I want to continue with the things I was talking about in this post as I got distracted and lost my train of thought. My original intention was to give my own thoughts on a series of riots which England experienced last month.
Prime Minister blamed moral decline among young people. Justice Secretary is blaming the penal system. General public blamed bad parenting. I just think that the riot last month is a part of natural consequences of the social system in the UK.
As I mentioned in my previous post, from day one babies are expected to become independent and parents do their best not to 'spoil' their babies. This expectation from parents and from society generally seems to continue until they start a formal education at the age of about five. (Don't forget that I'm saying this only from my limited experience as a parent, but it's a fact that lots of people cautioned me when I was breastfeeding my son until he was two years, not weeks or months, old.)
What happens next when the children reach thier school age is that teachers and parents try and adopt 'positive attitudes' towards the kids and praise them frequently. In fact, it's so frequent that they praise them even if the end result is mediocre. My son (age 17), who's just got exam results, announced that he would ask the tests to be re-marked. If that doesn't get him the mark he wanted he can even re-sit the exams. He can do all of these things legitimately. To me, who went through Japanese education system, this is out of order. When would they learn to take responsibility or consequences for their action?
It tends to be the other way round in the Far East (including Japan) where mothers still have their traditional role and spend almost their entire time with the babies until they are about three. Babies learn that the world is a welcoming place where he/she can trust others. Self-confidence and independence, I believe, only come from a very secure foundation. Then after that age kids have to learn to be criticised (constructively) and to take responsibility.
Of course there are a lot of historical, cultural, social, and religious background in our different approach to children. I guess things are a lot harder particularly when it is a mixed society. And of course Japan has its own problems.
Now, this tart is quite something. It uses two whole heads of garlic. Make this when you have some spare time as it takes ages to peel 30-odd cloves of garlic :) This recipe is scaled down from the one in Plenty by Ottolenghi and it's delicious...if you like garlic, that is.
Ingredients (for 24cm tart tin):
350g or thereabouts all-butter puff pastry (shop-bought)
2 medium heads garlic, cloves separated and peeled
1 dessertspoon olive oil
1 dessertspoon balsamic vinegar
150ml water
1 dessertspoon caster sugar
1 teaspoon rosemary, finely chopped
1 teaspoon thyme, finely chopped, plus a few whole sprigs
100g soft creamy goat's cheese
100g hard mature goat's cheese
2 eggs
100ml double cream
100ml crème fraîche
Preheat the oven to 180C.
Roll out the pastry to fit inside the tin. Put a piece of greaseproof paper on top of the pastry and cover the surface with baking beans. Leave in the fridge and get on with the garlic.
Put all the cloves of garlic into a small saucepan and cover with plenty of water. Bring to a simmer and blanch for 3 minutes and drain them well. Dry the pan and return the garlic cloves. Add the olive oil and fry for a few minutes. Add the balsamic vinegar and water. Bring to the boil and then simmer gently for 10 minutes. Add sugar, the herbs (except thyme sprigs), and a pinch of salt. Keep simmering until the water has evaporated and the cloves are caramelised. Set aside.
Take out the pastry tin and and blind bake for about 20 minutes. Remove the beans and the paper. (Don't be tempted to get the tin earlier as the pastry would come off with the paper, making a gaping hole...) Bake again for about 5 minutes and take it out of the oven.
Whisk the eggs and creams and a pinch of salt in a bowl. Break both types of cheese into pieces and scatter in the pastry case. Spoon in the garlic cloves and syrups evenly over the cheese bits. Pour the custard over, avoiding the garlic cloves so that you can see those glorious little nuggets later. Scatter thyme sprigs.
Bake in the oven for about 40 minutes until the filling is set and the top is golden.