JO ON FOOD, MY TRAVELS AND A SCENT OF CHOCOLATE

Embezzlement, Pensions, Peeling Garlic in 10 Seconds.

2012-01-28T07:00:00.005-05:00

Very upsetting news, our local non-profit, community radio station, CKWR which is supported predominantly by donations and fund raisers, has lost around $60,000 due to embezzlement by one of their former board members, Bozana Radisic-Valincic. They have had to ask their few paid staff to wait for their pay and plus going cap in hand to the landlord and the bank. They are now going to be doing everything they can to raise money once more. Donations are also very welcome if you happen to be a listener and live in the area. We have been listening to this station ever since we came to Canada in 1975 (I hadn’t realised they only started broadcasting the year before) except when we were in the US of course. Its also the station where I have done a few Recipe Corner broadcasts in recent months. They have a website with all the recipes on it at www.CKWR.com, you then have to click on the yellow banner at the top of the page which takes you to Randy Johnston’s page where you can access the recipes.

Our Prime Minister, Mr. Harper, is talking about changes in the Old Age pensions. As yet no-one knows what these changes will be and we will have to wait til the spring budget. One thing mentioned is making people wait til 67 instead of 65 before being able to receive the pension. I see no harm in that, a lot of older people continue to work anyway plus with people living longer and longer, it will become necessary to push retirement ages higher and higher. I know, I already have my retirement, but I really don’t think 2 years will make a lot of difference. The thing that scares me is the possibility of reducing the amount of the pension. I guess we will just have to wait to find out.

A useful tip posted on Facebook by a friend, How to Peel Garlic in less than 10 seconds. Wish I had known this before I peeled my large supply of garlic a few weeks back. I won’t be needing it for a while now and not sure if I will remember it when I do need it. It really looks so easy, if it works.

Yesterday I mentioned this recipe, today I pinched it from Dragon’s Kitchen – with her permission, I am definitely going to try this out. Not sure, think I will have to attempt it for just us to start with. I haven’t got the guts to do it first time for a dinner party as I think the timing might be difficult.

Crisp Egg With Watercress Sauce and Bacon

Recipe by Chef Emily Watkins

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

500 gr (1 lb 2oz) watercress, washed and stems removed
Splash of white vinegar
5 Eggs (1 per person, plus 1 extra for breadcrumbing)
Plain flour
300 gr (10 1/2 oz) fresh breadcrumbs
Vegetable Oil, for deep frying
150 gr (5 1/2 oz) unsmoked bacon lardons

Directions:

1. To make the watercress sauce, bring a pan of water to the boil and have a bowl of iced water ready. Blanch the watercress in the boiling water for about 2 minutes until tender but still vibrant and green. Drain and plunge into the iced water. Lift out of the water and whizz in a blender with a little of the cold water until you have a smooth sauce.

2. For the eggs, bring a pan of water to a simmer and add a splash of white wine vinegar. Stir the water around to make a mini whirlpool and crack 4 of the eggs into the pan. Poach the eggs until the albumen is firm and the yolk soft (about 3 minutes). Lift out and place into iced water to chill. Then set them on kitchen paper to dry.

3. Beat the remaining egg. To breadcrumb the eggs, carefully place them one at a time in the flour, then dip in the beaten egg and lastly in the breadcrumbs.

4. Heat some vegetable oil in a saucepan to 180C/350F. Meanwhile, cook the bacon in the frying pan (there's no need to use any extra fat - the bacon will cook in the fat running out of it) until crisp, and warm through the sauce.

5. Gently lower the eggs into the hot oil and cook until crisp and golden. Lift out the eggs and place on to kitchen paper to absorb the excess oil. Place a spoonful of the sauce on to the plate, put some bacon on top and lastly a crisp egg.

Have a great weekend

Cat in Cockpit, 33,000 Ft. Fall, Kindle Books, Supper.

2012-01-27T07:00:00.000-05:00

Story in the news today, a cat escaped from its carrier in the passenger compartment of an Air Canada plane which ended up delaying the plane’s departure for 4 hours. The cat was accidentally released by a passenger and ended up inside the wiring of the cockpit so they eventually had to enter the area from outside the plane. They retrieved the cat, Ripples, but felt they had to ensure that all the wiring was intact and had not been damaged in any way. Poor cat must have been terrified, the owner was pretty upset too.

More on planes, I just heard a snippet on the radio about an air hostess, Vesna Vulovic, was working on a DC-9 plane flying over Czechoslovakia which exploded due to a powerful explosive placed on board by a terrorist group and she fell 33,300 ft. without a parachute; she survived. There is nothing to say what she landed on, but presumably something cushioned her at the time. She had broken ribs and legs, but within a few months was back on her feet again. This happened in 1972, I sure don’t remember the event, we would have still been in England at the time, but how incredible.

I am amazed about the number of free or 99¢ books one can get from Amazon.com for the Kindle. Some are designed to draw you into a trilogy so you will buy the rest, but many of the books I have downloaded have been stand-alones. Last night I downloaded 5 books which will cost me said 99¢ altogether and that is not the first lot I have downloaded either. I’m getting an email called Pixel of Ink which tells you what is available each day. I will have to stop soon as I have so many to be read, I will never catch up. Not to mention that friends have given me another large bag of books to read. Of course I haven’t a lot else to do at the moment as I am not bowling, in fact yesterday I missed our Travel League, maybe by next month I will be able to go with them and bowl.

We decided to have pork chops for supper last night, I ended up sautéeing onions and garlic, adding a small can of tomatoes, a load of oregano, salt and pepper, then having browned the chops, putting them into the sauce to cook through. I had done some collards too so I ended up putting them in the pan as well, it was good. I based it on an Italian pork chop recipe I found, but left a few things out.

I thought this recipe sounded good and somewhat easy to do. Have a dinner party coming up, maybe I will try it. I also came across another recipe in a blog, Dragon’s Kitchen, for an egg starter. I really want to try it, looks delicious.

Coffee and Cream Icebox Cake

Source: Fine Cooking - Issue 33

Serves eight

Coffee and hazelnuts give this cake a variation on Nabisco's Famous Wafer Roll recipe a more sophisticated flavor. To be safe, buy two boxes of cookies, as some may break. This cake slices best after 2 days in the refrigerator.
INGREDIENTS

For the Cream:

1 3/4 cups heavy cream

1 tablespoon instant espresso powder

1 tablespoon sugar

For the Cookies:

44 Nabisco Famous Chocolate Wafers

For the Garnish:

1/4 cup finely chopped, toasted hazelnuts for garnish

1/4 cup crushed chocolate cookie wafer crumbs

DIRECTIONS

Lightly grease a 6-cup loaf pan. Line the pan with two pieces of overlapping plastic wrap, allowing the excess to hang over the edges of the pan.

FOR THE CREAM: In a bowl, combine the cream, espresso powder, and sugar. Whisk until the cream holds firm peaks. Spoon about two-thirds of the whipped cream into the prepared pan. Tap the pan firmly on the counter to even the cream and eliminate any air bubbles.

FOR THE COOKIES: Starting at a short side of the pan, arrange 11 cookies in the cream, standing them on their edge in a row like dominoes. Gently squeeze the cookies together as you go. Do the same with a second row of cookies, slightly overlapping the cookies from the second row with the cookies in the first row. Continue with two more rows for a total of four rows. Press down on the cookies gently. Cover them with the remaining cream. Smooth the cream with a spatula, gently pressing to make sure any gaps between the cookies are filled. Tap the pan on the counter several times to eliminate any air pockets.

TO SERVE: Cover the cake with the excess plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 24 hours, preferably 2 days. When ready to serve, peel the plastic wrap from the top and gently tug on the plastic to loosen the cake from the sides of the pan. Set a cutting board on top of the pan and invert the cake onto the board. Lift the pan off and gently peel away the plastic wrap. Mix the hazelnuts with the cookie crumbs and sprinkle over the top of the cake. Slice carefully with a warm knife.

Have a great day

Omelettes, Chocolate Sculptures, Brown Asparagus

2012-01-26T08:50:00.001-05:00

This has been reposted - it was originally posted in April 2009 and there was a query about it. I don't know why and I never received the email which explained it.

Something which has captured my attention this morning - on Good Morning America; next week, they are calling in three top chefs to take $15 of groceries, provided for each of them, and make dinner for 4. They should ask me, I could do that without any problem. We often eat omelettes for dinner and they certainly don't cost much. The fillings don't need to be exotic, you are getting your protein from the egg itself. Like last night we had 2 egg omelettes filled with sautéed onions, garlic tomatoes and potato, another time we might have a sautéed mushroom filling. An inexpensive, wholesome meal. You can, of course, fill omelettes with anything your imagination can come up with. I do NOT enjoy some of the omelettes you get in restaurants which are so packed with filling that the whole thing ends up rather dry. In my personal opinion, I am the best omelette cook I know, but then I don't remember eating anyone else's omelettes (at home) other than my mother's and she was a great cook so hers could well have been better. I don't remember. Anyway, we shall see next week. We have Emeril Lagasse, Mario Batali and Wolgang Puck in the hot seats. (Matt says I am wrong and there are 4 chefs. I cannot confirm this at the moment).

I forgot to tell you; me the chocoholic!! we watched a Chocolate Challenge on Food TV the other day. The confectioners had to make duplications, in chocolate of course, of famous statues in 8 hours. There were four chocolatiers each with one assistant. The four items made were Rodin’s Thinker, King Neptune from the Trevi Fountain, Degas’ Little Dancer, and Michelangelo’s Lion of Florence - the latter was made from 1,200 lbs. of chocolate - I could have made a mess of it, but even I couldn't eat that much chocolate. When they had made their creations, they had to move them to the judges table. A whole crew of people had to move the lion and even then we thought it wasn't going to make it. The Lion was made in darker chocolate, but because the original was white (I am guessing marble), the chef sprayed it with white chocolate the consensus of opinion was that it would have been better if he had left it. The winner was the representation of Rodin's Thinker, which was not a straight copy but a very creative representation covered in chocolate leaves which invited me to pull one off to try. It was beautiful. I wish I could find pictures of the other sculptures, but there don't seem to be any around.

Well, bowling again today, I forgot to boast how well I did last Monday, I had a 211 game. Shook me I must say. Yesterday we went shopping as we frequently do on Thursday. I found some brown asparagus!!! Yes really, it was on special and not the freshest asparagus I had ever seen, but I couldn't resist it. It comes from the USA, but I have no idea what it is nor how it tastes. I got Matt to proof read this and he is arguing this asparagus is purple not brown!!

I thought I would give you a veggie dish today which came from one of my computer cookbooks - we enjoy cauliflower and often make cauliflower cheese. I have mentioned before that I prepare a lot of cheese sauce at once and then freeze it in serving sizes. That too, makes a good, inexpensive meal.

Baked Cauliflower and Mushrooms
Servings: 6
Ingredients:
3 cups cauliflowerets (about 1 pound)
1 cup chopped mushrooms (about 4 ounces)
1/2 cup chopped red onion (about 1/2 medium)
1 tablespoon olive or vegetable oil
2 teaspoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons cider vinegar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped, (about 1 teaspoon)
1/3 cup chopped green onions, (about 5 medium)

Instructions:

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 9-inch square baking dish, with nonstick cooking spray. Mix all ingredients except green onions. Spread evenly in baking dish. Bake uncovered 40 to 45 minutes, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are tender and golden brown. Sprinkle with green onions. 6 servings

Have a great day.

Oscars, UK Food, Lego Man.

2012-01-26T07:00:00.000-05:00

They announced the contenders in the Oscars the other day and this year I found I couldn’t be less interested, I didn’t really know any of the movies so I don’t really care what’s nominated. That may not stop me sitting up til all hours to watch the actual award show although I don’t know what’s happening. We shall see. If you are not feeling similarly disinterested, you can go to the Oscar page and see the full list. Getting that link, I see that one movie I know about is listed, The Artist. That is a silent movie at which people have asked for their money back because they can’t hear the dialogue. I know, I mentioned that before, but it’s a story that amuses me.

I missed out on Burns Day yesterday didn’t I? Not that I think anyone would want a recipe for Haggis. I’ve never had the opportunity to try it although I would love to. I’ll put it on my bucket list. I wonder if the Canadian version would taste as good as the original. I know black pudding here tastes dry and horrible, even in the UK they have generally tried to make it healthy, which is a crime. I did find a butcher who sold the original black pudding last time we were there, deeelicious. Someone mentioned white pudding, never tried that either. In fact I had never heard of it when living in England. Don’t really know what it is, guess I should Google it. It turns out it is an oatmeal pudding very similar to black pudding but doesn’t contain any blood. Something I didn’t know, there are a lot more puddings in the UK than I was aware of. Guess I don’t know the land of my birth as well as I think I do.

Matt has been saying for years that he would not go to Mexico if you paid him. We keep hearing details of people being beaten up; a Winnipeg woman was beaten up last weekend and there has been a headline on CBC talking of an Ontario man who says he was beaten viciously in the same area near a 5 star resort. I have heard it said that if you stay on the resort its OK, but these people seem to have been beaten on the resort. As Matt says, criminals will go anywhere.

Two Toronto teens are in the news at the moment for having sent a Lego man into space - it was carried by balloons; on board were four cameras. Apparently the Lego man reached 80,000 ft. (3 times the height of a cruising jetliner) before falling back to earth 97 minutes after being launched and the interesting video footage taken by the cameras is shown in the article with explanations by the two young men who built the whole set up.

A traditional thing to serve on Burns Night is Atholl Brose, you can still make it even if Burns Night has passed. New Years or Hogmanay is another traditional time for this. I tried making it once and wasn’t unduly impressed. Whether I didn’t do it right or what, I’m not sure.

Atholl Brose Syllabub

I have included the 8th Duke of Atholl's recipe.

Ingredients for Atholl Brose:
75 g oatmeal
2 Tbs liquid heather honey
whisky to make up 1 quart (2 pints)
450 ml cold water

1. Put the oatmeal into a bowl and mix it with the water until it is a thick paste, then let it stand for 30 minutes, after which pass it through a fine strainer, pressing down with a wooden spoon to expel the last of the liquid. Throw away the dry oatmeal and mix the liquid with the clear heather honey, stirring with a silver spoon until it is well blended. Pour the mixture into a quart bottle and fill up with whisky, cork it well and always shake the bottle before pouring. It can also be used as a dessert (Atholl Brose Syllabub), by adding about 4 tablespoons Athol Brose to 4 tall glasses, topping with sweetened whipped cream, and sprinkling with lightly toasted oatmeal mixed with a little ground nutmeg.

Servings: 4

Recipe # 2
This one I have just found on the internet sounds much better to me, it has cream in it after all:

This easy to make Atholl Brose recipe can be made in a few minutes and can be made on the day it is to be drunk but tastes much better if stored for a week.

Ingredients For Atholl Brose

One bottle of Scotch whisky
10 fluid ounces (Half Pint) of double cream
450g of clear Scottish honey
The whites of six large eggs
One handful of fine ground oatmeal

Directions To Make Atholl Brose

1. Soak the oatmeal with the Scotch whisky and set aside.
2. Beat the egg whites until they become stiff.
3. Fold the cream into the egg white mixture.
4. Add the honey.
5. Blend in the whisky and oatmeal mixture at a slow but steady pace.
6. Pour the liquid into some bottles and set aside for one week. Shake each bottle of Atholl Brose each day.

Have a great day

CT Scan, Wine Cooler, Chinese Lunch.

2012-01-25T07:00:00.001-05:00

Went for my CT scan in the morning and was very impressed with the speed. I was out before I was supposed to be in. That has happened with both the appointments I’ve had this week. It makes such a change, if only everything medical could be like that it would be wonderful. Some time I must visit the place where I am having an MRI so I can be ‘introduced’ to the machine. I don’t think I am claustrophobic, but its as well to prepare. I know of some techniques to stop thinking about what’s happening if I need them. Today I see my foot nurse and then that’s the end of medical stuff for me for a while. Until I get to see the specialist that is, of course.

I told you about Matt’s present of a wine cooler which I bought from a friend. We didn’t know if it was supposed to run continuously or to cycle. So far it has been running non stop. My friend thinks its supposed to cycle. I decided to phone the manufacturer. After a number of phone calls, it turns out that it was built by some company under the auspices of Honeywell. That company has now closed down and no-one knows anything about them any more. It has been suggested I contact a refrigeration expert. Hmmmm. I am very glad I am not the original purchaser, I would have been extremely annoyed. I have now found an article on the net which says thermoelectric coolers don’t cycle so we’re guessing this is thermoelectric, but we don’t really know.

We had our Chinese New Year’s lunch and I stuffed myself with all kinds of dumplings and buns. At least two plates full; I was fairly full and on my way to check out the desserts when I came across some more dumplings and pot stickers which were fried and not steamed, together with some stir fried spinach. That is a totally new one on me and I tried some, I found it delicious. I was impressed that the leaves were not over wilted with the whole dish somewhat mushy. Our friends didn’t make it, they weren’t sure of the day and had gone out when I phoned them.

Stir-fry Spinach With Garlic

By Rhonda Parkinson, About.com Guide

This simple spinach stir-fry pairs nicely with steak.
As always, how much seasoning to add comes down to personal preference. Feel free to reduce the amount of salt and/or garlic if desired, or to increase the amount of spinach to 12 ounces. (Of course, if you’re a fan of garlic you can always add more!)

This recipe for Stir-fry Spinach With Garlic serves 2 to 4.

