What I’m reading: Pope Francis’ last words from hospital - religious message to be taken with a pinch of salt, but I like the sentiment:
The walls of hospitals have heard more honest prayers than churches...
They have witnessed far more sincere kisses than those in airports..
It is in hospitals that you see a homophobe being saved by a gay doctor.
A privileged doctor saving the life of a beggar...
In intensive care, you see a Jew taking care of a racist...
A police officer and a prisoner in the same room receiving the same care...
A wealthy patient waiting for a liver transplant, ready to receive the organ from a poor donor...
It is in these moments, when the hospital touches the wounds of people, that different worlds intersect according to a divine design. And in this communion of destinies, we realize that alone, we are nothing.
The absolute truth of people, most of the time, only reveals itself in moments of pain or in the real threat of an irreversible loss.
A hospital is a place where human beings remove their masks and show themselves as they truly are, in their purest essence.
This life will pass quickly, so do not waste it fighting with people.
Do not criticize your body too much.
Do not complain excessively.
Do not lose sleep over bills.
Make sure to hug your loved ones.
Do not worry too much about keeping the house spotless.
Material goods must be earned by each person— do not dedicate yourself to accumulating an inheritance..
You are waiting for too much: Christmas, Friday, next year, when you have money, when love arrives, when everything is perfect...
Listen, perfection does not exist.
A human being cannot attain it because we are simply not made to be fulfilled here.
Here, we are given an opportunity to learn.
So, make the most of this trial of life - and do it now.
Respect yourself, respect others. Walk your own path, and let go of the path others have chosen for you.
Respect: do not comment, do not judge, do not interfere.
Love more, forgive more, embrace more, live more intensely!
And leave the rest in the hands of the Creator.
What I’m listening to: Ta-Nehisi Coates on why stories matter in the age of Trump (on the Guardian’s Today in Focus)
What I’m eating: Bunsen burger on a trip home to Dublin last weekend (below) - although it has been brought to my attention that a single cheeseburger is actually the move with this type of burger, as the ratios are much better
This week’s recipe (STP) is a really handy one to have in your back pocket year-round. We are tantalisingly close to summer fruit season (berries! stone fruit! figs!), and I have seen some UK strawberries cropping up on the internet which means full season is just around the corner. Forced rhubarb season is pretty much over, but main season rhubarb is coming soon, and although not quite as pretty and pink, I tend to prefer the flavour of the red/green variety.
I tend to get a bit over-excited when a new season of fruit begins. In January I am often flat out making marmalade, and I’m currently already eagerly anticipating gooseberry season (which won’t be until around July). For those awkward in-between-season times though, I like to focus on more perennial flavours: vanilla, chocolate, caramel, nuts, coffee etc. There’s something very comforting about knowing that these are flavours you can come back to at any time of year, without the anxiety that comes with knowing fruit seasons can be fleeting.
This is one of those recipes that doesn’t require any seasonal produce. The coffee/dates/toffee flavours are perfect (IMHO) for spring and autumn, and it’s such a foolproof dessert - especially if you buy the ice-cream instead of churning your own (I won’t tell anyone). The cake is a date loaf (which you cut into slices to serve), but you can also make it in a brownie tin and cut it into squares - or bake in individual dariole moulds for an even cuter plated dessert. For the STP pictured below (which I made for a pop-up event in Auckland), I made a coffee ice-cream so it was a sticky-toffee-coffee pudding, but vanilla ice-cream works equally well.
recipe: sticky toffee pudding
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