so we needed something that holds well.
  • I have a relatively tight budget given their number but I am used to cooking for not very expensive.

For these reasons, I decided to go with an exotic dish reminiscent of travel and the sun, a typical dish from New Orleans (I have wanted to cook Cajun since my grandmother made me reread the Mayfair saga Witches for our play. ^^’), the Gumbo. I chose a Chicken Gumbo because I was told to avoid seafood.


Gumbo recipe:

You need for 4 people:

  • 50g butter (or olive oil)
  • 50g flour
  • 2 cajun smoked sausages or 1 pound andouille sliced (330 g)
  • 1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined
  • 4 chicken breasts (600g)
  • 1 can of crushed tomatoes
  • 2 carrots
  • 1 green pepper
  • 1 sprig of celery
  • 1 large white onion
  • 1 garlic clove
  • 2 tbsp Cajun spice blend ( 2 teaspoons creole seasoning, 2 bay leaves, 1 teaspoon dried thyme)
  • 1 pinch of salt
  • 1 liter of water
  • 250g long grain white rice

Achievement:

  1. In a saucepan, melt the butter. When it is melted, add the flour and spices then mix. Cook, stirring all the time, until it turns brown.
  2. Cut the smoked sausages into slices. Heat a skillet and brown the sausages for about 3 minutes on each side.
  3. Meanwhile, cut the chicken breasts into cubes. When the sausage slices have grilled well, remove them from the pan and brown the diced chicken for 3 to 5 minutes on each side.
  4. Split the peppers in half, remove the stem, ribs and seeds. Wash them and cut them. Peel and chop the onion. Wash the celery stalk and cut it into cubes, do the same with the carrots. Peel and press the garlic clove.
  5. Return the roux to the heat in a cast iron casserole dish. When it is hot, wet with a liter of water, little by little. Stir constantly and bring to a low boil. Then add the vegetables, the diced chicken and sausage.
  6. Cover and cook for 45 minutes over low heat and covered. At the end of this time, uncover and simmer for about twenty minutes uncovered.
    (For a shrimp or crayfish gumbo, omit the meat and poach them in the sauce 5 to 6 minutes before the end.)
  7. Meanwhile, prepare the rice by immersing it in a large volume of water. Let it cook for the time indicated on the package.

Serve in the same container the rice and the meat, and drizzle with broth.


We all had a great time and all the members of the team present surprised me by learning a few signs in sign language, with more or less talent, but it touched me a lot. I was invited to become their regular cook so maybe I will do it again!

At the end we showed Søren around the hangar, it didn’t last long then everyone had to leave for an intervention but I will never forget the stars in his eyes when they let him fly from one of the trucks.

My Theo hold a blog because of me! He talks about Rock music and his social impact to the world. There is olso some of his drawings, please take a look 😉 (there is a cartoony portrait of me! :D)

Drum&Draw

Take care of you and your loved one and see you later.

Ethereal Stories: Conquest

From indifference to oblivion, there is only one step. And this short distance, I believe I am in the process of crossing it; time is counted.
My name is Julius Larsen. Thirty-nine years old, of Danish nationality.
Events have just happened here that are beyond reason. That’s why, before everything unravels in the mists of my conscience, I want to report on this laptop what I saw with my own eyes. I don’t invent anything. All of the following has indeed taken place.

With Amelia my partner and two other couples of friends, we spent pleasant days off in this large house with swimming pool, rented in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence in France. We were surrounded by nature, the climate was ideal, the atmosphere was fine. It was my best vacation in a long time.
Yesterday morning, waking up before everyone else, I was having a coffee on the terrace when I saw Willow, my Australian Shepherd, behaving abnormally. While moaning, the dog crawled and cast towards the blue of the sky distraught glances that I did not understand.
Stunned, I then witnessed an incredible phenomenon: a gigantic mass was positioning itself, slow and silent, about thirty meters above the villa. As the sun grew almost warm, I found myself shivering in a huge puddle of shadow.

My first instinct was to leave the terrace to reach the interior of the house where I alerted my comrades, screaming like a madman. The household was still asleep, except for Amelia who, from the bathroom, asked me why I was bawling like that.
Five minutes later, our entire group was gathered in the living room, in disbelief, eyes still puffy with sleep, craned their necks behind the glazing to stare at the stationary object. It was a disc of considerable diameter, smooth as marble; its deep black surface reflected no light. One of us had the idea of phoning the gendarmerie who could have provided us with explanations, but our mobile lines were no longer working.
We were there, nervous, going around in circles without being able to agree on what to do next when, suddenly, several cables fell from the UFO along which strange silhouettes slipped. Their descent was so brief that we didn’t have time to detail them. One fact, however, seemed to us irrefutable: these living organisms were not of human form; rather spidery.
Among us, some have lost their means. Linda, Amelia’s long-time friend, broke down in tears, while Hans, her husband, white as a sheet, urged us to get to the cellar without delay to barricade ourselves there.