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons peanut or vegetable oil for stir-frying
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1/4 teaspoon chili paste, or to taste
1/2 teaspoon salt, or according to taste
10 ounces (approximately) fresh spinach, rinsed and dried (I used baby spinach)
1/4 teaspoon granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon Asian sesame oil
Black pepper to taste, optional

Preparation:

Have all the ingredients at hand near the stove. Preheat the wok and add oil, swirling so that it comes about halfway up the sides of the wok. When the oil is hot, add the minced garlic, chili paste, and salt. Stir for a few seconds until the garlic is aromatic.
Add the spinach, stir for 1 to 2 minutes, until the leaves are almost wilted. Stir in the sugar and Asian sesame oil. (Note: if you don't already have the sugar and sesame oil measured out, move the wok to a cold burner while you do so, and then return it to the heated burner). Sprinkle the spinach with a bit of black pepper if desired. Serve immediately.

Have a great day

CT Scan, Birthday Present,

2012-01-24T07:00:00.000-05:00

I sometimes wonder if I will ever get back to bowling again this season. Today I am having a CT scan at 11:30 and I had the ultrasound on Sunday, but none of this actually helps me. One good thing I found out though, I will not have to lift my arm above my head when I am in the CT scanner, I was a tad concerned about that. After the CT scan we are planning to go to the Mandarin restaurant (Chinese) so I can eat some of their New Year dumplings. Everyone was saying Gung hai fat choi yesterday, but in fact Chinese New Year lasts several days, not just one like ours.

Today I bought Matt’s birthday present. A wine cooler. It holds 35 bottles, we don’t carry that many but… What I did was I asked a friend if she wanted to sell the one her husband bought a couple of years ago (prior to his demise) and she said yes, so today we went and collected it. Matt was grinning so I figure he was pleased. I tried to find a picture of the actual cooler but couldn’t so I borrowed a pic which looks more or less the same.

Having left it 3 hours to cool, we loaded it with what wines we have in house. I wanted to put my small champagnes in too, but Matt said they wouldn’t fit. Pity. They are just the size of one glass full and I thought it would be good to keep them in the cooler. One small problem, we can’t easily read the thermometer nor even the controls at the bottom under the door. One of the joys of old age I’m afraid. We are hoping daylight will improve matters.

I forgot, today I called the specialist I was supposed to visit, turned out they hadn’t heard of me, called my family doctor they told me they had to change the referral. Called the new specialist and they had been waiting for a response from the family doctor’s office since December 30. I hate to mention how mad this made me. I have been suffering all this time and neither party bothered to check with the other, so nothing was being done. I don’t swear in my blog but I leave it to you to imagine all the epithets I am using in my mind. Not the doctors fault but the stupid girls in one or other of the offices. Grrrrrrr.

Boy is this recipe up my street, I love Gravlax, smoked salmon or anything like that. Matt once reckoned I ate all the smoked salmon on our cruise ship, there was a lot apparently!!!

New World Gravlax

Source: © EatingWell Magazine

Active Time: 30 Minutes

Total Time: 48 Hours
20 servings

This gravlax is a play on the traditional Scandinavian recipe. Thinly slice the finished salmon for canapés or layer it on warm grilled flatbread with a scattering of sliced sweet red onions, fresh salmon caviar and a dollop of good sour cream or crème fraîche. This salmon is also delicious used to make those wonderful old-fashioned tea sandwiches with fresh herb butter and thinly sliced cucumbers.

Make Ahead Tip: Cure for up to 3 days (Step 2). After curing and removing from the marinade, refrigerate the gravlax, wrapped in plastic, for up to 1 week. | Equipment: Cheesecloth

INGREDIENTS

1 3-pound wild salmon fillet, bones removed, skin on

1/4 cup kosher or sea salt

3 tablespoons sugar

1 tablespoon freshly grated lemon zest

2 teaspoons freshly ground pepper

2/3 cup chopped fresh herbs, including tarragon, parsley, chives, mint and cilantro

1/3 cup good-quality tequila

DIRECTIONS

Use cheesecloth to line a pan just large enough to hold salmon, making sure there is a 2-inch overhang. Lay salmon on the cheesecloth, skin-side down.

Combine salt, sugar, lemon zest and pepper in a small bowl. Sprinkle the salt mixture evenly over the salmon. Scatter herbs on top. Wrap the salmon tightly with the cheesecloth. Brush the top of the cheesecloth with tequila, making sure the cloth is evenly moist. Place another baking pan or large plate on top of the salmon (it should be big enough to cover the salmon but small enough to fit inside the larger pan). Place 2 heavy cans inside the smaller pan (or on the plate) to weight it down. Refrigerate for 2 to 3 days to cure.

To serve, gently wipe the salt mixture off the salmon. Slice the salmon very thinly at an angle, leaving the skin behind.

Have a great day

Rare Seal, Fry Up, Ultra Sound, Movies

2012-01-23T07:00:00.000-05:00

A woman in Seattle apparently discovered a rare sea beast on her dock one morning recently. It turned out to be a ribbon seal which is a critter rarely seen, particularly on land. It was apparently just lying there “chilling out” but the wildlife people are thrilled and trying to get sightings of it. I have never heard of it before, of course I repeatedly find out there are many animals I have never heard of. There is an ad running on TV for one of our many lotteries showing a couple in a tropical paradise with lots of animals and birds around, there were two little grey animals which we couldn’t identify so I sent a link to Glenda Larke (Tropic Temper) to id for me and she thinks they look like Sugar Gliders, babies at that. Her comment about the ad in general was that it was whacky as there were all kinds of different critters which wouldn’t really be seen together.

Sunday morning we planned and ate a “fry up”, not quite in the traditional English style, but we had bacon, eggs, lamb’s kidneys (yes really, delicious) and Portabella mushrooms. We actually had it for lunch rather than brunch as I have to stick to three meals a day. I forgot to take a pic until we had started eating. Don’t figure we could handle it these days, but once upon a time I would have added sausages and fried bread or crumpets which I love, Matt prefers the bread, probably fried tomatoes too. NO I would not have added Heinz baked beans, I don’t know where that started, but on my “fry up” plate, I do not want to know. As a kid the only time I had baked beans might have been on toast for supper. As a kid I ate them, guess I didn’t know any better. I ate canned spaghetti too, I was very surprised after the war when I found out what spaghetti was really like.

Sunday afternoon I had to go for an ultra sound at 4:30. Odd time one may think, but in fact a friend of ours had to go for an MRI once at 3 a.m. On Tuesday I have a CT scan schedule in the morning. I am hoping they don’t require me to stretch my arms above my head as in this picture, I physically cannot do it. However, I hope that as its my shoulder we are concerned with, it won’t be necessary.

As the hospital was in Cambridge, we popped in to drop off some books at a friend’s house, they had lent me a large bag full, and I ended up with another bag full. We had supper too which was nice of them. They are coming over for Matt’s birthday dinner.

Interesting, they recently showed a new silent film in Alberta made from lost footage which was originally filmed in 1919 for the Hudson’s Bay Company. The original film has been lost but they discovered some raw footage which has been made into a modern film and shown in Edmonton the original was called The Romance of the Far Fur Country and was designed for the company’s 250th year celebration. The film documented the company’s history as well as showing the activities of fur trappers in that time period. Would be fascinating to watch I would think.

Talking of silent movies, I hear people in Britain have been walking out of The Artist and asking for their money back as they couldn’t hear the dialogue. In case you are not aware, it is a silent movie in black and white. I gather the movie has been very popular over here. One movie I really want to see is The Iron Lady about Maggie Thatcher with Maggie played by Meryl Streep. Think I mentioned that the other day, but I do like Meryl Streep and I admired Maggie Thatcher very much. Although getting an American to play a British Prime Minister seems a little odd.

Here’s a pretty easy way of making something which is very similar to chicken cordon bleu.

Ham and Cheese Chicken

WebMD Recipe from EatingWell.com

Making a pocket in the chicken breast to hold the stuffing is easy with a good, sharp, thin-bladed knife. Browning the chicken in a skillet before baking gives it a beautiful golden color, and finishing in the oven ensures that it cooks evenly throughout.

Servings: 4

Recipe Ingredients:

1/4 cup grated Swiss, Monterey Jack or part-skim mozzarella cheese

2 tablespoons chopped ham

2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

Freshly ground pepper, to taste

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, (1-1 1/4 pounds total)

1 egg white

1/2 cup plain dry breadcrumbs

2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil

Recipe Steps:

Preheat oven to 400°F. Use a baking sheet with sides and lightly coat it with cooking spray.
Mix cheese, ham, mustard and pepper in a small bowl.
Cut a horizontal slit along the thin, long edge of a chicken breast half, nearly through to the opposite side. Open up the breast and place one-fourth of the filling in the center. Close the breast over the filling, pressing the edges firmly together to seal. Repeat with the remaining chicken breasts and filling.
Lightly beat egg white with a fork in a medium bowl. Place breadcrumbs in a shallow glass dish. Hold each chicken breast half together and dip in egg white, then dredge in breadcrumbs. (Discard leftovers.)
Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken breasts; cook until browned on one side, about 2 minutes. Place the chicken, browned-side up, on the prepared baking sheet. Bake until the chicken is no longer pink in the center or until an instant-read thermometer registers 170°F, about 20 minutes.

Recipe Nutrition:

Per serving: 236 calories; 7 g fat ( 2 g sat , 3 g mono ); 74 mg cholesterol; 10 g carbohydrates; 31 g protein; 1 g fiber; 287 mg sodium; 347 mg potassium

Have a great day

Cookbooks, RIP Etta James, Singing President.

2012-01-21T07:00:00.000-05:00

For years we bought and saved Cooking Light magazines. They were all neatly stored in the annual red folders one could get from Cooking Light. I haven’t actually bought the magazine for some time now though. These days, one can access so many recipes, from Cooking Light and other sources, on the net that we finally decided to move them to the downstairs communal room for other people to use if they wished. Last time Matt went down they had gone, I hope not permanently. I was sorry to see them go, but we haven’t really been using them ourselves much anyway and hopefully someone else will find them useful. Although I have a stack of cookbooks, well over 100, I tend to go on the net for a new recipe or idea. Matt, of course, does use the cookbooks as he is not computer savvy. Well I’m damned, I was looking for a picture and find people are selling such binders full of the magazines on Amazon.com – in a black binder too, mine were all red. Never occurred to me to offer them for sale but then one would have to deal with shipping, etc. Nah, don’t think I could be bothered.

RIP Etta James. I was not really that familiar with her, not being into big bands and such like Matt is. However, she was really well known in the big band and blues world, I had certainly heard of her and recognise a few of her songs when I hear them, she really had a fabulous voice. Another singer in the news last night, President Obama who sang a few lines whilst raising money for his campaign. Everyone is talking about it. http://youtu.be/d8Qu8nThJ5w. Its quite funny to watch.

Cooking.com sent me a recipe today which appealed to me. I mentioned before that I have become more interested in grits and I have always liked beans so here is a mixture of cuisines for you. We had a spicy dish last night – a coleslaw with a very spicy dressing. I will share that recipe before long.

Cheddar-Cheese Grits with Spicy Black Beans

Source: Quick from Scratch - Vegetable Main Dishes

Active Time: 20 Minutes

Total Time: 20 Minutes
Serves 4

Southern and Southwestern ingredients unite in this sustaining meal of beans, peppers, and tomatoes over the best grits you will ever eat. If you don't have the quick-cooking variety, use regular and follow the instructions on the package.

INGREDIENTS

For Grits:

2 1/2 cups water

1 cup milk

2 tablespoons butter

1/8 teaspoon Tabasco sauce

1/8 teaspoon paprika

1 1/4 teaspoons salt

Cayenne pepper

3/4 cup quick-cooking grits

1/4 pound cheddar, grated (about 1 cup)

For Beans:

1 red bell pepper, cut into 3/4 inch squares

1 green bell pepper, cut into 3/4 inch squares

6 scallions including green tops, sliced thin

2 cups drained and rinsed canned black beans (one 19-ounce can)

1/4 cup canned low-sodium chicken broth or homemade stock

3 plum tomatoes, chopped

DIRECTIONS

FOR GRITS: In a medium saucepan, combine the water, milk, 1 tablespoon of the butter, the Tabasco, paprika, 1 teaspoon of the salt, and 1/8 teaspoon cayenne. Bring to a boil over moderately high heat. Add the grits in a slow stream, whisking. Reduce the heat, cover, and simmer, stirring frequently with a wooden spoon, until the grits are very thick, 5 to 10 minutes. Remove the saucepan from the heat and stir in the cheese. Cover to keep warm.

FOR BEANS: Meanwhile, in a large nonstick frying pan, melt the remaining tablespoon of butter over moderate heat. Add the bell peppers and scallions and cook, stirring frequently, until the vegetables start to soften, about 5 minutes. Add the beans, broth, 1/4 teaspoon cayenne, and the remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt. Bring to a simmer and cook, stirring frequently, until the beans are hot, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the tomatoes. Serve over the cheese grits.

WINE RECOMMENDATION: The robust and varied flavors in this dish want a big, spicy, and fruity red wine to match their intensity. Zinfandel seems to have an affinity for black beans, and a sturdy example from the Napa Valley will suit these grits and beans well

Have a great day

Fat Free? Snow,

2012-01-20T07:00:00.000-05:00

New one on me, reduced fat tofu. I didn’t know there was such a thing. Tofu is a vegetable product, how can it have fat in it? I don’t basically believe in buying non-fat, reduced fat, low cal anything. If I am going to eat it, I will eat the real thing, in moderation and eat less of something else if necessary. Foods which are reduced frequently taste lousy and contain things I shouldn’t eat anyway. No thank you, I will stick to the real thing. It really isn’t necessary to stuff yourself with these tasteless foods, just moderation, moderation, moderation. If you can’t be moderate you might as well give up anyway. That’s not to say I won’t make things which are diet friendly, like the cookies the other day, I just don’t want to buy products labelled that way.

Well we certainly got some snow yesterday, first time we have had any which really counted this winter. I am told there were cars sliding all over the place, Canadians don’t remember how to drive from one winter to another, and that the roads were treacherous. We didn’t bother to go out anyway, so I can’t confirm although it certainly looks pretty white out there. I am not sure what they did about school buses, I didn’t hear anything.

There is a new movie coming out called Red Tails which is a fictional account of the Tuskegee Airmen who were the first African American fliers in the second world war. There was already a movie called Tuskegee Airmen which Matt watched last night. It turns out that Robyn Roberts’ dad was one of the first Tuskegee airmen or Red Tails and they honoured her the other day on GMA by presenting her with a red airmen’s jacket. The older guy in the picture was a Tuskegee airman in his younger days. There is a video at the link if you are interested.

Its New Year, OK Chinese New Year, which is a favourite time with me. I love dumplings and like to go and eat lots of them to celebrate, I wish you all gung ha fat choi which is the nearest we can get to their traditional NY greeting. 2012 is the year of the Dragon, my favourite critter. I was born in the year of the Tiger – pity I would love to have been in the year of the dragon. Matt was born in the year of the pig or boar and we are not supposed to be compatible, now they tell me after almost 40 years, grin.

Afterwards there is “Rabbie” Burns Day. I would love to go to a Burns Day celebration but have never managed to do so. The ceremony of piping the haggis would be wonderful to see. They do hold a Burns Night in Fergus I believe which is not that far from here, but I wouldn’t want to go alone and I suspect Matt wouldn’t be interested.

Needless to say I have to give you a dumpling recipe. This looks fairly simple and is from Good Housekeeping. Not the greatest source for Chinese Food but helpful to Westerners. It includes using Wonton wrappers instead of having to make dumpling wrappers, not as good, but easier.

Chinese Dumplings

From Good Housekeeping

Serves: 12
Yields: 36 dumplings

Ingredients

2 cup(s) (packed) sliced Chinese cabbage (Napa)

1/2 pound(s) ground pork

2 tablespoon(s) soy sauce

1 tablespoon(s) dry sherry

2 teaspoon(s) cornstarch

1 1/2 teaspoon(s) minced, peeled gingerroot

1 green onion, minced

36 (3/4 12-ounce package) wonton-skin wrappers*, 3 1/2" by 3 1/4"

1 large egg white, beaten

Soy Dipping Sauce (below)

Green onions for garnish

Directions

Prepare filling: In 2-quart saucepan over high heat, in 1 inch boiling water, heat cabbage to boiling. Cook cabbage 1 minute; drain. Immediately run cold water over cabbage to cool. With hands, squeeze as much water out of cabbage as possible.
Finely chop cabbage. Squeeze liquid from chopped cabbage; place in medium bowl. Stir in pork, soy sauce, sherry, cornstarch, ginger, and green onion.
Arrange half of wonton-skin wrappers on large sheet of waxed paper. With pastry brush, brush each wrapper lightly with egg white. Spoon 1 rounded teaspoon filling onto center of each wonton wrapper. Bring opposite corners of wonton wrapper up over filling; pinch and pleat edges together to seal in filling. Repeat with remaining wonton wrappers, egg white, and filling
In deep 12-inch skillet over high heat, heat 1/2 inch water to boiling. Place all dumplings, pleated edges up, in one layer in skillet. Stir gently with spoon or heat-proof spatula to prevent dumplings from sticking to bottom of skillet. Heat dumplings to boiling. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer 5 minutes or until dumplings are cooked through.
Meanwhile, prepare Soy Dipping Sauce: In small serving bowl, mix 1/4 cup soy sauce, 1/4 cup seasoned rice vinegar or white wine vinegar, 2 tablespoons angel-hair-thin strips peeled gingerroot. Makes about 1/2 cup sauce. Each teaspoon sauce: About 7 calories, 0 g protein, 2 g carbohydrate, 0 g total fat (0 g saturated), 0 mg cholesterol, 240 mg sodium.
With slotted spoon, remove dumplings to platter; garnish with green onions. Serve with dipping sauce.
Nutritional information is based on one serving without sauce.
*Available in Asian food stores or some supermarkets in the refrigerator case in the produce section.

Have a great day

Chewing Gum, Movie, More Turrón, Wikipedia.

