The next day I went up to Liverpool and briefly met friends Jill and Dill in town.
Jill mentioned that the blog was becoming a little ponderous and that she preferred to read about what I had for tea. So I'm lowering the tone a litlle today.
On Thursdays I have pizza and will share the recipe with you all.
As you know I am the inventor of Cuisine Rojak and this is a typical rojak pizza.
It used to be called Pizza Pucat Tinggi but I have changed the name to Pizza Panas Dalam in honour of Brooke's latest contribution to the Jack Glob.
Here we go.
Ingredients for the base.
Baker's yeast or dried yeast.
Good strong bread flour.
Semolina flour.
Tamarind paste.
Step 1. Do the stuff with the yeast.
Step 2. Put flour in mixing bowl. Roughly 24% semolina.
Step 3. Add q quarter teaspoon of tamarind paste.
Step 4. Pour in the water from the risen yeast while stirring to a thick paste.
Step 5. Knead the mixture well for five to ten minutes until it is firm and elastic.
Just bash, pummel and thump the dough any way you like. I know you all have your own special kneads.
Step 6. Leave to rise in a warm place in a bowl covered with a damp cloth. Leave for at least one hour.
Step 7. When the dough has risen to twice the original size give it a tap to take out some of the air and leave for another fifteen minutes.
Step 8. Roll out dough and put in a pizza pan. Choose the thickness you want. I prefer a thicker base, about the size of a deep pan pizza.
The topping.
Spread with tomato paste diluted with a teaspoon of balsamic vinegar.
Sprinkle with six finely chopped fresh bird's eye chillies.
Add sliced red or yellow pepper that has previously been grilled and skinned.
Add mushrooms. A variety of mushrooms is preferred.
Add sun dried tomatoes in olive oil.
Sprinkle with capers.
Next scatter on plenty of good mozzarella making sure the sun dried tomatoes are well covered.
Finally a good sprinkling of fresh oregano. Dried if that is all you can get.
That's the vegetarian version.
For meat eaters add, anchovies, pepperoni sausage and smoked mussels.
Cook for about 20 minutes until the cheese starts to brown.
That's the basic recipe. Feel free to experiment. One of the best pizzas toppings I've ever had was peanut butter and chilli, in Kota Kinabalu.
When she mentioned this I was reminded that Manet's father had two extraordinary twin sisters, Marie and Celeste. I think it is a pity that their fame has been completely eclipsed by the artist.
They were both electrical engineers in an age when there was a great deal of prejudice against women in science, but nevertheless they rose to the pinnacle of their career and were famed throughout Europe. They were also responsible for the electrification of most of the French North African colonies. The sisters were the only Europeans the Arabs really trusted and they bought electricity into some of the poorest casbahs of Algiers and Tunis, where they are fondly remembered even now.
In fact to this day there is a common Algerian saying which translated means, 'Manet's aunts make light work'.
If you want to know, I'm having salad and a cheese sandwich tonight washed down with a mug of tea. Then I shall watch that excellent French crime series The Spiral.
Sorry about all this trivial nonsense. Blame Jill