Monday, September 25, 2017

Harvey the Hurricane Hawk, Anniversary,

Many of you may have heard the story of Harvey the Hurricane Hawk. I hadn't until I got an email from National Geographic and one of their topics was the hawk's release. I then had to find the story and it turns out it went viral.



To me it is an incredible story. Obviously it happened at the beginning of Hurricane Harvey. The hawk even allows people to handle him without too much fuss which made me wonder if he was a falconer's bird but then if he had been, surely he would have been ringed? A great story nevertheless.

Today Matt and I have been putting up with each other for 45 years. Thought we would go to supper at Mandarin, particularly as  they are still celebrating the Moon Festival and one of their evening items is roast lamb. Yes, I have a roast of lamb in the freezer, but this way I don't have to cook it myself. The picture of us, 45 years ago, I was wearing a pale lilac coloured dress, looks white but wasn't. We had a reception at home with just a few people and guess who made the food - yes, we did. I remember Matt made a Spanish orange dessert which contained quite a lot of alcohol and unnoticed by us, his two daughters were sitting at the table supping up the juice. When he took them home to their mom, she wasn't too pleased as they were quite tiddley. I think they were about 5 and 9 years old as I recall. These days the 5 year old doesn't drink at all and hasn't done so for many a long year. Just went through some other old photos of that time and Matt's comment was, what a difference having dark hair makes - not that his hair was ever that dark but it sure wasn't white like it is today.

Isn't that nice, I received a thank you email from Justin Trudeau, our Prime Minister, not sure what for mind you, I didn't read it. But as far as I know, I have done nothing to earn the thanks of Justin.

I love Portobello mushrooms so I liked the look of this recipe. But, if I make it - me being me - I would not use low fat cheeses.  However, as this is supposed to be a diabetic recipe, that is probably why they use such ingredients. This diabetic doesn't believe in it though. I remembered a story when, quite a few years ago, we were living in the States but we came back for a while to visit friends and stay with them. I discovered Portobello mushrooms in a local grocery store which I had never seen in Canada before. They were pretty expensive so I bought 4, one each for our hosts and for us. Our hostess refused to eat anything so expensive so guess who chomped it down instead?

Lasagna Bella

This lightened-up lasagna is big on flavor, thanks to roasted portobello mushrooms and fresh basil.

8 large fresh portobello mushrooms
1/8 tsp salt
2 (14.1 ounce) cans no-salt-added diced tomatoes, drained
½ cup chopped onion (1 medium)
1 tsp salt-free tomato-basil-garlic seasoning blend, such as Mrs. Dash brand
1 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese (4 ounces)
¾ cup low-fat (1%) cottage cheese
2 Tbs grated Parmesan cheese
5 fresh basil leaves, snipped

Preheat oven to 425°F. Remove stems and gills from mushrooms. Place mushroom caps, gill sides up, on an unheated foil-lined broiler pan; sprinkle with salt. Roast for 13 to 26 minutes or until tender, turning once halfway through roasting time. Reduce oven temperature to 350°F. Meanwhile, in a large saucepan combine tomatoes, onion, and tomato-basil-garlic seasoning blend. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered, over medium heat for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. In a medium bowl combine mozzarella cheese and cottage cheese. Spoon one-third of the tomato mixture onto the bottom of a 2-quart square baking dish. Arrange four of the mushroom caps, gill sides up, on top of the tomato mixture. Spoon one-fourth of the cheese mixture over each mushroom cap. Spoon another one-third of the tomato mixture over the cheese-stuffed mushroom caps. Arrange one of the remaining four mushroom caps, gill side down, on top of each cheese-stuffed mushroom cap in the baking dish. Spoon the remaining tomato mixture evenly over the mushrooms. Sprinkle with the Parmesan cheese. Bake in the 350°F oven for 20 minutes. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving. Sprinkle with fresh basil.

Servings: 4

Source: Diabetic Living Magazine

Have a great day
 

22 comments:

  1. Congratulations on your 45 years together. Have a nice dinner to celebrate.
    I am with you on just eating less instead of substituting so you can eat more. A spoonful of really good ice cream is better than a pint of ice milk, IMO.

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    1. Thanks Denise. Yes, I agree with you. Not that I have had ice cream in a while.

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  2. Hi Jo - congratulations on those 45 years ... excellent times. Enjoy the celebratory times and something delicious to guzzle and drink. I love Portobello mushrooms ...

    Wonderful about the boozy story ... reminds me of my younger brother ... and yes to much booze early on tends to put the adult off ... my brother still drinks, but I know others who don't after youthful exploits ... cheers Hilary

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    1. Thanks Hilary.

      I remember Matt's daughter, at 19, said it wasn't as much fun now it was legal.

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  3. Happy anniversary! Getting to 45 years these days is an accomplishment!

    Betty

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    1. Thanks Betty. Although this is a second go round for both of us.

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  4. We've been married for 45 years, too. Happy anniversary. I love portobello mushrooms. So much more flavour - and that recipe sounds delicious.

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    1. Thanks Helen. We were reminiscing a bit about THE day, yesterday.

      You are right, they do have so much more flavour.

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  5. Happy anniversary! Forty-five years is a huge accomplishment.

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    1. Thank you Alex. Looking back it doesn't actually seem that long.

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  6. Happy anniversary! Congrats on putting up with each other for 45 years! That's fantastic.

    I'm not diabetic, but I don't believe in low fat, either. I'm definitely going to try this recipe out, though. Big fan of portabellos.

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    1. Thanks Bryan. Considering it's the second time round, not too bad.

      Portabellos always remind me of the field mushrooms I used to gather with my mom as a youngster in England.

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  7. Happy anniversary!

    Animals are what I think of first when I see a hurricane. People forget how many animals are injured or stranded. Or left behind.

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    1. Thanks Diane. Me too, I made a donation to the ASPCA to help with that.

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  8. Hi human, Jo,

    Pawesome stuff and a hearty congrats on your anniversary, my nice human friend.

    Ah yes, say hello to Justin for me, thanks.

    Pawsitive wishes,

    Penny

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    1. Hi Penny. Thanks for the good wishes. If you really want me to say hullo to Justin!!!!!!!

      So sorry to hear you aren't too well. Pawsitive wishes to you.

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  9. Happy anniversary to you both. Matt looks like one of the royal family and you look beautiful xxx

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    1. Thanks so much Pinky. Well he is descended from Hereward the Wake and some association with Richard Lionheart - supposedly. Thanks for the compliments.

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  10. Happy Anniversary. 45 is something to be proud of. Not a mushroom fan at all so I had no idea they were even expensive

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    1. Thanks Susan. They are not so expensive these days, but they were at that time.

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  11. Happy anniversary! Love the hawk story.

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