2012-01-19T07:00:00.000-05:00

Unbelievably, I heard an article on the radio which referred me to the DJ’s (Randy White) blog which states that chewing gum can make you smarter. Particularly when doing tests, math or homework. It appears to have been fairly well researched. For years I have hated seeing people chomping gum with their mouths open which is what most people do, and I was “brung” up to believe it wasn’t the thing to chew gum anyway although of course I did as a kid. Now it looks as though people who never chewed might well take up the habit. God forbid. We get enough gum on sidewalks and under tables and desks as it is.

The other night we watched a movie called Angel Eyes starring Jennifer Lopez. Enjoyed it. A slight mystery with a romance. One of the characters played the trumpet and both of us were saying – what’s the name of that tune? - we recognised it, but couldn’t put a name to it, it sounded beautiful the way it was played. I went on to the website for the movie and had to go through all the music which had been used and finally found it, it was Nature Boy by Jon Hassell with which we are both very familiar. Duuuh. Hope you enjoy this version.

I am somewhat upset to learn that the US Government is considering legislation which will damage the free information we get from Wikipedia which to me is a great online resource. I have been posting the information on Facebook. Wikipedia are practicing a 24 hour blackout of all their information. To learn more read their statement here and if you are an American, please do all you can to prevent your government from introducing their bill in its current form. Piracy is one thing, freedom of information another.

Yesterday I was thrilled to receive a packet of Turrón from a friend in Portugal, she picked it up when she went over the border into Spain. Oddly enough, it is without sugar, i.e. suitable for diabetics. I didn’t know there was such a thing. I also received a 32 Gig flash drive especially for backing up my laptop which I had ordered. It just backs up iTunes for me which is the most important thing, everything else is already backed up elsewhere.

I thought we’d go with a simple Kraft recipe for a chicken curry done in the slow cooker. My only argument with this – I recently read chicken should be partially cooked before being put in a slow cooker as it takes a while for the cooker to come up to a temperature which will prevent any bacteria from breeding. I found the tip about curry very useful, I had never heard that before.

Slow Cooker Chicken Curry

Kraft Kitchens

What You Need

10 chicken thighs (2-3/4 lb.), skins removed

1 jar (16 oz.) TACO BELL® HOME ORIGINALS® Thick 'N Chunky Salsa

1 onion, chopped

2 Tbsp. curry powder

1 cup BREAKSTONE'S FREE or KNUDSEN Fat Free Sour Cream

Make It

PLACE chicken in slow cooker. Combine next 3 ingredients; pour over chicken. Cover with lid.

COOK on LOW 8 to 10 hours (or on HIGH 5 hours).

TRANSFER chicken to platter; cover to keep warm. Add sour cream to slow cooker; stir until well blended. Serve over chicken.

TACO BELL® and HOME ORIGINALS® are trademarks owned and licensed by Taco Bell Corp.

Kraft Kitchens Tips

Serving Suggestion

Serve over hot steamed vegetables. Or, spoon over 2/3-cup servings of hot cooked brown rice.

Cooking Know-How

Heat releases the fragrant flavorful oils in curry. For optimum flavor, measure the curry powder into a small microwaveable bowl and microwave on HIGH for 30 sec. before adding to the slow cooker.

Have a great day

Fog, Deen & Diabetes, Purse Safety.

2012-01-18T07:00:00.000-05:00

Tuesday morning, thick fog again. Its all very well having a light winter with no snow and lots of sunshine, but it has been producing a lot of fog and many school buses were cancelled. I must admit I’m not sure why, it wasn’t that thick – they should have grown up with the London pea soupers I lived with for a number of years. Not only were they very thick, visibility almost nil, but the smog was yellowy and extremely unhealthy. I used to drive with my head hanging out of the window to try and see where I was. Which reminds me of one time when I commuted to London by train daily and there was fog on the way home so the train was extremely late, I think I got to the station around 10 p.m. I then had to drive a fair distance along country lanes which were not really marked with white lines. Extremely difficult. But that was at night. During the day I never found fog that difficult.

I completely forgot, the other morning when I came into the living room Matt was watching GMA as usual and he immediately said “Paula Deen has diabetes”. I was sorry for her, but at the same time I can’t say I was unduly surprised. We went to her restaurant, Lady and Sons, in Savannah, Georgia many years ago and met her there at the time, her featured buffet was all very much Southern cooking which, let’s face it, has no connection to Weight Watchers or any other diet system. We, in fact ordered a la carte and had a fillet steak. That was a few years before she became so well known with her TV programmes and cookbooks, now I understand you will rarely see her at Lady and Sons as she is so busy. The sons now have their own restaurant too, they will have to be careful about diabetes as well if they cook like mama. If somebody like Matt can have borderline diabetes, when his diet is so healthy, I guess anyone can have it. All the diabetes web sites tell people to get it checked no matter what you think. It’s a simple blood test. You do NOT have to be carrying the pounds to get diabetes.

Heard a report on the radio about a woman losing her purse/wallet in Zehrs, a local supermarket and then her credit cards were used. This doesn’t surprise me one bit. Women are so stupid with their purses, they leave them in the cart and then walk away to look at items on the shelves. I have seen unattended bags and purses so often it makes me mad. Matt has even pointed it out to people and been told to mind his own business. Searching for a suitable picture, I actually came across a good tip, use the child safety straps and lock them through the handles of your purse. Personally I use an over the shoulder wallet which I find is pretty safe and I don’t have to walk away from it ever but then I don’t carry much these days unlike these women who practically carry their whole household with them. For the people who don’t live in this part of the world, I had problems when I first got here, but a purse is generally what a handbag is called.

Saw a recording of an interview with the Italian cruise ship captain, what an idiot and what a coward, he was scared and left the ship before all the passengers had been accounted for and in the end they found some of them in life vests waiting for rescue which came too late. He was ordered back on the ship by the coastguard and refused to go, he was needed to coordinate the evacuation. There is a recording of this on the internet which has been verified by the coastguard.

Watching what you eat? These cookies appeared in my inbox and are purported to be Weight Watcher cookies at one point or 100 calories a piece. Small but delicious I am told.

Lower Fat Double Chocolate Chip Cookies (Ww)

Photo and Recipe By Marg (CaymanDesigns) on May 14, 2008

Serves: 40, Yield: 40 cookies

About This Recipe

"I needed to make some cookies that wouldn't interfere with my trying to cut back on my fat intake. A friend passed on this recipe which she said was from Weight Watchers. If you make 40 cookies, it is 1 point each. And yes, they are small cookies, but very fudgy and delicious!"

Ingredients

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/8 teaspoon table salt

1/4 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup dark brown sugar, packed

1/2 cup sugar

1/3 cup unsweetened baking cocoa

2 large egg whites

1/3 cup miniature chocolate chips

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°F.
Combine flour, baking soda and salt in a large bowl. (Do not pack flour when measuring).
Beat butter and brown sugar with a mixer at medium speed until light and fluffy; gradually add granulated sugar, beating well. Add cocoa and egg whites, beating well. Gradually beat in flour mixture until blended. Stir in chocolate mini chips.
Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls (about 3/4-inch balls to get 40 cookies) onto baking sheets coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350°F for 10 minutes. Cool on pans 2 minutes or until firm. Remove cookies from pans; cool completely on wire racks.

Have a great day

Baby, Golden Globes, Bowling. Italian Cruiser.

2012-01-17T07:00:00.000-05:00

I had to copy this from Facebook, it really tickled my sense of humour, hope it makes you smile as well. Some people are so very clever with their comments.

I was delighted to hear that my current favourite programme, Downton Abbey, won a Golden Globe award this weekend. I personally believe it was a very deserving winner. Last night, we watched the celebration of Betty White’s 90th birthday, you could say she was roasted. It was very amusing with lots of well known personalities including the President wishing her a happy birthday. Obama was pretty funny actually. If he doesn’t win again, he has a possible future on the stage. Betty White is pretty incredible and still a regular performer on TV not to mention lots of guest appearances and even a few advertising spots. She really is a brilliant comedienne. I would like to think I would be as good when I was 90. Mostly I feel 90 already.

Matt went bowling without me again yesterday, I still don’t think I can manage it although I might have a go next week if I am feeling as good as I have been. My shoulder pain comes and goes at the moment, but I am no longer having to eat Tylenol 3 like candies. By the time my tests come up I will be as fit as a fiddle again!!!!

We often watch Wheel of Fortune and last night one of the prizes was a trip on an Italian cruise ship in the Mediterranean. If it were me I would refuse, thank you very much. On the internet there are many pictures of the ship, taken at different stages. This one from a couple of days ago was the best in my opinion, there are much more recent pix I guess, they are watching as she sinks I assume.

Unlike the author of this article, I do like Brussels Sprouts, but I tend to get bored with same ol’, same ol’ with anything and so I was delighted to find this recipe.

Brussels Sprout Hash with Caramelized Shallots

ByDana Treat
WebMD Recipe from Foodily.com

Any article in a food magazine or post out in the blogosphere about Brussels sprouts will start with some kind of encouragement. “You may think you don’t like Brussels sprouts,” they will tell you, “But let me convince you to change your mind.”

I was totally one of those people. I like almost every single vegetable out there, but didn’t like those little cabbages. Because they aren’t really a “go to” vegetable for most people, I actually hadn’t really eaten them that many times. My mom never made them (probably because she knew we wouldn’t eat them), friends never made them, I certainly never made them. The one time I can recall eating them in recent memory was at a friend’s for Sunday dinner and I really hated the few bites I was able to choke down. They were whole and undercooked so chalky texture and foul flavor. I firmly put them in my dislike category.

Then, for some reason, last year I decided to make them for Thanksgiving. Maybe it was the article in Bon Appetit, maybe it was the addition of caramelized shallots, maybe it was the fact that the Brussels sprouts themselves are thinly sliced instead of whole. I don’t know – but I’m glad I branched out. These are, really truly, delicious. And yes, they will convert Brussels sprouts haters – they converted my husband and he really holds on to his food aversions. My brother Michael (one of those rare individuals who love Brussels sprouts) points out that anything with a bunch of butter in it tastes good, but I beg to differ. I made these yesterday to go with Vegetarian Shepherd’s Pie and dialed the amount of butter way down and they were still incredibly tasty.

I made some changes to the original recipe from Bon Appetit magazine. I cut the amount of butter in half and upped the shallots. I also changed the method a bit. Be sure to use a big enough pan so that the sprouts get browned sufficiently. You can use a food processor to slice the sprouts.

Ingredients

3 tbsp. butter, divided
3/4 lb. shallots, thinly sliced
Coarse kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
2 tbsp. apple cider vinegar
4 tsp. sugar
1 1/2 lb. Brussels sprouts, trimmed
Olive oil
1/4 – 1/2 cup water

Instructions

Halve Brussels sprouts lengthwise. Cut lengthwise into thin slices. Set aside.

Melt 2 tbsp. butter in large skillet over medium heat. Add shallots; sprinkle with coarse kosher salt and pepper. Sauté until golden, about 10 minutes. Add vinegar and sugar. Stir until brown and glazed, about 3 minutes. Scrape onto a plate and reserve. Wipe out skillet carefully with a paper towel.

Place skillet back over burner. Increase heat to medium-high. Add enough olive oil to lightly coat the bottom. Add sprouts; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Sauté until brown at the edges, about 6 minutes. Add 1/4 cup water and 1 tbsp. butter. Sauté until the water evaporates and sprouts are tender, adding more water if necessary. Add shallots. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Adapted from Bon Appetit Magazine

Total Servings: 8

Nutritional Information Per Serving

Calories: 115
Carbohydrates: 16.9g
Cholesterol: 11mg
Fat: 4.7g
Saturated Fat: 2.8g
Fiber: 3.2g
Sodium: 94mg
Protein: 4.0g

Have a great day

Snow, Bed Wear, Food and Wine.

2012-01-16T07:00:00.000-05:00

Dunno what happened to all this snow they have been promising. We sure haven’t had much yet except a few flakes here and there.

I was reading a book with lots of sex and passion in it the other day, not really my scene, but… anyway, the heroine was in bed with sweats, a T shirt and underwear beneath her sweat pants. Why on earth would you wear all that clothing to go to bed? You might as well be dressed to go outside somewhere. To me it was weird. I personally would find sweats way to warm for wearing in bed.

Had chili for supper Friday, Steak Diane for Saturday and the rest of the chili for Sunday. Not bad eating if I do say so myself. I went a bit gung ho on the cream for the Steak Diane but it was still good. I haven’t been eating all that well recently, maybe all the Tylenol 3 I have been shoving down my throat lately, I don’t know. I also seem to have gone off wine a bit too, just doesn’t taste very good to me at the moment. Big tragedy, I usually enjoy my wine, especially a good Zinfandel. Matt opened a Cline Zinfandel on Saturday and I really wasn’t that enthusiastic about it. Mind you, Cline is not my favourite Zin anyway. I am hoping to get some Clos du Val Zinfandel next month and maybe some Rosenblum later in the year. Lets hope I’m back to enjoying it by then. We only discovered the Clos du Val vintage last year and both thoroughly enjoyed it. Then had trouble finding any more. We also like the Dancing Bull Zinfandel but can only get that at one liquor store round here and we only pass it on bowling days. We do like other wines of course, but my favourites are Zinfandels. Another wine we are very fond of is Magnotta Toro Nero which we discovered some years back during a taste testing at their local store. Christmas 2010 we bought ourselves a case as a Christmas present (cheaper by the dozen), we did think of doing the same last Christmas but didn’t in the end. We still have one bottle left so will have to stock up with a couple of bottles at least.

This Christmas, I missed out on mincemeat pies or tarts – we actually didn’t come across any good ones and I haven’t seen mincemeat for sale for a while although I expect some stores have it. Anyway, I decided I would make some myself, basically the real stuff I think because I copied the recipe from my 75 yr. old copy of Mrs. Beeton’s cookery book. The book was my mother’s of course and was really how she learned to cook and boy could she cook. By the way, a gill is about quarter of a pint. I haven’t made it yet but plan to do so within the next week or two when I can assemble all the ingredients. One thing I can buy locally is suet, when I lived in NC I couldn’t find it anywhere.

Mincemeat

1 lb suet
1 lb currants
1 lb raisins
1 lb chopped apples
1 lb sugar
1/2 lb sultanas
1/4 lb candied peel
2 lemons
1/2 gill brandy
1/4 tsp each of nutmeg, mace and cinnamon

Pare the lemons thinly, simmer the rinds in a little water until perfectly tender, then pound them or rub them through a fine sieve. Mix all the ingredients well together, press into a jar, cover closely and keep in a cool, dry place, for at least 1 month before using.

Yield: 4-5 lb mincemeat

Have a great day

Friggatriskaidekaphobia, Teeny Frog, Sledding Crow.

2012-01-14T07:00:00.000-05:00

From the fact that didn’t even mention it yesterday, I guess you will have realised I don’t even think about Friday 13 or friggatriskaidekaphobia which is the fear of that date (frigga being the Norse goddess for whom Friday was named) Wikipedia have a lot more information about it if you are interested.Its odd really, because I am superstitious about a lot of things, I will NOT cut my nails on a Sunday (for Matt’s mom it was Friday) I will not accept salt from someone’s hand, it has to go on the table. I knock on wood and throw spilt salt over my shoulder, but Friday 13 has never meant much to me. Sia McKye’s guest author yesterday in Thoughts OVER COFFEE (see link this page), details a lot about her suspicions too, some of which I had heard of, some not.

Another blogger friend of mine, Glenda Larke, in her blog Tropic Temper, wrote about a frog who wandered into her house which reminded me I had intended to write about the smallest frog in the world. This article from the Guardian in the UK is all about this minute creature which was discovered in Papua, New Guinea. It is the smallest vertebrate or animal with a spine. In fact they discovered two new frog species at the same time according to the article. As you will see in the picture, it is sitting on a dime which is a 10 cent piece if you are not familiar with our currency and a very small coin. For the British its about the same size as a sixpence used to be. The frog has been named Paedophryne amauensis. They say New Guinea is ripe with undiscovered species. I don’t know about you, I kind of wondered how they found this frog without stepping on it.

I decided to go with Matt to the bowling alley yesterday; I so wanted to bowl watching everyone do so, but I didn’t of course, I am nowhere near well enough yet. I have no doubt I will be as fit as a fiddle at the end of the month when I start having ultra sounds and CT scans!!! Before we went out I decided to chuck stuff together to make a chili. I haven’t made chili in a long time for some reason. No idea why. Been fancying one for a few days now so just made a really simple one for supper last night. It wasn’t bad.

This next is the most incredible piece of video, a crow purposely sledding down a roof. The article with it is here they say science cannot explain this.

I have just been reading how good tomato soup is for one’s arteries. However, they don’t mean the high salt varieties that come in a can. I make tomato soup all the time, usually in large batches to freeze – this is how.

Tomato Soup

1 sweet onion, chopped

1 tbs olive oil

2 cloves garlic (chopped or crushed, don’t use the pre-chopped or minced stuff)

1 large can of plum tomatoes

1 pack of liquid bouillon (or homemade stock if you have it, even better)

Seasoning to taste

12 fresh basil leaves, chopped.

Sauté the onion in the oil and then add the garlic. When they are translucent add the tomatoes (I usually break up the fruit before adding it to the pan), then the stock or bouillon and the basil. Simmer for about half an hour. Cool somewhat then blend. Test for seasoning and either serve or freeze. When serving you can add sour cream swirled on top or basil pesto which intensifies the basil flavour.

Have a great weekend

Quicken, Favourite Movies,

2012-01-13T07:00:00.004-05:00

Yesterday morning I received an offer from Amazon.com for a new version – Quicken Deluxe 2012 – at a pretty reasonable price - to download. Apparently the new versions are separated into Canadian or US because, I am told, these days the programmes contain so many forms it would be impossible to carry all of them for both countries. I bought Quicken Cash but that didn’t contain all the stuff I have been using for years so I ended up with Quicken Home and Business which was quite a bit more expensive and more than I had intended to spend, however, my version was getting a tad ancient.

