Hi everyone and welcome to the blog. This week I am continuing with last week's theme of pioneers, only these were leaders in two totally different fields Jacques Cousteau and Stan Laurel. This week’s recipes are old favourites with a twist, they are Parmesan & Parsley-Crusted Salmon, Fully Loaded Cajun Chicken Burgers, and Roasted Butternut Squash with Goat's Cheese. The spice of the week is Annatto.
Jacques-Yves Cousteau, (11 June 1910 – 25 June 1997) was a French naval officer, explorer, ecologist, filmmaker, innovator, scientist, photographer, author and researcher who studied the sea and all forms of life in water. He co-developed the aqua-lung, pioneered marine conservation and was a member of the Académie française.
Cousteau was born on 11 June 1910, in Saint-André-de-Cubzac, Gironde, to Daniel and Élisabeth Cousteau. He had one brother, Pierre-Antoine. Cousteau completed his preparatory studies at the prestigious Collège Stanislas in Paris. In 1930, he entered the École Navale and graduated as a gunnery officer. After an automobile accident cut short his career in naval aviation, Cousteau indulged his interest in the sea. In Toulon, where he was serving on the Condorcet, Cousteau carried out his first underwater experiments, thanks to his friend Philippe Tailliez who in 1936 lent him some Fernez underwater goggles, predecessors of modern diving masks. On 12 July 1937 he married Simone Melchior, with whom he had two sons, Jean-Michel (born 1938) and Philippe (1940–1979). His sons took part in the adventures of the Calypso. In 1991, one year after his wife Simone's death from cancer, he married Francine Triplet. They already had a daughter Diane Cousteau (born 1980) and a son Pierre-Yves Cousteau (born 1982), born during Cousteau's marriage to his first wife.
Having kept bonds with the English speakers and with French soldiers in North Africa, Jacques-Yves Cousteau helped the French Navy to join again with the Allies; he assembled a commando operation against the Italian espionage services in France, and received several military decorations for his deeds. At that time, he kept his distance from his brother Pierre-Antoine Cousteau, a "pen anti-semite" who wrote the collaborationist newspaper Je suis partout (I am everywhere) and who received the death sentence in 1946. However this was later commuted to a life sentence, and Pierre-Antoine was released in 1954.
During the 1940s, Cousteau is credited with improving the aqua-lung design which gave birth to the open-circuit scuba technology used today. According to his first book, The Silent World: A Story of Undersea Discovery and Adventure (1953), Cousteau started diving with Fernez goggles in 1936, and in 1939 used the self contained underwater breathing apparatus invented in 1925 by Commander Yves le Prieur. Cousteau was not satisfied with the length of time he could spend underwater with the Le Prieur apparatus so he improved it to extend underwater duration by adding a demand regulator, invented in 1942 by Émile Gagnan. In 1943 Cousteau tried out the first prototype aqua-lung which finally made extended underwater exploration possible.
In 1946, Cousteau and Tailliez showed the film "Épaves" to Admiral Lemonnier, he gave them the responsibility of setting up the Groupement de Recherches Sous-marines (GRS) (Underwater Research Group) of the French Navy in Toulon. In 1948, between missions of mine clearance, underwater exploration and technological and physiological tests, Cousteau undertook a first campaign in the Mediterranean on board the sloop Élie Monnier. The small team, consisting of Cousteau, Tailliez, Dumas, Jean Alinat and the scenario writer Marcel Ichac also undertook the exploration of a Roman wreck of Mahdia (Tunisia). It was the first underwater archaeology operation using autonomous diving, opening the way for scientific underwater archaeology. Cousteau and the Élie Monnier then took part in the rescue of Professor Jacques Piccard's bathyscaphe, the FNRS-2, during the 1949 expedition to Dakar. Thanks to this rescue, the French Navy was able to reuse the sphere of the bathyscaphe to construct the FNRS-3. Also that same year he left the French Navy.
In 1950, he founded the French Oceanographic Campaigns (FOC), and leased a ship called Calypso from Thomas Loel Guinness for a “symbolic” one franc a year. Cousteau refitted the Calypso as a mobile laboratory for field research and as his principal vessel for diving and filming. He also carried out underwater archaeological excavations in the Mediterranean, in particular at Grand-Congloué (1952). With the publication of his first book in 1953, The Silent World, he correctly predicted the existence of the echolocation abilities of porpoises. He reported that his research vessel, the Élie Monier, was heading to the Straits of Gibraltar and noticed a group of porpoises following them. Cousteau changed course a few degrees off the optimal course to the centre of the strait, and the porpoises followed for a few minutes, then diverged toward mid-channel again. It was evident that they knew where the optimal course lay, even if the humans did not. Cousteau concluded that the cetaceans had something like sonar, which was a relatively new feature on submarines. Cousteau won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival in 1956 for The Silent World co-produced with Louis Malle. With the assistance of Jean Mollard, he made a "diving saucer" SP-350, an experimental underwater vehicle which could reach a depth of 350 meters. The successful experiment was quickly repeated in 1965 with two vehicles which reached 500 meters.
In 1957, he was elected as director of the Oceanographical Museum of Monaco. He directed Précontinent, about the experiments of diving in saturation (long-duration immersion, houses under the sea), and was admitted to the United States National Academy of Sciences. In October 1960, a large amount of radioactive waste was going to be discarded in the Mediterranean Sea by the Commissariat à l'énergie atomique (CEA). The CEA argued that the dumps were experimental in nature, and that French oceanographers such as Vsevelod Romanovsky had recommended it. Romanovsky and other French scientists, including Louis Fage and Jacques Cousteau, repudiated the claim, saying that Romanovsky had in mind a much smaller amount. The CEA claimed that there was little circulation (and hence little need for concern) at the dump site between Nice and Corsica, but French public opinion sided with the oceanographers rather than with the CEA atomic energy scientists. The CEA chief, Francis Perrin, decided to postpone the dump. Cousteau organized a publicity campaign which in less than two weeks gained wide popular support. The train carrying the waste was stopped by women and children sitting on the railway tracks, and it was sent back to its origin.
A meeting with American television companies (ABC, Métromédia, NBC) created the series The Underwater Odyssey of Commander Cousteau, with the character of the commander in the red bonnet inherited from standard diving dress) intended to give the films a "personalized adventure" style. In 1973, along with his two sons and Frederick Hyman, he created the Cousteau Society for the Protection of Ocean Life, Frederick Hyman being its first President; it now has more than 300,000 members. Three years after the volcano's last eruption, on 19 December 1973, the Cousteau team was filming on Deception Island, Antarctica when Michel Laval, Calypso's second in command, was struck and killed by a propeller of the helicopter that was ferrying between Calypso and the island.
In 1976, Cousteau uncovered the wreck of HMHS Britannic. He also found the wreck of La Therese between the island of Crete and the island called Dia. In 1977, together with Peter Scott, he received the UN International Environment prize. On 28 June 1979, while the Calypso was on an expedition to Portugal, his second son, Philippe, with whom he had co-produced all his films since 1969, died in a PBY Catalina flying boat crash in the Tagus river near Lisbon. Cousteau was deeply affected. He called his then eldest son, the architect Jean-Michel Cousteau, to his side. This collaboration lasted 14 years.
In 1985, he received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from Ronald Reagan. In June 1990, the composer Jean Michel Jarre paid homage to the commander by entitling his new album Waiting for Cousteau. He also composed the music for Cousteau's documentary "Palawan, the last refuge". On 2 December 1990, his wife Simone Cousteau died of cancer. In June 1991, in Paris, Jacques-Yves Cousteau remarried, to Francine Triplet, with whom he had (before this marriage) two children, Diane and Pierre-Yves. Francine Cousteau currently continues her husband's work as the head of the Cousteau Foundation and Cousteau Society. From that point, the relations between Jacques-Yves and his elder son worsened. In November 1991, Cousteau gave an interview to the UNESCO courier, in which he stated that he was in favour of human population control and population decrease. The full article text can be found online. In 1992, he was invited to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, for the United Nations' International Conference on Environment and Development, and then he became a regular consultant for the UN and the World Bank. In 1996, he sued his son who wished to open a holiday centre named "Cousteau" in the Fiji Islands. On 11 January 1996, Calypso was rammed and sunk in Singapore harbour by a barge. The Calypso was refloated and towed home to France.
Jacques-Yves Cousteau died on 25 June 1997 in Paris, aged 87. Despite persistent rumors, encouraged by some Islamic publications and websites, Cousteau did not convert to Islam, and when he died he was buried in a Roman Catholic Christian funeral. He was buried in the family vault at Saint-André-de-Cubzac in France. An homage was paid to him by the city by the inauguration of a "rue du Commandant Cousteau", a street which runs out to his native house, where a commemorative plaque was affixed.
Cousteau was born on 11 June 1910, in Saint-André-de-Cubzac, Gironde, to Daniel and Élisabeth Cousteau. He had one brother, Pierre-Antoine. Cousteau completed his preparatory studies at the prestigious Collège Stanislas in Paris. In 1930, he entered the École Navale and graduated as a gunnery officer. After an automobile accident cut short his career in naval aviation, Cousteau indulged his interest in the sea. In Toulon, where he was serving on the Condorcet, Cousteau carried out his first underwater experiments, thanks to his friend Philippe Tailliez who in 1936 lent him some Fernez underwater goggles, predecessors of modern diving masks. On 12 July 1937 he married Simone Melchior, with whom he had two sons, Jean-Michel (born 1938) and Philippe (1940–1979). His sons took part in the adventures of the Calypso. In 1991, one year after his wife Simone's death from cancer, he married Francine Triplet. They already had a daughter Diane Cousteau (born 1980) and a son Pierre-Yves Cousteau (born 1982), born during Cousteau's marriage to his first wife.
Having kept bonds with the English speakers and with French soldiers in North Africa, Jacques-Yves Cousteau helped the French Navy to join again with the Allies; he assembled a commando operation against the Italian espionage services in France, and received several military decorations for his deeds. At that time, he kept his distance from his brother Pierre-Antoine Cousteau, a "pen anti-semite" who wrote the collaborationist newspaper Je suis partout (I am everywhere) and who received the death sentence in 1946. However this was later commuted to a life sentence, and Pierre-Antoine was released in 1954.
During the 1940s, Cousteau is credited with improving the aqua-lung design which gave birth to the open-circuit scuba technology used today. According to his first book, The Silent World: A Story of Undersea Discovery and Adventure (1953), Cousteau started diving with Fernez goggles in 1936, and in 1939 used the self contained underwater breathing apparatus invented in 1925 by Commander Yves le Prieur. Cousteau was not satisfied with the length of time he could spend underwater with the Le Prieur apparatus so he improved it to extend underwater duration by adding a demand regulator, invented in 1942 by Émile Gagnan. In 1943 Cousteau tried out the first prototype aqua-lung which finally made extended underwater exploration possible.
