Author Archives for Ellen

Ratatouille

Today i’m gonna eat ratatouille. I have made this so many times before. I do usually eat this with some pasta, as a sauce. It’s also good with different cuts of meat, omelettes or baked potatoes. Or simply on its own.

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Some vegetables are required, i do add others if i have any.

  • 1 onion, cut in slices
  • 1 eggplant, cut in cubes
  • 1 courgette / zucchini, cut in eight parts in length, seeds removed and cut into 1 inch pieces
  • 1 red bell pepper, cut into 1 inch pieces
  • 2 tomatoes, cut in 1 inch pieces
  • around 4 garlic cloves, sliced ( i like garlic!)
  • extra-virgine olive oil
  • some fresh peas
  • chard leaves from the vegetable garden
  • anchovies, half a tin
  • black olives, seeded

I start with slicing the onions and frying them for a couple of minutes. While they fry, i cut the eggplant and add the pieces.

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The courgette i first quarter and remove the seeds. Then i cut each piece in two and slice each part in around 1 inch cubes. These are added to the onions and eggplant.

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The bell pepper is halved, the seeds removed and cut into 1 inch pieces. These are added to the other vegetables. The garlic is sliced up and added too. The anchovies and the oil they are kept in are added too. These vegetables are simmered for around half an hour.

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In that time, cut up the tomatoes, get the peas from their shells, slice the chard. After the half hour, add all these vegetables and the olives, around a handful. Let this simmer for another 10 minutes or so.

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This is the way i make ratatouille. I cooked some pasta at the end, added the ratatouille and put some cottage cheese on top of it all. I also added a bit of olive oil on top of it all. I did read Elizabeth David‘s recipe beforehand and followed it broadly. The peas, chard, anchovies and black olives i added myself.

I love this dish. In all its forms and shapes!

Published on May 12, 2016 at 6:00 by

My dream life

Half my life is a dream life. The past year and a half, these dreams i did not have sleeping, i had them awake. Sometimes during the day, other times during the night.

Night dreams are usually stronger, more vivid. Less distraction. I spend some times crying in my bed. Not out of unhappiness. From pure emotion, sadness, happiness, hopelessness all mixed together.

All these dreams happened when i was in my house or in the train. Immovable. In the train listening to music, my mind following its own pace.

When i’m outside of my house, shopping or walking, or both, i don’t dream. I look around, at the people, at the trees, the birds and dogs.

I’m still at home a lot, by myself. I work at ellenpronk.com, sometimes i have some paid work, sometimes i play a game, sometimes i watch tv. And the rest of the time i dream. Daydream. Nightdream.

These dreams are all connected. They move forward slowly. My current dreams are so different from a year ago.

I am observing my dreams. Letting them happen is one thing. Thinking about them is another. That is hard. The dreams are my ultimate fantasy, my ultimate life, the things i wish for most.

I dream i am invited in a television show. The last week i see other shows, but i usually pick De wereld draait door. The past day i had a dream i started to sing. Do Re Mi. From the Sound of Music. I did sing My favorite things a few months ago.

I am directing the sentences to people in the audience. A line for the table man or lady. A line for Matthijs. A line for Pauline Cornelisse. A line for Hadewych Minis. Applause. Huge!

Well. Let’s start with saying that the things i dream about are most likely not to happen. Not entirely, not literally. But yes, i confess, i am curious about getting on television, getting asked questions. It is dangerous. I might close up. These dreams to me are exercises. What if something like this would happen, how would i react?

I am still living quietly. Still waiting. But i also do know that a change can happen suddenly.

Falling in love is my ultimate dream. I used to fall in love a lot more when i was younger. Hopelessly. Dreams full of romantic images. A body full of feelings. It took me a long time to get a bit of control over these feelings. I would have given up everything if someone would have fallen in love with me. Sadly nobody did. Ooh, that is not true, i do think some did, but they were so shy and polite, they never said anything to me and looked me in the eyes. I only got a card from someone from art school. I didn’t know how to handle that. So i said nothing. I also remember getting a letter from someone while i was studying in Delft, but that story never left the paper.