Not having much to do and very little on TV, we decided to watch The King and I with Yul Brynner and Deborah Kerr. This is one of my favourite movies although I howl all the way through it much to Matt’s amusement. I especially cry at the final scene when the king dies. I always loved Yul Brynner as an actor and another movie of his that I love is Anastasia with Ingrid Bergman. I have always loved the story of Anastasia and like to think that maybe she really did survive the assassination of her family. Even if she had, she would not be with us any more as it was so very long ago now.

The Canadian news, at the moment, is full of reports on the killings of three daughters and a former wife by Mohammad Shafia and his current wife. There seems to be more and more of these kinds of killings and, I don’t care how much honour they consider is involved, in Canada that’s murder, plain and simple, and they should get the most extreme penalty we can give them. If you want to live that way and do that kind of thing, please return to your own country.

I love Chinese and Chinese style food so when I saw this one, I couldn’t resist it either. Peanuts actually make me think Thai, but this is Sichuan style.

Sichuan Chicken with Peanuts

WebMD Recipe from EatingWell.com

The piquant Sichuan Sauce (which doubles easily) works well with almost any stir-fry but particularly enhances dishes with meat, fish and poultry. When stir-frying chicken, always spread the pieces in the wok and let them cook undisturbed for 1 minute before stirring. This allows the chicken to sear and prevents sticking. To smash the ginger, use the side of a cleaver or chef’s knife.

Servings: 4

Make ahead Tip:Prepare Sichuan Sauce (Step 1); cover and refrigerate for up to 1 week.

Recipe Ingredients:

Sichuan Sauce

3 tablespoons reduced-sodium chicken broth
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 teaspoons black rice vinegar, or balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon reduced-sodium soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
1/4 teaspoon cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper, plus more to taste

Chicken

1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast, or thighs, trimmed and cut into 1-inch cubes
1 teaspoon Shao Hsing rice wine or dry sherry
1 teaspoon reduced-sodium soy sauce
1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon canola oil
2 1/2-inch-thick slices ginger, smashed
2 cups sugar snap peas, (8 ounces)
1/4 cup dry-roasted peanuts
1 scallion, minced

Recipe Steps:

To prepare Sichuan sauce: Whisk broth, tomato paste, vinegar, sugar, soy sauce, sesame oil, cornstarch and crushed red pepper to taste in a small bowl.
To prepare chicken: Combine chicken, rice wine (or sherry), soy sauce, cornstarch and garlic in a medium bowl; mix thoroughly.
Heat a 14-inch flat-bottomed wok or large skillet over high heat until a bead of water vaporizes within 1 to 2 seconds of contact. Swirl oil into the pan, add ginger and stir-fry for 10 seconds. Carefully add the chicken mixture, spreading it out. Cook until the chicken begins to brown, about 1 minute. Using a spatula, stir-fry for 30 seconds. Spread the chicken out again and cook for 30 seconds. Continue stir-frying until the chicken is lightly browned on all sides, 1 to 2 minutes. Add snap peas and stir-fry for 1 minute. Stir the Sichuan Sauce, swirl it into the pan and stir-fry until the chicken is just cooked through and the sauce is slightly thickened and glossy, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Transfer to a platter (discard the ginger) and sprinkle with peanuts and scallions. Serve immediately.

Recipe Nutrition:

Per serving: 273 calories; 12 g fat ( 2 g sat , 6 g mono ); 66 mg cholesterol; 11 g carbohydrates; 28 g protein; 3 g fiber; 177 mg sodium; 427 mg potassium.

Have a great day

Rhubarb, More Reminiscing, Military thefts.

2012-01-12T07:00:00.000-05:00

I heard an interesting snippet on the radio and checked it out that the firs time rhubarb came to this side of the world was in 1770 and it was shipped by Benjamin Franklin to a friend, John Bartram. Having read that you might well say, so….? It goes back to an internet cookery group to which I belong and which was once very active. When we first started getting together we found most of us like rhubarb which we thought was something of a coincidence, we had many other things in common too of course, not least of which was cooking and preparing food. The leaves, as shown here, are not edible and in fact are poisonous. The part which is so good to eat are the red stems with which you can do so many things – all kinds of desserts, jams, jellies, marmalades, drinks to name a few and all thanks to Benjamin Franklin.

In our home we have the local radio on all the time, unless we have the TV or CDs playing. The other morning I heard Andy Williams singing Happy Heart and Barry White with a song I didn’t know, this started making me think. When Matt and I were ‘courting’, for want of a better word, we used to dance to Andy Williams music a lot. Then after we were married we used to visit my parents in Alicante, Spain where they were living at the time; They often took us to a bar called the Don Quixote which was run by a couple of gays. It was a great place to hang out. They played Love’s Theme by Barry White and Matt was nuts about it, consequently we ended up with several LPs by his Love Unlimited Orchestra. One of my favourites was Baby Blues. I liked his music intros, but I didn’t enjoy it when he sang all the way through. He had a very sexy voice. CDs hadn’t been invented at that time of course. Sadly the Don Quixote fizzled out due to aids – people were scared to death to go there any more, it was when we first knew about it and no-one understood how it was transmitted or really anything about the illness. Pity, we spent many happy hours there, they served good food as well.

Another snippet on the news, the Canadian Military have lost a serious amount of equipment from that which was being shipped home from Afghanistan. They have opened 10 containers which were full of rocks and sand to emulate the weight of the missing equipment. Security has fallen down badly here. We are assured there were no munitions, only things like tires, tools and tents.

I have always loved Goulash (gulyás) and often used to make it with venison when we were lucky enough to get some. However, I haven’t made it in a while and when I saw this healthier version it appealed to me. We used to call caraway seeds bird toenails.

Hungarian Beef Goulash

From EatingWell: January/February 2008

This streamlined goulash skips the step of browning the beef, and instead coats it in a spice crust to give it a rich mahogany hue. This saucy dish is a natural served over whole-wheat egg noodles. Or, for something different, try prepared potato gnocchi or spaetzle.

8 servings, about 1 cup each

Ingredients

2 pounds beef stew meat, (such as chuck), trimmed and cubed

2 teaspoons caraway seeds

1 1/2-2 tablespoons sweet or hot paprika, (or a mixture of the two), preferably Hungarian (see Ingredient Note)

1/4 teaspoon salt

Freshly ground pepper, to taste

1 large or 2 medium onions, chopped

1 small red bell pepper, chopped

1 14-ounce can diced tomatoes

1 14-ounce can reduced-sodium beef broth

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 bay leaves

1 tablespoon cornstarch mixed with 2 tablespoons water

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Preparation

Place beef in a 4-quart or larger slow cooker. Crush caraway seeds with the bottom of a saucepan. Transfer to a small bowl and stir in paprika, salt and pepper. Sprinkle the beef with the spice mixture and toss to coat well. Top with onion and bell pepper.
Combine tomatoes, broth, Worcestershire sauce and garlic in a medium saucepan; bring to a simmer. Pour over the beef and vegetables. Place bay leaves on top. Cover and cook until the beef is very tender, 4 to 4 1/2 hours on high or 7 to 7 1/2 hours on low.
Discard the bay leaves; skim or blot any visible fat from the surface of the stew. Add the cornstarch mixture to the stew and cook on high, stirring 2 or 3 times, until slightly thickened, 10 to 15 minutes. Serve sprinkled with parsley.

Nutrition

Per serving :180 Calories; 5 g Fat; 2 g Sat; 2 g Mono; 48 mg Cholesterol; 6 g Carbohydrates; 25 g Protein; 1 g Fiber; 250 mg Sodium; 298 mg Potassium

Make Ahead Tip: Cover and refrigerate for up to 2 days or freeze for up to 4 months. | Prep ahead: Trim beef and coat with spice mixture. Prepare vegetables. Combine tomatoes, broth, Worcestershire sauce and garlic. Refrigerate in separate covered containers for up to 1 day.

Ingredient Note: Paprika specifically labeled as “Hungarian” is worth seeking out for this dish because it delivers a fuller, richer flavor than regular or Spanish paprika. Find it at specialty-foods store or online at HungarianDeli.com and penzeys.com.

Have a great day

Secretarial Training, Reminiscing, Tips

2012-01-11T07:00:00.000-05:00

Having posted about financial programmes such as Quicken yesterday, I was lying in bed thinking about bookkeeping and remembering that when I was 17 I actually had some classes in bookkeeping although I don’t remember much about them. Don’t think I would ever have been any good at it. These classes actually took place at the secretarial college I went to. The college was run by a Miss Edyvean who, to us, was absolutely ancient, I really don’t know how old she was, probably late 40s or 50s, but we youngsters certainly thought she was a lot older. She was actually very good at teaching shorthand and typing, I learned Pitman’s shorthand and typing on a manual machine where all the keys were covered up so we had to learn to touch type. I left there with 120 wpm in shorthand and 70 typing which considering how often I would take the afternoon off and go to the movies, there was a theatre quite close, is pretty good. In those days, you learned to be an efficient secretary no matter what the industry, there was no specialising, you were expected to learn that on the job whether it be in the medical field or the oil refinery field. In fact I went for a job at the local oil refinery and fluffed it. I couldn’t manage the speeds even though I had a certificate saying I was qualified to do so. The picture, by the way, says Long Live Pitman’s Shorthand.

Someone told me, in those far off days, that shorthand wouldn’t be needed in the future and that secretaries would be virtually obsolete. I didn’t believe them, but in fact they were right. People need assistants but not secretaries any more. I don’t think shorthand is taught to anyone today, pity in a way, it’s a good way of taking notes although I guess even that is done electronically these days; there were two systems, Pitman’s and Gregg, in fact Miss Edyvean could teach both, clever woman. I still use shorthand occasionally, but I doubt any other person could read it as I am not as accurate with it as I once was. I can figure out what I have written, but I defy anyone else to do so.

I used to take the bus from home into Rochester (think Dickens) to start classes at 10 a.m. They ended around 4 p.m. as I recall. I usually went to a restaurant, the Castle Tearooms, for coffee and fresh scones before class, they were delicious scones, warm out of the oven. Yum. I think we took lunch with us. In fact I that’s when I first started smoking – we used to have a cigarette in the lunch room. At that time I smoked at least 8 cigarettes a week LOL. In those days we had no idea how dangerous smoking could be, we just felt very grown up puffing away. I’m not even sure if I inhaled at that time. Pity I ever learned to do so. Took me a very long time to have the sense to finally quit, which I did about 16 years ago now. Now we know how dangerous it is, I cannot fathom why people start smoking.

I picked up a tip the other day from a list of such things, to label one’s computer cords with the tags of bread and such. I thought it was an excellent idea. Especially with all the different cords I tend to carry when we travel. Camera, Kindle, Palm, etc. etc. In fact there were lots of excellent tips another one being to use egg cartons to sort and separate Christmas decorations, unfortunately that came after we had packed up everything.

Having talked of scones, I have to give you the scone recipe which is pretty simple and I have always used. Of course people add many things to scones, cheese, fruits, jams, etc. but I personally like mine perfectly plain with butter. Well Devonshire cream and jam if you insist. You can make these scones richer by adding an egg and an extra ounce of butter. Now I’ve got to go and make some, this is making me hungry. I often used to make them late at night when we had had friends over for the evening. They are that simple.

Scones

Cookery in Colour

8 oz. self raising flour

1/2 tsp. baking powder

sprinkle of salt

1/2 – 1 oz. castor sugar (sugar here is like castor sugar)

approx. 1/4 UK pint of milk (5 fl. oz.)

1 oz. butter

For these scones, unsalted butter gives a very creamy taste. Sift flour, baking powder and salt. Rub in butter. Add sugar. Mix to a soft dough with the milk. Turn on to a lightly floured board and knead quickly. Roll to 1/2 to 3/4 inch thickness. Cut with knife or floured cutter. Place on hot baking tray and brush with milk. Bake in hot oven 450°F for 12-15 minutes. Delicious with jam, fruit or cheese.

Have a great day

Debt, Money, Computers, Qbids, Fats.

2012-01-10T07:00:00.000-05:00

I constantly see ads, especially on Facebook, about how to wipe out your debt, GMA have money managers telling you how to do this that or the other to erase your debt. I have some pretty good advice to offer too, don’t spend it. OK I realise there are some people in serious money problems through no fault of their own, job loss etc., but some of these people with massing credit card debts are just spend crazy. Its not real money, it’s a plastic card, etc. etc. Its been said before, we live in the days of instant gratification, no-one wants to save for something, get now, pay later, only paying later basically doesn’t work. I too used to think it did, I wised up. Actually, d’you know why I wised up, I started using a money programme on my computer, the first one I had was Manage Your Money which I liked very much, but then along came Quicken which seemed to knock most of the other programmes off the radar. With MYM I discovered what our budget looked like, what happened with forecasting, etc. and yes, I learned how to Manage My Money. Admittedly before that we had account books, but it wasn’t nearly as efficient as accounting software which really brought home to me what I was spending and where and how much of it was unnecessary. Mind you if anything happens to me, Matt will be back to using an account book again. Another thing I appreciate is being able to bank online, I can check on the status of our accounts as often as I want which I think is absolutely great.

Thinking about the early days of account programmes, made me start thinking about the early days of personal computers. Although I was using early versions of PCs at work, my first home computer was by Mattel and worked with cassette tapes, I can’t even find pictures of a similar computer. My second, a Commodore 64, operated with DOS and had no hard drive, everything worked from 5” floppy disks, I had to have a hard drive installed, it was minute compared with what we have today. I was then thrilled when I got a floppy drive for 3” disks which stored so much more data. I’ve mentioned this before but when I start thinking about it, it always astounds me the leaps and bounds taken by computers in the last 25-30 years. I was once told I would never use computers because I hadn’t got a mathematical brain, true, I haven’t, but thankfully they invented Personal Computers which were comprehensible by mathematical dummies and I have never looked back. Thanks Bill and to a lesser degree Steve, never been into Apple. All the Apple users I have ever met, swear by their Macs and think they are wonderful. It is true they are not targeted by hackers and spammers as much, or if at all, I don’t really know. But I suppose they will be one day. I cannot imagine how a hacker could resist.

Talking of money and purchases, I have seen a lot of advertising for Qbids lately so I checked it out. It appears that before you can bid on anything, you have to buy your bids, and the minimum is 100 bids for $69. Then you have to hope its worth it and you can buy something fantastic for next to nothing, ain’t too sure, thought it sounded too good to be true in the first place. Think if I want to bid on something I will stick to eBay.

Last weekend I cooked a rib roast which we had bought on special just before Christmas. Originally I was going to cook it on Boxing Day (Dec. 26) but then I ended up cooking the turkey on Christmas Day so we froze the beef. The roast was, of course, delicious and we have been enjoying it cold for supper as well. However, by the very nature of the beast, it is quite fatty which made me think of the times my parents tried to make me eat beef fat when I was a child and then when I finally learned to eat it, the health gurus told us all it was bad for us. I certainly hated it when I was young, never minded pork fat, especially if there was a bit of crackling attached (pork skin roasted). Didn’t like lamb fat or warm ham fat although I never minded that cold. Funny isn’t it how one’s preferences are formed? Although I still make it a practice to try something I don’t like every couple of years or so with the result there is very little I don’t like. One thing I am having a problem with is vegetables cooked in softened water, I hate the taste, I am wondering if steaming would make a difference here, never tried it, challenge for you Jo. Later - OK I found that broccoli tasted much better steamed.

A somewhat different version of Eggs Benedict. But I thought they looked pretty good and that I would try them.

Eggs Italiano

WebMD Recipe from EatingWell.com

This sophisticated take on Eggs Benedict swaps a full-flavored, chunky vegetable medley for Canadian bacon and hollandaise sauce. Add whole-wheat English muffins and poached eggs and this combo makes a lovely brunch or an elegant light supper when served with a salad.

Servings: 4

Recipe Ingredients:

1/4 cup distilled white vinegar

2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 shallot, minced

1 clove garlic, minced

1 pound zucchini (about 2 medium), diced

12 ounces plum tomatoes (3-4), diced

3 tablespoons thinly sliced fresh basil, divided

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

1/2 teaspoon salt

Freshly ground pepper to taste

8 large eggs

4 whole-wheat English muffins, split and toasted

2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Recipe Steps:

Fill a large, straight-sided skillet or Dutch oven with 2 inches of water; bring to a boil. Add white vinegar.
Meanwhile, heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add shallot and garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in zucchini and tomatoes and cook, stirring occasionally, until the zucchini is tender, about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat; stir in 1 tablespoon basil, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper.
Meanwhile, reduce the boiling water to a gentle simmer; the water should be steaming and small bubbles should come up from the bottom of the pan. Crack each egg into a small bowl and slip them one at a time into the simmering water, taking care not to break the yolks. Cook for 4 minutes for soft set, 5 minutes for medium set and 8 minutes for hard set. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the eggs to a clean kitchen towel to drain.
To serve, top each muffin half with some of the vegetable mixture, an egg, a sprinkling of cheese and the remaining basil.

Recipe Nutrition:

Per serving: 329 calories; 14 g fat (4 g saturated fat, 6 g mono unsaturated fat); 425 mg cholesterol; 31 g carbohydrates; 22 g protein; 5 g fiber; 675 mg sodium; 570 mg potassium

Have a great day

Eggs, Garlic, TV and Bowling.

2012-01-09T07:00:00.000-05:00

Years ago I watched one of my favourite chefs, Jacques Pepin, giving demonstrations of various cooking techniques. One I have always remembered and used, was how to hard boil eggs. You start by pricking a hole in the thicker end of the egg. Place it in cold water, bring it to the boil, simmer for 10 minutes, then chill in cold water. I have never had a problem since I started using this technique. Matt doesn’t quite follow the same method so often ends up with a cracked shell or two. Jacques Pepin used to join Julia Child on her programmes quite frequently. I have been hunting for the video about techniques for a long while but never been able to find it. If anyone happens to know about it, post a comment please.