In 1946, Cousteau and Tailliez showed the film "Épaves" to Admiral Lemonnier, he gave them the responsibility of setting up the Groupement de Recherches Sous-marines (GRS) (Underwater Research Group) of the French Navy in Toulon. In 1948, between missions of mine clearance, underwater exploration and technological and physiological tests, Cousteau undertook a first campaign in the Mediterranean on board the sloop Élie Monnier. The small team, consisting of Cousteau, Tailliez, Dumas, Jean Alinat and the scenario writer Marcel Ichac also undertook the exploration of a Roman wreck of Mahdia (Tunisia). It was the first underwater archaeology operation using autonomous diving, opening the way for scientific underwater archaeology. Cousteau and the Élie Monnier then took part in the rescue of Professor Jacques Piccard's bathyscaphe, the FNRS-2, during the 1949 expedition to Dakar. Thanks to this rescue, the French Navy was able to reuse the sphere of the bathyscaphe to construct the FNRS-3. Also that same year he left the French Navy.
In 1950, he founded the French Oceanographic Campaigns (FOC), and leased a ship called Calypso from Thomas Loel Guinness for a “symbolic” one franc a year. Cousteau refitted the Calypso as a mobile laboratory for field research and as his principal vessel for diving and filming. He also carried out underwater archaeological excavations in the Mediterranean, in particular at Grand-Congloué (1952). With the publication of his first book in 1953, The Silent World, he correctly predicted the existence of the echolocation abilities of porpoises. He reported that his research vessel, the Élie Monier, was heading to the Straits of Gibraltar and noticed a group of porpoises following them. Cousteau changed course a few degrees off the optimal course to the centre of the strait, and the porpoises followed for a few minutes, then diverged toward mid-channel again. It was evident that they knew where the optimal course lay, even if the humans did not. Cousteau concluded that the cetaceans had something like sonar, which was a relatively new feature on submarines. Cousteau won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival in 1956 for The Silent World co-produced with Louis Malle. With the assistance of Jean Mollard, he made a "diving saucer" SP-350, an experimental underwater vehicle which could reach a depth of 350 meters. The successful experiment was quickly repeated in 1965 with two vehicles which reached 500 meters.
In 1957, he was elected as director of the Oceanographical Museum of Monaco. He directed Précontinent, about the experiments of diving in saturation (long-duration immersion, houses under the sea), and was admitted to the United States National Academy of Sciences. In October 1960, a large amount of radioactive waste was going to be discarded in the Mediterranean Sea by the Commissariat à l'énergie atomique (CEA). The CEA argued that the dumps were experimental in nature, and that French oceanographers such as Vsevelod Romanovsky had recommended it. Romanovsky and other French scientists, including Louis Fage and Jacques Cousteau, repudiated the claim, saying that Romanovsky had in mind a much smaller amount. The CEA claimed that there was little circulation (and hence little need for concern) at the dump site between Nice and Corsica, but French public opinion sided with the oceanographers rather than with the CEA atomic energy scientists. The CEA chief, Francis Perrin, decided to postpone the dump. Cousteau organized a publicity campaign which in less than two weeks gained wide popular support. The train carrying the waste was stopped by women and children sitting on the railway tracks, and it was sent back to its origin.
A meeting with American television companies (ABC, Métromédia, NBC) created the series The Underwater Odyssey of Commander Cousteau, with the character of the commander in the red bonnet inherited from standard diving dress) intended to give the films a "personalized adventure" style. In 1973, along with his two sons and Frederick Hyman, he created the Cousteau Society for the Protection of Ocean Life, Frederick Hyman being its first President; it now has more than 300,000 members. Three years after the volcano's last eruption, on 19 December 1973, the Cousteau team was filming on Deception Island, Antarctica when Michel Laval, Calypso's second in command, was struck and killed by a propeller of the helicopter that was ferrying between Calypso and the island.
In 1976, Cousteau uncovered the wreck of HMHS Britannic. He also found the wreck of La Therese between the island of Crete and the island called Dia. In 1977, together with Peter Scott, he received the UN International Environment prize. On 28 June 1979, while the Calypso was on an expedition to Portugal, his second son, Philippe, with whom he had co-produced all his films since 1969, died in a PBY Catalina flying boat crash in the Tagus river near Lisbon. Cousteau was deeply affected. He called his then eldest son, the architect Jean-Michel Cousteau, to his side. This collaboration lasted 14 years.
In 1985, he received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from Ronald Reagan. In June 1990, the composer Jean Michel Jarre paid homage to the commander by entitling his new album Waiting for Cousteau. He also composed the music for Cousteau's documentary "Palawan, the last refuge". On 2 December 1990, his wife Simone Cousteau died of cancer. In June 1991, in Paris, Jacques-Yves Cousteau remarried, to Francine Triplet, with whom he had (before this marriage) two children, Diane and Pierre-Yves. Francine Cousteau currently continues her husband's work as the head of the Cousteau Foundation and Cousteau Society. From that point, the relations between Jacques-Yves and his elder son worsened. In November 1991, Cousteau gave an interview to the UNESCO courier, in which he stated that he was in favour of human population control and population decrease. The full article text can be found online. In 1992, he was invited to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, for the United Nations' International Conference on Environment and Development, and then he became a regular consultant for the UN and the World Bank. In 1996, he sued his son who wished to open a holiday centre named "Cousteau" in the Fiji Islands. On 11 January 1996, Calypso was rammed and sunk in Singapore harbour by a barge. The Calypso was refloated and towed home to France.
Jacques-Yves Cousteau died on 25 June 1997 in Paris, aged 87. Despite persistent rumors, encouraged by some Islamic publications and websites, Cousteau did not convert to Islam, and when he died he was buried in a Roman Catholic Christian funeral. He was buried in the family vault at Saint-André-de-Cubzac in France. An homage was paid to him by the city by the inauguration of a "rue du Commandant Cousteau", a street which runs out to his native house, where a commemorative plaque was affixed.
Stan Laurel, Arthur Stanley "Stan" Jefferson (16 June 1890 – 23 February 1965), better known as Stan Laurel, was an English comic actor, writer and film director, famous as the first half of the comedy team Laurel and Hardy. His film acting career stretched between 1917 and 1951 and included a starring role in the Academy Award winning film The Music Box (1932). In 1961, Laurel was given a Lifetime Achievement Academy Award for his pioneering work in comedy. He has a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 7021 Hollywood Blvd.
Arthur Stanley Jefferson was born in his grandparents' house on 16 June 1890 at 3 Argyle Street, Ulverston, then in Lancashire (but now part of the ceremonial county of Cumbria). He had three siblings - two brothers and a sister. His parents, Arthur and Margaret ("Madge") Jefferson, were both active in the theatre and always very busy. In his early years, he spent much time living with his grandmother Sarah Metcalfe. Stan Jefferson attended school at King James I Grammar School, Bishop Auckland, County Durham and The King's School, Tynemouth, before moving with his parents to Glasgow, Scotland, where he completed his education at Rutherglen Academy. His father managed Glasgow's Metropole Theatre where he began work. At the age of 16, with a natural affinity for the theatre, Jefferson gave his first professional performance on stage at the The Panopticon in Glasgow.
In 1910, with the stage name of "Stan Jefferson", he joined Fred Karno's troupe of actors, which also included a young Charlie Chaplin. For some time, he acted as Chaplin's understudy. The Karno troupe toured America, and brought both Chaplin and Jefferson to the United States for the first time. From 1916 to 1918, he teamed up with Alice Cooke and Baldwin Cooke, who became lifelong friends. Amongst other performers, Jefferson worked briefly alongside Oliver Hardy in a silent film short The Lucky Dog. This was before the two were a team. It was around this time that Jefferson met Mae Dahlberg. Around the same time he adopted the stage surname of Laurel, at Dahlberg's suggestion. The pair were performing together when Laurel was offered $75.00 per week to star in two-reel comedies. After the making of his first film, Nuts in May, Universal offered him a contract. The contract was soon cancelled, however, during a reorganisation at the studio. Among the films Dahlberg and Laurel appeared in together was the 1922 parody, Mud and Sand. By 1924, Laurel had given up the stage for full-time film work, under contract with Joe Rock for 12 two-reel comedies. The contract had one unusual stipulation, was that Dahlberg was not to appear in any of the films as it was felt her temperament was hindering Laurel's career. In 1925, when she started interfering with Laurel's work, Rock offered her a cash settlement and a one-way ticket back to her native Australia, which she accepted. Laurel went on to join the Hal Roach studio, and began directing films, including a 1926 production called Yes, Yes, Nanette. He intended to work primarily as a writer and director, but fate stepped in. In 1927, Oliver Hardy, another member of the Hal Roach Studios Comedy All Star players, was injured in a kitchen mishap and Laurel was asked to return to acting. Laurel and Hardy began sharing the screen in Slipping Wives, Duck Soup and With Love and Hisses. The two became friends and their comic chemistry soon became obvious. Roach Studios' supervising director Leo McCarey noticed the audience reaction to them and began teaming them, leading to the creation of the Laurel and Hardy series later that year. During the 1930s, Laurel was involved in a dispute with Hal Roach, which resulted in the termination of his contract. Since Roach maintained separate contracts for Laurel and Hardy that expired at different times, Hardy remained at the studio and was "teamed" with Harry Langdon for the 1939 film Zenobia. There was also talk about a series of films co-starring Hardy with Patsy Kelly called "The Hardy Family." But Laurel sued Roach over the contract dispute. Eventually, the case was dropped and Laurel returned to Roach. After returning to Roach studios, the first film Laurel and Hardy made was A Chump at Oxford. Subsequently, they made Saps at Sea, which was their last film for Roach.
In 1939, Laurel and Hardy signed a contract at 20th Century Fox to make one motion picture and nine more over the following five months. During the war years, their work became more standardised and less successful, though The Bullfighters, Great Guns and A-Haunting We Will Go did receive some praise. Laurel discovered he had diabetes, so he encouraged Oliver Hardy to make two films without him. In 1946, he divorced Virginia Ruth Rogers and married Ida Kitaeva Raphael. In 1950, Laurel and Hardy were invited to France to make a feature film. The film, a French/Italian co-production titled Atoll K, was a disaster. (The film was titled Utopia in the US and Robinson Crusoeland in the UK.) Both stars were noticeably ill during the filming. Upon returning home, they spent most of their time recovering. In 1952, Laurel and Hardy toured Europe successfully, and again in 1953. During this tour, Laurel fell ill and was unable to perform for several weeks. In May 1954, Oliver Hardy had a heart attack and cancelled the tour. In 1955, they were planning to do a television series, Laurel and Hardy's Fabulous Fables, based on children's stories, but the plans were delayed after Laurel suffered a stroke, from which he recovered. But as he was planning to get back to work, Oliver Hardy had a massive stroke on 15 September 1956. Paralyzed and bedridden for several months, Hardy was unable to speak or move.
