Greta Garbo's Swedish Meatballs

"Let's have a martini...
I'm going to feel terribly guilty if you have tea."

Very pleased to hear that like me, Garbo was partial to a vodka martini. I've been doing lots of research on her this week as my goal was to do her mini-biography this weekend and it is DONE. Next, Sonja Henie. Her little cookies were a massive hit in the office. Basil compared them to Jammy Dodgers.

It's a while since I have made Garbo's meatballs so here is a report from Marilyn M. that has been languishing in my inbox for a donkey's age. As Ms Monroe is well known for burning bundles of money in her back yard I was pleased to see that she bought rump steak for this recipe and minced it. Not for her the £2.50 Tesco value pack of mince! She recommended adding some herbs for a bit of flavour (although said she wasn't the best person to suggest which ones) and opted out of making the sauce. Lazy girl - all you do is add milk to the butter in which the meatballs have been cooked and warm it up a bit! Marilyn M. is definitely the kind of woman who needs STAFF to do this kind of thing for her.

Mind you - how did she mince the steak? Did she roll up her sleeves and put it through a mangle-like contraption? I wonder...

Greta Garbo's Swedish Meatballs x 2

"Gif me a visky, ginger ale on the side. And don't be stingy, baby."

Maybe if I hadn’t drunk so much I wouldn’t have ended up wailing and howling late into the night then waking up surrounded by piles of snotty tissues.

Charley came over for meatballs and in conversation mentioned that his new girlfriend was 14 years younger than me. Gadzooks. There aint no words of wisdom from Greta that are going to help with that.

Maybe a mantra though… "I want peace and peace I will have."

I keeled over in the library today – a humdinger of a fall which brought five people running to help me up. I decided to go home and watch an afternoon movie to get over it. Luckily “The Man Who Came to Dinner” is on and I can sympathise with Monty Woolley being wheeled around in a bath chair after falling down some steps. Out of the corner of my eye I am watching my ankle swell up to the size of a football.

The hats in this movie are gorgeous. I want a little skating hat with a pom-pom on top.

Charley’s verdict on the meatballs? Too many cornflakes, not enough meat.

Greta Garbo's Swedish Meatballs

"Life would be so wonderful if we only knew what to do with it."

How true Greta, how true.

The lovely Buster is in town. He came over for Greta’s Swedish Meatballs last night and damn they were good, even if I do say so myself. I think I am actually getting quite a dab hand at cooking! And I dispute Greta's own statement that "there is no one who would have me - I can't cook. "

Me and B had a long conversation in the pub about “getting the bends”. I was blathering on about how his namesake Buster Crabbe died in mysterious circumstances in a diving accident off the coast of Portsmouth. I must have been having false memory syndrome brought on by an excess of beer as I can find no evidence of this now I am sober.

Mind you, MY Buster will be pleased to hear that Crabbe not only played Flash Gordon but Tarzan too. AND Buck Rogers. What a hero.

Tonight I will meet with the Chaw-Bacon armed with a proposal. I have taken Veronica's advice on board and decided exactly what I want from him. It does not involve attendance at social events...