Coming from an adjoining room, the din of a smashed French window suddenly made us jump. From that moment, guided by their survival instinct, everyone went to take refuge where they could, without worrying about others. For my part, I found shelter at the bottom of a cupboard in the kitchen where, curled up in the middle of cleaning products, my heart beating at a maddening speed, I waited.
After a few seconds abominable cries reached me, accompanied by noises of struggle which froze my blood. Helpless in my hiding place, I recognized the voices of my friends. They implored, struggled, screamed in terror, formed a desperate chorus, unbearable to hear. Then, one after another, the mouths fell silent to make way for silence. Eloquent and heavy. I was probably the only survivor.
The next few minutes were the longest of my entire life. I was shaking so hard that it seemed impossible not to be spotted and slaughtered like the others. While I was preparing for the worst, no one came to dislodge me from this storage room.

Blinded by the ambient light, my limbs numb, I finally left my hole. How long was I there? I couldn’t tell, but when I got to my feet, I noticed he was floating in the air like the smell of blood.
On tiptoe, shortness of breath, I crossed the kitchen to approach the half-open door leading into the living room.
The scene I saw should have overwhelmed me; however I managed to control myself and stay on my feet, wondering where I could draw this courage.
To speak of a nightmare would be to lie. We were beyond. In a form of ultimate, superhuman horror. A delirious pandemonium, close to those hallucinated visions painted by Jérôme Bosch. In the middle of the room stood five creatures, huge gray insects consisting of a potbellied bladder-like body mounted on six slender legs. About five feet tall, they remained motionless, busy slowly devouring what remained of their prey. The victims’ clothes and shoes had been left in a corner. As I strained my ears, a chilling sound came to me: the muffled sound of crushed bones under their mandibles.
I thought I was really fainting when I saw the severed heads of my comrades lying on the ground between their hideous limbs. In each of their mouths was introduced a long flagellum connected to the body of the monster. These slender, shiny appendages seemed to hold the faces in a sort of semi-consciousness, a shred of life. Beneath the half-open eyelids the tarnished irises of their eyes moved weakly.
I then saw Amelia’s severed head. From a distance, pale and tragic, my beloved stared at me. Suddenly, as if trying to warn me, her bloodless lips came alive. I thought I could stay in control of my emotions, but this time I couldn’t. Around me everything became blurred, I collapsed and lost consciousness.

Lying on one of the sofas in the living room where I had been installed, I recovered my senses. My first act was to check if I had lost anything; when I saw that everything was fine, I relaxed. Turning my head towards the French window opening onto the terrace, I recognized my five friends. They were sitting in the sun, peaceful, in the physical aspect that I had always known them. The huge dark lid no longer crowned the house, as for the carnage that had taken place in the room, there was no trace left.
Did I have a bad dream? I was beginning to believe him.
In order to get to the bottom of it, I went to the kitchen to put my nose in this narrow little room where I thought I had hidden. In fact, I observed an abnormal disorder there; everything was upside down.
I then wanted to join my companions outside. Before the attack, our band was the gayest imaginable; talkative, playful and restless. I found a static assembly there, strangely disciplined and silent. Seeing me move forward, everyone turned their heads towards me without saying a word, then resumed their posture. Insensitive, distant. A revealing detail nevertheless jumped out at me: my friends had exchanged their clothes, which was not at all in our practice. I concluded that after taking on human appearance, the creatures got dressed without worrying about any consistency in clothing.
The situation should have alarmed me, made me run off at full speed. Instead, I felt nothing but blissful indifference.

Who can tell me what happened while I slept?
If I was spared, why do my emotions fade away in favor of this cold force that I cannot name?
This is the state of uncertainty in which I am floating at the moment.
But from above will soon come the truth. Because at the time when I finish this story, an incredible spectacle unfolds before my eyes: in the distance, large dark discs hover silently above the sunny countryside.
They are thousands. The sky is clear. I feel nothing.


I hope you liked this story.I love this post format but it took me a lot of time so maybe i will post those story less often in the future but I will not stop it. I just need a bit more time to rest after work and with friends and family for now.

Take care of yourself and your loved one and see you soon!

Ethereal Stories: Daily life of a potion shop

The other day, I was eating with people from my theater group. One of the girls started talking about her job as a pharmacist. It was really boring but it inspired me this little story. Good reading!

— Hello, I need a potion of… of…

I leave my register and gauge the client who continues to search for his words. His hands are nervous. Stuffed in his pockets, they move like puppets. Uncomfortably, his mine jumps from shelf to shelf, looking for a label that would have the courtesy to tell him what he is looking for. His eyes splay across his face, swampy globules that flutter like mosquitoes. I see that his big round jaw is directly connected to his neck, he chews in the void a desire to eat his lips so as not to admit his reason for being here. Probably the first time he has ventured into this kind of store. He reminds me of the last time I sold a toad transfiguration extract.


