Tuesday, July 21, 2015

ECG, Group Names, techXpert.

Tuesday morning I went for my ecg. I was impressed,the guy hasn't seen me for a year or two and he commented about me losing weight. I don't know how soon I will get any results. I went to exercise class in the afternoon and made a comment about a strange man handling my boobs whilst my husband was in the waiting room. They thought it was funny. It's damned painful too, they have to press so hard for the ultra sound to get through the breast tissue. Tomorrow afternoon I have to go to the same office to my regular diabetic clinic. Glad we now have a medical office close to us instead of in the next town.

A little bit of trivia for you. A group of porcupines is called a prickle. One wonders who comes up with these names, one or two come to mind, a murder of crows, a dazzle of zebras, a parliament of owls and so on. Can you add to the list?

Monday afternoon, Matt had been playing his word game on the computer. I told him it was
suppertime and went to close out his game. I had a warning come up saying something to the effect that as a Rogers customer (which I am) there was a major problem/virus/something and I should immediately call such and such a number. It was backed by a Norton warning page. Apart from anything else, I don't have Norton. However, what I do have is TechXpert from Rogers where I can ask them to take over my PC. I did that immediately. They agreed it wasn't genuine and suggested I needed a thorough clean of my system which they are presently doing. This is free as part of the package I have with them. The number I was asked to call purported to be a Rogers number by the way. So be warned, if anything like this happens to you. Also, when I tried, I couldn't get rid of it. I don't know if rebooting would have done the trick or not. I just left it to them to deal with it. Mind you this cuts into my need to use a computer service when I have a problem, I feel a bit guilty, but after all this is free with my TV/Phone/ISP package. They will ask for my evaluation later, it will be full of praise.

Here's something for my vegan friends. Never having had a churn, if I want home made I have to make it simply and freeze it. I have no doubt one could use Splenda or something in place of the sugar. Ivy, I think this would perhaps be right up your street?



Vegan Roasted Banana Ice Cream

  • YieldAbout 1 1/2 quarts







Ingredients

  • 1 ½ cups/200 grams raw, unsalted cashews
  • 4 medium bananas, preferably somewhat speckled but not brown, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch slices
  • 6 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons/90 grams extra-virgin coconut oil
  • 2 tablespoons/28 grams dark brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon/5 grams plus a pinch kosher salt
  • ¾ cup/150 grams granulated sugar
  • ½ cup/80 grams cocoa butter, available at baking supply stores and online
  • 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons/266 milliliters coconut milk
  • ½ cup/65 grams chopped walnuts, toasted (optional)

    Preparation

    1. To make the cashew milk, place the cashews in a large bowl and add water to cover by a couple of inches. Soak cashews overnight.
    2. In the morning, drain the cashews and place them in a blender with about 1 3/4 cups (375 grams) fresh water. Blend until smooth. If you use a Vitamix, there will be no need to strain – the milk will be perfectly smooth; for other blenders, check the consistency and, if necessary, strain the cashew milk through a fine-mesh strainer. Cashew milk will keep well, covered and refrigerated, for up to 4 days.
    3. To roast the bananas, heat the oven to 400 degrees with a rack in the middle. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. In a large bowl, toss the bananas, 2 tablespoons/27 grams coconut oil, brown sugar and pinch of salt. Spread on prepared baking sheet until caramelized, about 15 to 25 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack and let cool completely.
    4. Put 1/4 cup water into a small saucepan over medium to low heat. Add sugar and cook, stirring frequently, until sugar has dissolved. Add cocoa butter, remaining 4 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons/63 grams coconut oil and remaining salt. Stir until melted.
    5. Pour the sugar mixture into in a food processor (or use a tall 2-quart container and an immersion blender), and add the coconut milk and 1 cup/212 grams cashew milk. Blend until smooth. Add roasted bananas and blend again to combine until very smooth. Cover and refrigerate the ice cream base until chilled, 1 to 2 hours.
    6. Freeze in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions. In the last minute of churning, add toasted walnuts, if desired, and churn until incorporated. Transfer the ice cream to a storage container and freeze up to 7 days. Alternatively, you can serve it immediately. It will be the consistency of soft-serve.

    Have a great day
     

    22 comments:

    1. Looks like you got spammed like what is happening to me. Ugh. I had to turn on comment moderation to make it stop. I'm glad that Rogers thing was fake. I got something in my hotmail junk mail from Rogers asking me to contact them about my account. We don't have Rogers in the USA!

