They say you can’t teach an old Princess new tricks, and even though I am sometimes a little bit resistant to learning new things, in today’s world you simply have to bite the bullet and open the instruction manual. Sometimes just keeping up can seem overwhelming, another gadget requires another "ology." After all, if you are not on the button, (sometimes just finding it can be difficult), not surfing, (thank goodness you don’t need to get your hair wet), not Tweeting (it’s very hard for this Princess to keep within the word count), not interfacing with your Facebook, or spending hours working out how to take a star turn on your YouTube, (setting up the account was difficult enough), or video conference calling your Princess Pals on your I-Phone and then learning how to BBM or Ping on your Blackberry you can very quickly feel out of step with the times (even in your high heels).
I feel exhausted just talking about it, because I have to admit it, I was a technophobe. I was the one clinging on to my antique mobile phone, because I was too scared to tackle a Blackberry, I was the one who found predictive texting as difficult as the thought of learning a new language and downloading photos, well, put it this way, I struggled with the leads never mind the downloading and cropping, that’s a whole new story. However, sometimes you realise that even though switching on the computer may fill you with fear, you have to face the fear and do it anyway.
I must say, that when you actually get down to it (another week, another course) you realise that you can in fact adapt to new technology and it wasn’t as difficult as it looked, (yes I eventually discovered the computer’s ‘on’ button.) Then realising you can do it, is incredibly liberating. Once you gain the ‘know how’, the possibilities are endless, and at last you are let into a secret world that your kids discovered years ago and can even master hacking into their Facebook! (A must for every Jewish mother)
So today, I am really enjoying the fruits of my technological training, as I have organised the Perfect Princess day out via the internet. A fabulous lunch with a free bottle of wine thrown in, courtesy of booking through Top Table. Discounted matinee theatre tickets for London’s latest hit show ‘Breakfast at Tiffany’s’, isn’t it brilliant how you can now see the theatre’s seating plan? I will never again be plonked behind a pillar again. After the performance I can’t wait for my afternoon tea at the Ritz, (scones cream and jam is my favourite,) sometimes it is great to spend a day being a tourist in your own town. This online reservation was made six months ago, as there is always a huge waiting list (probably all those tourists) and to work off all those extra calories, a little late night shopping, I received an online invitation to the opening of a brand new store in Bond Street (they didn’t have to twist my arm).
Of course the children are sorted, as my online grocery order has been DDD dispatched, delivered and dealt with. All instructions have been BBMed to their Blackberries "MUM IS NOT AROUND TONIGHT, DINNER IS IN THE OVEN." and even the oven is programmed to switch on, (I was very proud when I learnt this one!) Recipe for vegetable lasagne below. The tickets for the show have been downloaded and printed off, plus my sat nav is programmed in my Princess Prius and my Princess Pals have been pinged, "Do you fancy breakfasting in St Johns Wood at Richoux?" G-d forbid we miss a meal, well they do serve the best scrambled eggs and smoked salmon, and the have all pinged back an unreserved "YES".
So as I sit here sky plussing (I think you call it TiVo) tonight’s much loved television programmes, I am addicted to English soaps, Eastenders being my favourite. I think, what would I do without all my girly gadgets? Yes, this Princess has definitely learnt some new tricks. It must my powers of PPP Postive Productive and Princesslike in everything I do.
Vegetable Lasagna
serves 8
for the lasagna
3 onions, diced
2 eggplants, chopped
2?3 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon garlic purée
salt and black pepper to taste
11?2 tablespoons butter
8 ounces spinach leaves, washed
1 cup mascarpone cheese
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
1?4 teaspoon grated nutmeg
10 ounces fresh lasagna sheets
for the topping
2 tablespoons butter
1?3 cup mascarpone cheese
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
Fry the onions and eggplants in the olive oil with the garlic purée until soft. Season well.
Add the butter and the spinach and cook until the spinach wilts; this takes less than a minute.
Remove from the heat and stir in the mascarpone, Cheddar, and nutmeg. Check the seasoning of the sauce.
Grease a baking dish (approximately 11 inches square).
Cook the fresh pasta in a big pan of boiling water with a dash of olive oil and some salt until al dente, about 2 minutes. Drain the lasagna sheets and lay them on a dish towel.
Spoon a thin layer of sauce over the bottom of the baking dish, then create a layer of pasta. Continue the layering until you have used all the sauce and lasagna, finishing with a layer of lasagna.
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
To make the topping, stir the butter and mascarpone cheese together in a saucepan until melted. Season to taste.
Pour this on top of the lasagna and sprinkle the Cheddar cheese evenly over the top.
Bake until golden, 20-25 minutes.
A lazy lasagna.