Joy the Jellyfish has a very serious problem. More than anything, he wants to make friends. But how on earth can he make friends when he's nearly invisible!
He tries to get the attention of the other Great Barrier Reef creatures--Amy Anemone, a school of sea horses, Gantian the Great White Shark, Bogart the Blowfish, Daphne the Dolphin--but because of his near-invisible nature, he's mostly ignored.
"My only wish is to have a friend," says Joy the Jellyfish. Then, as he keeps traveling deeper into the ocean, and the waters become icier and darker, he meets Bella Beluga the Whale, who teaches him the secret of friendship and how friendship itself has nothing to do with his nearly-invisible physical nature. Thanks to Bella, Joy learns how to overcome shyness and make friends. More confident, he swims back to the reef, this time powered with the knowledge of true friendship.
Joy the Jellyfish is a sweet story about friendship and about how to overcome shyness in order to make friends. The prose and dialogue are engaging and the brightly colored illustrations captivating. This is a book that will make a fine, delightful gift to any child, not only because of its beautiful artwork and engaging plot, but also because it teaches the different animals which inhabit the great barrier reefs. This book is the second collaboration between talented illustrator Kevin Scott Scollier and his author wife, Kristen. I hope this book will not be their last and I certainly look forward to more children's picture books from this winning team.
*****
JOY THE JELLYFISH
Written by Kristen Collier
Illustrated by Kevin Collier
Dragonfly Publishing
October 2007
24 pages
Paperback: $12.99
Hardcover: $25
So, in the end the chorizo and tomato soup was made, and at the request of Merisi, I hereby divulge the recipe - for that particular day's soup anyway - I make things up as I go along, so things change, especially as I don't measure. But this time, and with Merisi in mind, I made notes. It makes a lot of soup, enough for four probably but we are greedy. This soup was prepared about 4 hours before eating, but it would have been better made the day before.Things usually are.
I got together all these -
Which are - 2x 400gms/14oz tins of cheap chopped tomatoes, 1x 500g/18oz box passata, 1x 225gm/8oz whole chorizo (or chunk of salami) one medium-large onion, 1x sweet red pepper (not shown), tomato puree, extra virgin olive oil, fresh or dried savoury herbs, two decent sized cloves of garlic, a chicken stock cube, sweet chilli sauce, HP/Brown sauce, paprika, chutney (optional).
IMPORTANT NOTE - you can't really go wrong with this. The measurements can be adjusted to taste, and the world won't stop turning if you use slightly different sized food containers, the ones I have here are standard for the UK. (Just make sure you use a decent olive oil, that's all).
Chop your onion how you like it.
Ditto the red pepper. Gently heat the olive oil (about two tablespoons or your own personal glug) until you can smell it, then add the onion and one teaspoon of paprika. Saute quietly until translucent, then add the pepper. While that is doing, take the skin off your salami if necessary - here I have scoured the casing vertically all the way along and peeled it back...
and then chopped into generous slices. Pop it in with the pepper and onion, and leave it to sweat its smoky, fatty goodness out, until it is moist and glistening.
21 Comments on Spicy chorizo and tomato soup, last added: 7/12/2007
you crack me up, at least it’s a cute blowfish
Perfect! I know exactly how you feel!
Your posts always make me laugh… your characters are the best!