— You see… A potion for… for my…
— They’re at the back of the store, next to the breast enlargement elixirs, you can’t miss them.


A feeling of embarrassment sets in. I feel like he wants to kiss me to thank me. I’m flattered, but I’d have to turn him into a dildo if he approaches me. He seems to grasp the silent threat and changes his mind, contenting himself with a bumbling thank you and a curtsey before trotting off in the direction indicated. I should consider putting up a sign with a rod as an arrow to help guide them.

— Hmm, hm! Good morning !
I turn around, and have to look down to notice a small boy with clenched fists. Her hair looks like an egg running down her skull. A rough mix of yellow and white with a flyaway streak right in the middle. He wears a bed sheet that he has recycled into a toga, giving him the appearance of a Roman senator. With his wrathful expression, I expect any second to be the subject of gladiator-style condemnation:


— Are you okay little one? You got lost ?
— I’m seventy, moron! Get off your perch a bit so I can make you pay for the poison you sold me.

The hoarse and damaged voice of this baby face reminds me of something. I remember selling an extract to a face of the same kind covered with a hundred more wrinkles and spots. I should have teleported the shop to another city after the inventory.

— What is this about ?
— As if you didn’t know that!

Two days ago, I came for a rejuvenation potion. I had unearthed a thirty-year-old godiche, not shy, I wanted to surprise her. You sold it to me guaranteeing me that I would find all my ardor, enough to make the bed shake… I drank the vial… Have you ever tried to fuck with a maggot as a sword?
I feel it ready to attack me, it vibrates dangerously like dynamite just waiting to explode. However, one of the side effects of this drink is the possible transmission of rabies by oral contact. I should think about marking it on the manual for that matter.

— Madame was not satisfied with the product?
— She burst out laughing when she saw me and knocked herself out on the edge of the bed.

— Nothing serious ?

— No idea, I just ran here to solve this problem. So, do you worry that I can find her then! I took viagra, and it’s starting to sting!
Indeed, I see at the level of his crotch that the cocktail seems to do its work.
— All I can recommend is to wait for the effects of the magic to wear off. A few hours should be enough.

— No, no, no and no! I want to get laid, damn it!
To observe a child jumping around, mad with rage and chanting this has something unrealistic about it. For other customers. As far as I’m concerned, it’s the second of the day.

— You will find me a solution, immediately!
The boy pulls out a gun and points it at me. I’m relieved, I don’t have the right to use witchcraft against an intrusive client, but the rule is quite different when I’m threatened. I smile, and snap my fingers. Immediately, a hole makes the floor disappear and swallows the youngster who lets out a cry of surprise. A few hours with his darkest fears should calm down. It reminds me of my childhood.

— Hello !
In front of me is a familiar-faced customer. The pricked nose, the plump eyes and the mouth which causes a small noise of wings each time he bites his lips. He looks like a penguin bobbing with his belly taut like a drum. I wonder if he uses the latter to make his vocalists by hitting on it. From his ridiculous clumsy stampings, he turns impatiently in all directions.

— What can I do for you ? You seem to me in a better mood.

I remember our discussions during his previous visit. The poor bird was persuaded to be cuckolded by his wife. Much smarter and funnier, apparently, he had managed to seduce her at the time thanks to his considerate unhealthy kindness. The problem is that this had had some perverse effects in their couple, in particular having a separate bedroom so as not to disturb the lady any longer because of her guttural snoring. Obviously, the sexual relations had become rare thereafter. Over time, gnawed by his fear of infidelity, he ended up coming to my shop to ask me for a polymorphism potion so that he could take on the appearance of a colleague of his wife with the airs of Adonis that he suspected of being her lover. From his good looks, I deduce that…

— Tremendous ! Everything is going much better with my partner thanks to you!
— Glad to hear that. You could see for yourself that you were on the wrong track about it.

— Absolutely not ! This bitch was indeed cheating on me with this Gregory for months when I confronted him in this form.
He keeps a radiant smile, I think I lost track somewhere.
— I… And you… Are you all right?”

— If you knew ! We hadn’t made love like this for years! This savagery with which she straddled me… You cannot imagine.
— But… At that moment, were you really under the appearance of the lover?”

— Whatever ! I realize that she can deceive me as much as she wants, since I am the person with whom she commits her crime. I’m not going to be jealous of myself, after all.
There is indeed an implacable logic to such reasoning. However, something bothers me:
— But… What about this Grégory?

His face takes on an embarrassed color:

— That’s why I need your help again. I need to renew my stock of potions…
— To continue this adulterous relationship with yourself?”

