Everyone in the world should know...

 that democracy in Mexico is a farce. I rarely involve myself in anything political here, but the situation Mexico is going through is just too much and it needs as much attention from the international community as it can get. As you may or may not know,  the last 1st of July Mexico supposedly elected a new president. I say supposedly because the whole process was stained with all kinds of irregularities.

 It all started months (years?) before, where, as has been reported by "The Guardian", the media manipulation of the public opinion in favour of a presidential candidate was undeniable. There is documented evidence of massive vote-buying of at least 5 million votes, arithmetic errors in the recount of the votes, statistical abnormalities in the behaviour of the vote counting mathematical curves, serious violations to the people’s right to vote freely and confidentially, illicit funds and money laundering to finance the electoral campaign.

 Enrique Peña Nieto represents a party that was in power for 70 years without interruption since 1929. As "Le monde diplomatique" puts it, his coming to power would represent the return to the perfect dictatorship. His party has a long story of corruption, impunity and all kinds of violence against the population (remember the Tlatelolco massacre in 1968?). As Mexican academic John Ackerman states: "Peña Nieto is a wolf in sheep's clothing. He hides behind a telegenic smile and sharp attire, but he represents Mexico's old corrupt political class". A clear example of this is the massacre of San Salvador Atenco. In 2006, the inhabitants of San Salvador Atenco were victims of repression and witnessed illegal detentions (including 5 foreigners who were deported), sexual abuse, and rape from the hands of the police as well as its official endorsement by the government, then headed by no other than Enrique Pena Nieto. The state of Mexico, where Peña Nieto just finished a six-year stint as governor shows us a terrible panorama where homicide and poverty rates have skyrocketed and "femicides" -- targeted killing of women -- are common.

 The numerous abnormalities during the electoral process should be enough to cancel the electoral process. The student group "Yo soy 132" among others call for the international community and governments of the world not to recognize Enrique Peña Nieto as Mexico's president, should he come to power this December.

If you're not going on vacation (yet)....

you can at least pretend you're on a road trip. At least that's what we did. On our way to Amsterdam the other day we packed lunch (some leftover zucchini quiche from the day before), stopped in a gas station (remembering Cortazar's trip in Los autonautas de la cosmopista) had a short picnic in the middle of the grass and suddenly felt like we were on Holiday.

The little mermaid

was always one of my favorite fairy tales. In its original version by Hans Christian Andersen, the little mermaid "is fascinated by the unknown, the forbidden, and is intent on broadening her horizons from the beginning. She wants, above all, to explore the world and discover things that are beyond what she already knows. The world above, for her, holds a greater range of possibilities to exercise her adventurous spirit." Sure, she is in love with the prince, but more than that she aspires to a superior world and an immortal soul. The ending is also quite different from Disney's version, as she refuses to slay the prince in order to save herself from becoming sea foam and ends up as a daughter of the air, a sort of spirit.
Anyway, I was so excited that the musical was coming that I told the boy that we had to go. I loved every part, the songs, the effects, the colors, the acting. Here are some pictures that I was able to snap...

Seen in our balcony....

a ring-necked parakeet . Isn't it cute? However,  in the Netherlands, Psittacula krameri  is also an exotic species, which means these colorful birds have been imported, probably escaped pets that have been able to establish colonies and thrive in the wild. There is always a danger with releasing "foreign" species in a new environment as (among other concerns, like the potential spread of infectious agents)  they will compete with the local species, sometimes with consequences as fatal as extinction. It seems however that they have been able to share the parks with the local, endemic (native) birds in harmony. What have you been up to?

We like our food green

 I have been looking for different recipes here and there because we always seem to be eating the same things over and over again. So, since we had a broccoli in the fridge, I decided to try these fritters from Smitten kitchen. They were really easy, healthy, delicious and they turned out perfect if I do say so myself.

 In other news, the other day in the Asian supermarket I was able to find Pandan pasta/essence. (It is the same stuff that made this cake so fantastically green).  I was so happy, because that meant I could make these pandan coconut sandwich cookies, that are more like a buttery shortbread with a sweet coconut filling. Rasberri cupcakes is my new favorite baking blog, I find the photos beautiful, the recipes fun, and Steph, the writer is an Australian-Malay girl making the magic from her own kitchen. What I love the most is the honesty with which she tell us about her experiments, making the reader feel that you too can try and it's ok, if something does not come out quite right. So, what better thing to do than bake cookies on a Sunday morning?

I think I want a better camera... no matter how hard I tried I could not manage to capture the real "greenness" of these.

Zucchini and Gruyère Soufflés

 ...or, how to enjoy fancy dinners in the comfort or your own home. You see, I think it is quite clear how much I enjoy cooking, and well, given how much the boy enjoys eating the stuff I make (even though sometimes that means waiting a bit longer than usual) it is a perfect match. Last week I wanted to try something different as we always end up eating sautéed vegetables in soy or cheese cream, pasta, leek with tomatoes, omelettes and some equally fast to make recipes. So I decided to attempt mini soufflés.

 I used this recipe (that I will translate below). At first I was not sure it was going to work, and I was so eager to see them grow and become fluffy airy balls, that  I was anxious during most of the 20 min wait. But the magic happened and what's more they really were good. So here goes the recipe, try it at home, it is a lot easier than it would seem.

What you'll need (these are the amounts I used as I was only making the soufflés for the two of us)
1 zucchini (summer squash)
50  gr butter
50  gr flour
30 ml. of the water in which the zucchinis  were cooked
1 cup grated gruyère cheese
2 eggs, separate the yolks and whites.
a little bit (half a cup maybe) grated Parmesan cheese.
salt, pepper, nutmeg.
butter

What to do
Preheat oven to 180ºC. Butter your ramequins (I am thinking you could also use a muffin pan) and add grated Parmesan cheese as if you were "flouring" them. Cut the zucchinis in rounds and cook them in salted boiling water until they are soft but not mushy. Strain them, setting aside some of the cooking water, and crush them in a bowl a bit (you do not want purée, just little pieces).  In a small saucepan, melt the butter. Remove the pan from heat and add the flour. Mix to obtain a sort of cream and put back in the heat source. Add the water from the zucchinis, while stirring. Set aside from the heat and add the egg yolks, one by one. Next add the zucchinis and the Gruyere and mix well. Now beat the egg whites until stiff and carefully fold them into the egg-zucchini-cheese mix. Add salt, pepper and nutmeg. Fill your ramequins to 2/3 (it is really important not to overfill them, otherwise they would spill while cooking). Set in the oven and bake for 20 min. You should not, at any point, open the door of the oven or the soufflés will deflate. Serve warm with salad as soon as they come out of the oven, as with time, they will also deflate. Enjoy !