47 years, Dinner, ALZ course,

Funny actually, we were nearly divorced the day we got married. We had one heck of a quarrel at the end of the day. However, we resolved it. I can't believe we lasted 47 years. Mind you, I threatened to divorce Matt once I realised he never gained weight no matter what he ate. He is still the same, appetite like a horse and can stuff himself on anything, sweet, carbs, you name it, and it doesn't make any difference. I figured that was cruelty. I had been married to my first husband for 10 years and used to joke that I changed husbands every 10 years then said I had decided to keep Matt another 10 years and so on.

I still have not made up my mind about where to have dinner. Another thing against the Charcoal, we feel we have to dress up a bit to go there whereas both the Mandarin and Red Lobster we can be more casual. Decisions, decisions.

I have my second session at the ALZ Society today and we will be discussing resources. That is certainly a subject which interests me. My cleaner will be here all morning til about 11 and ladydog is bringing Subway lunch for us. I have some fizz in the fridge, maybe we will have a sub sandwich and a drink. Not Matt, he doesn't like fizz.

I love shrimp and I enjoy leeks, but have never tried the two together. Looks good doesn't it?

Shrimp and Leek Spaghetti

This Quick Shrimp and Leek Spaghetti Has 1/3 of Your Daily Fiber

8 oz uncooked whole-grain spaghetti
1 lb peeled, deveined raw medium shrimp
1/2 tsp black pepper
3/4 tsp kosher salt, divided
1 1/2 Tbs olive oil, divided
2 cups chopped leek (from 1 large leek)
1 Tbs chopped garlic (from 3 garlic cloves)
2 cups frozen baby sweet peas (about 9 oz.), thawed
1/4 cup heavy cream
2 tsp lemon zest
2 Tbs fresh lemon juice
2 Tbs chopped fresh dill

1. Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup cooking liquid. Cover pasta to keep warm.

2. While pasta cooks, pat shrimp dry with paper towels; season with pepper and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Heat half of the olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over high. Add shrimp; cook, stirring often, until cooked through, 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer to a plate; cover to keep warm. (Do not wipe skillet clean.)

3. Reduce heat to medium-high. Add leek, garlic, remaining oil, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring often, until leek is slightly tender, 2 to 3 minutes. Add peas, cream, lemon zest, lemon juice, and reserved 1/2 cup cooking liquid. Reduce heat to medium; simmer until sauce thickens slightly, 2 to 3 minutes. Add shrimp to skillet; toss to coat.

4. Divide pasta among 4 bowls; top evenly with shrimp and sauce. Sprinkle with dill, and serve immediately.

Servings: 4

Source: Cooking Light

Have a great day
 

Spanish, Exercises, Cooking, The Highwaymen, Gumbo.

You may remember I am learning Spanish and last night, I was still doing lessons at gone midnight. By the time I had finished, I really didn't want to blog and anyway hadn't a lot to write about, so, sorry, being lazy.

Not that I have a lot to write about today, I had a thoroughly lazy day really. I didn't even go to exercise class, slap hand and go to bed with no tea. My excuse was I was hurting, my reason was I was again being lazy. I just seem to have been on the go lately.

Admittedly Thursday I spent a lot of time making cole slaw. Easy if you are fit, tiring and painful if you are not. Today I made the shrimp and leek recipe I posted on September 25. We both enjoyed it. Matt wasn't too sure at first,  but after he had been eating it for a bit, he decided he liked it. I liked it from the start. Of course it has no spiciness too it which maybe what threw him off. It is really easy to make, I wasn't sure at first, but it was. I cooked the pasta in the Instant Pot of course, then I can forget about it until it's done and concentrate on the rest of the recipe. It is certainly a recipe I will be making again although of course we have leftovers already. Probably eat them Sunday depending on what I decide to cook for Saturday night.

I was wondering, in bed last night thinking about it, does anyone ever cook my recipes? If you don't, you are really missing out on some good nosh.

We just watched "The Highwaymen", with Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Johnny Cash and Chris Christopherson. I could name all of them except Waylon Jennings. We are not supposed to be Country Music fans but we both thoroughly enjoyed the concert and I certainly was familiar with most of the songs. I would love to get the DVD, but not at $50 something. Lot more on the TV of course as they were fund raising once more.

Well, getting pretty late again, did my Spanish earlier, so this is it for tonight.

I haven't made a gumbo since we came back from the Carolinas. This recipe turned up today on MyRecipes.com and I thought, why not. Saving it I noticed they said frozen okra, sorry, I would not use that unless I had to. I haven't seen okra for a while, but there must be somehwere I can get it.

Smoky Shrimp and Chicken Gumbo

Freeze leftover stock up to three months, and use for chowder or risotto.

