roquefort

 

It’s been a while since I made bread and this showstopper looks like a doozy.  That means “something outstanding or unique of its kind” btw. Old language but effective.  I recently went to a fundraising event with Victor Rodger, the playwright and scriptwriter as guest speaker, with the aim of promoting and supporting the Writers in Schools programme run by the New Zealand Book Council.  The objective is to get New Zealanders to read more and to spread the joy of reading and writing.  “Telling our stories enriches all of our lives,”  and as Victor said after reading his story, “that’s a piece that really resonates with the youth and I love that it does.”  It’s such important work promoting reading and writing, with so many stories to tell and so many stories locked away in words in books.  Our youth need to know the benefit of this easily accessible art form, and not have it lost to technology, Instagram and Netflix.  My daughter is currently reading and enjoying “One Hundred Years of Solitude” by Gabriel Garcia Marquez.  A hard read but undeniably funny.  Classics will never go away, but books have to be picked up to be enjoyed and that is what this program promotes and tries to facilitate.  Just like bread, reading takes time, but the whole process is enjoyable and the end result is well worth the effort.  Here’s the link to the book council if you are interested in following their programmes or supporting their efforts to inspire students to develop a love of reading and storytelling. http://www.bookcouncil.org.nz 

As for me, it’s back to the bread, which I have to say wasn’t uninspired by some of the food at this said event; devils on horseback (prunes with bacon on a toothpick!), and dates filled with blue cheese and wrapped in prosciutto, not to mention the ubiquitous and undeniably popular asparagus roll!!  Whoever came up with these classics was a genius.   My bake got underway with the purchase of copious quantities of blue cheese and walnuts, not a bad start as they are some of my favourite foods.  I measured out the white flour, the rye flour and

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