Together, the two men began producing a huge body of short films, including The Battle of the Century, and many others. Laurel and Hardy successfully made the transition to talking films with the short, Unaccustomed As We Are in 1929. They also appeared in their first feature in one of the revue sequences of The Hollywood Revue of 1929 and the following year they appeared as the comic relief in a lavish all-colour (in Technicolor) musical feature, The Rogue Song. In 1931, their own first starring feature, Pardon Us was released, although they continued to make both features and shorts until 1935, including their 1932 three-reeler The Music Box which won an Academy Award for Best Short Subject.
On 7 August 1957, Oliver Hardy died. Laurel did not attend his funeral, stating "Babe would understand". People who knew Laurel said he was absolutely devastated by Hardy's death and never fully recovered for the rest of his life. In 1961, Stan Laurel was given a Lifetime Achievement Academy Award for his pioneering work in comedy. He had achieved his lifelong dream as a comedian and had been involved in nearly 190 films. He lived his final years in a small apartment in the Oceana Hotel in Santa Monica, California. Always gracious to fans, he spent much time answering fan mail. His phone number was listed in the telephone directory, and fans were amazed that they could dial the number and speak to Stan Laurel. Dick Van Dyke told a similar story to Jerry Lewis'. When Van Dyke was just starting his career, he looked up Laurel's phone number, called him, and then visited him at his home. Lewis was among the comedians to visit Laurel, who offered suggestions for Lewis' production of The Bellboy (1960). Lewis had even paid tribute to Laurel by naming his main character Stanley in the film, and having Bill Richmond play a version of Laurel as well.
Laurel was a heavy smoker until suddenly giving up when he was about seventy years of age. He died on 23 February 1965, aged 74, several days after suffering a heart attack. Just minutes away from death, Laurel told his nurse he would not mind going skiing right at that very moment. Somewhat taken aback, the nurse replied that she was not aware that he was a skier. "I'm not," said Laurel, "I'd rather be doing that than this!" A few minutes later the nurse looked in on him again and found that he had died quietly. At his funeral, silent screen comedian Buster Keaton was overheard at Laurel's funeral giving his assessment of the comedian's considerable talents: "Chaplin wasn't the funniest, I wasn't the funniest, this man was the funniest." Dick Van Dyke, a friend, protégé and occasional impressionist of Laurel's during his later years, gave the eulogy, reading A Prayer for Clowns. Laurel had written his own epitaph: "If anyone at my funeral has a long face, I'll never speak to him again." A similar statement was later found: "If anyone cries at my funeral, I will never speak to him again."
Arthur Stanley Jefferson was born in his grandparents' house on 16 June 1890 at 3 Argyle Street, Ulverston, then in Lancashire (but now part of the ceremonial county of Cumbria). He had three siblings - two brothers and a sister. His parents, Arthur and Margaret ("Madge") Jefferson, were both active in the theatre and always very busy. In his early years, he spent much time living with his grandmother Sarah Metcalfe. Stan Jefferson attended school at King James I Grammar School, Bishop Auckland, County Durham and The King's School, Tynemouth, before moving with his parents to Glasgow, Scotland, where he completed his education at Rutherglen Academy. His father managed Glasgow's Metropole Theatre where he began work. At the age of 16, with a natural affinity for the theatre, Jefferson gave his first professional performance on stage at the The Panopticon in Glasgow.
In 1910, with the stage name of "Stan Jefferson", he joined Fred Karno's troupe of actors, which also included a young Charlie Chaplin. For some time, he acted as Chaplin's understudy. The Karno troupe toured America, and brought both Chaplin and Jefferson to the United States for the first time. From 1916 to 1918, he teamed up with Alice Cooke and Baldwin Cooke, who became lifelong friends. Amongst other performers, Jefferson worked briefly alongside Oliver Hardy in a silent film short The Lucky Dog. This was before the two were a team. It was around this time that Jefferson met Mae Dahlberg. Around the same time he adopted the stage surname of Laurel, at Dahlberg's suggestion. The pair were performing together when Laurel was offered $75.00 per week to star in two-reel comedies. After the making of his first film, Nuts in May, Universal offered him a contract. The contract was soon cancelled, however, during a reorganisation at the studio. Among the films Dahlberg and Laurel appeared in together was the 1922 parody, Mud and Sand. By 1924, Laurel had given up the stage for full-time film work, under contract with Joe Rock for 12 two-reel comedies. The contract had one unusual stipulation, was that Dahlberg was not to appear in any of the films as it was felt her temperament was hindering Laurel's career. In 1925, when she started interfering with Laurel's work, Rock offered her a cash settlement and a one-way ticket back to her native Australia, which she accepted. Laurel went on to join the Hal Roach studio, and began directing films, including a 1926 production called Yes, Yes, Nanette. He intended to work primarily as a writer and director, but fate stepped in. In 1927, Oliver Hardy, another member of the Hal Roach Studios Comedy All Star players, was injured in a kitchen mishap and Laurel was asked to return to acting. Laurel and Hardy began sharing the screen in Slipping Wives, Duck Soup and With Love and Hisses. The two became friends and their comic chemistry soon became obvious. Roach Studios' supervising director Leo McCarey noticed the audience reaction to them and began teaming them, leading to the creation of the Laurel and Hardy series later that year. During the 1930s, Laurel was involved in a dispute with Hal Roach, which resulted in the termination of his contract. Since Roach maintained separate contracts for Laurel and Hardy that expired at different times, Hardy remained at the studio and was "teamed" with Harry Langdon for the 1939 film Zenobia. There was also talk about a series of films co-starring Hardy with Patsy Kelly called "The Hardy Family." But Laurel sued Roach over the contract dispute. Eventually, the case was dropped and Laurel returned to Roach. After returning to Roach studios, the first film Laurel and Hardy made was A Chump at Oxford. Subsequently, they made Saps at Sea, which was their last film for Roach.
In 1939, Laurel and Hardy signed a contract at 20th Century Fox to make one motion picture and nine more over the following five months. During the war years, their work became more standardised and less successful, though The Bullfighters, Great Guns and A-Haunting We Will Go did receive some praise. Laurel discovered he had diabetes, so he encouraged Oliver Hardy to make two films without him. In 1946, he divorced Virginia Ruth Rogers and married Ida Kitaeva Raphael. In 1950, Laurel and Hardy were invited to France to make a feature film. The film, a French/Italian co-production titled Atoll K, was a disaster. (The film was titled Utopia in the US and Robinson Crusoeland in the UK.) Both stars were noticeably ill during the filming. Upon returning home, they spent most of their time recovering. In 1952, Laurel and Hardy toured Europe successfully, and again in 1953. During this tour, Laurel fell ill and was unable to perform for several weeks. In May 1954, Oliver Hardy had a heart attack and cancelled the tour. In 1955, they were planning to do a television series, Laurel and Hardy's Fabulous Fables, based on children's stories, but the plans were delayed after Laurel suffered a stroke, from which he recovered. But as he was planning to get back to work, Oliver Hardy had a massive stroke on 15 September 1956. Paralyzed and bedridden for several months, Hardy was unable to speak or move.
Together, the two men began producing a huge body of short films, including The Battle of the Century, and many others. Laurel and Hardy successfully made the transition to talking films with the short, Unaccustomed As We Are in 1929. They also appeared in their first feature in one of the revue sequences of The Hollywood Revue of 1929 and the following year they appeared as the comic relief in a lavish all-colour (in Technicolor) musical feature, The Rogue Song. In 1931, their own first starring feature, Pardon Us was released, although they continued to make both features and shorts until 1935, including their 1932 three-reeler The Music Box which won an Academy Award for Best Short Subject.
On 7 August 1957, Oliver Hardy died. Laurel did not attend his funeral, stating "Babe would understand". People who knew Laurel said he was absolutely devastated by Hardy's death and never fully recovered for the rest of his life. In 1961, Stan Laurel was given a Lifetime Achievement Academy Award for his pioneering work in comedy. He had achieved his lifelong dream as a comedian and had been involved in nearly 190 films. He lived his final years in a small apartment in the Oceana Hotel in Santa Monica, California. Always gracious to fans, he spent much time answering fan mail. His phone number was listed in the telephone directory, and fans were amazed that they could dial the number and speak to Stan Laurel. Dick Van Dyke told a similar story to Jerry Lewis'. When Van Dyke was just starting his career, he looked up Laurel's phone number, called him, and then visited him at his home. Lewis was among the comedians to visit Laurel, who offered suggestions for Lewis' production of The Bellboy (1960). Lewis had even paid tribute to Laurel by naming his main character Stanley in the film, and having Bill Richmond play a version of Laurel as well.
Laurel was a heavy smoker until suddenly giving up when he was about seventy years of age. He died on 23 February 1965, aged 74, several days after suffering a heart attack. Just minutes away from death, Laurel told his nurse he would not mind going skiing right at that very moment. Somewhat taken aback, the nurse replied that she was not aware that he was a skier. "I'm not," said Laurel, "I'd rather be doing that than this!" A few minutes later the nurse looked in on him again and found that he had died quietly. At his funeral, silent screen comedian Buster Keaton was overheard at Laurel's funeral giving his assessment of the comedian's considerable talents: "Chaplin wasn't the funniest, I wasn't the funniest, this man was the funniest." Dick Van Dyke, a friend, protégé and occasional impressionist of Laurel's during his later years, gave the eulogy, reading A Prayer for Clowns. Laurel had written his own epitaph: "If anyone at my funeral has a long face, I'll never speak to him again." A similar statement was later found: "If anyone cries at my funeral, I will never speak to him again."
My first recipe is Parmesan & Parsley-Crusted Salmon, courtesy of BBC GoodFood website, first published in Olive Magazine October 2007.
Serves 4 Ready in 20mins.
4 x Salmon Fillets, look for organically farmed or wild Alaskan
Butter
50g x Fresh White Breadcrumbs
2 tbsp x Chopped Parsley
½ x Lime, juice only
Olive Oil
40g x Parmesan
Butter
50g x Fresh White Breadcrumbs
2 tbsp x Chopped Parsley
½ x Lime, juice only
Olive Oil
40g x Parmesan
Heat the oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6. Season and put the salmon fillets on a lightly buttered non-stick baking tray. Whizz the breadcrumbs, parsley, lime juice, 1 tbsp oil and Parmesan in a food processor. Cover the salmon with the breadcrumb mixture and bake in the oven for 10-12 minutes until the salmon is cooked through and the breadcrumbs golden. Serve with salad or new potatoes.
Alternatively, instead of parsley try dill or chives. Leave out the lime juice and spice it up with ½ tsp paprika instead.
Alternatively, instead of parsley try dill or chives. Leave out the lime juice and spice it up with ½ tsp paprika instead.
My next recipe is Fully Loaded Cajun Chicken Burgers, courtesy of BBC GoodFood website, first printed in Good Food Magazine February 2009.
Serves 4, takes 20mins to prepare and 15mins to cook.