A year and a half ago i had this crush on someone i met at work. I do remember seeing his wedding ring. At that moment i felt the romantic feeling leaving me. A breath of fresh air. That felt good.

The feelings were still there though. So i had to find someone way outside of my world. Someone i would never meet. Someone living in another world. I don’t know how i made that switch. But i remember standing in the train, while i was still working and thinking about him. So stupid. But also very tempting.

Over the past year and a half there were moments i could leave this feeling of love. I had conversations with myself, in which i was very stern with myself. Stupid girl! Do not do this. It is a dream, it is not real. But deep in the dark of night, where my daytime mind leaves me and the night enters, i dream away.

I should apologize really. Not that it had any effect on this person, since he doesn’t know. It is just my own private little heaven on this planet. A place i know i should leave. If i want to make something of my life. If i want to start talking, be in this world. If i want to dance, sing, talk, sleep, walk, smile, laugh, be quiet, be happy. I would like my life to be too busy to dream away.

So yeah, this person, David Gamson, i might meet someday. Or not. I probably will turn red. Or not. I don’t know. I hope by that time i will be busier than i am now. I do hope my life will get busier. Soon.

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Published on May 11, 2016 at 6:00 by

Spring

A walk in the Kralingse Bos. The weather was lovely. I made a familiar walk, ate my sandwiches with avocado, drank my water, bought an icecream. I watched the geese with their young, the coots, the ducks. Listened to so many birds whose names i do not know. Watched so many new and fresh plants all fresh green and bright.

I felt happy.

And now, photo’s i made. Many flowers!

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Published on May 10, 2016 at 6:00 by

A beautiful Sunday

This beautiful Sunday, sunshine all day long, a little cool wind, absolutely gorgeous. I did work in the garden. We went to the part behind the Shell fueling station. Some digging, some planting, some helping setting up the plastic tubes for putting the nets over to protect the newly planted kohlrabi from the blackbirds. A lot of talking. About vegan diet, stop smoking, stop drinking (not me!), about blogging not being a favourite pastime (not me!). Playing with the heavy soil, or rather, clay. Making a cube with it. Well, sort of.

I took a shower straight after i got home. I finished up the soup i started this morning. A vegetable tomato bellpepper onion broad bean carrot leek sort of soup with some orzo and homemade meat balls. Hmmm.. 🙂

And now, yes, now, i feel tired. I was there for around four hours, i tried staying in the shade, but i was still happy i put on sun milk over my legs, arms and face. I do see a little bit of light red on my skin, but not too much.

I enjoy it. It is good for me now. So yeah, even though it takes up a lot of time on my Sunday, i’m happy i’m doing this.

Sleepy time for now. Hopefully!

Ooh i forgot! Tomorrow, 9 May, Mercury will move past the sun in the daytime. You do need a solar filter to see it. Which i haven’t got. But still.

Published on May 9, 2016 at 6:00 by

Liberation Day

I did go to the garden this afternoon. I brought my vegetable peels, eggshells and toilet paper inner rolls with me to add to the compost heap.

I took photos of plants which i have been told are beneficial weeds. I’m still learning these names and facts. My knowledge of plants, vegetables, herbs and weeds, beneficial or not is extremely limited. I did do some searches and readings this afternoon. The following plants are the ones i have studied.

The bed with chard is almost completely covered with clover, klaver. Its main use is in animal feed. They are also valuable as soil-improving and soil-conserving plants. It adds about 55-170 kg per hectare of nitrogen.

Comfrey, smeerwortel, is a medium sized plant with purple flowers and large leaves. Daniel told me he used the comfrey root for a wound. Ordinarely that wound would be healed in around four weeks, but with the use of the comfrey root, it was healed in a week. He explained to me that this was because the plant contains a organic molecule allantoin. This stimulates cell growth and repairs and depresses inflammation.

Vetch, wikke, is a wide family of around 140 species. Broad beans, tuinbonen, are part of this family. Lentils and peas are relatives of vetches. They are nitrogen-fixing plants.

