I must be slightly over-enthusiastic to blog three times this week but since I'm waiting for a block of butter to soften, and that I've made something simple earlier on, why not? My schoolmates J and C came over for lunch today. Yes, schoolmates. But like what C had said, we were just schoolmates not so long ago. As the girls came from the office, they brought some savoury pastries - chicken and tuna puffs - shared over mushroom soup and lemon cake.
When friends come over, I always worry about not having enough food. So for supplementaries - purely optional - I got some baguette slices lightly toasted to either go along with the soup, or for some tomatoes as topping. The Italians (and now nearly the rest of the world) call it bruschetta.
When friends come over, I always worry about not having enough food. So for supplementaries - purely optional - I got some baguette slices lightly toasted to either go along with the soup, or for some tomatoes as topping. The Italians (and now nearly the rest of the world) call it bruschetta.
It is so simple that I had some fifteen kids of mine - thirteen-year-olds from my own class - churned them out in large batches for the some hundreds of their seniors to sample. That was back in my last school in Singapore when we celebrated International Friendship Day. When asked by the colleague in charge of the event which country I could help set up a booth, I volunteered Italy without blinking.
We had one tasting session for ourselves. That's when I gave the instructions and the kids attempted it just like that. Then as we went along, we thought of ways to be more organized, increase the level of productivity and not making a complete mess of the home economics lab so kindly loaned to us.
On the actual morning, the troopers came and knew exactly what to do. Some took care of the toasts while others chopped and mixed away. The real extroverts presented our stuff to the students who arrived in large groups. Then I had a laugh when I caught two fellas mimicking that famous scene from Star Wars, each holding a full-sized baguette.
My students loved it, or so they claimed, saying they learned something truly useful and knew something more about the Italian culture beyond pizza and pasta. Well, anything just to eat outside recess time, I'd say. I think we were the only booth with food, now that I try to recall.
We had one tasting session for ourselves. That's when I gave the instructions and the kids attempted it just like that. Then as we went along, we thought of ways to be more organized, increase the level of productivity and not making a complete mess of the home economics lab so kindly loaned to us.
On the actual morning, the troopers came and knew exactly what to do. Some took care of the toasts while others chopped and mixed away. The real extroverts presented our stuff to the students who arrived in large groups. Then I had a laugh when I caught two fellas mimicking that famous scene from Star Wars, each holding a full-sized baguette.
My students loved it, or so they claimed, saying they learned something truly useful and knew something more about the Italian culture beyond pizza and pasta. Well, anything just to eat outside recess time, I'd say. I think we were the only booth with food, now that I try to recall.
Bruschetta makes a great party snack. All you have to do is get one or two baguettes, slice them about a centimeter thick, drizzle some olive oil over and toast them. You can be a purist to rub a sliced clove of garlic on the toasts, or if you cheat like me, dust some garlic powder very lightly over them just before toasting.
As for the topping, get some canned stewed tomatoes and tear them into smaller bits by hand. Add a clove of garlic and some red onion, all finely chopped, to your liking. Roll up some basil leaves like a cigar and finely slice them. Then some salt and pepper, and finally, a squeeze of about half a lemon for that "freshened up" taste.
If it is a sit-down party at the table, you need to only have the toasts in a basket and the tomatoes in a bowl with a spoon. Let your friends help themselves to it. Otherwise, if you have to prepare the bruschetta like the main picture, do it only when your guests have arrived. That way, they get to enjoy a little "demo" from you and be guaranteed zero soggy toasts.
The Darth Vader and Luke guys, I'm counting - they must have done rather well for their O-Levels last year and have moved on to either junior college for their A-Levels or polytechnic for a Diploma as you read this.
Time flies. But I still remember their names. With lots of other fond memories of their friends too.
As for the topping, get some canned stewed tomatoes and tear them into smaller bits by hand. Add a clove of garlic and some red onion, all finely chopped, to your liking. Roll up some basil leaves like a cigar and finely slice them. Then some salt and pepper, and finally, a squeeze of about half a lemon for that "freshened up" taste.
If it is a sit-down party at the table, you need to only have the toasts in a basket and the tomatoes in a bowl with a spoon. Let your friends help themselves to it. Otherwise, if you have to prepare the bruschetta like the main picture, do it only when your guests have arrived. That way, they get to enjoy a little "demo" from you and be guaranteed zero soggy toasts.
The Darth Vader and Luke guys, I'm counting - they must have done rather well for their O-Levels last year and have moved on to either junior college for their A-Levels or polytechnic for a Diploma as you read this.
Time flies. But I still remember their names. With lots of other fond memories of their friends too.