4 x Skinless Chicken Breasts
2 tbsp x Olive Oil
4 x Smoked Bacon Rashers
2 x Avocados
4 x Ciabatta Rolls, split
4 x Thin slices of your favourite cheese
4 x Small Handfuls of Baby Spinach Leaves
Mayonnaise , to serve (optional)
2 tbsp x Olive Oil
4 x Smoked Bacon Rashers
2 x Avocados
4 x Ciabatta Rolls, split
4 x Thin slices of your favourite cheese
4 x Small Handfuls of Baby Spinach Leaves
Mayonnaise , to serve (optional)
FOR THE CAJUN SEASONING
1 tbsp x Ground Cumin
1 tbsp x Ground Coriander
1 tbsp x Paprika
1 tbsp x Ground Cumin
1 tbsp x Ground Coriander
1 tbsp x Paprika
Mix the seasoning ingredients together with a good grinding of black pepper and a sprinkling of salt, then set aside in a large dish. Heat grill to high. On a board, flatten out the chicken slightly, then drizzle half the oil over and toss in the seasoning until completely coated. Heat the remaining oil in a large frying pan, sizzle the chicken for 5 mins on each side until firm, push to one side of the pan, then fry the bacon for a few mins until cooked.
While the chicken is cooking, halve, stone, peel and slice the avocados, and toast the cut sides of the buns. Cover the tops of the buns with cheese, then grill until melted. To assemble the burgers, spread the buns with mayonnaise if you want, top with a handful of spinach, then a rasher of bacon. To keep the avocado in place, slice the chicken, then alternate between a slice of chicken and avocado. Top with the bun, press down lightly and serve.
While the chicken is cooking, halve, stone, peel and slice the avocados, and toast the cut sides of the buns. Cover the tops of the buns with cheese, then grill until melted. To assemble the burgers, spread the buns with mayonnaise if you want, top with a handful of spinach, then a rasher of bacon. To keep the avocado in place, slice the chicken, then alternate between a slice of chicken and avocado. Top with the bun, press down lightly and serve.
Spice of the week – Annatto 
Annatto , sometimes called roucou, is a derivative of the achiote trees of tropical regions of the Americas, used to produce a yellow to orange food colouring and also as a flavouring. Its scent is described as "slightly peppery with a hint of nutmeg" and flavour as "slightly sweet and peppery". Annatto colouring is produced from the reddish pericarp or pulp which surrounds the seed of the achiote (Bixa orellana L.). It is used as colouring in many cheeses (e.g., Cheddar, Gloucester cheese, Red Leicester, Gouda and Brie), margarine, butter, rice, custard powder ice-cream, and smoked fish. Although it is a natural food colorant, it has been linked to many cases of food-related allergies.
Annatto is commonly found in Latin America and Caribbean cuisines as both a colouring agent and for flavouring. Central and South American natives use the seeds to make a body paint and lipstick. For this reason, the achiote is sometimes called the "lipstick-tree". Achiote originated in South America and has spread in popularity to many parts of Asia. It is also grown in other tropical or subtropical regions of the world, including Central America, Africa and Asia. The heart-shaped fruit are brown or reddish brown at maturity, and are covered with short, stiff hairs. When fully mature, the fruit split open, exposing the numerous dark red seeds. While the fruit itself is not edible, the orange-red pulp that covers the seed is used to produce a yellow to orange commercial food colouring. Achiote dye is prepared by stirring the seeds in water or oil.
Annatto , sometimes called roucou, is a derivative of the achiote trees of tropical regions of the Americas, used to produce a yellow to orange food colouring and also as a flavouring. Its scent is described as "slightly peppery with a hint of nutmeg" and flavour as "slightly sweet and peppery". Annatto colouring is produced from the reddish pericarp or pulp which surrounds the seed of the achiote (Bixa orellana L.). It is used as colouring in many cheeses (e.g., Cheddar, Gloucester cheese, Red Leicester, Gouda and Brie), margarine, butter, rice, custard powder ice-cream, and smoked fish. Although it is a natural food colorant, it has been linked to many cases of food-related allergies.
Annatto is commonly found in Latin America and Caribbean cuisines as both a colouring agent and for flavouring. Central and South American natives use the seeds to make a body paint and lipstick. For this reason, the achiote is sometimes called the "lipstick-tree". Achiote originated in South America and has spread in popularity to many parts of Asia. It is also grown in other tropical or subtropical regions of the world, including Central America, Africa and Asia. The heart-shaped fruit are brown or reddish brown at maturity, and are covered with short, stiff hairs. When fully mature, the fruit split open, exposing the numerous dark red seeds. While the fruit itself is not edible, the orange-red pulp that covers the seed is used to produce a yellow to orange commercial food colouring. Achiote dye is prepared by stirring the seeds in water or oil.
Many Latin American cuisines traditionally use annatto in recipes of Spanish origin that originally call for saffron; for example, in arroz con pollo, to give the rice a yellow colour. In Venezuela, annatto (called locally onoto) is used in the preparation of hallacas, perico, and other traditional dishes. In Brazil, both annatto (the product) and the tree (Bixa orellana L.) are called urucum, and the product itself may also be called colorau. In the Caribbean islands, both fruit and tree are popularly called achiote or bija. In Jamaica, annatto has had many uses over the centuries, including as a food dye, body paint, treatment for heartburn and stomach distress, sunscreen and insect repellent. In the Philippines, it is called atsuete, and is used as food colouring in traditional dishes. It is a major ingredient in the popular spice blend "Sazón" made by Goya Foods. As a food additive, annatto has the E number E160b. The fat soluble part of the crude extract is called bixin, the water soluble part is called norbixin, and both share the same E number as annatto. Annatto seed contains 4.5-5.5% pigments, which consists of 70-80% bixin. In the United States, annatto extract is listed as a colour additive “exempt from certification” and is informally considered to be a natural colour. The yellowish orange colour is produced by the chemical compounds bixin and norbixin, which are classified as carotenoids. However, unlike beta-carotene, another well-known carotenoid, they do not have the correct chemical structures to be vitamin A precursors. The more norbixin in an annatto colour, the more yellow it is; a higher level of bixin gives it a more reddish shade. Unless an acid-proof version is used, it takes on a pink shade at low pH.
Cheddar cheese is often coloured, and even as early as 1860, the real reason for this was unclear: English cheesemaker Joseph Harding stated "to the cheese consumers of London who prefer an adulterated food to that which is pure I have to announce an improvement in the annatto with which they compel the cheesemakers to colour the cheese". One theory is that cheeses regarded as superior in the 16th century had somewhat yellow colour, possibly from high levels of carotene in the grass on which the dairy cattle fed. Producers of inferior cheese added annatto to the milk to make the cheese appear better quality, thus to command a higher price.
The Institute of Food Technologists published a technical book dedicated to natural food colorants, including a chapter exclusively on annatto, with the most up-to-date information available, including historical and current food uses, extraction techniques, stability, analysis and pharmacology. Annatto appears to be one of the richest natural sources of a type of vitamin E.
It has been linked to many cases of food-related allergies, and is the only natural food colouring believed to cause as many allergic-type reactions as artificial food colouring. Because it is a natural colorant, companies using annatto may label their products "all natural" or "no artificial colours" on the principal display panel (PDP). "Natural" does not, of course, mean safe or non-toxic. It is well known that synthetic food colours, especially some azo dyes, can provoke hypersensitivity reactions such as urticaria, angioneurotic oedema, and asthma. Natural food colours are scarcely investigated with respect to potential allergic properties. Annatto extract, a commonly used food colour in edible fats, e.g. butter, has been tested in patients. Among 61 consecutive patients suffering from chronic urticaria and/or angioneurotic oedema, 56 patients were orally provoked by annatto extract during elimination diet. A challenge was performed with a dose equivalent to the amount used in 25 grams of butter. Twenty six per cent of the patients reacted to this colour four hours after intake. Annatto is not one of the "Big Eight" allergens (cow's milk, egg, peanut, tree nuts, fish, shellfish, soy, and wheat) which are responsible for >90% of allergic food reactions.
My final recipe is Roasted Butternut Squash with Goat's Cheese, courtesy of BBC GoodFood website, first printed in Good Food Magazine February 2009.
Serves 4, takes 10mins to prepare and 1hr 25mins to cook.
2 x Small Butternut Squash
1 x Large Garlic Clove, crushed
3 tbsp x Olive Oil
A Pinch of Dried Chilli Flakes
1 tsp x Thyme Leaves, chopped
1 x Courgette, cut into 2cm chunks
1 x Red Pepper, cut into 2cm chunks
2 x Small Red Onions, cut into thin wedges
200g x Cherry Tomatoes
50g x Pine Nuts
100g x Goat's Cheese, crumbled
1 tbsp x Breadcrumbs
1 tbsp x Parsley, chopped
1 tbsp x Parmesan
1 x Large Garlic Clove, crushed
3 tbsp x Olive Oil
A Pinch of Dried Chilli Flakes
1 tsp x Thyme Leaves, chopped
1 x Courgette, cut into 2cm chunks
1 x Red Pepper, cut into 2cm chunks
2 x Small Red Onions, cut into thin wedges
200g x Cherry Tomatoes
50g x Pine Nuts
100g x Goat's Cheese, crumbled
1 tbsp x Breadcrumbs
1 tbsp x Parsley, chopped
1 tbsp x Parmesan
Heat the oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6. Cut the squash in half and scoop out the seeds then cut criss-cross patterns over the cut-side of each one. Mix together the garlic, 2 tbsp olive oil, chilli and thyme and brush this mixture over the flesh. Bake for about 30-40 minutes until the flesh is tender.
To make the filling, put the courgette, pepper and onion in a roasting tin and drizzle with 1 tbsp olive oil. Season and roast for about 20-25 minutes until tender and starting to brown at the edges. Add the cherry tomatoes and pine nuts and cook for another 10 minutes.
Mix the breadcrumbs, parsley and parmesan. Arrange the roasted vegetables and goat's cheese in the squash halves, scatter with the breadcrumb mix and bake for a further 10 minutes or until golden and bubbling.
To make the filling, put the courgette, pepper and onion in a roasting tin and drizzle with 1 tbsp olive oil. Season and roast for about 20-25 minutes until tender and starting to brown at the edges. Add the cherry tomatoes and pine nuts and cook for another 10 minutes.
Mix the breadcrumbs, parsley and parmesan. Arrange the roasted vegetables and goat's cheese in the squash halves, scatter with the breadcrumb mix and bake for a further 10 minutes or until golden and bubbling.
Events being remembered this week are Anne Frank received a book for her 13th birthday, which would become known world-wide as Anne Frank’s Diary, 12th June 1942. 13th June 1970, The Beatles had their last no.1 song. 14th June 1938 Action Comics no.1 was released introducing Superman. 15th June 1844 Charles Goodyear received a patent for vulcanization and The British Women’s Institute was formed on 16th June 1915. Other famous birthdays being remembered this week are on the 11th June – Hugh Lawrie & Gene Wilder; 12th June – George H W Bush Snr; 17th June – Edgar Stravinsky.
