I was sad at the beginning of the week and I’m even sadder now, after hearing about first David Bowie, and then today, Alan Rickman passing. Both at 69, far too young, and both from cancer. Fuck cancer.
It seems everyone loved them, these two very different men. They touched many lives in many ways, for many, many years.
A friend of mine from college introduced me to Bowie’s music, along with plenty of other great artists who I had never listened to up to that point. I fell immediately in love with the passion and color of his lyrics and the quirkiness of his singing and style. He featured on pretty much every mixed tape or DVD compilation I put together all through the end of the 80s and the 90s. I saw him live in Chicago during the Serious Moonlight concert. I loved him as the Goblin King in Labyrinth, and was mesmerized by his performance in Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence.
Like everyone else I first took notice of Alan Rickman in Die Hard, but it was his performance in and the story of Truly, Madly, Deeply in 1991 that set him apart for me. I loved his portrayal of the hilariously evil Sheriff of Nottingham in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves and he was perfectly cast as Severus Snape in the Harry Potter films. He was always so charming and down-to-earth with a real twinkle in his eye in every interview I ever saw him in.
It was too soon for them to go, truly.
I’ve been thinking a lot about death this week, consequently, and yesterday found myself missing my dad very much. He died just before Christmas 19 years ago…right before I moved to Sweden. (my 19-year anniversary of moving here was this week). He came zooming into the forefront of my mind and heart last night as I was working through recipes and came to a couple that simply brought him back to life in my mind’s eye: Scrambles and Chervil Soup.
I don’t think I’ve had either one since he passed away, actually, though my mom might have made the soup once when we were visiting from Sweden. I don’t know why I never make the soup. It’s easy and it’s SO good. I loved it, especially when he made it with his own freshly baked Pilgrim bread. When he got into his soup-making kick we were living in Belgium…we had never even HEARD of chervil. It’s a staple in my spice rack today and I still prefer it to most other herbs.
I can’t make the Scrambles here because I can’t get the cereal ingredients, sadly. Just thinking about the Scrambles and the soups and the breads he used to make and how he loved popping the perfect bowl of popcorn: I can see him standing in front of me, shaking the bowl to distribute the salt evenly and smiling. Too soon for him to go, too.
Dad’s Scrambles
by John W. Slaughter
2 lbs salted nuts
1 (12 oz) pkg. Wheat Chex cereal
1 (6.5 oz) pkg. Rice Chex cereal
1 (10.5 oz) pkg Oat Chex cereal
1 (6.5 oz) can curly pretzels or bites
1 (5.5 oz) pkg. pretzel sticks
2 cups salad oil
2 TB Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp garlic salt
2 tsp salt
Place first 6 ingredients in a large pan. Combine rest of ingredients and pour over cereal mixture. Blend well. Cook in oven at 250F, stirring about every 15 minutes for a total time of 30-45 minutes. Cool, drain and store in an airtight container.
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Chervil Soup
Serves 4-6
3 TB butter
2 TB flour
6 cups beef broth or bouillon
1/2 tsp salt
pepper
1 egg yolk
1/4 cup cream
2 TB finely chopped fresh or dried chervil
In saucepan, heat butter, add flour and stir into smooth paste. Add beef broth gradually, stirring constantly. Cook for 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Combine egg yolk, cream and chervil in soup tureen and while stirring constantly, very carefully pour hot soup over mixture. Serve. If using dried chervil, add to soup pot to cook a few minutes. Put egg yolk and cream in bowl and slowly stir in some of the hot soup. Then slowly stirring the pot, add the egg and cream mixture back into soup pot. Serve.
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It’s cold here, and blowing, and blizzarding. At last we have real winter with snow on the ground and in the air. I saw geese flying north the other morning, though, so despite hearing some months ago that this would be a long, hard, cold winter, it seems that there is hope for spring, sooner rather than later. Although maybe they were just confused and turned around like the geese always seem to be.
I’m slogging through my first full week of work after vacation and feel as though I haven’t lifted my head from the keyboard in days. Especially considering I come home and spend part of the evening working at the computer here, too. Glutton for punishment, I guess.