— Not only … You see, after a whole night of passion with my companion, we began to discuss, at length. At dawn, we came to the conclusion that it was no longer possible for her to remain imprisoned in a marriage that made her so unhappy. So we decided that we had to kill her husband.

— So you ?
— Not exactly… I have to admit that since I had the real Grégory kidnapped, he’s been a little cumbersome in my cellar. He moaned a lot, my companion could eventually find out and understand the pot of roses. So, I said to myself, why not transform it into myself, the time of the murder, in order to get rid of it with my wife as an accomplice? Clever, isn’t it? Thus, we will finally be free to continue our idyll as before.

Words fail me. I could judge him for this folly, but this little business could secure me a steady income with a client engaged in such a charade for years. And then, who am I to decree what is right or wrong? I’m just an ordinary small trader, after all. Nothing more.

Romantic Dinner with Theo: Pisatachio-crusted Salmon recipe

I’ve been dating someone for a few weeks now, a firefighter! His name is Theo and I think I like him! It’s been a while since I’ve felt this close to a man and frankly it feels so good. He is hearing and knew nothing about the world of the deaf and yet he immediately made the effort to learn a few words in sign language and he shaved his beard when he learned that it was difficult for me to read on the lips of bearded people without me telling him. that and several other details mean yes okay, I think I like more a little more than good!!! We are taking a new step today, I invite him to dinner at home. I’m both impatient and stressed out at the same time, so I’m trying to calm myself down a bit by writing you a cooking article.


So tonight I have planned a pistachio-crusted salmon:

Ingredients (for two people):

  • 20cl + 1 tbsp of olive oil
  • ½ Lemon
  • Percil
  • 2 tsp cumin
  • 2 tsp paprika
  • 2 salmon steaks (tuna is perfect for the recipe)
  • 100g pistachios
  • flower of salt
  • ½ tsp of pink berries

First step: making the marinade.

Mix the lemon juice, 20cl of olive oil, percil,1 tsp of cumin and 1 tsp of paprika. Marinate the fish for an hour

Second step: making a pistachio puree.

Mix half of the pistachios until you obtain a paste, make it more liquid with a tablespoon of oil. (if you add a little sugar you get a divine spread, better than nutella)
Cover the fish with the pistachio paste

Third and last step: making the crust.

Crush the last pistachios with a knife, add the rest of the cumin and paprika then the pink peppercorns and finally roll your salmon in this breadcrumb.
Add a little salt and bake for ten minutes at 200 degrees Celsius (392 farenheit)

For garnish :

I chose boiled potatoes and a tabbouleh salad with semolina, green beans, cucumber and cherry tomatoes.


Yes the quantities on my plate are rather meager but I would not want, by overeating, that the digestion would tire him a little too much for the rest of the evening…
Well I’m off I still have a lot of little things to prepare. >.<
Cross your fingers for me!

Take care of yourself and your loved ones and see you soon!

Carrot soup with curry and croutons / Mushroom soup and croque monsieur

It’s been a while since I posted cooking recipes and with this cold ambient I wanted to offer you some simple soup recipes to warm up.

Carrot soup with curry:

Ingredients for 4 persons:

  • 2 onions
  • 600g carrots
  • 1 tablespoon of curry powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon cumin
  • 1l of chicken or vegetable broth
  • 6 portions of laughing cow cheese
  • salt and pepper

Realisation:

  1. Fry the onions with the curry and cumin.
  2. Add the carrots cut into rounds then the broth and cook for 20 to 25 minutes
  3. Once the carrots are cooked, mix everything, add the cheese, salt and pepper

For the croutons:

  1. Slice your bread in dices.
  2. In a pan add some oil a smash garlic and some thyme.
  3. When the garlic is a bit brown throw the bread in the pan.
  4. when the bread is toasted scatter it over your bowl of soup

Mushroom soup and croque monsieur

Ingredients for 4 persons:

  • 2 shallots
  • 500g of mushrooms
  • 20/25cl of fresh cream
  • 1l of chicken or vegetable broth
  • 1 tablespoon of tarragon
  • salt an pepper
  • Some rocket leaves for decoration (optional)

Realisation:

  1. Fry the shallots
  2. Add mushrooms and cook until they are soft, add the broth and cook for 10 min
  3. Mix everything and add the tarragon, the salt an pepper.

Accompaniments

I let you 2 choices I like a lot with my mushroom soup:

Croques monsieur

A slice of cheese and a slice of ham between 2 slice of bread you toast on the oven until the bread is toasted

Ham toast

  1. put some olive oil on a pan and toast your bread in it.
  2. rub a clove of raw garlic on the toasted bread, emphasizing the crust.
  3. Spread the bread with walnut cheese (or fresh cheese if you are lacking)
  4. Added a slice of ham on top

Whether it’s one or the other, I really like to dip them in my soup like you can dip a slice of bread in your tea.

I hope you will like it!

Take care of yourself and you loved ones and see you soon!