Saturday morning I spent peeling garlic, 4 large cloves, what a pain, but once its done it means I have peeled garlic available for a good long time, I have written before that I put it in a Mason jar with a piece of paper towel on top to absorb the moisture and then screw the lid on tight. In the fridge this lasts me several months and is a joy especially if you are in a hurry. It wasn’t until I looked it up I realised the last lot had been peeled on March 14, 2011 and the jar is even fuller this time. Its amazing that the garlic seems as fresh at the end as when we first peel it.

The new season of Downton Abbey started last night, I love the show, I think it is extremely well done and enjoyed every minute of the 2 hour season premiere. This second season takes place during the First World War, starting in 1917, the action, not the war. I was staggered at one scene that there was a report of someone being shot for cowardice. I didn’t remember that such things were done. How dreadful for the family. Also, two of the Abbey’s staff were given white feathers signifying cowardice because they were not at the front. People were so cruel, yes I guess people are so cruel.

Matt went to the Hi-Lo Doubles bowling tournament yesterday morning, I was supposed to bowl in it too, but was unable to which teed me off I can tell you. Apparently he didn’t bowl that well, nor did his partner. Pity. I was in this tournament once before and I did get through, I was annoyed I wasn’t allowed to be in it for a couple of years, this year I was permitted and then to have to back out because of being unwell. Grrrrr.

When I first tried grits I didn’t think too much of them, however, they have gradually grown on me so that when I saw this recipe I was immediately interested. My favourite is actually shrimp and grits, but this sounds good.

Goat Cheese Grits with Fresh Corn

WebMD Recipe from EatingWell.com

Take grits upscale by adding fresh corn, goat cheese and chives.

Servings: 6

Recipe Ingredients:

3 cups water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
3/4 cup quick grits, (not instant; see Tips)
1 cup fresh corn kernels, (about 1 large ear; see Tips) or frozen
3/4 cup cup crumbled goat cheese, (3 ounces), divided
1/4 cup thinly sliced fresh chives, or scallion greens

Recipe Steps:

Bring water, salt and pepper to a boil in a large saucepan. Slowly pour in grits, stirring constantly. Stir in corn; return to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover and cook, stirring once or twice, until thickened, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat, stir in half the goat cheese and let stand for 5 minutes. Stir in chives (or scallions). Serve each portion sprinkled with some of the remaining cheese.

Recipe Nutrition:

Per serving: 156 calories; 5 g fat (3 g sat, 1 g mono ); 11 mg cholesterol; 23 g carbohydrates; 0 g added sugars; 5 g protein; 1 g fiber; 277 mg sodium; 124 mg potassium.

Have a great day

Coupons, Blog Books, Hair Removal.

2012-01-07T07:00:00.003-05:00

Watching GMA yesterday talking about all the savings you can get by using coupons, irritates me slightly, because whenever we look at sources of coupons they are never for anything I want to buy in the first place. Sure I can save 50% off Mac and Cheese, but I don’t buy it, so am I going to do so just to save money? I have been on Coupon Suzy and Coupon Bug and I might find the occasional coupon for soap powder or something, but how much soap powder can one use anyway. Coupons.com is another – they do have sites which have coupons for Canadians, but I have just checked once again and in half a dozen pages, there is not one coupon of interest to me. Maybe we live a different kind of life to most people, eat different things, and don’t go out to eat much either. So maybe we are saving anyway, although our grocery bill still seems to come to a lot of money every week. I’ve never seen coupons for broccoli, lettuce, tomatoes, etc. Have you?

Yesterday I did my semi-annual job of printing up my blogs. I have mentioned Blog-2-Print or Shared Book before. They make up the books for you and you can choose three ways of having these books, an expensive hardcover, a less expensive soft cover or a downloadable version. I choose the latter for $7.95 and then print on 3 hole paper and store in 3 ring binders. I am now on my 5th large binder, I end up with over 400 pages a time for 6 months, I yap such a lot, LOL. Once I have printed them, Matt gets the joy of reading what I wrote for the last 6 months. The books aren’t perfect, for instance I just noticed ‘mor’ on one line and the ‘e’ on the next line, but generally they are pretty good, and certainly good enough for me.

Watching the movie Maid in Manhattan last night, they kept advertising a hair removal system called No No. I was somewhat interested as it is apparently such an easy device to use. Nowhere did they state a price, which means it must be expensive, right? I went to their web page, still no price but they had a $100 discount. Finally I found the machine on Amazon.com for $279. Yes, expensive. I will not be purchasing. It actually sounds like it looks like a good system, but unless you have that kind of money to spend…. I do not.

I’ve actually had a bit of a hankering for oatmeal lately, in the UK we call it porridge, and when I saw this Eating Well recipe I couldn’t resist it.

Overnight Oatmeal

http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/overnight_oatmeal.html

Here is an easy way to serve a crowd a hearty breakfast before facing the elements for a day of winter sports. You can assemble it in the slow cooker in the evening and wake up to a bowl of hot, nourishing oatmeal. The slow cooker eliminates the need for constant stirring and ensures an exceptionally creamy consistency. It is important to use steel-cut oats; old-fashioned oats become too soft during slow-cooking.

8 servings, 1 cup each | Active Time: 5 minutes | Total Time: 7 to 8 hours (slow-cooker time) - 1 hour 35 minutes (stovetop time)

Ingredients

8 cups water
2 cups steel-cut oats, (see Ingredient note)
1/3 cup dried cranberries
1/3 cup dried apricots, chopped
1/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste

Preparation

Combine water, oats, dried cranberries, dried apricots and salt in a 5- or 6-quart slow cooker. Turn heat to low. Put the lid on and cook until the oats are tender and the porridge is creamy, 7 to 8 hours. Stovetop Variation Halve the above recipe to accommodate the size of most double boilers: Combine 4 cups water, 1 cup steel-cut oats, 3 tablespoons dried cranberries, 3 tablespoons dried apricots and 1/8 teaspoon salt in the top of a double boiler. Cover and cook over boiling water for about 1 1/2 hours, checking the water level in the bottom of the double boiler from time to time.

Nutrition

Per serving :193 Calories; 3 g Fat; 0 g Sat; 1 g Mono; 0 mg Cholesterol; 34 g Carbohydrates; 6 g Protein; 9 g Fiber; 77 mg Sodium; 195 mg Potassium

Ingredient Note: Steel-cut oats, sometimes labeled "Irish oatmeal," look like small pebbles. They are toasted oat groats—the oat kernel that has been removed from the husk that have been cut in 2 or 3 pieces. Do not substitute regular rolled oats, which have a shorter cooking time, in the slow-cooker oatmeal recipe.

Have a great weekend

Homegroups, Social Medicine, The Drink of Kings, NY Resolution.

2012-01-06T07:00:00.000-05:00

Homegroup – I’m getting there!!! At least I am back to being able to contact my desktop from my laptop and to use the printer. Vice versa is a different story. I changed my firewall but don’t yet know if I have made a difference. Pain in the butt having lost it in the first place and not really knowing how or why. Maybe they just don’t want to talk to each other. These computers in this cartoon are a tad ancient, but fit the bill.

One of the major drawbacks with a socialised medical system is the time it takes to get treatment. I have just been given an appointment for an MRI in March – erm, I am in pain now and have been for 5 weeks, and you can’t do anything for another 2 months!!! Come on now. I still don’t know when I am going to see a specialist. I was under the impression that such waits had been speeded up, but obviously I was wrong. But at least I don’t have to pay anything. Funny, the girl who phoned to give me the appointment had to ask questions, in the first place she had added two years to my birthday, don’t need that thanks, then later she asked if I was pregnant, what, at my age, LOL.

Around Christmas time, an ezine I read had an interesting series of articles on Champagne. I have always been fond of Champagne as a drink, so were my parents which is where I got it from I guess. Anyway, I decided to do a bit of research and thanks to Wikipedia I found what I wanted to know. It does appear that it was not Dom Perignon who invented champagne, nor did he invent the méthode champenoise which is the way champagne has been made for many years, this was invented by an Englishman, Christopher Merret, around 1662. Dom Perignon did, however, make many improvements to the champagne of his time, which is why he has become so much associated with this wonderful drink. Technically only sparkling wines produced in the Champagne region of France are permitted to be called Champagnes. They even have to use a phrase such as méthode traditionelle to describe the making of their sparkling wines. The article is fascinating if you are interested in the origins of the beverage.

We often watch Wheel of Fortune in the evening prior to watching our favourite programme, Jeopardy. By the way the Jeopardy trials are coming up again, and I am wondering whether to try out once again. A recent competitor tried out for 16 years before making it and went home with $213,000 the other day, but I digress. What I was going to say – Vanna White, the hostess on Wheel of Fortune, said her New Year resolution was to cook a completely new dish every week. I thought what a wonderful idea. Don’t know if I can achieve that, but I might try for it.

This recipe comes from an Eating Well article on foods we should be eating. I am not sure about Japanese Yams, but as it is an American magazine, I assume we can obtain them in this part of the world. Agave nectar I have seen in the stores. Fried sage leaves are delicious

Green Soup with Yams & Sage

From EatingWell: September/October 2011

This kale-and-spinach soup has a beautiful complexity. It’s slightly sweet, with a bright note of lemon and the subtle aromatics of thyme, sage and garlic. Japanese yams are marvellously flavourful; they have a dark purplish skin and are snow-white inside. Ask for them at your farmers’ market or grocery, but if they are unavailable, regular sweet potatoes can be substituted. Recipe by Anna Thomas for Eating Well.

8 servings

Ingredients

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided, plus more for garnish

2 large onions, chopped

1 teaspoon salt, divided

2 tablespoons plus 4 cups water, divided

4 cloves garlic, sliced

1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme leaves or 1/2 teaspoon dried

1 large bunch Tuscan, lacinato or Russian kale

2 medium or 1 very large Japanese yam or regular sweet potato (about 1 1/4 pounds)

14 cups gently packed spinach (about 12 ounces), any tough stems trimmed

8 fresh sage leaves or 1 teaspoon crumbled dried

4 cups vegetable broth, store-bought or homemade

Pinch of cayenne pepper

Freshly ground pepper to taste

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice, or more to taste

1 tablespoon agave nectar, or more to taste (optional)

16 fried sage leaves for garnish (see above)

Preparation

Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large skillet over high heat. Add onions and 1/4 teaspoon salt; cook, stirring frequently, until the onions are beginning to brown, about 5 minutes. Reduce the heat to low, stir in 2 tablespoons water, garlic and thyme and cover. Cook, stirring frequently until the pan cools down, and then occasionally, always covering the pan again, until the onions are greatly reduced and have a deep caramel color, 25 to 35 minutes.
Meanwhile, remove tough stems and ribs from kale and coarsely chop the greens. Peel yam (or sweet potato) and dice into 1-inch pieces. Coarsely chop spinach; set aside.
Combine the remaining 4 cups water and 3/4 teaspoon salt in a soup pot or Dutch oven; add the kale, yam (or sweet potato) and sage. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to maintain a simmer, cover and cook for 15 minutes.
Stir in the spinach, return to a simmer, cover and cook, stirring once halfway through, for 10 minutes more. When the onions are caramelized, stir a little of the simmering liquid into them; add them to the soup. Add broth; return to a simmer, cover and cook for 5 minutes more.
Puree the soup in the pot with an immersion blender until perfectly smooth or in a regular blender in batches (return it to the pot). Stir in cayenne, a few grinds of pepper and 1 tablespoon lemon juice. If the soup is sweet to your taste, add more lemon juice; if it’s too tart, add agave nectar, if desired. Just before serving, whisk the remaining 1 tablespoon oil into the hot soup. Garnish each bowl of soup with a drizzle of oil and 2 fried sage leaves.

Nutrition

Per serving :124 Calories; 6 g Fat; 1 g Sat; 4 g Mono; 0 mg Cholesterol; 16 g Carbohydrates; 3 g Protein; 3 g Fiber; 565 mg Sodium; 365 mg Potassium

Tips & Notes

Make Ahead Tip: Cover and refrigerate for up to 3 days.

To make fried sage leaves: Set a small strainer over a heatproof bowl. Heat about 1/2 inch olive or canola oil in a small saucepan over medium-high heat until shimmering but not smoking. Add sage leaves; fry just until crisp, 1 to 3 minutes. Drain in the strainer then spread out on a paper towel until ready to use.

Have a great day

Movie, Cleaner, Health Report, PC Probs.

2012-01-05T07:00:00.001-05:00

Last night I watched Nannie McPhee Returns – I know I am too old for such movies, but I loved it. Especially the little twist near the end. I like Emma Thompson so much anyway, I think she is a brilliant actress. In this movie I particularly liked the pigs doing synchronised swimming. Maggie Smith was in it too, I always enjoy her performances, she is very good in the TV series I am watching, Downtown Abbey. Funny, once when I was a lot younger, I was told Maggie Smith and I looked alike, I could never see it, nor could anyone else.

My new cleaning lady came again today, she makes me somewhat ashamed, but I have never been very good at housework, my mother always had a cleaning woman and so did I for a lot of my life. These days I can’t manage much at all anyway and nor can Matt. The joys of getting older. I must confess I don’t really want to manage much mind you. She has also started working for a neighbour who tells me she is delighted with her work and has recommended her to a friend, I should ask for a quantity discount!! I guess I have one thing going for me, I may not be much of a housewife but I like and am good at cooking, she (the cleaner) doesn’t.

For those who asked about my health, I am still suffering from bursitis, if that’s what it is, although during the day I appear to be a lot better, although when I lay down in bed Wednesday night I was in agony. I have a CT scan scheduled for the 24th. But when I am likely to see the specialist, heaven knows. I just find it so difficult to believe I am having so much pain and they can do nothing to help. I thought modern medicine was better than that. Matt is supposed to have bursitis in his hip (odd for us both to have it) but luckily his doesn’t usually appear to be as disabling. I had to back out of a bowling tournament for Sunday much to my annoyance.

I’m having an irritating problem with my computers at the moment, I cannot for the life of me, get my Homegroup to work. Its driving me bonkers. I don’t really know why it stopped working in the first place, so I can no longer use my printer with my laptop from another room. As I said, irritating. No doubt it will get sorted eventually. It is such a useful thing to have because apart from printer sharing, I can start a blog on one computer and pick it up on the other if I wish.

I thought this recipe looked delicious when it came through from WebMD yesterday. I do get bored with the same ol’ same ol’ and am always looking for something different.

Brown Rice Pilaf
By The Gluten Free Goddess
WebMD Recipe from Foodily.com

There's no reason for rice to be boring. Spike it with flavor. See my below for ideas on jazzing up this classic pilaf recipe. Hummus makes a tasty condiment, perfect with pilaf (not to mention, it's a complementary vegan protein).

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small to medium red or yellow onion, diced fine
1 cup uncooked brown rice
2 1/2 cups hot gluten-free broth
2 tablespoons red or white wine (optional)
1/2 to 1 teaspoon spices, as you prefer (curry, cumin, saffron, cinnamon, thyme, mint, parsley)
1/2 cup golden raisins, currants, chopped dried apricots, or cranberries
1/3 cup slivered toasted almonds, walnuts, pine nuts, or pecans

Instructions

Heat the olive oil in a saucepan and saute the onion until softened.
Add the uncooked rice and lightly stir-fry for 2-3 minutes until the rice is nicely coated and begins to turn golden brown.
Add your spices and seasonings. Stir to coat.
Slowly pour in the hot vegetable broth and wine (it will steam; be careful); stir and bring to a boil.
Cover and reduce the heat to low.
Simmer until all the liquid is absorbed, about 45 minutes. Stir in the dried fruit bits and toasted nuts, and mix well. Cover and keep warm for a minute or two before serving.
Notes: To toast nuts for pilaf: Gently heat a dry skillet and lightly toast the nuts, shaking occasionally, for about 3-4 minutes. Remove the nuts and set aside.
Add sliced, stir-fried red and yellow peppers or roasted green chilies for a flavorful combo.
Flavor ideas: Mushrooms and cranberries, apricots and almonds, chopped tart apple and walnuts, roasted green chilies, and pine nuts.
Total Servings: 4

Nutritional Information Per Serving

Calories: 323
Carbohydrates: 55.0g
Cholesterol: 0mg
Fat: 10.2g
Saturated Fat: 1.4g
Fiber: 3.4g
Sodium: 39mg
Protein: 6.3g

Have a great day

Movie, Lottsa Romances.

2012-01-04T07:59:00.001-05:00

I rented the movie Dolphin Tale with Morgan Freeman being the only actor with whom I was familiar, great movie, based on a true story about a Dolphin; they designed a new prosthetic tail for her in order to save her life and incidentally to save the marine animal hospital where she was being treated. The movie tells the story of Winter, the young dolphin, and Sawyer who became her friend. Matt would have been green with envy – he has always wanted to swim with dolphins. So

I was recently lent a whole bag full of books which I have been working my way through. I just finished Tempting Torment by Jo Goodman. Not the kinds of books I usually read, but I especially enjoyed that one. It was a good story as well as being a hot romance. It turns out this author writes quite a few books about the same family, I will have to look out for more.

Short blog today as well as being late, for a number of reasons, health being one.

Apparently today is pasta day!!! That being so, obviously a pasta recipe is called for. I found this one on Cooking.com.

