Mad Men

It's hard to see life crumble in front of your eyes, piece by piece, minute by minute, even if it's just TV series and not to mention a recent event. Yes, there is no excuse for his womanizing. Yes, she should have made her voice heard long time ago. Yes, they both need to talk to each other more. Love and trust drip away like a sand castle, with every blow of the wave, when two hearts are no longer one. We feel profoundly sad, even as bystanders. Not because we human beings like happy endings, but because we know someone is lying and one or more lives will be destroyed. Why do we do the things we do even though we know the right things to do? Maybe we will never know.

Cheers.

Don: It'll be okay. Betty: Really? How can you be so sure?

Hello

I am still here, working, cooking, gardening and all. The baby flowers I planted back in March all died except one. Seeds sown and bulbs planted in April have started to come out which cheer me a lot. Looks like March is still too cold for gardening. Buying baby plants from the garden centre in March is just a waste of money. Well, lessons learned.

Seeing and feeling the resilience and the tenacity of what's going on in my small garden is just amazing. Life, is the most extraordinary thing in this world. The wonderfully complex machinery working like a clock and the sum always comes out to be greater than the individual parts. The scent and the vivid color from my garden not only display a wonderful collaboration of the sun, the earth and the plant, but also they in turn relax me and form nice memories in my head. When I feel low, I think of my plants striving for light by pushing out of the soil, rocks and weeds. I feel that I should at least try more to deserve their hard work for me.

Life is such an extraordinary thing.

I make - Pasta and beans

Anna Del Conte is not only one of my favorite food writers but also the authority when it comes to Italian cooking for me. She is often credited for introducing Italian food into England and is revered by others. I came to know her after I arrived in UK 10 years ago. Her detailed explanation of basic skills in Italian cooking and knowledge about different regional Italian cooking styles have impressed me so much when I first started reading (and cooked through) her book, Amaretto, Apple Cake and Artichokes. She is so far the only author with whom I will buy cookbooks without pictures. Her clear instructions and reliable recipes just make me come back again and again.

I learned about Pasta and beans (or pasta e fagioli) from Anna. I like pasta and I like beans. Just never occurred to me that you could combine them in a dish. And what a wonderful dish it is. The homeliness and comfort it brings when you send a spoonful of pasta and beans down your mouth. I like to serve it with toasted garlic bread to complete its down-to-earth appeal. Belissimo.

Pasta and beans (adapted from Classic Italian Recipes by Anna Del Conte)

- 350 g (or 6 links) beef sausages (optional)
- 1/2 onion, chopped
- 5 garlic cloves, chopped
- 1 tin of chopped tomato
- 1 fresh/dried chilli, chopped
- 1/4 cup of red lentil (optional)
- 1 cup of boiling water/stock (double or triple the amount if more soupy texture is desired)
- 1 tin of cooked haricot beans (or any type of white beans available)
- 1 tsp of dried basil
- up to 1 cup of small pasta, uncooked
- 1 cup of mixed vegetables, blanched (optional but some chopped cabbage or green beans are nice)
- salt and pepper to season

Heat a frying pan with 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Squeeze the sausage meat out of its casing. Brown the sausage meat chunks all over. Scoop them out in a plate. Drain the oil in the pan so that only a tablespoon is left. Fry the onion, garlic and chilli in the same pan for a few minutes. Add in tomato, water and red lentils. Bring the pot to boil and turn the heat low. Cover and cook the red lentils through. It will take about 20 minutes.

While the red lentils are cooking, bring another pot of water to boil. Cook the small pasta and blanch vegetables if using. When the red lentils are ready, add in dried basil, haricot beans, cooked pasta and additional vegetables. Season with black pepper and salt. Stir in browned sausage chunks and cook the mixture for 5 minutes.

Serve with garlic bread.