If you have enjoyed my blog, or have tried out the recipes I have included and wish to comment, please feel free to comment using the comment button or by visiting my guestbook, all comments and suggestions will be gratefully received.
Hope you enjoy!!..... ChefGarfy =D
Jacques-Yves Cousteau, (11 June 1910 – 25 June 1997) was a French naval officer, explorer, ecologist, filmmaker, innovator, scientist, photographer, author and researcher who studied the sea and all forms of life in water. He co-developed the aqua-lung, pioneered marine conservation and was a member of the Académie française.
Cousteau was born on 11 June 1910, in Saint-André-de-Cubzac, Gironde, to Daniel and Élisabeth Cousteau. He had one brother, Pierre-Antoine. Cousteau completed his preparatory studies at the prestigious Collège Stanislas in Paris. In 1930, he entered the École Navale and graduated as a gunnery officer. After an automobile accident cut short his career in naval aviation, Cousteau indulged his interest in the sea. In Toulon, where he was serving on the Condorcet, Cousteau carried out his first underwater experiments, thanks to his friend Philippe Tailliez who in 1936 lent him some Fernez underwater goggles, predecessors of modern diving masks. On 12 July 1937 he married Simone Melchior, with whom he had two sons, Jean-Michel (born 1938) and Philippe (1940–1979). His sons took part in the adventures of the Calypso. In 1991, one year after his wife Simone's death from cancer, he married Francine Triplet. They already had a daughter Diane Cousteau (born 1980) and a son Pierre-Yves Cousteau (born 1982), born during Cousteau's marriage to his first wife.
Having kept bonds with the English speakers and with French soldiers in North Africa, Jacques-Yves Cousteau helped the French Navy to join again with the Allies; he assembled a commando operation against the Italian espionage services in France, and received several military decorations for his deeds. At that time, he kept his distance from his brother Pierre-Antoine Cousteau, a "pen anti-semite" who wrote the collaborationist newspaper Je suis partout (I am everywhere) and who received the death sentence in 1946. However this was later commuted to a life sentence, and Pierre-Antoine was released in 1954.
During the 1940s, Cousteau is credited with improving the aqua-lung design which gave birth to the open-circuit scuba technology used today. According to his first book, The Silent World: A Story of Undersea Discovery and Adventure (1953), Cousteau started diving with Fernez goggles in 1936, and in 1939 used the self contained underwater breathing apparatus invented in 1925 by Commander Yves le Prieur. Cousteau was not satisfied with the length of time he could spend underwater with the Le Prieur apparatus so he improved it to extend underwater duration by adding a demand regulator, invented in 1942 by Émile Gagnan. In 1943 Cousteau tried out the first prototype aqua-lung which finally made extended underwater exploration possible.
In 1946, Cousteau and Tailliez showed the film "Épaves" to Admiral Lemonnier, he gave them the responsibility of setting up the Groupement de Recherches Sous-marines (GRS) (Underwater Research Group) of the French Navy in Toulon. In 1948, between missions of mine clearance, underwater exploration and technological and physiological tests, Cousteau undertook a first campaign in the Mediterranean on board the sloop Élie Monnier. The small team, consisting of Cousteau, Tailliez, Dumas, Jean Alinat and the scenario writer Marcel Ichac also undertook the exploration of a Roman wreck of Mahdia (Tunisia). It was the first underwater archaeology operation using autonomous diving, opening the way for scientific underwater archaeology. Cousteau and the Élie Monnier then took part in the rescue of Professor Jacques Piccard's bathyscaphe, the FNRS-2, during the 1949 expedition to Dakar. Thanks to this rescue, the French Navy was able to reuse the sphere of the bathyscaphe to construct the FNRS-3. Also that same year he left the French Navy.
In 1950, he founded the French Oceanographic Campaigns (FOC), and leased a ship called Calypso from Thomas Loel Guinness for a “symbolic” one franc a year. Cousteau refitted the Calypso as a mobile laboratory for field research and as his principal vessel for diving and filming. He also carried out underwater archaeological excavations in the Mediterranean, in particular at Grand-Congloué (1952). With the publication of his first book in 1953, The Silent World, he correctly predicted the existence of the echolocation abilities of porpoises. He reported that his research vessel, the Élie Monier, was heading to the Straits of Gibraltar and noticed a group of porpoises following them. Cousteau changed course a few degrees off the optimal course to the centre of the strait, and the porpoises followed for a few minutes, then diverged toward mid-channel again. It was evident that they knew where the optimal course lay, even if the humans did not. Cousteau concluded that the cetaceans had something like sonar, which was a relatively new feature on submarines. Cousteau won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival in 1956 for The Silent World co-produced with Louis Malle. With the assistance of Jean Mollard, he made a "diving saucer" SP-350, an experimental underwater vehicle which could reach a depth of 350 meters. The successful experiment was quickly repeated in 1965 with two vehicles which reached 500 meters.
In 1957, he was elected as director of the Oceanographical Museum of Monaco. He directed Précontinent, about the experiments of diving in saturation (long-duration immersion, houses under the sea), and was admitted to the United States National Academy of Sciences. In October 1960, a large amount of radioactive waste was going to be discarded in the Mediterranean Sea by the Commissariat à l'énergie atomique (CEA). The CEA argued that the dumps were experimental in nature, and that French oceanographers such as Vsevelod Romanovsky had recommended it. Romanovsky and other French scientists, including Louis Fage and Jacques Cousteau, repudiated the claim, saying that Romanovsky had in mind a much smaller amount. The CEA claimed that there was little circulation (and hence little need for concern) at the dump site between Nice and Corsica, but French public opinion sided with the oceanographers rather than with the CEA atomic energy scientists. The CEA chief, Francis Perrin, decided to postpone the dump. Cousteau organized a publicity campaign which in less than two weeks gained wide popular support. The train carrying the waste was stopped by women and children sitting on the railway tracks, and it was sent back to its origin.
A meeting with American television companies (ABC, Métromédia, NBC) created the series The Underwater Odyssey of Commander Cousteau, with the character of the commander in the red bonnet inherited from standard diving dress) intended to give the films a "personalized adventure" style. In 1973, along with his two sons and Frederick Hyman, he created the Cousteau Society for the Protection of Ocean Life, Frederick Hyman being its first President; it now has more than 300,000 members. Three years after the volcano's last eruption, on 19 December 1973, the Cousteau team was filming on Deception Island, Antarctica when Michel Laval, Calypso's second in command, was struck and killed by a propeller of the helicopter that was ferrying between Calypso and the island.
In 1976, Cousteau uncovered the wreck of HMHS Britannic. He also found the wreck of La Therese between the island of Crete and the island called Dia. In 1977, together with Peter Scott, he received the UN International Environment prize. On 28 June 1979, while the Calypso was on an expedition to Portugal, his second son, Philippe, with whom he had co-produced all his films since 1969, died in a PBY Catalina flying boat crash in the Tagus river near Lisbon. Cousteau was deeply affected. He called his then eldest son, the architect Jean-Michel Cousteau, to his side. This collaboration lasted 14 years.
In 1985, he received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from Ronald Reagan. In June 1990, the composer Jean Michel Jarre paid homage to the commander by entitling his new album Waiting for Cousteau. He also composed the music for Cousteau's documentary "Palawan, the last refuge". On 2 December 1990, his wife Simone Cousteau died of cancer. In June 1991, in Paris, Jacques-Yves Cousteau remarried, to Francine Triplet, with whom he had (before this marriage) two children, Diane and Pierre-Yves. Francine Cousteau currently continues her husband's work as the head of the Cousteau Foundation and Cousteau Society. From that point, the relations between Jacques-Yves and his elder son worsened. In November 1991, Cousteau gave an interview to the UNESCO courier, in which he stated that he was in favour of human population control and population decrease. The full article text can be found online. In 1992, he was invited to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, for the United Nations' International Conference on Environment and Development, and then he became a regular consultant for the UN and the World Bank. In 1996, he sued his son who wished to open a holiday centre named "Cousteau" in the Fiji Islands. On 11 January 1996, Calypso was rammed and sunk in Singapore harbour by a barge. The Calypso was refloated and towed home to France.
Jacques-Yves Cousteau died on 25 June 1997 in Paris, aged 87. Despite persistent rumors, encouraged by some Islamic publications and websites, Cousteau did not convert to Islam, and when he died he was buried in a Roman Catholic Christian funeral. He was buried in the family vault at Saint-André-de-Cubzac in France. An homage was paid to him by the city by the inauguration of a "rue du Commandant Cousteau", a street which runs out to his native house, where a commemorative plaque was affixed.
Cousteau was born on 11 June 1910, in Saint-André-de-Cubzac, Gironde, to Daniel and Élisabeth Cousteau. He had one brother, Pierre-Antoine. Cousteau completed his preparatory studies at the prestigious Collège Stanislas in Paris. In 1930, he entered the École Navale and graduated as a gunnery officer. After an automobile accident cut short his career in naval aviation, Cousteau indulged his interest in the sea. In Toulon, where he was serving on the Condorcet, Cousteau carried out his first underwater experiments, thanks to his friend Philippe Tailliez who in 1936 lent him some Fernez underwater goggles, predecessors of modern diving masks. On 12 July 1937 he married Simone Melchior, with whom he had two sons, Jean-Michel (born 1938) and Philippe (1940–1979). His sons took part in the adventures of the Calypso. In 1991, one year after his wife Simone's death from cancer, he married Francine Triplet. They already had a daughter Diane Cousteau (born 1980) and a son Pierre-Yves Cousteau (born 1982), born during Cousteau's marriage to his first wife.
Having kept bonds with the English speakers and with French soldiers in North Africa, Jacques-Yves Cousteau helped the French Navy to join again with the Allies; he assembled a commando operation against the Italian espionage services in France, and received several military decorations for his deeds. At that time, he kept his distance from his brother Pierre-Antoine Cousteau, a "pen anti-semite" who wrote the collaborationist newspaper Je suis partout (I am everywhere) and who received the death sentence in 1946. However this was later commuted to a life sentence, and Pierre-Antoine was released in 1954.
During the 1940s, Cousteau is credited with improving the aqua-lung design which gave birth to the open-circuit scuba technology used today. According to his first book, The Silent World: A Story of Undersea Discovery and Adventure (1953), Cousteau started diving with Fernez goggles in 1936, and in 1939 used the self contained underwater breathing apparatus invented in 1925 by Commander Yves le Prieur. Cousteau was not satisfied with the length of time he could spend underwater with the Le Prieur apparatus so he improved it to extend underwater duration by adding a demand regulator, invented in 1942 by Émile Gagnan. In 1943 Cousteau tried out the first prototype aqua-lung which finally made extended underwater exploration possible.
