The Accidental Stepford

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September 2010

What I Am Reading At The Moment

Currently I am reading The Custom of the Country by Edith Wharton. My love affair with Wharton’s novels began with The Age of Innocence five years ago, but until this year I had not had the opportunity to read another of her books. That changed when I spotted a new edition of The House of Mirth in a bookshop in July, which I quickly devoured within days of purchase. Earlier this month I was surprised to see The Custom of the Country in a bookshop and just had to buy it too - am I missing something? Are schools in Britain finally teaching the mighty Edith Wharton? Whatever the reason for the revival I must say I am so glad that there is suddenly a glut of her novels out there for people to enjoy.

Wharton has often been dismissed as a lightweight immitator of Henry James, but I feel this is an unfair comparison, as there is a lot more to her writing than this criticism implies. Wharton’s prose can match Austen for its satirical acidity, as well as be emotionally heart-wrenching, and reflects Wharton’s interest in Social Anthropology (Just read Ellen’s farewell dinner in The Age of Innocence to understand what I mean).

I truly hope that The Custom of the Country lives up to her other novels, and so far I’m thoroughly enjoying reading about the deliciously self-absorbed Undine Spragg.

Sep 22, 2010
#Edith Wharton #Reading #Novels #Books #The Custom of the Country
Lemon Tart

Last night the Mr came home to inform me that we had been invited over for dinner by one of his colleagues. Cue mild panic and the resolution that I’d bake a lemon tart. I made the same tart a few weeks back after news that the Mr’s aunt and uncle were stopping by and the panic attack that bombshell brought on [excuse the melodrama].

As the previous post about my vanilla biscuit fiasco suggests sweet things are not my forte in the kitchen, however the last time I made the tart it came out surprisingly well, so I was hoping for a repeat success. I found the pastry to be a little troublesome, but it seemed to work out ok. I used Fran Warde’s recipe from her book New Bistro, and have included the recipe below.

———————————————————————

Fran Warde’s Lemon Tart

For the pastry:

  • 150g plain flour
  • 75g cold butter, diced into small pieces
  • 25g caster sugar
  • 1 large egg

For the filling:

  • 2 eggs
  • 50g caster sugar
  • 175ml double cream
  • the juice and zest of 2 lemons
  • icing sugar for dusting
  1. For the pastry, place the flour and butter in a bowl and rub together quickly using your finger tips until the mixture resembles the texture of breadcrumbs. Add the sugar and mix through. Whisk the egg, then stir into the pastry to form a dough ball. Wrag the dough in clingfilm and chill it for 1 hour.
  2. Preheat the oven to 190C. Place the chilled pastry on a work surface, press out with the heel of your hand, then roll out to fit a 23cm loose-based flan tin. Do not stretch the pastry to fit. Trim away the excess from around the edge, and prick the base with a fork. Line the pastry case with baking parchment and fill with baking beans, then cook for 20 mins.
  3. Reduce the oven temperature to 160C. Remove the beans and the parchment and return the flan case to the oven and bake for a further 10 mins.
  4. Meanwhile, make the filling. Whisk the eggs and caster sugar, then add all but 2 tablespoons of the cream, and the lemon juice and zest, and mix together. Pour into the prepared pastry case and cook for 10 mins. Swirl in the remaining cream to create a marbled effect, then continue to cook for a further 20 mins until the filling is just set.
  5. Leave to cool and dust with icing sugar before serving.
Sep 21, 2010 1 note
#Lemon tart #Fran Warde #Recipe #Desert #Cooking
Play
Sep 21, 2010
#Black Swan #Natalie Portman #Cinema #Film #Movies #Trailers
WHAT IS YOUR EARLIEST HUMAN MEMORY?

Playing in the garden with my older sister.

Sep 21, 2010
Putting your worst foot forward

I had intended to start off this blog with a culinary success of some sort. Sadly this is not to be the case as I managed to fail at making biscuits. Despite having spent my teen years making biscuits and cookies, I managed to whip up some of the most bland vanilla creations known to man. Perhaps that is too strong a condemnation of them, but I don’t feel that it is worth copying out the recipe.

My baking disaster is perhaps an apt way to begin this, as it demonstrates that I am several miles off being the perfect Stepford husband. As ‘The Accidental Stepford’ suggests, the role of homemaker is not one I expected to find myself in at this stage in my life. I am 23 and a recent graduate. I have dreams and ambitions. These have been put on hold due to a combinations of factors. Firstly, the economic climate. This sounds like a massive cop out I know, the job market has always been tough and the chances of landing your dream job straight out of university have always been slim, but I can safely say that it is extra tough now. Secondly, I am living in the part of the country where there is a shortage of jobs in the industry I want to get into; publishing. Yes there are a few publishers in the West Midlands, Tindal Street Press (www.tindalstreet.co.uk) for instance, but there is hardly a glut of entry level positions available. So, for the past month I have been keeping house whilst my partner goes off to work every day. In between writing job applications I am in charge of cooking, laundry, ironing, cleaning, and the scary thing is that I’m starting to take pride in my work.

The fact that I have effectively become a house-husband is something that initially I found amusing. I joked about my new found love of the domestic, but ultimately it terrifies me. I am constantly plagued by the fear that this is my life. With the rejection letters/ e-mails/ phone calls piling up I have come to the conclusion that I ought to embrace my new found calling of house-husbandry, and you never know, if I distract myself with trying out new recipes and obsessing about keeping the hob clean, then maybe I shall suddenly find myself employed…

Sep 20, 2010
#baking #publishing #unemployment #house-husbandry
“Yet it is in our idleness, in our dreams, that the submerged truth sometimes comes to the top.”—Virginia Woolf, A Room of One’s Own
Sep 20, 2010
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