Stock:
1 lb unpeeled medium shrimp
8 cups water
1 tsp black peppercorns
4 garlic cloves, crushed
3 large celery stalks, chopped
3 bay leaves
3 medium carrots, coarsely chopped
1 large onion, coarsely chopped
Gumbo:
6 Tbs canola oil, divided
2.25 oz all-purpose flour (about 1/2 cup)
6 skinless, boneless chicken thighs, cut into bite-sized pieces
2 cups finely chopped white onion
1 Tbs Creole seasoning
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 medium celery stalks, chopped
2 medium tomatoes, finely chopped
1 large green bell pepper, seeded and finely chopped
3 cups fat-free, lower-sodium chicken broth
2 bay leaves
1 cup frozen cut okra
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp hot pepper sauce (such as Tabasco)
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
2 cups hot cooked brown rice

1. To prepare the stock, peel and devein shrimp, reserving shells. Cut each shrimp in half lengthwise; cover shrimp, and refrigerate.

2. Combine reserved shrimp shells, 8 cups water, and next 6 ingredients (through onion) in a large Dutch oven, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer for 1 hour. Strain mixture through a sieve into a bowl; discard solids. Set aside 3 cups stock; keep warm. Reserve the remaining shrimp stock for another use.

3. To prepare the gumbo, heat a large cast-iron skillet over low heat; add 1/4 cup canola oil. Cook for 2 minutes, swirling to coat pan. Weigh or lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup. Gradually add flour to oil, stirring constantly with a whisk until smooth. Increase heat to medium; cook for 8 minutes or until the flour mixture is caramel-colored, stirring frequently. Cook 2 minutes or until mixture is chestnut-colored, stirring constantly. Remove from heat; slowly add warm shrimp stock, stirring until smooth. Pour stock mixture into a large bowl.

4. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add chicken; cook 7 minutes, turning to brown on all sides. Add onion and the next 5 ingredients (through bell pepper); sauté for 3 minutes. Return stock mixture to pan; add broth and bay leaves. Bring to a boil; reduce heat, and simmer for 45 minutes.

5. Add okra and next 3 ingredients (through black pepper). Simmer for 30 minutes.

6. Combine shrimp and paprika; toss to coat shrimp. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add remaining 1 tablespoon oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add shrimp; sauté for 2 minutes or until the shrimp are done. Stir shrimp into okra mixture. Discard bay leaves. Serve over rice.

Servings: 8

Source: Cooking Light

Have a great weekend.
 

Quiet Day

This morning the PSW was supposed to be here at 9. Around 7:30 he said his client had cancelled and could he come at 8, I said sure. He came in and attended to Matt who was just about crawling out of bed, and after he had gone, Matt then ate his breakfast. Maybe 8 would be a good time, but usually 9 works too.

After that, the day was somewhat boring to say the least. I finished making calls on behalf of the bowling alley to see who was joining the Senior Winter League in September, surprisingly one or two are not, at the moment I don't know if it's because of Covid-19 or for other reasons. One woman asked me if I had any idea how many germs there were on a bowling ball, as I have my own, it doesn't particularly concern me but I know the owners are planning to disinfect everything before anyone arrives. Of course we will have to wear masks, but it won't be necessary to actually wear them when we are on the lanes - I think they would restrict breathing somewhat when you are actually bowling.

After lunch, I shot down to the grocery store to get more beefsteak tomatoes, they only gave me one the other day, and some artichokes. They only got baby artichokes this week. 8 little tiny ones to a pack. I can get all of them in the Instant Pot at once. We had some leftover leek and potato soup and then some Pakora which came with Tamarind Sauce - I tried the sauce with the artichokes, it was pretty good.

My only criticism here is that he leaves the tails on the shrimp That really annoys me when it is not for eating with the fingers. If there is an integral sauce, take the damned tail shells off.

Spinach Pesto, Feta and Shrimp Tortellini

A fresh spinach pesto and feta tortellini that is packed with all of the flavours of spinach and feta

pies, aka spanakopita.

For the spinach pesto:
1 cup baby spinach (packed)
2 Tbs dill
2 Tbs parley
1 green onion
1 clove garlic
2 Tbs walnuts, toasted
1/4 cup parmigiano reggiano (parmesan), grated
3 Tbs olive oil
1/2 lemon, juice and zest
salt and pepper to taste

For the shrimp souvlaki:
1 lb large shrimp, shelled and deviened
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 lemon, juice and zest
1 Tbs yogurt
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

For the spinach pesto, feta and shrimp tortellini:
1 lb cheese tortellini
1/2 cup feta, crumbled
2 green onions, thinly sliced
1 Tbs dill, chopped
1 Tbs parley, chopped

1. For the spinach pesto:

2. Puree everything in a food processor until smooth.

3. For the shrimp:

4. Marinate the shrimp in the mixture of the remaining ingredients for 30 minutes to over night before cooking in a pan or grilling over medium-high heat until cooked, about 2-3 minutes per side.

5. For the spinach pesto, feta and shrimp tortellini:

6. Cook the tortellini as directed before tossing it with the pesto, feta and shrimp and herbs and enjoying!

Author: Kevin Lynch
Source: Closet Cooking

Have a great day, stay well, stay safe.
 

Riverside Lanes, Soup, Flight 447.