Dandelion, paardebloem, is to me a well known yellow flowering plant. Its seed heads are also well known here in western Europe, with the white seeds in a wide sphere with fine hairs surrounding the seeds, making it easy to follow the wind over a wide area. The wikipedia page describes its many uses: food, wine and medicinal.

I did publish a photo of wild garlic, daslook, in my last post about the garden. Its leaves are lovely and have a mild garlicky taste. Cows which have eaten wild garlic give milk with a slight garlic taste. The leaves can be used as salad, herb, boiled, in soup or in a pesto as a substitute for basil.

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Coots, meerkoeten, close to my home with three youngs.
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Clover, klaver, in between chard.
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Comfrey, smeerwortel
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Vetch, wikke
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Dandelion, paardebloem, and some comfrey, smeerwortel in the foreground
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Wild garlic, daslook
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Sycamore, plataan
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The same sycamore with a view on Rotterdam
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Icecream! Passionfruit and mango. Yum!
Published on May 6, 2016 at 6:00 by

School reports

My school reports. From the age of six, at the lower school, till the age of 27 at the end of art school. High school i did enjoy loads. Yep. I really enjoyed mathematics, physics and chemistry. Once i could drop French and German i did so. I really didn’t like learning things which had no logic in them. To me anyway.

The first report from high school, in class B5, is my secret pride and joy: only the grades eight and nine. Other than that, i detested that year. I was happy to move into the second year A with Latin. Much better.

My grades did fall down over the years. The switch from Delft Technical University to art school was one of finally giving in. A month before i had my exams from high school i was free, to study for my exams. That is the time i started to draw again. And make earrings. While studying in Delft i did keep up with drawing. Friends of mine did go to art school, and in Rotterdam i got to know more people who were going there as well. So it did start to pull me more and more.

The first year at art school was wonderful. One of the best years of my life. It did get worse after that. Of course. Choosing painting was not good, and i couldn’t continue with it. Cuz of the O’s i got at the end of the year. Picking photography and monumental was better, and i did end up somewhere. Not sure where, but i did find something i was interested in.

In 1997 i started again, with my website. Studying, playing, experimenting, finding things, trying out. I loved it.

The eight years after 2006 were empty of works. I didn’t stop thinking about it for a long time. It did grow less and less. In the first part of 2014 i didn’t feel good, i hardly worked. I was a mess. And then, suddenly, in October 2014, i started again. No things i had to fix, no pages i needed to work out. I simply started again. And i kept on going. Until i could finally finish my presents with an about page. And two weeks after that i started blogging here on ellenpronk.com.

I know i’m a bit silly working on this website so hard. I probably should work for money more. Try to get work somehow. But, somehow, i feel things will work out.

Enjoy these old school reports. No translation, sorry non-Dutch reading people. You can read the figure’s and letter i got. I do hope you enjoy reading this!

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Published on May 5, 2016 at 6:00 by

An average day

Still woke up around four deep in the night. Since i can sleep in in the morning, it’s not that bad. Still, a good night sleep would be good one day.

I went to the market to get some veggies. And some war chips! That is chips with mayonaise, peanutbutter sauce and onions. I added some sambal too.

After that i went to the veggies stall. I only spend € 2,90. That is like nothing. Back home i watched some Masterchef, after that Escape to the Country. I did fall asleep for a short bit.

I had put a red bell pepper in the oven for 45 minutes and put it in a small bag afterwards and tied it up. After around fifteen minutes i could easily get of the skin. I also removed the skin of some chickpeas i cooked last sunday and baked them. I still need to make the hummus. Tomorrow! I also sliced some radishes and washed some spinach i got from the garden this sunday.

For now, i will go and watch The Hunger Games: Catching Fire. I like the series.

I will go and make walks over the next week. It will be warmer, over 20 degrees in the weekend! Not sure where i will go, i will need to do some research. Looking forward to that!

Tomorrow i just might do a walk in the Kralingse Bos. Still one of my favourite places to go.

Bye bye!

Published on May 4, 2016 at 6:00 by

Under Pressure

Sitting in the train going from Amersfoort to Rotterdam. The train had stopped in Utrecht, i was watching the people standing on the opposite platform. Everyone in his or her own little world. Some staring down at their mobile phones, other staring into nothingness. A few together, talking with each other. A typical view. This song, Under Pressure came up in my MIX list.