In 1946, Cousteau and Tailliez showed the film "Épaves" to Admiral Lemonnier, he gave them the responsibility of setting up the Groupement de Recherches Sous-marines (GRS) (Underwater Research Group) of the French Navy in Toulon. In 1948, between missions of mine clearance, underwater exploration and technological and physiological tests, Cousteau undertook a first campaign in the Mediterranean on board the sloop Élie Monnier. The small team, consisting of Cousteau, Tailliez, Dumas, Jean Alinat and the scenario writer Marcel Ichac also undertook the exploration of a Roman wreck of Mahdia (Tunisia). It was the first underwater archaeology operation using autonomous diving, opening the way for scientific underwater archaeology. Cousteau and the Élie Monnier then took part in the rescue of Professor Jacques Piccard's bathyscaphe, the FNRS-2, during the 1949 expedition to Dakar. Thanks to this rescue, the French Navy was able to reuse the sphere of the bathyscaphe to construct the FNRS-3. Also that same year he left the French Navy.
In 1950, he founded the French Oceanographic Campaigns (FOC), and leased a ship called Calypso from Thomas Loel Guinness for a “symbolic” one franc a year. Cousteau refitted the Calypso as a mobile laboratory for field research and as his principal vessel for diving and filming. He also carried out underwater archaeological excavations in the Mediterranean, in particular at Grand-Congloué (1952). With the publication of his first book in 1953, The Silent World, he correctly predicted the existence of the echolocation abilities of porpoises. He reported that his research vessel, the Élie Monier, was heading to the Straits of Gibraltar and noticed a group of porpoises following them. Cousteau changed course a few degrees off the optimal course to the centre of the strait, and the porpoises followed for a few minutes, then diverged toward mid-channel again. It was evident that they knew where the optimal course lay, even if the humans did not. Cousteau concluded that the cetaceans had something like sonar, which was a relatively new feature on submarines. Cousteau won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival in 1956 for The Silent World co-produced with Louis Malle. With the assistance of Jean Mollard, he made a "diving saucer" SP-350, an experimental underwater vehicle which could reach a depth of 350 meters. The successful experiment was quickly repeated in 1965 with two vehicles which reached 500 meters.
In 1957, he was elected as director of the Oceanographical Museum of Monaco. He directed Précontinent, about the experiments of diving in saturation (long-duration immersion, houses under the sea), and was admitted to the United States National Academy of Sciences. In October 1960, a large amount of radioactive waste was going to be discarded in the Mediterranean Sea by the Commissariat à l'énergie atomique (CEA). The CEA argued that the dumps were experimental in nature, and that French oceanographers such as Vsevelod Romanovsky had recommended it. Romanovsky and other French scientists, including Louis Fage and Jacques Cousteau, repudiated the claim, saying that Romanovsky had in mind a much smaller amount. The CEA claimed that there was little circulation (and hence little need for concern) at the dump site between Nice and Corsica, but French public opinion sided with the oceanographers rather than with the CEA atomic energy scientists. The CEA chief, Francis Perrin, decided to postpone the dump. Cousteau organized a publicity campaign which in less than two weeks gained wide popular support. The train carrying the waste was stopped by women and children sitting on the railway tracks, and it was sent back to its origin.
A meeting with American television companies (ABC, Métromédia, NBC) created the series The Underwater Odyssey of Commander Cousteau, with the character of the commander in the red bonnet inherited from standard diving dress) intended to give the films a "personalized adventure" style. In 1973, along with his two sons and Frederick Hyman, he created the Cousteau Society for the Protection of Ocean Life, Frederick Hyman being its first President; it now has more than 300,000 members. Three years after the volcano's last eruption, on 19 December 1973, the Cousteau team was filming on Deception Island, Antarctica when Michel Laval, Calypso's second in command, was struck and killed by a propeller of the helicopter that was ferrying between Calypso and the island.
In 1976, Cousteau uncovered the wreck of HMHS Britannic. He also found the wreck of La Therese between the island of Crete and the island called Dia. In 1977, together with Peter Scott, he received the UN International Environment prize. On 28 June 1979, while the Calypso was on an expedition to Portugal, his second son, Philippe, with whom he had co-produced all his films since 1969, died in a PBY Catalina flying boat crash in the Tagus river near Lisbon. Cousteau was deeply affected. He called his then eldest son, the architect Jean-Michel Cousteau, to his side. This collaboration lasted 14 years.
In 1985, he received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from Ronald Reagan. In June 1990, the composer Jean Michel Jarre paid homage to the commander by entitling his new album Waiting for Cousteau. He also composed the music for Cousteau's documentary "Palawan, the last refuge". On 2 December 1990, his wife Simone Cousteau died of cancer. In June 1991, in Paris, Jacques-Yves Cousteau remarried, to Francine Triplet, with whom he had (before this marriage) two children, Diane and Pierre-Yves. Francine Cousteau currently continues her husband's work as the head of the Cousteau Foundation and Cousteau Society. From that point, the relations between Jacques-Yves and his elder son worsened. In November 1991, Cousteau gave an interview to the UNESCO courier, in which he stated that he was in favour of human population control and population decrease. The full article text can be found online. In 1992, he was invited to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, for the United Nations' International Conference on Environment and Development, and then he became a regular consultant for the UN and the World Bank. In 1996, he sued his son who wished to open a holiday centre named "Cousteau" in the Fiji Islands. On 11 January 1996, Calypso was rammed and sunk in Singapore harbour by a barge. The Calypso was refloated and towed home to France.
Jacques-Yves Cousteau died on 25 June 1997 in Paris, aged 87. Despite persistent rumors, encouraged by some Islamic publications and websites, Cousteau did not convert to Islam, and when he died he was buried in a Roman Catholic Christian funeral. He was buried in the family vault at Saint-André-de-Cubzac in France. An homage was paid to him by the city by the inauguration of a "rue du Commandant Cousteau", a street which runs out to his native house, where a commemorative plaque was affixed.
Stan Laurel, Arthur Stanley "Stan" Jefferson (16 June 1890 – 23 February 1965), better known as Stan Laurel, was an English comic actor, writer and film director, famous as the first half of the comedy team Laurel and Hardy. His film acting career stretched between 1917 and 1951 and included a starring role in the Academy Award winning film The Music Box (1932). In 1961, Laurel was given a Lifetime Achievement Academy Award for his pioneering work in comedy. He has a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 7021 Hollywood Blvd.
Arthur Stanley Jefferson was born in his grandparents' house on 16 June 1890 at 3 Argyle Street, Ulverston, then in Lancashire (but now part of the ceremonial county of Cumbria). He had three siblings - two brothers and a sister. His parents, Arthur and Margaret ("Madge") Jefferson, were both active in the theatre and always very busy. In his early years, he spent much time living with his grandmother Sarah Metcalfe. Stan Jefferson attended school at King James I Grammar School, Bishop Auckland, County Durham and The King's School, Tynemouth, before moving with his parents to Glasgow, Scotland, where he completed his education at Rutherglen Academy. His father managed Glasgow's Metropole Theatre where he began work. At the age of 16, with a natural affinity for the theatre, Jefferson gave his first professional performance on stage at the The Panopticon in Glasgow.
In 1910, with the stage name of "Stan Jefferson", he joined Fred Karno's troupe of actors, which also included a young Charlie Chaplin. For some time, he acted as Chaplin's understudy. The Karno troupe toured America, and brought both Chaplin and Jefferson to the United States for the first time. From 1916 to 1918, he teamed up with Alice Cooke and Baldwin Cooke, who became lifelong friends. Amongst other performers, Jefferson worked briefly alongside Oliver Hardy in a silent film short The Lucky Dog. This was before the two were a team. It was around this time that Jefferson met Mae Dahlberg. Around the same time he adopted the stage surname of Laurel, at Dahlberg's suggestion. The pair were performing together when Laurel was offered $75.00 per week to star in two-reel comedies. After the making of his first film, Nuts in May, Universal offered him a contract. The contract was soon cancelled, however, during a reorganisation at the studio. Among the films Dahlberg and Laurel appeared in together was the 1922 parody, Mud and Sand. By 1924, Laurel had given up the stage for full-time film work, under contract with Joe Rock for 12 two-reel comedies. The contract had one unusual stipulation, was that Dahlberg was not to appear in any of the films as it was felt her temperament was hindering Laurel's career. In 1925, when she started interfering with Laurel's work, Rock offered her a cash settlement and a one-way ticket back to her native Australia, which she accepted. Laurel went on to join the Hal Roach studio, and began directing films, including a 1926 production called Yes, Yes, Nanette. He intended to work primarily as a writer and director, but fate stepped in. In 1927, Oliver Hardy, another member of the Hal Roach Studios Comedy All Star players, was injured in a kitchen mishap and Laurel was asked to return to acting. Laurel and Hardy began sharing the screen in Slipping Wives, Duck Soup and With Love and Hisses. The two became friends and their comic chemistry soon became obvious. Roach Studios' supervising director Leo McCarey noticed the audience reaction to them and began teaming them, leading to the creation of the Laurel and Hardy series later that year. During the 1930s, Laurel was involved in a dispute with Hal Roach, which resulted in the termination of his contract. Since Roach maintained separate contracts for Laurel and Hardy that expired at different times, Hardy remained at the studio and was "teamed" with Harry Langdon for the 1939 film Zenobia. There was also talk about a series of films co-starring Hardy with Patsy Kelly called "The Hardy Family." But Laurel sued Roach over the contract dispute. Eventually, the case was dropped and Laurel returned to Roach. After returning to Roach studios, the first film Laurel and Hardy made was A Chump at Oxford. Subsequently, they made Saps at Sea, which was their last film for Roach.
In 1939, Laurel and Hardy signed a contract at 20th Century Fox to make one motion picture and nine more over the following five months. During the war years, their work became more standardised and less successful, though The Bullfighters, Great Guns and A-Haunting We Will Go did receive some praise. Laurel discovered he had diabetes, so he encouraged Oliver Hardy to make two films without him. In 1946, he divorced Virginia Ruth Rogers and married Ida Kitaeva Raphael. In 1950, Laurel and Hardy were invited to France to make a feature film. The film, a French/Italian co-production titled Atoll K, was a disaster. (The film was titled Utopia in the US and Robinson Crusoeland in the UK.) Both stars were noticeably ill during the filming. Upon returning home, they spent most of their time recovering. In 1952, Laurel and Hardy toured Europe successfully, and again in 1953. During this tour, Laurel fell ill and was unable to perform for several weeks. In May 1954, Oliver Hardy had a heart attack and cancelled the tour. In 1955, they were planning to do a television series, Laurel and Hardy's Fabulous Fables, based on children's stories, but the plans were delayed after Laurel suffered a stroke, from which he recovered. But as he was planning to get back to work, Oliver Hardy had a massive stroke on 15 September 1956. Paralyzed and bedridden for several months, Hardy was unable to speak or move.
Together, the two men began producing a huge body of short films, including The Battle of the Century, and many others. Laurel and Hardy successfully made the transition to talking films with the short, Unaccustomed As We Are in 1929. They also appeared in their first feature in one of the revue sequences of The Hollywood Revue of 1929 and the following year they appeared as the comic relief in a lavish all-colour (in Technicolor) musical feature, The Rogue Song. In 1931, their own first starring feature, Pardon Us was released, although they continued to make both features and shorts until 1935, including their 1932 three-reeler The Music Box which won an Academy Award for Best Short Subject.