Unfortunately we didn't win yesterday. At one point we were lying second, but in the last game none of us were really bowling up to our averages. In our first two games the total was well over our average which was good. Matt and I both had a 200 game which - lately - is unusual for us. Our top bowler had one good game but unfortunately she too didn't have a good day otherwise. Oh well, there is always next year. We all went out for lunch after and enjoyed ourselves - well the whole morning was fun. We enjoyed chatting to Eric who is the proprietor of the alley and was telling us he was off to England in July to attend his daughter's wedding which is taking place in Matt's home town area so that produced much conversation. We were both tired having risen so early and ended up doing absolutely nothing for the rest of the day. For supper I had made some leek and tomato soup which turned out to be pretty good - I basically just sautéed the leeks in some butter, added some finely chopped garlic, a large can of Italian tomatoes, a can of tomato purée and 2 cups of chicken stock. I threw in some fresh basil and some basil pesto for a little extra flavour. Yummy. I had enough left for two more servings which are now in the freezer. An interesting question on GMA this morning about whether families should split up to fly. Apparently a couple were flying to France with their children to attend a wedding. The husband went with the 3yr old and the wife followed with the son on Air France Flight 447. What a tragedy, but, as someone interviewed this morning, pointed out, you are statistically at much more risk driving a car so should you travel in different cars? Today we are going to get our ears lowered and also to do our weekly shopping. Seems to be a big list today. I had my Hershey's email yesterday and came across this rather unusual appetizer. Obviously you can substitute any brickle type toffee if you cannot get the Heath brand. Ranch Style Shrimp and Bacon Appetizers Ingredients: * RANCH STYLE BARBEQUE SAUCE(recipe follows) * 30 large peeled, deveined shrimp * 1/2 pound thick-cut bacon * 10 wooden skewers* Directions: 1. Prepare RANCH STYLE BARBEQUE SAUCE. 2. Wrap each shrimp with 1/2 bacon strip. Thread 3 wrapped shrimp onto each wooden skewer. 3. Grill or broil shrimp skewers until bacon is cooked and shrimp is no longer translucent, but has turned pink. Baste with barbeque sauce. Return to heat to warm sauce. Serve with additional barbeque sauce, if desired. 10 shrimp skewers. RANCH STYLE BARBEQUE SAUCE: 1/4 cup vegetable or olive oil 1/2 cup minced onion 2 garlic cloves, minced 2 tablespoons lemon juice 1 tablespoon ground black pepper 1 teaspoon dry mustard 1 teaspoon paprika 1/2 teaspoon hot pepper sauce 1/2 teaspoon salt 1-1/2 cups ketchup 1 cup HEATH BITS 'O BRICKLE Toffee Bits 1/4 cup cider vinegar 3 tablespoons sugar 1-1/2 tablespoons HERSHEY'S Cocoa 1. Heat oil in large saucepan over medium heat; add onion and garlic. Cook until tender. Stir in lemon juice, black pepper, mustard, paprika, hot pepper sauce and salt. Simmer for 5 minutes; reduce heat. 2. Stir in ketchup, toffee bits, vinegar, sugar and cocoa. Simmer 15 minutes. Refrigerate leftovers. About 3 cups sauce. *To prevent wooden skeweers from burning while grilling or broiling, soak in water about 10 minutes before using. Have a great day.

Monte Cristo, Vacation Continues. Mushroom Pie.

