Cake and Books

Today, in protest to the awful weather I decided to barracade myself in doors for the first time in a long time. While this might seem like a regular occurence for someone who lives in a regular home, I can assure you that it is quite a commitment for any person living in a one room studio. Nevertheless, equipped with my Kindle, Jazz Age novels and ingredients for baking I forged out a pretty awesome day in my little appartment.

I made myself a plum torte cake from Smitten Kitchen which aside from tasting heavenly is quite an aesthetically pleasing bit of pastry! This is particularly true when the plum juices seep into the sponge and leave a fresh red imprint.

I read "This Side of Paradise" by F Scott Fitzgerald and "A Moveable Feast" by Hemingway. The latter is a posthumously pubished work by Hemingway of his time in Paris with Gertrude Stein and members of the Lost Generation. It reminded me of the pleasures of simply enjoying good food and drink in cafes. Something which I rarely indulge in when out by myself. It is always refreshing to see someone with such high intellectual prowess devote pages to describing meals- it shows that they are truly alive. Fitzgerald, who features in Hemingway's book, wrote "This Side of Paradise" as his first novel inspired by incidents in his own life- in particular his romance with Zelda before they were married. The protaganist reminds me strongly of Holden Caulfield- two young men lost in the upper echelons of society, both too aware of themselves and too intelligent to accept fully imersing themselves in it.

A bientot,
Niamh