Baked Shells with Pesto, Mozzarella, and Meat Sauce

Source: Quick from Scratch – One Dish Meals

Serves 4

Here's a true crowd pleaser: pasta shells in a simple sauce of ground beef, tomatoes, and pesto, layered with mozzarella and Parmesan and baked until bubbly. Fusilli or orecchiette would work well here, too.
INGREDIENTS

1 tablespoon cooking oil

1 onion, chopped

1 pound ground beef

2 cups chopped canned tomatoes, drained (from one 28-ounce can)

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1/2 cup store-bought or homemade pesto

3/4 pound medium pasta shells

6 ounces mozzarella cheese, grated (about 1 1/2 cups)

1/4 cup grated Parmesan

DIRECTIONS

Heat the oven to 400 degrees F. Oil a large baking dish (about 9 by 13 inches).

In a large stainless-steel frying pan, heat the oil over moderately low heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until starting to soften, about 3 minutes. Stir in the ground beef and cook, breaking it up, until the meat is no longer pink, about 2 minutes. Drain off any excess fat.

Add the tomatoes and salt to the pan and bring to a simmer. Cook until most of the liquid evaporates, about 10 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the pesto.

Meanwhile, in a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook the shells until just done, about 10 minutes. Drain and toss with the sauce. Put half of the pasta into the prepared baking dish and top with half the mozzarella and 2 tablespoons of the Parmesan. Repeat with the remaining pasta, mozzarella, and Parmesan. Bake until bubbling, about 15 minutes.

Variation:

Almost any relatively soft, mild cheese will taste good here. You might try fontina in place of the mozzarella, or even Gouda or Havarti.

Have a great day

Snow, Arsonist, Missing Dog.

2012-01-03T07:00:00.000-05:00

Monday morning we got up to see lots of the white stuff, looks like it had been snowing all night. However, the buses were running so we guessed it wouldn’t be too bad. Matt went bowling later and said the roads weren’t bad at all. However, it did a lot of snowing after that and on the news last night they were talking about how the snow had caught people by surprise as they seemed to think winter had been cancelled!!!

Also on the news last night, they had apparently caught the arsonist in California, a German National in a car with BC plates who has a grudge against America because of immigration problems or something. So why burn people’s cars? Illogical. At least no-one was hurt, but he set fire to a hell of a lot of cars.

I forgot to mention a local story, someone took their dog to the New Year’s Eve fireworks display and now the dog is missing. What fools. In the first place the dog cannot have been on a leash and in the second place, everyone knows dogs are terrified of big bangs. I could slap these people silly. Now they are advertising for a lost dog. If I found the dog I’m not sure I would give it back.

I couldn’t resist this recipe could I? Chocolate after all. I have reprinted the whole article. They are classified as healthy eating, but the calorie count isn’t exactly low.

Nutella Scones

By The Food Gal
WebMD Recipe from Foodily.com

Hazelnut heaven-that’s exactly what these scones are.

Aren’t you just getting giddy looking at how thoroughly packed with crunchy hazelnuts they are?

One of my favorite baking books from 2008 was “Baked: New Frontiers in Baking” (Stewart, Tabori & Chang) by Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito, who own the Baked bakery in Brooklyn, NY. So I was thrilled to hear that the duo just brought out a sequel to that book. “Baked Explorations” (Stewart, Tabori & Chang), which offers 75 more recipes for irresistible homespun baked goods that are equally straightforward to make and yield exceptionally spot-on flavors.

The recipe for “Nutella Scones” caught my eye immediately after I received a review copy of the new book. Made with Nutella, toasted hazelnuts and cocoa powder, these beauties bake up as dark as a pan of brownies.

They look like they’d be too rich and heavy to enjoy for breakfast or brunch. But trust me, looks are deceiving. The crumb is actually quite light, crisp and crumbly. And the cocoa powder adds a hint of chocolate without hitting you over the head senseless with it.

With any scone dough, be sure not to over-mix or else you’ll end up with leaden, tough baked goods. Never a good thing.

A generous amount of toasted, chopped hazelnuts gets stirred into the dough, before it is gently patted into a rectangle. A bit of Nutella or hazelnut praline paste is spread on top of the dough, before it is rolled up jelly roll-style. Then, you stand the roll of dough up on one end and gently flatten it down until you have a thick disk. Cut out wedges and bake.

When the scones come out of the oven, heat a little more Nutella or hazelnut praline paste in the microwave until the texture is more pourable, and then drizzle over the top of each scone like glaze on cake.

These scones are loaded with hazelnut flavor. They also have that hidden surprise inside of a swirl of Nutella or hazelnut paste.

Take a bite, and prepare to go absolutely nutty for them.

Ingredients

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup dark unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into chunks
1 large egg
1/2 cup heavy cream
3/4 cup toasted hazelnuts, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup Nutella or hazelnut praline paste, divided use

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees and place rack in the center. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, whisk flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt until combined.

Add butter. Use your fingertips to rub it into the flour until the butter is pea size and the mixture is coarse.

Instructions continued...

In a separate bowl, whisk together egg and cream. Slowly pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir until dough just comes together. Gently and briefly knead dough with your hands. Add toasted hazelnuts and knead gently to incorporate. Flatten dough into a rectangle approximately 6 by 12 inches (it does not need to be precise) and spread 1/4 cup Nutella or hazelnut praline paste on top in a crisscross pattern. Roll dough up to make a cylinder about 6 inches long, turn it on its end, and gently flatten it into a disk about 1 3/4 inches high. Do not overwork the dough.

Cut the dough into 6 or 8 wedges and place them on a prepared baking sheet. Bake scones for 18 to 20 minutes, rotating baking sheet halfway through, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a scone comes out clean. Do not over bake.

Transfer scones to a wire rack to cool completely. Place baking sheet with parchment still on it on the rack.

Heat remaining 1/4 cup Nutella or hazelnut praline paste in a microwave until pourable, about 10 seconds on high. Pierce tops of the scones a few times with a fork. Use a spoon (or two spoons — one to scoop, one to scrape) to drip warm Nutella or hazelnut praline paste in a zigzag pattern over the tops of the hot scones. Transfer them to a refrigerator to set for 5 minutes, then serve immediately.

Most scones have a lifespan of 24 hours or less; however, these scones taste pretty darn good on day two provided you wrap them tightly and store them at room temperature.

Total Servings: 8

Nutritional Information Per Serving

Calories: 383
Carbohydrates: 40.6g
Cholesterol: 60mg
Fat: 22.9g
Saturated Fat: 13.5g
Fiber: 4.3g
Sodium: 231mg
Protein: 7.4g

Have a great day

Medic Alert, Paper Towel, General, TV.

2012-01-02T07:00:00.000-05:00

Hope you all had a fabulous New Year’s Eve. Happy New Year.

I forgot to mention that on Friday I received my new Medic Alert bracelet which we then had trouble figuring out how to fasten on my wrist. Matt finally managed to sort it out. This one in the picture is Australian, but it looks like mine. I have to wear it with my watch as when I bowl I wear a wrist guard and I would never be able to remove the bracelet, shouldn’t do so anyway.

News on Sunday says paper towels in washrooms may not be the healthiest thing to use. The paper tends to retain bacillus and other contaminants particularly if it is recycled paper. Read the article, it is not actually a definite source of illness, but it isn’t a nice thought that you are drying your hands on contaminated paper.

For the first time ever, we have taken down our decorations before Epiphany. The reason being, the cleaner will be in the day before and our tree sheds as badly as a real one so she might as well vacuum that as well as the rest. Funny we have had this tree for many years and Matt was looking at its box, it was about $49 when we bought it and has done sterling service. How much a similar tree would cost today, I dread to think.

What snow we had for the New Year has just about gone now as it rained heavens hard on Sunday morning. Sunday afternoon and evening it was blowing a gale, very odd weather. They are talking more snow coming, but not much other than flurries I believe.

I watched the final episode of Downtown Abbey last night. Wonderful programme, next week they begin Series II. I am surprised how much I had forgotten of the programme I saw last night except for the announcement that England was at war with Germany, that being the First World War of course. I think it is beautifully acted and the characters are very real. I started watching it by accident last year and loved every episode so far. I wouldn’t mind getting the series on DVD but they aren’t cheap. Bit pointless as I would be the only one watching it.

Eating Well are promoting a diet at the moment and the following recipe is one they are recommending. To me it looks delicious and will be one I shall be trying quite soon – when I’m up to cooking again that is.

Mediterranean Wrap

From EatingWell: May/June 2010

This wrap is stuffed with chicken tenders and couscous with a hit of lemon and a healthy dose of fresh herbs. Save any leftovers to wrap up for an easy lunch. Serve with: Mixed green salad and a glass of crisp white wine.

4 servings

Ingredients

1/2 cup water
1/3 cup couscous, preferably whole-wheat
1 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/2 cup chopped fresh mint
1/4 cup lemon juice
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1/4 teaspoon salt, divided
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 pound chicken tenders
1 medium tomato, chopped
1 cup chopped cucumber
4 10-inch spinach or sun-dried tomato wraps or tortillas

Preparation

Bring water to a boil in a small saucepan. Stir in couscous and remove from the heat. Cover and let stand for 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork. Set aside.
Meanwhile, combine parsley, mint, lemon juice, oil, garlic, 1/8 teaspoon salt and pepper in a small bowl.
Toss chicken tenders in a medium bowl with 1 tablespoon of the parsley mixture and the remaining 1/8 teaspoon salt. Place the tenders in a large nonstick skillet and cook over medium heat until cooked though, 3 to 5 minutes per side. Transfer to a clean cutting board. Cut into bite-size pieces when cool enough to handle.
Stir the remaining parsley mixture into the couscous along with tomato and cucumber.
To assemble wraps, spread about 3/4 cup of the couscous mixture onto each wrap. Divide the chicken among the wraps. Roll the wraps up like a burrito, tucking in the sides to hold the ingredients in. Serve cut in half.

Nutrition

Per serving :479 Calories; 17 g Fat; 3 g Sat; 11 g Mono; 67 mg Cholesterol; 49 g Carbohydrates; 34 g Protein; 5 g Fiber; 653 mg Sodium; 382 mg Potassium

Have a great day

New Year, 911, She.

2011-12-31T07:01:00.000-05:00

For the first time in years, I don’t expect to be up at midnight tonight and will not see the ball drop in Times Square – I can’t remember the last time I didn’t stay up. I will definitely be toasting it with a glass of champers though even if too early. I guess it will be New Year somewhere in the world when I go to bed.

We didn’t get any mail til Thursday and then I just realised there will be another holiday on Monday. Lovely if you are working, a pain in the neck if you are not.

A list of stupid 911 (999 to Brits) calls was issued yesterday by the police in Chatham, Kent, Ontario. The top one; someone actually called emergency to tell them her cats had eaten her Whopper burger and she wanted another one. The top 10 silliest emergency calls are listed here. The police say they think drink was a factor in some of the calls.

I made a request for She on the radio yesterday, I got Charles Aznavour, what I really wanted was Paul Byrom from Celtic Thunder. Actually I don’t think he is with Celtic Thunder any more, pity.

Yesterday I gave my recipe for Champagne Cocktails, I should say Matt’s recipe, out on the local radio. I thought this would be an appropriate time to share the recipe with you again.

Champagne Cocktails

To each glass

Add 1 cube or 1 tsp sugarI

A small piece of orange zest

A couple of splashes of Angostura Bitters

¼ shot of brandy

Top glass up with chilled champagne.

You do not need to buy expensive champagne for this. You also need to be very careful as these can be lethal (figuratively speaking, of course).

Happy New Year

Snow, History, Homemade Soup.

2011-12-30T07:00:00.001-05:00

Yesterday it snowed all day, began to look really lovely and wintery. Almost like Christmas which of course it missed. However this morning we have warmer temps and are supposed to get rain so how long it will all last, I have no idea.

I am ashamed of myself, I have been getting English history lessons from an American, Sia McKye. We have been talking of King John about whom I know very little – as I said to Sia – history was not my forte at school and I guess what I have learned since has generally stuck to particular periods of time and not covered everything. I had no idea that John had had his problems with the Pope as well as Henry VIII of the 6 wives fame. I was not the world’s best student, I had many more things in which I was interested when I was at school and I don’t think my father really believed girls needed much education (old school) and if he wanted to sail across the seas removing my home and therefore me with it, it never occurred to him not to do so. It always staggered him in later life that I could hold my own in an intelligent conversation with people he considered somewhat erudite. My mother was an intelligent woman but came from a generation where it was considered better to downplay that side of her nature. Makes me wonder where I got my somewhat feminist ideas from.

Over the last few nights I have watched Happy Feet and The Full Monty on TV both of which I enjoyed again, Matt didn’t watch Happy Feet and thought little of The Full Monty which did surprise me, I thought he would enjoy it. I haven’t seen Happy Feet 2 yet. I had forgotten much of both movies. I though Mumble was an adorable character. From the reviews, it sounds like his son cannot dance in the second movie.

Last night I made ham and bean soup for supper, it was pretty good. Only used up 2 cups of ham though, so we still have some left, not much though. I found recipes which involved soaking white beans and then cooking them with a ham hock, etc.etc. I am quite sure they would be good soups, but I decided to take the easy way out. Still not up to much in the way of cooking or doing much else.

Jo’s Ham and Bean Soup

A few ribs of celery (we didn’t have a lot left)
1 large carrot
1 onion
2 cloves garlic
1-2 tsp dry mustard
1 – 2 oz shredded cabbage
4 cups chicken stock
2 bay leaves
1 can of white beans (navy, cannellini, whatever you have)
2 cups chopped cooked ham.

We chopped all the vegetables and then added them to the stock -with the mustard and bay leaves. I simmered them for about 1/2 an hour until the vegetables were done. I then added the beans and ham and adjusted seasoning to taste. Don’t forget ham adds salt so be careful. Serve with crusty bread and enjoy, we did.

Have a great day

Monitor, Roundabouts, CPP

2011-12-29T07:00:00.000-05:00

Well, well, well, after all that fussing, my new monitor has an auto button and it fixed everything all by itself. Ain’t technology wonderful? I must say I am tickled pink with the difference between my old and new monitor. The old one worked fine in one sense, but technology has changed so much, the pictures I was getting just weren’t very good at all. Not only that, I have just realised that I can read the type even when the sun is blazing on it. Thought only Kindle could do that. What do I know? What I find really frustrating is that I cannot use my desktop for any length of time, hurts my shoulder too much. Ah well. Thinking about it, I’m amazed I put up with the old one so long, but I figured it worked OK, so why change? By the way, we had to pay $10 to dispose of the old monitor. Part of the new law apparently.

Something I have been meaning to mention – when we first came to Ontario, one never saw roundabouts on any of the roads, now the Ontarians have gone nuts and roundabouts are appearing all over the place. I figured I should send them pix of the roundabouts in Albufeira, Portugal, I was absolutely fascinated by them when we were there. This is a postcard I bought whilst we were there to show the local roundabouts. There are three shown, one with dolphins, one with watches and one with worms. I think it would be fun to do something similar with the new roundabouts in our part of Ontario. I don’t know if its being done all over the province, but its incredible how many roundabouts we now have which have been built in the last 10 years or less. Not that people really know how to use them. I wonder if that has been added to the driving instruction manuals etc.?

People employed in Canada are not overjoyed to know that their pay cheques will be a bit lighter in the New Year as they now have to pay more towards the Canada Pension Plan. Maybe a pain now, but they will be glad of it when retirement rolls around. Not enough people pay heed to their futures and don’t realise just how important these contributions are. Of course, right now, they are contributing to my pensions at the moment, thanks guys, but their extra contributions will come back to them in the end. Its like some of the benefits we used to get as pensioners which have been bargained away by the current employees who will, I believe, regret that when they in turn become pensioners. One thing comes to mind, out of country medical coverage which we used to have but don’t have any longer.

I am doing another stint on the local radio again on Friday at 11:30 a.m. if you are not local you can go to www.ckwr.com and hear the broadcast there. If you are local, its 98.5 fm.

Still following the New Year’s plan for a possible party, here is another finger food recipe which sounds pretty good.

Mini Mushroom-and-Sausage Quiches

1 dozen mini quiches

These crustless mini quiches are like portable omelets. Turkey sausage and sautéed mushrooms keep them light and savory. Small and satisfying, they're also a good finger food for your next cocktail party.
Make Ahead Tip: Individually wrap in plastic and refrigerate for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 1 month. To reheat, remove plastic, wrap in a paper towel and microwave on High for 30 to 60 seconds.

INGREDIENTS

8 ounces turkey breakfast sausage, removed from casing and crumbled into small pieces

1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil

8 ounces mushrooms, sliced

1/4 cup sliced scallions

1/4 cup shredded Swiss cheese

1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

5 eggs

3 egg whites

1 cup 1% milk

Tip: A good-quality nonstick muffin tin works best for this recipe. If you don't have one, line a regular muffin tin with foil baking cups.

DIRECTIONS

Position rack in center of oven; preheat to 325 degrees F.
Coat a nonstick muffin tin generously with cooking spray (see Tip above).

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add sausage and cook until golden brown, 6 to 8 minutes. Transfer to a bowl to cool. Add oil to the pan. Add mushrooms and cook, stirring often, until golden brown, 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer mushrooms to the bowl with the sausage. Let cool for 5 minutes. Stir in scallions, cheese and pepper.

Whisk eggs, egg whites and milk in a medium bowl. Divide the egg mixture evenly among the prepared muffin cups. Sprinkle a heaping tablespoon of the sausage mixture into each cup.

Bake until the tops are just beginning to brown, 25 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Place a rack on top of the pan, flip it over and turn the quiches out onto the rack. Turn upright and let cool completely.

Have a great day

Funnies, Doc, Christmas Monitor.

2011-12-28T07:00:00.000-05:00

I mentioned before that we are having quite major work done in our building which was supposed to take 2-3 weeks. Sadly, it is still going on. There are notices all over the place telling us what is happening and the one by the elevator on our floor carries a comment about being overdue and then someone else has written “way past schudel”. My first laugh for the day. My second laugh was the collision outfit in Cambridge who always post funny comments, today’s was “He who gets the last laugh didn’t get it”. I was looking for a laugh type picture and came across this one with all the flamingos which really made me grin. I couldn’t figure out what they were at first.

