and as the night closes in...

Miss Ayla sat back on her terrace and listened to the sound of the crickets. She worried a bit about a very dear friend of her's.
Monsieur Michiel always leands an ear to the sorrows. Not just to Miss Ayla- but to all who come to him- and there are many. On top of that his beloved. Miss Sylvia, is being kept away on matters of the business, which sure troubles poor Monsieur Michiel.
Miss Ayla sighed deeply and leant back in her swing. The sweet scent of the roses on her porch was softly caressing her senses. She looked down and shook her head. "There is not a lot we can do" she said to Higgins, who just grinned at her chewing something horrible that he found on his walkies and that Miss Ayla didn't even attempt to identify.
"Time for the evening glass of White" she decided and went to the kitchen- as her eyes found Grandma's foliant again.
Miss Ayla returned to the terrace with her wine and the book and she started flicking through the pages.
" Ah" she thought "ah- here is something" She smiled as she had an idea. S she got up again and went into the kitchen to check her stock and then went into her garden and picked a few things.
"This might be helpful" she thought.
So she chopped and diced and stirred and simmered and hummed and had wine and a chat and a laugh with Higgins who had meanwhile joined her in the kitchen.
One and a half hours later she giggled- and somebody watching her could have thought that there was a chance that she might be slightly sozzled- which was not completely wrong.
She tasted her soup and smiled, chopped up some fresh parsley and tasted again. "This should be it" she said to Higgins who licked his chops.
Miss Ayla filled a lovely ceramic bowl with the soup she had just prepared and sealed it with a lid- then she set off with Higgins to the gallery, where she hoped to find Monsieur Michiel.

The Soup for a Strong backbone
1000 g of lean stewing beef
1000 g of diced onions
lots of vegetables of the season- but what always goes well is a mix of cauliflower,carrots,runner beans, celeriac,bell pepper,turnips- and in the winter even Brussel sprouts. (Grandma never gave measures and Miss Ayla always plays it by ear)
Salt, pepper, a generous dollop of hot mustard- oh- and a tin of diced tomatoes and at least a litre and a half of hearty beef stock.
- Haet a little oil in a big pot with a heavy bottom, put in the meat and let it brown nicely, add the onions, add some salt and pepper, add the onions and stir until the onions have a nice gold colour too, add the tinned tomatoes and stir thoroughly, then add the vegetables one by one- stir again and add some broth until just covered. Reduce heat and let it simmer, keep stirring in between and fill up broth. It takes about 1 hours and a half. Taste and add salt and pepper to taste. Add freshly chopped parsley before serving.
Miss Ayla finally reached the gallery- looked around and noticed that Monsieur Michiel was not in. she left the bowl on the bench with a little note, wishing him an extremely strong backbone, and silently left with Higgins.
"What a good day we had, Higgins" she said " Let's go home and see if the Captain comes to see us tonight".