Yes, i felt tears coming into my eyes. It was painful to watch all these people. Including myself, sitting in the train listening to this music all alone.

I did sing along with this song for a couple of times. It is hard, with the two voices. I skipped some of the parts Freddie Mercury sings, but some i felt were vital. I really missed out on some parts. Strange, how these parts sing perfectly fine in my head, but it is hard to get it out the same way.

I have always enjoyed this song. But i didn’t expect me to cry at the final part, starting at Because love’s such an old fashioned word. That is what i had to train out of myself a bit.

I hope you will enjoy this.

Under Pressure
Pressure pushing down on me
Pressing down on you
No man ask for

Under pressure
That brings a building down
Splits a family in two

Puts people on streets

Um ba ba be
Um ba ba be
De day da
Ee day da – that’s okay

It’s the terror of knowing
What the world is about
Watching some good friends
Screaming
‘Let me out’
Pray tomorrow gets me higher

Pressure on people people on streets

Day day de mm hm
Da da da ba ba
Okay
Chipping around – kick my brains around the floor
These are the days it never rains but it pours
Ee do ba be
Ee da ba ba ba
Um bo bo
Be lap

People on streets
ee da de da de
People on streets
ee da de da de da de da

It’s the terror of knowing
What this world is about
Watching some good friends
Screaming
‘Let me out’

Pray tomorrow – gets me higher
Higher
High

Pressure on people people on streets

Turned away from it all like a blind man
Sat on a fence but it don’t work

Keep coming up with love
But it’s so slashed and torn

Why – why – why?

Love love love love love
Insanity laughs under pressure we’re breaking

Can’t we give ourselves one more chance
Why can’t we give love that one more chance
Why can’t we give love give love give love give love
Give love give love give love give love give love

Because love’s such an old fashioned word
And love dares you to care for
The people on the edge of the night
And love dares you to change our way of
Caring about ourselves
This is our last dance
This is our last dance
This is ourselves
Under pressure
Under pressure
Pressure

Official video

Queen, Annie Lennox and David Bowie in 1992 at the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert

Published on May 3, 2016 at 6:00 by

Falling in love

Last night i was lying awake, around four. I wanted to sleep, but it just didn’t happen. At one point i turned on the lights and got my iPad and played a game. And turned the iPad away again. In the dark, i was thinking of writing a post about falling in love. Which of course i have written before. Sex. Love. Daydreaming. Art.

Falling in love. It is still my biggest dream. Apart from becoming famous. *grin*

I do feel different. Different from when i was younger. Growing up, feeling all these emotions. I always felt too awkward, too closed up inside myself to really get someone’s attention. Looking back, i see my fallings in love were from a very young person. I remember my last one, which i could quite easily hold back once i realized he was married. The first time i was able to do that. Luckily.

So yes, i do know i have grown over the past ten years. I like myself better now. More open, more curious about other people. Not that the biggest part of me is still very private, not that i really enjoy being with myself.

Today i was at the Vredestuin. Some seeding, courgettes. Some planting, onions. Some harvesting, spinach. Some talking to the other people working in the garden. I loved it.

I’m gonna leave this post as it is. I am tired. An early night for me.

PS. I don’t know if i was right in saying here i felt awkward when i was younger. I might have been too closed up inside. But it seems to me i was quite happy on my own. I was never bothered with it. I remember the summer of 1986, just before i went to art school. And the summer of 87. I don’t think i saw one single person.

There is also the switch in going out. When i lived in Vlaardingen and had a group of friends, we did go out, in Rotterdam most of the time. But when i moved to Rotterdam, i had lost contact with that group, and i simply didn’t go out anymore.

Published on May 2, 2016 at 6:00 by

Brainpickings

On my computer i have most of the time three open applications: Mail, Spotify and Firefox. In Firefox i usually have two main windows open.