On 7 August 1957, Oliver Hardy died. Laurel did not attend his funeral, stating "Babe would understand". People who knew Laurel said he was absolutely devastated by Hardy's death and never fully recovered for the rest of his life. In 1961, Stan Laurel was given a Lifetime Achievement Academy Award for his pioneering work in comedy. He had achieved his lifelong dream as a comedian and had been involved in nearly 190 films. He lived his final years in a small apartment in the Oceana Hotel in Santa Monica, California. Always gracious to fans, he spent much time answering fan mail. His phone number was listed in the telephone directory, and fans were amazed that they could dial the number and speak to Stan Laurel. Dick Van Dyke told a similar story to Jerry Lewis'. When Van Dyke was just starting his career, he looked up Laurel's phone number, called him, and then visited him at his home. Lewis was among the comedians to visit Laurel, who offered suggestions for Lewis' production of The Bellboy (1960). Lewis had even paid tribute to Laurel by naming his main character Stanley in the film, and having Bill Richmond play a version of Laurel as well.
Laurel was a heavy smoker until suddenly giving up when he was about seventy years of age. He died on 23 February 1965, aged 74, several days after suffering a heart attack. Just minutes away from death, Laurel told his nurse he would not mind going skiing right at that very moment. Somewhat taken aback, the nurse replied that she was not aware that he was a skier. "I'm not," said Laurel, "I'd rather be doing that than this!" A few minutes later the nurse looked in on him again and found that he had died quietly. At his funeral, silent screen comedian Buster Keaton was overheard at Laurel's funeral giving his assessment of the comedian's considerable talents: "Chaplin wasn't the funniest, I wasn't the funniest, this man was the funniest." Dick Van Dyke, a friend, protégé and occasional impressionist of Laurel's during his later years, gave the eulogy, reading A Prayer for Clowns. Laurel had written his own epitaph: "If anyone at my funeral has a long face, I'll never speak to him again." A similar statement was later found: "If anyone cries at my funeral, I will never speak to him again."
Arthur Stanley Jefferson was born in his grandparents' house on 16 June 1890 at 3 Argyle Street, Ulverston, then in Lancashire (but now part of the ceremonial county of Cumbria). He had three siblings - two brothers and a sister. His parents, Arthur and Margaret ("Madge") Jefferson, were both active in the theatre and always very busy. In his early years, he spent much time living with his grandmother Sarah Metcalfe. Stan Jefferson attended school at King James I Grammar School, Bishop Auckland, County Durham and The King's School, Tynemouth, before moving with his parents to Glasgow, Scotland, where he completed his education at Rutherglen Academy. His father managed Glasgow's Metropole Theatre where he began work. At the age of 16, with a natural affinity for the theatre, Jefferson gave his first professional performance on stage at the The Panopticon in Glasgow.
In 1910, with the stage name of "Stan Jefferson", he joined Fred Karno's troupe of actors, which also included a young Charlie Chaplin. For some time, he acted as Chaplin's understudy. The Karno troupe toured America, and brought both Chaplin and Jefferson to the United States for the first time. From 1916 to 1918, he teamed up with Alice Cooke and Baldwin Cooke, who became lifelong friends. Amongst other performers, Jefferson worked briefly alongside Oliver Hardy in a silent film short The Lucky Dog. This was before the two were a team. It was around this time that Jefferson met Mae Dahlberg. Around the same time he adopted the stage surname of Laurel, at Dahlberg's suggestion. The pair were performing together when Laurel was offered $75.00 per week to star in two-reel comedies. After the making of his first film, Nuts in May, Universal offered him a contract. The contract was soon cancelled, however, during a reorganisation at the studio. Among the films Dahlberg and Laurel appeared in together was the 1922 parody, Mud and Sand. By 1924, Laurel had given up the stage for full-time film work, under contract with Joe Rock for 12 two-reel comedies. The contract had one unusual stipulation, was that Dahlberg was not to appear in any of the films as it was felt her temperament was hindering Laurel's career. In 1925, when she started interfering with Laurel's work, Rock offered her a cash settlement and a one-way ticket back to her native Australia, which she accepted. Laurel went on to join the Hal Roach studio, and began directing films, including a 1926 production called Yes, Yes, Nanette. He intended to work primarily as a writer and director, but fate stepped in. In 1927, Oliver Hardy, another member of the Hal Roach Studios Comedy All Star players, was injured in a kitchen mishap and Laurel was asked to return to acting. Laurel and Hardy began sharing the screen in Slipping Wives, Duck Soup and With Love and Hisses. The two became friends and their comic chemistry soon became obvious. Roach Studios' supervising director Leo McCarey noticed the audience reaction to them and began teaming them, leading to the creation of the Laurel and Hardy series later that year. During the 1930s, Laurel was involved in a dispute with Hal Roach, which resulted in the termination of his contract. Since Roach maintained separate contracts for Laurel and Hardy that expired at different times, Hardy remained at the studio and was "teamed" with Harry Langdon for the 1939 film Zenobia. There was also talk about a series of films co-starring Hardy with Patsy Kelly called "The Hardy Family." But Laurel sued Roach over the contract dispute. Eventually, the case was dropped and Laurel returned to Roach. After returning to Roach studios, the first film Laurel and Hardy made was A Chump at Oxford. Subsequently, they made Saps at Sea, which was their last film for Roach.
In 1939, Laurel and Hardy signed a contract at 20th Century Fox to make one motion picture and nine more over the following five months. During the war years, their work became more standardised and less successful, though The Bullfighters, Great Guns and A-Haunting We Will Go did receive some praise. Laurel discovered he had diabetes, so he encouraged Oliver Hardy to make two films without him. In 1946, he divorced Virginia Ruth Rogers and married Ida Kitaeva Raphael. In 1950, Laurel and Hardy were invited to France to make a feature film. The film, a French/Italian co-production titled Atoll K, was a disaster. (The film was titled Utopia in the US and Robinson Crusoeland in the UK.) Both stars were noticeably ill during the filming. Upon returning home, they spent most of their time recovering. In 1952, Laurel and Hardy toured Europe successfully, and again in 1953. During this tour, Laurel fell ill and was unable to perform for several weeks. In May 1954, Oliver Hardy had a heart attack and cancelled the tour. In 1955, they were planning to do a television series, Laurel and Hardy's Fabulous Fables, based on children's stories, but the plans were delayed after Laurel suffered a stroke, from which he recovered. But as he was planning to get back to work, Oliver Hardy had a massive stroke on 15 September 1956. Paralyzed and bedridden for several months, Hardy was unable to speak or move.
Together, the two men began producing a huge body of short films, including The Battle of the Century, and many others. Laurel and Hardy successfully made the transition to talking films with the short, Unaccustomed As We Are in 1929. They also appeared in their first feature in one of the revue sequences of The Hollywood Revue of 1929 and the following year they appeared as the comic relief in a lavish all-colour (in Technicolor) musical feature, The Rogue Song. In 1931, their own first starring feature, Pardon Us was released, although they continued to make both features and shorts until 1935, including their 1932 three-reeler The Music Box which won an Academy Award for Best Short Subject.
On 7 August 1957, Oliver Hardy died. Laurel did not attend his funeral, stating "Babe would understand". People who knew Laurel said he was absolutely devastated by Hardy's death and never fully recovered for the rest of his life. In 1961, Stan Laurel was given a Lifetime Achievement Academy Award for his pioneering work in comedy. He had achieved his lifelong dream as a comedian and had been involved in nearly 190 films. He lived his final years in a small apartment in the Oceana Hotel in Santa Monica, California. Always gracious to fans, he spent much time answering fan mail. His phone number was listed in the telephone directory, and fans were amazed that they could dial the number and speak to Stan Laurel. Dick Van Dyke told a similar story to Jerry Lewis'. When Van Dyke was just starting his career, he looked up Laurel's phone number, called him, and then visited him at his home. Lewis was among the comedians to visit Laurel, who offered suggestions for Lewis' production of The Bellboy (1960). Lewis had even paid tribute to Laurel by naming his main character Stanley in the film, and having Bill Richmond play a version of Laurel as well.
Laurel was a heavy smoker until suddenly giving up when he was about seventy years of age. He died on 23 February 1965, aged 74, several days after suffering a heart attack. Just minutes away from death, Laurel told his nurse he would not mind going skiing right at that very moment. Somewhat taken aback, the nurse replied that she was not aware that he was a skier. "I'm not," said Laurel, "I'd rather be doing that than this!" A few minutes later the nurse looked in on him again and found that he had died quietly. At his funeral, silent screen comedian Buster Keaton was overheard at Laurel's funeral giving his assessment of the comedian's considerable talents: "Chaplin wasn't the funniest, I wasn't the funniest, this man was the funniest." Dick Van Dyke, a friend, protégé and occasional impressionist of Laurel's during his later years, gave the eulogy, reading A Prayer for Clowns. Laurel had written his own epitaph: "If anyone at my funeral has a long face, I'll never speak to him again." A similar statement was later found: "If anyone cries at my funeral, I will never speak to him again."
My first recipe is Parmesan & Parsley-Crusted Salmon, courtesy of BBC GoodFood website, first published in Olive Magazine October 2007.
Serves 4 Ready in 20mins.
4 x Salmon Fillets, look for organically farmed or wild Alaskan
Butter
50g x Fresh White Breadcrumbs
2 tbsp x Chopped Parsley
½ x Lime, juice only
Olive Oil
40g x Parmesan
Butter
50g x Fresh White Breadcrumbs
2 tbsp x Chopped Parsley
½ x Lime, juice only
Olive Oil
40g x Parmesan
Heat the oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6. Season and put the salmon fillets on a lightly buttered non-stick baking tray. Whizz the breadcrumbs, parsley, lime juice, 1 tbsp oil and Parmesan in a food processor. Cover the salmon with the breadcrumb mixture and bake in the oven for 10-12 minutes until the salmon is cooked through and the breadcrumbs golden. Serve with salad or new potatoes.
Alternatively, instead of parsley try dill or chives. Leave out the lime juice and spice it up with ½ tsp paprika instead.
Alternatively, instead of parsley try dill or chives. Leave out the lime juice and spice it up with ½ tsp paprika instead.
My next recipe is Fully Loaded Cajun Chicken Burgers, courtesy of BBC GoodFood website, first printed in Good Food Magazine February 2009.
Serves 4, takes 20mins to prepare and 15mins to cook.
