Tuesday, November 2, 2010

Books and Authors, Elections and Drugs

I don’t know if you ever read the comments section, but I was delighted to receive a comment from Blake Charlton yesterday, the author of the book I have just finished called Spellwright. He says he has another book on the way, Spellbound. Yet another book I will be biting my nails for until it is published. I know its not possible to write any faster, but waiting for books at my time of life is not a very good proposition. It looks like some authors are never going to finish their stories, George R.R. Martin and Jean M. Auel being a couple of examples. It is years since either of them published a book in their series. In Jean M. Auel’s case, Matt reckons she has made enough money out of her books and bought herself an island somewhere. I must admit I was not so impressed with her later books although her first book, Clan of the Cave Bear, was absolutely brilliant.

Thank God it is election day in the States today and we can finally get rid of all their ads, I know I’ve said it before, but they drive me up the wall. They are running them even hotter and heavier today, but hopefully they will all be gone tomorrow. Apparently, after this election, pot may well be made legal in California. In fact I am not so sure that’s a bad thing. If you think about it, when America had Prohibition, crime was rampant, once they got rid of Prohibition, there wasn’t any incentive for such crimes. I have certainly contemplated the fact that if all drugs were legal, once more there would be less crime and, I believe, less temptation to use the products. Those people who are stupid enough to use drugs probably would continue to do so, but if there was no real profit in it, you would no longer get drug pushers targeting schools and so on.

5-pinNo we haven’t given up bowling although I haven’t mentioned it much lately. Mostly because I was bowling so badly, however, both on Friday and Monday I bowled pretty well, so I am not hiding my light any more. I had a huge (for me) average at the beginning of this season and wanted to get rid of it. I achieved that almost as though I had been doing so on purpose.

Another one from Mushrooms Canada.

Hot and Cheesy Mushroom Dip
Source Closet Cooking

Hot and Cheesy Mushroom Dip by Closet Cooking

Mushroom Masters: A Tournament of Taste Wildcard Round Recipe by Kevin of Closet Cooking

"I came to realize that my meals were boring and that I had been eating the same few dishes over and over again for years and I resolved that it was time for change! Now I spend my free time searching for and trying tasty new recipes from all over the world. One of my favorite ingredients is the mushroom and I never tire of experimenting with new mushroom dishes." Ingredients

1 tbsp oil

1 tbsp butter

1 medium onion (sliced)

1 lb. fresh mushrooms (cleaned and sliced)

1 clove garlic (chopped)

1 tsp thyme (chopped)

salt and pepper to taste

1/4 cup white wine (or broth)

1 (4 ounce) package cream cheese (room temperature)

1/2 cup sour cream

1/4 cup mayonnaise

1/4 cup mozzarella (grated)

1/4 cup grated parmigiano reggiano (grated)

Method

1. Heat the oil and melt the butter in a pan. 2. Add the onion and cook until it starts to caramelize, about 20 minutes. 3. Add the mushrooms and sauté until they start to caramelize, about 20 minutes. 4. Add the garlic and thyme and sauté until fragrant, about a minute. 5. Season with salt and pepper. 6. Add the wine, deglazed the pan and cook until it has evaporated. 7. Puree 1/2 of the mushrooms in a food processor. 8. Mix the mushrooms, cream cheese, sour cream, mayonnaise, mozzarella and parmigiano reggiano and place in a baking dish. 9. Bake in a preheated 350F oven until bubbling and golden brown on top, about 20-40 minutes.

Have a great day

Jo

4 comments:

  1. Here in Paris we've been saved from US election coverage.

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  2. You don't know how lucky you are. In the UK and Canada, its all over in a few weeks. The US take a year.

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  3. Jean Auel's new book, Land of Painted Caves is due to be published in March of next year. It's available for pre-order on Amazon. :)

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  4. Thanks, Anonymous, for letting me know. Her last book was 2002

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