Went to see the doc again this morning, had to get up an extra hour early to get through my morning pain problems, pills, icing, etc. then, much to our surprise, we got there and she took me in straight away, I was very pleased. She commented on how lucky we are in this part of the world and that its Christmas every day compared with how some people have to live. She’s right, but I was not in the mood to give a damn. However, it turned out that she had scheduled me to visit a specialist whenever he can find time to see me and she said she would phone him again to try and urge him on. She also is scheduling me for all the tests he is likely to give me so that when I do see him, they have all been done. This made me feel better in my mind if not in my shoulder. For those not living where there is social medicine, one of the principle problems is getting to see a specialist, it often does take time, I guess there aren’t enough of them or something, however, for all these tests and for my eventual appointment I won’t have to pay a cent. That is one of the major benefits of social medicine in as much as everyone can get free medical treatment. Yes, we pay higher taxes, but it makes a hell of a difference when you need a major operation and you don’t have to worry about paying for it.

Then, on the way home, we dropped in at Staples and bought me a new flat screen monitor – my Christmas present. It was actually very reasonably priced and the sales girl assured me that if I wasn’t into gaming or things that needed major screen use, it would be just fine for me. I am delighted with it. What a difference in the resolution. Things I haven’t been able to my see very well look great now. Only trouble is, because of my shoulder problems I can’t sit at my desktop at the moment, hurts too much. Also I have a slight problem with the Windows Live Writer which is where I compose my blog as its not fitting right and my brain isn’t working very well so I can’t for the life of me figure out how to fix it. I emailed my PC guy who reminded me to check the manual and then I remembered that you have to set various buttons on monitors, so long since I had a new one, I had forgotten. Only problem is, at the moment I cannot sit comfortably at my desktop for very long, certainly not long enough. It works well enough for now and I will do my blogs, which is the main problem, on my laptop where I cannot type worth a damn.

Some of you may be planning a party for New Year’s, I thought this would be a quick and easy addition. Spinach again, but it is a tasty ingredient in finger foods. Useful too, you can freeze them and take some out of the freezer when required.

Make-Ahead Spinach Phyllo Roll-Ups

Kraft Kitchens.

30 servings or 5 logs, 6 servings each

What You Need

1 egg, beaten

1 pkg. (10 oz.) frozen chopped spinach, thawed, well drained

1 cup ATHENOS Traditional Crumbled Feta Cheese

1 tub (8 oz.) PHILADELPHIA Garden Vegetable 1/3 Less Fat than Cream Cheese

4 green onions, finely chopped

15 sheets frozen phyllo dough (14x9 inch), thawed

1/3 cup butter, melted

Make It

MIX first 5 ingredients until well blended. Brush 1 phyllo sheet lightly with butter; top with 2 more phyllo sheets, lightly brushing each layer with some of the remaining butter. Place remaining phyllo between sheets of plastic wrap; set aside.

SPREAD 1/5 of the spinach mixture along one short side of phyllo stack. Fold in long sides of phyllo; roll up from one short side to make log. Repeat with remaining phyllo sheets and spinach mixture. Brush with remaining butter. Make small cuts in tops of logs at 1-inch intervals. Place in large freezer-weight resealable plastic bags or wrap tightly in plastic wrap.

FREEZE up to 3 months. When ready to bake, remove desired number of logs from freezer. Refrigerate, tightly wrapped, several hours or overnight until thawed. Unwrap, then place on baking sheet. Bake in 375°F oven for 25 min. or until golden brown. Cool 5 min. Transfer to cutting board. Use serrated knife to cut each log into 6 slices.

Kraft Kitchens Tips

Storage Know-How

Leftover phyllo sheets can be wrapped tightly and refrozen.

How to Prepare with 18x14-inch Phyllo Sheets

Use a total of 9 phyllo sheets, spreading 1/3 of the filling on each stack of 3 sheets and rolling up each stack to make a total of 3 logs. Freeze and bake as directed. Cut each log into 10 slices to serve.

Variation

Omit butter. Spray phyllo sheets with cooking spay instead of brushing with the melted butter.

Have a great day.

Not much of a Blog

2011-12-27T07:00:00.000-05:00

I honestly have nothing to write about today. I have spent the best part of the last 3 1/2 weeks feeling sorry for myself and am off to see the doctor once again this morning – for what I’m not really sure. I had to get up extra early in order to get over the major pain attack I have when I first get out of bed. So, my apologies today.

If you were shopping yesterday, hope you managed to get some bargains without getting pepper sprayed, what is the matter with people, nothing is that important surely.

I’ve always liked stuffed mushrooms and have posted recipes for them before, this is a new one, to me, and so I thought I would share it.

Spinach Cheese Mushrooms

Source: Cooking.com

28 Servings (serving size: 2 each)

You'd never know it from the delicious creaminess, but these bite-size hors d'oeuvres are guilt-free.

INGREDIENTS

1/2 pound torn fresh spinach

2 tablespoons water

3/4 cup reduced-fat ricotta cheese

3 tablespoons butter or stick margarine, softened

1 egg

2/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/2 cup water chestnuts, chopped

1/3 cup finely chopped pecans, divided

56 large fresh mushrooms (about 3 1/2 pounds)

Refrigerated butter-flavored spray

DIRECTIONS

In a saucepan, bring spinach and water to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and cook for 3 minutes. Drain; squeeze dry and finely chop.

In a mixing bowl, beat ricotta and butter until smooth. Beat in egg. Stir in Parmesan cheese, water chestnuts, 3 tablespoons pecans and chopped spinach.

Remove stems from mushrooms (discard or save for another use). Spray inside of mushroom caps with butter-flavored spray. Place caps on a baking sheet coated with nonstick cooking spray. Stuff with spinach mixture; sprinkle with remaining pecans. Bake, uncovered, at 400 degrees F for 15-20 minutes or until lightly browned.

Have a great day

Boxing Day.

2011-12-26T09:04:00.001-05:00

Today, in Canada, is Boxing Day. Same in the UK. Not in the US though, I am not sure why the Americans have never started having Boxing Day. They do, however, have sales today, they say this is one of the biggest sale days of the year, if not THE biggest. Not for me mama, I like to save money, but not at the risk of life and limb nor all the lining up and scrambling that will be taking place in stores today.

As for yesterday, we ended up cooking a turkey breast as I was just not up to going out. I am still in screaming agony for part of the day and the thought of wandering around a buffet just didn’t work for me. Pity, the food is excellent. However, so was our turkey breast. Otherwise we just spent a quiet day having ham and champagne for brunch and relaxing for most of the afternoon.

Here’s something fairly simple after all the cooking we have been doing lately.

Quick French Onion Soup

WebMD Recipe from EatingWell.com

French onion soup is a favorite but it usually isn’t substantial enough to make a complete meal. We’ve solved this problem by adding fiber-rich chickpeas to a broth flavored with sherry and three kinds of onions. Of course, we didn’t forget the gooey topping, we’ve just made it a little lighter and a lot easier to prepare at home—simply top toasted whole-wheat bread with cheese and pour the soup on to melt it.

Servings: 6

Yield: 6 servings, 1 1/2 cups each

Total Time: 45 minutes

Prep Time: 45 minutes

Recipe Ingredients:

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
2 large sweet onions, sliced
2 cups chopped spring onions or leeks, whites and light green parts only
2 tablespoons chopped garlic
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme or 1/4 teaspoon dried
1/4 cup dry sherry (see Ingredient Note)
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
3 14-ounce cans reduced-sodium beef broth
1 15-ounce can chickpeas, rinsed
1/4 cup minced fresh chives or scallions
6 slices whole-wheat country bread
1 cup shredded Gruyère or fontina cheese

Recipe Steps:

Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add sweet onions and stir to coat. Cover, reduce heat to medium and cook, stirring often, until softened and starting to brown, 6 to 8 minutes. Add spring onions (or leeks), garlic and thyme and cook, uncovered, stirring often, until starting to soften, 3 to 4 minutes.
Stir in sherry and pepper; increase heat to medium-high and bring to a simmer. Cook, stirring often, until most of the liquid has evaporated, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in broth and chickpeas and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook until the vegetables are tender, about 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in chives (or scallions).
Meanwhile, toast bread and divide it among 6 bowls; top with cheese. Ladle the soup over the bread and cheese and serve immediately.

Recipe Tips & Notes:

Ingredient note: Sherry is a type of fortified wine originally from southern Spain. Don’t use the "cooking sherry" sold in many supermarkets—it can be surprisingly high in sodium. Instead, purchase dry sherry that’s sold with other fortified wines in your wine or liquor store.

Recipe Nutrition:

Per serving: 374 calories; 10 g fat (4 g saturated fat, 4 g mono unsaturated fat); 20 mg cholesterol; 48 g carbohydrates; 18 g protein; 6 g fiber; 591 mg sodium; 555 mg potassium

Have a great Boxing Day

Fairy Tale Home, Prince Philip, Mistletoe

2011-12-24T07:00:00.000-05:00

Fascinating article which I found on Facebook yesterday about a man building a fairy tale home for his family for only £3,000 – basically not much money for a home, whatever currency you are used to. The man, Simon Dale, built his home in Wales and from the pictures it looks the most fascinating place to live. Do check out the pictures, a wonderful place to live, particularly for a young family. The report was in Gaia Health.

Apparently Prince Philip had an emergency operation to relieve a blocked coronary artery on Friday. Considering the man is in his 90s I guess its not surprising a few things are going wrong. Its a pretty good age for a man The Queen herself is 85. I hope all goes well with the operation on the Duke of Edinburgh’s artery. Many people are anti royalist these days, but I am not one of them. Next year is the Queen’s Jubilee by the way so there will be lots of celebrations in Britain.

Funny one, there is a shortage of mistletoe which they say thwarts Christmas kissers. I haven’t seen mistletoe for sale for years nor seen it used in decorations anywhere. I can’t imagine it stopping anyone having a kiss if they want one!!

I also can’t imagine anyone wanting a recipe today as they will be up to their ears in Christmas cooking so I will refrain. I hope you all have a wonderful time over the next few days, don’t eat too much or drink too much, as though anyone will listen to me. Remember the girl falling under the train.

Have a great Christmas

Dangers of Drink, Health, Siku, Math’s Geniuses.

2011-12-23T07:00:00.000-05:00

This is the most incredible story, there are lots of problems with drunkenness, but this story which I came across in August Mayfield’s Diaries, takes the biscuit. A woman gets out of a train and then staggers back falling underneath it. August assures me the woman was basically unhurt. She is so lucky.

Sorry about the lack of blog yesterday, I went to Let it Heal the afternoon before and then we went to a friend’s for supper which was very enjoyable, however, through all this I was in a lot of pain and by the time we got home, I had had enough. After the treatment one is supposed to avoid pain killers but it got just too bad, so I took some and went to bed. Just didn’t feel up to blogging at all. Hope you enjoyed the story of the sparkly pants though. I am aware that with Bowen Therapy it is perfectly possible for the situation to get worse before it gets better, this is the first time that’s happened to me though and I assure you its not funny. I have another appointment next week, but I do hope things will have calmed down by Christmas though. Of course when one is sick and feeling sorry for oneself, there are always continuous reminders of others who are worse off.

Cute story about a polar bear cub, Siku, which is to be raised by hand because his mother had no milk. He will need 24/7 care and attention for the first year of his life and there are three staff allocated to do this in the Swedish zoo where Siku lives. There is a video which can be seen here.

Another funny story on CBC news tells that pigeons’ math skills are as good as monkeys’. I wonder why anyone would think to test this kind of thing, but apparently they did. Apparently scientists had previously thought only humans could learn certain abstract math skills, but through research they have been proved wrong. Now there’s something, my math skills have never been good, but I didn’t realise I could be outdone by a pigeon or a monkey come to that.

Damn I found what looked like a lovely recipe to share, but when I checked it out, it was full of ingredients that most of us don’t carry in our store cupboards, I know I certainly don’t. Pity, it was for muffins which looked delicious. Anyway, according to Eating Well this recipe is one of several which will lift your spirits and promote a happier mood; of course, its chocolate!!!

Mini Molten Chocolate Cakes with Mocha Sauce

From EatingWell: January/February 2007

Some molten-cake recipes call for simply underbaking the batter so the middles stay lava-like, but mini cakes get done so quickly it's best to give them a filling that won't set up. These rich, mocha-flavored morsels are guaranteed to stay moist and gooey, owing to a simple mocha ganache in the middle. Serve the cakes with a scoop of low-fat coffee ice cream and garnish with a chocolate-covered espresso bean, if desired.

6 servings, 2 cakes each

Ingredients

4 ounces dark or bittersweet chocolate, (60-75% cacao), coarsely chopped
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into chunks
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons light cream
2 teaspoons instant espresso powder, or granules dissolved in 1 tablespoon hot water, divided
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
1 large egg
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt
5 tablespoons confectioners' sugar
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
1-3 teaspoons very hot water

Preparation

Position rack in center of oven; preheat to 350°F. Generously coat the mini muffin pan with cooking spray.
Place chocolate and butter in a medium microwave-safe bowl. (Alternatively, see “No Microwave?” below.) Microwave on High for 1 minute. Stir well, then continue microwaving on Medium, stirring every 20 seconds, until the remaining chocolate melts completely.
To prepare filling: Stir together granulated sugar, cream and half the espresso mixture in a small microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on High just to steaming, 20 to 40 seconds. (Alternatively, combine in a small saucepan and heat over medium-low heat until just steaming.) Stir until the sugar dissolves. Add corn syrup and half the melted chocolate (reserve the other half for the batter); stir until completely smooth. Cover and transfer to the freezer until cold and firm, about 30 minutes.
To prepare batter: When the filling has been chilling for 20 minutes, whisk egg, oil, vanilla, salt and the remaining espresso mixture in a medium bowl until very smooth. Return the remaining chocolate mixture to the microwave. Microwave on Medium, stirring every 20 seconds, until just warm again (do not overheat). In two batches, whisk the egg mixture into the warm chocolate until well blended. Sift confectioners' sugar, flour and cocoa over the batter and whisk in just until smoothly incorporated.
To assemble cakes: Remove the filling from the freezer. Spoon half the batter into the mini muffin cups, about 1 rounded teaspoon per cup. Spoon 1/2 teaspoon filling onto the center of each (reserve the rest for the sauce). Divide the remaining batter evenly among the muffin cups, about 1 rounded teaspoon per cake. Smooth out the batter to cover the filling.
Bake the cakes on the middle rack until the edges look dry and puffed but the centers still look very underdone and puddinglike, 6 to 9 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack until firm, about 2 minutes. Place a cutting board on top of the pan and invert the mini cakes out onto it. If the cakes are stuck to the pan, run a knife around and under them to loosen.
To prepare sauce & serve: Thoroughly stir very hot water into the reserved filling, 1 teaspoon at a time, until very smooth and slightly fluid. Serve the warm cakes drizzled with the sauce.

Nutrition

Per serving :244 Calories; 17 g Fat; 7 g Sat; 3 g Mono; 49 mg Cholesterol; 27 g Carbohydrates; 3 g Protein; 2 g Fiber; 64 mg Sodium; 30 mg Potassium

2 Carbohydrate Serving

Exchanges: 2 other carbohydrate, 3 fat

Tips & Notes

Make Ahead Tip: Prepare through Step 5, cover and refrigerate for up to 2 days. After baking (Step 6), the cakes will keep in the pan, tightly covered with foil, for up to 1 day. The sauce (Step 7) will keep, covered, in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. To serve, reheat the cakes in the covered pan at 350°F for 10-12 minutes. Reheat the sauce in a microwave on Medium for about 20 seconds. | Equipment: 12-cup mini muffin pan

No Microwave? Melt chocolate in a double boiler instead: Place chopped chocolate in the top of a double boiler over hot, but not boiling water. Gently stir until the chocolate is almost melted. Remove from the heat and stir until it melts completely.

Have a great day

Sparkles

2011-12-22T07:00:00.000-05:00

Forgot to mention the other day, when we had our bowling Christmas party we were all given Christmas ornaments and we got a couple of sparkly birds which dripped sparkles like rain showers. Later in the day I lay down on the bed still clothed, when I got up I decided to undress and didn’t put on the light, I had flashing lights inside my pants? I could only figure it was these sparkles, didn’t work on anything else though, but it was like a miniature firework display, very odd!!!

Sorry no blog today.

Pass the Cream, RCMP, Let it Heal

2011-12-21T07:00:00.000-05:00

Well, here is a complete reversal, go back to real milk, cheese and cream. I have been drinking skim milk for over 40 years as it was supposed to be better for me although I must admit having tried what pass for fat free cheeses, I never, but never, eat them. If I want cheese, I eat full fat in moderate quantities or not at all. Matt uses 2% milk because he finds skim to taste like chalk and water, I have been using it so long, I don’t notice and regular or full fat milk tastes like cream to me, but guess what, after reading this article, I will be back to regular milk. I will probably continue to use Becel which is margarine a) because I like it and b) because it spreads straight from the fridge, not only that, it is loaded with Omega 3. We do use butter for cooking, but for every day we use Becel. We use a lot of olive or canola oil too.

Big scandal in Canada right now, women RCMP officers, or retired officers, are complaining about sexual harassment in the force. This will not reflect well on one of Canada’s icons, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. The women are complaining about everything from bullying to sexual harassment. One wonders how this is all going to turn out. For non-Canadians, RCMP officers in their red jackets is not something one sees very often. Prior to living here I figured one saw them all the time, t’aint so I’m afraid, in fact they don’t dress in their traditional uniform all the time anyway.

Today I am off to Let It Heal – never been to their new location, they are not in an area with which we are familiar, hope we find the place OK. Never understood why they moved so far out. Maybe I will find out tomorrow. Keep your fingers cross for me everyone. I am sick of being in so much pain.