On Saturday I watched The Count of Monte Cristo, 2004 edition. As a movie I quite enjoyed it, as a story written by Alexandre Dumas père, I thought it appalling. Once he is out of the Chateau d'If the film diverges from the book so much the author must be turning in his grave. I suppose the book is well and truly out of copyright so it doesn't matter any more, but it matters to me. It is one of the great classics and to muck about with it that way is, to me, wrong. If you are going to mess it up that much, don't call it by the same title or call it "My version of .....", but don't try and pass it off as being the real story. I feel similarly strongly about versions of history, English or otherwise, which have no relationship with what we really know, it doesn't matter a damn what we suspect, if we don't know we shouldn't invent otherwise people will end up believing that's what really happened. Look at the people who truly believe Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code is based on fact and is not total fiction. People tend to believe if its presented in print or film it must be true. OK, rant over, back to our vacation. We are now up to the first Friday of our stay. I spent most of the day feeling sorry for myself because of my ear which was both bleeding and sore. How can you put a bandaid on an ear? By the evening when we were due to meet our friends for dinner, it had dried up somewhat. We arrived at the restaurant, Riverview Steak and Seafood, in Swansboro, and were horrified to discover they didn't have our reservation although I had in fact spoken to them on two different occasions. Finally, having emphasised that it was for 5 people they found us a table for which we had to wait a while. Eventually the hostess said she had found our reservation under the name Wilson!!! As it turned out our friends were late, one of them had forgotten all about it when the others went to collect her, it was quite a funny story when she told us all about it. We have been to this restaurant on several occasions, their food is good, but the place does get very noisy. It was great to see our friends, first time this trip for two of them, but one couldn't really chat because of the noise. I got a belated birthday card, Maxine which I always enjoy. Matt ended up ordering marinated chicken and I had sautéed shrimp and oysters. Pretty good for both of us. We started with a salad which was rather small but they served with a sweet potato muffin which was delicious. I had a second one as someone didn't want theirs. I had told them all about my fall last night, and ever after, the husband kept teasing me by saying he was sorry I had fallen out of bed!!! As we left he gave us the sun umbrellas which belong to friends in Canada, but which they store with these friends in NC. So Saturday arrived and my ear had stopped weeping but now I had a puffy eye. What else for goodness sake. Luckily it had gone down by the afternoon. Matt put the London Broil in to marinade and later I peeled and cooked the shrimp for our starter. I cooked some fresh butter beans and then tossed them in raspberry vinaigrette whilst they were still warm so they could absorb the flavours. In the afternoon I prepared Vidalia onions for the barbecue. I'm sure I have described this before, but you cut them in quarters, but not all the way through. You then put a knob of butter on each onion, season it and wrap it in tin foil. Then place it on the barbecue - first on the hot part and then if possible on the shelf which most barbecues come with. They come out with the bottoms all browned (caramelised as most chefs call it, but that is not accurate, only sugar caramelises) and they are delicious. Our dinner guests arrived about 4 and we sat outside at the picnic table having a drink. They had brought chips so we ate a few of those. Eventually Matt lit the barbecue and I put the potatoes in the oven to bake. Unfortunately, as I mentioned, we haven't done much barbecuing since we got back to Canada so timed the onions wrong; they were a tad overdone but were still delicious. Having started with shrimp, eaten London Broil, we ended with ice cream. It was a fun evening. We will be seeing them again on Tuesday at MacDaddy's and weather permitting, we will be going out on their boat on Wednesday. Sunday we didn't do much of anything although we watched our friend's copy of the latest Celtic Thunder DVD. I tried my damndest to copy it on my new laptop but couldn't figure it out and no-one seems to know how. If you remember I raved about this group before although a lot of people didn't seem to agree with me. The youngest singer, Damian, has now matured a bit and doesn't have the young voice he had a couple of years back. Winter is coming on, in fact I'm not sure it hasn't arrived. My newsletter from Mushrooms Canada contained the following Pot Pie which I thought sounded pretty good. Not sure about pre-sliced mushrooms, think I would rather slice my own, but I would certainly use frozen pastry. Mushroom, Chicken and Leek Pot Pie Prepared pastry and pre-sliced mushrooms make this tasty meal quick to prepare. For even faster preparation substitute left over cooked turkey cubes for the chicken. This recipe is Arthritis approved! 1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts (4) 500 g 2 tbsp vegetable oil, divided 25 mL 2 large leeks, white part only, 2 sliced (2 cups/500mL) 1 lb. sliced fresh Mushrooms 500 g 1 tbsp dried tarragon 15 mL 2 tbsp all-purpose flour 25 mL 3/4 cup chicken stock 175 mL 1/2 tsp salt 2 mL 1/4 tsp pepper 1 mL 1 9"/22cm deep dish frozen pie shell, thawed Cut chicken into 3/4-inch (2 cm) cubes. In large non-stick saucepan or deep skillet, heat 1 tbsp (15 mL) of the oil over medium-high heat. Cook chicken until lightly browned but still pink inside, about 3-4 minutes. Spoon into 6 cup (1.5 L) baking dish or deep pie plate. Reduce heat to medium and add remaining oil to same pan. Sauté leeks, mushroom and tarragon for 2-3 minutes; cover and cook about 3 minutes or until vegetables are softened. Sprinkle in flour and stir to blend. Gradually stir in chicken stock, salt and pepper. Bring to boil and stir until thickened, about 3 minutes. Spoon mixture over chicken. Invert thawed pie shell over casserole pressing pastry edge to baking dish and crimp or flute the edges. Cut 3-4 slits in pastry. Bake in 425°F (220°C) oven for 20 to 25 minutes or until bubbly and pastry is brown. Makes 4 servings. Tip: To thaw pie shell, leave at room temperature for 10-15 minutes. If desired, brush pastry with beaten egg before baking to give a browner top. Variation: Substitute 3 cups (750 mL) cubed cooked turkey or chicken for 1 lb ( 500g ) chicken breasts; decrease oil to 1 tbsp(15 mL) and omit browning. Place cooked meat in casserole and continue as directed above. Have a great day.

Interview, Groundhog Day

Satima (Satima's Blogspot see link this page) decided to interview me - she says we all have a story to tell, I guess I tell my story here every day. I found this rather fun to do, I suppose, in common with many of us, I like to talk about myself. She also wants to interview sinlaw, Mike, of the Scolopax Chronicles or the Wildlife Art (links this page) so I hope he will agree to it. On the right is one of his more recent paintings, if you have never been to his site. This is my interview: Q1. What made you and Matt decide to move from the UK to Canada? Was it a good move for you?

A. We found that the UK was getting somewhat stifling, there was no room to stretch out one's arms and for people like Matt and I, not a lot of room for advancement. It was a bigger wrench for Matt because he has two children. My parents were living in the Med. by then anyway and I have no siblings. In fact my father died shortly before we emigrated having said previously that he thought it the best move we could make.