4 x Skinless Chicken Breasts
2 tbsp x Olive Oil
4 x Smoked Bacon Rashers
2 x Avocados
4 x Ciabatta Rolls, split
4 x Thin slices of your favourite cheese
4 x Small Handfuls of Baby Spinach Leaves
Mayonnaise , to serve (optional)
2 tbsp x Olive Oil
4 x Smoked Bacon Rashers
2 x Avocados
4 x Ciabatta Rolls, split
4 x Thin slices of your favourite cheese
4 x Small Handfuls of Baby Spinach Leaves
Mayonnaise , to serve (optional)
FOR THE CAJUN SEASONING
1 tbsp x Ground Cumin
1 tbsp x Ground Coriander
1 tbsp x Paprika
1 tbsp x Ground Cumin
1 tbsp x Ground Coriander
1 tbsp x Paprika
Mix the seasoning ingredients together with a good grinding of black pepper and a sprinkling of salt, then set aside in a large dish. Heat grill to high. On a board, flatten out the chicken slightly, then drizzle half the oil over and toss in the seasoning until completely coated. Heat the remaining oil in a large frying pan, sizzle the chicken for 5 mins on each side until firm, push to one side of the pan, then fry the bacon for a few mins until cooked.
While the chicken is cooking, halve, stone, peel and slice the avocados, and toast the cut sides of the buns. Cover the tops of the buns with cheese, then grill until melted. To assemble the burgers, spread the buns with mayonnaise if you want, top with a handful of spinach, then a rasher of bacon. To keep the avocado in place, slice the chicken, then alternate between a slice of chicken and avocado. Top with the bun, press down lightly and serve.
While the chicken is cooking, halve, stone, peel and slice the avocados, and toast the cut sides of the buns. Cover the tops of the buns with cheese, then grill until melted. To assemble the burgers, spread the buns with mayonnaise if you want, top with a handful of spinach, then a rasher of bacon. To keep the avocado in place, slice the chicken, then alternate between a slice of chicken and avocado. Top with the bun, press down lightly and serve.
Spice of the week – Annatto
Annatto , sometimes called roucou, is a derivative of the achiote trees of tropical regions of the Americas, used to produce a yellow to orange food colouring and also as a flavouring. Its scent is described as "slightly peppery with a hint of nutmeg" and flavour as "slightly sweet and peppery". Annatto colouring is produced from the reddish pericarp or pulp which surrounds the seed of the achiote (Bixa orellana L.). It is used as colouring in many cheeses (e.g., Cheddar, Gloucester cheese, Red Leicester, Gouda and Brie), margarine, butter, rice, custard powder ice-cream, and smoked fish. Although it is a natural food colorant, it has been linked to many cases of food-related allergies.
Annatto is commonly found in Latin America and Caribbean cuisines as both a colouring agent and for flavouring. Central and South American natives use the seeds to make a body paint and lipstick. For this reason, the achiote is sometimes called the "lipstick-tree". Achiote originated in South America and has spread in popularity to many parts of Asia. It is also grown in other tropical or subtropical regions of the world, including Central America, Africa and Asia. The heart-shaped fruit are brown or reddish brown at maturity, and are covered with short, stiff hairs. When fully mature, the fruit split open, exposing the numerous dark red seeds. While the fruit itself is not edible, the orange-red pulp that covers the seed is used to produce a yellow to orange commercial food colouring. Achiote dye is prepared by stirring the seeds in water or oil.
Annatto , sometimes called roucou, is a derivative of the achiote trees of tropical regions of the Americas, used to produce a yellow to orange food colouring and also as a flavouring. Its scent is described as "slightly peppery with a hint of nutmeg" and flavour as "slightly sweet and peppery". Annatto colouring is produced from the reddish pericarp or pulp which surrounds the seed of the achiote (Bixa orellana L.). It is used as colouring in many cheeses (e.g., Cheddar, Gloucester cheese, Red Leicester, Gouda and Brie), margarine, butter, rice, custard powder ice-cream, and smoked fish. Although it is a natural food colorant, it has been linked to many cases of food-related allergies.
Annatto is commonly found in Latin America and Caribbean cuisines as both a colouring agent and for flavouring. Central and South American natives use the seeds to make a body paint and lipstick. For this reason, the achiote is sometimes called the "lipstick-tree". Achiote originated in South America and has spread in popularity to many parts of Asia. It is also grown in other tropical or subtropical regions of the world, including Central America, Africa and Asia. The heart-shaped fruit are brown or reddish brown at maturity, and are covered with short, stiff hairs. When fully mature, the fruit split open, exposing the numerous dark red seeds. While the fruit itself is not edible, the orange-red pulp that covers the seed is used to produce a yellow to orange commercial food colouring. Achiote dye is prepared by stirring the seeds in water or oil.
Many Latin American cuisines traditionally use annatto in recipes of Spanish origin that originally call for saffron; for example, in arroz con pollo, to give the rice a yellow colour. In Venezuela, annatto (called locally onoto) is used in the preparation of hallacas, perico, and other traditional dishes. In Brazil, both annatto (the product) and the tree (Bixa orellana L.) are called urucum, and the product itself may also be called colorau. In the Caribbean islands, both fruit and tree are popularly called achiote or bija. In Jamaica, annatto has had many uses over the centuries, including as a food dye, body paint, treatment for heartburn and stomach distress, sunscreen and insect repellent. In the Philippines, it is called atsuete, and is used as food colouring in traditional dishes. It is a major ingredient in the popular spice blend "Sazón" made by Goya Foods. As a food additive, annatto has the E number E160b. The fat soluble part of the crude extract is called bixin, the water soluble part is called norbixin, and both share the same E number as annatto. Annatto seed contains 4.5-5.5% pigments, which consists of 70-80% bixin. In the United States, annatto extract is listed as a colour additive “exempt from certification” and is informally considered to be a natural colour. The yellowish orange colour is produced by the chemical compounds bixin and norbixin, which are classified as carotenoids. However, unlike beta-carotene, another well-known carotenoid, they do not have the correct chemical structures to be vitamin A precursors. The more norbixin in an annatto colour, the more yellow it is; a higher level of bixin gives it a more reddish shade. Unless an acid-proof version is used, it takes on a pink shade at low pH.
Cheddar cheese is often coloured, and even as early as 1860, the real reason for this was unclear: English cheesemaker Joseph Harding stated "to the cheese consumers of London who prefer an adulterated food to that which is pure I have to announce an improvement in the annatto with which they compel the cheesemakers to colour the cheese". One theory is that cheeses regarded as superior in the 16th century had somewhat yellow colour, possibly from high levels of carotene in the grass on which the dairy cattle fed. Producers of inferior cheese added annatto to the milk to make the cheese appear better quality, thus to command a higher price.
The Institute of Food Technologists published a technical book dedicated to natural food colorants, including a chapter exclusively on annatto, with the most up-to-date information available, including historical and current food uses, extraction techniques, stability, analysis and pharmacology. Annatto appears to be one of the richest natural sources of a type of vitamin E.
It has been linked to many cases of food-related allergies, and is the only natural food colouring believed to cause as many allergic-type reactions as artificial food colouring. Because it is a natural colorant, companies using annatto may label their products "all natural" or "no artificial colours" on the principal display panel (PDP). "Natural" does not, of course, mean safe or non-toxic. It is well known that synthetic food colours, especially some azo dyes, can provoke hypersensitivity reactions such as urticaria, angioneurotic oedema, and asthma. Natural food colours are scarcely investigated with respect to potential allergic properties. Annatto extract, a commonly used food colour in edible fats, e.g. butter, has been tested in patients. Among 61 consecutive patients suffering from chronic urticaria and/or angioneurotic oedema, 56 patients were orally provoked by annatto extract during elimination diet. A challenge was performed with a dose equivalent to the amount used in 25 grams of butter. Twenty six per cent of the patients reacted to this colour four hours after intake. Annatto is not one of the "Big Eight" allergens (cow's milk, egg, peanut, tree nuts, fish, shellfish, soy, and wheat) which are responsible for >90% of allergic food reactions.
My final recipe is Roasted Butternut Squash with Goat's Cheese, courtesy of BBC GoodFood website, first printed in Good Food Magazine February 2009.
Serves 4, takes 10mins to prepare and 1hr 25mins to cook.
2 x Small Butternut Squash
1 x Large Garlic Clove, crushed
3 tbsp x Olive Oil
A Pinch of Dried Chilli Flakes
1 tsp x Thyme Leaves, chopped
1 x Courgette, cut into 2cm chunks
1 x Red Pepper, cut into 2cm chunks
2 x Small Red Onions, cut into thin wedges
200g x Cherry Tomatoes
50g x Pine Nuts
100g x Goat's Cheese, crumbled
1 tbsp x Breadcrumbs
1 tbsp x Parsley, chopped
1 tbsp x Parmesan
1 x Large Garlic Clove, crushed
3 tbsp x Olive Oil
A Pinch of Dried Chilli Flakes
1 tsp x Thyme Leaves, chopped
1 x Courgette, cut into 2cm chunks
1 x Red Pepper, cut into 2cm chunks
2 x Small Red Onions, cut into thin wedges
200g x Cherry Tomatoes
50g x Pine Nuts
100g x Goat's Cheese, crumbled
1 tbsp x Breadcrumbs
1 tbsp x Parsley, chopped
1 tbsp x Parmesan
Heat the oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6. Cut the squash in half and scoop out the seeds then cut criss-cross patterns over the cut-side of each one. Mix together the garlic, 2 tbsp olive oil, chilli and thyme and brush this mixture over the flesh. Bake for about 30-40 minutes until the flesh is tender.
To make the filling, put the courgette, pepper and onion in a roasting tin and drizzle with 1 tbsp olive oil. Season and roast for about 20-25 minutes until tender and starting to brown at the edges. Add the cherry tomatoes and pine nuts and cook for another 10 minutes.
Mix the breadcrumbs, parsley and parmesan. Arrange the roasted vegetables and goat's cheese in the squash halves, scatter with the breadcrumb mix and bake for a further 10 minutes or until golden and bubbling.
To make the filling, put the courgette, pepper and onion in a roasting tin and drizzle with 1 tbsp olive oil. Season and roast for about 20-25 minutes until tender and starting to brown at the edges. Add the cherry tomatoes and pine nuts and cook for another 10 minutes.
Mix the breadcrumbs, parsley and parmesan. Arrange the roasted vegetables and goat's cheese in the squash halves, scatter with the breadcrumb mix and bake for a further 10 minutes or until golden and bubbling.
Events being remembered this week are Anne Frank received a book for her 13th birthday, which would become known world-wide as Anne Frank’s Diary, 12th June 1942. 13th June 1970, The Beatles had their last no.1 song. 14th June 1938 Action Comics no.1 was released introducing Superman. 15th June 1844 Charles Goodyear received a patent for vulcanization and The British Women’s Institute was formed on 16th June 1915. Other famous birthdays being remembered this week are on the 11th June – Hugh Lawrie & Gene Wilder; 12th June – George H W Bush Snr; 17th June – Edgar Stravinsky.
If you have enjoyed my blog, or have tried out the recipes I have included and wish to comment, please feel free to comment using the comment button or by visiting my guestbook, all comments and suggestions will be gratefully received.
Hope you enjoy!!..... ChefGarfy =D
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