I have no idea what Snickerdoodles are, but they look good enough to eat in this picture and they seem simple enough to make. Bearing in mind my opening paragraph, I would use butter.

Toffee Studded Snickerdoodles

Hershey’s

Ingredients

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine, softened

1/2 cup shortening

1-1/3 cups sugar, divided

2 eggs

2-3/4 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons cream of tartar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1-1/3 cups (8-oz. pkg.) HEATH BITS 'O BRICKLE Toffee Bits

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Directions

1 Heat oven to 400°F.
2 Beat butter, shortening and 1 cup sugar in large bowl until fluffy. Add eggs; beat thoroughly. Stir together flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt; gradually add to butter mixture, beating until well blended. Stir in toffee bits.
3 Stir together remaining 1/3 cup sugar and cinnamon. Shape dough into 1-1/4-inch balls; roll in sugar-cinnamon mixture. Place on ungreased cookie sheet.
4 Bake 9 to 11 minutes or until lightly browned around edges. Cool slightly; remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Cool completely. About 5 dozen cookies.

Have a great day

Books, Bowling Party,

2011-12-20T07:00:00.003-05:00

Yesterday morning I read Sia’s blog, Sia McKye Over Coffee (see link this page) and she was talking to Terry Spear, mostly about her new book Dreaming of the Wolf. So I figured, why not, and got hold of a copy to read. Amazon have it in Kindle as well as book form. I am in the middle of my N.K. Jemisin book, Kingdom of Gods, which I mentioned the other day, but now I have another book to follow on with. I haven’t been reading very much lately, just haven’t felt up to it.

I did go to the bowling Christmas party yesterday, enjoyed seeing everyone as I haven’t seen them in a couple of weeks or so. Had lunch and then watched the rest of my team bowl. Felt jealous, but no way I could have bowled. I have a tournament coming up at the beginning of January, hope I am going to be OK for that. Hopefully the Bowen Therapy will do the trick.

Been watching a few Christmas movies, the Tim Allen The Santa Clause ones, seen 3 and 1 so far. I quite enjoy those, although I don’t enjoy his new TV programme, Last Man Standing. Didn’t think it was very funny at all.

This sounds like a good recipe, its healthy and a way to use up left over turkey if you have some after the weekend which I won’t sadly, as we are going out. Pity, I do enjoy turkey sandwiches. Oh well.

Cheesy Chicken Pasta

WebMD Recipe from EatingWell.com

This ooey-gooey pasta dish is a crowd-pleaser for adults and kids alike—think rich and creamy macaroni-and-cheese tossed with cauliflower and chicken. Serve with a spinach salad.
Servings: 6

Recipe Ingredients:

8 ounces whole-wheat penne
2 cups 1/2-inch cauliflower florets
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1/2 cup dry white wine
3 cups low-fat milk
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 cup shredded Gruyère or Swiss cheese
3 cups shredded cooked chicken or turkey (12 ounces; see Tip)
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives or scallion greens

Recipe Steps:

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 5 minutes. Add cauliflower florets and cook until the pasta and florets are tender, about 4 minutes more. Drain, rinse and return to the pot.
Meanwhile, heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring, until tender, 2 to 3 minutes. Add wine and cook until reduced slightly, about 1 minute. Whisk milk, flour, salt and pepper together in a medium bowl and add to the pan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring frequently. Cook, stirring, until thickened, about 1 minute. Reduce heat to low and stir in cheese until smooth. Stir chicken (or turkey) and mustard into the cheese sauce; cook until heated through, about 2 minutes.
Stir the sauce into the drained pasta and cauliflower. Serve sprinkled with chives (or scallion greens).

Recipe Tips & Notes:

Tip: To poach chicken breasts, place boneless, skinless chicken breasts in a medium skillet or saucepan. Add lightly salted water to cover and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to low and simmer gently until chicken is cooked through and no longer pink in the middle, 10 to 12 minutes.

Recipe Nutrition:

Per serving: 433 calories; 13 g fat (5 g saturated fat, 5 g mono unsaturated fat); 75 mg cholesterol; 42 g carbohydrates; 34 g protein; 5 g fiber; 491 mg sodium; 483 mg potassium

Have a great day

Lovejoy, Philippines, Alberta Shootings, In the News.

2011-12-19T07:00:00.000-05:00

I was interested in this article which talks about a comet, Lovejoy, which was observed going close to the sun, within 75,000 miles, and survived to come out again – not unscathed mind you, it wasn’t as big and had lost its tail, but nevertheless it survived the sun and astronomers were delighted to see it. You can just see the comet in this picture approaching the sun.

What a disaster in the Philippines this weekend, there are still masses of people unaccounted for and over 800 dead at the time of writing. What a terrible thing to wake up and be killed almost within the same moment, always assuming they woke up in the first place. Nature isn’t any too particular how it deals with us. Not their first disaster this year either. I’m glad I live in Canada although we do get weather disasters here, just not as frequently. I did see a report that some of the tons of garbage they are expecting on the west coast from the Japanese disaster has already started to arrive, about a year before it was expected. That will be a great clean up headache.

All the shootings in Canada this weekend, its getting to sound like the wild west – normally we don’t get too much of that kind of thing compared with our neighbours to the south, but sounds like we are trying to compete right now. One horrific story was of a young man shooting his ex girlfriend, Tabitha Stepple, and two friends of hers whilst they were driving to the airport in Calgary. He rammed his SUV into their vehicle, commenced shooting and then shot himself. One young woman, the driver, is expected to to survive. Death doesn’t seem to mean anything to these young people any more.

Lots of news last night, the death of Havel the Czech leader and defeater of communism, the death of the North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, a proponent of secrecy, and the US troops finally leave Iraq after spending lots of money and lots of lives. It remains to be seen what will happen next as a result of these news items.

I am afraid to report I am still in a lot of pain with my bursitis, hope my trip to Let It Heal will do the trick on Wednesday. I am supposed to go to our Bowling Christmas Party at lunchtime today, dunno if I am going to make it or not.

If you are into big breakfasts, this one would certainly fill the bill. Something I would only want to do for the weekend though. Maybe you could serve it on Christmas morning.

Ham and Cheese Breakfast Casserole

WebMD Recipe from EatingWell.com

This healthy update of a traditionally rich ham-and-cheese breakfast strata is made lighter primarily by losing a few egg yolks and using nonfat milk. Gruyère cheese has a delicious, nutty aroma and flavor, which means that with the relatively small amount in this recipe you still get a big impact. To finish the makeover use nutritious, fiber-rich, whole-grain bread instead of white. The results: plenty of flavor, half the calories and one-third the fat of the original.

Servings: 6

Yield: 6 servings

To Make Ahead: Prepare casserole through Step 2; refrigerate overnight. Let stand at room temperature while the oven preheats. Bake as directed in Step 3.

Recipe Ingredients:

4 large eggs
4 large egg whites
1 cup nonfat milk
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
5 cups chopped spinach, wilted (see Tip)
4 cups whole-grain bread, crusts removed if desired, cut into 1-inch cubes (about 1/2 pound, 4-6 slices)
1 cup diced ham steak (5 ounces)
1/2 cup chopped jarred roasted red peppers
3/4 cup shredded Gruyère or Swiss cheese

Recipe Steps:

Preheat oven to 375°F. Coat a 7-by-11-inch glass baking dish or a 2-quart casserole with cooking spray.
Whisk eggs, egg whites and milk in a medium bowl. Add mustard, rosemary and pepper; whisk to combine. Toss spinach, bread, ham and roasted red peppers in a large bowl. Add the egg mixture and toss well to coat. Transfer to the prepared baking dish and push down to compact. Cover with foil.
Bake until the custard has set, 40 to 45 minutes. Uncover, sprinkle with cheese and continue baking until the pudding is puffed and golden on top, 15 to 20 minutes more. Transfer to a wire rack and cool for 15 to 20 minutes before serving.

Recipe Tips & Notes:

Tip: To wilt spinach, rinse thoroughly with cool water. Transfer to a large microwave-safe bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and punch several holes in it. Microwave on High until wilted, 2 to 3 minutes. Squeeze out excess moisture before adding the spinach to the recipe.

Recipe Nutrition:

Per serving: 286 calories; 10 g fat (4 g saturated fat, 3 g mono unsaturated fat); 167 mg cholesterol; 23 g carbohydrates; 23 g protein; 4 g fiber; 813 mg sodium; 509 mg potassium

Have a great day

Chocolate Wonderland, Sickness, Grocery Special,

2011-12-17T07:00:00.000-05:00

Shanghai’s World Chocolate Wonderland opened on Friday – a theme park of lifelike chocolate exhibits. There is a video of some of the exhibits including a copy of the underground terracotta army of Emperor Qin all made in chocolate. Of course the one that appealed to me was the chocolate dragon. Now I’d be in trouble, I love chocolate but wouldn’t want to spoil the dragon. What on earth would I do?

What’s happening? Its Christmas, and everyone is getting sick. The other night someone told me of a friend with shingles, then I phoned a close friend of ours who has shingles as well. She is not a happy camper as it has completely screwed up Christmas for her; she is not allowed near children, people undergoing chemo and people who have had chicken pox including her husband. Chicken pox apparently makes you more vulnerable, Matt and I have both had it. Shingles is a miserable disease and one which can become pretty serious if it attacks the waist area. My friend’s best friend’s hubby is on chemo and of course for Christmas lots of grandkids would have been around. That puts the kibosh on Christmas Eve which is when they celebrate. Having Googled, it appears that if you had chicken pox before age 1 you are vulnerable, after that you are not. Think I will check with my doc, but looks like we could visit her.

Back to my own ailments I had an email from Let It Heal today; I hadn’t thought of them in a while as I basically found them somewhat expensive for regular treatments, however, I was suddenly reminded the Bowen Therapy would be great for bursitis so I have booked an appointment for next week. Keep your fingers crossed everyone.

Had an email from my local grocery store chain and they are offering Prime Rib at less than half price, that might be worth looking into. It is also shown nicely rare which you don’t often find here, unless Matt and I have cooked it that is, but most people we come across prefer their beef well done, obviously we know a few exceptions, but generally we don’t serve beef to people as I cannot bear overcooking beef which, to me, ruins it. I have mentioned before, Matt and I like our beef so rare that you can slap a Band Aid on it and send it back out in the field.

I am always looking for different pork chop recipes and I thought this looked quite easy and quite good.

Oven Barbecued Pork Chops

WebMD Recipe from EatingWell.com

Need a little summertime flavor? Try this swift recipe and enjoy a "barbecue" indoors. Make it a meal: Serve with coleslaw and cornbread.

Servings: 4

Recipe Ingredients:

1 1/2-1 3/4 pounds bone-in, 3/4-inch-thick pork rib chops, trimmed of fat

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

3 teaspoons canola oil, divided

1 medium onion, diced

1 clove garlic, minced

1/3 cup orange juice

1/2 cup barbecue sauce

Recipe Steps:

Preheat oven to 400°F.
Sprinkle pork chops with salt and pepper. Heat 2 teaspoons oil in a large ovenproof skillet over high heat. Add the pork chops and cook until beginning to brown, 1 to 2 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate.
Add the remaining 1 teaspoon oil to the pan. Add onion and cook, stirring, until softened, 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant, 30 seconds. Add orange juice and cook until most of the liquid has evaporated, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Stir in barbecue sauce. Return the pork chops to the pan, turning several times to coat with the sauce.
Transfer the pan to the oven and bake until the pork chops are barely pink in the middle and an instant-read thermometer registers 145°F, 6 to 10 minutes. Serve the sauce over the pork chops.

Recipe Nutrition:

Per serving: 245 calories; 10 g fat ( 2 g sat , 5 g mono ); 51 mg cholesterol; 15 g carbohydrates; 20 g protein; 1 g fiber; 190 mg sodium; 349 mg potassium.

Have a great weekend

Books, Parking, Tim Card.

2011-12-16T07:00:00.004-05:00

One of the problems with being sick, one doesn’t do very much or take a lot of interest in much, so there isn’t a lot to write about. Mind you there was only one illness I suffered from when I was a youngster, which stopped me from eating, that was Quinzies, if you don’t know what that is, I hope you never find out. I lost about 14 lbs. that week but it was an unpleasant way of dieting. I just couldn’t eat. I have just started the last in a series by N.K. Jemisin in her Inheritance Trilogy about the 100 Thousand Kingdoms. It’s called The Kingdom of Gods. I have been very much enjoying these books and expect to do so with this one. In fact, I haven’t felt very much like reading either and am sending two books back to the library unread, just couldn’t be bothered. Another I already sent back, most unlike me. I can always order them again of course.

An offbeat story just caught my eye, complaints about parking reserved for expectant mothers is being grabbed by people in a hurry, frequently men they say. I quote from their Facebook page “What society doesn't realize is that many of us are at high risk of premature labour, falling and injuring ourselves or our babies, suffering from blood loss after labour, risk of tearing stitches, risk of fainting during early pregnancy, let alone risking our other children's safety and the public's as our kids escape our hand while we carry the newborn infant and get caught up in traffic”. I do agree that such women need help and parking spaces is one way to assist them. I have disability parking and its amazing how often there are no available spaces because someone hasn’t any time so grabs the nearest vacant spot. I must admit its not something I really thought about until I had one myself. We once got in trouble parking in a disability spot without a license, we had done so because our friend was on crutches, but that doesn’t count if you don’t have the right paperwork.

One of my Avon customers dropped off a gift for us today, one is wrapped the other was a TimCard Quickpay card which allows me to go to Tim Horton’s, the most popular Canadian coffee shop, and get coffees and, presumably, donuts or sandwiches or something. Matt will eat the odd apple fritter, but he doesn’t drink coffee or tea. This customer has been buying chocolates for a few years but has now discovered I have diabetes. Oh well, I drink lots of decaf coffee.
That’s all from me for now, I have no idea how long this will be going on, but my apologies to my readers.

I know, I’m a chocaholic, Matt says I will eat anything if it has chocolate in it.

Crème de Mênthe Sprinkled Brownies

About 35 HERSHEY'S BLISS Creme de Menthe Milk Chocolates, divided
1 cup (2 sticks) butter or margarine
2 cups sugar
2/3 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa
4 eggs, beaten
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda

Directions

Heat oven to 350°F. Grease 13x9x2-inch baking pan. Remove wrappers from chocolates. Cutting from corner to corner, cut each chocolate into 4 triangles; set aside.
Melt butter in medium saucepan over low heat. Add sugar and cocoa; stir to blend. Remove from heat. Stir in eggs and vanilla. Stir together flour, salt and baking soda; stir into chocolate mixture. Spread in prepared pan.
Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until brownie starts to pull from edges of pan and is set. Cool 25 minutes; sprinkle chopped candies over surface. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Cut into squares or triangles. About 36 brownies.

Have a great day

Health

2011-12-15T07:00:00.001-05:00

Not a long post today. Went to the doc – originally my three monthly check up for diabetes. Matt also did the tests and it turns out he is borderline diabetic which does surprise me; so now they have to keep an eye on it. We can hold hands when we go for our blood work, LOL. I then mentioned my bursitis and much to my surprise, considering how tough she is about narcotics, she prescribed me some Percoset. Just one a day at bedtime, but my gaster is truly flabbered, she never, but never, prescribes anything stronger than Tylenol 3. I am writing this on Wednesday so haven’t had one yet. However I have been feeling lousy ever since and really not much up to writing a blog this evening. Please keep everything crossed that the Percoset helps me. I use the Tylenol 3 and do so reluctantly, not sure I am all that keen on taking anything stronger but…. I fail to understand why anyone would want to take them for pleasure. Cortisone shots were mentioned but I think she wants to see what happens with the pills first.

The answer to that is “damn all” I woke up in just as much pain as usual, not had much problem sleeping the time I have problems at night is when I make a bathroom visit and by the time I crawl back to bed I am hurting. Once I am flat on my back, shoulder starts to ease off.

Matt shops at 7 a.m. and I planned to go, shoulder planned otherwise. So you ended up with a late blog which is full of moans and groans, will try to do better tomorrow.

The first time I ate a wilted salad was in North Carolina where it was actually called a Killed Salad – at least I think that was the name because it sounded like keeled to me. The NC version was very much simpler with just hot bacon grease poured over the greens and pretty tasty, but I wouldn’t mind trying this one.

Wilted Spinach Salad with Chicken and Honey Mustard Dressing

By The Nourished Kitchen
WebMD Recipe from Foodily.com

A wilted spinach salad, simple and nourishing, offers an excellent way to incorporate fresh greens onto your supper table. Heating the spinach very slightly, as in this wilted spinach salad recipe requires, provides a dual purpose: not only does it make the dish more suitable for cold days when fresh, raw greens can be unappealing, but it also helps to mitigate the effects of oxalic acid – an anti-nutrient naturally found in spinach and other greens.

Ingredients

Salad:
4 slices bacon
¼ cup prepared honey mustard dressing^*4 cups fresh baby spinach
1 small red onion, sliced into rounds
1 small apple, sliced thin
1 cup cooked chicken, chopped into bit-sized pieces

Honey Mustard Dressing:
¼ cup raw honey
2 tablespoons Dijon-style mustard
2 tablespoons unrefined extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons raw cider vinegar.

Instructions

Fry four slices bacon over medium heat until crispy. Remove bacon from the pan, turn off the heat and gently stir ¼ cup honey mustard dressing into the rendered bacon grease. Set aside to cool slightly.
Toss remaining ingredients together, garnish with fried bacon and dress with the mixture of bacon grease and honey mustard dressing.

Prepare the honey mustard dressing by whisking together raw honey, Dijon-style mustard, unrefined extra virgin olive oil and raw cider vinegar. You can always substitute this dressing with a prepared dressing of your choice.

Total Servings: 4

Have a great day