Yes, it was a great move, we have lived in North America, mainly Canada, since 1975 and have, we think, had a much better life than had we stayed in the UK. We had two homes, one in Canada and one in North Carolina and have enjoyed our time in both places. Our Canadian home had a pool in the back yard, I don't think that would have been possible, or, come to that, particularly enjoyable, in England, the weather isn't really good enough. We certainly spent a lot of time in our pool, we lived outside all summer and had all kinds of pool parties. We also had a travel trailer/caravan which we trailed around Ontario and the States and had a wonderful time visiting both people and places.

Q2. What other countries have you visited or lived in? Are there any more that you really long to see?

A. As I have just mentioned, we lived in North Carolina in the States for about 12 years. We loved it there, the weather was excellent, apart from the odd hurricane, and the living was easy. We had a delightful property of about 1/2 an acre with a double wide mobile home which was a great place to live. We were 15 minutes from the sea shore and could easily feast on shrimp, in particular and lots of other seafood fresh out of the water. Whilst in NC we went on a Caribbean cruise with some friends and spent a lot of time travelling in the States. Other than that, before we moved here, I had visited Norway, Denmark, Germany, Holland, Belgium, France, Italy, Greece, Yugoslavia (as it was then), Malta and Spain - I particularly loved Greece, France and Spain. I speak pretty good French, moderate Spanish and a smattering of Greek which helped. Maybe I should say 'spoke', I'm pretty rusty in those languages nowadays although there was some opportunity to use French when I was working here in Canada. My parents lived in Malta once they retired so we joined them there for vacations although I had already spent two weeks there before they retired. My parents and therefore I, lived on a boat from shortly after the Second World War, which accounted for my visits to so many countries. When my father retired, he sailed his current home to Malta. Later, things got politically uncomfortable for the Brits in Malta so he moved to Spain calling in at Southern France on the way where we also joined them. Later they bought a house in Spain and sold the boat. I have also visited the Bahamas for a few days and spent two weeks in The Dominican Republic and another two weeks in Southern Portugal which we loved. In fact I have thoroughly enjoyed most of the countries I have visited.

Yes, I would love to visit Asia. Ever since I read Shogun by James Clavell, I have wanted to visit Japan. I would also like to go to Hong Kong although its a bit crowded, plus see some of the interior of China which looks so beautiful. I would also love to visit Oz, as much to see some of my cyber friends as to see the country. In fact I once had an ambition to visit one town in every country of the world. It will not, unhappily, come to fruition, but if I could, I would still love to travel a lot more.

Re-reading, of course I lived in England for 37 years. I just made the assumption everyone would know that, why should they.

Q3. I know you're an avid reader. Can you pick two contrasting books that you've enjoyed recently and tell us a bit about them and why you liked them?

A. Its not that long since I read Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen which was a fascinating book and quite outside my normal choice. These days I tend to stick to what you, Satima, call Speculative Fiction which I gather includes both hard sci fi and fantasy. Water for Elephants was a very poignant story about an old man living in a nursing home and reliving memories of his time living and working in a circus and his delight and friendship with the circus' only elephant. The elephant was somewhat mistreated by the official 'handler' who eventually gets his comeuppance. The reminiscences are interrupted occasionally by returns to the nursing home in the current day with the old man worrying about whether he will get to see a visiting circus, he ends up stealing away from the home to visit the circus all on his own as his family forget about him. Because he does so, his life changes.

One of the biggest contrasts was The Empress (of Mijak) by Karen Miller. The protagonist was/is an absolute horror. From the beginning of her story one has a little sympathy for her, life was extremely hard, but she comes to believe that her God has chosen her and any atrocity she commits in the name of this God is OK and is on behalf of her country of Mijak. By the end of the book she has caused the death of hundreds of thousands. There is no assimilation of conquered peoples they are either killed or enslaved, mostly killed. An excellent book despite the horror of the woman. Book two is better and I await Book three with eagerness.

Q4.Bowling is another of your hobbies, isn't it? What made you take it up? Have you been doing it for very long? If not, did you play another sport, and if so what was it?

A. We took up 5-pin bowling shortly after we emigrated (1975). Within a couple of years or so. We were introduced to it by friends who bowled and once we started we joined two leagues and bowled regularly for the winter seasons until we moved down to the Carolinas. There it is 10-pin bowling, and it wasn't really our thing apart from which we couldn't get into a league, the nearest alley was 20 miles away and we would have had to join the bowling association whether we had managed to get a game or not. When we came back to Canada, we immediately re-joined the bowling alley we had been members of before although we now live in a different town. Unfortunately they have since closed down as a lot of alleys seem to be doing although I read an article which said 5-pin bowling is alive and well. It is only played in Canada and was invented by a Canadian exactly 100 years ago this year (celebrations are in order) as a more difficult sport than 10-pin. We both thoroughly enjoy it and now bowl in a local alley.