The left

  • ellenpronk.com
  • wordpress backend of ellenpronk.com
  • google analytics of ellenpronk.com
  • soundcloud stats
  • youtube stats
  • tumblr dashboard
  • songs, an unlinked page on lfs.nl with lyrics of the songs i sing

The right

These windows say so many things about my daily occupations. About this website, about its statistics, about the songs i sing, about the social networks i follow, about a blog i really like, about my relaxation, the games i play.

I have written about Brainpickings before. I don’t read every post, no. But once or twice a week i go through the first page to see if there are any new posts. Usually Sunday and Wednesday.

Brain Pickings — which remains ad-free and supported by readers — is a cross-disciplinary LEGO treasure chest, full of pieces spanning art, science, psychology, design, philosophy, history, politics, anthropology, and more; pieces that enrich our mental pool of resources and empower combinatorial ideas that are stronger, smarter, richer, deeper and more impactful. Above all, it’s about how these different disciplines illuminate one another to glean some insight, directly or indirectly, into that grand question of how to live, and how to live well.

A post from 2013 writes about the start, unbeknownst of it future growth and expansion in Happy Birthday, Brain Pickings: 7 Things I Learned in 7 Years of Reading, Writing, and Living.

Please read the article. For the very hasty among you the following list:

  1. Allow yourself the uncomfortable luxury of changing your mind.
  2. Do nothing for prestige or status or money or approval alone.
  3. Be generous.
  4. Build pockets of stillness into your life.
  5. When people try to tell you who you are, don’t believe them.
  6. Presence is far more intricate and rewarding an art than productivity.
  7. “Expect anything worthwhile to take a long time.”

This weeks post is a gem. The Psychology of Time and the Paradox of How Impulsivity and Self-Control Mediate Our Capacity for Presence. I am thinking about myself and the changes in my thoughts, well, for my whole life basically. But things are developing with sound speed, these past 18 months. Before that i felt my life was getting to a slowdown, i felt depressed. Not severely, more like a bucket was over my head. I still remember thinking then, those 18 months ago, that finally the wind started to blow quietly with me, not against me. This does change my perception of the time around me. Sometimes i escape out of time, when i play a game, watch some television, read a book. And sometimes i’m inside time, like this afternoon, listening to all the sounds from the street, the cars, the birds, the neighbors, people walking by. I don’t think you should be in that experience the whole time. Earlier this evening, while watching Masterchef, i was thinking about tomorrow, what i will be doing then. In the morning i’ll be going to the Peace Garden. I’ll take my vegetables cuttings and other stuff for the compost heap with me. And a thermos with hot water, and coffee and sugar and cream. And tomorrow i will be doing my VAT for the first three months of this year.

Reading this article made me think of my own learning to wait, to postpone getting a reward. My own self-restraint. It makes me think about losing my virginity when i was 28 years old. It is not that i didn’t try before. It just didn’t work out. I felt i should have been able to go for it much younger, but it just never felt right.

I did use to drink a lot more when i was younger. But for a few years i’ve been diagnosed with diabetes 2. Since then i did loose around 7 kilos. I should loose more, i know. But i do drink a lot less alcohol. One, sometimes two bottles of wine a week. It takes me two, mostly three days to finish a bottle. Ten years ago i drank one bottle a day. Sometimes even two bottles in one evening. I am very happy that i managed to minimize to my current amount.

Time that is felt and lived, that is, a life rich in positive experiences, is made up of moments of fulfillment, often in the company of good friends or a beloved partner. Therefore, whether one lives out the moment or pursues gain over the long term is a matter of emotionally intelligent conduct and weighing decisions. Someone who is free and full of life does not always choose to delay gratification; rather, she or he is smart about when to seek enjoyment and when to wait.

There is also a collection of favorite reads.

On Being
Maria Popova — Cartographer of Meaning in a Digital World

Reading this content can be hard. I admit, i don’t always have the patience for it. My life at this moment is still a life of growth. The past year and a half i felt a difference almost every day. And yet sometimes when i read back an old post, of let’s say a year ago, it feels like i am the same person with the same questions, the same wants and the same needs. Even a post from nineteen years ago still feels like being from me. But yes, i do feel i am changing. Blossoming might be the right word.

Published on April 29, 2016 at 6:00 by