Kafka's Soup

I received another package from England from my friend, Sandra Walker. Aside from being my friend, she is best know as a master watercolourist and member of the Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolour along with Prince Charles!

But enough about Sandra, lets talk cookbooks. Knowing my fondness for literature (my package included a "Read Virginia Woolf" button which I am wearing now), Sandra sent me a copy of Kafka's Soup: A Complete History of World Literature in 17 Recipes by Mark Crick. Crick's ingenious little book presents 17 recipes that might have been referenced in works of literature and then he creates their reference in the style of the writer. There are recipes for Clafoutis Grandmere a la Virginia Woolf, speaking of, and Quick Miso Soup a la Franz Kafka or Kafka's soup!

Here is one from Britain's most renown playwright...Harold Pinter...and you thought it was Shakespeare!!

Cheese On Toast a la Harold Pinter

1 loaf of ciabatta
1 aubergine
Extra virgin olive oil
Pesto
200 g. Mozzarella
2 teaspoons fresh oregano, chopped.

ACT 1

A kitchen, cluttered. A florescent tube is flickering, trying to light. Beneath a window is a sink, piled with dirty dishes. The bin is overflowing with rubbish; nearby, empty bottles are standing. There is a small kitchen table; newspapers and unopened letters obscure the surface. At the table are two chairs. There is the sound of a key in a door, muffled voices. The door bangs shut; instantly HURLEY, a young man dressed in a leather jacket, and CLACK, an older man, tramp-like in appearance, enter stage left.

HURLEY. Come in, make yourself at home.
(CLACK enters and looks around)
Bloody light. I've been meaning to get a new tube.
(HURLEY reaches up and taps the light with his finger until it stops flickering.) I'll make
you something to eat.
CLACK. I haven't eaten all day.

Crick is quite the talent as is Sandra!