Other than that I used to be a pretty keen golfer, Matt still is, but then I kind of lost my game and finding myself in tears of frustration on the course, decided this was no longer a sport and quit. A great pity in a way as I was laid off for a whole summer one year and was out on the golf course at 7 a.m. every day. That was in Canada. In England I avoided sports altogether for most of my life. Then, because I had almost drowned a couple of times, I took up scuba diving which is where I met Matt. We were both married at the time, but that's another story. Funnily enough, neither of us has scuba dived since we came to Canada although Matt did lots of snorkelling in the Caribbean (I did a little).

I have just remembered, reading through my answers, Cross Country Skiing. We took that up shortly after we moved to Canada as well. We loved it and found that there was never enough snow and the winter was never long enough. Matt, in particular, working shifts for a few years, used to come home after a night shift and immediately head out skiing which enabled him to catch all kinds of wildlife just about to start their day, or their night, depending on the critter. Not something we can still enjoy unfortunately as Matt has had two hip and one knee replacement and I have had one hip done.

Q5. It's apparent that you love food and are an amazing cook. Have you a favourite recipe to share with us?

A. My favourite recipes vary from year to year I guess. One of my latest faves is Bobotie and Yellow Rice which I just made and posted the recipes for in my blog. My father was always interested in food. When he married my mother she literally couldn't boil an egg, she used to say later that it is, in fact, a difficult thing to do. There was a story about how he picked her up from work one evening and they were going on somewhere else so he took her back to his flat/apartment whilst he changed. He was feeling peckish so asked her to make a bacon sandwich while he changed. He came back to find her in floods of tears because she had no idea how to make one. To me, later in life, knowing my mother for the great cook she was, this was a hilarious story. She could and did, cook anything. She could out gourmet most restaurants and knew all the French names of everything even if her pronounciation left something to be desired. She was a much better cook than I will ever be. Her main recipe source originally was Mrs. Beeton who is a classic British cookbook author from way back. My mother's copy, which I now have, was dated 1935.

One of my favourite recipes from years back, which is one I have posted on my blog quite some time ago, was for what I call Tomato Toasts.

Tomato Toast

Toast as many slices of bread as you want.

Rub each slice with a clove of garlic while it is still warm

Spread the toast with a little olive oil, about 1 tsp.

Cover the toast with well seasoned slices of ripe tomato.

Eat and enjoy.

Variation: Sometimes we add Havarti Cheese over the tomatoes and broil/grill until melting. I just remembered, its Groundhog Day today. I would think there is every possibility of all the different groundhogs seeing their shadows, there is certainly lots of very reflective snow about. If they don't see their shadows it means winter will soon end, otherwise they will retreat to their burrows for another 6 weeks. Our local one is called Wiarton Willie and I know most Canadians will hope and pray he doesn't see his shadow when he pokes his head out of his hole. Everyone has had enough of shovelling snow. This last week we have had piles of the stuff, not seen so much in years. What a pity we don't ski any more. As I already posted the Tomato Toast recipe, I decided to include one I got from Mushrooms Canada. Mushroom, Tomato and Basil Ragout Serve a green salad and crusty bread with this one-pot vegetarian dish - perfect for a fast comforting meal or as a side dish with grilled meat or fish. Makes 4 main meals. 1 leek 1 2 Tbs olive oil 25 mL 3 garlic cloves, minced 3 1 lb small fresh mushrooms, halved 500 g 1 can Italian flavoured tomatoes* 1 (28oz/796 mL) 1 cup water 250 mL 2/3 cup Orzo pasta 150 mL 1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, thinly sliced 125 mL salt and pepper to taste Garnish: grated Parmesan cheese (optional) Slice off and discard the dark green tops and roots of leek. Cut in half lengthwise and rinse under water to remove any grit; thinly slice. In a large, deep skillet or saucepan heat the oil over medium heat. Add the leeks and garlic and cook, stirring constantly, for 3-4 minutes or until the leek begins to soften. Add mushrooms and cook, stirring frequently, for 2-3 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes, breaking up with a spoon, water and orzo. Bring to boil, and cook, stirring occasionally, for 12 -15 minutes or until the orzo is tender and it has thickened. Remove from heat and stir in the basil. Pass the cheese to sprinkle on top if desired. Add salt and pepper to taste. Servings: 4 *Substitute stewed tomatoes or Herb & Spice flavoured tomatoes for the Italian flavoured tomatoes and add 1 tbsp (15 mL) dried Italian seasoning with the tomatoes. Have a great day.

Essential Services. Glasses, Shopping, Car, Walker, Supper.

For some reason, in the morning, I phoned our garage and checked if they were "essential services" I was assured they were although not working as many hours. The guy who runs the Meineke is great and we have a very good relationship. He also told me I should drive the car for a short trip at least twice a week during this incarceration. I then got a call from a local optometrist who said bring down my glasses that afternoon. Whoopee.

Shortly after  lunch, off we headed for the optometrist. Matt came for the ride. Turns out the optometrist in the local mall had moved into a premises previously occupied by a jewellers. He was telling me that all of the stores are moving around. Zehrs our grocery store is in the same place, as is the bank, but a large area is being taken over by Shopper's Drug Mart. The post office used to be in a tobacconist's. Not sure but I know the Post Office has moved, assume the tobacconist has too.

