Himmel & helvete

Det vill säga, det är invånarna i dessa två platser som är veckans tema: änglar & demoner  — för så har Ugglan&boken bestämt.

“I don’t believe Old Nick can be so very, ugly” said Aunt Jamesina reflectively. “He wouldn’t do so much harm if he was. I always think of him as a rather handsome gentleman.”

Utdrag från ”Anne of the Island”

av L. M. Montgomery

Luzifer (Lucifer) Franz von Stuck 1890 

Jag stökar undan Belsebub och hans anhang först — och där finns en hel del att stöka undan, både skönlitteratur (hur skön den djävulska litteraturen är, lämnar jag åt var och en att avgöra) och allvarligt sinnad facklitteratur. Det finns möjligheter att lära sig det mesta om demonologi i ”Demonology and Devil-lore”c av 

Moncure Daniel Conway

 

Men jag väljer lite lättsammare gods och rekommenderar ”Devil Stories: An Anthology”, djävulska noveller av många väletablerade, och läsvärda, författare.

Varför inte avsluta denna sataniska läsning med att baka en ”devil’s food cake:”

Devil’s Food Cake 

1/4 cup butter

2 1/3 cups flour 

1 cup sugar

3 teaspoons baking powder 

2 squares chocolate

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla 

1/2 cup milk

Cream butter and add sugar gradually, while beating constantly; then add eggs, well beaten, milk, flour, mixed and sifted with baking powder, and salt and vanilla. Turn into a buttered and floured cake pan and bake in a moderate oven forty-five minutes. Cover with Ice Cream Frosting and spread Ice Cream Frosting with a thin layer of melted unsweetened chocolate, using the back of a spoon.

Inser nu, när jag läser in mig på änglar, att angelologi är en hel vetenskap. För att inte gå vilse i den himmelska härskaran, går jag snart över till de två klassikerna som jag först kom att tänka på.

”Where Angels Fear to Tread” av E. M. Forster

Min andra klassiker var ”J. B. Priestleys ”Angel Pavement”, men jag får erkänna att när jag plockade fram den från bokhyllan, så var den så mycket tristare än jag mindes, så jag hoppade raskt över till 

”The Man Upstairs and Other Stories” av P. G. Wodehouse, för där hittar jag ”The Good Angel” — en lagom lättsam läsning.

”ANY man under thirty years of age who tells you he is not afraid of an English butler lies. He may not show his fear. Outwardly he may be brave—aggressive even, perhaps to the extent of calling the great man 'Here!' or 'Hi!' But, in his heart, when he meets that, cold, blue, introspective eye, he quakes…”

  ur ”The Good Angel”

Two cherubs reading Giovanni Battista Rosso Fiorentino

”While tea was brewing, Samantha, still quite heedless of her delicate finery, insisted on cutting the bread and butter, saying as she did so:

“Behind a tree . . . that one over there, you’ll find a paper bag with something into it I guess you’ll think worth while.” So Tom retrieved this bag, from which she drew a mouth-watering delicacy that she informed him was an angel cake.

Thus presently, seated in leafy shade and not too near the fire, they partook of tea together, and Tom had his first taste of angel cake, this truly delicious American confection. So they ate and drank, talked and laughed until, this delightful meal ending, she insisted on helping to wash-up and put away the tea-things.”

   ur ”The 'Piping Times”

   av John Jeffery Farnol 

ANGEL CAKE

Slow Oven 325°F.

(Note: Leftover egg yolks can be used in hollandaise sauce, mayonnaise, and other recipes. Two egg yolks can be substituted for 1 whole egg in custards, puddings, and cakes which do not call for stiffly beaten whites. Or egg whites for an angel cake can be accumulated over 2 to 3 weeks in tightly covered jar in refrigerator by using 2 egg yolks in place of 1 whole egg whenever custards, puddings, and sauces are made.)

7 egg whites (about 1 cup)
1 cup fine granulated sugar
¾ cup sifted cake flour
Few grains salt
¾ teaspoon cream of tartar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Beat egg whites until foaming; add cream of tartar and continue beating until they will hold a peak but are still shiny. Add sugar gradually by folding it into egg mixture. Then fold in flour and salt, which have been sifted together four times. Add vanilla last. Bake from 45 minutes to 1 hour in ungreased tube pan lined with circle of wax paper on bottom only. Cool upside down on cake rack, away from drafts, before removing from pan. 

  ur

Metropolitan Cook Book,