      ReplyDelete
      Replies
      1. Yes, this spamming has been happening to several bloggers JoJo. I will leave it for now but if it keeps on, will also turn on comment mod.

        How stupid to use a spam with Rogers when that is a Canadian company. You'd think they would be more with it. Just as well they aren't I suppose.

        Delete
    2. Gaggle of geese!
      You have to be careful of those fake virus warnings.

      ReplyDelete
    3. Oh yes, I forgot that one Alex.

      I was, called the ISP TechXpert straight away. Once I would have been dumb enough to follow it.

      ReplyDelete
    4. Fortunately we drink almond soy milk, so it's half made already.

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      Replies
      1. I quite like soy milk Diane although I don't keep it in house, not sure why.

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    5. I thought too of gackle of geese that Alex had already mentioned. That is interesting with the porcupines and prickle; a trivia thing I hope to remember. Also interesting about the fake virus info. We always do have to be so careful with things online I guess.

      betty

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      Replies
      1. I had forgotten that. Lots more names below Betty. A whole list. You are right we do have to be careful on line.

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    6. I like prickle of geese and dazzle of zebras-too funny actually. I have had a mammogram and having my boob squished down to nothing is not a joyful experience. I ignore anything like this crap you got. I don't open it and just delete

      ReplyDelete
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      1. John, in a later comment, has left a link to lots more such names Birgit.

        I have had several mammograms, it took years before I went for one and they were not as bad as I had been led to believe.

        I didn't open it, just checked with my ISP techs.

        Delete
    7. Here's a whole page of group names: http://www.thealmightyguru.com/Pointless/AnimalGroups.html

      Some are fantastic: an intrigue of kittens; a lounge of lizards; an ostentation of peacocks; a gulp of magpies; etc. My favorite, though, is a conspiracy of lawyers...

      ReplyDelete
      Replies
      1. Thanks John. I had forgotten those although I had never heard some such as an ostentation of peacocks. How very clever. I will check the link you sent.

        Delete
    8. I don't have to have ECGs but I'm due for a mammogram as part of our free government program and that involves squashing the breasts to get a clear image so I sympathise. I always take a couple of strong painkillers before I go now. It's just too painful otherwise. The radiographers are all women, though, so no strange men handling my boobs.

      ReplyDelete
      Replies
      1. Funnily enough I never found mammograms painful, With the ecg it's because they have to dig the wand into the side of the breast so hard, especially from the centre of the chest.

        Delete
    9. I can just imagine you making jokes about being man-handled Jo! Cheeky! I hate invasive tests and I consider that invasive. Murder of crows has always been my favourite.

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      Replies
      1. LOL Pinky. I don't mind any kind of tests as they are for my benefit.

        I'm the same about murder of crows. There is a cartoon of a couple of crows sitting together and the caption is something like "an impending murder".

        Delete
    10. Yes, this is something I would enjoy for sure. Been playing about with honey, water, and coconut oils and milks. Really fun. Oh yeah, and the new bread I make uses homemade cashew butter. I'm learning new ways. So fun.

      Thanks for telling us about the virus stuff. Sometimes I really scratch my head at the people who think this stuff up.

      ReplyDelete
      Replies
      1. Sounds interesting Ivy. Don't play about much with recipes these days.

        Yes, one wonders what pleasure they get out of screwing around with the rest of us.

        Delete
      2. I am a writer of bakes and have a passion for the science and creativity of baking. But I understand that not everyone wants to be in the kitchen making one bake after another. But for me, this is all I know.

        Delete
      3. I'm a different age group Ivy. I don't spend nearly as much time in the kitchen as I once did. I never did bake a lot anyway.Always been watching my weight and most baking would have ended up on my hips.

        Delete
      4. I was a raised a cook and baker, we don't eat out much at all in our house. No ding ding, foods in the freezer. My gram came over on the boat and I learned her ways. It's all I know.

        Hubby however, was raised on take out and boxed meals. Ding,ding foods and takeaways.

        Delete
      5. We very seldom eat out either Ivy. My mother was a fantastic cook and I cook things I can't afford in a restaurant.

        Came over on the boat from where Ivy? You can't improve on the old ways IMHOP although once in a while I buy something premade.

        Delete