However, he fixed my glasses and suggested that I should have new lenses put into the frames I was wearing. May just do that, a good idea.

I then went to the liquor store and stood in a line up right round the corner, in the cold. Thank God it isn't winter any more. However there is always a gale blowing past the front of the LCBO. There were 6 ft markers all the way round the corner and we moved along like good little children. I eventually went in to the store and discovered Matt's favourite gin, Bombay Sapphire was not available, I discovered it had been recalled, don't know why. Anyway, I was pushing Matt's walker and loaded everything into the basket. His walker has the advantage of being much easier to fold and put into the trunk. The booze weighed a ton.

I then thought I would stop at the baker's and get some more of my favourite buns as I was nearly out. All well and good, intended to go on to Victoria St. Market to get a decent lettuce, the one I got from the grocery this week was appalling, no middle at all. Got back to the car and Matt said there was steam coming up. I thought he was imagining it and then I saw it. Horrors. I went straight to the garage. Lucky I phoned this morning. They were busy, busy, busy. They didn't have time to even take a look although Bob figured it must be the cooling system. In the end, they sent us home, booze and all, by cab. The driver was trying to keep away from us but not really possible. I had a can of disinfectant spray with me, so I was spraying everything around.

Now I had a problem, I have mentioned that our parking lot underground is at the most extreme distance from the door. I was wondering how the hell I was going to get my walker. When we went to enter the building, the assistant super opened the door. I immediately begged him to get my walker for me. He said he would. Two hours later I phoned him and he had forgotten. Eventually, he did get it for me. So - I am not a happy camper. They won't even look at the car til Monday and it was considered unwise to drive it home again. Even if I did, what would have been the point, I couldn't drive it anyway.

So, what a shit of a day. I was exhausted after all this. So I decided to cook something which took some effort instead of something easy. I really am a dumbcluck. I actually made Shrimp Creole in the Instant Pot which was delicious. Of course I didn't order onions this week, so I used a leek instead. Worked fine. But I never did get my damned lettuce today. But, at least I can have my Sunday champagne.

So, even if I had to get on with chopping and dicing stuff, it was worth it in the end.

Shrimp Creole in an Instant Pot®

1 bell pepper, diced
1 medium onion, chopped
2 stalks celery, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp olive oil
1 Tbs tomato paste
1/2 cup sherry
1 tsp sugar
1 28 oz  can crushed tomatoes
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (or to taste)
1 tsp thyme
1 bay leaf
1 lb frozen jumbo shrimp (peeled and deveined)

1. Set the Instant Pot pressure cooker to sauté and heat olive oil.  Add the vegetables and sauté for 3 minutes, or until they start to soften. Add tomato paste, stirring for about another minute.

2. Add crushed tomatoes, seasonings.  Stir to combine. Cover with lid, making sure the valve is in the sealing position.  Set the pot to manual - high pressure for 5 minutes.  When finished, do a quick pressure release by moving the valve to venting.   Add the shrimp into the hot sauce and cook it that way. If necessary turn on the sauté function to bring the sauce to temperature again..  Serve over rice.

Servings: 4

Source: Instantly Delicious

Have a great weekend, stay safe, stay well, stay home.
 

Labelling and Obesity.

I just saw a segment on Good Morning America about food labels. Apparently they are not always very accurate. They hired a lab to do some testing for them. I already knew that when a label says 0 fat it could have up to .5 mg in it and still be within the legal limits. The upshot of their studies seemed to be stick to the advertised serving size. Now this is fine if its something like cookies, but have you seen the serving sizes on some cans and packages, not enough to keep a flea alive. Very unrealistic, so you end up eating more than you should - according to the label - and then you have a problem. They used a very prevalent statement about chocolate cookies "who can eat just one" I must say I can. I find just a taste of chocolate satisfies me and I can stop at one quite easily.

I have seen some really huge people lately and wonder why they don't do something about it, their doctors should be able to give them some assistance. I saw one woman who's rear end would have covered three chairs, I saw her overflowing one. At least she was still ambulatory, I saw others who were huge and in wheelchairs. There is a tendency to blame glands on such problems, but its amazing how many of these grossly obese problems can disappear once they are under medical supervision. The horrifying cases are those who live in their beds permanently because they can no longer move, how can anyone let themselves get this morbidly obese. Its not like I don't sympathise, I have been fighting obesity all my life, but self discipline has to come into this somewhere. According to the Canadian Diabetes Association, diabetes is costing Canada something like $13 billion a year, in the States it is over $100 billion and a lot of that cost could be alleviated by people losing weight. Even covering the cost of bypass or lap band surgeries would help. A friend of mine who was very overweight had a procedure done and has now lost over 50 lbs. Before she had the procedure she was showing high blood sugar counts, now she is no longer bordering on diabetes. That is simplistic and would not happen for everyone perhaps, but the doctor at the expo said even a 10 lb weight loss helps. Sorry about the rant.

Bowling again today so Matt was polishing his bowling balls yesterday. I bought him some for a birthday present a few years ago. He then didn't get a lot of use out of them for a while, but they have now come back into use. We found out the other day where he can get them engraved quickly and will get them done, probably at the end of this season. I never realised how much care these bowling balls need. Matt was given instruction by the owner of the alley where we started our interest in the game. You have to buy special polish which also has an abrasive in it. I don't have any bowling balls and don't think I want any.

The following recipe is one Matt has made for finger foods at parties. We had a period in North Carolina of having such parties and these disappeared very fast.

Oriental Pot Stickers

Source: Cooking Light - Jan/Feb 94

1/2 lb mixed scallop/shrimp (cod)
1-1/2 tsp veg oil
1 tsp peeled, grated gingerroot
1 clove garlic minced
3/4 C finely chopped leek
3/4 C finely chopped water chestnuts
2 Tbs finely shredded carrot
1 Tbs dry sherry
1 Egg white
30 Wonton wrappers
2 Tsp cornstarch
Veg cooking spray
2 tsp veg oil
1/2 C water

Ginger Soy Sauce

1/2 cup plus
2 tbs water
1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
1 tbs thinly sliced green onions
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp peeled grated ginger
2 tsp rice vinegar
2 tsp dry sherry
Instructions: Coarsely chop seafood by hand or processor. Set aside.

Heat 1 1/2 tsp oil in skillet over medium heat. Add ginger and garlic, saute 30 secs. Add leek, sauté 3 mins til tender. Combine fish, leek mixture, water chestnuts and next three ingredients in a bowl, stir well, set aside.

Work with 1 wrapper at a time (cover rest) spoon about 2 tsp of mixture in each wrapper. Moisten edges with water bring opposing corners to centre, pinch, repeat with other corners. Place on baking sheet sprinkled with cornstarch and set aside.

Coat a nonstick skillet with spray, add 2 tsp oil heat over medium. Arrange potsticker in skillet, cook 3 mins until bottoms lightly browned. Add 1/2 C water, cover and cook 1 min til bottoms are crisp. Serve with warm Ginger-soy sauce.

Sauce:

Combine all ingredients in a bowl; stir well. Yield about 1 cup. Serving size about 3 tbs.

Have a great day.

Friday, Wonton Wrappers, Jewellery

We took the glass lid back to the store and couldn't find anything nearer in size as it was only a few millimeters out. What a pity, I like glass lids - one can see what is happening. Serves me right for dropping both of the ones we had. I was hoping to have lunch out, but it really wasn't necessary so we came home, lunched and then went bowling. Yesterday I didn't do too badly. Matt has decided he can't bowl on Fridays, his scores were not up to his usual standard. We then popped in to see a friend to collect some Avon and I had a second look at the jewellery she is now selling. Latasia see here. There are some very attractive pieces and if I were in the market for more jewellery I would certainly be tempted. I was invited to attend a party last night but couldn't make it. Obviously a lot more pieces than shown in the picture. I am sure she will do well with it. Years ago there was Sarah Coventry jewellery and I bought quite a bit of it which in fact was a waste of time. I rarely, if ever, wore it and gave most of it away. Because we are planning to make some pot stickers for our party on Wednesday, Matt is concerned about purchasing wonton wrappers. Having phoned the store, they assure me they have them, but until he gets them, I don't think he will be convinced. We used to see them all the time in the States, but we have never had occasion to buy them here. The last time he made the pot stickers was for a party in the US where they were very popular. Oriental Pot Stickers 1/2 lb mixed scallop/shrimp (cod or haddock) 1- 1/2 tsp veg oil 1 tsp peeled, grated gingerroot 1 clove garlic minced 3/4 cup finely chopped leek 3/4 cup finely chopped water chestnuts 2 Tbs finely shredded carrot 1 Tbs dry sherry 1 Egg white 30 Wonton wrappers 2 tsp cornstarch Veg cooking spray 2 tsp veg oil 1/2 cup water Ginger Soy Sauce 1/2 cup plus 2 Tbs water 1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce 1 Tbs thinly sliced green onions 1 tsp sugar 1 tsp peeled grated ginger 2 tsp rice vinegar 2 tsp dry sherry Coarsely chop seafood by hand or processor. Set aside. Heat 1 1/2 tsp oil in skillet over medium heat. Add ginger and garlic, saute 30 secs. Add leek, saute 3 mins til tender. Combine fish, leek mixture, water chestnuts and next three ingredients in a bowl, stir well, set aside. Work with 1 wrapper at a time (cover rest with a damp cloth) spoon about 2 tsp of mixture in each wrapper. Moisten edges with water bring opposing corners to centre, pinch, repeat with other corners. Place on baking sheet sprinkled with cornstarch and set aside. Coat a nonstick skillet with spray, add 2 tsp oil heat over medium. Arrange potsticker in skillet, cook 3 mins until bottoms lightly browned. Add 1/2 C water, cover and cook 1 min til bottoms are crisp. Serve with warm Ginger-soy sauce. Sauce: Combine all ingredients in a bowl; stir well. Yield about 1 cup. Serving size about 3 tbs. Note: the picture looks somewhat different to the end result, but I couldn't find a picture that looked exactly the same. Have a great weekend.